IKEA, known for its flatpack furniture, meatballs and ‘Happy To Bed Time’ is branching out into the world of digital TV.
The upcoming Uppleva range will be a piece of self-assembly furniture which will feature an integrated Smart TV, Blu-Ray players and sound system, all in one living room cabinet.
The DivX HD compliant Smart TV unit has an integrated 2.1 sound system and can connect to Wi-Fi. As well as having a Blu-Ray/CD/DVD player built in, there’s some space in the cabinet for things like your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 etc.
IKEA itself won’t be making the TV sets and black goods itself; TCL Multimedia, which was worked with Thompson and RCA, will be developing the hardware. A universal remote will be bundled with the service, controlling the TV, sound system and media player, depending on which unit you purchase.
Naturarlly, this being IKEA gear, you’ll be able to rearrange and stack everything to suit your living room’s dimensions. The Upplava units will of course come in a range of colours and wood effect finishes.
The basic entry level set from the Uppleva range, according to Reuters UK, will consist of a TV, sound system and bench unit and will cost 6,500KR (£602.25) when it goes on sale in Sweden this year.
IKEA’s Uppleva TV range will come to stores across mainland Europe in June this year. Stores in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal will stock the new Uppleva range in autumn 2012, with the UK not getting a look-in ‘til 2013.
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