philips

TP Vision breaks new ground in TV design

TP Vision (a joint venture between Philips and TP Technology) has just announced its latest DesignLine TVs. In terms of aesthetics, the Philips PDL8908 is truly in a class of its own with a unibody glass chassis that stretches all the way to the floor.

This design eliminates the need for a separate stand, while the progressively translucent glass surface is another special touch. Adding to the series' overall good looks is an alluring halo that mirrors the onscreen colors and is created by the onboard Ambilight function. … Read more

Philips sells audio, video unit to Funai for $202 million

Royal Philips Electronics has signed a deal to sell its consumer-oriented lifestyle entertainment division to Funai Electric.

According to Philips' announcement today, Funai is paying 150 million euros ($202 million) for the division, which includes audio, visual, multimedia, and accessories. Funai will also license the Philips brand for five-and-a-half years.

Philips' lifestyle entertainment division is made up of a wide range of consumer products, including the company's home speakers, DVD players, and headphones. Although those products will still be available with Philips branding, Osaka, Japan-based Funai will be developing them.

According to Philips CEO Frans van Houten, the move … Read more

Philips Shoqbox SB7200 review: Big sound, wanna fight about it?

The Philips Shoqbox SB7200 portable wireless speaker doesn't fill a room with sound quite as well as the pricier Shoqbox SB7300 model, but a tough shell helps it stand out among all the portable Bluetooth speakers currently flooding the category.

The hard-mesh speaker and rubber casing amplify bass tones as well as protect the unit from dirt and dust, making it a logical companion on outdoor adventures like hikes and trips to the beach. Pro tip: its light waterproofing also does equally well in your bathroom if you prefer bathing to a soundtrack. The Smart Sensor does a so-so … Read more

Philips sound bar has detachable rear speakers, gets you true surround sound

LAS VEGAS--If you go with a sound bar instead a speaker system, you generally have to give up true surround sound. Unless, of course, your sound bar is a transformer.

The Philips Fidelio Soundbar HTL9100 is billed as the "world's first sound bar with detachable speakers," as the far ends of the sound bar can be removed and used as rear speakers. The detachable, battery-powered speakers operate wirelessly and Philips claims 10 hours of battery life. The speakers then recharge automatically when they're reattached.

The HTL9100 also features two HDMI inputs, in addition to an optical … Read more

Philips Hue smart lightbulbs glow any color

Lightbulbs. Simple, cheap, and easy to replace, right? Not anymore! Philips is dragging the humble bulb into the future with its "Hue" technology -- wirelessly controlled light orbs that give you complete control over the lighting in your house.

The Hue bulbs look like ordinary lightbulbs, and screw into light sockets as normal. Inside each bulb, however, is a wireless transmitter that communicates with a hub you plug into the back of your router.

Once connected, you can use a Web site or download an app (the iOS version is out now -- there's no sight of an Android version, though Gizmodo reports it's coming in December), then use the wonderful power of the Internet to fiddle with the lights in your home. … Read more

Facebook raises the curtain on its new U.K. engineering office

Facebook officially opened the doors to its London office today -- making it the social network's first international engineering center.

The social network was courted by the British government, which has been working to make the U.K. a place the tech industry can call home.

According to Reuters, the company's vice president of engineering, Mike Schroepfer, said that London is "rapidly emerging as a global technology hub" and a place that can both provide engineers as well as be a good place for engineers to relocate.

Facebook announced the opening of its U.K. engineering … Read more

Tech giants to talk patent reform at the U.N.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and other tech giants are meeting in Switzerland today to discuss patent litigation reform, seeking to find ways to protect their intellectual property without hurting innovation.

The roundtable, hosted by the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union in its Geneva headquarters, will cover topics such as "potential improvements to existing policy frameworks, entitlement to injunctive reliefs, and definitions of what constitutes a royalty base."

The group hopes to find out how standard essential patents can be enforced without hindering competition and how to make sure licenses can be offered at reasonable terms.

"We are … Read more

It was 30 years ago today the CD began to play

The Compact Disc format changed the way we listened to music in the 1980s. Sony's first player, the CDP-101, went on sale on October 1, 1982, in Japan, and six months later here in the U.S. At $1,000 it was pretty expensive, but supplies were limited, so every one sold for full price. Before the CD arrived, the mainstream music market was split between vinyl albums/singles and cassettes, and strangely enough, it wasn't just CD's sound that won over the masses, it was digital audio's no-wear durability and noise-free sound that drew raves. … Read more

Wikipedia to Philip Roth: Hey, you're not credible

If someone ever wrote a Wikipedia page about you, how much would you care what it said?

Would you pore over it every day and sit back with a slightly watery eye at your life's achievement, immortalized in the Web's factual museum?

Of course you would. So imagine if someone had said that you'd been inspired by David Beckham, when, in fact your inspiration had been David Hockney, wouldn't you attempt to set things right?

Ah, but with Wikipedia, it isn't necessarily so simple.

Please share the pain of Philip Roth. He's the author … Read more