The flagship TV in Sharp’s large-screen AQUOS range, the LC-90LE757 offers consumers the most compelling viewing experience with supreme crisp and clear image quality. This is provided in the highest HD resolution available of 1080p thanks to Sharp’s XGEN 3D panel and a clear picture processor. For film buffs and sports fans looking for the best action, the TV features incredibly defined moving images thanks to Sharp’s Active Motion 200Hz technology and full HD active 3DTV.

As a latest-generation product, the LC-L90LE757 is fully connected to all the content a consumer might desire through the AQUOS NET+ portal open browser. This provides internet browsing, seamless integration with smart mobile devices, access to premium VOD content and is ready for Skype. It also comes with Sharp’s new AQUOS Remote Lite app for both iOS & Android, that turns a user’s mobile into both a fully functioning remote control as well as an easy and intuitive way to surf the net.

The TV has a built-in triple HD tuner (DVB-T/DVB-C/DVB-S2) and a media player which allows common photo, video and music formats to be played easily from USB sticks or directly from a home network.

Although 2 metres in length, the slim and stylish design, with its thin bezel and aluminium finish means that the TV is sleek in profile. Weighing only 64 kg (without stand) and at less than 12 cm deep, it can be easily mounted on a wall. The direct LED-backlight technology makes this giant TV so energy efficient, that it is rated European Energy label A+.

Additional features include an optional Wallpaper mode, which turns the TV into a piece of art or photo frame when in stand-by mode. It displays the image with a low brightness level, so it’s like looking at a ‘real’ picture, which fits in with the style of the room. When in Wallpaper mode, the TV uses low power and can be set on a timer.

The 90” TV is available at selected retailers from today with a RRP of £12,000 including VAT.

A huge 71% of mums spend more on clothes for their children than for themselves or their partner, and considering how quickly children tend grow out of clothes, this could see parents forking out a huge sum of money to dress their children each year.

One might assume that parents’ desire to dress their children in the latest trendy outfits would explain this staggering finding, however it appears that quality outweighs style for parents – more than three quarters (78%) stated that they’d spend more on quality children’s clothing, and this was compared to just 24% of parents who said they would shell out more for style. Additional considerations that parents ranked above style included durability (49%) and comfortable, natural cotton fibres (40%).

For parents, fabric is also a key consideration when choosing clothes for their children. When asked what they look for in a fabric, respondents rated durability (45%) and softness (44%) as equally important, with 66% of parents also saying they look for natural fibres above synthetic. Cotton was named the most desirable fabric by 79% of parents, a clear favourite and more than 12.5 times more popular than the next most popular fibre, wool (6.3%).

Notes To Editors

About the child’s clothing research

The research was carried out by The Leadership Factor, an independent research company, on behalf of COTTON USA. The results can be redistributed by third parties without prior consent, however, a credit for COTTON USA is kindly requested. Fieldwork in the UK was conducted during April/May 2013, with 1,000 parents surveyed with children ranging from 0-16 years old.  The answers were analysed to give the results stated above.

Siobhán, currently in her final year studying Sustainable Product Design at Falmouth University, created a design worthy of beating more than 70 other entries in Sharp’s competition #GetItDownOnPaper, which asked students to tweet solutions to everyday problems.

Chop-Syc was inspired by the difficulty of juggling recipe books and online information about healthy eating when your hands are covered in food.

Sharp Laboratories is responsible for developing cutting edge innovations, which have helped solve a genuine human need, including mobile LCD technology and the ‘lab in the palm of your hand,’ an express blood test technology allowing a mobile device to test blood in a matter of minutes.

Sharp is continually looking to invest in future ideas and Sharp scientists are so impressed with Chop-Syc that they may turn the concept into a reality.

It may be June but the best PR campaigns for Christmas are being planned now. If you are looking for some creative festive cheer from PR and social activities that are sales focussed this year, call us now…

London – 12 June 2013: New research released today by health and wellness brand Fitbit, reveals that it’s not the traditional excuses that are the main reason for a less healthy lifestyle, but the turn off caused by constant public lecturing.

From government-based schemes to get people more active to high profile celebrity chef initiatives to maintain a better diet, messages are falling on deaf ears with only (10%) of people agreeing that they have any positive impact on their lifestyle.

This ‘Me’ Generation, more focussed on the here and now, are turning to self-monitoring as a means to increasing motivation to live a more active and healthy life. In fact, 7 in 10 people are currently engaged in some form of self-monitoring of their health.  Within this group, 85% of people revealed a moderate to significant positive change for improved lifestyle and diet – five times as effective as public messages aimed at motivating people to get off the sofa and cut out the junk.

In the report which looks at a whole range of topics surrounding the future of health and wellbeing, the unveiling of the first chapter coincides with the launch of the Fitbit Flex™, Fitbit’s latest wireless activity and sleep wristband. As well as tracking steps, distance, calories burned and sleep activity, the Flex now monitors a brand new stat; active minutes while real-time wireless stat syncing to apps is also available. Fitbit’s software contains informative graphs and tools while a new, customisable dashboard makes your path to fitness as personalised as possible.

HT-SB30 for 39” and 40” TVs, creating a truly immersive experience and delivering high quality sound in a super compact form.

Sharp’s newest compact 2.1 channel Sound Bar System is cable free with Bluetooth^® wireless compatibility. Designed to fit easily into existing systems, it is simple to use with 1 analogue audio input terminal, guaranteeing perfect connectivity with AV-equipment in the home. Two speakers generate a powerful sound with 40 Watt RMS total power, ensuring the audio quality of any TV is significantly improved.

The slim HT-SB30 is stylishly designed with an attractive Piano finish, featuring a unique exposed Driver design for high definition audio and a lustrous material look. It has flexible settings including wall mount, in front of the TV and inside a rack. Volume is easily adjusted using the volume settings on the TV, the TV remote control or the device itself. An auto power on/off function on the sound bar ensures that power consumption is minimised.

Marketing and communications executives from leading UK and international brands like McDonalds, Kellogg’s, Waitrose and BUPA participated in the research, sharing their experiences and insights. The report reveals that through product innovation and renovation brands have been able to offer consumers a wider range of healthy choices, yet despite this, changing behaviour remains difficult.

Highlights from the report include insight from KFC, Heinz Tomata Ketchup, Unilever and Sainsbury’s and many other big brands.

To request a copy of the report, From Innovation to Public Engagement, email info@kaizo.co.uk.

with unmatched performance, security, availability, long-term scalability 

as BlackLine continues rapid global expansion

LONDON and LOS ANGELES – June 6, 2013 – As part of its continuing effort to provide the highest level of service to clients around the world, BlackLine Systems has opened data centres in Amsterdam and London to support the growing demand for the company’s enterprise-class financial close SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solution in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.  Data will reside on servers at Verizon subsidiary Terremark – the world’s leading provider of sophisticated data centre and security solutions.  The top-tier facilities will provide BlackLine’s EMEA-based clients with unmatched performance, security and availability, as well as long-term scalability, as BlackLine continues its rapid global expansion.

Achmea, a pan-European insurance provider and the largest carrier in the Netherlands, is up and running on the new BlackLine European data centres.

“As a Dutch insurance provider serving clients across Europe, finding a hosted service provider partner that operates here, as well, was very important to us,” Pieter Ettes, information manager, Achmea, said.  “With BlackLine’s new data centres located right here in Europe, we are assured our data is housed in some of the world’s most secure, high-end facilities, offering the highest industry standard levels of uptime, availability, security and reliability – and compliant with European regulations for the insurance industry.”

Research shows that more than 90 percent of companies in Europe (and worldwide) still do account reconciliations using Excel spreadsheets, rather than implementing a system to automate and optimise the process.

“Some estimates suggest that as much as 95 percent of companies are still reconciling their balance sheet accounts manually!  We have a wide open market opportunity,” Mario Spanicciati, executive director of EMEA & EVP of Operations, BlackLine Systems, said.   “Coupled with the fact that SaaS subscriptions in general are expected to continue to increase at an exponential pace, we want to be sure we have a scalable infrastructure in place for our enterprise-class Cloud offering that will provide our clients with world-class performance and security and also support our growth for the long haul.”

The data centre provider of choice for many of the largest technology, media and entertainment companies, financial and healthcare institutions and governments worldwide, Terremark is equipped with advanced infrastructure and managed service offerings that deliver the scale, security and reliability necessary to meet the ever-increasing, and often mission-critical, requirements that large enterprises and even government agencies demand.

“Access to Terremark’s expertise in secure co-location, managed hosting and network services, as well as the company’s global capabilities, will be invaluable to us and our clients going forward,” added Spanicciati.

BlackLine’s new European data centres include components and technology from the world’s leading networking and infrastructure providers including Cisco, Dell, SAP and VMware.  Taking security to another level, BlackLine recently became the first account reconciliation and financial close software provider to successfully complete a SOC 2 Type 2 security examination – an internationally recognised standard, providing a set of guidelines for auditors to use in order to objectively assess the data security and privacy practices of service organisations.  BlackLine’s successful SOC 2 Type 2 audit confirms even greater focus on controls related to the security and availability of the BlackLine Financial Close Suite.

BlackLine’s SOC 2 Type 2 audit complements its SOC 1 Type 2 report prepared in accordance with the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 16 (SSAE 16), which the company also was first in the industry to achieve and has since updated annually.  In conjunction with its SSAE 16 audits, BlackLine also has completed annual International Standard on Assurance Engagements No. 3402 (ISAE 3402) examinations using the standards set forth by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), further ensuring that BlackLine has system controls in place and operating effectively in compliance with international standards.

About BlackLine Systems
BlackLine Systems was the first to develop and offer a commercially available Balance Sheet Account Reconciliation solution.  An experienced provider of software to companies from the Fortune 100 to beyond the Fortune 1,000, BlackLine provides quick-to-implement, scalable and easy-to-use applications that automate the entire financial close process to help improve financial controls for companies of all sizes.  BlackLine software applications complement existing Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

BlackLine offers clients its enterprise-class software in a simple and secure OnDemand/SaaS platform.  With a proven track record and a commitment to customer success, BlackLine seeks to reduce the burden the financial close places on accounting and finance professionals.

BlackLine headquarters are in Los Angeles, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, Melbourne, New York City and Sydney to serve the company’s growing global client base.  For more information, please visit www.blackline.com.

05 June 2013, UK – New research from COTTON USA reveals that UK parents feel under pressure to keep up with celebrities and other parents in the playground when it comes to dressing their children. Half (49%) of parents questioned admitted that celebrity culture and mini-fashion icons like Suri Cruise and Harper Beckham influence how they dress their children, however, natural fabric is still a key consideration when shopping for children’s clothes for their children. Some key stats from the research include:

• 52% of mums and dads said that they felt pressured by other parents to dress their children a certain way
• A staggering 87% of respondents saying that other parents treat their children like fashion accessories
• One in four parents strongly disapproved of the celebrity clothing trend or said they had concerns about the movement towards more fashion conscious children’s clothing
• More than three quarters (78%) of parents would be prepared to spend more for quality clothing compared to just under a quarter (24%) who would shell out more for style
• When selecting fabrics parents see durability (45%) and softness (44%) as equally important and 66% of parents will look for natural fibres above synthetic
• Cotton was named the most desirable fabric by 79% of parents

Notes To Editors

About the children’s clothing research

The research was carried out by The Leadership Factor, an independent research company, on behalf of COTTON USA. The results can be redistributed by third parties without prior consent, however, a credit for COTTON USA is kindly requested. Fieldwork in the UK was conducted during April/May 2013, with 1,000 parents surveyed with children ranging from 0-16 years old.  The answers were analysed to give the results stated above.

03 June, 2013, London – Fitbit Flex™, the new wireless wristband activity and sleep tracker from Fitbit, is available to purchase in store and online from today, expanding Fitbit’s offering to enable Fitbit fans and new users alike a new way to track and improve their health and fitness and stay motivated. The availability to buy the Flex coincides with the launch of Fitbit’s new, personalised dashboard and updated Android compatibility.

Tracking steps taken, distance travelled, calories burned and sleep patterns, the Fitbit Flex™ enables users to wear the device on their wrist day and night to track activity. Flex incorporates a new stat, ‘active minutes’, which monitors how many moderate-intensity cardio minutes a user has completed throughout the day, adding another dimension to measuring activity and achieving goals. The slim and stylish wristband has a LED display that subtly vibrates each time a new goal is achieved, aiding motivation and providing users with progress on the day’s activity.

Fitbit’s new visually-led online dashboard can easily be modified to provide users with a simple snapshot of their day according to their priorities. Users can add, remove and edit different activity tiles on their homepage so they can see at a glance how close they are to achieving the goals that are most important to them. The new dashboard also features one-click access to history and trends, making it easier than ever to view statistics and progress in more detail.

The Flex is the only wristband to incorporate Bluetooth 4.0, meaning that activity stats can be synced in real-time to view on select devices, which now includes the Samsung Galaxy S4 in addition to the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPad. Furthermore, NFC-enabled Android devices can be instantly updated if users tap their device.

The Fitbit Flex™ (£79.99) is available to purchase in store today at John Lewis and online at Amazon and Fitbit.com.