news archive
HP Designs
Sharp Transflective Display Into iPAQ h5400
Osaka, Japan
and Camas, Washington, November 18 - Sharp Corporation, and
its U.S.-based sales and marketing subsidiary Sharp
Microelectronics of the Americas, announced today the
design-in of its Advanced TFT-LCD transflective, color QVGA
display into the new HP iPAQ Pocket PC h5400. Incorporating
Sharp's proprietary Advanced TFT (AD-TFT) technology, the
LCD module provides superior color, brightness, and
viewability, the company said.
"[These]
displays feature 75 nits of brightness, 480 mW power
consumption, and a plastic touchscreen that makes it thin
and lightweight." said Joel Pollack, Vice President
Display Business Unit at Sharp Microelectronics of the
Americas
The new iPAQ
h5400 is designed for mobile professionals, and incorporates
integrated wireless LAN capability (802.11b), Bluetooth,
Biometric security, removable battery, and increased memory
options, as well as Sharp's high-contrast display.
"Sharp's TFT-LCD design team worked closely with HP to
produce a custom display that met their specific product
requirements," said Pollack. "We are pleased to
have been chosen to supply the displays for one of the
leading PDA products on the market. This design win further
strengthens our position as a company eminently capable of
meeting the growing demand for displays that feature
ultra-low power consumption and optimized viewability."
Sharp's
module includes a 16-bit color LCD-TFT panel, driver ICs, an
FPC, a backlight, and an integrated touch panel. Including
the LED backlight system, the display module has a thickness
of 5 mm and a weight of 65 grams. By eliminating the need
for an inverter, associated EMI issues are essentially
eliminated, the company said.
Information: Tel:
(800) 642-0261, www.sharpsma.com.
Plastic
Logic Completes £8.75 Million Funding
CAMBRIDGE,
UK, November 25 - Plastic Logic announced today a £2.45
million second closing of its first-round private financing.
With a first closing of £6.3 million announced earlier this
year, the total amount raised in this round is now £8.75
million.
Participants
in the second closing were Bank of America Capital Partners
(Chicago, Illinois, USA), Yasuda Enterprise Development
Company (Tokyo, Japan), St John's College (Cambridge, UK),
and Steve Kahng (Palo Alto, California, USA). The company's
existing lead investors are Amadeus Capital Partners (London
& Cambridge, UK) and PolyTechnos Venture-Partners
(Munich, Germany). Other first-closing investors include
Seiko Epson, Cambridge Display Technology, and Cambridge
University. "We are delighted to welcome our new
shareholders to the company," said Plastic Logic CEO
Stuart Evans. "They will all help us to position the
company as the dominant provider of solutions for printing
active electronic circuits." The funds will be used to
expand the current team of 35 and accelerate technology
development and commercialization
Plastic Logic
combines the power of electronics with the pervasiveness of
printing. This new paradigm has the potential to change
radically the economics of key segments of the semiconductor
industry. Plastic Logic's technology is expected to be used
in a wide range of applications including flat panel
displays, electronic paper, electronic labels, intelligent
packaging, and wearable computing.
"Plastic
Logic has built a formidable intellectual property position
in technology that has the potential to be truly
disruptive," commented Dr. Simon Waddington, Partner of
PolyTechnos and a board member of Plastic Logic.
"Plastic Logic builds on the outstanding science of
Professor Richard Friend and Dr. Henning Sirringhaus at
Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory."
Plastic Logic
was founded in 2000 to develop and exploit new technology
and processes that combine the power of electronics with the
pervasiveness of printing. The company has a growing
portfolio of patents based on inkjet printing of active
electronic circuits using advanced plastic materials.
Information: Tracey
Stephens, Plastic Logic Limited. Tel: +44 (1223) 706004,
Fax: +44 (1223) 706006, email: tracey.stephens@plasticlogic.com,
www.plasticlogic.com.
China's
Leading PC Maker Designs Genesis Chip into Commercial LCD
Monitor
San Jose,
California, November 12 - Genesis Microchip Inc. today
announced that Legend Computer Systems Limited has
integrated the Genesis gmZAN2 display image processor into a
15-inch XGA LCD monitor for shipment with Legend's Kaitian
6800 Commercial Computer series. The Kaitian 6800 series
recently won the 2002 Intel Innovative PC Award, a program
that promotes PC designs that best illustrate key industry
achievements in technology, implementation, and ease of use.
The gmZAN2
allows flat-panel monitors to display images with high
quality, and to do so reliably and cost-effectively. It
offers an advanced scaling capability, featuring enhanced
and adaptive scaling algorithms. The chip also features
automatic detection of input format, auto-configuration, and
an integrated on-screen display (OSD) for resolutions up to
XGA.
Legend
Computer Systems has chosen Genesis as the strategic
display-processor supplier for both their commercial and
consumer computer divisions. In addition to the Kaitian 6800
Commercial Computer series, Genesis also provides display
image processors for the LCD Monitors bundled in Legend's
Consumer PC models, the Tianjiao, the Supremia, and the
Premia.
Information: www.genesis-microchip.com.
HP Bundles
Pivot Pro® Software with Compaq Monitors
Pleasanton,
California, November 12 - Portrait Displays, Inc. announced
today that its proprietary Pivot Pro® software is being
included with Hewlett Packard's new Compaq line of
rotational LCD monitors, including 15-, 17-, and 18-inch
models. These new rotating displays include Pivot Pro
software, allowing on-the-fly portrait viewing. Worldwide
distribution of these five new models - the TFT1520,
TFT1520m, TFT1720, TFT1720m, and TFT1825 - extend the
existing relationship between HP and Portrait Displays.
"We are
delighted that the new Compaq displays from HP now include
Pivot Pro software, helping improve human factors and the
viewing experience," said J. Michael James, President
and CEO of Portrait.
Information: www.portrait.com.
3M to
Acquire Corning Precision Lens
St. Paul,
Minnesota, November 12 - 3M announced today that it has
entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Corning
Precision Lens Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Corning
Incorporated, for a gross price of $850 million in cash.
Corning Precision Lens is the largest worldwide manufacturer
of lens systems for rear projection televisions.
Commenting on
the sale, Corning Incorporated's Vice Chairman and Chief
Financial Officer Jim Flaws said, "The sale of Corning
Precision Lens is part of an overall plan to improve our
financial health as we focus on returning to profitability.
We will use the proceeds to reduce debt and strengthen our
balance sheet, including making an additional contribution
to our pension plan." Corning Incorporated said that it
would record the results of Corning Precision Lens as a
discontinued business starting in the fourth quarter.
Information: www.corning.com.
Lite Array
Management Completes Buyout of TFEL Business
Novato,
California, November 6 - Viewpoint Flat Display, Inc., a
newly organized company led by former members of Lite Array,
Inc.'s management team, today announced completion of a
management buyout of Lite Array's TFEL business.
The buyout
completes an amicable separation of former Lite Array
management from Lite Array, Inc. and Global-Tech Appliances
Inc., a Hong Kong-based appliance manufacturing company and
parent company of Lite Array.
"The
buyout places the TFEL business under unified management
equipped to concentrate upon building a business to supply
demand in industrial and professional applications for its
high-volume, low-cost display product," said Jimin Ma,
former President of Lite Array and a member of the buyout
group. "It will allow maximum concentration and
management control of the high-tech core TFEL business at a
time when global business uncertainties require the
discipline and control of a focused management effort."
ViewPoint
Flat Panel Display, Inc. (ViewPoint Displays) will retain
the original management team led by Mr. Ma, and will retain
its headquarters in Novato, California and its manufacturing
in Jiangmen, China.
The
Global-Tech subsidiary, Lite Array (BVI) Ltd. will continue
with the development of organic light-emitting-diode (OLED)
display products and retain the Lite Array name. Development
of OLED displays will be conducted at Global-Tech's Dongguan,
China plant.
In a related
move, ViewPoint Displays announced the appointment of a new
plant manager, Craig Dickson, for its Jiangmen plant.
Dickson is the former Executive VP of Luxell Technologies in
charge of manufacturing TFEL display systems.
The
management buyout of the TFEL business came at a time when
Lite Array was introducing a new range of lower-power TFEL.
Within the next four months, Viewpoint expects to show
samples with higher brightness and greater dimming range.
Lite Array (BVI)
Ltd. and ViewPoint Flat Panel Display, Inc. will be sharing
the current Lite Array website until the newly organized
company completes development of its new website (www.viewpointdisplay.com).
Information: Dr. Paul
Beatty. Tel: (415) 382-1497, www.litearray.com.
Primagraphics
Wins Record £2.8 Million Order For Royal Navy Type 42 Destroyers
Charlottesville,
Virginia, November 4 - Primagraphics has won a record £2.8
million (US$4.4 million) contract from Alenia Marconi
Systems (AMS) to supply radar input and scan converter
systems. Primagraphics' equipment will be integrated by
engineers at AMS (Farlington, Portsmouth, England) with the
new flat-panel displays, processors, and software that will
be fitted to the command and control consoles on board every
one of the British Royal Navy's fleet of Type 42 destroyers.
The first ship to be upgraded with the new equipment will be
HMS Gloucester.
Royal Navy
Type 42 destroyers will receive color AMLCD displays from
AMS and radar scan converter and input cards from
Primagraphics. (Royal Navy photo.)
AMS was
awarded the latest £13.5 million ADAWS upgrade contract by
the U.K. Ministry of Defence in June 2002. The ADAWS (Action
Data Automated Weapon System) command and control system is
combat proven in anti-air warfare, fighter control, missile
direction, naval gunfire support, and anti-submarine
warfare. The new upgraded equipment will provide the Royal
Navy with modern color display systems in every console,
delivering significantly improved functionality at a
substantially reduced maintenance cost.
Primagraphics
will be supplying AMS with COTS PCI hardware and software,
including A radar scan converter and a radar input card.
Shipments will start before the end of 2002 and will be
completed by July 2004. "This is the largest single
contract Primagraphics has secured in its history, and it is
a major boost to have received it during our 20th
anniversary year," said John Hunter, marketing director
at Primagraphics.
Information: www.primagraphics.net.
Photon
Dynamics Completes Acquisition of Intevac's Rapid Thermal
Processing Equipment Business
San Jose,
California, November 4 - Photon Dynamics, Inc. today
announced it has completed its acquisition of the Rapid
Thermal Processing (RTP) portion of the flat-panel-display
capital-equipment business of Intevac, Inc.
Based in
Santa Clara, California, Intevac has sold its patented RTP
technology used for activating low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS)
films during the manufacturing process for flat-panel
displays (FPDs) to Photon Dynamics for approximately $20
million and assumption of certain liabilities. Twenty-three
Intevac employees will be hired by Photon Dynamics and will
relocate to Photon Dynamics' San Jose location.
"Photon
Dynamics believes that the RTP technology will be required
by FPD manufacturers to address emerging LTPS display
applications, which are growing rapidly. Intevac's patented
technology is critical for the manufacture of LTPS
active-matrix, thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal displays
(TFT-LCDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs),"
stated Vincent Sollitto, president and CEO of Photon
Dynamics. "Furthermore, we believe our established
global sales and service infrastructure will expand the use
of this technology among the world's leading
manufacturers," he said.
Information: www.photondynamics.com,
www.intevac.com.
