philips

Sometimes when things seem too good to be true, they're indeed too good to be true. Alas, such is the case for Philips' new 63PFP7422D 63-inch 1080p plasma TV, which was announced at CES with a price tag of $3,500. Turns out $3,500 is the price for the company's current 63-inch plasma model, which features 768p or 1,366x768 resolution. (Really, that makes it your basic 720p HDTV). The new price for the new set is actually $5,500. Oops.

For the record, I did have sneaking suspicion that the price was perhaps overly aggressive, but … Read more

Finally, a TV that even Zsa Zsa Gabor would like.

To celebrate shipping 1 million of its "Ambilight" TVs, Philips took the millionth one of the line and inserted 2,200 diamonds from the DeBeers Company into the bezel. Ambilight, which adjusts the TV light level to suit the room, has been one of the more successful technologies in consumer electronics in the past few years for the Dutch giant.

The diamonds are swirled in the white part of the bezel. Plasma TVs of this size weigh about 300 pounds, and the Philips booth is located deep in … Read more

There's nothing like a bit of realism when you're gaming, according to Philips.

The Dutch electronics company has come out with a PC add-on for gamers that attempts to introduce a whiff of simulated reality to the experience. When you drive faster in a car game, two fans crank up faster and blow wind in your face. When you drive off the track, a rumble strip beneath your wrist vibrates. Two lights dim when you drive underneath a bridge.

The amBX system essentially tries to create an ambiance, Lucas Covers, chief marketing officer at Philips, said at the … Read more

iPods are nice, but if you can afford your own tux and you travel in your own chauffeur-driven Bentley, then you need an MP3 player as sleek-looking as this one, showing at CES 2007.

The three models in the Philips GoGear series are thin, but otherwise standard-featured Flash players. Dressed up in high-gloss black polycarbonate with silver, cigarette case-like contours, they could make Britney Spears look like royalty. Almost.

Each PlaysForSure-compatible GoGear model--the 1GB SA5115 ($99.99), the 2GB SA5125 ($109.99), and the 4GB SA5145 ($139.99)--has a 1.8-inch color LCD screen; red-backlit, touch-sensitive controls; Philips' SuperScroll … Read more

We heard about Philips' 1.1 virtual surround system, the HTS8100 SoundBar, before CES 2007, but now that we've got the final specs, we're even more eager to give it a whirl when it comes out around the middle of this year, for $999. What differentiates from the single-speaker competition (a subwoofer is also bundled in) is the inclusion of a built-in DVD player, which will catch the eye of minimalists who want to pair it with a flat-panel TV and call it a home-theater day.

The HTS8100 is only five inches thick and features Philips' proprietary Ambisound … Read more

In a smart move, Philips is shifting away from plasma and focusing almost exclusively on LCD TVs in 2007. The notable exception is its moderately priced ($3,500) 63-inch plasma TV, which has more potential than the company's earlier 42- and 50-inch plasma TVs that had to go head-to-head against Panasonic's highly regarded models.

According to Philips, its new Ambilight LCD FlatTVs "range in size from 32- to 52-inches (32PFL7332, 42PFL7432D, 42PFL9832D, 47PFL9732D, 47PFL7432D and 52PFL7432D). The 42-, 47-, and 52-inch models now boast 1080p resolution, Perfect Pixel HD Engine to maximize 1080p content for the best … Read more

Ever wanted to connect a video component to a monitor or a projector on the other side of the room but didn't want to run an expensive, unsightly HDMI cable to it? Well, Philips has introduced a set of wireless HDMI "cables" that will allegedly hit stores midyear, with a $300 price tag. I know it sounds a little contradictory to call cables wireless, but hey, I don't write the press releases or name the products.

I guess the point is in order to go the wireless HDMI route you will to connect a transceiver to … Read more

In 2006, we saw a few portable DVD players that integrated an iPod dock so you could playback your iPod videos on the DVD player's larger screen. But Philips has taken iPod integration to a slicker level with two upcoming portable DVD players, the DCP750 and DCP850. Both are wide-screen models that feature 7- and 8.5-inch swiveling screens, respectively. Philips says they'll also have a built-in SD and MMC card reader, and both players will debut in the "first quarter" of 2007 with suggested retail price tags of $149 and $199.

They won't offer … Read more

Vizio is making news at CES 2007 with a $3,000 60-inch plasma TV, but Philips has a big-screen plasma model of its own that it's going to price very aggressively at $3,500 (MSRP) when it arrives in stores in June. At 63 inches, the Philips 63PFP7422D is actually bigger and features 1080p resolution, USB connectivity for displaying digital photo slide shows and MP3 playback, and a motorized swiveling stand. That $3,500 is a suggested retail price, so we expect the real price to be even lower, possibly closer to $3,000. Of course, the Vizio will … Read more