One of the coolest features of the Hue system at launch was that using an application Philips offers running on your smartphone, you can control everything from the brightness of the light to the color of the light. Philips has now announced that it has launched the next generation Philips Hue app adding in all sorts of interesting new features for users of the lighting system.

The updated application allows users to control the light bulbs using smartphones or tablets and the control is available with more flexibility than with the older app. One of the new and interesting features of the application is a new Philips Hue channel on If This Then That. That channel allows the light system to access any application programming interface on the Internet so the light bulbs can act as informational gateways.

That sounds very complicated, but what it means is that the smart bulbs in your home can be set up to give you visual cues on things such as whether, stocks, sports scores, e-mail, social media, and more. Think about how useful that feature could be. For instance, if the first thing your kids always want to know in the morning is if it will rain today, you could set up a bulb in their room to glow purple if the weather forecast predicts rain and yellow if the forecast predicts Sun. You can also set the bulb to glow your favorite teams color if they won the game last night.

Version 1.1 of the new application also includes a geo-fencing and recurring schedules capability. The geo-fencing feature approximates the location of the smartphone or tablet controlling your system and controls the lights as the user’s smartphone or tablet approaches and leaves the home. That means you get close to your house with your smartphone in the pocket, the lighting system in your home can automatically turn on. It also means that as you walk out of your house the morning on your rush to work, the lights will automatically turn themselves off.

The system also has a new synchronous scenes feature that works in the background to allow large batches of Hue bulbs to change scenes in a smooth an immediate matter. The recurring schedules feature also allows users to schedule timer settings so daily and repeated behaviors of the lights, like waking up or going to sleep are supported without having to reset the bulbs each day. The app also has a new randomized setting to turn the lights off and on an unexpected times while the owner is away from home. The new app is available as an easy to apply update for Apple and Android device users. Individual Hue bulbs can be purchased for $59.

SOURCE: Meet Hue

With the prototype lamp Philips is presenting this week, the TLED that is, they’ve created a lamp that’s twice as efficient as its predecessors while using essentially half of the energy. If and when this technology hits the consumer market, major energy savings will take shape. According to Philips, the TLED lamp is intended to replace the antiquated fluorescent tube lighting used in the business world en masse – accounting for more than half of the world’s total lighting.

“After being recognized for our quality of LED light (mimicking traditional light bulbs) to creating new experience with Philips Hue (the connected light system for the home), we now present the next innovative step in doubling lighting efficiency. It’s exciting to imagine the massive energy and cost savings it will bring to our planet and customers.” – Rene van Schooten, CEO Light Sources & Electronics for Philips Lighting

Also according to Philips, the USA alone uses 200 terawatts of electricity annually in fluorescent lighting alone. If each and every one of these lights was replaced by TLEDS, the US would use right around 100 terawatts less annually, “saving more than US$12 billion and preventing around 60 million metric tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.” Sounds pretty excellent, doesn’t it?

Get pumped up about the next generation of lights – the way forward is through! Have a peek at some additional Philips bits and pieces in our timeline below!

In addition to software and web links, hue’s new-found openness will allow it to integrate more cohesively with other home automation devices. Each of the bulbs – which hide multicolor LEDs underneath the frosted glass casing – has its own ZigBee radio for mesh-networking; that not only talks to the hue ethernet base station, but can communicate with other ZigBee devices such as security kit.

It won’t be an Apple-only affair, either. Philips is starting off with the iOS toolkit, but already has a controller app for Android, and says platforms other than Apple’s will be getting APIs next. This Friday, March 15, meanwhile, Philips will sponsor a hue developer day intended to get more ideas off the ground.

As for Philips’ own functionality, the company continues to work on its official hue app. In the pipeline are smart scheduling and geo-fencing, Philips tells us, which will allow more comprehensive automation control over what lights come on automatically and when, and lighting schemes that are turned on and off whenever a user comes into proximity of the home.

We’ve more on hue in our full review.

Philips announced that it would sell its audio and video businesses to a Japanese company called Funai Electric Co. for €150 million. Philips says that it will focus more on its profitable home appliances and health care operations. Philips ditched its TV division last year selling it to TPV, a company based in Hong Kong.

Philips had posted a profit from its home entertainment division last year, but CEO Frans van Houten said that the business was freaking and was “margin dilutive.” van Houten also noted that the sale of its audio and video business completes the company’s repositioning away from consumer electronics. The company will continue to focus on small appliances such as shavers, toasters, juicers, and coffee makers.

Shedding the home A/V unit sent shares in Philips up 1.4% to €22.2, which is the highest level stock, is traded at since April of 2011. Philips continues to post strong growth in revenue from its healthcare division where the company sells home oxygen equipment, hospital scanners, and ultrasound systems.

[via Reuters]

The device also has a wireless subwoofer for improved bass response and better sound. The coolest part about these detachable side speakers is that not only are they wireless, but they are battery powered. Typically, with wireless speakers used in surround sound systems, you still have to plug the speakers into a wall outlet meaning they’re not truly wireless.

Phillips promises that its truly wireless and battery powered side speakers are good for 10 hours of use per charge. To recharge the speakers all you have to do is plug them back into the sides of the sound bar. That is very slick indeed. The sound bar has a pair of HDMI inputs, an optical input, and integrated Bluetooth.

The Bluetooth connectivity means you can stream audio from your smartphone and tablet directly to the sound bar from across the room. The sound bar also has an intelligent orientation sensor inside that recognizes if the unit is sitting flat on a shelf or has been mounted to a wall to automatically adjust sound for the best performance. The sound bar will be available in May at a suggested retail price of $799.99. That’s far from cheap, but this is an interesting solution nonetheless.

Philips is showing off the new Lightning docks on their Flickr page, which simply just consists of press photos of each dock. Sadly, Philips hasn’t release any pricing information yet, nor which retailers will carry the new docks, but Apple’s retail and online stores have carried Philips products in the past, so we wouldn’t be surprised if these showed up at Apple sometime soon.

All of the docks sport the sleek and simple look that Philips is known for. However, one of the new docks in particular is a new style for the company. The “Urban Micro System” looks like a normal beige-colored block that has speakers on the inside and your iPhone 5 sits on top. It’s definitely an interesting dock concept and not one you see everyday.

We’re guessing these new docks won’t be cheap by any means, but if you’ve recently been on the lookout for a new dock for your iPhone 5, you may want to hold out for a few days until Philips releases their new offerings to the public. However, if you’re using the older iPhone with the 30-pin connector, we’re guessing you can find some pretty great deals on older docks as well.

If you’d like to go extra tiny, check out the MimoMicro MicroUSB card reader lineup including none other than Star Wars’ Chewbacca – they’ve been making super cute USB drives for many years now, most recently with giant brand-name collaborators such as Star Wars and The Dark Knight Rises. For anyone who owns a PlayStation 3 or simply loves to play hand-held games, there’s always the PS Vita – complete with wi-fi or AT&T connectivity to the web as well as full integration with PlayStation 3 consoles as a wireless controller – strange a fun!

If you’ve got a buddy looking to get out and get going with a hardcore camera, it may be time for a Dropcam HD. Another tiny gift that basically anyone may have a use for – and will be glad to use – is the Satechi Premium 4-port aluminum USB-hub – made to match your MacBook. The old-school vinyl record-playing hipster in your family can always do with another vinyl record player – have a peek at the nearly-mobile Pyle Audio Record Player for a lovely experience top-to-bottom – for hobbyists, only!

If you want to get extra unique for your gift this year, we recommend the Philips Hue network-connected lightbulb. You’ll be able to go wireless while you’re wired – and connect all those lights from a single panel! For your gift-getting pals who love to take notes, both on-paper and in-audio; you should have a peek at the LiveScribe Sky Wi-fi Smartpen – you’ll never scribble the same way again. Then there’s the rucksack in which you’ll have them carry it all in – for that we recommend a nice trip over to Powerbag where you’ll see the Business Class Pack – a unit we’ve been using for nearly a year straight!

The fun continues with the Iomega PX2 300D NAS, a piece of equipment that will blow the mind of any nerd you purchase it for – they’ll more than likely ask you how you even know what a NAS is, much less how you knew to buy as high quality a device as this!

The European Commission raided all six companies in late 2007, and are said to announce the fines on November 28, according to a document by the Commission. The penalties for each company are expected to be big, since it was discovered that the cartel lasted for over a decade, starting in the late 1990s. However, the EU can only penalize companies up to 10% of their turnover.

Based on 2011 revenues, LG could be fined up to $5 billion, while Philips would top out at around $3 billion. While the fines aren’t expected to reach such levels, it will definitely put a hit on the companies, and it could take a few years recoup the losses, and maybe even longer than that.

This isn’t the first time that the EU has penalized the companies for such behavior. They fined six LCD companies, including Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Samsung Electronics, and LG Display a total of $824 million two years ago for taking part in a similar cartel. And last year, the EU penalized four companies $164 million for fixing prices.

[via Reuters]

Hardware and Installation

Philips’ starter pack for hue – which comes with the base station and three bulbs – is priced at $199.95/£179.95, while subsequent individual hue bulbs are $59.95/£49.95 (initially exclusively through the Apple Store). Philips says the three bulbs that come in the starter pack can’t be used with any other hue base station; sure enough there’s no way to unpair them in the settings, though we were able to manually pair them to an old LivingColor remote. You also get an AC adapter for the base station and an ethernet cable to plug it into your router.

Setup is straightforward, as long as you have the right type of light fitting. Plug the base station into the mains and into a spare ethernet socket on your router, and then screw the Edison-fitting bulbs into whichever lamps you want to use. Philips says bayonet fitting versions are in the pipeline, but for now you’ll have to use an adapter – not supplied, but available online for a couple of dollars – if you want to use a hue bulb in an old-style socket.

Then, in theory, it’s just a case of installing the mobile app on either your iOS or Android device. Philips has iPhone and iPad-scaled versions, as well as a single version for Android phones and tablets, and you can have up to ten apps associated with a single base station. We had no problems with the auto-locate feature on the iOS app, the base station quickly being identified (on the same network) and – after a tap of the single button on top of it – paired up. However, the Android app refused to locate the base station itself, and could only see it after we punched in its IP address (as assigned by the router) manually.

The hue bulbs themselves are of a similar size to a standard bulb, with a mushroom-style glass head and a silver brushed metal body. Philips says each 600 lumen bulb – equivalent to a 50W traditional bulb – uses 80-percent power than old-style versions, and is rated for 15,000 hours of continuous use. Up to fifty can be paired with a single base station, according to Philips’ official count, though unofficially the system will apparently support more.

Those with existing Philips LivingColor lamps will be able to use them with the new hue system, though the process is fiddly. You’ll need to have one of the latter-generation LivingColor remotes (circular, not lozenge shaped, with the three preset keys running along the lower edge) and go through a multi-stage re-pairing process with that and the hue base station. It took us a couple of attempts to get the whole thing working, but once all parts of the system were talking to the other, we were able to control our old lamps with the hue app, and indeed the hue bulbs with the old remote.

hue isn’t limited to Philips’ own bulbs, though. The system uses standard ZigBee – the Light Link profile, specifically – so any third-party lighting that confirms to that will also pair up with the hue base station. Since it’s ZigBee, it also uses mesh networking: the base station acts as a bridge between your WiFi network and the ZigBee network, but as each hue bulb can talk to each other, they can be a great distance from the base station itself. Philips does warn that lag will increase the greater the number of mesh hubs the signal has to jump.

Software

Philips’ iOS and Android apps look broadly the same: large expanses of desktop, with preset icons for lighting schemes. They look fine on a phone, but on tablets there’s an odd waste of space: the buttons are just too small – split in their layout, by default, across two pages despite the potential of easily fitting onto one – and require a slightly closer look than you’d hope for in order to identify which preset you’re selecting. Big, easily stabbed keys would be far preferable.

Most of the presets Philips provides are, in fact, based on images. Tap them once and a brightness bar shows up, as well as the option to dig into the image itself and adjust the colors and lamps involved. That shows a basic white light control at the top – with the option to make the light warmer or cooler – but is mainly taken up by the source image, with color pickers for each bulb that can be dragged around to different points on the picture.

Underneath, there are brightness sliders for each bulb as well as buttons to set timings and switch individual lamps on and off within that preset scheme. Timings can either be to turn the preset on at a certain point each day, or off, or both, with the lights either coming on instantly or fading in/out over the course of three or nine minutes. If you’ve ever wanted to be gently woken to the warm, honeyed glow of a rainforest sunrise, here’s your chance.

Unfortunately there’s no way to move multiple light pickers at the same time – the app doesn’t support multitouch control – so it’s a case of adjusting each bulb individually. Alternatively, shake the device and the accelerometer automatically triggers a random array of colors.

Manual use takes two forms. First, you can pull up a master color-picker, with individual control over each bulb’s brightness, hue, or white temperature; it’s functional, though there’s no way to then save that as a preset for later use. The second way is more permanent: you can choose a photo from your phone or tablet’s gallery, or shoot a new picture with its camera, and then pick colors out of that for the lights to replicate. These can be saved as schemes and shared on Philips’ site.

Obviously some colors are easier for hue to make than others. Brown is tricky, and if you pick black then the bulb simply shuts off. What Philips also provides are four so-called LightRecipes – relax, read, concentrate, and energize – which according to the company’s research have a noticeable affect on mood and productivity. It’s worth noting that they only work with the hue bulbs, not older LivingColor lamps, and annoyingly after we paired up some of those older lamps none of the LightRecipes would actually work. When they were working, however, we can’t say we noticed a particular difference in our mood or our ability to concentrate, though it was far from a scientific experiment.

Philips also supports remote access, though only via the iOS apps; the Android version won’t get that until sometime in 2013. You need to set up a profile via Philips’ site first, and give it permission to access your hue base station: then, when you’re on your iPad or iPhone on the move, you can boot up the app and twiddle away with the colors or, more likely, use it to turn off any lights you may have inadvertently left switched on. It’s of limited use, really, though if you’ve also got a web-connected security camera system, you could potentially use hue to light up rooms for clearer visibility.

Performance

Philips’ hue is a little like Superman. By day, the bulbs can be standard, sensible white lamps – the mild mannered Clark Kent of lighting – but when things start getting interesting you can call up all manner of colors and the whole system becomes far more flexible and creative. The light itself is as bright as a standard bulb when in white mode, while the colors are generally stronger than what the previous generation of LivingColor lamps could manage.

One hue bulb hanging from a central ceiling light is enough, if it’s dark, to illuminate a whole room with color, whereas LivingColor always felt more like an accent tool than primary lighting. As before, though, it works best with white walls, while the Edison screw fitting means you’ll have to think carefully about where you put each hue bulb. An overhead light is the obvious option, but a standalone lamp might do better at focusing attention on a specific area or feature.

For safety, if you flick the light switch on the wall (which has to be left on, obviously, for hue to work properly) the bulbs will automatically come on in their full-brightness, white mode. Unfortunately there’s no way to then restore them to their previous setting, without reaching for your phone or tablet. A wireless lightswitch would be a nice addition to the range, though since it’s ZigBee-compliant you could probably find a third-party option to add to the setup.

In fact, adding functionality is something Philips has planned ahead for. As well as using the Light Link standard, hue has an API for third-party apps to hook into. Philips is hoping that will encourage developers to jump in and add light effects to their apps, whether that be disco flashing or something more subtle, like a lamp that changes color according to stock prices, or flashes when you get a new email.

Right now, there’s not much in the way of third-party functionality, but it’s very early days. We wouldn’t mind a little more polish to the core experience, however: custom color scenes are meant to sync across devices via the cloud service, but that proved hit-and-miss, and sometimes the older LivingColor lamps would get stuck on a certain color and refuse to respond to the hue app unless they were power cycled.

On a cost-per-bulb basis, hue is significantly cheaper than previous Philips color-changing lighting products; the second-gen LivingColors lamp we reviewed back in 2010 still command a $140 price tag, versus sixty bucks for an individual hue bulb. Philips sells white LED bulbs with an RRP of $40, though other, cheaper versions are available.

Wrap-Up

Philips’ hue apps aren’t entirely refined, and the promise of third-party integration is yet to materialize, but hue is off to an excellent start where it counts: bringing the cost of color-changing lighting down to a more manageable price point. That means users are more likely to install a few bulbs (rather than just, say, one expensive LivingColor lamp) and start to see the benefit of flexible lighting. It feels like a gimmick at first, true, but being able to tweak your environment to suit whether you’re listening to music, watching TV, napping on the sofa, or relaxing with friends grows increasingly addictive the more time you spend with hue.

If developers jump on board, color LED lighting could well reach its tipping point. No longer limited to expensive custom installs: you can outfit a few rooms with hue and be up and running with custom colors in less than an hour. If you’ve already got a ZigBee system, there’s even more potential for linking full-on macros with preset lighting schemes. Gimmick it may be, but it’s another example of affordable home automation trickling down to the mass market, just as Sonos did with multi-room audio, and that’s something worth celebrating in today’s smart home.

The starter box – containing three bulbs and the base station – is priced at $199/£179, while individual bulbs are priced at $59/£49. That might seem expensive on the face of it (though Philips has high-end white LED bulbs in its range that are $50-60 alone) but, in comparison with the LivingColors lamps which come in with an RRP of £159 apiece, it starts to look more reasonable. If you’ve already bought any LivingColors models, incidentally, you’ll be able to use them with the hue system too (with one or two limitations).

Installation is simple: screw in the bulbs, plug the ZigBee base station into a spare ethernet port on your router, and hook it up to the mains. A pairing button on the base station allows you to link up any other hue bulbs, while three LED lights show system status including whether there’s an internet connection for remote access. Since ZigBee is a mesh system, each hue bulb can talk to each other: bulbs can be a great distance from the base station itself, just as long as there are other bulbs spanning the intermediate distance (though lag increases the more mesh-points the signal needs to hop through).

Philips hue official demo:

The bulbs themselves use 8.5W at most, and – at 600 lumens – are equivalent to 50W traditional bulbs. They also use a special internal coating that, coupled with the shape of the glass, projects light more evenly around the bulb, meaning there isn’t a dead-zone to your lamp. Officially, up to 50 can be paired with a single base station, though Philips told us that in fact that’s more of a quality-assurance guarantee; in fact, the company has had 250+ bulbs paired with test systems, and had no real issues with them. Bayonet fitting versions are in the pipeline.

Control is via smartphone and tablet app, with iPhone, iPad, and Android versions available at launch; up to ten devices can be linked to control any one base station. The software itself is surprisingly comprehensive. At its most basic, you can adjust the color of any one bulb across the spectrum, including adjusting brightness and color temperature, from a rich red, deep blue, bright white, or anything in-between. You can link up two or more bulbs into a group, and control them all simultaneously, and create preset scenes which each have their own icon on the app’s homescreen.

However, there’s also color sampling to be played with. Philips includes a number of photos in the app – scenes like beaches or mountains – and by dragging pointers linked to each lamp, you can recreate the color of that point in the image. Again, custom setups of multiple lamps tied to different points can be saved, or you create a random arrangement by physically shaking the tablet or iPhone.

You can alternatively pick out a photo from your own photo gallery – or take a new photo, within the Philips hue app – and select colors from that instead. Each of the scenes, whether basic colors or based on photos, can be set to timers, either turning them on or off; you can also have them gently fade in or out over a period of several minutes, helping you to gently wake up or drift off to sleep. Of course, you can also shut off all the bulbs with the tap of a single button.

Finally, though, comes Philips’ splash of science. The company preloads four “LightRecipes” – relax, read, concentrate, and energize – which adjust lighting to specific shades and brightness levels based on research into how those scenarios affect the human body. Philips says testing in schools showed students did better in tests, were calmer, or read faster and more accurately, depending on the different setting active at any one time. It’s worth noting that older LivingColors lamps won’t work with these new LightRecipes, as they don’t have the settings baked in like the new hue bulbs do.

There are some sensible tweaks and decisions Philips has made along the way to the hue system overall. An override feature automatically lights the bulbs up to a regular white “lamp light” default if the physical power switch is used, just in case of emergency, and you can easily deactivate a phone or tablet from the control group in case it’s lost or stolen (or if your kids insist on triggering a mini disco in your room at 2am every day). At launch, the Android app will lack the out-of-house remote control feature, though Philips says it’s coming; if you have any existing remotes from the LivingColors line-up, the company confirmed to us that they, too, would still work, useful for the less tablet-savvy in the household.

Perhaps best of all, it’s all designed to be open. Philips’ base station works as a regular ZigBee hub, and so will function with any other ZigBee devices that conform to the standard, while the individual bulbs are compliant with the ZigBee Light Link standard and so can be integrated with wireless home automation setups you might have already. The company is also opening up its app to third-party developers, in the hope that they’ll step in and augment the functionality. Suggestions included flashing the lights when you get a VIP email, synchronizing color changes with musical playlists, or geo-location so that the lights automatically turn on when you get home, and off when you leave. Individual users will be able to use the site to swap color scheme presets.

At sixty bucks apiece, hue bulbs aren’t cheap. However, the popularity of recent Kickstarter campaigns for WiFi-enabled bulbs such as Lifx - which raised more than 13x of its goal - has shown that there’s a consumer interest for more flexible, smarter lighting. Unlike fund-raising projects, though, Philips’ hue system ships from tomorrow, not sometime next year, and comes from a company with a long history in lighting. We’ll be putting hue through its paces soon, to see if the promise lives up to the price.

Research and development of the compact disc actually began well before 1982. Beginning in 1974, electronics company Philips wanted to create a whole new audio platform that was both small in size and better quality than vinyl records and cassette tapes. Three years later, the company finally established a lab where they would make CDs and CD players. They called them “compact discs” to follow along with their other naming conventions that they had, like the “compact cassette”.

At the time, Sony was also developing their own CD technology, but the two companies eventually merged their efforts and partnered up for the official consumer launch of the CD in 1982. Of course, CDs were met with a ton of skepticism at first. It wasn’t until several years later that CDs began to actually take off. Heck, I was still using cassette tapes in the 90s.

Even though the percentage of people in the world that use CDs is continually going down, you can’t deny that the format made a huge impact on the music industry. Even though nothing really outperforms the quality of a good vinyl record, newer platforms like CDs and MP3s are still extremely popular and are the go-to format for most music listeners these days.

[via The Next Web]

Image via Flickr

The first of the products is the Fidelio Portable Speaker. The portable speaker is offered in three different finishes, including leather, metal, and wood. Philips is being rather coy with the details right now offering no hardware specifications on the Portable Speaker. The device is aimed at people using a smartphone or tablet to listen to music on the go, so presumably it features Bluetooth technology inside.

The next product is the Fidelio X1 headphones. Philips says that they are designed from the finest materials and constructed for a high-quality listening experience. The headphones have an acoustic open back architecture and are designed to be comfortable for listening for extended periods. The headphones also have an attractive retro style. Again, we have no hard technical details on the product.

The Philips Urban Micro is an integrated sound system with a rectangular, minimalist design. The device appears to have a CD slot on the top of the rectangular box, and an iPhone dock for playing music. The speaker inside the rectangular box are angled precisely to allow stereo sound to be produced from one speaker. The stereo system is also very small allowing it to fit just about anywhere. Philips has also unveiled a new Soundbar that features an orientation sensor to adjust the speaker depending on its position for ideal sound performance. It has an integrated subwoofer and comes in silver, black, and orange colors. It also has integrated Bluetooth to allow you to stream music from mobile devices.

The flashing speaker rings can be user-selected to glow either red, blue or purple, or indeed an alternating combination, and they pulse in time to the beat of the music. A matching FWP1000 speaker kit can be daisy-chained too, adding a further 240W of amplification and matching lighting.

Connectivity includes USB and and aux-in port, for use with non-Apple media players, and there’s an included remote control which can be used to switch between the lighting modes. A microphone input is also supplied, and there’s support for the Algoriddim djay app for iPhone and iPod touch. T

he usual DJ controller buttons and sliders are present and correct, including a channel fader for switching between the sources, treble/bass controls, and a “power boosting” MAX Sound mode for getting the thumpiest audio from the 300W amplification. Speakers consist of 2-inch tweeters and 5.25-inch woofers, and there’s an FM tuner if you’ve got nothing worth listening to on your phone.

The Philips FWP3200D DJ-Dock is available in the UK now, priced at £299.99 ($470). The FWP1000 speaker kit is also available, priced at £199.99 ($314).

LG’s Bong-seok Kwon and President of the Smart TV Alliance confirms the current difficulties, saying that “the Smart TV industry was a very difficult market for both TV manufacturers and application developers as TV’s from different brands used different platforms and technologies.” He goes on to say that the new move should help developers “create more and better TV applications.”

The Smart TV Alliance will make an SDK available to developers that can be downloaded for free, which will use technologies such as HTML5 and let applications run on any Smart TVs no matter what platform they’re running. The Alliance is already thinking ahead too, with the release of SDK 2.0 planned for the end of the year that will let developers create apps for the 2013 line of TVs.

That’s all very well and good, but you need all the manufacturers on board to achieve such a vision. The Alliance says that any new members are allowed to join the newly formed Smart TV Alliance Consortium, allowing participants to set the technical standards that will allow developers to achieve cross-TV support.

This latest product from Philips is modelled after the DS9800W series, but fits into a more compact package. The company says that this new mini offering has the similar internals to the big brother, packing in a 25mm soft dome tweeter that has been separated from the main speaker cabinet into a separate aluminium arm. That isolates it from any vibrations or other sound waves, providing a better audio experience overall.

Everything is bi-amped and includes a Class D 50Watt RMS, with each driver being powered independently for better sound. Sound like the audio solution you’re looking for? Be prepared to pay £399 for it on Apple’s online store. It should be available right now.

The PicoPix 2480 will be able to throw a 120” (320cm) image with its 80 lumens LED bulb, although that will drop to 55 lumens when you’re relying on the internal battery. If you want to pipe some media to your projector, you have a couple of options. You could use the internal MP4 player to view videos from the 2GB internal storage and microSD/USB ports, rr you could rely on the traditional video hookups, which include HDMI, VGA, Component and Composite connections.

Natrually, you won’t be enjoying HD content with such a small form factor, but it’s not all bad news. The PicoPix 2480 has a 854×480 resolution, and a respectable contrast ratio of 1000:1, so it should be good enough for a quick spot of YouTube or last week’s episode of Mad Men. The battery is rated for up to 2 hours of playback.

The Philips PicoPix 2480 is available now in the UK, and can be purchased from retailers such as Currys and PC World. You’ll be able to buy it online from Dixons and John Lewis, and should set you back £279.99 (~$452).

The Philips bulb, which tips the scales at 10W, was engineered to last 30,000 hours. According to the manufacturer, if you compare that life span to the average 60W incandescent bulb, its lifetime value is around $165. Nevertheless, getting customers to wrap their heads around buying a $60 light bulb has been quite a challenge, especially in this economy. Nevertheless, the company thinks it has a winner on its hand.

Philips did manage to win a prize from the US Department of Energy last year, after entering a contest for lighting efficiency. It was awarded $10 million. Philips said in a statement, “Because the new bulb is 83 percent more energy efficient than the standard 60-Watt incandescent, consumers can now experience new savings for their pocketbooks.”

[via MSNBC]

Of the functionality on offer, the most popular are catch-up TV, streaming content that was recently broadcast live, Video-on-Demand services, and social networking integration such as Facebook. Online gaming is also a growth area.

Exactly how many users that actually amounts to is unclear: TP Vision didn’t talk sales figures. 80-percent of the company’s 2012 TV line-up is smart-enabled, though, and the company released MyRemote apps for Android and iOS back in February that turn a smartphone or tablet into a remote for the sets. A more advanced media remote is included, too, complete with support for easier text entry.

Philips – and other TV firms – will face increasing competition from low-cost smart TV adapters, as we’ve seen from Apple TV and, though due for another relaunch using ARM-based chips for cheaper boxes, Google TV. Of course, Apple is also persistently rumored to be launching a smart TV of its own.

Located up where a webcam might be found on a regular computer display, the ErgoSensor can identify how close to the screen the user is and warn them if they’re too close or far away. It will also flash up warnings if the observer’s posture is wrong, and alert them if they’ve been sat at the display for too long.

Step away from the monitor, meanwhile, and the ErgoSensor will supposedly realize that there is nobody in front of it and power down automatically. Philips says that’s good for an 80-percent power saving. If you want to take it down to zero watts, there’s a physical power switch within easy reach on the back.

As you’d expect, there are plenty of adjustments possible - height, swivel, tilt and rotation angle – for you to keep the sensor satisfied. No word on how much the new screen will cost.

In fact it’s a virtual spitting image for a camera Stem Innovation launched a while back called the iZon. The cameras both share the same round white design and everything. The lens surrounding the Philips unit is a little different. From what I can tell in the FCC photo the M100 has a smaller LED on the front than the iZon uses.

We don’t have a lot of detail on M100 at this time. However, we do know is that it will wirelessly shoot video up to 720p resolution and audio out to your iPhone or your Android device. I would assume that video streaming would be done using some sort of app. The iZon the camera connects directly to a Wi-Fi network, so that sounds likely for the Philips camera as well. It appears that the camera is paired somehow to the smart phone using a barcode image on the smartphone screen.

[via ZatzNotFunny]

Hardware

Small and simple, the HMP2000 has roughly the same footprint as the Apple TV but an angled rather than flat top. Connectivity is limited to just an HDMI port, a power input and a full-sized USB 2.0; inside there’s WiFi, but you don’t get an option for wired ethernet or alternative audio-out routes.

Philips includes a compact remote control with playback keys, a navigation pad and a dedicated Netflix shortcut. It’s functional, but the buttons feel cheap and overly clicky. Unfortunately there’s no HDMI cable in the box, which comes across as miserly.

Setup and Interface

With so few ports, once you’ve plugged in the mains and dug out a spare HDMI cable, you’re pretty much sorted for physical setup. Power on, and after a brief boot delay you land on the main menu, with options for Netflix, YouTube, USB, Internet Services and Setup. It’s possible to play USB media without having a WiFi network connected, but if you choose any of the other options you’re prompted to connect.

After punching in our WiFi passcode by navigating around an onscreen keyboard, we were up and running. The HMP2000 can store three different network profiles, useful if you connect to multiple WiFi connections, and once you’re online the Netflix and YouTube icons on the homescreen go from monochrome to color. You also get a weather icon up in the top right corner, showing the current forecast.

Choose Netflix, and you’re prompted to set up a new account or log in with your current one. The UI is the usual multi-lines of side-scrolling thumbnails; there’s Facebook integration for suggestions from your friends, along with a list of your recently viewed titles and all Netflix’s customary predictions. You can rate shows and search the catalog, though one frustrating UI hiccup is the behavior of the back button, which always wants to throw you right back to the HMP2000′s homescreen rather than stepping back a page in Netflix. Luckly there’s a pop-up “Are you sure you want to quit” warning first.

YouTube has a pared-down UI, starting playing instantly from a playlist of current content. Pressing up or down on the arrow keys allows you to search through videos, see other clips in the current playlist, or change categories. It’s functional but punching in search terms can get laborious.

Internet Services is where you find the weather app – if you don’t tell it your location, the weather icon on the homescreen assumes you’re in San Francisco – for multi-day forecasts, together with Facebook and Picasa access. Facebook support is more akin to a basic phone experience rather than, say, the advanced iPad app, though it’s enough in a pinch to see what your friends are saying. Picasa supports searching and browsing through galleries, together with automatic slideshow playback.

Finally, there’s USB media access, plugging in a thumb-drive or external HDD to access content stored on there. Philips’ list of supported media types is vast – MPEG 1/2/4 (MPEG 4 Part 2), H.264, VC-1, H.263, VP6 (640 x 480), DivX Plus HD, DivX 3/4/5/6, Xvid, RMVB 8/9/10, RM, WMV (V9), AVI, TS, M2TS, TP, TRP, ISO, VOB, DAT, MP4, MPEG, MPG, MOV(MPEG 4, H.264), ASF, FLV (640 x 480), MKV, M4V – and we had no problem playing a ripped DVD as well as various MPG and AVI clips we’d downloaded. You can also play music and photos stored on external drives.

Performance

Streaming performance will obviously depend largely on the speed of your broadband connection, but we had no problems with lag or audio/video sync when accessing Netflix. YouTube, too, was smooth and judder free.

One minor frustration was a moment’s delay in playing Netflix content, with the loading screen hanging around for two seconds or so when the show itself had already begun playing. No great issue if you’re at the start, when you’re unlikely to miss anything but a channel indent, but maybe more annoying if you’re resuming playback midway through.

As with other Netflix boxes, you can fast-forward and rewind through shows with thumbnail previews, though there was some lag before those previews actually populated.

Pricing and Value

The HMP2000 is £50 ($79) in the UK, the same price as the Roku LT and Roku 2 XS. Unfortunately, Philips is positioning the HMP2000 pretty much solely as a Netflix streamer: there’s no iPlayer or 4oD access, unless those channels’ content is available through Netflix itself, and none of the extra channels Roku owners can add to their boxes, such as Crackle UK.

Wrap-Up

There’s plenty to like about the Philips HMP2000: setup is straightforward, navigation is user-friendly, and it does what it promises without fuss. The potentially limiting factor is how onboard you are with streaming services, since if you harbor ambitions to use anything other than Netflix and YouTube you’re basically out of luck.

On the flip-side, if you’re looking to add Netflix support to an existing catalog of local content, the HMP2000′s ability to play HD files from external storage is something Roku’s boxes won’t do. On that front, the Philips is a success, but we think there’s still space for an even cheaper, Netflix-only version that drops the USB.

Style-wise, the HMP2000 is a simple black wedge with a high-gloss top – that instantly collected our fingerprints – and matte sides. A red/green status LED is hidden behind the front edge. Philips includes a small credit-card style remote with a dedicated Netflix shortcut key among others, along with a wall-wart power adapter, but there’s no HDMI cable. That’s a bit frustrating, given HDMI is the only way you can hook the HMP2000 up, so Philips can’t play the “we didn’t know which you’d want to use” card.

Power on, and you can start playing local media from the USB port instantly, even without setting up a WiFi connection. Try to select any of the internet-based services – Netflix, YouTube, etc – from the simple, surprisingly uncolorful UI however, and you’ll be prompted to scan and join a network. There’s no wired ethernet option.

In short, we were up and running within minutes – the longest part was using the arrow keys to enter our WiFi password and Netflix credentials – and were watching streaming content shortly after. You’ll obviously need a Netflix account for that service, but YouTube is free to access. For £49.99 it’s a cheap alternative to Roku, though we’ll have to see how Philips are with updates for future services. We’ll have a full review soon.

The remote, meanwhile, has a dedicated Netflix button as well as one for YouTube, and you can also stream content from across your home network that’s stored on a NAS. The HMP2000 will handle up to 1080p videos in MPEG1, MPEG2, H.264, MKV, VC-1 and WMV (V9) formats, together with BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG and TIFF images, and PCM, MP3, Dolby Digital and WMA audio at bitrates up to 320 kbps.

The box itself is 90 x 50 x 100 mm, and connections really are kept to a minimum: there’s no wired ethernet, and only the HDMI output, so those still rocking analog connections or looking for S/PDIF-style digital audio will need to look elsewhere.

Pricing for the Philips HMP2000 is priced at around £49.99 ($79) and is already available in the UK. No word on when it might go on sale elsewhere at this stage, however, but Philips does at least have some ambitious smart TV plans.

Update: Edited to clarify what streaming services are offered: BBC/Channel 4 content is via Netflix, rather than either iPlayer or 4oD. More information in our hands-on.

Philips 7000 Series

Three 7000 Series models are due in Q2, in 40-, 46- and 55-inch sizes, each with twin 20W speakers and active shutter 3D. They can convert 2D to 3D, as well as allow two gamers to each play a different full-screen view on the same panel simultaneously. Connectivity includes five HDMI, three USB, WiFi and ethernet, and there’s two-side Ambilight.

A USB keyboard and mouse are supported, useful as the 7000 Series offers internet browsing, and there’s DLNA streaming together with access to various online movie services.

Philips 6000 Series

The 6000 Series will come in five sizes – 32-, 37-, 42-, 47- and 55-inches – in Q2, each Full HD with twin 12W speakers. They’ll support the same smart TV functionality as the 7000 Series, but use passive 3D and only have four HDMI inputs.

Philips 4000 Series

Targeting the mid-range, the 4000 Series will come in 32-, 37-, 42- and 47-inch sizes and support Full HD but not 3D. There’ll be internet access and online streaming video, as well as USB keyboard/mouse support and DLNA, while connectivity includes four HDMI, three USB, WiFi and an AV input.

Philips 3500 Series

Set to be the cheapest Philips smart TV options, the 3500 Series will run from 19- through to 42-inches, with some offering 720p HD and others Full 1080p. Each support YouTube and DLNA media streaming, with three HDMI ports, two USB and an optional USB WiFi adapter. They’ll also arrive in Q2.

There’s also the Philips 3000 Series, non-smart TVs available in 32-, 37-, 42- and 47-inch sizes with 100Hz displays, three HDMI inputs, and a single USB port. They’ll go on sale in Q2 2012.

No word on pricing for any of the models at this stage.

The organo-chemical materials like dye that are used in the lighting are made by BASF, and the OLEDs are manufactured by Philips. The transparent OLEDs can be turned into a solar panel by sandwiching them with transparent solar cells. The entire surface of the OLED light can produce a soft light with no harsh shadows.

That would make for nice illumination at night in a car when bright light can affect night vision. There is no indication of when this lighting might find its way into production automobiles. I could see this sort of thing being nice in EV and hybrid applications for gathering power for batteries.

“This combination allows the driver to enjoy a unique open-space feeling while it generates electricity during the day and pleasantly suffuses the interior with the warm light of the transparent, highly efficient OLEDs at night,” said Dr. Felix Görth, head of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes and Organic Photovoltaics at BASF Future Business GmbH.

[BASF via Electronics Weekly]

There’s only 500 of these devices available in the entire world, ladies and gentlemen, and they’re going to cost you a whopping $1,099.99. If you prefer the non-limited edition, on the other hand, you can grab the DS9800W mentioned above for a slightly more affordable $799.99. You’ll be blasting hard, whatever you do, with SoundCurve technology for crystal-clear audio and FullSound technology to “restore sonic details” to compressed music. The 100W RMS total output power wont sound bad either.

The spherical nature of this device will make full use of your music, humming it out from your desk in full fashionable style. What do you think – gonna pay over a thousand bucks for a limited edition wood-covered speaker that’ll blow your mind with full AirPlay abilities for your iDevice? You could also, of course, head back down to the SoundSphereMini as well, that costing a cool $499.99 and rolling out with 50W RMS total output power.

The Mini will be available in March of 2012, the basic SoundSphere is out now, and the limited edition will be out in April 2012. Might as well grab em all!

Hardware

A 14 x 14 x 2.5 cm white plastic box, the goLITE BLU is fronted by a pair of panels: a sizable blue LED array on top, and a smaller, blue-backlit touchscreen underneath showing time, light settings and battery status. The only physical control is a power button on the right side; on the left is a socket for the included AC power adapter. Philips also throws in a set of international plug adapters.

A notch on the lower rear panel holds a metal rod, which can be slotted into a hole to prop the goLITE BLU up. Magnets keep the rod in place in both, and there’s a faux-leather slip case for transporting the whole thing. Unfortunately there’s only one possible angle at which you can stand the light unit at, rather than an adjustable base.

Setup is straightforward. Tapping the bell button sets the alarm, using the plus and minus buttons to adjust the time; the stopwatch icon sets the length of time the light is on for. Alarms can be either an audible tone or the LED lights, or a combination of both, while anything from 1 minute to an hour – in minute increments – can be set as the duration.

As well as waking up to light, you can trigger an impromptu session manually. Pressing the power button once turns on the touchscreen, and a second press turns on the LEDs; you can adjust the intensity – in 25-percent increments – and the length of time the goLITE BLU is on for. A temporary pause in a session can be added by pressing the power button briefly, or turning the intensity down to zero, though if you leave it paused and running on battery power for over five minutes, the goLITE BLU will automatically power off.

Performance

Philips recommends 15 to 30 minutes of time in front of the light each day, initially starting off at 50-percent brightness and increasing if you don’t notice a difference after a week. Rather than sitting directly in front of the LEDs, basking in their glow as you might a tanning lamp, Philips advises putting it off to one side so that it shines tangentially onto your face. That, along with the limited angle options from the stand, can make finding the best position tricky, though it’s easier if you’re working at a desk at the time.

Instant results aren’t promised, but the idea is that if you invest several weeks you can gain more energy, alleviate your mood or even help bypass jetlag. Using the goLITE BLU in the morning, when you first wake up, is supposed to make it easier to get out of bed, while a quick session in the middle of the day can, so Philips says, top up your energy levels when you more normally might be flagging.

By using the goLITE BLU for a few days before you travel, you can help your body clock reset itself to the new timezone at your destination: a few morning sessions when traveling east, or a few evening sessions when going west. Normally, though, Philips doesn’t recommend using light therapy in the evening, because of its body-clock tweaking tendencies.

Does it work? That’s a tricky one to judge: unlike, say, a smartphone battery test or laptop benchmarking, there’s no way to conclusively say whether the goLITE BLU is working or not. All we can go on is my personal experience with the light.

After a week or so of use – running the Philips light for 15 minutes in the mid-morning each day – I felt more alert and found myself working continuously for longer periods without realizing it. It’s not like the jolt of energy you get after a strong cup of coffee: instead, I simply felt more balanced and less aware of time passing. Following a 7-10 days of use, I could scale down to using the goLITE BLU every other day, and still feel suitably perky.

Philips rates the goLITE BLU’s battery as good for between three and five sessions. In practice, at 15 minutes each time, I found it was capable of as many as eight.

Wrap-Up

With street pricing at around $132/£190, the Philips goLITE BLU is an expensive buy if you find it doesn’t work for you. Philips does offer a 30-day guarantee just in case, mind, and has plenty of research to say it will have an impact.

Waking up with the goLITE BLU proved somewhat jarring – imagine throwing open the curtains as soon as your alarm goes off, on an incredibly bright day – but as a daily top-up to your energy levels I had a good experience. You pay for the convenience of an alarm, portable form-factor and a rechargeable battery, though.

Hardware

Electric toothbrush technology usually falls into one of two camps: either you have actively wiggling, sliding or rotating bristles, or some sort of high-speed vibration. Philips’ Sonicare system falls into the latter category, promising the equivalent of 31,000 brush strokes per minute with its patented diamond-shaped bristles.

It’s worth noting that this is the UK version of the DiamondClean, and the US package may differ slightly. Still, both give you a decent range of accessories, certainly more than we’re used to seeing from a regular toothbrush. The DiamondClean itself is a fairly long, slightly tapering matte white rod, with a single power button and – only revealed when it’s turned on – a column of mode lights and a battery status indicator. It’s easily held and weighted relatively evenly along its length. Philips throws in a pair of brush-heads, which slot on easily, along with a hard-sided carry case with room for the toothbrush and both brush-heads.

The carry case isn’t just for protection, however, it also recharges the DiamondClean. On the outside edge is a mini USB port, and when you place the toothbrush inside and plug in – either via the included USB AC adapter, or into one of your your computer’s USB ports – it charges it up. However, there’s also a second charging option: a water glass. That sits on top of an inductive charger puck – powered by a regular shaver plug – and rejuices the toothbrush when you stand it up inside. It’s certainly a little more convenient than lining up the usual notched base on a typical rechargeable toothbrush, though those looking to pick up a DiamondClean for all the family should note that you can only use the glass with a single toothbrush at a time, and it won’t work with previous Sonicare models.

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean hands-on:

Unlike most brushes, there are five modes to choose from on the DiamondClean. The default is “Clean” with a simple two-minute brush, while “White” adds an extra thirty seconds on top for you to give the front teeth some extra attention. “Polish” is a minute session of intensive front-teeth buffing, while “Gum Care” pairs the “Clean” experience with a further minute of gentler gum massage. Finally, “Sensitive” ramps down the enthusiasm of the Sonicare system for those with sensitive teeth and gums. Pressing the power button cycles through each mode in turn, then shuts the toothbrush off.

Performance

If you’ve not used a sonic-style toothbrush before, the DiamondClean’s high-speed vibrations take a little getting used to. Nonetheless, we soon got into the habit of gently guiding the brush-head around our teeth and gums, relying on the Philips’ useful 30-second interval buzz to remind us to move between the four quadrants of our mouth and stick at it for the dentist-recommended two minutes.

In keeping with other electric toothbrushes, we’d like to see the DiamondClean continue to run beyond the last timer buzz: as it stands, the Philips shuts off straight away, and there were times we were caught short and would’ve liked to have carried on brushing for a little longer. The longer Gum Care mode does factor in some extra time, however. We also quickly learned to switch between modes while the brush-head was in our mouth, otherwise you give the bathroom mirror a good toothpaste spattering. Previous Sonicare models had two buttons – one for choosing mode, one to start – which is a tidier way of handling it.

Compared to an Oral-B electric brush, the Sonicare system did seem to get teeth to that “tingly fresh” stage more consistently. It’s worth noting that the Oral-B we’re used to was a sixth of the price, however. The diamond-shaped bristles proved adept at getting into the gaps between teeth, and tricky to reach back teeth felt cleaner after the DiamondClean than with a rotating-head electric brush.

In comparison to a manual toothbrush, there’s little competition: unless you have a bionic arm you’re unlikely to get a traditional brush moving fast enough to compete with the Philips.

Battery

A full charge of the non-user-accessible battery is good for up to three weeks, Philips suggests, a figure our testing would support. In fact, we were at closer to four weeks before the DiamondClean began protesting. We’d like to have seen a segmented battery icon to give a more granular indication of remaining charge; instead, you have to wait for it to turn orange and then start blinking to know you’re running short.

Having two methods of recharging is neat, though we never envisaged ever having to scold a toothbrush manufacturer for opting for mini USB instead of the more common micro USB standard. There’s also no room in the carry case for the USB cable itself, which seems a missed opportunity.

Price

$300/£250 is a huge amount to spend on a toothbrush. Even with a street price closer to $190/£150, it’s an expensive option. Brush-heads add to that as well, with a pack of two – Philips’ recommend changing every three months – priced at $30/£20 (street price closer to $23/£14). In contrast, other Philips Sonicare brushes can be had for well under $100, though only this particular model uses the newest DiamondClean heads that are said to contribute in no small amount to the overall experience.

Wrap-Up

Philips promises “to brighten your smile in just one week” which is a somewhat tricky thing to judge. Nonetheless, we found our teeth and mouth felt cleaner and fresher after switching to the DiamondClean from our regular electric toothbrush, both immediately after using it and in the hours that followed. Whiteness is a more subjective matter, and after around four weeks of use we’re yet to see noticeable changes. That’s in keeping with other user reports, however, that indicate closer to 2-3 months of frequent use is required before a distinguishable change in whiteness is observed.

On that front, although it’s not as quick as a dentist whitening session, it’s cheaper in the longer term. Making more use of the dedicated whitening mode could accelerate the process as well. For convenience and geek-appeal, the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean certainly has its strengths; we’d advise shopping around for the best price before committing, however.

Hardware

Fingerprint haters, look away: the Fidelio AS851′s glossy black plastic body is an ideal way to keep a record of everybody who grazes it with their fingers. The plastics themselves are solid and flex-free, however, and the metal mesh front is less demanding of your polishing cloth. It’s worth noting that the green Android peering out at our Galaxy Nexus in the photos is just a sticker; you can peel it off if you’re feeling more discrete in your platform choices. Behind the mesh are two 3-inch drivers each with 15W of amp power.

Ports include a 3.5mm aux-in (with a suitable cable in the box), a power port for the AC adapter and a handy USB port for charging a second gadget (or one that doesn’t use microUSB, such as the proprietary ports on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab slates). Up front there’s a power button, a Bluetooth status light and volume up/down buttons. A sturdy little IR remote is included, controlling power, source (Bluetooth or aux-in), mute, play/pause, track skip, volume, and offering shortcuts to the internet radio function of the companion Fidelio app (more on which later), the Songbird app and the Fidelio app’s clock screen.

It’s the FlexiDock system that Philips is so proud of, however, the company’s patent-in-process way of dealing with Android device manufacturers’ refusal to standardize on where microUSB ports are located. While an iPhone dock only has one port to consider, Android phones spread their USB options far and wide: some have a socket on the bottom, like the Galaxy Nexus, while others opt for it on the side, like HTC’s recent line-up.

Philips Fidelio AS851 overview:

As the video above shows, the FlexiDock puts its microUSB plug on a moveable platform that slides left and right to accommodate phones in horizontal orientation. There are two support blocks, the height of which can be independently raised/lowered to suit, and the plug itself can be rotated 180-degrees. In short, it caters for most devices with a microUSB connection, and while it can be a little wobbly until you get the support blocks just right, it certainly works.

However, USB isn’t used for music, only for charging: instead, Bluetooth A2DP comes into play. That means that, while Philips bill the AS851 as an Android speaker dock, in actual fact it will work with any gadget that supports the stereo Bluetooth standard: Windows Phone, iPhone, Mac or PC, all are welcome. Bluetooth use is independent from charging, too, so even if your device won’t fit in the dock physically – the top-mounted, flap-covered port on Nokia’s Lumia 800 comes to mind – you can still stream music from it.

Software

iPhone docks have simplicity in their favor: plug your smartphone in, and music comes out through the speakers. Bluetooth could add a layer of unwanted complexity to the Fidelio AS851, and so Philips offer a free Fidelio app in the Android Market. That can be found by scanning a QR code on a sticker on the dock itself when you first open the box.

Run the app, and it scans and pairs with the AS851; later, whenever you dock your phone to charge, the Fidelio app restores the Bluetooth connection automatically. We had no problems with this with Android 2.x devices, though a Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.0 did periodically pop up the “Connecting Bluetooth” message in the notification bar, even though the phone was already connected and music was playing.

The Fidelio app also offers access to around 7,000 internet radio stations, sorted into genre categories and the like. It also prompts you to install Songbird, a music player app that supports straightforward synchronization with your desktop music collection. However, any app that outputs sound will play through the Fidelio: we had no problems with Spotify or YouTube, though to enjoy videos through the latter on our Galaxy Nexus we had to undock it since there’s no support for device rotation. The remote control’s play/pause and track skip buttons worked with Spotify, though it was frustrating that there was no override to stop the phone’s display from locking after a few moments: if we wanted to see what was playing, we had to unlock the phone again.

Unfortunately, Philips hasn’t outfitted the Fidelio AS851 to handle voice calls. When a call came in, music paused but the audio was routed back to the smartphone’s own speaker. The AS851 lacks a microphone, too, even if Philips updated the firmware to support routing in-call audio through its speakers.

Performance

Loud but not especially refined is the order of the day with the AS851, though we can’t blame the dock’s speakers and amp entirely for that. Bluetooth A2DP is a lossy standard, and while the Fidelio can be cranked up room-fillingly high, that tends to reveal the crunchier bass and not entirely shimmering top-end. Switch to a wired connection via the aux-in and the limits of Bluetooth become clear: the same source sounds that little bit crisper, that little less distorted at higher volumes.

It’s frustrating, though we do recognize that while Philips could have opted for a lossless alternative like Kleer, or a Bluetooth lossless option like apt-X, it would’ve been reliant on smartphones supporting those too. That’s still uncommon, leaving Bluetooth the broadest possible choice.

Generally, quality is decent, and at regular listening levels we had no problems. Bass has a fair thump to it, and vocals pipe through the mix neatly; classical music suffered from more noticeable fuzz than, say, pop, rock or rap. Equalizer settings are handled through the Fidelio app, with various presets and degrees of manual tinkering possible if that’s what makes you happy. It’s certainly useful being able to charge a second device from the rear USB port.

Wrap-Up

Any generic Android speaker dock is going to be a compromise in comparison to Apple’s tightly-controlled ecosystem, but that’s the price you pay for the flexibility in device options Android has enabled. Philips FlexiDock system certainly addresses it in the most reasonable way we’ve seen to-date, and the use of Bluetooth means you’re not actually limited to Android phones or tablets at all.

Bluetooth also brings its own drawbacks, of course, with less than stellar audio quality being our main frustration with the AS851. Paying $200/£200 for a speaker dock when you know there’s a trade-off in quality rankles somewhat; for that reason, Philips’ cheaper, smaller AS351 ($130/£130) and AS111 ($90/£70) models arguably make more sense, since their more conservative audio ambitions perhaps better match those of Bluetooth A2DP.

Still, for casual listening, the Philips Fidelio AS851 packs a hefty punch and looks the part. Philips’ docking system is clever and the flexibility of the Bluetooth/app setup leaves plenty of room for the various media apps proliferating on Android. Audio purists will want to look elsewhere, but if simplicity and versatility are your primary concerns then the Fidelio AS851 is worth considering.

All three use Philips’ patented FlexiDock, a way to work around the fact that – unlike iOS products – Android phones put their microUSB ports in a range of different places. The microUSB plug can be shifted from left to right, and the socket itself twisted 180-degrees; you can even adjust the height of the phone supports on either side of it, to suit your handset. Bluetooth 2.1 is used to stream music (which actually means you can use any of the models with your iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone or any other gadget with Bluetooth A2DP support, and indeed charge them if they have a microUSB port) and Philips offers a special Fidelio app which automatically pairs and connects your smartphone when docked.

The Philips Fidelio AS851 is the flagship model, packing a pair of 3-inch full-range woofers, each with a 15W amp, along with a 3.5mm input and a spare USB port for charging a second gadget. Next comes the Fidelio AS351, with a smaller design and a 10W amp. Finally, there’s the Fidelio AS111, intended as an alarm clock for your nightstand, with a 4W amp and no second USB port or aux-input. However the AS111 does offer a night lamp and the clock automatically syncs its time when your Android phone is docked.

The Philips Fidelio AS851, AS351 and AS111 are on sale now, priced at $199.99/£199, $129.99/£129 and $89.99/£70 respectively. The Philips Fidelio app – which also controls equalizer settings, can be used to import and organize your music collection, and offers access to 7,000+ streaming radio stations – is available here.

Currently, while several manufacturers have smart TV offerings, most use different approaches to how applications are developed. That forces coders to either stick to a single brand or spend time porting their apps between platforms; meanwhile, other approaches – such as Google TV - are yet to even support third-party software.

The TV trio have mobile-style success in their sights, with Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Electronics describing the deal as “a major step towards creating an app market every bit as inventive and dynamic as the one that exists for smartphones.” They’re also inviting other vendors to join them.

What remains to be seen is whether LG, Philips, Sharp and others can shore up developer support before one of the big CE names like Apple or Google begins taking smart TV seriously and launches their own app platform for the living room. So far, iOS and Android developers don’t have a simple route to get their software onto the TV, but it’s a case of “when” not “if” Apple TV and Google TV get opened up to their respective app stores.

When the user is close to the screen, they can draw on it. LG says that the sets are the first to offer this feature. The TV can also be connected to a computer to turn it into an entertainment hub according to LG. The sets use 3D active shutter glasses and only a single pair of them comes with the TV. Naturally, it has USB and HDMI inputs on the back.

It’s not clear if the TV will allow you to draw on the screen no matter what the content on the screen is. If you could draw on your favorite or least favorite people right on the TV, this thing might be fun. I know many folks that would get a kick out of drawing horns on Obama during his next speech.

[via The Inquirer]

The app allows the user to play their own music playlist and stream from the web. There are three different docks in the Android line including the AS851, the AS351, and the AS111. The AS851 is the top of the line offering and it has a design made to structure the acoustics for deep bass and great sound. The device uses crystal-sound technology and uses digital sound processing. It has 30W RMS total power output.

The AS351 is the next step down the range with the option of battery or AC power to allow it to be used on the go and at home. It has bass boosting technology and 10W RMS total power output. It also has an AUX input for other devices on the back. The final docking station is the AS111 with a compact design perfect for your desk or nightstand. The dock has 360-degree sound to provide sound quality anywhere in the room.

[via Android Community]

The toothbrush is crazy fast with 31,000 brush strokes per minute and it has two DiamondClean brush heads. Philips claims that the toothbrush removes 100% more plaque than a normal toothbrush. Philips also claims that you can see improvements in gum health in only two weeks. The toothbrush also whitens teeth and has five modes to choose from.

The battery inside the toothbrush is good for 42 two minute brushings and it has a glowing icon for indicating the battery life. The little display on the brush handle shows the mode you are using and is invisible when the power is off. The toothbrush isn’t cheap at around $220.

Philips has announced a new green LED light bulb that has the same light output as a 75W incandescent. Philips claims that it is the first bulb to offer the light output of a 75W via LEDs. While it produces the same amount of light, it consumes 80% less power than your average 75W incandescent. Not only do the LED bulbs use less power, they also last longer.

The LED bulb is rated for 25 times the life span of your typical incandescent bulb. The bulbs in my home only seem to last about 30 days at best and some of them are way up high in the air with vaulted ceilings and can be very difficult to change. The bulb uses 17W of power and produces 1100 lumens of light. The kick in the groin with this bulb is the price. One will cost you $40 to $45 and when a single fixture usually has two bulbs at least, replacing an entire home is far from cheap.

[via Inhabitat]

“Finding a solution for our Television business was our top priority and we strongly believe that the intended 30% / 70% joint venture with TPV that was announced today will enable a return to profitability for the Television business, and an increased portfolio focus for Philips in health and well-being. Philips has been active in the TV industry for many decades and the long-term strategic partnership with TPV shows our commitment to the continuity of Philips televisions for our consumers and trade partners.

The joint venture leverages the innovation and brand strength of Philips with the scale and manufacturing strength of TPV. Philips will receive a deferred purchase price and brand license income as part of the agreement. We expect certain costs in relation to the separation which will impact short-term earnings.” Philips statement

In six years time, meanwhile, Philips will have to option to shift the final 30-percent to TPV. The company already licenses Philips TVs in China, while Funai does the same in the US. It’s unclear whether the same line of Cinema 21:9 sets will continue going forward – or, indeed, use Philips’ Ambilight technology – in an attempt to make the HDTV business profitable again.

Philips has reported a €87m loss in its television business for the past quarter, down from €7m profit in the same period one year ago. Overall net income for the company was €137m, with particular growth in lighting such as the Philips Living Colors lamp range.

The premise is straightforward: you get an iPod/iPhone dock, into which your Apple PMP slots, recharges, and shoots over audio to the speakers. Alternatively, though, it can pick up audio streamed via AirPlay, Apple’s wireless system that works with the latest iOS devices and computers like the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

As for the eye-catching speakers themselves, Philips reckons that by using a semi-spherical shape for the body and separating out the tweeters as the “eyes” suspended up above, the SoundSpheres reduce interference, make the top end more easily heard and add up to a more 360-degree audio experience.

In practice, while the mids and bass certainly held up whether we were in front or at the sides of the speakers, the treble proved more directional. We could hear the top end far clearer stood directly in the line of the tweeters, and these are really still speakers you’ll want to place with an eye on where exactly you’ll be listening to them.

Still, the AirPlay system works as expected. The final remaining question, naturally, is whether the Fidelio SoundSphere system will be worth its €799 ($1,154) price tag when it hits retail in May 2011. Considering that would get you a Sonos multi-room starter system we can see people being quickly drawn in by the SoundSpheres’ unusual appearance, and then equally quickly propelled away by the premium figure Philips has settled upon.

As for the Philips Harmony Component HiFi, that slots into the company’s 8000 Series DVD line-up and has an integrated iPhone/iPod dock, CD, DVD, and USB support. No WiFi, but you do get a 2 x 80W RMS Class-D digital amp.

Finally, the bulbous Philips Fidelio SoundSphere packs WiFi for streaming Apple music over AirPlay, as well as a local dock for getting content off your iPod or iPhone. It will go on sale in May 2011, priced at €799 ($1,115); no word on pricing or availability for the other two systems.

Press Release:

Philips introduces Wi-Fi Multiroom Hi-Fi System with best-in-class High-Fidelity sound

Barcelona, Spain – Philips is taking the sound quality of wireless Multiroom systems to the next level: the new Philips Wi-Fi Multiroom Hi-Fi System offers crystal clear sound from the latest so-called ClariSound speakers, while giving you access to all your favorite songs anywhere around your home.

With the MultiroomMusic function it does not matter where you are in the house; you can enjoy different songs in different rooms, or play the same tunes in every room by a simple touch on the screen. You can easily stream all your music wirelessly from the Multiroom Music Center to the different Music Stations placed anywhere in your home.

Pristine sound from ClariSound speakers
Philips’ new Multiroom Hi-Fi system will fill the room with pure sound through the new ClariSound speakers. To reproduce high-end frequencies perfectly, the soft-dome tweeter of the ClariSound speaker is positioned on top of the speaker box, allowing sound to travel along the speaker baffle. This helps recover the richness and wideness of the original performance.

For these speakers Philips also makes use of a glass fiber woofer cone, which produces a more natural sound thanks to its lightweight design. An innovative front-firing bass port, filled with acoustic material, ensures pure and tight bass reproduction.

A world of music at your fingertips
The Philips Multiroom Hi-Fi system gives you access to all your music, independent of source or format:

· Listen to all your digital music collection stored on the external USB Hard Disc of the system. With up to 2000 albums available anytime at the touch of the screen, you do not even need to turn on your computer to access your favorite tunes
· Explore over ten thousand Internet radio stations from around the world as well as online music subscription services at the touch of a button. Alternatively, you can listen to your favorite local FM radio stations in the traditional way
· Wirelessly stream music and pictures from PC, MAC or your home server in excellent sound quality without having to worry about wires
· Additionally, you can play your favorite tracks from the CD/DVD player, connect any other USB device for more music content or add an optional dock to play and charge your iPod or iPhone

Simplicity in usability
While the full color touch screen of the Multiroom system allows you to easily navigate through your content and enjoy album artworks, you can also turn any iPhone, iPod Touch or Android smartphone into a comprehensive remote control by using the complimentary AV remote app. Using the app you can wirelessly browse and play any source of music the Multiroom system offers. You can download the app for free from iTunes AppStore or Android market place.

The connectivity and convenience of the Philips Multiroom Hi-Fi system enables you to easily access all your favorite songs without any hassle and anywhere in your home. Coupled with the sleek design and premium finish, it sits perfectly within the home where it will fill the rooms with quality, authentic sound from any source you like.

Press Release:

New Philips Harmony Component Hi-Fi system range delivers authentic sound reproduction

Barcelona, Spain – Philips introduces its new Harmony Hi-Fi range, delivering music-lovers an ideal combination of authentic sound reproduction, premium design and a simple user experience.

As part of the Harmony range, the new 8000 series DVD Hi-Fi component system offers impressive sound quality for a compact system thanks to the new ClariSound speakers, which offer the finest balance between natural sound, detailed precision and bass tightness.

Pristine sound with true-to-life details

To reproduce high-end frequencies perfectly, the soft-dome tweeter is positioned on top of the speaker box, allowing sound to travel along the speaker baffle. This helps recover the richness and wideness of the original performance and thus offer a wider soundstage.

For these speakers Philips also makes use of a glass fiber woofer cone which ensures a more natural reproduction of voices and instruments thanks to its lightweight design. An innovative front-firing bass port, processed with acoustic material to reduce turbulence, ensures pure and tight bass reproduction.

The system comes with an innovative integrated dock which plays and charges iPad, iPod and iPhone, even in its protective case. The system is designed with a 2 x 80W RMS Class-D digital amplifier, and lets you enjoy your CDs, DVDs (with HDMI output delivering 1080p upscaling) and music content from your USB storage devices.

Combining the finest materials like pure aluminium for the casing, real wood for the speaker boxes and glass fiber woofers, giving a unique design identity to the speakers, the new Philips Harmony 8000 series DVD Hi-Fi component system enables you to experience natural, true-to-life sound right from your living room.

Press Release:

New Philips Fidelio SoundSphere uses Wi-Fi and supports Apple’s AirPlay®

Barcelona, Spain – Philips today unveils the merging of two of its most successful product lines, SoundSphere and Fidelio, in order to bring music lovers the ultimate, full-fidelity listening experience. Combining the impressive functionality of its docking speaker range Fidelio, the superior sound quality of the Philips SoundSphere technology and Apple’s AirPlay®, the Philips Fidelio SoundSphere docking speakers delivers authentic sound – while your device simply stays in your hand.

With Airplay, the Philips Fidelio SoundSphere docking speakers give you both an amazing sound and hassle-free access to all your music from iTunes.

The Sound is in the Design The amazing sound quality of the Philips Fidelio SoundSphere docking speaker lies in its design. The curved design of the separate speakers with their unique free-floating tweeters on top of both speakers mean Philips Fidelio SoundSphere delivers sound in all directions for a deeper and wider audio impression with minimized interferences.

The Sound is in the Air The Philips Fidelio Soundsphere docking speaker utilizes Airplay1 to seamlessly play music over a home Wi-Fi network from iTunes on Mac and PC, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. With AirPlay, you enjoy all your music via the brilliant speakers of the Philips Fidelio SoundSphere without plugging in cables or even docking your device.

The Philips Fidelio SoundSphere docking speaker integrates perfectly with your iTunes, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and gives you an authentic sound experience everywhere in your home through a unique combination of technology, design and functionality. Philips Fidelio SoundSphere will be available from May 2011 with a recommended retail price of 799 EUR.

The smart TV services will include Facebook and Twitter access, streaming photos, music and video from tablets, smartphones and computers, online movie and TV rentals, and remote control from phone or slate. There’s also Multiview, the ability to split the screen in two and show multiple sources simultaneously; for instance, live broadcast TV on one half and internet content on the other.

Full HD, a 100Hz refresh rate, LED backlighting, integrated WiFi and Philips Ambilight Spectra 2 round out the main specs, along with a USB port for hooking up an external drive and recording TV directly to it. No word on pricing at this stage, but none of this will come cheaply.

Press Release:

Philips affirms leadership in Cinema 21:9 category with new Cinema 21:9 Gold series Smart LED TV

Barcelona, Spain – Affirming its leadership in the category of cinema proportion TVs, Philips is making the ultimate cinema experience available to a broader audience by expanding its range with the Cinema 21:9 Gold series Smart LED TV. Following the launch of Cinema 21:9 Platinum Series last year, the world’s first cinema proportion 3D TV, the new Cinema 21:9 Gold series TV will make every night a premiere at home.

Presenting movies exactly as the director intended, the new Cinema 21:9 Gold series TV is the ideal wide screen to enjoy a world of film and connectivity. The Cinema 21:9 Gold series uses Philips-pioneered formatting technology to display movies in their authentic format and completely filling its 50-inch screen. Unlike other TVs on the market, the Cinema 21:9 Gold series TV is the ideal companion for movie lovers as it presents movies without those annoying black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. The Cinema 21:9 Gold series is equally accomplished with 16:9 material, including broadcast television, gaming and DVDs, giving you the option to resize the picture to fill the screen without any visible distortion.

Its ultra wide screen is also the ideal format to enjoy a world of connectivity. With a third more screen space than a normal 16:9 TV, the Cinema 21:9 Gold series provides easy access to the internet through Philips Smart TV, so you can comfortably look up the soccer scores or Facebook (available soon) or Twitter with friends whilst you watch a movie or TV program.

Easy 3D
The Cinema 21:9 Gold series makes the 3D home cinema experience widely available to consumers with Easy 3D. The Cinema 21:9 Gold series offers a comfortable 3D viewing experience with sharp images and low crosstalk. Using lightweight passive 3D glasses in combination with the Cinema 21:9 Gold series’ advanced 3D polarized screen, Easy 3D brings 3D realism into the home for the whole family to enjoy, and at an attractive price.

2D to 3D
This year, Philips is introducing real-time 2D to 3D conversion across its range of 3D TVs. This means that your entire movie collection – even old black-and-white classics – can seamlessly jump from the screen. Philips uses sophisticated software to deliver the best high-quality conversion available. It ensures that subtitles are shown at a constant depth and that there are no errors such as parts of the background appearing in the foreground. 3D depth adjustment controls also enable you to customize the level of your 3D experience, so you can choose the image depth that suits the on-screen content or your personal preference.

Staying connected
With one of the most comprehensive smart TV packages available, this year’s Cinema 21:9 Gold series is a superconnected media portal that hooks you up with online content; stream music, photos and videos from your tablet, smart phone or laptop; and store programs and movies on your hard drive on demand. Built on the four pillars of SimplyShare, Control, Net TV and Program, Philips’ Smart TV provides easy access to a rich gallery of online apps. These will connect you to virtual movie rental stores for instant movie-nights, enable you to share your experiences with family and friends via Facebook (available soon) or Twitter, let you control your TV using your smart phone or tablet, and help you manage your content as you see fit.

Multiview
As the first and only brand to introduce multi-window viewing on cinema proportion TVs, Philips’ Cinema 21:9 Gold series features Multiview. Taking full advantage of the TV’s ultra-wide screen, Multiview allows comfortable viewing of multiple content sources at once so you can watch a TV program and keep up with the latest sports results via Net TV.

Accessible performance
Next to the high performance Cinema 21:9 Platinum series TV launched in 2010, the Cinema 21:9 Gold series is a welcome new addition to the category of cinema proportion performance TVs. Packaged in a 50” Full HD screen in 21:9 aspect ratio, the Cinema 21:9 Gold series includes innovations such as edge Full HD LED, 100Hz and Philips’ powerful Pixel Precise HD picture processing engine to produce brilliant, sharp and smooth pictures. Complemented with two-sided Ambilight Spectra 2, Cinema 21:9 Gold series completely immerses you with a truly cinematic viewing experience.

Additional product features
· The Cinema 21:9 Gold series stands out due to the intricate picture quality and fluent movement during even the fastest action scene. With four trillion colors the picture quality is taken to a new level thanks to Pixel Precise HD.
· The latest LED lighting technology gives the Cinema 21:9 Gold series its sleek design, stunning picture quality and one of the lowest power consumptions in the category. With the Full HD LED backlight of the Cinema 21:9 Gold series, you can enjoy low power consumption, high contrast picture performance, ultimate sharpness and deep vibrancy.
· Cinema 21:9 Gold series’ 100Hz clear LCD screen with a response time of only 2ms ensures that you always get the sharpest, most vivid and detailed images.
· Movie scenes will appear as the director intended and home movies will no longer judder thanks to the award-winning HD Natural Motion which corrects juddering movements in both broadcast and recorded movie material.
· With Wi-Fi internet built into Cinema 21:9 Gold series access to online services through Philips Net TV, such as premium video stores and on-demand TV shows, is just a push of the button away.
· Cinema 21:9 Gold series offers smart USB recording so if you are unexpectedly interrupted when watching your favorite program, you don’t have to miss a thing.
· Providing you with a truly immersive viewing experience, patented Philips Ambilight Spectra 2 technology adds another dimension by projecting a glow of light from the back of the screen onto the surrounding wall. Ambilight automatically adjusts the color and brightness of the light surrounding the TV to match the picture.

Full-screen gaming for two
In 2D mode, the Cinema 21:9 Gold series displays standard dual-player games on a split-screen: player one gets the top half, and player two gets the bottom half. But when you activate this mode with Easy 3D and put on your Philips 3D glasses, each player simultaneously sees his or her view expand to fill the entire TV screen – truly the next level in the home gaming experience.

Matching home theater experience
For an even deeper immersion, the Cinema 21:9 Gold series is perfectly matched with the 7000 series Immersive Sound home theater system and the 7000 series SoundHub. The powerful performance of these home theatre systems lets you experience sound like you would at the cinema and embraces you completely with the unique Philips 360Sound performance.

In addition to being more than a millimeter thinner, the iPad 2 display also has a smaller bezel. That should give Apple more flexibility in its overall casing design, since there’s less bulk to fit in. Considering the first-gen iPad was basically a sandwich predominantly comprised of display and batteries – with the electronics squeezed in – that could make a huge difference to the overall aesthetic.

Going by the product code, LP097X02-SLN1, and some online deduction – still unverified – one of the 9 to 5 Mac commenters has worked out that the display could well be an LG Philips panel running at 1024 x 768 XGA resolution and using H-IPS technology. Again, that would fit in with suggestions that Apple is saving an iPad Retina Display update for the third-generation model.

[Thanks Paul!]