Philips Promotes HD Voice

By Greg Scoblete On Jan 7 2008 - 8:00am

Philips is hoping the cachet of HD will rub off on the slumping cordless phone market as it promotes its new line of DECT phones incorporating "high definition voice."

Models with high definition voice will feature a "high quality speaker and a real acoustic chamber," the company said. Combined with a digital signal processor, which adds back high frequencies in a speaker's voice, the technology allows for a larger audio spectrum for incoming calls.

There will be a total of 30 DECT phones launched this year from Philips, according to Andy Mintz, senior sales VP. In addition to HD voice, the focus will be on pushing new design-oriented phones, he said.

Among the models debuting at International CES is the XL 355 cordless which offers high definition voice, an enlarged keypad, ITAD with up to 30 minutes of recording capacity, visual ringer, polyphonic ring tones, handset speakerphone and caller ID. The system is expandable up to a total of five handsets.

The SE4581S will also feature high definition voice technology, a base station speakerphone and keypad, 30 minute ITAD, 100 name/number phone book, an alarm clock, caller ID and expandability up to five handsets.

Philips will also expand its Skype phone offerings with six new products including the VOIP251, a DECT-based phone with a USB base station that connects to PCs or Macs to make Skype calls. It supports call waiting/caller ID, is expandable to four handsets, and features a two line display and handset speakerphone. The phone can interface with Skype's desktop software, including the ability to transfer calls from the PC to the handset or page handsets from the computer.