The state of the Worldwide economy continues to claim victims in the CE industry. Although Panasonic, Sharp, and Sony are refocusing their TV and consumer electronics product lines, it looks like European giant Philips, the inventor of the audio cassette (1960) and the CD (in partnership with Sony - 1980), as well as introducing the first VCR (1972), has decided to toss in the towel, and leave the consumer electronics landscape altogether in order to devote more resources to its more profitable lighting and medical equipment divisions.
However, even though Philips is leaving the consumer electronics scene, the brand name will still be visible as Funai has signed an agreement to purchase Philips' consumer electronics business, along with use of the Philips brand name for $201.6 million dollars. It is important to point out that Funai has been making Philips-branded consumer electronics products for the North American market since 2008 - the new agreement expands this worldwide.
For more details and perspective on the Philips/Funai deal, as well as a look back Philips' contributions to consumer electronics technology, read both the Official Announcement and the Philips History Pages.
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