Philips Transforms Car Infotainment with Nexperia Automotive Media Processors; New Multimedia Devices Offer Multiple Connectivity Capabilities to Connect to Entertainment, Information and Services on the Move

EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands--Dec. 5, 2005--Consumer demand for the latest in-car infotainment applications ranging from stereo, navigation, MP3 players and telematics to video entertainment is increasingly driving the use of electronics in cars. To address this demand, Royal Philips Electronics today introduced the first product in its Nexperia(TM) automotive media processor family. This first device, the PNX9106, is a highly integrated device featuring an ARM core and a dedicated audio DSP plus a wide range of peripherals. A complement to AM/FM radio solutions, it allows manufacturers to offer fully integrated audio infotainment systems, enabling consumers to easily connect to their choice of entertainment, information and services while on the move.

Infotainment applications such as advanced audio and connectivity will see high growth rates over the coming years. Philips' Nexperia automotive qualified media processors offer the exact functionality needed for car manufacturers to meet this demand including media playback and recording, interfacing for a variety of storage media and support for key connectivity standards such as USB, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The Nexperia media processors take in-car infotainment a step further by enabling support of next generation media formats that will integrate Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology.

Reflecting the increasing popularity of personal portable music players, Philips is also enabling secure streaming of content from Windows Media Player-based devices into the car with the new Nexperia automotive-qualified devices. Using Microsoft's link protection technology and Philips expertise in multimedia, consumers will be able to playback music from their portable media player via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port on to their in-car stereo with outstanding sound quality. Together, Philips and Microsoft are ensuring consumers on the move enjoy access to digital quality media sound based on industry standard digital rights management technology.

"With our expertise in both the consumer electronics and automotive industries, Philips is well positioned to enable advanced car infotainment systems that are attractive to the consumer, but also meet the design and product life cycle constraints of the automotive industry," said Joep Thomassen, Director Marketing Strategy, Car Entertainment Systems at Philips Semiconductors. "The flexibility and processing power of our Nexperia solutions are ideal building blocks for systems that deliver the full potential of car infotainment today, and in the future."

The new PNX9106, Nexperia automotive processor will deliver high quality in-car multimedia, greater performance and functionality such as multiple standard audio decoding and play back from USB and Flash devices. The device also supports applications such as hard disk, Jukebox and other portable multimedia applications. The PNX9106 Nexperia chip integrates seamlessly with existing Philips DSP-based car radio platforms such as SAF7730 + TEF6730, allowing a simple upgrade from existing AM/ FM designs. The Nexperia automotive processor family will be extended to support advanced functionality such as multi-standard video decoding, digital radio platforms and advanced connectivity capabilities.

Availability:

The first Philips Nexperia automotive processor, PNX9106, will be available in Q3 2006. Samples are available now; pricing available upon request.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 30.3 billion in 2004. With activities in the three interlocking domains of healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 160,900 employees in more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon system solutions. News from Philips is located at www.semiconductors.philips.com.

Nexperia is a trademark of Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.