Press Release - Archives 2000

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Intel Developer Forum, Palm Springs, Calif. - ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY, NASDAQ:ATYT) announced today that it is collaborating with Toshiba Corporation to enable its 15-inch high-resolution (1600x1200 pixels) Thin Film Transistor (TFT) Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) to be adopted in the next-generation notebook marketplace. ATI's RAGE Mobility 128™ graphics controller supports up to 1600x1200 pixel resolution, thus enabling the adoption of Toshiba's LCD by notebook vendors and their OEMs. ATI's chips can also enable future applications in the desktop LCD monitor and Internet appliance markets.

ATI's RAGE Mobility 128 graphics controller will be demonstrated in conjunction with Toshiba's prototype 15-inch UXGA TFT LCD at the Intel Developer's Forum, held in Palm Springs, Calif. from Feb. 15 through Feb. 17. The collaboration between the two companies initially will help enable 1600x1200 pixel display resolution in the notebook marketplace.

"We are pleased to collaborate with ATI to enable high-resolution LCDs to the notebook marketplace," said Sakae Arai, chief technology executive for Toshiba's Display Devices and Components Company. "ATI's RAGE Mobility 128 graphics controller is the first available notebook graphics chip currently in the market that can directly drive our 15-inch UXGA TFT LCD intended for the notebook industry."

"This is yet another important milestone in Toshiba's efforts to broaden the adoption of higher-resolution TFT LCDs in the notebook industry and other product segments," added Mr. Steve Vrablik, business development director, LCDs for Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.

"We are very pleased to collaborate with Toshiba Corp. by introducing this new graphics technology to the notebook marketplace. The ability to provide very high UXGA resolution represents a technology breakthrough that has not been possible before with traditional notebook displays," said Bill Henry, director of Mobile Component Marketing for ATI. "ATI's expertise in graphics and LCD driver technologies combined with Toshiba's innovative display technologies will allow us to deliver powerful visual solutions beyond the notebook market to desktop, Internet appliances and other mobile applications."

Users are demanding more display functionality from their notebooks
The notebook market continues to grow at about 17 percent a year, well above the growth of the high-end desktop market. As the notebook becomes the primary computer for many individuals, users are demanding higher quality visual displays. ATI, the number one graphics vendor in both the notebook and desktop market, is working with Toshiba to pave the way to supply the highest resolution displays possible; making the notebook the ultimate desktop replacement.

TFT LCDs will continue their penetration into such traditional CRT-based applications as financial trading floors, retail POS and kiosks, call centers, CAD/CAM, desktop publishing, and medical markets. Furthermore, TFT LCDs are enabling new applications such as Internet appliances, webPADsª, electronic books and photo viewers. The trend in all of these categories is towards higher resolution displays offering photo- and life-like image quality.

ATI's demonstration at the Intel Developers Forum will feature a low-temperature poly-Silicon Toshiba 15-inch UXGA TFT LCD prototype, first introduced in October, 1999, which is still under development. ATI's RAGE Mobility 128 controller will drive this demonstration, and it is suitable for notebook applications, whereas the RAGE 128 PRO controller is suitable for desktop applications. The 15-inch UXGA TFT LCD uses a 2-channel LVDS interface and features a pixel pitch of 0.19 millimeter (mm), corresponding to a display resolution density of 133 pixels-per-inch (ppi). At 133ppi, this resolution density is far greater than LCDs typically found in the notebook marketplace today, which generally range from 80- to 100ppi. This resolution density is also far greater than the resolutions typically found in the high-end CRT monitor marketplace. ATI's two controllers will enable high-resolution applications in both market segments.

About Toshiba Corporation
Toshiba Corporation is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products, and power systems. The company's integration of these wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as an innovator in advanced components, products, and systems. Toshiba has 198,000 employees worldwide, and annual sales of over US$40 billion. Toshiba's Semiconductor Company is one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of semiconductor products, with the most advanced process and embedded technologies, including memories, ASICs, and microprocessors, in addition to discrete and bipolar components. For more information, please visit Toshiba's website at www.toshiba/com/taec

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Company Profile

ATI Technologies Inc., the world's largest supplier of 3D graphics and multimedia technology, designs, manufactures and markets innovative and award-winning multimedia solutions and graphics components for the personal computer, set-top box and consumer electronics appliance markets. An ISO 9002 company, ATI is the world's leading supplier of video and 2D/3D graphics accelerators to OEM and retail customers. Founded in 1985, ATI employs more than 1,700 people at headquarters in Thornhill, Ontario, and in offices in the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Barbados, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. ATI is a public company whose shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

Contact Information

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