PHG IEEE Grants Milestone Award to Royal Philips Electronics

The award coincides with the 30th anniversary of the demonstration of the first CD prototype codenamed "Pinkeltje" on March 8, 1979. Despite the recession of the early 1980s, Philips and Sony invested and planned for the successful commercial introduction of the Compact Disc in 1982.

The CD was the first ever digital mass consumer product to find its way into almost every consumer's home. Since its introduction in 1982, over 3.5 billion audio CD players, 3 billion CD-ROM drives and an astonishing 240 billion CD discs have been sold.

The compact disc was a revolutionary new concept that fulfilled a great consumer demand for a robust, high quality compact audio medium," said John Vig, 2009 IEEE President and Chief Executive Officer.

By leveraging research advances in optics, mechatronics, microelectronics, digital signal processing and error control coding, a unique platform was created that has really changed the audio as well as the computing world." This also led to spin-offs in semiconductor's lithography and future generation biomedical sensors," said Rick Harwig, Chief Technology Officer of Philips Electronics.

The Compact Disc demonstrated clearly that continued long-term investments in breakthrough innovation during an economic downturn can not only contribute significantly to the company's success, but even have the power to revitalize a complete industry in decline." The analysts and employees or affiliates of TradingMarkets.com may hold positions in the stocks or industries discussed here.

This information is NOT a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Your use of this and all information contained on TradingMarkets.com is governed by the Terms and Conditions of Use. Please click the link to view those terms. Follow this link to read our Editorial Policy.