March 2005

news archive

TFS to Sell Small-Display Assets; Considers Options for Rest of Business

Tempe, Arizona, March 30 - Three-Five Systems, Inc. today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the assets of its small-form-factor display business to International Display Works, Inc. (NASD: IDWK). Closing of the transaction, which is subject to normal conditions, is expected to occur within two to four weeks.

The company's small-form-factor display assets include 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Three-Five Systems, Beijing, Inc., the company's China-based display subsidiary, and display-related equipment currently housed at the TFS Manila, Philippines factory. The sale will not include the display monitor business operated out of the company's Marlborough, Massachusetts facility and its electronic manufacturing services (EMS) business located in Redmond, Washington, Penang, Malaysia, and Manila, Philippines.

TFS estimates the total value of the transaction will range between $11 and $21 million, which will come from a variety of components. At closing, International Display Works, Inc. will assume the obligations of TFS Beijing, including a $2.4 million line of credit the company has established with a bank located in China.

SG Cowen & Co. represented TFS on the transaction. TFS had retained SG Cowen to review strategic alternatives aimed at maximizing shareholder value. TFS will continue to work with SG Cowen with regard to TFS's large-display, EMS, and RF module manufacturing businesses. TFS is exploring a range of possible alternatives, such as acquisitions, strategic alliances, business combinations, and the sale of a portion or all of the company. TFS is currently in discussions with multiple potential buyers of the RF business and has received an initial offer from a potential buyer of the EMS business.

Information: www.tfsc.com.

BOE HYDIS to Double Production of AFFS LCDs

Incheon, South Korea, March 3 - TFT-LCD manufacturer BOE HYDIS unveiled its plan to significantly increase the production volume of LCD panels using Advanced Fringe Field Switching (AFFS), the company's wide-viewing-angle technology.

Under the brand name VIEWIZ, the company aims to increase product volume to 700,000 panels for 2005, beginning with 300,000 panels for the first half of the year (based on large-size units). Last year, ten percent (300,000 panels) of BOE HYDIS' panel production was manufactured with AFFS technology.

In addition, small-sized AFFS products for mobile applications will enter full manufacturing from the second half of this year, and the recently launched BOE OT's G5 manufacturing line near Beijing will begin to apply AFFS technology to its 26-inch and 32-inch TVs. These moves will significantly increase the percentage of AFFS products in the company's overall line.

Last December, BOE HYDIS announced an AFFS patent license agreement with Japan's Hitachi Displays Ltd. Now, BOE HYDIS is discussing other patent licensing agreements with Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese panel manufacturers.

In addition to supporting a viewing angle of 180 degrees both horizontally and vertically, AFFS prevents color shift, significantly improves transmittance, and has a high contrast ratio. The increased transmittance reduces power consumption by 20 to 30 percent compared to competitive products., according to a company statement, which went on to say that in an LCD power-consumption test conducted by a major CPU manufacturer, BOE HYDIS products for tablet and notebook computers recorded the lowest power consumption.

With recent successes under its belt, BOE HYDIS is positioning AFFS as an alternative to Hitachi's IPS and Fujitsu's VA technologies.

Information: www.boehydis.com.

Clairvoyante's Second-Generation PenTile RGBW Achieves VGA Visual Resolution with Twice the Luminance

Cupertino, California, March 1 - Clairvoyante, Inc. is introducing a second generation of its PenTile™ RGBW LCD design that combines advanced sub-pixel rendering technology with a RGB + White sub-pixel structure. Compared to conventional RGB stripe LCDs, the technology increases color saturation and contrast, improves white brightness, and reduces power consumption, and produces a perceived VGA resolution - which the company calls "VGA visual resolution" - in display sizes as small as 2.2 inches on the diagonal.

This generation of PenTile RGBW utilizes a new, proprietary eight-sub-pixel configuration that adds white sub-pixels to the mix of conventional red, green, and blue sub-pixels, and addresses each sub-pixel as an independent element contributing to neighboring and overlapping "logical pixels." Reducing the number of column drivers and widening each sub-pixel increases the aperture ratio and panel transmissivity. Combining this unique layout with Clairvoyante's proprietary sub-pixel rendering and gamut-mapping technologies increases brightness, achieves higher visual resolution, improves contrast ratio, and lowers power consumption, the company said.

Production of PenTile RGBW displays does not require difficult changes to existing manufacturing processes, and manufacturing yield is improved because fewer TFTs are required to achieve VGA visual resolution compared to the conventional RGB stripe layout. The same visual resolution is achieved with 33 percent fewer TFTs, even with the addition of white sub-pixels, and one-third fewer data drivers are required

"Achieving VGA resolution in a cell phone faces a significant challenge: finding an ideal solution that maximizes brightness without sacrificing power consumption and battery life, while at the same time minimizing cost increases," said Ross Young, president of the market intelligence firm DisplaySearch. "PenTile RGBW is a strong contender that can bring VGA to the market faster than most had anticipated."

Joel Pollack, president and chief executive officer of Clairvoyante, said "Driven by the escalating demand for high-resolution, high-performance applications, early adopters of PenTile RGBW soon will be making these new displays available to their OEM customers, giving their next-generation product designs a significant competitive advantage." This second generation of PenTile RGBW is now available for licensing. PenTile Matrix display technology is being designed into LCD panels by the industry's leading display manufacturers, including Samsung, an early Clairvoyante licensee. It is also being incorporated into driver integrated circuits for LCDs, including Sitronix driver ICs. The first consumer products incorporating PenTile Matrix will debut in the first half of 2005.

Information: Rachel Peres, Clairvoyante. Tel: (707) 824-2493, email: rperes@clairvoyante.com, www.clairvoyante.com.

Nemoptic and LC-TEC to Cooperate on BiNem® Industrialization

Magny les Hameaux, France, March 3 - Nemoptic, the developer of BiNem® bi-stable nematic LCD technology, and LC-TEC Displays are pleased to announce today the signing of an agreement that grants Nemoptic the right to further develop its patented BiNem technology and manufacture products at the LC-TEC Displays facilities in Borlänge, Sweden.

The project at the LC-TEC Displays facilities is expected to run for a period of two years. Details of the agreement are not being disclosed.

Information: www.nemoptic.com, www.lc-tec.se.

CEA Supports Betamax Doctrine in Supreme Court Brief

Arlington, Virginia, March 1 - The Betamax doctrine is the foundation of the United States' explosive technological growth over the last 20 years and is particularly critical to new digital technology, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) argues in an amicus brief filed today in the U.S. Supreme Court case Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. Filed by CEA in conjunction with the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and the Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC), the brief argues that the principles set forth by the Supreme Court in the Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios Inc. (Betamax) case should be upheld.

"This is the most important case before the Supreme Court this year," said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. "Betamax is the Magna Carta for everyone who enjoys their iPods, Tivos, personal computers, and most of the products you see at CES. The Betamax principle is directly responsible for the explosion of technology and innovation that has defined our society over the last 20 years. The products introduced under the protective umbrella of Betamax have generated billions of dollars for the economy and immense benefits for society.

"Now Copyright holders urge the Court to overturn Betamax and adopt a variety of unworkable and ill-considered theories of secondary liability. If they are successful, they will extend copyright monopoly to include control over technology; impose unsustainable obligations to restrict designs, chill the development of new technologies, and slow the progress of science and the useful arts.

"The Betamax decision is the standard under which technologies should be evaluated - if there are non-infringing uses to the technology then it should be lawful. Under Betamax, consumers, innovators, and even the content industry have thrived. It was the right decision then, and it's the right decision now."

Information: www.hrrc.org, www.ce.org/IPandCreativity.

Toppan and CDT Explore PLED Display Printing Processes

Cambridge, United Kingdom, February 23 - Toppan Printing of Tokyo and Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) of Cambridge, UK, have just announced the commencement of Phase Two of their joint program to explore alternative printing processes for the fabrication of displays based on light emitting polymer (PLED) technology.

Phase One, completed at the end of 2004, concentrated on proving the feasibility of using a roll printing process to deposit light-emitting polymer materials onto a glass substrate. This technique would enable device manufacturing based on roll-to-roll processing with attendant low costs of production.

Phase Two focuses on the performance of roll-printed displays. It aims to produce displays by roll printing that have lifetime, efficiency, and color fidelity comparable to displays produced by ink-jet printing. Full-color, VGA, 12-inch demonstrators will be the product of the next two-year program.

Both CDT and Toppan are pleased with the results of Phase One and are optimistic about the prospects for future success. David Fyfe, CEO of CDT, said, "The combination of Toppan's skills in conventional printing processes and those of CDT in light-emitting polymer-ink formulation and device structure, enhance the chances for success in this promising project to create very low-cost displays".

Information: www.toppan.com, www.cdtltd.co.uk.