Eleksen to Design New, Innovative Interfaces for Ultra-Mobile PC; Leading Smart Fabrics Company to Provide Peripherals for Cutting-Edge Tablet PC

HANNOVER, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2006--Eleksen Ltd., the inventor and manufacturer of ElekTex(R) smart fabric touchpads for consumer electronics, today announced it is working with Microsoft Corp. to deliver a range of ElekTex-based interfaces for new Ultra-Mobile PCs. The new peripherals designs include Eleksen's Bluetooth fabric keyboard and its new USB keyboard. Additionally, Eleksen will unveil a carrying case with an integrated keyboard and a range of designs that go beyond traditional functions to provide rich multimedia controls operated from the case cover itself. The designs include a variety of sensor layouts and control electronics that can easily be integrated into an Original Equipment Manufacturer's (OEMs) accessories products and are available immediately.

ElekTex gives OEMs a highly innovative interface technology, which supports their needs to develop dynamic and feature rich peripherals for this new mobile computing platform. The designs illustrate how textile interfaces can be integrated into some of the most common accessories and peripherals to extend the ease-of-use and enhance the mobility of these devices creating a new type of peripheral that complements the portability of Ultra-Mobile PCs. With ElekTex, interfaces can be developed into standalone accessories or can be built into protective cases and covers for Ultra-Mobile computing devices.

“We're glad to have an innovative industry partner such as ElekTex on board to design new technologies for Ultra-Mobile PCs”

"We are pleased to be working alongside Microsoft to bring new portable interface designs to the market," said Robin Shephard, CEO of Eleksen. "The focus of our business is to use ElekTex to revolutionize the way that consumers interact with their electronics devices. The opportunity to offer solutions for peripherals design and development for the new Ultra-Mobile PC is an unprecedented opportunity for us to participate in the birth of an entirely new breed of computing and entertainment devices."

"We're glad to have an innovative industry partner such as ElekTex on board to design new technologies for Ultra-Mobile PCs," said Otto Berkes, general manager of the Mobile Platforms Division at Microsoft Corp. "ElekTex smart fabric interfaces offer capabilities that are well matched to complement the functionality and portability of new Ultra-Mobile PCs."

Additionally, working with ElekTex, OEMs can integrate a myriad of interface interactions ranging from simple keyboard button functions to navigation scroll controls and even multimedia gesture controls into fabric-based products. OEMs can further build on these features and exploit ElekTex's core capability to be programmed and reconfigured by PC applications that can change the interface's design and function on-the-fly. This is a significant benefit when considering the portability requirements for peripherals designed for the Ultra-Mobile market - a single interface that doubles as a keyboard and media player controller is both compact and lightweight.

About Eleksen

Eleksen Ltd. is the world leader in touch sensitive interactive textiles for electronics interface design. The company's core technology, ElekTex(R), is a unique electro-conductive fabric touch pad optimized for the creation of flexible, durable and rugged fabric touch screen interfaces. ElekTex(R) is used in applications ranging from wearable electronic controls for consumer electronics and industrial wear to lightweight, low-power touch interfaces for CE accessories, telematics, military, transportation and space suits. It replaces the hard touch pads, flexi-circuits and polymer switches which have limited the growth of the wearable electronics markets. Eleksen licenses ElekTex(R) and reference design to manufacturers for use in custom electronics design and also markets a range of ready-to-integrate solutions for garment, bags and accessories manufacturers. The company is backed by an impressive list of investors: 3i, MTI, MVI, Siemens Venture Capital, Vesta Capital Partners and Wireless Frontiers. Eleksen is headquartered in Pinewood Studios near London, England and in Waltham, Massachusetts near Boston. For more information about Eleksen offerings, please visit www.eleksen.com.

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