Amsterdam / London, Nov 22, 2004 - Philips is to make a further step forward in realizing its Connected Planet vision by joining forces with Dixons Group plc, Europe’s leading electrical retailer to launch Philips-Freeline™, a new range of home entertainment personal computers in Europe.
Philips and the Dixons Group have created the Philips-Freeline PC range to provide an easy-to-use digital home entertainment platform. With built-in wireless technology, all the PCs are pre-configured to work seamlessly with Philips’ Streamium family of wireless and broadband-enabled entertainment devices, enabling the enjoyment of music, video content, photos, games and Internet access anytime and anywhere in the home.
“The Philips-Freeline range adds an important element to our vision of the Connected Planet,” says Toon Bouten, Executive Vice-President & General Manager, Philips Consumer Electronics, Region Europe. “Via our Streamium family of A/V devices, wireless networking accessories and now home entertainment PCs, we are able to offer consumers a range of easy-to-install and easy-to-set-up solutions that enable them to enjoy and experience digital content anytime in and around the home.”
Simon Turner, Group Managing Director, Computing and Communications Division, Dixons Group plc, adds: “Our Group has always been at the forefront of providing consumers with the latest and best technology from the world’s most popular and trusted brand names. The Philips-Freeline PC range extends that history, bringing us together with Philips to offer our customers PCs which provide an integrated digital entertainment environment with which to make the most of their digital content.”
The first Philips-Freeline PCs, including four desktops and two laptop models, will be available in November from Dixons Group plc-owned retail chains including PC World in the UK and Ireland, Elkjøp in the Nordic region, PC City in Spain and Sweden, and PC City and UniEuro in Italy.
The Philips-Freeline family offers top-of-the-range PC functionality for the home: this includes high-quality Philips components such as LCD monitors, DVD+RW drives and multimedia audio speakers, plus Intel Pentium 4 processors, WiFi (802.11g) wireless connectivity and the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating platform throughout the range.
Editors notes
Philips-Freeline PCs are pre-installed with Philips Media Manager software to ensure seamless interoperability with Philips Streamium products. Philips Media Manager enables the easy access and management of content, using the Universal Plug-and-Play (UPnP) open technology standard to enable the easy selection and playback of music, video and photographic content on Streamium devices.
Philips Streamium products include the MX6000i DVD Home Entertainment System, the SL400i, SL300i and SL50i Wireless Multimedia Links, and the MCW770 Micro Hi-Fi system. These products are not available in all countries. Journalists are advised to contact their local Philips media relations contact for details of local pricing and market availability.
The Philips-Freeline PC range is being introduced in Dixons Group retail outlets in selected European countries only. As a result, journalists are advised to contact their local Philips media relations contact for details of local pricing and market availability.
Download the press release for Philips-Freeline™ PC Range Specifications.
Freeline is a trademark of Dixons Group plc;
Streamium is a registered trademark of Royal Philips Electronics;
Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi logo are the registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance;
UPnP is a certification mark of the UPnP Implementers Corporation;
Microsoft and Windows XP are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation;
Intel and Pentium are trademarks of Intel Corporation;
About Dixons Group plc
Dixons Group is Europe’s leading electrical retailer. Headquartered in the UK, the Group employs 38,000 staff in 1,500 stores across 13 countries. The Group trades in the UK, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Leading retail brands operated by the Group include Dixons, Currys, The Link, PC World, PC City, Electro World, UniEuro, Elkjøp, El Giganten and Lefdal Lavpris. Business-to-business brands include PC World Business, Genesis Communications and Dixons Group Business Services. Own-brand sourcing operations are managed by the Group’s OmniSource division. The Group is also a leading provider of financial and after-sales services.
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