HP's Optoelectronics Division Receives Award
16 February 1999
HP's Optoelectronics Division Receives '1998 Market Engineering Product Innovation Award' From Frost & Sullivan
PALO ALTO, Calif.--Feb. 16, 1999-- Hewlett-Packard Company today announced that its Optoelectronics Division was awarded the "1998 Market Engineering Product Innovation Award" by Mountain View, Calif.-based market and technology consultant Frost & Sullivan.
HP is the world's largest supplier of high-brightness red and yellow LED lamps. The award recognizes HP's significant contributions to the automotive industry -- LEDs for automotive applications. The award is part of Frost & Sullivan's recent study, "North American Automotive OE Lighting Products Markets."
According to the report, "This award recognizes the ability of the company to adapt new technology, develop a well-designed product family and make significant contributions to the industry in terms of product performance. In 1997, HP introduced brighter, more-rugged LEDs, which are rapidly being adopted in third-brake-light units."
The study focuses on alternative lighting technologies, including electroluminescent (EL) panels, fluorescent tubes, halogen miniature bulbs, LEDs and neon tubes, and provides revenue forecasts, market shares, market and technology trends, competitive issues and strategies.
"To meet regulations on the brightness of brake lights, several LEDs must be used in each brake light, but brighter LEDs are reducing this drawback," said Joerg Dittmer, analyst for Frost & Sullivan, in the report. "Whereas 20 conventional LEDs might be needed for one brake light, only 10 brighter units such as HP's SnapLEDs are needed. Easier vehicle assembly and reduced maintenance costs offset the higher cost of the SnapLED assembly."
Approximately 40 percent of the European automotive market uses LED high-mount brake lights -- more than 90 percent of which are manufactured by HP. In the United States, more than 25 percent of high-mount brake lights use LEDs, with an increasing number of new vehicles employing LEDs for turn, tail, and stop functions, as well as for front turn signals.
"We're honored to receive this award, and it reaffirms our belief that LED technology will be a force in automotive lighting," said Mike Holt, automotive program manager for HP's Components Group. "HP has begun a major market-based pricing initiative to directly and aggressively compete against incandescent bulbs. LED advantages such as reliability, design flexibility and safety have been embraced by the automotive industry since the 1980s, and the adoption of LEDs for high-mount stop lamps has been excellent in both the United States and Europe. Now, as HP LEDs get brighter and much less expensive, we are seeing many innovative new designs for full combination lamps -- those that combine turn, tail and stop signals -- on more vehicle platforms."
As a world leader in LED lamps, HP products provide highly efficient, reliable light sources for applications in automobiles, electronic signs and traffic signals, industrial equipment, cellular phones and consumer products. The high reliability of these components may eliminate the need for lamp replacement for the life of the equipment.
About HP
Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 124,600 employees and had revenue of $47.1 billion in its 1998 fiscal year.
Information about HP, its products and the company's Year 2000 program can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.