Tom and all..... Here is an old news release. Thought
it might be interesting tearing it apart... The market
for the "Smart Slide" might be opening up sooner than we
think....How big could this market be??
KOPIN INTRODUCES CYBERDISPLAY --
WORLD'S SMALLEST FLAT PANEL
DISPLAYS FOR ULTRA-PORTABLE
ELECTRONICS PRODUCTS
TAUNTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7,
1997-- Designed for Cellular "Web Phones," "E-Mail
Pagers," and "Smart
Card Readers," 0.24-Inch CyberDisplay Enables
Full-Function Information Display in Ultra-Portable
Devices
Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ:KOPN) today
introduced the CyberDisplay, the world's smallest
high-performance, high resolution, full-function
information display. The low cost CyberDisplay is
light-weight, power efficient, rugged, solid state, and
only 0.24-inch diagonal in size. It enables portable
communications devices and personal information
products, including cellular "web phones" and small
standard pagers to display text, e-mail, graphics, and
video from Internet, intranet and other data or video
sources. Using Kopin's proprietary miniature acrylic lens
technology in conjunction with a energy efficient
light-emitting diode (LED) backlight, the display presents
an optical image equivalent to a notebook computer
monitor. The lens provides a wide degree field of view
and the "virtual image" presented can be comfortably
viewed indoors or outdoors with both eyes open.
CyberDisplay is the first display to provide original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with excellent
performance features, a simple architecture for easy
design-in, and the low cost required for full-function
miniature display integration into ultra-portable electronic
products. Based on Kopin's patented and proprietary
SMART SLIDET technology, the CyberDisplay is a
0.24-inch diagonal transmissive active matrix liquid
crystal display (AMLCD) imaging device which displays
information at 320 by 240 pixel resolution. At 1700 lines
per inch, it is the densest transmissive AMLCD in the
world. In addition to displaying standard text and
graphics, the display operates at video speeds and
consumes less than 20mW of power including the
backlight. This combination offers OEMs performance
advantages, high-quality images, and the low power
consumption that portable products require.
"This is a major breakthrough in ultra-portable flat panel
display technologies," said Dr. John C. C. Fan, president
and chief executive officer of Kopin. "The CyberDisplay
is just like the AMLCDs used in all notebook computer
screens, except it is more than 1000 times smaller and
consumes 100 times less power. Together with Kopin's
proprietary acrylic lens, the CyberDisplay provides
crisp, bright, readable images and is ideal for wireless
communication, ultra-portable electronics, and other
personal information devices. We have been focusing on
developing miniature AMLCDs with the highest
resolution and best display performance, and have
succeeded with the introduction of the CyberDisplay -
an ideal display for the new information appliances."
"Concurrent with this announcement, we are pleased and
excited to have United Microelectronics Corporation
(UMC) and its affiliate, Unipac Optoelectronics
(Unipac), as manufacturing partners for the fabrication of
this new display product," continued Dr. Fan. "UMC is
one of the largest integrated circuit foundries in the
world, and Unipac is the largest AMLCD manufacturer
in Taiwan. Their strength in the volume manufacture of
advanced integrated circuit and liquid crystal display
products is a key element in our strategy."
Mr. Robert Tsao, Chairman of UMC and Unipac,
stated, "The CyberDisplay is very manufacturable, since
it is based on mature integrated circuit technologies. We
are already getting good fabrication yields in the early
stage of product introduction. As Kopin's manufacturing
and business partners, as well as an investor in Kopin,
we are ramping up the production volumes and lowering
the cost of the CyberDisplay for rapid penetration of
worldwide markets." According to market researcher
Stanford Resources, Inc. (SRI), the global market for
AMLCD displays of all sizes was more than $12.5
billion in 1996 and is expected to nearly double to $24.4
billion by the year 2003. Dave Mentley, vice president at
Stanford Resources stated that, " The miniature color
display market has grown rapidly in the past few years,
as camcorder viewfinders have been converted from
CRTs to LCDs. This market alone will approach 6
million units worldwide in 1997. The personal
communication device market is the next large target for
small displays and the potential there is obviously very
large." According to Fan, the market for miniature
displays has the potential to be a very rapidly growing
segment of the AMLCD market as hand-held business
and consumer products integrating such displays begin to
ship in mass quantities. Kopin is offering a CyberDisplay
Evaluation Kit which includes a display, backlight, lens,
electronic control unit to drive the display, power supply,
cables and complete specifications. The electronic
control unit also displays pre-stored images and accepts
VGA input from a Personal Computer (PC), allowing
any developer to easily visualize how application images
would appear to a user. Evaluation Kits are available
now and are priced at $950.
CyberDisplay pricing starts at $60 each in sample
evaluation quantities. The complete optical engine
including the display, backlight, and lens is available for
$85 in either amber or black and white. Color
CyberDisplays, which are under development and have
already demonstrated good performance are expected
to be available later in 1997. To order Evaluation Kits
and CyberDisplays, contact Kopin Sales and Marketing
at 508-828-9999. Additional information about Kopin
and its products is available on the World Wide Web at
kopin.com . About Kopin Corporation
Founded in 1984 with initial technology developed at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kopin holds
over 125 patents and patent applications for
technological breakthroughs in Wafer-Engineered
materials and flat panel display technology. These
technologies have enabled Kopin to market display
products and Wafer-Engineered materials that enhance
the delivery and presentation of video, voice and data.
The Company has combined advanced AMLCD and
integrated circuit technology to produce a family of
ultra-small, high density imaging devices. Wireless
telecommunication providers are using Kopin's
Wafer-Engineered electronic materials for
high-performance integrated circuits used in advanced
pagers, cellular phones and other portable
communications devices.
CyberDisplay, SMART SLIDE, Wafer-Engineered and
Wafer- Engineering are trademarks of Kopin
Corporation. Forward-looking statements contained in
this news release are made under "safe harbor"
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Act of
1995 and involve a number of risks and uncertainties
that could materially affect future results. Among these
risk factors are general economic and business
conditions and growth in the flat panel display and GaAs
integrated circuit industries, the impact of competitive
products and pricing, availability of third-party
components, availability of integrated circuit fabrication
facilities, cost and yields associated with the production
of the Company's SMART SLIDE imaging devices and
Wafer-Engineered materials and the other risk factors
and cautionary statements listed from time to time in the
Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10K for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 1996.
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