Epson and E Ink Announce a New Addition to the EPD Controller Family

Tokyo, Japan; October 8, 2009. Seiko Epson Corporation Inc., a global supplier of imaging products and semiconductor solutions, and E Ink Corporation, a leading developer and marketer of electronic paper display (EPD) technology, have announced a new jointly developed display controller IC that provides a high-performance, space-saving solution for E Ink's Vizplex-enabled electronic paper displays. The new IC is based on the same powerful engine as the previous and first model, but provides customers with a higher level of performance and additional features.

Found in most major electronic reader devices, Epson and E Ink's EPD low-power consumption screen technology has been a key factor in the rapid growth of the eReader market and the expanding range of mobile applications such as eBooks, eNewspapers, tablet PCs, laptop secondary displays, eNotebooks, and eDictionaries.

The new Epson display controller (code-named ISIS) includes 2MB of embedded memory and features that greatly reduce the CPU overhead for EPD applications. Allowing multi-regional and concurrent display updates, the controller adds interface support for direct touch/pen drawing. In addition picture-in-picture, rotation, transparency, and hardware cursor functions further increase flexibility in delivering the optimal display experience.

"Our aim is to provide the world's best digital reading experience. Our partnership with Epson has created a feature-rich, more integrated display controller IC that will allow our customers to offer more versatile eBooks," said Russ Wilcox, President and CEO of E Ink Corporation.

"Epson successfully added a new segment of display controller solutions with the first model announced last year. This new controller IC demonstrates our commitment to further expanding the EPD display market in partnership with E Ink by fully utilizing Epson's energy- and resource-saving IC technology developed over the last four decades," said Ryuhei Miyagawa, Chief Operating Officer of Epson's Semiconductor Operations Division.

E Ink plans to offer an ISIS prototype kit that will enable engineers to rapidly prototype and develop next-generation ePaper products. Details will be announced as soon as kits are available.