Wireless devices get graphical

BY ELIE ANTOUN
Chief Executive Officer,
MediaQ Inc.,
Santa Clara, Calif.

Despite the latest slowdown in high technology, we continue to witness the birth of new industries that are creating major new opportunities for companies. I am specifically referring to the continued growth in the proliferation of mobile handheld devices along with wireless communications.

Our focus at MediaQ is already on the next wave of demand. That demand will continue to be driven by the Internet, but will be more about enhancing the experience on mobile platforms. We are taking advantage of a fundamental shift in the mobile handheld device market while positioning ourselves for the inevitable resumption of growth in the overall market.

In a PDA market that is projected to exceed 9 million units in 2001, shipments of color display-based PDAs will grow from a minuscule volume in 2000 to more than 50 percent of new units in 2002. That represents a tremendous growth opportunity for MediaQ, since we are focused on developing highly integrated smart ICs and software to service that market.

The same fundamental shift is occurring in cell phone displays on a much larger scale. In Japan for example, monochrome display cell phone sales have almost vanished. Driven by the success of NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service, Japan has converted nearly 100 percent of its new customer base to color cell phone displays. The success of those phones has driven a phenomenal growth in the development of applications that increase their utility and users' productivity. This in turn is driving a greater demand for more brilliant color graphics on smart phones. Wireless markets in Europe and Asia have taken their cues from Japan and are aggressively following suit.

The down cycle we are in has created market disruptions that present unique opportunities to companies that are positioned correctly. Access to OEM customer partners in Japan has enabled us to anticipate many of those market shifts. We have leveraged that knowledge with our core competencies in ultralow-power design, LCD display technology and multiple operating system support, which allowed us to take advantage of this opportunity by delivering focused products in a timely manner.

Historically, negative growth environments have created large disruptions that have provided big opportunities for small and nimble companies. Small companies do not need huge markets to grow revenues and they can be more nimble in reacting to new market trends. Finally, a small company that exploits a market shift can leverage it to increase share in a slow-growth environment, and an even larger share when the environment turns more favorable.

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