DDD.L Regulatory News (DDD)

4 Dec 2006 07:01

DDD Group PLC04 December 2006 ORANGE ROMANIA PREMIERES 3D SIM+ CARD Santa Monica, California and Bucharest, Romania (December 4, 2006) - DDD Groupplc (AIM: DDD), the 3D software and content company, today announces that,further to the announcement made by DDD on 30 October 2006, Orange Romania ("Orange") has launched SIM+, a high capacity SIM card that allows customers toview a range of high impact 3D content on conventional mobile telephones. Orangebecomes the first operator in the world to offer its customers a way of viewingstereo 3D mobile content on their telephones using the Orange-branded 3D glassesthat are included with the SIM+ package. SIM+ is a new generation of SIM card manufactured by Sagem Orga that includesmultimedia content stored on the 128 MB flash memory card. The 3D content wasproduced by DDD and includes popular mobile content from the Jamba and Jamsterbrands that has been converted to 3D by DDD. The SIM+ 3D content comprises sixstill images, five multimedia messaging (MMS) animations and five short videoclips. New and existing Orange customers can purchase or upgrade to the SIM+ at a costof $8. The new SIM+ can be used with any mobile telephone however the contentstored on the flash memory is only available on compatible handsets. Onceinstalled, customers can access further content from the Orange World portalusing embedded links in the content supplied on the SIM+. In addition to supplying the 3D content for the SIM+ card, DDD also convertedone of Orange's existing television commercials to 3D. The new 3D commercialwill be presented in-store to further enhance the SIM+ 3D promotion. Bogdan Ciubotaru, Senior Product Manager, Orange commented: "Continuing OrangeRomania's tradition of innovation, the SIM+ allows us to explore the excitingnew frontier of stereo 3D. We are closely monitoring our customers' reactions tothe new high capacity 128 MB memory and the highly differentiated viewingexperience that 3D brings. In the future, we hope to expand the range of 3Dcontent to include games and even 3D movies on mobile phones." Chris Yewdall, Chief Executive of DDD said: "We were pleased to have beenselected by Orange to assist them in the delivery of the SIM+ 3D content. Indoing so we have been able to capitalize on the library of 3D mobile telephonecontent that we have developed in collaboration with Jamba/Jamster in recentmonths. The ability to generate revenue from the ongoing consumption of 3Dmobile phone content represents an important aspect of our business as themarket for 3D capable handsets develops." Commenting on the agreement, Ralf Wenzel, VP Sales and Business Development atJamba/Jamster said, "DDD's high quality 2D to 3D content conversion process hasallowed us to realize a new revenue stream from our existing content. As theleading provider of mobile content, Jamba/Jamster is continually seeking todeliver the most exciting entertainment to our customers. Orange's SIM+exemplifies the appeal of 3D across a broad range of mobile telephone content." Enquiries: DDD GroupChris Yewdall, President & CEO +1 310 566-3340e-mail: info@ddd.com Bell Pottinger Corporate & FinancialNick Lambert +44 (0) 20 7861-3232 Notes to Editors About DDD DDD, also known as Dynamic Digital Depth, is transforming the viewing experiencewith applications for glasses-free 3D displays. Its patented technologies enable3D viewing without glasses; simple integration of computer graphics applicationswith 3D displays; supply of 3D content through 2D to 3D conversion; and 3Dtransmission over existing networks. DDD is quoted on the London StockExchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM: DDD). Background • A new category of flat screen LCD and plasma displays are beingdeveloped and marketed by major consumer electronics companies that providestereoscopic 3D images without the need for the viewer to wear glasses.Stereoscopic 3D images appear to have natural in and off-screen depth. 3Ddisplays have already been included in mobile phones in Japan and in desktop PCdisplays and notebook computers in North America and Japan. • DDD's solutions provide an important bridge between conventionaltwo-dimensional (2D) software applications and content and the new 3D displays.Normal 2D pictures, video and computer graphics images are manipulated by DDD'spatented software enabling them to be displayed on 3D displays without requiringthe content to be created specially for a 3D display. DDD's solutions alsoenable automatic conversion of virtually any media from 2D to 3D without anypre-processing of the 2D image. • DDD licenses these software applications, marketed under the TriDef(R)and DDD Mobile(TM) brand names, to consumer electronics manufacturers forinclusion with the 3D display products supplied to their end users. DDD alsolicenses its software directly to end users who already own 3D displays andthrough an international sales channel. Mobile Phone • In 2003 and 2004, DoCoMo introduced two models of Sharp mobile phonesthat included 3D LCD displays developed by Sharp. DoCoMo sold approximately 2.8million glasses-free 3D mobile phones in Japan. • In July 2005, DDD entered into a two-year, non-exclusive, DDD Mobilesoftware licensing agreement and a development agreement with one of the world'stop five mobile phone manufacturers for a second-generation, glasses-free 3Dmobile phone. The licensing arrangements are expected to yield per unitroyalties once the licensee launches their 3D mobile phone. The licensee renewedits exclusive rights for DDD's real time 2D to 3D conversion capabilities foruse on 3D mobile phones in their domestic market in October 2006. • DDD expects to license its DDD Mobile software library to additionalmobile phone manufacturers who wish to include 3D LCD displays in a variety ofwireless devices, including next generation smartphones and PDAs. The licensingarrangements are expected to yield per unit royalties. These projects may alsoinclude one-time development fees for assisting the manufacturer with theintegration of DDD's software into the 3D wireless device. Mobile Phone Content • In November 2006, Orange Romania launched SIM+, a 128 MB memory SIMcard that includes 3D mobile telephone content produced by DDD. The 3D contentbundle consists of six still images, five Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)animations and five short videos. • In July 2005, DDD entered into a memorandum of understanding withJamster! for the 2D to 3D conversion of images and animations from Jamster!'smobile content library using DDD's offline content conversion process. A numberof pieces of Jamster!'s 3D mobile phone content converted by DDD were includedon the SIM+ card launched by Orange Romania. • DDD intends to enter into revenue sharing agreements with mobile phonenetwork operators (carriers) and content providers for the conversion anddelivery of existing libraries of premium wallpaper, animations and movies towireless subscribers who download 3D content that has been converted from 2D to3D by DDD. PC • In September 2003, DDD entered into a three-year, non-exclusivesoftware licensing agreement with Sharp which allows them to include five ofDDD's 3D software applications with their Actius range of switchable 2D/3Dnotebook PCs sold in Japan and North America. Television • In September 2004, DDD entered into a hardware development agreementwith Arisawa for the TriDef Vision+ 3D set top box. DDD's set top box, combinedwith Arisawa's polarising materials applied to a large LCD television, allowsfor the real-time conversion of virtually any media from 2D to 3D for viewing onthe switchable 2D/3D television. DDD and Arisawa intend to license thissolution to global television manufacturers. Digital Cinema • DDD is currently investigating IP licensing opportunities in the 3Ddigital cinema market. More information is available at www.DDD.com. About Orange Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world's leadingtelecommunications operators with more than 153 million customers on fivecontinents. In Romania, Orange is the leader of the telecommunications marketwith over 7.5 million customers. In June, 2006, as part of the France Telecom integrated operator strategy (NExTprogramme) to deliver simple, convergent products, Orange became the singlebrand for mobile, internet and TV offers in France, the United Kingdom, TheNetherlands and in Spain, strengthening Orange's position as the number twomobile and internet services brand in Europe. In addition, Orange BusinessServices became the new banner for business communications solutions andservices. Orange Business Services is present in 166 countries and territoriesand serves customers in 220. France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris Eurolist market and on theNew York Stock Exchange. At September 30, 2006, the group had 92.59 millionmobile customers, 12.09 million internet customers and 48.59 million fixed linecustomers. At the end of 2005, France Telecom had consolidated sales of 49 billion euros byIFRS standards in 2005 (38.4 billion euros for the year-to-date at September 30,2006) and had 203,000 employees. Further information about Orange and France Telecom can be found on the Orangewebsite at www.orange.com or the France Telecom website atwww.francetelecom.com. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this materialare trade marks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange