Dialog Semiconductor Plc (NASDAQ: DLGS, Prime Standard: DLG), has announced its entry into
a new product area by offering color display driver integrated circuits (ICs) for wireless
handsets to its customers in this key target market. Aimed at the growing number of color
display handset manufacturers in Asia, the new products are available from Dialog
Semiconductor as a result of technology licensed from Optrex, and MOTIF, a joint venture
between Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) and InFocus(R) Corporation (NASDAQ: INFS).
The new display driver ICs complement the
Dialog Semiconductor devices already available for the wireless handset market - these
include integrated power management and audio ICs, CMOS image sensors and modules, and
application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Roland Pudelko, CEO & president,
said, "We have developed a family of color STN (super-twisted nematic) liquid crystal
display (LCD) drivers with resolutions up to 65k true colors. With agreements in place for
intellectual property licensed from Optrex and Motif, development partners are already
identified which will enable us to introduce our first display driver ICs this quarter.
The key market for these products is in Asia, where Dialog is seeing significant growth
and where we are already in discussions with customers for the driver ICs."
As mobile phone users demand the ability
to get more information from their display particularly as a result of video and gaming
capabilities, the display and the display driver become critical elements in the overall
system. According to Allen Nogee, principal analyst responsible for wireless component
technology at market research firm In-Stat/MDR, cost continues to be the main issue. He
comments, "People want color phones that can present much more information but
without increasing handset size, while the carriers' goal is to generate revenue. Add to
this a trend towards incorporating two displays in a handset, and you have a combination
of pressures demanding low cost components and low power consumption, but high resolution
and performance. The phone handset size will not grow, but more and more features will be
squeezed onto the small display."
This demand for higher performance full
color, high speed moving images is the reason why Dialog Semiconductor licensed the
multi-line addressing (MLA) LCD technology, the key benefit of which is faster response
time compared to conventional passive matrix displays. Optrex' MLA was originally
developed for the successful i-mode internet access mobile phones in Japan, and enables
fast response time, high brightness, lower cost and lower power consumption compared to
thin film transistor (TFT) LCDs. Displays using MLA technology support moving images at
speeds faster than 15 frames per second while maintaining very low power consumption.
Roland Pudelko said, "This
technology fits perfectly with our overall strategy of exploiting our technology base and
core competence to provide products and solutions for low power applications like mobile
phone handsets. In particular, our expertise in mixed signal design and power management,
together with high performance, high voltage analog circuit design, is relevant to our LCD
driver product family, which will be available in a variety of display sizes and color
resolutions."
Pudelko adds, "Over the next 2-3
years, the worldwide subscriber base for mobile phones is estimated to reach in excess of
two billion, which in turn will drive demand for handset sales. When you put all the
trends together for the handset itself - such as color displays replacing black and white,
dual displays for the popular clamshell formats, and the growth in digital camera phones -
then the combination of our display driver ICs with image sensing components and modules
places us in an excellent position to provide the semiconductor technology solutions
needed to address these new end-user demands." Information about Dialog Semiconductor
Dialog Semiconductor develops and
supplies power management, audio and imaging technology, delivering innovative mixed
signal standard products as well as application specific IC solutions for wireless,
automotive and industrial applications. The company's expertise in mixed signal design,
with products manufactured entirely in CMOS technology, enhances the performance and
features of wireless, hand-held and portable electronic products. Its technology is also
used in intelligent control circuits in automotive and industrial applications. Dialog
Semiconductor Plc is headquartered near Stuttgart, Germany with additional design
facilities in the UK, the USA, Austria and Japan. The company is listed on the Frankfurt
(Prime Standard: DLG) and on the NASDAQ (DLGS) exchanges.
Dialog Semiconductor
Birgit Hummel
Telephone: +49-7021-805-412
Fax: +49-7021-805-200
E-mail: birgit.hummel@diasemi.com
www.Dialog-Semiconductor.com
