Philips shows new mobile phones in Cannes

Philips showed its latest innovations in multimedia software solutions for mobile devices at this year’s 3GSM World Congress, Cannes, 23 February 2004

Targeting mobile device manufacturers, Philips’ multimedia software solutions are designed to bring wireless products to life. They do this through innovative applications that enable enhanced and feature-rich services in the areas of video, voice, music and gaming. Benefits for mobile device manufacturers include fast time-to-market for exciting new products, and increased sales. Network operators gain greater average revenue per user (ARPU) through a broader and more enhanced service offer. Ultimately, consumers enjoy a richer lifestyle experience on the move.

The main objective of Philips Software is to develop and market multimedia solutions based on broad experience in manufacturing a wide range of consumer electronics products. Initially focusing on the mobile/portable market, the business group is forming partnership agreements with silicon vendors, OS software houses and network providers. Philips Software operates as an independent software vendor, providing reliable, validated and optimized solutions that reduce time-to-market and commercial risk.

Philips’ demonstrations of software solutions at 3GSM 2004 are all of the company’s LifeVibes™ portfolio of multimedia, sound and music products. LifeVibes™Multimedia product demonstrations include Video Telephony and Camcoder applications, as well as superior Media Player functionality on Teleca Mobile Technologies’ Obigo® mobile software. The Video Telephony application is the first of its type and Philips is confident that its unique demonstration at 3GSM will greatly boost take-up by handset manufacturers. LifeVibes™Voice products, like Noise Void, Hands Free and Voice Clarity solutions demonstrate how background noise and echo are eliminated and intelligibility improved in mobile phones and portable multimedia devices at the same time as enhancing speech quality. The Pure Studio and Concert Sound LifeVibes™Music demonstrations clearly show how MP3 and other music playback formats are dramatically improved. Furthermore, LifeVibes™J-Ware demonstrates highly optimized Java execution for superior performance in a broad platform range for low- to mid-end mobile phones to enable, among others, gaming.

An additional, and completely new product line called LifeVibes™Trust is currently under development by Philips. The new product line is an advanced digital rights management (DRM) software solution that optimises access time and sustained content quality irrespective of application or platform vendor. The solution, which conforms to the OMA DRM V1 specification, emphasises the need for handset and other mobile device manufacturers to integrate a reliable DRM system into their products to safeguard their sales and market share by ensuring robust content protection and safe access.

Philips’ broad portfolio of next-generation wireless software solutions is backed by experience in semiconductor and consumer electronics technologies and the considerable resources of Philips Research. Philips is a member of numerous related industry standards bodies throughout the world, including founding membership of the Internet Streaming Media Alliance and active participation in such organizations as the 3GPP Initiative, OMA and the Internet Task Force.