FotoNation Wins 2006 Chip Shop Award

FotoNation Wins For Innovative Technology of Benefit to the
Whole Digital Photographic Industry

Fotonation Press Release Summary:
April 21, 2006, Burlingame, CA -- FotoNation Inc. (www.fotonation.com), one of the world's leading imaging and connectivity solutions companies for the digital photography industry, announced today that it has won THE PHOTOGRAPHER 2006 “CHIP SHOP Award” (www.chipshoponline.com) for Innovative Technology of Benefit to the Whole Digital Photographic Industry.

John Henshall, digital imaging veteran and THE PHOTOGRAPHER CHIP SHOP Columnist, presented FotoNation with the 2006 “CHIP SHOP Award” because of the company’s leading position in the digital imaging industry in the development of in-camera technologies, including FotoNation’s wireless PTP-IP standard, Face Tracker, UWB, Red-Eye Removal and Dust Removal technologies. FotoNation has its main office in Burlingame, California; its core R&D center in Galway, Ireland, where it employs 25 people; and 11 engineers headquartered in Bucharest, Romania.

FotoNation New In-Camera Technology

FotoNation recently introduced its wireless Connected Photography® technology, providing the ability to take photos from a wireless-enabled digital camera and then immediately wirelessly transfer these images to a kiosk or other device for saving and printing. CIPA (Japanese Camera and Imaging Products Association); camera manufacturers, such as Canon and Kodak; and Microsoft have all adopted FotoNation’s wireless connectivity standard, known as PTP/IP (Picture transfer Protocol over Internet Protocol Networks).

Additional up and coming new products from FotoNation include innovative digital imaging technologies demonstrated at PMA 2006, such as “Face Tracker,” an advanced face tracking algorithm embedded in a digital camera’s firmware that uses a radically new approach to identify and lock onto human faces in the camera’s preview image, tracking them as they move around within the frame to provide optimum focus, exposure and skin tones. Other FotoNation technologies include the world’s first built-in camera module based on UWB (for which FotoNation won the 2006 DIMA Innovative Product Award); and technologies for in-camera Red-Eye Removal (winner of the coveted 2006 European IST prize) and Dust Removal.

“FotoNation richly deserves this award for its years of innovative technology that have benefited the digital photographic industry as a whole,” said John Henshall. “Over the past three years, I have witnessed FotoNation’s quite tremendous impact on the evolution of the digital photography industry.”

“FotoNation is honored that it has been chosen to receive John Henshall's Chip Shop Award 2006 for its innovative technology designed to empower the digital photography industry, especially as John Henshall's Chip Shop is recognized as one of the worlds most authoritative and longest running columns in digital imaging", said Eran Steinberg, CEO, FotoNation.

About THE PHOTOGRAPHER

THE PHOTOGRAPHER is the journal for dedicated professional photographers. It is published monthly for, and by, imaging professionals at the British Institute of Professional Photography. THE PHOTOGRAPHER leads its field and enjoys an unrivalled reputation for authoritative information and comment. It was the first British journal to feature regular articles on digital imaging, a tradition which is continued through its monthly CHIP SHOP feature written by Columnist John Henshall.

About CHIP SHOP

The annual CHIP SHOP Award is presented by John Henshall, the UK’s longest established digital imaging evangelist. Henshall has an unmatched breadth of experience, both technical and creative, in all branches of photography, still and moving image; silver halide and digital. He is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society (FRPS), the British Institute of Professional Photography (FBIPP), of which he was President 1991-1992, and a Fellow of the British Professional Photographers Associates (FBPPA).

Further Information: Innovative imaging is FotoNation’s business.

FotoNation identifies current challenges and future opportunities in digital photography and imaging. Using its extensive industry experience and in-depth research capabilities, together with revolutionary approaches, FotoNation develops innovative solutions, techniques and features to enhance, extend and simplify the picture making and sharing experience for everyone. Clients include the world leaders in photography, including AOL, Kodak, Nikon, Pentax, Sanyo, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and Microsoft, among others.

FotoNation’s extensive portfolio of patented innovations includes wireless connectivity, embedded red-eye removal technology and face recognition software. Its copyrighted PTP-IP Specification is the basis of the international camera connectivity CIPA-005/2005 standard . FotoNation developed the world’s first wireless printing accessory that converts any PictBridge printer into a wireless one. The company was recently awarded the DIMA Innovative Product Award and was Finalist in the 2006 European IST Grand Prize for its innovative Red Eye removal technology.