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Immersion Powers Touch Feedback for Android Mobile Phone Platform

^{Published on 2009-01-08 03:59:36, Last Modified on 2009-11-02 16:16:42 - Market Wire}
 

SAN JOSE, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ:IMMR), the leading developer and licensor of touch feedback technology announces its industry-leading haptic (touch) technology is now available for implementation in phones powered by Android, the Open Handset Alliance's open source platform for mobile devices. Both content developers and makers of Android-based mobile phones can now easily add haptics to dramatically improve the mobile user experience. Haptics has been found to increase user speed, accuracy, and satisfaction as well as make operation more intuitive, engaging, and fun.

"Touch feedback is the future of the digital device user experience," said Craig Vachon, vice president and general manager of Immersion's Mobility line of business. "With more sophisticated features and increasing user demand for both ease-of-use and elegance of design, haptics is key to helping device makers deliver products that delight customers. Haptics also lets operators and content developers capitalize on a market opportunity for clearly differentiated and engaging content and services."

Immersion will be demonstrating many haptic-enabled mobile phones from around the world this week at CES 2009 January 8 – 11 in Las Vegas, where Immersion-enabled handsets from licensees LG and Samsung are being recognized with CES Innovation Awards.

Immersion's VibeTonz® Platform, which enables touch feedback for the user interface and for applications throughout the phone, is already in over 40 million handsets. Its Android solution further extends the reach of the company's touch feedback system, already available for the Symbian, Windows Mobile, and LiMo OS platforms.

Using Immersion touch feedback technology, device makers can create highly differentiated, personalized, easy-to-use handsets. Operators and content developers can also gain strong advantages. Improvements are possible for touchscreen and keypad interactions, messages and alerts, scrolling, ringtones, games, music, and video across applications including e-commerce, social networking, location-based services, and mobile advertising.

About the VibeTonz Platform ([ www.immersion.com/mobility/products ])

The field-proven VibeTonz Platform, comprised of VibeTonz Mobile Player and VibeTonz SDK, delivers a broad range of touch feedback effects to make user interface features, applications, and downloadable, multimedia content more intuitive and engaging. Embedded in mobile devices, VibeTonz Mobile Player exerts precise, high-speed control over the vibration actuator to produce tactile effects with unprecedented subtlety and dynamics. VibeTonz SDK provides cross-platform APIs and a suite of authoring tools for making development and customization of tactile feedback fast and easy.

About Immersion ([ www.immersion.com ])

Founded in 1993, Immersion Corporation is the recognized leader in developing, licensing, and marketing digital touch technology and products. Using Immersion's advanced [ touch feedback technology ] ([ http://www.immersion.com/corporate ]), electronic user interfaces are more compelling, entertaining, and in many applications, safer and more productive. Immersion's technology has helped manufacturers develop innovative and creative solutions for products such as hundreds of video games and leading video console gaming systems, medical training simulators installed around the world, driver controls for automotive manufacturers, and mobile phones, such as those from LG and Samsung. Immersion's patent portfolio includes over 700 issued or pending patents in the U.S. and other countries.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of Immersion Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

All statements, other than the statements of historical fact, are statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements, including the statement regarding touch feedback being the future of the digital device user experience, the statement regarding haptics being the key to helping device makers deliver products that delight customers, and the statement regarding haptics allowing operators and content developers to capitalize on a market opportunity for clearly differentiated and engaging content and services. Immersion's actual results might differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business which include, but are not limited to, delay in or failure to achieve commercial demand for our products or a delay in or failure to achieve the acceptance of force feedback as a critical user experience.

For a more detailed discussion of these factors, and other factors that could cause actual results to vary materially, interested parties should review the risk factors listed in our most current Form 10-Q, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release reflect our beliefs and predictions as of the date of this release. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements as a result of financial, business, or any other developments occurring after the date of this release.

Immersion, the Immersion logo, and VibeTonz are trademarks of Immersion Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.