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Clairvoyante Introduces PenTile Mode Control™ Technology Based on Backlight Control Techniques to Manage Power and Color Purity

New technology offers flexibility to select various backlight control modes to reduce power by as much as 65 percent or manage color purity for web-based content

Long Beach, Calif.—May 22, 2007—In order to add the flexibility to balance color performance with power management in mobile displays, Clairvoyante is introducing PenTile Mode Control™ technology, a new set of backlight control options for statically or dynamically selecting varying levels of power consumption and color purity.

Next-generation mobile devices are increasingly being designed with capabilities such as web browsing, navigation, e-mail access, and mobile TV. These applications need varying levels of color saturation and power reduction to run effectively. PenTile Mode Control™ technology offers an innovative solution for setting a balance between color saturation and power efficiency selectable by the user interface of mobile devices. This unique approach to color and power control allows display manufacturers the flexibility to develop displays suitable for a wider variety of applications that satisfy consumers' desires for feature-rich devices with extended battery life.

The initial features include three static modes that enable a user interface to control the amount of power reduction or color control, and one dynamic mode that uses dynamic backlight control (DBLC) to automatically analyze image content in order to provide variable power savings of 15 to 65 percent.

"For the first time, display manufacturers and their customers will have unprecedented flexibility to select the most appropriate balance of color purity and power reduction, putting the customer in control of optimizing the power/performance ratio that best fits their application," according to Clairvoyante president and chief executive officer Joel Pollack. "PenTile Mode Control™ technology adds yet another measure of flexibility that enables PenTile® technology to continually advance mobile display design."

Static Backlight Control Modes

There are three static backlight control modes, all of which are available now. Each of the modes can be supported by driver chips that are currently available.

• PenTile® Power Saver Mode enables a fixed power reduction of 50 percent and is optimized to display lifelike, natural-looking colors such as full-screen video at maximum power efficiency. This mode can be selected when content is dominated by natural colors such as video, or when the battery is running low and the user needs to conserve power at the expense of some pure color appearance.
• PenTile® Pure Color Mode offers fixed 15 percent power savings and is appropriate for applications where content is dominated by bright, highly saturated colors such as web browsers or computer-generated graphics. This mode is ideal for extending battery life of portable devices like Ultra Mobile PCs and Mobile Internet Devices where the appearance of saturated colors is paramount.
• PenTile® Outdoor Mode is ideal for optimally displaying images and text in outdoor settings with high ambient light where visibility is most important. This may enable transmissive panels to be used instead of transflective technology, where compromises are often made to appearance.

Dynamic Backlight Control Options

PenTile® Dynamic Power Optimization Mode combines the substantial power-saving properties of PenTile RGBW™ technology with content-dependant power savings achieved through dynamic backlight control techniques to achieve a variable power savings of 15 to 65 percent. By analyzing the color and brightness metrics of each image frame and continually adjusting the image rendering and backlight, both computer-generated graphics and video may be displayed with content-appropriate color purity at optimal power efficiency. PenTile RGBW™ technology is also compatible with conventional dynamic backlight control from third parties. Availability in products is expected in Q4 2007.

Demonstrations Offered During SID Exhibition

Today through Thursday, Clairvoyante is demonstrating these new backlight control techniques, including a side-by-side comparison of PenTile® Dynamic Optimization Mode, at the SID International Symposium, Seminar & Exhibition in Booth 1350 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif.

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.

Logo, Clairvoyante, and PenTile RGBW are trademarks/service marks of Clairvoyante, Inc. PenTile is a registered trademark of Clairvoyante, Inc.