Panasonic, Philips and Sony are currently working with other Blu-ray Disc patent holders to establish a one-stop-shop license for Blu-ray Disc products. This license, which covers essential patents for Blu-ray Disc, DVD and CD, will be introduced in the middle of this year. The license program will be offered by a new independent licensing company that will be based in the United States with branch offices in Asia, Europe and Latin America. The CEO of the new license company will be Mr. Gerald Rosenthal, former head of IP at IBM and more recently CEO of Open Invention Network. "By establishing a new licensing entity that offers a single license for Blu-ray Disc products at attractive rates, I am confident that it will foster the growth of the Blu-ray Disc market and serve the interest of all companies participating in this market, be it as licensee or licensor." said Mr. Rosenthal.

The latest edition of Greenpeace's quarterly Guide to Greener Electronics published yesterday, revealed that Nintendo, Microsoft and Philips completely fail to show any environmental credentials when it comes to e-waste. The Guide ranks companies according to their policies and practices on toxic chemicals and takeback. Along with mobile phone and personal computer companies, the latest report adds the biggest makers of TVs and games consoles. Old TVs are a large part of e-waste and the games console market is one of the fastest growing in consumer electronics according to Greenpeace.

Nintendo has the dubious honour of being the first company to score 0/10 in the guide. Microsoft did little better, scoring only 2.7. Philips is the lowest TV-maker scoring only 2.

Philips today launched its new range of multimedia LCD displays, with a suite of advanced features that deliver sharp images and fast response times for playing games and watching movies. The new LCDs range from 17-inches to 22-inches, including four widescreen models. Some models come with SmartImage technology and the innovative Philips PerfecTune feature. The new Philips product introductions include:

• 17" - 170C8
• 19" - 190C8
• 19" widescreen - 190CW8
• 20" widescreen - 200CW8
• 22" widescreen - 220CW8, 220XW8

LG Philips has recently applied for a patent on a bendable OLED screen technology which would use oil and water to produce images. Current flexible OLED displays get hotter than the plastic substrate thus making manufacture difficult and expensive. This new process with oil and water that the company is developing doesn't have that problem. The opaque oil floats on the water and obscure a colored surface beneath when an electric charge was applied to the field it would reveal the surface and change the color of the pixel.

Philips and Swarovski joined up forces to manufacture the new Active Crystals. These high-end USB memory keys and earphones are designed with Swarovski crystals. This alliance combines Philips technology with Swarovski's expertise in creating fashion crystal jewellery and handbags collections to produce meaningful fashionable accessories for women.

This week Lite-On IT Corporation and Royal Philips Electronics announced that the joint venture between the two companies will officially take shape on May 1 of this year. The joint venture between the two companies will focus on the manufacturing and marketing of optical storage drives. Under the new agreement between Lite-On and Philips, the new venture will be called Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS). The European Commission has fully approved of the new venture as of April 2.

PLDS will be effective in Europe from 1st of May 2007. Lite-On IT BV, the European head office of Lite-On IT Corporation, will continue to provide the same service to its customers under the new flag of PLDS. The company will handle sales, marketing, service, finance and logistics of Optical Disc Drives (ODD). PLDS will continue to sell ODD under the brand names Lite-On and HP

Today at CES 2007, Philips Electronics has been demonstrating its new 3D technology, along with its 2D to 3D conversion software. Using some two-dimensional high-definition commercials that are set to be released soon as an example, Philips' latest 3D software will examine a 2D image and convert it into a 3D image according to the depth that it will be assigned, with lighter colours being further forward. The company's 3D displays work using WOWvx technology will allow them to deliver three-dimensional images without the need for special glasses to filter the light. Philips has even developed a software suit aimed at commercial users which will allow them to easily create their own 3D custom content, with the intention for these displays to be used in shopping malls and restaurants.