Fundamental Drivers Of Growth Of Electronic Displays Revealed At DisplaySearch’s 10th Annual US FPD Conference; Conference Proceedings Now Available

[The following is a release from DisplaySearch]

March 25, 2008

For the tenth consecutive year, prime movers in the $780 billion display industry met at the DisplaySearch US FPD Conference in March at the Torrey Pines Hilton in La Jolla, California. Analysts from DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in display market research and consulting, covered all aspects of the display supply chain. This year, the conference added coverage of touch screens, flexible displays and wireless connectivity. Conference sessions also considered external drivers such as the importance of viewers’ emotions and the availability of capital. This year’s conference covered the following topics in detail: * Display Industry Financial Outlook * Global and US TV Market Outlook * External Drivers of Display Demand * FPD Materials and Equipment Outlook * Notebook PC Drivers, Emerging Markets and Market Outlook * Desktop Monitor Market Growth Outlook * Next Generation Display Connectivity Trends * OLEDs and Flexible Display Technology – When, Where & How * Smart and Music Phones Re-create the Mobile Phone Market * Digital Signage – The Next BIG Display Market * TV Display Technology Advances * Touch Panel Technology and Market Outlook The key challenges, opportunities and outlook for each of these segments were provided by DisplaySearch analysts, as well as industry leaders from 3M, AKT, Amimon, AUO, Collins Stewart, Corning, Cowen and Company, DisplayLink, DivX, Dolby Laboratories, E Ink, ELO Touch, Genesis Microchip, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Immersion, Ingram Micro, Kodak, the LCD TV Association, Lenovo, MCT, Monitor Group, NEC Solutions, nVidia, Orbotech, Panasonic, Photon Dynamics, Polymer Vision, Positivo Informatica, Qualcomm, Radiospire, RPO, Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI, SiBeam, Sony, Synaptics, Toshiba, Toyoda Gosei and Universal Display. Conference Highlights included * Based on commentary from the opening presentation by DisplaySearch’s Ross Young, 2008 could be another record year for TFT LCD supplier sales and profits, but a problem year for “big box” consumer electronics retailers. * Samsung SDI’s Dr. Chung described how the transition from an information society to a dream society requires displays that can affect the viewer’s emotional experience. He explained how this is accelerating development of active-matrix OLED technology that competes with the current TFT LCD technology. * DisplaySearch’s Barry Young asserted that 2008 will be a tipping-point year for OLED. He expects to see accelerated growth and a transition to maturity—indicated by the emergence of OLED TV. * Speakers from four touch-panel makers compared and contrasted the relative merits of six technologies that enable human touch interfaces for fixed and mobile products. Meanwhile, LCD suppliers are developing ways to embed touch-interfaces in the displays themselves. * NEC Display Solutions’ Richard Atanus emphasized the need for the digital signage market to differentiate commercial and consumer grade products. Attendees agreed that digital signage demand will grow faster than most other market segments. * Qualcomm’s Rasmus Hellberg presented roadmaps for high-speed communications that will bring seamless video creation and consumption to portable devices. DisplaySearch’s Chris Crotty forecasted mobile phones will consume 50% of small/medium displays over the next five years. * Brazil Ministry of Science & Technology’s Dr. Mammana explained the challenges that must be overcome to introduce “$100 laptops” for children in BRIC countries. That $100 has been multiplied by four for several reasons, and the program has been more difficult than expected. * AU Optronics’ CM Wung identified new consumer usage models for multi-media products that may stimulate PC monitor demand and engender a new round of growth in this market segment. Lenovo’s Jim Christensen identified “green-PC” as a new buying motive for IT professionals. * Samsung’s Brian Berkeley announced its new low cost drive solution for LED backlights with local dimming as well as its single-chip 1080p motion estimation and correction solution. * DisplaySearch’s Ross Young discussed a lower-cost ultra-violet (UV) lamp under development for backlight applications, and he revealed early results from the firm’s OLED TV characterization study on black level, luminance and product lifetime. Additional attendee comments included “Very organized conference, with a well balanced mix of presentations addressing the mainstream and emerging markets & technologies.” “Good range of topics and great way to meet with representatives from all aspects of the industry.” “The US FPD Conference had been always the compass to understanding the FPD market and this year it met my expectations.” “The conference provided great opportunities to both demonstrate our technology and network.” The 2008 US FPD Conference Proceedings are now available at a price of $1,295, which includes an electronic download of all presentations and a 50+ page show report, the US FPD Conference Summary. To purchase, please visit www.displaysearch.com/usfpd08.

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