Kopin Forms Alliance with Solomon Systech To Market Binocular Display Module Products in China

Integrated Circuit Leader’s Established Customer Base and Sales Channel to Accelerate Penetration of Kopin’s Microdisplay Solutions in Key Asian Market

Taunton, Mass. / Hong Kong, October 13, 2005 – Kopin^® Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN), the largest U.S. manufacturer of microdisplays for mobile consumer and military electronics, and Solomon Systech (International) Limited (SEHK: 2878), a global fabless semiconductor company specializing in display driver integrated circuits (IC), announced today that Solomon Systech will sell Kopin’s plug-and-play Binocular Display Module (BDM) products for mobile video eyewear in China under a marketing agreement between the companies.

 

“Solomon Systech’s established customer base in the mobile display IC market and strong sales channel will enable us to accelerate penetration of our microdisplay solutions for mobile video eyewear into this fast-growing market,” said Dr. John C. C. Fan, Kopin’s president and CEO. “By freeing video eyewear manufacturers from the technical complexity of the display system, our BDM products will substantially shorten the time to market and lower the cost of the video eyewear.”

 

The BDM is a complete video subsystem for eyewear that integrates Kopin’s Cyberdisplays, Solomon Systech’s Microdisplay Controller IC, and other electronics and optics for mobile video applications into a lightweight, self-contained unit. The BDM-230K with a QVGA (320 x 240) resolution weighs less than 1 oz, but provides a large image equivalent to a 35-inch TV at a distance of 7 feet. The pre-production BDM-922K with a VGA (640 x 480) resolution provides an image equivalent to a 48-inch TV at 1 oz.

 

“Solomon Systech already is a controller IC partner to Kopin, and we are excited to work more closely with the company to develop and apply new system ICs into display modules for the mobile video eyewear market,” Dr. Fan continued.  “Our joint efforts should also drive rapid adoption of our Digital iVision™ technology in the consumer market.”

 

Kopin’s Digital iVision™ technology offers big pictures on the go in the compact BDM form. It compresses the full-screen image into tiny microdisplays. The image is then enlarged using optical elements that enable the eyes to perceive a much larger image. The key enabler for Digtital iVision™ technology is Kopin’s CyberDisplay^® microdisplays which are the industry’s smallest light-transmitting liquid crystal displays for the resolution — in sizes ranging from a grain of rice to a postage stamp, which has better than high-definition (HD) TV resolution. Kopin’s transmissive displays allow thin, simple optics, which translates into lightweight, compact, and comfortable eyewear.

 

Humphrey Leung, president and managing director of Solomon Systech added, “Solomon Systech has the low power and high integration IC technology to enable Digital iVision™ technology.  With Solomon Systech’s 20% share in the global cellular phone driver IC market, we have already very strong customer relationships and a deep understanding of the mobile applications market. Our experience, strong relationships and well-established marketing channels in the region will allow us to develop and support this new business.”

 

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About Kopin’s BDM System The BDM-230K is the world’s first plug-and-play video subsystem in an eyewear format in volume production. Delivering crisp, full-color QVGA-quality (320 x 240 resolution) video, the BDM 230K creates the effect of a virtual 35-inch display viewed from a seven-foot distance. It requires only 3.3 V power and video input, either in NTSC or PAL format. Integrated into a lightweight (0.9 oz), self-contained unit (97.5 mm x 23.75 mm x 22.0 mm), the BDM-230K includes two CyberDisplay® 230K displays, backlights, drive electronics, and a pair of 24-degree field-of-view optics with large eye relief (20 mm) and pupil size (10 mm). The displays are precisely aligned to the optics and to each other for viewing comfort. Its low power consumption (< 450 mW) allows long viewing time without recharging the battery. It also includes audio pass-through connectors to simplify final assembly.   The BDM-922K, a pre-production module, is very similar to BDM230K, but has a VGA (600 x 480) resolution. It requires only 3.3 V power and video input, either in NTSC or PAL format. Integrated into a lightweight (1 oz), self-contained unit (95.6 mm x 22.3 mm x 31.1 mm), the BDM-922K includes two CyberDisplay® VGA displays, backlights, drive electronics, and a pair of 32-degree field-of-view optics with large eye relief (20 mm) and pupil size (10 mm).

About Kopin Kopin is the largest U.S. manufacturer of microdisplays to the consumer electronics, industrial and military markets and the world’s largest merchant supplier of heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) wafers for power amplifier integrated circuits. Since introducing its award-winning microdisplay technology in 1999, Kopin has shipped more than 15 million CyberDisplays for digital cameras, personal video eyewear, camcorders, thermal weapon sights and head-mounted displays. The Company also has shipped more than 500,000 HBT wafers, which have been integrated into more than 1 billion wireless handsets and into WiFi, VoIP and high-speed Internet data transmission systems. Kopin’s technology is protected by more than 200 global patents and patents pending. For more information, please visit Kopin’s website at www.kopin.com.

Kopin, CyberDisplay and The NanoSemiconductor Company are registered trademarks and Digital iVision is a trademark of Kopin Corporation.