Philips and E Ink Demonstrate World's First High-Resolution Electronic Ink Displays for Use in Smart Handheld Devices

Business Wire, June 5, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

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Society for Information Display--Booths #410 and #819

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2001

Philips and E Ink Are Actively Working With Leading Device Makers to

Co-Develop and Design-In Paper-like Electronic Ink Displays

Less than four months after forming a comprehensive agreement to develop and commercialize high-resolution, active matrix electronic ink displays for use in smart handheld devices, Philips Components and E Ink Corporation today showcased their first display prototypes during this week's Society for Information Display Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition in San Jose. The prototypes will be on display at Philips' booth, #819, and E Ink's booth, #410, from June 5 to June 7.

The display prototypes featured at SID each consist of a five-inch diagonal sheet of E Ink's electronic ink integrated with Philips' active matrix backplanes and drivers. These initial modules can display monochrome or grayscale images, including text and illustrations, and deliver a resolution of 80 pixels per inch (ppi). The displays' paper-white and deep-black image capabilities provide significantly improved readability over the traditional display technology found in today's handheld devices.

Philips and E Ink are on the fast track of bringing to market high-resolution, electronic ink displays for smart handheld devices, with commercialization currently targeted for 2003. The companies are actively working with leading device makers to co-develop and design-in electronic ink displays for PDA, mobile phone, electronic reader and e-mail device applications.

"Our announcement today further demonstrates Philips Components' commitment to leveraging its strengths in display technologies and system architecture to help OEM customers create unique mobile products that afford higher resolution and performance, yet consume substantially less power than ever before," said Peter Hopper, CEO of Philips MDS. "By leveraging the core competencies of E Ink's electronic ink technology with our own expertise, we hope to deliver display solutions that give today's mobile device-makers a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The prototypes featured here at SID--developed in just less than four months after announcing our joint development agreement--signal our success to date in creating digital solutions that will help shape the future of smart handheld devices."

"The explosive growth of broadband communications and wireless technologies has increased demand for handheld devices capable of accessing content remotely," said Jim Iuliano, president and CEO of E Ink. "Displays remain the primary interface to this content. The use of electronic ink displays in handheld devices will allow users to overcome a major trade-off with existing devices in accessing information anytime, anywhere. E Ink enables paper-like readability in combination with highly portable devices."

About E Ink's Electronic Ink Technology

E Ink's electronic ink offers a paper-like look that provides three main benefits over traditional and emerging display technologies:

Readability--Because it contains the same coloring agents as normal ink and paper, electronic ink is more than six times brighter than reflective LCDs, exceeds newspapers in contrast ratio and reads easily in both dim light and full sunlight. Like paper, electronic ink displays have a clear image that can be seen at any angle without a change in contrast. In addition, special properties of the ink enable smoother text characters than many displays used today.

Ultra-Low Power--Electronic ink allows a fixed image to remain on the screen even after the power source is shut off, leading to dramatically longer battery life. The bright paper-white background of electronic ink also eliminates the need for a backlight in most lighting conditions. When commercialized, electronic ink displays will draw less than 1/10th the power required by other `low power' display technologies commonly used in smart handheld devices, such as reflective LCDs. As a result, portable devices incorporating electronic ink displays could function with far smaller batteries, making them less expensive and more portable.

Thin, Light Form--Electronic ink displays are expected to be 30 to 50 percent thinner and lighter than traditional LCD displays.

About Philips Components

Philips Components, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a world-leading provider of integrated digital electronic solutions in the areas of displays, storage, connectivity and imaging and sensing. Its global customer base covers the consumer electronics, telecommunications, and automotive industries, amongst others. Philips Components had annual revenues of over EUR 6.3 billion for the year 2000, and employs more than 40,000 people in 39 countries around the world. More information about Philips Components is available at www.components.philips.com.