Samsung Press Release

Samsung Electronics Develops World’s First 3-inch LCD Screen of VGA Quality for Digital Still Cameras

SEOUL, South Korea—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Aug. 10, 2006—Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world’s largest provider of thin-film transistor, liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, announced today that it has developed the first three-inch LCD panel with VGA (640 x 480 pixels) resolution that directly meets industry interface standards for digital still cameras. Executive Vice President Yun Jin-hyuk of Samsung Electronics said, “Our new LCD panel will make viewing of digital pictures distinctly more impressive on camera screens, personal multi-media players and other products requiring high-image resolution and low-power consumption.”

Digital camera makers use an interface known as ITU-R601, an international standard for cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs that operates at 30Hz. This standard is incompatible with LCDs, which normally run at 60Hz. Manufacturers have had to reconcile the difference either by compressing the images or by manipulating the signal. However, such approaches will only work with LCDs having a resolution of qVGA(320 x 240 pixels) or less. Samsung’s new LCD operates on 30Hz, allowing VGA images to be obtained from a digital camera without having to create another interface.

The three-inch VGA LCD also incorporates a dot inversion scheme that lowers power consumption while substantially reducing the image flickering that has prevented such an approach in the past. Power consumption is further reduced because the 30Hz source driver requires less power than the 60Hz type, helping to better differentiate mobile display-based products.

Samsung will exhibit its new device at IMID 2006, which opens in Daegu, Korea on August 23. Samsung will begin commercially producing the new VGA-resolution LCD panel in the first half of 2007.

About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2005 parent company sales of US$56.7 billion and net income of US$7.5 billion. Employing approximately 128,000 people in over 120 offices in 57 countries, the company consists of five main business units: Digital Appliance Business, Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business and Telecommunication Network Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com

3” VGA-resolution LCD for Digital Cameras
Reference Data

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Display size       3 inches
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Resolution         VGA (640 pixels x 480 rows)
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Display type       Transmissive
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Brightness         300nit
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Contrast ratio     350:1
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Number of Colors     260,000
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Color saturation     50%
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Viewing angles     45 degrees above, 55 degrees below,
              75 degrees left, 75 degrees right
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Power consumption   60mW
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Terminology

ITU-R601: A video interface standard for TVs, established by the International Telecommunications Union, which also is applied to digital cameras.

Resolution Formats

—qqVGA: 160 pixels across by 128 rows high

—qCIF: 220 pixels across by 176 rows high

—qVGA: 320 pixels across by 240 rows high

—qSVGA: 400 pixels across by 300 rows high

—VGA: 640 pixels across by 480 rows high

Dot Inversion: An inversion method for alleviating flicker in LCDs.

Flicker: A visually distracting phenomenon created by alternating changes in the intensity of light emitted onscreen.

Transmissive: A display that uses a backlight shining through a LCD panel to produce the image. Other types include semi-transmissive and reflective.

Nit: An abbreviation for the measure of brightness properly called candela per meter square (cd/m2).

Color Saturation: A standard for measuring the intensity of color produced by a display. Color saturation is normally expressed as a ratio, with the NTSC standard being 100%. TVs have a color saturation of 72% or higher, while the color saturation for small and mid-sized displays is about 50%.