Business Services Industry

Philips Introduces Next Generation TV-on-mobile Solution for the European and Asian Markets; Philips Decreases Chip Size by Six Times, Enabling Phone Manufacturers to Create Sleeker More Advanced Designs

Business Wire, Feb 13, 2006

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands -- Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG)(AEX:PHI) today announced its next generation TV-on-mobile solution for the European and Asian markets which is six times smaller than previous versions. The technology builds upon Philips leading position in the TV-on-mobile market after launching technology for European and U.S. markets in 2005. The announcement demonstrates Philips commitment to growth in this industry, which is predicted to have 50 million users by 2009, and an estimated $6.1bn in revenue (Strategy Analytics). TV-on-mobile technology provides consumers with live access to news, sports highlights, music videos, interactive programming and more, on mobile phones, personal media players (PMP) and other small portable devices.

Philips new Digital Video Broadcast -- Handheld (DVB-H) front-end solution, BGT215, measures 7x7 mm, a significantly reduced footprint when compared with the previous 15x26 mm version. The size makes it easy to integrate the chip into mobile phones, enabling extensive product differentiation for smaller, more elegant phone designs with greater consumer appeal. In addition, Philips' unique offering is a complete solution which addresses both the tuner and channel demodulation functions. The chip maintains the advanced features of prior versions and delivers low power consumption which lets manufacturers offer consumers the ability to watch TV for longer before needing to recharge.

"The challenge for silicon designers in mobile phones is to achieve the additional functionality within a similar power budget and printed circuit board area to meet end-equipment size and battery constraints," said Alan Brown, a Research Director at Gartner.

"Philips second generation solution for the European and Asian markets demonstrates its continued commitment to the DVB-H standard," said Jouni Kamarainen, BMCO Forum Vice Chairman and Nokia representative. "For the market to prosper commercially, driven technologies are required to deliver high quality content on a mass-market scale."

The BGT215 solution for TV-on-mobile contains all of the functionality of a complete digital TV front-end receiver. In addition, Philips Customer Development Kit (CDK) ensures smooth, easy development and reduces time-to-market for TV-enabled cellular handsets. The BGT215 includes programmable options that support evolving standards and the introduction of upgrades, even after systems have been deployed in the field. Philips can also offer customers expertise in integrating an antennae solution which can simplify the development process. To make it easy for our customers to make a complete system we partner with other industry players, amongst others Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) like Philips Software and Silicon & Software Systems (S3).

"With our second generation solution for the European and Asian markets Philips is continuing its commitment to providing customers with sophisticated technologies for TV-on-mobile devices," said Gert Jan Kaat, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile & Personal Business Unit, Philips Semiconductors. "Our complete TV-on-mobile solution is compatible with previous versions and our Nexperia cellular system solutions for 3G. It is not only high performance and low power but it is leading the industry in terms of size which makes it easier for our customers to create smaller more cutting edge handset designs using proven technology from a trusted partner."

Availability

The BGT215 complete solution will be sampled to top cellular phone and portable TV device manufacturers worldwide from March 2006 onwards.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE:PHG)(AEX:PHI) is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 30.4 billion in 2005. With activities in the three interlocking domains of healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 159,200 employees in more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon system solutions. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.> Nexperia is a trademark of Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.