Philips’ simplicity-led design concepts demonstrate products that could help support healthy lifestyles

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

London, United Kingdom - Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG, AEX:PHI) has revealed some of its new design explorations as part of the 2006 Philips Simplicity Event. The concepts, which form the ‘Next Simplicity’ area of the event, are a demonstration of the company’s vision to deliver simplicity-led design, to improve the quality of life and contribute to a healthy lifestyle, in three to five years time.



The ‘Next Simplicity’ area showcases 15 new simplicity-led design concepts (and three previously exhibited), which illustrate and explore new ways that products can better fit with people’s lives and provide meaningful benefits from technology. These innovative concepts have been developed following extensive worldwide research into consumers’ needs, and the social and cultural trends that are influencing our future needs and desires.



Under the ‘healthy lifestyle’ theme, the ‘Next Simplicity’ concepts are divided under five sub-themes that are part of improving well-being and quality of life for both the individual and the family.

1. Listen to your body – explores ways to help demystify health and provide people with a better understanding of their overall physical condition by developing new everyday rituals that support a healthier lifestyle. Concepts being demonstrated include:

* In Form – a set of motivational body measurement tools, linked to an information display for people to understand better their physical condition – weight, fat, hydration and body shape – through personal history records, and tailored advice (based on the integration of the data).
* Body Cycle – a thermometer linked to a display mirror, which provides interactive advice to help women monitor and manage their body cycle (ovulation, fertility, menstruation).
* Water Font – an all-in-one tap (purifying with UV light, carbon filtering, adding minerals and cooling) and a mixing jug enable you to prepare healthy fresh water to your own taste - thanks to additives mixed by a vortex system.

2. Care for your body – explores new energizing and rejuvenating experiences, as Philips addresses consumers’ needs to have access to scientifically proven, yet engaging and relaxing, care activities. While originating from the medical world, these are now reinterpreted for the home, inviting people to pay more attention to their well-being. Concepts being demonstrated include:

* Look Good – integrated skin care tool (base, bowl, skin analyzer and cleansing stick) that uses red and blue light in a natural way to revitalize the skin of your face.
* Feel Good – a 3-in-1 lamp that delivers normal light, red light and infra-red light for various (preventative) treatments – based on a built-in skin analysis sensor – for any part of the body.
* Soft Therapy – a wearable cordless garment that reduces tension in strained muscles and joints in the shoulders and neck by combining infrared heat and vibrational massage.
* Sunshine – a wall-mounted ‘artificial sun’ uses natural light rhythms to give an energy boost and help control your body clock.
* Rise & Shine – a bedside lamp helps you to wake up and fall asleep through gradual ‘sun’ light changes, and gives you strong energy boosts in the morning (and throughout the day).
* Trans Light – handheld sun-like light that shines energizing blue light into the face as soon as opened, helping to compensate for the lack of natural light – anytime, anywhere.

3. Move your body – examines new ways to make people ‘getoff the couch’ and exercise on a regular basis, by offering domestic solutions for various age groups to engage in playful or exciting activities that stimulate the mind as well as the body with instant entertaining or educational rewards during the effort. Challenges increase over time, indirectly benefiting people’s physical conditions over the longer term. Concepts being demonstrated include:

* Versa Tiles – a set of reconfigurable interactive floor tiles that stimulate children and teenagers to play addictive yet physically demanding floor-based games.
* In Shape – exercise tools consisting of weights, display base and ‘virtual’ training coach, assist you and challenge you in a playful way with your exercises through immediate reward responses.
* Drag & Draw –the entire home becomes a virtual canvas for expression and play for young children, thanks to a magic brush, a magic eraser, a magic wand, and a laser projection bucket.

4. Relax your mind – explores the way the domestic environment can engage people’s senses (sensory perceptions) and affect their mood with pleasurable ambient experiences, in which light and music settings can adapt whether they want to calm down and unwind, or turn on and party. Product concepts being demonstrated include:

* Music Spectrum – a music system (including surround speaker and control) that helps you explore your moods through music.
* Light Spectrum – a light system (including a pendant lamp, and a control) that enhances your mood with ‘natural’ atmospheres and natural light effects.
* Chameleon – a floor standing lamp with a shade that changes to match any color you show to the built-in sensor.

5. Share experiences – looks at new ways of connecting with others and enriching social dynamics as intuitively and spontaneously as possible, allowing people to fully concentrate on sharing contentwith family and friends rather than on the technical challenges and ways of doing it. Concepts being demonstrated include:

* Storyteller – use any book to tell a story to children, bringing it to ‘life’ with this torch and lantern, to enhance their imagination with audio and visual clues.
* Family Album – a spontaneously co-created photo album, shared by a community of distant relatives and friends through interactive photo frames that also allow for intuitive re-editing, and smart display options.
* In Touch – an interactive touch-sensitive display as an alternative to voice mails and family messages stuck on the fridge.



Each of the concepts are demonstrated in ‘real-life’ and home-like environments to allow visitors to experience them, and provide feedback that will be used to generate dialog and debate to help explore these areas, make improvements, and move the concepts toward business opportunities in three to five years.



The Philips Simplicity Event is being hosted at London’s ExCeL exhibition centre in The Docklands from 2-5 October. Philips will take the 2006 Simplicity Event to Hong Kong in March 2007.

For more information, please visit our newscenter at:
* Philips reveals new design innovations at the 2006 Simplicity Event: www.newscenter.philips.com/about/news/press/article-15521.html

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a global leader in healthcare, lifestyle and technology, delivering products, services and solutions through the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 125,500 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 30.4 billion in 2005, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, personal care and home appliances, as well as consumer electronics. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

Contact Information

Anna Quarrell

Philips Corporate Communications

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands

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