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Press Release

E INK'S ELECTRONIC PAPER COMMERCIALIZED

World's First Production Shipment Commenced

Cambridge, MA USA and Tokyo, Japan - March 24th, 2004 – E Ink Corp., and TOPPAN Printing Co., Ltd. announce the commercialization of Electronic Paper through the launch of the first consumer adoption in a revolutionary new reading device from Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE).

Since the announcement of a strategic alliance in May 2001, E Ink Corp. and TOPPAN have been co-developing the most important core component of Electronic Paper displays; an optical film called Front Plane Laminate (FPL). To manufacture an FPL, E Ink supplies its proprietary electronic ink technology to TOPPAN who applies it to a plastic film in a roll-to-roll coating process. This FPL has been incorporated into an Electronic Paper Display offered by Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) and adopted in the Sony e-Book reader "LIBRIé" scheduled to go on sale in late April.

E Ink's Electronic Paper has gathered significant attention as the leading solution in next-generation displays that possesses both the visual benefits of paper and convenience and utility of electronic displays. The key benefits which make this technology ideally suited for portable information devices are the following:

  • Paper-like Readability: Easy-to-read, high contrast, and Near-180 degree viewing angle;
  • Ultra-low Power Consumption: Using no-power to maintain an image, this image stability provides the potential for extra-ordinary battery life;
  • Thin and Light Construction: This revolutionary technology replaces a sheet of glass with thin, lightweight, plastic electronic ink film.

The Sony "LIBRIé", the first consumer electronics product to adopt E Ink's electronic ink technology, features paper-like readability, low power consumption of 10,000 pages (based upon Sony tests) from 4 "AAA" Alkaline batteries and portability featuring a light weight of less than half a pound (approximately 190g) by itself or just over a half a pound (300g) with battery and folding cover.

The Philips Electronic Paper Display in the Sony LIBRIé is characterized by:

  • Active Area (diagonal): 6"
  • Resolution: SVGA (approximately 170ppi)
  • Grayscale: 4 Shades of Gray
  • Display Principle: Reflective, Microencapsulated Electrophoretic
  • Driving Scheme: Active Matrix

About E Ink Holdings
Founded in 1992 by Taiwan's leading papermaking and printing group YFY (1907.TW), E Ink Holdings Inc. "E Ink" (8069.TW) is the pioneer of TFT and ePaper business in Taiwan. Its corporate philosophy aims to deliver revolutionary products, user experiences, and environmental benefits through advanced technology development. This vision has led to its continuous investments in the field of ePaper display as well as its 2008 acquisition of Hydis Technologies, manufacturer of the world's best wide viewing angle LCDs and its 2009 acquisition of E Ink Corp., the worldwide leader in ePaper. Listed in Taiwan's GreTai Securities Market and the Luxembourg market, E Ink is now the world's largest supplier of displays to the eBook market. For corporate information, please visit www.einkgroup.com; for EPD information, please visit www.eink.com / tw.eink.com; and for FFS information, please visit www.hydis.com.