Samsung Electronics and Mitsubishi Electric Form Strategic Alliance for Camera Chip Solutions for Mobile Applications

Business Wire, Sept 26, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SEOUL, South Korea & TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2002

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, two market leading suppliers of advanced semiconductor devices, today announced a strategic alliance to develop camera chip solutions for mobile applications such as cellular phones, PDAs and mobile PCs.

Samsung and Mitsubishi began working together in 2001. Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung and Mitsubishi will develop two core camera chip solutions; a CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) chip designed and manufactured by Samsung and an Image Signal Processor (ISP) chip from Mitsubishi. The two companies will exchange engineering resources and technical support.

With the demand for camera capabilities in cell phones, PDAs and mobile PCs, CIS sensors have gained momentum over the older charged-coupled device (CCD) technology. Although CIS sensors produce lower quality images than CCD sensors, the low power consumption, which is a feature of the CIS sensors, is critical for mobile devices.

In September 2002, Samsung began volume shipments of its quarter-inch VGA class (330,000 pixels) high resolution CIS chip, with Mitsubishi as a first customer.

Mr. Shigeo Uoya, general manager of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation's System LSI Division, predicted, "Mobile cameras are becoming more and more popular in Japan, and this trend will soon catch on around the world. Through our collaboration with Samsung and by utilizing the image processing functionality of Mitsubishi's Artificial Retina LSI, we will work together to build the next generation camera chip sets for mobile devices."

Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon, executive VP of Samsung Electronics' System LSI Business, commented, "Demand for camera functions in mobile applications such as cellular phones, PDAs and mobile PCs has been rapidly increasing for next-generation telecommunication services. The mobile camera is a key element for networking diverse multimedia appliances together. We expect our joint efforts with Mitsubishi to satisfy the growing demand for these advanced multimedia solutions."

About Mitsubishi Electric

With over 80 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products to both corporate clients and general consumers all over the world, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (FTSE: 6503q.l) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. The company has operations in 35 countries and recorded consolidated group sales of 3,649 billion yen (US$27.4 billion) in the year ended March 31, 2002. For more information about Mitsubishi Electric, visit Global.MitsubishiElectric.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, and digital convergence technology. Samsung Electronics employs approximately 64,000 people in 89 offices in 47 countries. Samsung Electronics is the world's largest producer of memory chips, Smart Card Chips, Display Driver ICs, TFT-LCDs, CDMA mobile phones, monitors and VCRs. Samsung Electronics consists of four main business units: Digital Media Network, Device Solution Network, Telecommunication Network and Digital Appliance Network Businesses. For more information, please visit the web site, http://samsungelectronics.com.