Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to CeBIT 2004.
Welcome to Philips.
And welcome to the Connected Planet.
Connected Planet is our vision of a world in which consumers have the freedom to enjoy their favorite digital content or access services or information where and when they want. Free of constraints in time and place. And free of constraints in the type of device they use and where the contents or services are located.
Whether it’s stored on a PC in another room, at another location, or even somewhere on the Internet. It doesn’t matter where. The Connected Planet proposition extends right across our company’s businesses, as we consolidate our status as a leader in Healthcare, Lifestyle and Technology.
1. Healthcare
While PC hardware and software vendors encroach on traditional CE markets, each trying to deliver home entertainment solutions, Philips takes comfort in its competitive advantage as the only company with the competency in storage, display and connectivity to not only deliver rich, multimedia entertainment services, but also interactive, personalized healthcare services to consumers within the digital home. This area of differentiation is the focal point of our vision as a Healthcare, Lifestyle and Technology company.
2. Lifestyle
In Lifestyle, we are closer to consumers than any other electronics company. We understand the way people interact with technology. We understand their needs, which form the basis for our product developments, products that deliver a real experience. Our unique consumer insights set Philips apart from other technology companies that have made bold claims about their planned entry into the consumer electronics market. We are convinced that our solutions are now – and will continue to be – much closer to real consumer needs than those that for example IT companies can offer.
3. Technology
In Technology, R&D is more than ever the driving force behind our continuing program of innovations.
Last year we again filed over 3,000 patents for new inventions, and we recently reached the milestone of 100,000 patents worldwide.
We also recently were the first company to announce the commercialization of a foldable display, as well as the availability of MiraVision; the world’s first combined mirror and TV. Last year, during our one-year anniversary of Philips HomeLab, we indicated this was the first technology we brought to market as a result of creating this futuristic home, and it will also find its way into the hospitality market.
Connected Planet: Already here today
Ladies and Gentlemen, I started off by stating that Connected Planet is our vision for the future. At Philips, we have resisted the temptation of debating whether it will be the TV or the PC that serves as the centrepiece of the digital home. Our focus instead is providing consumers with an open and interoperable content platform. Our Streamium products enable access to PC and internet content in a simple and convenient way to any connected device – irrespective of whether this is a TV or HiFi stereo system. In our view, WiFi wireless home networks will drive our Streamium range and hence make the PC-TV debate a moot point.
We know that digital content stored on consumers’ PCs is increasing explosively. Our Streamium products powered by Nexperia offer consumers seamless wireless connectivity to digital content at a convenient location in their homes. Streamium was initially an enhancement of the conventional audio system, and we are now introducing a range of audio/video products. Our next step, on show here at CeBIT, is the first Streamium-based LCD Flat TV range.
Enhanced content/alliances with providers
We believe that on line content is an important driver for our Connected Planet vision, and we are working with content partners, such as Yahoo!, to bring rich, on?line content out of the PC domain and into consumers’ living rooms with internet music, music videos, movie trailers and online photo services ….. and much more to come.
Increasing wireless connectivity
One of the developments we’ve announced recently is NFC, or Near Field Communication. This technology, which we are developing together with Sony, allows private, secure exchange of all kinds of data between electronic devices.
NFC will enable consumers to access digital entertainment, by quickly establishing wireless connections between devices.
Just by bringing two such devices close together, they will automatically recognize and identify each other, and start to exchange the relevant kind of data. Just think how this will simplify the way that consumers use all kinds of personal and mobile digital devices.
In NFC, we have a number of initiatives in place including partnerships with the payment and entertainment industries.
We are jointly working with Universal Music of France and Visa International on the development and promotion of NFC technologies.
Since joining forces with Visa, we can demonstrate how these technologies will enable e-payment for interactive content services, thereby providing a simple, secure and legal way to acquire digital content, such as music.
The opportunities here are tremendous, when considering there are 1.2 billion mobile phone users worldwide, as well as millions of PDAs, gaming devices and portable computers.
This will mean new business models for credit card companies, new customers for content providers, music and movie companies, along with increased revenues streams while consumers will have an intuitive and easy access to new shopping and other mobile commerce experiences.
Connected Planet
In the semiconductors field, we are launching the NexperiaTM Personal Media Player reference design. This gives mobile device manufacturers a ready-to-use solution for products with high-resolution video recording and playback, as well as connectivity - both wired and wireless - to PCs and home entertainment systems.
Another part of Connected Planet is the automotive industry. As many consumers are also car drivers they desire freedom to enjoy their own content while on the road.
Ubiquitous broadband availability/telco alliances
We believe ubiquitous broadband services will become another vital ‘utility’ for consumers, just as water, gas and electricity are today. In seven European countries, we are through telecom partnerships already jointly offering a single, complete package that enables consumers across Europe to easily access and enjoy the content they want.
Conclusion
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have described Connected Planet and its exciting opportunities for consumers and for the industry.
Our aim is to continue our unrivalled innovations across Healthcare, Lifestyle and Technology towards a true Connected Planet, and to lead the industry towards a widespread implementation of these opportunities this vision offers.
Thank you. |