Cupertino, Calif. and Seoul, South Korea—February 14, 2006—Korean manufacturer LG Innotek Co., Ltd., one of the world's largest LCD module producers, will develop a broad product line of high-resolution LCD display modules fully integrated with PenTile RGBW™ technology from Clairvoyante™. The integration will enable LG Innotek customers to build hand-held devices featuring high-performance VGA displays that outperform the most efficient RGB stripe displays of comparable visual resolution and offer increased brightness, contrast and reduced power consumption while still enabling competitive manufacturing costs.
LG Innotek's first PenTile® product will be a 2.4-inch VGA amorphous silicon plug-and-play display module specifically tailored toward high-end mobile phones with data-centric applications. The high-resolution module will provide 50 percent better contrast, offer twice the brightness, and will use less than half the power of similar legacy products-extending battery life and enabling excellent picture quality, crisp definition, and highly readable text within a wide range of ambient lighting conditions. The module will also employ the world's first system-on-a-chip driver solution for amorphous silicon TFT LCDs, produced by LG Electronics Systems' IC division.
PenTile® technology alters the traditional pixel layout and then adds a white subpixel, which reduces the number of column drivers, widens each subpixel, and ultimately increases aperture ratio and panel transmissivity. Combining this unique layout with Clairvoyante's proprietary subpixel rendering technology optimizes display performance in terms of brightness, resolution and power consumption. Incorporating PenTile RGBW™ technology into the module will also enable amorphous silicon providers to capitalize on the rising demand for high-resolution panels sparked by emerging data-centric applications such as web browsing, GPS, electronic games, eBooks, and video in handheld devices.
Cost Effective Methodology
While most products designed to enhance feature sets result in increased costs, the performance enhancements enabled by PenTile RGBW™ technology reduce the number of LEDs required, the quantity of column drivers and the amount of memory needed while enhancing production yields, thus reducing the cost by as much as 30 percent. Even with the addition of white subpixels, comparable visual resolution can be achieved using one-third fewer TFTs, reducing the cost of smart drivers and giving LCD manufacturers an additional competitive advantage. PenTile RGBW™ technology is especially appropriate for producing high-resolution panels because at high resolutions, reduced TFT density improves yield, lowering manufacturing costs.
"We are committing to building a full line of PenTile® modules because the technology grants us the ability to enhance the performance of our customers' products," said Jong Sool Park, vice president, director of the R&D Laboratory at LG Innotek. "Furthermore, being better equipped to respond to our customers' needs will allow us to broaden our line of high-resolution products and offer varied formats, all while improving yield and lowering cost."
"As data-centric applications become more widely used, it is imperative that handset manufacturers are able to provide the display experience customers demand-high resolution, bright images, crisp graphics, and clear text, as well as a lightweight, long-lasting battery," said Joel Pollack, president and chief executive officer of Clairvoyante. "LG Innotek's plans to integrate PenTile® technology into their product line will enable a variety of manufacturers to develop next-generation, cost-effective products with optimized display performance."
Availability
LG Innotek hopes to aggressively bring this product to market and plans to have it commercially available in Q2 2006 to meet the growing needs for higher performance data-centric cell phones. As part of its technology roadmap, the company also plans to develop other PenTile® display modules in a range of sizes and formats ideal for a variety of handheld devices.
PenTile RGBW™ Technology Adoption
LG Innotek is the first module company to license second generation PenTile RGBW™ technology, joining a host of display and IC driver manufacturers worldwide who recognize the benefits of incorporating PenTile RGBW™ technology and are licensing it for their products. Licensees include Samsung, Silicon Works and Sitronix.
About Clairvoyante
Clairvoyante, Inc. develops and licenses unique pixel architectures and algorithms to the flat-panel display industry. The company's proprietary subpixel rendering technology optimizes the performance of next-generation LCD displays in terms of brightness, resolution and power consumption. Founded in July 2000, Clairvoyante maintains offices in Sebastopol and Cupertino, Calif. The company's investors include American River Ventures, Intel Capital, Pacifica Fund, Rocket Ventures, Selby Venture Partners, The Angels' Forum and Yasuda Capital. For more information, visit www.clairvoyante.com.
About LG Innotek
Aided by its seven core and leading-edge technologies, LG Innotek develops core components such as combined RF, power, camera, and LCD modules, LEDs, and small precision motors, in the areas of digital information-based home appliances, wireless communications, and display.
Logo, Clairvoyante, and PenTile RGBW are trademarks/service marks of Clairvoyante, Inc. PenTile is a registered trademark of Clairvoyante, Inc.
Corporate Contact
Rachel Peres
Clairvoyante
408.200.7393
rperes@clairvoyante.com
Media Contact
Marion Margiotta
YRG Communications
503.222.0626
mmargiotta@yrgcommunications.com
LGIT Contact
Jun-seog Koh
LG Innotek
82–2–3777–0075
jskoh@lginnotek.com
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