Philips

Philips shows production-ready Lumalive textile garments

By Mike Hanlon

September 2, 2006 The world’s largest consumer electronics trade fair, Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) opened in Berlin yesterday, and one of the big stories is the demonstration of promotional jackets and furniture featuring Philips’ innovative Lumalive technology. Lumalive fabrics feature flexible arrays of colored light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fully integrated into the fabric - without compromising the softness or flexibility of the cloth. These light emitting textiles make it possible to create materials that can carry dynamic messages, advertisements, graphics and constantly changing colour surfaces. Fabrics used in drapes, cushions or sofa coverings become active and designers can use different inputs to change the illumination based on user behaviour. Prototypes of the technology were first exhibited at IFA 2005 but unlike those early example, the products on display at IFA are ready for commercialization, particularly by companies in the promotional industry looking for a new, high-impact medium. We can’t wait to see what the design industry can do with these capabilities. Read More

Philips introduces Blu-ray players and media

By Mike Hanlon

June 20, 2006 Philips has announced the availability of its first Blu-ray devices, the TripleWriter (SPD7000) all-in-one PC Writer and a home entertainment player (BDP9000). Also announced are two types of recordable media, a 25GB single-layer BD-R (Recordable) and BD-RE (Recordable and Erasable). The Blu-ray discs are available now in North America and Europe, while the Triple Writer and Blu-ray player will be available in both markets later in the year. The new TripleWriter (SPD7000) features recording and playback capabilities of all popular storage formats including CD, DVD and Blu-ray, which allows users to select their media of choice depending on the preferred application. Philips’ TripleWriter features a 2x (72MB/s continuous-data rate) read and writer speed on BD-ROM, BD-R and BD-RE media. The drive reads and writes a variety of legacy media including: CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD+RW and DVD-RW. Read More

Philips 42 inch 3D Display wins Gold Award at SID2006

By Mike Hanlon

June 16, 2006 “3D-TV is the next frontier for those in the professional display market seeking differentiation to gain a competitive edge, and for consumers seeking the next level in the immersive entertainment experience.” So sayeth Philips Jos Swillens at the annual Society of Information Display 2006 (SID2006) where Philips showcased its latest 3D displays, picking up a Gold Award in the process for ‘Display of the Year’. The award, given to the Philips 42-inch 3D Intelligent Display, recognises the display with the most novel and outstanding features, including Philips proprietary technology which produces 3D images without the help of specialised content or glasses. Read More

Philips launches 16.5 cm, high definition photo display for the home

By Mike Hanlon

April 11, 2006: 74 million digital cameras sold worldwide in 2004 passing film camera sales and that’s before we factor in the digital cameras available in every mobile phone. Most mobile phones now have a camera and people upgrade regularly. A billion phones will be sold this year. Around the turn of the deacde, half of all the people on the planet will have a phone and henceforth most human beings will be permanently carrying a digital camera. Mobile cameras are everywhere and the financial barriers to taking a photograph (i.e. the cost of a bunch of silver-halide based chemicals and photographic paper and labour in order to get a hard copy print) has been completely removed. Forty billion digital snapshots were taken in 2005 according to Kodak, the company that used to own the photography business. Philips today staked its claim to putting those 40 billion images on show. The Digital Photo Display, a 16.5 cm, high definition, full colour panel designed to digitally reproduce photos at their very best with print-like picture quality and full 16-bit colour and adjustable brightness of up to 200 nits. Digital images too often get filed to a PC hard drive or CD, rarely to be seen again – Philips aims to remedy that. The Digital Photo Display’s 137 x 91mm, 720 x 480 pixel LCD screen delivers a quality that matches colour prints in a traditional picture frame. Read More

Philips demonstrates world-first technical feasibility of 13.56-MHz RFID tags based on plastic electronics

By Mike Hanlon

February 7, 2006 Scientists at Philips Research have created a fully functional 13.56 MHz RFID tag based entirely on plastic electronics. In contrast to conventional silicon-chip-based RFID tags, a plastic electronics RFID chip can be printed directly onto a plastic substrate along with an antenna without involving complex assembly steps. This could pave the way for the packaging industry to replace existing barcodes by a low-cost RFID tag that provides individual packages with a unique item-level identification code – something not feasible with current barcode technology. Read More

Philips LCD and plasma screens win blind comparison test

By Mike Hanlon

June 9, 2005 There isn't a big screen manufacturer on the planet without a team of fast-talking, jargon-wielding product managers and technical experts who are all incredibly good at convincing you their brand is the most technologically advanced in existence. Which made it a refreshing change when Philips invited us to a blind comparison test – over 400 retailers and journalists were invited to go along and see its 42-inch Plasma and 32-inch LCD televisions placed alongside several other comparable brands and models in a ‘masked’ study. We were there – we participated – from a blind survey of 400 industry people 74% ranked Philips Plasma first, and over 60% ranked the Philips LCD first based on overall picture quality. The products tested were 42 inch plasma screens from Philips, Panasonic, Pioneer and LG and the 32 inch LCD screens from Philips, Panasonic, JVC, Samsung and Sharp. Read More

Philips TV-based study to help manage health from home

By Mike Hanlon

October 13, 2004 Philips has launched a pilot study to test a secure, personalised healthcare communication platform that connects chronic disease patients at home to their care providers through their television.

Philips will be testing this platform - called Motiva - over coming months with the Cardiovascular Associates of the Delaware Valley (CADV), a US-based physicians' group providing complete cardiovascular care to patients. Read More

Philips' New Line Of Flat Plasma And LCD TVs.

By Mike Hanlon

Philips Australia has announced the availability of the two largest Philips plasma televisions to date, the 50PF9966 and 42PF9966. At the same time, they've released eleven new look flat television solutions for every room in the home, with sizes that extend to 50 inches in Plasma and 42 inches in LCD TV.

Highlighting key innovations in the new FlatTV range for 2004, these models feature Philips' own Ambilight and Pixel Plus 2 visual enhancing technologies. Philips is significantly extending its FlatTV range to match consumers' growing demand for flat, slim and widescreen televisions, modern design and advanced picture quality. Read More

Philips Sound Station is combination of functionality and flexibility

By Mike Hanlon

Combining the sound quality of a micro hi-fi shelf stereo system and the portability of a personal CD player, Philips has released the eXp3373. The MP3-CD player is accompanied by the Sound Station, a docking station that functions as an amplifier with two external speakers, transforming the portable audio player into a stereo system equivalent in sound to a mini hi-fi in one easy click. Read More

Philips and Sony create first ePaper Book

By Gizmag Team

May 2004 Philips, Sony and E Ink have won the race to market for electronic paper and announced the world’s first consumer application of an electronic paper display module in Sony’s new e-Book reader, LIBRIé, which went on sale in Japan as we publish (May 2004).

E Ink’s electronic ink technology offers a t... Read More

Philips' Fluid Lenses could create radical change in imaging

By Mike Hanlon

Dutch-based technology giant Philips is set to show a unique variable-focus lens system that has no mechanical moving parts at this year's CeBIT Exhibition in Hannover, Germany. Suited to a wide range of optical imaging applications, including digital cameras, camera phones, endoscopes, home security systems and optical storage drives, Philips' FluidFocus system mimics the action of the human eye using a fluid lens that alters its focal length by changing its shape. Read More

Philips roll-up large screens and electronic books on the way

By Mike Hanlon

Philips Electronics has announced key gains in its polymer technology research putting the company on the verge of producing high resolution portable displays. The availability of such displays would yield a range of new capabilities which have long been forecast but have not yet been achievable - electronic books, the possibility of reading a magazine from a screen housed inside a pen, wall-sized TV screens which can be folded and stored when not in use and retractable screens for enhanced use of mobile devices. Read More

Philips release interactive Gaming Headphones

By Mike Hanlon

Monday October 13, 2003: Philips HG100 Gaming Headphone uses a new Active Motion System incorporating a neck-and-ear shell vibrator and sound enhancers, that when coupled with powerful sound effects and deep bass reproduction add an extra element to the gaming experience. Read More

Philips video-speed electronic-paper technology

By Mike Hanlon

Friday October 3, 2003: Philips has demonstrated an electronic-paper technology capable of displaying full-colour video content with reflectivity and contrast qualities approaching those of real paper. Presented by scientists from Philips in the September 25 issue of Nature, the low-power technology uses a process known as "electrowetting" to form images in fluid trapped within the "paper" interface. Read More

Philips HomeLab creates Mirror TV

By Mike Hanlon

HomeLab - Philips' Home Electronics R & D Incubator where home technology prototypes are tested under the most realistic conditions possible - has generated its first commercialised product: Mirror TV. Designed for non-traditional viewing spaces where it can be installed flush to a wall, the Mirror TV is a 17, 23 or 30-inch LCD display integrated into a unique polarised mirror that transfers almost 100 percent of the light through the reflective surface, meaning you no longer need to miss the weather report while your brushing your teeth.Situated in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, Philips HomeLab is a kind of R & D Big Brother house. Read More

Philips release smart display for the wireless home

By Mike Hanlon

Saturday July 12, 2003: Philips DesXcape 150DM Smart Display is designed to bring easy access to the Internet, computing applications and entertainment in every room of a wireless networked home. The light-weight LCD screen can operate as a remote access point to a wireless network or a full-featured LCD monitor when housed in its base station. Read More

Philips USB Keyring: more than data storage

By Mike Hanlon

Monday June 30, 2003: Among several impressive multi-purpose portable USB devices to emerge from the recent CES in Sydney is Philips new line of portable Key Ring MP3 players and digital cameras. Read More

Philips Unplugged

By Mike Hanlon

This fully wired "polyfunctional" couch from Philips Design is a signpost for the future of human interaction with the everyday objects around them. Read More

Philips HeartStart Home Defibrilllator

By Mike Hanlon

Sudden cardiac arrest causes around 250,000 deaths each year in America. Statistics show that 70 percent of these happen in the home with someone else present. Given that a patient's chance of survival decreases by about 10 percent for each minute that passes after an arrest, the home defibrillator makes sense - especially for those in a high-risk category. Read More

Philips and Nike to produce electronics for athletic activity

By Mike Hanlon

A recently announced partnership between Philips and Nike will soon see the introduction of a range of portable radios, MP3 and CD-MP3 players designed specifically to be worn on the body during athletic activity. Read More

Philips Cordless Headphones

By Mike Hanlon

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