"Our content and distribution partners no longer describe broadband in terms of household penetration levels, but rather share Philips' view that broadband is becoming a utility for consumers like water, gas or electricity"
Gottfried Dutine, President & CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics reaffirmed its strategic vision of giving people the freedom to access and interact with the content they want, in the way they want, wherever they happen to be, in an easy, intuitive and convenient way. "The upcoming CeBIT 2004 forms a key stage in the continuing roll-out of the Connected Planet vision and we have today given a preview of some of the key technologies we'll be showcasing at this fair," said Gottfried Dutine, Executive Vice President Royal Philips Electronics and President & CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics at a press conference in Paris today. CeBIT 2004 will take place in Hannover, Germany, from March 18 to 24.

These technologies include the latest additions to Philips' Streamium family of products that enable the wireless transmission of digital media content throughout PC and A/V environments. Philips will begin adding Streamium functionality to its TV range this year, with the introduction of an LCD Flat TV with WiFi enabled broadband connection. In this context the company underlined its alliances with major telecoms providers in seven European countries to jointly deliver Streamium across Europe. These partners include France Telecom, BT, Deutsche Telekom's T-Com, Telecom Italia, Belgacom, KPN and Telefónica.

Dutine also gave details of its content partnerships with Yahoo!, MusicMatch and Radio Free Virgin which span internet radio, on-demand music videos, movie trailers and online photo services. "Our content and distribution partners no longer describe broadband in terms of household penetration levels, but rather share Philips' view that broadband is becoming a utility for consumers like water, gas or electricity. These agreements are designed to make it easier for consumers to find and access content and then enjoy that content on the device of their choice – when and where they want," explained Dutine.

Philips is also leading the development of contactless communication and identification solutions such as Near Field Communications (NFC) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Both technologies unlock the digital world of broadband enabled content and services in a very consumer-friendly way. Dutine highlighted the company's collaboration with Universal Music and Visa International, which will see the joint development and promotion of NFC and RFID technologies that will enable e-payment for interactive content services. "Through NFC, we are enabling consumers to access digital entertainment, in any format. Now, through our agreement with Visa we are showing how these technologies can change the way digital content and services are distributed, paid for and accessed by today's universally connected consumer," said Dutine.

"Wireless, broadband and digital media technologies are now widely available and affordable and we have developed key strategic partnerships with content and distribution companies in order to realise our vision. At CeBIT we will continue to show how we are uniquely poised to deliver on our promise of an evolving Connected Planet," added Dutine.

At 3GSM, the worlds largest 3G cellular event taking place this week in Cannes, the company is already showcasing its latest 'Emotive Messaging' mobile handsets, multimedia software applications and semiconductor solutions for connected consumer applications. Philips adds a personal touch to messaging with the 'Snap, Tag & Send' concept creating a new category of mobile phones. Highlighted products within this concept are the new Philips 755 and 759 mobile phones. These enable users to send (via MMS) personalized photos, drawings and even handwritten notes and sound clips to family and friends thanks to the built-in touch screen.