Philips' new Essence: eating disorder?

IFA 2008: Philips' new Essence
IFA 2008: Philips' new Essence

Philips has announced a new TV that is designed to be much easier to install, the Essence.

Unveiled in what might be the most staged conversation at IFA between the host and marketing manager on stage, the new TV was unveiled as a device that 'stands out by blending in".

Lightweight

At 42inch screen size, it weighs in a lightweight 16kg and measures 38mm at the thinnest point, so it can hang on a single hook in your lounge (or toilet if you're rich and don't want to miss EastEnders when nature calls).

It also comes with a 30W sound bar that can be detached as well, perhaps to beat the people who come into the room and aren't INSTANTLY IMPRESSED with your TV hung on a wall.

However, it does kick out some decent sound and does outperform its teeny size.

One wire to feed them all

To keep up with minimalist theme that Philips appears to be desperate to achieve, it even has one wire for video, audio and power to connect it to the content management box, so it doesn't even need to be near a power source. Thank God.

However, the 2ms response time and 2,250 trillion colours as part of the 1080p panel are certainly impressive in action, and should help maintain Philips' reputation as a top TV manufacturer in the UK and Europe.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.