Philips CES 2008

January 9, 2:00pm - Thoughts on the new Design Collection

Our design team spent a lot of time creating this new line of products. Taking into account that women are now influencing consumer electronic purchases more than ever before and that focus groups felt that current offerings from manufacturers are unimaginative, the team came up with what we launched here at CES: Design Collection

The Design Collection includes a number of products including the FlatTV 7000 series, the Ambisound soundbar and HTS6515.

Personally, I like it. It's clean, the lines are softer than other TVs; I'd hang it on my wall instead of hiding it in an entertainment center, and it goes with the style of my home. Not that my home is all that stylish; no professionals were involved in the decorating of my home or choosing of the furniture, but I don't like clutter and the products from this line would fit in well because of their minimalist look.

What do you think of the Design Collection?

Wired:"It's an exacting and well-researched strategy."

TGDaily: "Philips has created a form factor that adds a spot of originality to the set."

PCWorld: "With rounded edges, a 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and a sharp 52-inch diagonal screen, it certainly looks good. But the (literally) hidden jewel of the set looks to be its "Invisible Sound System."

Katie Bromley - Philips CES Blogger

January 9, 1:00pm - People like shiny things!

The Digital Entertainment Group, always hosts the definitive networking reception at CES- a chance for movie studios, music labels and consumer electronics companies to rub shoulders and catch-up with each other off the show floor. As the only industry organization whose membership includes all the major players in the content and hardware industry, the DEG serves an important role in getting the word out to people about new technologies. For example, the group currently offers a series of brochures http://www.dvdinformation.com/HDTV/index.cfm to help people understand the ins and outs of HDTV.

This year, as always, DEG also announced the year-end software and hardware sales figures. Despite a challenging economic climate, American consumers spent more than $23.5 billion last year renting and buying DVDs and nearly $300 million buying the new high-definition discs such as Blu-ray. The Consumer Electronics Association reports that more than 33 million DVD players were sold in the U.S. last year and nearly 4.5 million devices were sold that are capable of playing back high-definition media. These numbers underscore Philips' own research findings suggesting that people still like bright, shiny discs!

Also at CES, the DEG presented its annual awards in a variety of categories: Retailer of the Year for hardware and software, Creative Excellence awards for the best DVD and high-definition titles and my personal favorite, the Emiel Petrone Innovation Awards, named for a close friend and colleague who worked at Philips for more than 30 years and was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the DEG. You can read more about the awards and this year's winners here: DEG Honors Industry's Best at CES. http://www.widescreenreview.com/news_detail.php?id=15203 Pictured here is the award which went to Twentieth Century For for its direct-to-DVD hit, Futurama: Bender's Big Score (photo courtesy of Jim Belcher from Universal Music).

Marty Gordon - Philips CES Blogger

January 9, 10:00am - CES has gone Green!

This year CES announced it would be "the largest carbon neutral event ever", according to Joanne Sonenshine, Manager, Environmental Policy, CEA. For more details how they are doing it, click here: http://www.cesweb.org/attendees/conferences/green.asp

In addition to that, Joanne correctly points out that CES is going to great lengths to highlght and promote all the green initatives of industry.

More about the many Green activites of Philips and others a bit later...including our own EcoDesign Award winning product, the 42PFL5603

Gregg Chason - Philips Sustainability Leader, Live from CES