Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Royal Philips Electronics (AEX: PHI, NYSE: PHG) today showcased the latest milestone towards a digital lifestyle in the Connected Homes Program set up by the Singapore Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). By collaborating in the IDA UniHome project that officially opened on June 15th, Philips has taken another step in delivering the future of home entertainment solutions as 30 families begin the process of adopting custom built, broadband enabled and wirelessly designed digital homes.
Philips through the UniHome project is teaming up with ten companies - including content and service providers - to equip 30 selected households with both wired and wireless broadband and connectivity products that will provide residents with relevant interactive services, including home automation, e-learning, entertainment and security applications.
Wholly integrated home networks are quickly becoming a reality through wireless technology, enabling a new class of consumer electronics that are more meaningful to people's daily activities. Philips plans to capitalize on this trend with its vision of the Connected Home, a strategy focused on developing products that enhance consumers' lives through innovative digital technology.
"Our legacy in the home, be it shavers, coffee makers, light bulbs or home audio, has given us a unique glimpse into how people want technology to work for them," said Gottfried Dutine, Philips Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Management. "We believe the real power of the Connected Home is to do what you want, when you want without being tied to certain rooms, boxes or wires. No longer will consumers have to rely on stand-alone devices with stand-alone functions."
The Philips Connected Home is a linked environment of communication devices and home entertainment appliances that speak to one another, creating greater personalized control, productivity and convenience for consumers. Reaching beyond the lab and into the living room, Philips is uniquely positioned to make humanized technology a seamless part of consumers' everyday lives.
This collaboration in Singapore embodies Philips' vision of the Connected Home since it observes the daily habits and routines of normal families and, more importantly, identifies how their natural behavior responds to the latest state-of-the-art connectivity solutions. Through an understanding of consumer behavior, Philips can now apply these discoveries in the creation of new products that deliver meaningful digital experiences.
The UniHome project in Singapore will showcase a number of new applications from Philips' growing family of wireless devices and bridges that are the building blocks of the Connected Home, such as the Streamium MC-i200 Broadband Internet Audio system, the Broadband TV with DBTV, the Streamium Linx range of WiFi-enabled audio-video streaming devices, the DVD HDD, the DesXcape detachable monitor and the iPronto, a customizable display-based wireless device for controlling the digital home.
Singapore is an ideal test market for the Connected Home due to its tech savvy residents and the ubiquity of always-on broadband. The Singapore UniHome project builds upon Philips already existing partnerships with KPN and Telefonica, which aim at driving the adoption and expansion of digital home applications using broadband. Philips believes broadband will only truly take off when it is utilized not only by the PC, but also in the entertainment space, as well as between the two. In order to bring to market these next generation connectivity solutions Philips will seek global telecom partnerships to ensure pervasive broadband worldwide.
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