NEC LCD Technologies to Launch New TFT LCD Module Suitable for Portable Information Devices

For immediate use April 5, 2006
NEC LCD Technologies, Ltd.

Tokyo, April 05, 2006 --- NEC LCD Technologies, Ltd. (NEC LCD Technologies) today announced that it will begin shipping samples of its new 3.5-inch (8.9-centimeters-diagonal) amorphous silicon thin-film-transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD), part number NL2432HC22-40A, in the beginning of June. The new LCD is extremely suitable for installation in various portable devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and portable GPS terminals as it can reproduce colors clearly and vividly even in indoor/outdoor environments with high ambient light. By optimization of its optical design, the new LCD achieves the highest level of luminance and reflective ratio in the category of semi-transmissive LCDs with a high luminance of 220cd/m2 and a high reflective ratio of 15%.

The main characteristics of the new model are as follows:

1. Simultaneous pursuit of high luminance and high reflective ratio Further optimization of optical design based on NEC LCD Technologies' own unique super-reflective natural light TFT (SR-NLT) technology realizes both high luminance of 220cd/m2 (equivalent to approximately 2.3 times that of the conventional product NL2432HC22-22A) and a high reflective ratio of 15% (equivalent to approximately 2.1 times that of the conventional product), while maintaining backlight power consumption equivalent to that of conventional products. In addition, this new product achieves a high contrast ratio of 150:1 (conventional product = 90:1). All of the above contribute to the achievement of bright and clear display in any kind of ambient light environment.
2. Installation of both timing controller and DC-DC converter For the first time, NEC LCD Technologies has installed both a timing controller and a DC-DC converter in one of its LCD products. Consequently, this new LCD offers a range of benefits to manufacturers of portable devices in terms of development cost, lead time, as well as miniaturization of portable devices.
3. Reduction in weight by optimization of total module design The optimization of the total module design achieves a reduction in weight by approximately 10% for conventional products, despite the installation of both a timing controller and a DC-DC converter. Their installation also contributes to a reduction in weight of portable devices as conventionally a timing controller and a DC-DC converter needed to be installed externally.

Recently a variety of portable devices have been appearing on the market due to the emergence of a networked information society. Some of these devices are equipped with semi-transmissive LCD modules as their display. Semi-transmissive LCDs give customers a choice of two operating modes depending on the ambient light environment; one is the transmissive mode that uses a backlight system as a spectral source and the other is a reflective mode that uses an ambient light as a spectral source. However, conventional semi-transmissive LCD modules have long been faced with the dilemma of how to balance brightness of the transmissive mode and the reflective ratio of the reflective mode, primarily due to the need for each pixel of semi-transmissive LCDs to be divided by transmissive construction area and reflective construction area.

"Through a combination of several of our core technologies, SR-NLT technology and adoptive design technology, NEC LCD Technologies has solved the long-time dilemma of how to achieve simultaneous high brightness and high reflective ratio of semi-transmissive LCDs," said Hidetoshi Usui, department manager in charge of product planning and marketing, NEC LCD Technologies, Ltd. "This breakthrough will offer a multitude of benefits to manufacturers of portable information devices, such as shortened lead time, as well as reduced cost and weight. We remain committed to the development of LCDs that meet all of our customers needs in a variety of industries."

NEC LCD Technologies will continue to commercialize products boasting high added-value such as those with high picture performance and high specifications, even in the field of small LCD modules for portable devices, aiming to contribute to the achievement of a user-friendly networked information society in the near future.

NEC LCD Technologies' new model will be displayed at Display 2006, which is being held in Tokyo Big Sight, Japan, from April 19 - 21.

*Please see the attached sheet for the main specifications of the new models.

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