Samsung Showcases the ‘Smarter Life’ on Tour at 2011 European Regional Forum

Hungary, Other Regions

Samsung Showcases the ‘Smarter Life’ on Tour at 2011 European Regional Forum

Company Brings ‘Human Digitalism’ Philosophy to Life via Unique Partnerships and Innovative Technology; Introduces Four Guiding Smart TV Principles to European Region

21/02/2011 — BUDAPEST, Hungary — (BUSINESS WIRE)

Today, at Samsung’s 2011 European Regional Forum, the company introduced new 3D Blu-ray technology and innovative home theater products to the European region, along with its full lineup of 2011 smart LED and Plasma TVs. As the first stop along its worldwide “Smarter Life” tour, Samsung embraced its new guiding philosophy of “Human Digitalism,” which embodies the notion that human nature must be at the backbone of technology innovation in order to create products that truly blend with the human experience.

Mr. Seok-pil Kim, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics Europe, and European Marketing Director Michael Zoeller introduced this concept to the European region, during an event that unveiled Samsung’s new technology direction and innovative content partnerships.

“Human Digitalism demands that we create products for how people live,” said Mr. Kim. “This new era of technology design will enable products that make consumers smarter, happier, and bring us all closer together. In this new era, the TV will once again become the center of our living room, and the dominant piece of technology that connects, enables, empowers, and entertains us all.”

Samsung unveiled its 2011 product innovations under the umbrella of four guiding principles dubbed the “Four As” of Access, Align, Amaze and Act—which will serve to steer Samsung’s innovations through the emerging era of smart TV.

Access: Communicate Openly; Provide Simple, Intuitive Access to High-Quality Content

During the address, Samsung reinforced its dedication to providing consumers with a simple and intuitive way to easily and openly communicate across a wide variety of content and services—and unveiled new ways to access entertainment and information services through Samsung’s Internet-enabled products.

Samsung’s 2011 LED and Plasma smart TV lineup features for the first time Samsung’s new “Smart Hub,” which provides consumers access to all information sources, channels, recordings, the Web and content, and comprises four highly personalized and unique new offerings for consumers. The “Search All” feature makes it easier to search for, and have access to, desired content on not only a TV, but across the Internet and on any connected storage, PC or mobile device within the home network. Among other features, Samsung’s smart TV lets users view 3D premium video-on-demand, missed TV shows, recommended movies, and even sports scores on a high-definition screen. The second Smart Hub function, “Your Video,” delivers content recommendations based on a user’s viewing history. The “Web Browser” feature offers consumers full web browsing capabilities right from their TV, while “Samsung Apps”—the world’s first HDTV-based application store—offers more apps than anyone else and meets consumers’ needs across sports, entertainment, information, games and social networking.

Also among the announcements were new or expanded partnerships with leading content partners in Europe—including the BBC, France Telecom and LOVEFiLM—who collaborate with Samsung to offer and execute some of the most compelling content and services throughout the region. BBC’s General Manager of On Demand, Daniel Danker, joined Zoeller on-stage during today’s event to discuss his company’s partnership with Samsung smart TV and BBC’s iPlayer—the most important catch-up TV service in the U.K.—as well as the service’s recent launch on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, and iPlayer’s future vision to share TV content and more closely align into linear broadcast.

Also joining Zoeller today was France Telecom’s Vice President of Service Partnership and Business Development, Xavier Perret, who commented on FT’s launch of its Orange service to Samsung smart TVs while demonstrating key features of the Orange service homepage to attendees.

LOVEFiLM’s Group Digital Officer, Lesley Mackenzie, rounded out the content partners on-stage with Samsung, during which she revealed highlights of the company’s widespread success in the U.K., its recent acquisition by Amazon, and the quality of LOVEFiLM’s service that is now available through Samsung smart TVs.

Align: Products That Blend Seamlessly and Comfortably into Consumers’ Lives

Samsung introduced a new concept, called “One Design,” which looks to align performance needs with the notion that smart TVs should blend seamlessly with their surroundings, and more naturally accommodate consumers’ preference for interacting with their TVs.

In order to provide a minimalistic, more immersive viewing experience, Samsung’s new lineup of 2011 LED and Plasma Smart TV products are virtually edgeless—the LED-D7000, D8000, and the full PDP line-up—feature ultra-slim bezels that allow an increase in screen size without expanding the proportions of the TV. The super narrow bezel is designed to be nearly invisible so that when the TV is turned off, it blends harmoniously with its surroundings.

Taking convergence once step further, Zoeller announced that Samsung’s two flagship businesses—TV and mobile—are collaborating to continue providing consumers with customizable, sharable content that they can enjoy when and where they want, across a variety of screens. New in 2011, Samsung’s new LED-D7000 and D8000 TVs will both incorporate a second TV feature that allows TV broadcasting to be transmitted wirelessly to a Samsung Galaxy device (Galaxy S2 and Tab 10.1) through the Samsung Application. Users watching content on the connected Galaxy device will have the ability to zap channels, enjoy live TV broadcasting or even watch a DVD or Blu-ray disc—all while another continues enjoying the content of his or her choosing on the TV.

Amaze: A New Dimension of Enjoyment through Completely Immersive Audio and Visual Experiences

Outlining Samsung’s belief that consumers crave more realistic and immersive viewing experiences, Zoeller also spoke to the newest 3D innovations in Samsung’s 3D ecosystem for 2011. Samsung’s new 3D LED TVs deliver unrivaled picture quality and enhanced picture brightness that will delight viewers, thanks to advanced 3D peak control algorithm. This algorithm features backlight technology based on the automatic detection of input signals, which instantly adjust brightness to peak levels on bright scenes—enabling consumers to enjoy truly immersive 3D content without feeling uneasy. Samsung also extended its Plasma TV lineup with new 2011 models that offer stunning picture quality and include Samsung’s breakthrough Plasma +1 design, which adds 2.5cm of viewable screen in comparison to last year’s products—all without increasing the overall dimensions of the TV.

Furthering Samsung’s leadership in providing the most high-quality and immersive 3D TV experiences, Samsung has launched a Total 3D Solution, including the company’s re-designed 3D active glasses—the SSG-3700CR—which are now the world’s lightest 3D active glasses boasting a 25-percent weight reduction and greater comfort thanks to the new placement of printed circuits and batteries behind each ear. Samsung’s Total 3D Solution is further complemented by a stylish new wireless charger—the CY-SWC1000A—which charges up to four pairs of active 3D glasses through an elegant, glossy black cylinder that resembles a classic men’s top hat.

Samsung also unveiled its 2011 lineup of 3D Blu-ray disc players at the regional event—including the world’s slimmest, 3D Blu-ray player, the BD-D7500 and the BD-D8900—both of which include smart features and epitomize Samsung’s 3S concept design philosophy—symmetric, slim and slot-in—while complementing the stylish elements in any home.

Taking consumers even deeper into the immersive 3D experience Samsung is known for, another new element in the 3D ecosystem for 2011 is Samsung’s ground-breaking 3D audio technology—3D Sound—which simulates the height and depth of the audio track by distinguishing between foreground and background sounds to create an immersive, life-like audio experience.

Act: Commitment to a Healthy Planet

As part of Samsung’s “Planet First” initiative, which has been recognized worldwide for substantially reducing energy usage in consumer electronics, Samsung announced the benchmarks its put forth to ensure approximately 90 percent of its products—including all Plasma TV models under 59 inches—will receive the EU ECO Label, a flower-shaped product seal awarded through criteria set forth by the European Union.

Of note, Samsung worked closely on the development and implementation of the new, European Energy Label that will be introduced this year—more than 80 of Samsung’s 2011 LED TVs will qualify for an “A” classification. Samsung led the green movement in 2009 with the launch of its environmentally-friendly LED TV, and the company continues to encourage the production of increasingly more environmentally-friendly TVs throughout the industry.

The number one global IT company for Carbon Disclosure Leadership in the Down Jones Sustainability Index, Samsung also received the International CES Eco-Design and Sustainable Technology Innovation Award, and is moving forward with plans to invest more than €16.8 billion on green initiatives by 2020.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2009 consolidated sales of US$116.8 billion. Employing approximately 174,000 people in 193 offices across 66 countries, the company consists of eight independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

CONTACT:

Weber Shandwick WorldwideKelly Hamor, 1-206-802-8751khamor@webershandwick.com

KEYWORDS:   Europe  Hungary

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Technology  Consumer Electronics  Audio/Video

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