Research shows British Web users’ love of French wine and reveals how our fellow European online shoppers can help us make expert choices

Paris, 7th September 2009 – As this year’s wine is being harvested, consumers are starting to stock up their wine supplies in readiness for the upcoming winter and Christmas season. Latest research released today by Twenga reveals that British online users are the most avid wine enthusiasts in Europe, with wine accounting for 31% of all online searches across food and drink products.

The research (see chart 1 below) highlights the most popular wines searched by online consumers in the UK in comparison with France, Italy, Spain and Germany. It shows that French wine, with 64% of the UK searches, is the most popular wine among British users. In their love of French wine, Britons are second only to the French (86%) and ahead of the Germans (40%). Italian and Spanish users rank French wine a close second behind wines from their own countries. The overall dominance of French wine on the web can be explained by the fact that France has some of the most expensive wines and therefore justify the cost of shipping.

Twenga’s research also reveals which local wines are most popular among the local populations of Europe.

“Local people are still the best experts on their country’s wine,” says Twenga’s Head of Content, Thérèse Torris. “British online users can take a leaf from the choices of local wines made by French, Italian, Spanish and German users. They are a great source of inspiration about new wines to explore.”

Indeed comparing the wines of each region chosen by British online shoppers with those preferred by local French, Italian, Spanish and German users brings new exceptional wines to light.

“Among Italian and Spanish wines, it’s definitely worth looking beyond the Chiantis and the Riojas”, says wine blogger and international expert Britt Karlsson of BKWine. “Wines like the Italian Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino, or the Spanish Ribera del Duero and the top-quality dry sherry wines from Jerez, are very well-known locally, but less so outside their country of origin. Likewise, I follow German users in their preference for the delicate German Rieslings and their Spätburgunder (German for Pinot Noir!). French users’ preferences point to the great French classics but also to two regions worth discovering: the Languedoc-Roussillon and the Jura.”

Searches for wine in the Food & Drink sections of Twenga’s sites, detailed by country of origin of the wine

There is a digital camera for every type of photographer: an amateur photographer simply looking to take nice photos, a semi-professional looking to explore a hobby, or an experienced professional looking to make an investment purchase.

What digital camera is best for me? It all depends on your needs and budget but here’s a fundamental breakdown of what the digital camera market has to offer based on your interests.

Beginners: The Compact Digital Camera
The Compact digital camera, sometimes called a point and shoot camera are usually entry level, cheaper priced cameras that are light, compact and easy to take around.
Specifications: lacks pro features, but generally comes with a 3x zoom and a 2.5 mega pixel LCD screen

Photo enthusiasts: The Prosumer/Advanced Digital Camera
The Prosumer or Advanced digital camera is the ‘middle ground’ between a compact and a SLR camera. It has increased speed possibilities with manual adjustment.
Specifications: comes with a 12x to 18x zoom range and better lenses than a compact camera.

Semi-professionals or Professionals: The Digital SLR Camera
The Digital SLR cameras provides superior image quality. They are faster and more powerful for maximum creativity and flexibility.
Specifications: comes with  interchangeable lenses, and many additional features.

Twenga’s Hottest Selling Digital Cameras:
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 – Compact
• 9.1 mega pixels
• CCD sensor
• 10x optical zoom
• 3-inch colour screen, active matrix
• ISO sensitivity from 100 to 6400
• Prices from £ 155

• Canon EOS 450D – SLR
• 12.2 mega pixels
• CMOS sensor
• 3-inch (7.5cm) screen, with LiveView
• ISO sensitivity from 100 to 1600
• Prices from £340

• Nikon D90 – SLR
• 12.3 mega pixels
• CMOS sensor
• 3-inch (7.62 cm) colour screen, active matrix
• ISO sensitivity from 100 to 6400
• Prices from £499 (not including the lens)

Don’t forget the necessary camera accessories such as lenses and filters, flashes, camera cases and memory cards…

All-in-one printers are cost effective, practical and productive; allowing students to print, scan, copy and fax from one device. With budget all-in-one printers available for under £40 you won’t have to break the bank.

Buying Tips
Deciding on what kind of printer depends on your needs:  copying, duplex printing, wireless connectivity, scanning, or being able to print photos.
Differences in the cost of consumables such as cartridges and paper can make a less expensive printer more expensive in the long term.

Accessories needed:
• Ink
• Choose inkjet printers that have individual cartridges
As you only have to replace colour that has run out.
• Buy a model with higher-capacity cartridges if you print a lot.
They can hold more ink.
• Buy compatible cartridges, or refills (up to 50% cheaper)
Quality is often similar.

• Paper
• For various printing jobs choose a printer that can handle various paper sizes and types.
Glossy sheets for photos
Plain white for copying
Heavier weights for business cards.

• USB Cable
• Not all printers come with the USB cable you need to connect it to a computer so you may need to buy one separately.

Most popular all-in-one printers on Twenga :
Canon PIXMA MP190
From £42
• Printer / copier / scanner
• 4800x1200dpi resolution (colour), 2pl ink droplets
• Print speed of up to 19 ppm (mono) / up to 15 ppm (colour)
• PictBridge

Epson SX200
From £40
• Printer / copier / scanner
• Copies in black & white and colour
• Prints photos direct from memory cards and PictBridge enabled cameras
• Individual ink cartridges
• Print speed of up to 34 ppm (mono) / up to 34 ppm (colour)

Canon PIXMA MP620
From £95
• Printer / copier / scanner
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• 5 Individual ink cartridges
• 9600x2400dpi resolution with 1pl ink droplets
• Print speed of up to 26 ppm (mono) / up to 17 ppm (colour)
• Print photos direct from memory cards and PictBridge enabled cameras

Car GPS systems or sat navs, as they are sometimes called, remain a  bestselling car accessory. With ever more features now available for  lower priced versions, car GPS systems have become easily accessible to the mass public and are likely to remain popular with car owners for years to come.

But a sat nav isn’t just for drivers; many non-drivers and predestinations use either a handheld GPS, bicycle GPS, marine GPS…regularly whether on vacation or just strolling around a big city.

Here is Twenga’s selection of three of the most popular GPS systems, all of which feature voice guidance:
Basic car GPS: GARMIN Nüvi 200
• Slim, portable design
• Main features: points of interest (restaurants, car parks, safety cameras) and picture viewer
• Maps: UK & Ireland
• Affordably priced: from £65 and £80

Multi-feature GPS: TOMTOM GO // GO LIVE (GO 630, GO 730, GO 740 LIVE, GO 940 LIVE)
• Wide range of prices and features
• Main features: traffic updates, fuel prices, voice control, hands free calling, FM radio tuner and mp3 player
• Maps (model dependant): Europe and/or Canada and/or United States
• Mid-range price: from £150 to £400

Car radio GPS: Pionneer AVIC-F700BT
• Main features: traffic updates, mp3 player, supports divx, hands free calling, more than 1000 3D landmarks
• Connectivity: USB, SD card, Bluetooth
• Maps: Europe
• Price: from £600 to £800

Littlest Pet Shop is one of the most popular kid’s toys around today. Re-launched in 2005 by Hasbro, they are small pet figures that live in a pet shop on Littlest Lane.  There was a famous kid’s television show with the same name.

Toy Figures & Playsets :
With more than 1 000 pets created since its beginning. Monkeys, horses and ponies, pigs, turtles, bears are the most popular in the large collection of pets:
•    Domestic animals : cats, dogs…
•    Exotic animals: tigers, iguanas…
•    Forest animals: fox, spider, bats…
•    Water animal: whales, fish…
Prices range between £4 to £6 per figure, but rare and collectors editions can go for as much as £60 on auction sites.

The accessories:
Accessories are important to animating the life of the dolls: pet shop, sports centre, leisure club, daycare, get better centre…
Prices range between £40 and £100.

Other products:
Similar to the popularity of Hello Kitty or Strawberry Shortcake, the games and accessorises labelled Littlest Pet Shop are popularly searched by online shoppers and have carved out a strong following of parents or adults who give them as gifts and of children who passionately play and make exchanges with their peers.

•    Littlest Pet Shop VIP
•    Scooters
•    Nintendo DS
•    Charms
•    Monopoly
•    Top Trumps