Philips

Rationalizer: concept device brings online traders back to Earth

By Jeff Salton

19:34 November 15, 2009 PST

Worse than fishermen, many home-based investors can tell you about “the one that got away” – a little company that listed on the stock exchange for a few cents a share, only to become the next big thing a few months later. And then there's the reverse - the day-trader who wishes he or she had taken a time-out before committing to a block of worthless shares they bought "on a hunch". Imagine wearing a bracelet that warned you that you were positively or negatively stressed - either scared or greedy - and what you were about to do might not be entirely rational? Philips Electronics and Dutch Bank ABN AMRO have developed a concept device that does just that. The Rationalizer is an emotion sensing system designed to help serious online investors take a step back before plunging into their next transaction. Read More

Philips' Wireless HDTV Link transmits up to 1080p

By Jeff Salton

19:33 October 22, 2009 PDT

Philips' Wireless HDTV Link (SWW1800/27) replaces the cables that connect the HD cable set-top box, HD satellite receiver, Blu-ray player or gaming console to a HDTV and delivers up to 1080p picture quality at a range of 75 feet. This solution should appeal to viewers who have suffered from a lack of flexibility with their set-ups because of unsightly or too short cables. Read More

Philips Robust Collection – kitchen appliances and warranties that impress

By Jeff Salton

01:09 September 11, 2009 PDT

Our crew on the ground at IFA, though not exactly master chefs, still know a good kitchen appliance when they see one. And they were very impressed by a demo of the Philips Robust Collection, five premium kitchen appliances fashioned from modern materials such as shockproof glass, plastics and metal die cast, with couplings made of Zytel plastic, a light metal replacement used by BMW and Mercedes for their sports cars. The result is a blender, food processor, hand blender, juicer and mixer that Philips says proved virtually unbreakable in drop tests, as well as looking good in any modern kitchen. Read More

Philips leads the marital aid industry out of the Dark Ages

By Gizmag Team

02:21 September 4, 2009 PDT

Sexual aids have been in use for thousands of years, coming in and out of official favor in different eras and jurisdictions, and indeed, many countries still outlaw them entirely. As our understanding of our sexuality has grown, sex aids have increased in their usage, with more than 40% of European couples already using them and another 35% interested and willing, but reluctant to enter what they perceive as a seedy sex store. Now Philips has created a range of sex toys specifically designed for couples, taking the genre mainstream for the first time. Bravo Philips! Read More

Philips Wake up Light gets an iPod dock

By Gizmag Team

20:34 July 30, 2009 PDT

Philips' Wake-up Light is a 'dawn simulator' that uses light to ease you gently out of your snoozing state, but the latest version provides another option for those days when a little extra oomph may be required to get you moving with the inclusion of an iPod dock. Read More

Incandescent light bulbs may have a bright future after all

By Alan Brandon

21:47 July 15, 2009 PDT

In the face of legislation being enacted around the world, the future of the trusty incandescent light bulb has been looking dim. Ireland has banned the sale of incandescent bulbs, and the United States is set to phase them out by 2012. And it’s no wonder - the apple of Thomas Edison’s eye is something of an energy hog, especially when compared with modern bulbs such as compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs and LED-based lights. But now a new technology from Deposition Sciences Inc of Santa Rosa, California, is promising a brighter future for the venerable incandescent. Read More

Philips ColorReach Powercore LED architectural floodlighting

By David Greig

18:30 May 28, 2009 PDT

Billed as the first LED fixture powerful enough to illuminate large-scale facades and structures, Philips' ColorReach Powercor high-performance architectural floodlight can project light over 500 feet while using 70% less power than the metal halide fixtures... and producing more light. Read More

Philips brightens up the home with a range of LED-lit decor

By David Greig

01:39 May 23, 2009 PDT

Domestic bliss can get a tad dull from time to time – but you have to hand it to Dutch electronics giant Philips for trying to brighten the home front up with its range of LED-illuminated home accessories. The products include a vase, wine cooler, coasters and platter and have been designed so as to be used in various combinations to create different moods around the home. Read More

Philips GoGear portable media player adds spark to range

By David Greig

00:03 May 17, 2009 PDT

Philips has launched a portable media player (PMP) that glows while your songs are playing. Powered by Philips' patented FullSound technology, the GoGear Spark also features voice recording and PC download capability via USB 2.0. Read More

The future 3D TV – we look at some of the best angles

By Kyle Sherer

19:37 April 13, 2009 PDT

A number of companies has invested considerable resources into developing autostereoscopic 3D TVs, confident that they will be the “next big thing”. Gizmag examines some of the best 3D TV design concepts out there, in an attempt to sort what's truly possible from what's pie in the sky. Read More

LED street lamps deliver 88% power saving in Japan

By Mike Hanlon

16:20 March 9, 2009 PDT

The cost and energy-efficiency of solid-state lighting are driving many new applications, and the recent installation of the first LED street lights in Osaka Prefecture in Japan, has already been found to provide an overall savings of 88% in electricity bills over the older high-pressure mercury lamps used elsewhere in the region. Each of the LED-based street lamps installed at a park on the Kizu River utilizes 36 cool white LEDs. The LED array generates 30 lux at a pole height of 4.5 meters, comparable to the brightness of mercury lamps, while using just 25 W of power per fixture. Read More

Blu-ray licensing changes offer hope for cheaper players and discs

By Darren Quick

20:34 February 26, 2009 PST

Even though Blu-ray has claimed the honors in the format war with HD DVD, it has failed to set the world on fire in terms of widespread adoption. One of the major factors for this slow uptake can be attributed to the high prices of not only Blu-ray players and recorders, but also the discs themselves. But plans announced by Sony, Panasonic and Philips to create a simplified licensing process for Blu-ray discs could see this change. Read More

Philips 56-inch LCD packs a 21:9 aspect ratio

By Darren Quick

02:18 February 2, 2009 PST

As all aspect ratio snobs know, the 21:9 cinema screen aspect ratio was developed to mimic our own peripheral vision and therefore provide a more immersive viewing experience. Recognizing this Philips has unveiled the world’s first cinema-proportioned LCD TV dubbed the Cinema 21:9, which features a 21:9 aspect ration 56-inch screen and Philips’ Ambilight technology to deliver what it says is the most completely immersive home viewing experience possible. Read More

Philips’ next generation Aurea LCDs

By Noel McKeegan

22:06 September 30, 2008 PDT

Philips is rolling-out its 2008 Aurea LCD TV range with new 37” and 42” models boasting an improved in refresh rate of 2ms (compared with 3ms for previous models), a contrast ratio 30000:1, plus the latest versions of the company's Perfect Pixel HD Engine and Active Frame technology. Read More

The PC monitor designed to cure the wintertime blues

By Loz Blain

00:17 September 4, 2008 PDT

Have you noticed a decline in your energy levels over winter? Find yourself needing more sleep, feeling depressed or overeating? You may be experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriately abbreviated to SAD), a phenomenon which is becoming better understood through research. The most common form of therapy for SAD is light therapy, in which the patient is exposed to specific wavelength lights to trigger the biological processes that keep us more upbeat in summertime - and this is the theory behind the LightFrame from Philips, a computer monitor with a switchable bright blue-lit frame that gives workers the ability to self-administer a mild form of light therapy as they work. Read More

Philips unveil CinemaOne home theater system

By Darren Quick

02:15 September 3, 2008 PDT

Philips' new all-in-one DVD Home Theater System packs a range of home entertainment features into a distinctive, compact design. The CinemaOne includes an integrated universal iPod dock, built-in subwoofer and DVD player with HDMI 1080p upscaling in a unit that resembles a compacted, upturned trash can – only a lot more stylish. Read More

Wake up to the (artificial) sun

By Emily Clark

12:12 August 29, 2008 PDT

Philips has shown the second generation of its Wake-up Light at IFA 2008, while Lenco, is displaying a multi-colored approach on the same theme. Both lights are designed to mimic the natural process of waking up with the sun and, hopefully, make it just that little bit easier to get out of bed in the morning. Read More

Philips' energy efficient street lighting cuts city energy consumption

By Darren Quick

17:01 April 9, 2008 PDT

April 10, 2008 Streetlight systems are expensive for cities to operate and maintain. They also use a lot of energy — representing almost 40 percent of a typical city’s electricity spending. Echelon Corporation announced at the 2008 Light+Building event in Frankfurt that Philips Lighting, one of the world’s leading providers of lighting systems, has built its new Starsense street light telemanagement system using Echelon’s LonWorks platform, which uses Echelon’s power line transceivers to communicate between lighting fixtures and Echelon’s i.LON SmartServer to provide Internet access and local monitoring and control. It is believed Starsense can deliver energy savings of over 40 percent, reducing cities’ energy bills and carbon footprint. Read More

Philips SHB9000 Bluetooth headset

By Emily Clark

15:14 January 9, 2008 PST

January 10, 2008 A full headset designed to deliver high-end sound quality to audiophiles listening to music via their mobile phone, Philips new SHB9000 Bluetooth headset allows users to seamlessly move between music and incoming calls and uses digital signal processing to filter out background noise and echo and automatically adjust volume in response to outside noise. Read More

Philips unveils new heart scanner

By Emily Clark

21:50 November 25, 2007 PST

November 26, 2007 Philips has unveiled a 256-slice Brilliance iCT scanner that can create a 3D visualization of the heart in only two beats. Announced at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, the new scanner boast a significant reduction in radiation doses in addition to enhanced image acquisition. Read More

Philips and Swarovski unveil digital bling

By Mike Hanlon

04:13 September 2, 2007 PDT

September 2, 2007 Philips and Swarovski announced their intention to work together to fuse fashion and technology in April this year and the first fruit of the collaboration was shown today at IFA 2007 in Berlin. As digital technology becomes all pervasive, it is inevitable that there will be a market for luxury technology and the Active Crystals collection directly addresses this need, beginning with the release of four USB Memory Keys and four headphones. The only problem is … Read More

The Compact Disc turns 25

By Noel McKeegan

23:38 August 16, 2007 PDT

August 17, 2007 In an event that marked the shift from analogue to the new digital era in the music industry, the world’s first compact disc rolled off the production line at a Philips factory in Langenhagen, Germany, twenty-five years ago today. Philips and Sony co-developed the CD (which was invented by American James T. Russell in the late 1960s) and an estimated 200 billion have been sold around the world in last quarter of a century - that’s enough to circle the earth six times. Read More

Smooth operator : Philips Moisturizing shaving system

By Noel McKeegan

20:19 August 7, 2007 PDT

August 8, 2007 Philips has teamed up with Nivea for Men to release a new Moisturizing shaving system. The waterproof unit combines the latest innovations in men’s razors with one key improvement: built-in shaving conditioner that applies moisturizer as you shave. Read More

Philips Digital Pocket Memo 9600 heralds a new era in productivity

By Mike Hanlon

March 2, 2007 To say that the Digital Pocket Memo 9600 is an important new tool for business professionals is an understatement. Even to state that the new 9600 represents the next generation of digital dictation technology is underplaying its importance way too much. Until now, dictation has been a largely under-utilised tool because for it to be used in an office environment, a dictation system and a secretary are required, and only the legal system has ever been organised enough to effectively employ dictation as an industry-wide productivity tool. With the new functionality of the Philips Digital Pocket Memo 9600, the device provides a ready-made system which can easily incorporate a dictation system into any office. Couple the 9600 with one of the new LAN Docking Station and it will transfer dictations through your LAN (local area network) to a transcriptionist or a speech recognition system without connecting to a PC. Encryption ensures that dictations are sent securely through the company network or the Internet, regardless of whether the destination is next door or on the other side of the world. There’s also a Barcode Module which snaps onto the 9600 - a highly compact laser scanner that retrieves important patient or client information by scanning the barcode. The scanned information is securely attached to the dictation, saving time and minimizing the risk of errors. The Barcode Module can also be used as a USB scanner device, directly transferring the barcode information to a PC. That’s the system – as far as the 9600 itself, well that is just a straightforward better mousetrap than has previously existed. Read More

Philips shows 100-inch Ambilight FlatTV prototype

By Mike Hanlon

September 4, 2006 If you have taken the time to have a good look at Philips Ambilight technology, you’ll be aware it brings a completely new, transformational dimension to watching TV, creating an immersive viewing experience through a unique technique which matches the colour and brightness in the images being displayed on the television’s screen. Ambilight is proven, a million Ambilight FlatTVs sold by Philips, which shipped the most number of LCD TVs worldwide in the first half of 2006. Now the Dutch giant is rolling out a prototype 100-inch (245cm) LCD TV with Ambilight Full Surround – the new, four-sided version of Philips’ totally unique ambient lighting technology. Read More