Event Coverage

CES 2008: Philips Showcases Design Collection Lineup

By Zachary Chan - 7 Jan 2008

CES 2008: Philips Highlights

Getting Jiggy With the Missus

With less than a day to go before CES 2008 officially kicks off, Philips showcased their latest innovations into the consumer electronic space and what can be seen as a trend setter for what to expect throughout this year. Before we go into any product details though, it is probably good to know that as of 1st January 2008, which was only about a week ago, the Philips Consumer Electronic and Philips Domestic Appliance and Personal Care divisions have been combined to form the new Philips Consumer Lifestyle unit. This particular unit will now be responsible to bring in the latest lifestyle products into the market. So what's the big difference?

Latest motto of the new Philips Consumer Lifestyle sector.

From what we've heard today, Philips have gone all soft and mushy in the center, focusing heavily on the feminine factor instead of the usual techno babble and masculine bravado that is prevalent in the technical field. Hence, the new slogan - Sense and Simplicity.

The idea is simple, when a 'man' wants to buy hardware, they are focused on specifications, power and performance. You could have a hideous speaker system sitting in your living room and the 'man' would care less, just because it has the potential to blow the neighbors roof off at a quarter volume.

The 'woman' however, is a more delicate creature, preferring to look presentable, even if she is blowing the neighbor's roof off. And as the saying goes, 'Behind every successful man is a woman'.

Calm before the conference.

According to Andrea Ragnetti, the CEO of Philips' new Consumer Lifestyle sector, it is really the women who call the shots. Today, women play more than 40% role in a US$200billion dollar business, directly being involved in or influencing the purchase of consumer electronic equipment. Instead of the object that is the product itself, overall experience and style has become the main criteria now.

Philips Consumer Lifestyle CEO Andrea Ragnetti telling us all about girl-power.

Like many companies, Philips has seen the need to invest in design as much as technology advancement. Last year, the major efforts in this direction saw the introduction of the Philips-Swarovski Active Crystal collection as well as the birth of the ultimate Ambilight HDTV experience, the Aurea. This year at CES, Philips unveils a trend setting Design Collection, which consist of updates to previous product lines as well as a brand new design philosophy across the board.
 

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