Alien Technology Announces Availability of 96-Bit, Field-Programmable, EPC Class 1 RFID Tags; New Tags Fulfill Key Commercial and DoD Requirements

Business Wire, Sept 9, 2004

MORGAN HILL, Calif. -- Alien Technology(R) Corporation, a leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products, today announced the release of EPC Class 1 tags with 96-bits of user-programmable memory. The new tag family is based on Alien(R)'s third generation of UHF EPC Class 1 integrated circuits, code named "Lepton." The Lepton-based tags deliver up to 40% more read range than previous models, providing robust operating margin for challenging applications.

Fully compliant with Wal*Mart and U.S. Department of Defense initiatives taking effect in January 2005, the new tags operate according to the EPC Class 1 standard, the only field-programmable tag standard recognized by EPCglobal. The new tags will be used by hundreds of suppliers from around the world to track cases and pallets in the retail and DoD supply chain.

Alien's tags are suitable for use in Europe, where new regulations for UHF RFID operation have just been ratified. These updated regulations will allow higher performance of UHF RFID systems in Europe -- approaching the performance seen under U.S. FCC operation. EPC Class-1 tags are the only ones recognized by EPCglobal that can operate under these new standards. Lepton-based tags for Pacific Rim countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Australia are also forthcoming.

The Lepton-based tag family includes updated versions of Alien's current designs, plus new tags optimized for pharmaceuticals, baggage tags, retail hang tags, and other applications. "Our customers and partners have made Alien's Class 1 RFID hardware the most widely adopted for key supply chain initiatives," commented Tom Pounds, VP of Corporate Development for Alien. "The enhanced read performance provided by the Lepton IC will make our Class 1 products even more attractive."

Readers and OEM reader modules supporting the new tags are available from Alien now. Alien is also working with leading reader, handheld, printer and applicator vendors to ensure the same widespread interoperability with Lepton that has been proven with earlier generations of Class 1 products (www.epcglobalinc.org/interoperability). Alien is also working with leading label converter companies to ensure availability and reliability of Lepton-based RFID labels.

Alien will begin customer sampling of the new tags in October and initial production shipments in November. Production capacity for the new tags will be two billion units in 2005.

About Alien

Alien Technology Corporation is a leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products for global customers in government, retail, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transportation, and other industries. Using its patented manufacturing process, Fluidic Self Assembly (FSA(R)), Alien(R) manufactures EPC tags in very high-volumes and at low cost. The company also provides RFID readers for a variety of applications including supply chain management, logistics, and anti-counterfeiting, to improve inventory management and reduce operating costs. Alien is an active member of EPCglobal. More information about Alien Technology Corporation can be found on the Company's website at www.alientechnology.com. Alien, Alien Technology and FSA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Alien Technology Corporation in the United States and other countries.