Digital Gadgets

Philips recently launched new additions to its Xenium range of mobile phones, which was first launched in 1999. The two new phones are called 9@9i and 9@9e.

Philips has laid special emphasis on battery life and claims that these new phones will give up to one month of standby time or 8 and a half hours of talk time. Apart from extensive battery life, these phones also feature triband network coverage and a built in 1.3 mega-pixel camera with 4x zoom.

One can maintain an address book of upto 1000 entries and even store 30 minutes of voice recording on the phone’s 20 MB inbuilt memory.

Source: ndtvgadgets.com

Analysts at Deutsche Bank reiterate their “buy” rating on Philips Electronics (PHI1.ETR). The target price has been raised from €29 to €31.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the demand trends for consumer electronics are likely to be robust in 2006. The performance of Philips Electronics’ CE segment is expected to improve this year due to the upgraded CE products portfolio and a rapid turnaround in the company’s US CE operations, the analysts say.

Deutsche Bank expects the company to continue its share repurchases and witness a further recovery in Semis in 2006. There is substantial upside to the company’s share price, despite the significant appreciation in the recent past, the analysts add.

More: newratings.com

Dutch Philips Electronics (PHG.AS: Quote, Profile, Research)(PHG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it had sold its optical pick-up unit with 780 staff to Arima Devices in return for a 14 percent stake in that company.

Arima Devices is an affiliate of Arima Computer Corp. (2381.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) from Taiwan.No financial details were disclosed. The market for optical pick-ups, used in DVD recorders and PC DVD drives, is maturing and economies of scale are needed to remain competitive, Philips said.

Philips is the world’s biggest lighting maker, a top three hospital equipment maker, Europe’s biggest consumer electronics producer and the region’s number three in semiconductors.

More: today.reuters.com