Philips outlines the blueprints for The Connected Home

Thursday, January 23, 2003

AMSTERDAM - In remarks delivered today to the media and Philips' employees, Philips Consumer Electronics CEO and member of the Board of Management Gottfried Dutiné outlined Philips' vision of the Connected Home, a new emerging model where the home is a broadband powered environment of interconnected devices, experiences and services. Philips also previewed its key building blocks for the Connected Home that it will showcase at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany in March and demonstrated its key Connected Home products: Streamium, DesXcape and iPronto.

In his remarks, Mr. Dutiné described the technical and market developments that are making the Connected Home a real possibility and an increasingly vital new market. He also addressed issues such as broadband adoption, digital rights management and standards that must be dealt with to spur market adoption and avoid consumer confusion.

For the consumer, these developments will enable a new class of consumer electronics that are more meaningful and relevant to people's daily activities. No longer will consumers have to rely on stand-alone devices with stand-alone functions. Instead they will be able to access their favourite content and most vital information where, when and how they want.

"For Philips, the Connected Home is a bullseye mark for where we are going as a company. Our core competency strengths allow us to produce a unique, broad spectrum of products that are the basis of the Connected Home, said Dutiné. "But our vision of the Connected Home extends beyond the living room and entertainment and into personal health and productivity. Looking at the breadth of products and consumer knowledge we bring as One Philips, from lighting to medical to consumer electronics, no other company can deliver in this area like Philips."

Paving The Way With Products
The product categories being showcased by Philips at the pre-CeBIT event include a wide range of innovative products in the areas of (mobile) audio
video entertainment, productivity and (wireless) connectivity in and around the home. The line includes:

• DesXcape: the Philips DesXcape (TM) 150DM detachable monitor (pronounced 'Desk Escape') gives users access to PC applications anywhere in the home
• DVDRW424: A 4x high quality DVD+R/+RW data drive, enabling consumers to create a DVD+RW or DVD+R disc in less than 15 minutes.
• The DVDR80: The top-of-the-line DVD recorder includes an Electronic Program Guide and Disc Manager. Recording a TV program on DVD is as easy as pressing the record button.
• The world's first portable MP3 player with a games feature, the EXP521: a truly compact unit, to enjoy music and games on-the-go.
• DVD760: The new DVD Video player is a Digital Photo Manager with built-in Compass UI interface. With the PCMCIA Media slot consumers can view and manage their digital photo albums.
• A complete new line-up of LCD monitors with Philips' LightFrame3 picture quality improvement technology included.
• The new ProScreen PXG30 and ProScreen PXG30 Impact: Philips' flagship in business projectors, with up to 3200 ANSI lumen and contrast up to 800:1.
• Philips revolutionizes control of home cinema and home automation products with iPronto: the dashboard for the digital home.
• Philips PixelPlus (TM) award winning picture quality improvement technology is now incorporated in the Flat TV line-up.
• Philips brings the freedom of wireless connectivity to online music with the new Streamium MC-i250 Broadband Internet Audio System.