One of the fastest growing websites for interior design is Pinterest.  It has grown from a million users in October to more than 16 million today.  Pinterest is a bulletin board where users “pin” pictures of furniture, room designs, kitchens; anything they like.  Even if you don’t “pin” pictures it’s a great way to collect ideas for your space and information about those products. For this reason it has gained the attention of retailers as a great word-of-mouth marketing tool. Companies like Lowes and Ashley Furniture use Pinterest to pique (p)interest and drive traffic to their websites.

Try Pinterest by typing the product type you are looking for in the search box.  You’ll get an eye full of ideas and a new look at how social media is impacting your furniture buying decisions.

Sherwin-Williams has a nifty little decorating app available for your iPhone, Android or BlackBerry that lets you take a photo, specify any color in the photo, and match it to any one of 1,500 Sherwin-Williams paint colors. It’s called ColorSnap http://www.sherwin-williams.com/architects-specifiers-designers/color/color-tools/colorsnap-for-iphone-android-and-blackberry/?WT.mc_id=SWRedirect_Colorsnap and you can download it at no cost. We love this app for its portability and flexibility. Like the color of a daffodil or mossy tree trunk? S-W lets you know exactly what it is. Lovely!

Apple’s top supplier, Sharp, is getting a $1.6 billion infusion from Taiwan’s Hon Hai Group, which includes Foxconn, Apple’s supplier for iPads and iPhones. Sharp, which earlier announced a big expected loss this year, seems an unlikely place to park that kind of money, but if Apple TV is on the horizon, maybe billionaire Terry Gou is onto something big, and not just large scale TV screens. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-28/sharp-investment-makes-sense-if-apple-tv-is-coming

National Accounts Manager Val DeMartino(left) dines with CEO Kevin Rife of Furniture Barrel.

The Winter 2012 Las Vegas Market kicked off this week and Roominations.net will be in attendance, courtesy of the Manna Distribution Services sales team.  This winter’s market has 1,500 exhibitors spanning three buildings and four market destinations.

Check back for updates and photos from our sales team.

Las Vegas Market takes place at World Market Center Las Vegas:
495 South Grand Central Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89106

January 30 - February 3, 2012 | Winter 2012 Las Vegas Market

Monday-Thursday: 8:00am - 6:00pm
Friday: 8:00am - 4:00pm

Show hours for temporary exhibit floors (B2, C4 & C5 only)
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Friday: 9:00am - 2:00pm

Find the LVM online at www.lasvegasmarket.com

This photo was taken during the CEA TechHome Mark of Excellence Awards held at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.  Pictured left to right:

Kevin Buchanan, Home Entertainment Inc.
Dan Fulmer, FulTech Solutions Inc.
Ken Moyes, EH Publishing
Joe Lautner, Elan (formerly HomeLogic)
Helen Heneveld, Bedrock Learning
Ric Johnson, RightatHome Tech
Walt Zerbe, Russound (2012 TechHome Leadership Award recipient)
Our own Skip Lockrem, Last Mile Home
Duane Paulson, Duane Paulson LLC
Avi Rosenthal, Evolve
Richard Scholl, Worthington Distribution
Kinsey Fabrizio, CEa TechHome
Ian Hendler, Leviton
Jay McLellan, HAI

CES or the Consumer Electronics Show reaches across global markets, connects the industry and enables CE innovations to grow and thrive.  Held in Las Vegas it highlights more than 2,000 corporate members involved in design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products.

Highlights:

Gracenote to Showcase Smart TV Tools:

“The Gracenote ACR technology will enable electronics manufacturers to create “Companion” TV apps that let viewers identify TV programs, movies and other content by having their phone or tablet “listen” to the dialogue and soundtrack.”  (Page 78 Day 2 of Digital Edition)

Philips TVs Stress Web, LED Screens:

                “Philips unveils their 2012 TV and Blu-ray Disc player lines, highlighted by new 3D-ready models with NetTV Smart Cloud connectivity.  The highlight of the line is the luxury 3D flat TV series of LED edge-lit Full HD LCD TVs. The line features the 55 inch screen size at a suggested retail price of $1,500.”   (Page 78 Day 2 of Digital Edition)

Haier Adds Net Connect TVs:

“Models in the Haier Net Connect lineup all feature thin-bezel, slim-cabinet designs and Internet connectivity via the Yahoo! Connected TV platform.  Screen sizes include 50 inches and 46 inches with FullHD 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rates and a 39-inch 1080p 60Hz version…Haier will also show a 55-inch 3D EV-series TV that uses passive polarization type 3D glasses and incorporates 2d-to-3D conversion circuitry.”  (Page 114 Day 3 of Digital Edition)

This month LG unveiled the world’s largest 3DTV.  Checking in at 84-inches the TV will include 8 million pixels and boast a resolution of 3480-by-2160, four times the resolution found on full HDTV sets.  This behemoth will also have access to more than 1,200 apps and premium content through LG’s Smart TV ecosystem, and a voice-activated remote.

Multisource Tech News breaks down LG’s 84-inch 3DTV.

Mashable.com discusses some cool features of LG’s 84-inch giant.

PCWorld.com is doubtful LG’s TV will go main-stream anytime soon.

Buying a TV used to be easy.  All you had to do was worry that it turned on, but this has changed with the advent of HDTV.  Now you need to know about the resolution, plasma/LCD/LED, aspect ratios, and countless other features.

That’s why we’ve collected the links below.  Reading these articles will help you understand all this mumbo-jumbo on HDTVs and provide you with the knowledge to make the best investment for your money.

Learn about the important HDTV acronyms from PCmag.com.

PCWorld.com discusses all the features you might want in your next HDTV.

Cut through all the confusion at CNet.com.

Worried about the color on your TV? Zdnet.com has you covered by teaching you how to test the color depth of your display.

Palliser Furniture is adding a brand new option to their Surround HTS collection.  The ButtKicker audio transducer allows users to feel explosions and other loud bass noises generated by the sub-woofer of their home theater audio system through their seat.  

The Surround HTS line will debut at the High Point Market October 22, and will be ready to ship this January.  Information on this style and the 25 other styles the Surround HTS collection has can be found on Palliser’s website at www.palliser.com .