Highlights from
Highlights from IFA Preview Sit Back And Relax Beurer’s personal massage chairs go mass market Beurer, the specialist health and wellbeing company, comes to IFA with a range of massage chairs to suit all moods, moments — and aching body parts. Kerstin Glanzer, the company’s Department Head/Group Leader of Marketing, Sales, Advertising and PR, explains… Interview by Richard Barnes This year, our main focus will be on our new line of four massage chairs, which ranges from a high-end deluxe model through to one for office use. The top-ofthe-range chair has a bodyscanning function, which enables it to scan the user at the start of the session in order to give the optimum massage. We also offer interchangeable parts for the machine, so that it can give the user a shiatsu or a rolling massage — even a very gentle tapping-style massage. It also works on the feet and the legs, not just the back and neck, which is a feature that makes our products special. The health and wellbeing sector seems to be an upand-coming area… Our business is growing pretty fast, but the direct-toconsumer market is still very young. We are, in fact, the first company in Germany to offer these products to the public. Up until recently, they were only seen in airports, department stores and shopping malls. We are selling our massage chairs through standard retail electronics outlets, and to the larger department stores around the world. You also make beauty products including a hair straightener and a trimmer. Is this a new development for Beurer? Yes, it is. We have developed a range of devices in collaboration with Udo Walz, who is a famous German hairdresser from Berlin. We are launching the range at IFA for the German, Austrian and Swiss markets. Hall 4.1 Stand 205 Medion brings attached storage to consumer market Smart TV and NAS are added to the offering of the German IT Manufacturer “We are exhibiting a DLNA-certified 55- inch TV with full aluminium casing, a glass stand, LED backlight and 100 Hz technology. Plus we have a new HbbTV, which is a smart TV that works with our NAS system.” Medion believes that NAS will be the next big device to take the leap from the professional w o r l d t o consumers. “As a result, our system is firmly aimed at the end-user, offering fully automated set-up so there are no difficult configurations for the consumer to deal with,” Hoefer says. “It works with a powerful dual-core processor, which means that up to 132 individual client devices can be connected to it. It has 2TB of storage, but that can be expanded with an external drive.” He adds that the NAS system will be available early in the fourth quarter of this year. Following the success of its first-generation specialised gaming laptop, the Erazer X6813, Medion is now launching the X6817 range, which uses an Intel Core processor a n d o ff e r s h i g h - e n d gaming graphics. “It comes in several different configurations, including a model with a 1 TB hard disk and a second HDD [hard disk drive] slot, where the user can attach a solid-state drive in order to achieve faster bootup times,” says Sandro Fabris, Medion’s Product Marketing Manager. “(…) our system is firmly aimed at the end-user, offering fully automated set-up” He adds: “We are also introducing two new laptops with 17-inch screens. The E model is an entry-level device, while the P model is the performance range.” A new line-up of netbooks with clip covers, which allow the user to individualise their device, are also on display at IFA. Hall 8.2 Stand 103 36
Highlights from IFA Preview Cinemascope TV for the Masses The latest edition in Philips’ Cinemascope TVs targets a broad consumer panel Philips 21:9 Cinemascope TV While 3D and connected TV are driving the market, lovers of cinemascope will be thrilled to learn that the Philips 21:9 Cinemascope TV – originally with quite a big price tag, now has a little brother. The Dutch giant’s German marketing specialist, Volker Blume says this is a high-end model with a low-end price tag… P h i l i p s i n v e n t e d t h e Cinemascope 21:9 TV, which we introduced in 2009. We are now expanding this to an entire series, meaning that the large (60-inch) cinema 21:9 model is getting a smaller brother with 52-inch diagonal. This will be able to fit into the smaller living room and is also at an affordable price range: around 2,200 Euros. This TV comes equipped with 3D technology: (This year we are offering 2 different 3D functionalities: active shutter technology on the one hand and the passive polariser technology on the other) – this one using polariser 3D functionality. With 400 Hertz, this TV also has an ideal image quality, even for hardcore film fans. The model, which is currently on the market, is more of a high-end model for the upper class. This new TV however will reach the general public. Is this model going to democratise this kind of market for this TV? This TV is indeed very broadly accepted and it will be a highlight every evening when users are watching broadcast film programmes after the news. The TV actually provides a function with which you can make the “black bars” on the top and the bottom disappear, thus providing a cinematic experience with everyday TV. What will the rollout be for this TV for the European market? The TV has started to sell in several European markets in the past weeks. What other products will you be highlighting at IFA 2011? One key product branch is definitely TV – especially smart TV. This is broken down into 4 major pillars. Controlling/ operating system: the TV can be controlled by apps, keyboard or remote. You can also play all sorts of media on it and do USB recording (scheduled and time shift recording) using the built-in system that can automatically connect to the Internet. We also have NET TV - Internet integrated, for which we have announced a new launch of a video on demand programme which offers films and videos in HD quality and Dolby Surround 5.1. At the moment it offers 400 movies in blockbuster quality (with 30 to 40 movies added every week). We are very proud of this large portfolio that can be streamed into the living room with under 4 MBPS throughout the German/ Austrian/Swiss markets. What will the TPV Joint Venture mean for the retailers? Nothing will change for the end user, as we are still under the Philips brand. The products and the packaging will also stay the same. There will thus be no major changes for the retail, quite to the contrary there will probably be a large number of improvements. Hall 22 Stand 101 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday 29 th August 2011 37
