NXT press say buy

MCI Demonstrates NXT's SoundVu® Technology
In A Prototype Mobile Phone Handset
LONDON, December 20, 2001
NXT announces today that licensee, Matsushita Communication Industrial (MCI), a components manufacturer for the telecommunications industry, has demonstrated a prototype mobile telephone handset enhanced with NXT technology at a private exhibition, Business Solution 21 in Japan. MCI is the second major Japanese telecoms supplier to showcase NXT technology in mobile phone demonstrators recently, following on from Hosiden’s prototype unveiling at the CEATEC Show in October 2001.



The MCI demonstrator uses NXT’s Distributed Mode Actuator (DMA), consisting of thin piezo-electric ceramic panels mounted in a central stub, to drive the display panel of the phone as a Distributed Mode Loudspeaker. The DMA is due to be made commercially available by MCI in 2002, thereby further establishing the supply chain for the application of NXT’s SoundVu® in mobile phones.



The unique properties of NXT's SoundVu® technology offers enormous, untapped development potential for the telecommunications industry. By turning the screen of the mobile phone into a multi-mode loudspeaker unit manufacturers can have:

Greater design flexibility with the potential for miniaturization as a result of the removal of the speaker grille.

Easier listening, as users needn’t press the phone’s earpiece right up against the ear. Instead, the phone can be pressed lightly against the ear at virtually any spot on the viewing screen.

Increased functionality as the mobile can be used as both a conference phone and also at arm's length in ‘walkie-talkie’ mode, allowing the user to read information on the screen whilst simultaneously continuing to listen to speech or music.

Finally, the frequency response of SoundVu® technology enables manufacturers to better exploit market demand from younger users for polyphonic ringing tones, an application that is widely available but under utilised due to the limited audio reproduction found in existing handsets.

NXT has developed a number of demonstrators to illustrate this enhanced functionality and its engineers are working with licensees such as MCI to refine the technology to suit their needs.