New RCA And GE Telephone Systems Deliver Mobility, Hands-Free Communication For Business And Home

LAS VEGAS, January 5, 2006 — Are you a serious cell phone user tired of all those “dropped” calls at home … a small business owner in need of a communications system designed to grow with your organization … someone who needs to keep working while carrying on a conversation?

Three new telephone systems from Thomson will meet these needs. On display here this week at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, these advanced telephones take advantage of the latest in communications technologies to deliver optimum convenience and ease-of-use both at home and at work.

“Today’s busy lifestyles place a greater premium on the need for rapid and accurate exchanges of information,” said Lisa Castor, Vice President of Thomson’s Home Networking business. “As the country’s leading telephone networking solutions provider, Thomson is constantly exploring cutting-edge solutions that enable consumers and small businesses to maintain these vital communications links that often spell the difference between success and failure. The new products announced this week illustrate the scope of our commitment.”

GE Bluetooth Cell Connect System Provides Wireless Cellular/Landline Link
Expanding on the capabilities of the acclaimed 2005 RCA Cell Docking System, the new 2006 GE Bluetooth Cell Connect Phone System will provide convenience and flexibility for placing and receiving calls using either the consumer’s home or cellular telephone service. The GE telephone’s Bluetooth capability enables consumers to use their cell phone on a home phone handset, provided the cell phone is located within a 30-foot range of the base station. Easily expandable, the GE system accommodates up to four additional handsets, ensuring that users can answer cell phone calls in virtually any room of the home.

Calls can be placed or received on either the cell or home phone line, and the ergonomically designed handset also serves as a speakerphone for hands-free communication. As an added convenience, each accessory handset requires only AC power, eliminating the need for a hard-wired telephone jack. The GE Bluetooth Cell Connect System can even allow for conference calling between cellular and home landlines.

The GE Bluetooth Cell Connect System offers numerous convenience features. To identify whether a call is coming in on the home phone line or via cellular service, the user can assign different ring tones to distinguish between the two lines. Separate cellular and home phone buttons allow users to determine the use of cellular minutes or their home service. In addition, caller ID information from the cellular or home phone is automatically transferred and displayed on each handset.

Caller ID subscribers can further customize their GE Cell Connect System with the VIP melody feature, which allows users to assign a specific melody to frequent callers for quick identification. When a VIP melody is assigned and that person calls, the system will ring with the assigned melody. There are 20 melodies to choose from and users may designate them for individual or group VIP callers.

Key handset features include one-touch access to cellular voice mail, preview dialing and access to cellular minutes. A hold button on accessory handsets allows the user to place one call on hold and access a call coming in on the other line, right from the handset. Both calls can then be conferenced together for a three-party conversation.

The GE Bluetooth Cell Connect Phone System (SRP $249.99) is scheduled for retail availability in the fall.

16-Handset RCA SOHO System Perfect for Growing Business
Given the rapid expansion of the networked office environments, Thomson is offering a new RCA 16-Handset SOHO Phone System as the ideal networking solution for dynamic small businesses. Boasting one of the longest ranges in the industry, the individual handsets of the RCA SOHO system each has a reach of some 2,000 feet, or the length of nearly seven football fields stretched back-to-back. With such extensive coverage, communication links from base station to remote operations, such as product storage facilities, are easily maintained.

The RCA 25450RE3 4-line base system (SRP $599.99) includes one corded handset and one cordless handset that automatically connects with the system by pressing the TALK button on the handset. The system is available in January.

The base system can support up to 16 accessory cordless handsets, (model H5450RE3 with a Suggested Retail Price of $199.99 each) providing a totally integrated business telephone networking solution that allows for expansion of the communication system as the organization grows. Both the base system and handsets feature caller ID, dial pad, and speakerphone capability. The base station also has 16 one-touch memory/intercom buttons to accommodate additional cordless handsets. Access to any open line on the four-line base station is activated by the TALK button

Among its many convenience features, the RCA SOHO system provides call conferencing, which allows multiple users to access the same line, and the ability to transfer calls between handsets. The system also provides memory dialing address book, auto attendant for automatic routing of incoming calls to the appropriate person, voice mail and preview dialing.

Easy to set up and operate, the system does not require professional installation or maintenance.

RCA Cordless / Wireless System Enables Greater Mobility, Productivity
An innovative cordless/wireless telephone system that is ideal for busy executives, the RCA model 25110RE3 is designed with efficiencies and functionality options for the SOHO market. The system includes a wireless headset and miniature cordless handset, a single charge base for both, and a wall base that transmits the phone signal up to 300 feet throughout the home or workplace.

Extremely light and adjustable for a comfortable fit, the wireless headset can be utilized as either a behind-the-ear or over-the-head model, at the user’s preference. The headset is convertible so the user can easily adjust it for placement on the right or left ear. A boom microphone is equipped with a hinge that allows it to be moved away from the face when not in use. The headset includes on/off and volume up/down control buttons for added convenience.

The multi-function cordless handset, designed to resemble a cellular phone for convenience and ease of use, features an ergonomic design that fits comfortably in the hand and against the ear. Convenience features include Call Waiting/Caller ID, Memory and separate Talk and Headset buttons to easily switch calls from handset to headset and back, as needed.

The RCA 25110RE3 gives users greater freedom to move about while engaged in telephone conversations and minimizes cable clutter. “No jack” technology allows the charge base to be placed anywhere near an electrical outlet and does not require a phone jack connection. The square wall base maintains separate wireless links to the handset and headset from wherever it is plugged into an electrical outlet and a phone jack. Both the handset and headset rest in a single charge base while not in use, assuring that both telephone units are always ready for operation when needed.

The RCA 25110RE3 is available in January with a suggested retail price of $199.

Certain statements in this press release, including any discussion of management expectations for future periods, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements due to changes in global economic, business, competitive market and regulatory factors. More detailed information on the potential factors that could affect the financial results of Thomson is contained in Thomson’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Thomson – Partner to the Media & Entertainment Industries
Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) provides services, systems and technology to help its Media & Entertainment clients — content creators, content distributors and users of its technology — realize their business goals and optimize their performance in a rapidly changing technology environment. The Group is the preferred partner to the Media & Entertainment Industries through its Technicolor, Grass Valley, RCA and Thomson brands. For more information: www.thomson.net.

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