Ericsson invests in C Technologies AB

Ericsson invests in C Technologies AB Ericsson Mobile Communications today unveiled that it will take a minority share investment in the Swedish company C Technologies AB (C Tech). C Tech is focused on advanced real time image processing for handheld devices. The investment will be handled as an equity investment and Ericsson will also have a seat on the board. The investment will put Ericsson in the lead in the area of handheld information collection devices and accentuates a strategic collaboration between Ericsson and C Tech within the product category. C Tech will launch their first commercial product, the C Pen in November 1998. The C Pen is the first image processing based electronic pen in the world. Ericsson will start marketing the C Pen under its own brand name during 1999. The share investment will be effective November 1998. "The C Pen and future enhanced versions of it makes a strategic complement to our existing and future product offering in mobile phones, wireless data products and technologies such as Bluetooth," says Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President of Marketing and Communication at Ericsson Mobile Communications. "There is clear potential of offering great value for consumers," adds Jan Ahrenbring. The C Pen is simply moved over a text, just as you would mark text with an ordinary pen, and a built-in image sensor registers the text and stores it in the C Pen's memory. The text can then be sent by infrared connection to a mobile phone, PC or PDA. Examples of using this product could be to scan a business card and then send the information to a mobile phone in order to register the person and number in the phone's phonebook, or scan a text and then send it as an e-mail, fax or SMS message, or scan a web address, send it to a PC and then start surfing. "The strategic alliance with Ericsson serves as a world-wide distribution channel for our technology and products in the mobile phone market segment," says Christer Löwgren, President of C Tech. "This is C Tech's first example of strategic alliances based on technology and market co-operation with industrial partners helping us to protect and exploit our technology platform," he adds. C Technologies, founded in 1996 by Christer Fåhraeus, is based in Lund and has 28 employees. The company is growing rapidly and expects do double its personnel in the coming 12 months. C Tech is entirely focused on development and marketing of cutting edge image processing consumer electronics. For further information, please visit www.cpen.com. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with the freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Jan Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications Ericsson Mobile Communications AB Phone: +46 8 764 1460 or +46 70 590 9900 Magnus Manhem, Vice President Marketing C Technologies AB Phone: +46 46 286 5861