Hitachi China Design Studios and DVi Help Companies Build Hard Drive-Based Consumer Devices
Thur 19 July, 2007

Local Hong Kong SMEs Develop Unique Consumer Devices with Hitachi’s Hard-Drive Integration Expertise

HONG KONG, July 19, 2007 – Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi) today announced that its Hitachi Design Studios in Shenzhen has partnered with Digital Vision, Inc. (DVi) to support Hong Kong consumer electronics (CE) firms to integrate high-capacity hard drives into a range of devices now rolling out to customers worldwide.

With Hitachi’s industry-leading storage technology and DVi’s tailor-made designs, Hong Kong-based SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) are developing and delivering a range of hard drive-based applications, such as GPS (global positioning system), security DVR (digital video recorder), and on-the-move advertisement display solutions for global consumer markets

The following newly-available solutions from local brands have benefited from Hitachi Design Studios and DVi support:

• GPS for automobiles – Deployed with Hitachi’s 2.5-inch 40GB* hard drive and developed in partnership with AutoSound. The products are now being sold to Nextar in Canada and the United States. The GPS market, mainly driven by in-vehicle navigation during the past decade, will continue its rapid growth, reaching US$28.9 billion by 2010, according to Global Industry Analysts Inc. Similarly, analysts at Frost & Sullivan predict that China’s spending on in-vehicle GPS navigation systems will surge to US$3.9 billion by 2012.
• Mini hi-fi compact home stereo system for households – Deployed with Hitachi’s 2.5-inch 40GB hard drive and developed in partnership with Perception Digital. Products are now being sold to Sanyo in South America. Mini hi-fi systems are increasingly demanding high-capacity storage for the large volumes of songs that consumers are downloading from their CD and MP3 players.
• Security DVR for corporate clients and vehicles – Deployed with Hitachi’s 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch hard drives and developed in partnership with Streaming. Products are now being used by Bus-On-Line in China. Security DVR devices require durable and reliable video recording over long periods of time, requiring high-performance, high-reliability storage technology, such as that provided by Hitachi hard disk drives.
• Advertisement display for mass transit buses – Deployed with Hitachi’s 2.5-inch 40GB hard drive and developed in partnership with Streaming. Already widely used by Hong Kong’s transport network, mobile advertisement displays are expected to become more widespread across Asia.

"Hitachi has made significant investment in China, including the Hitachi Design Studios in Shenzhen, which is the region’s key resource for hard-drive integration into CE devices," said Shinjiro Iwata, chief marketing officer, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, speaking at the company’s annual distributor conference held on July 17 in Macau, China. "The Hitachi Design Studios specialize in providing proven storage-integration strategies to Hong Kong-based customers who are looking for innovative storage solutions to differentiate their product."

Hong Kong plays a key role in exporting many CE products across the globe. In recent years, China has become Hong Kong’s largest export market and, according to McKinsey, China’s CE market has been growing at a compound rate of 12 percent annually. The market size is expected to reach US$132 billion by 2010, which will account for 25 percent of the global market.

"Local SMEs comprise 98 percent of all Hong Kong enterprises, many of which are engaging in the CE market and enjoying competitive production costs in the Mainland. However, they may not have a strong technological background in product innovation," said Pete Andreyev, chairman, DVi. "With Hitachi’s storage-integration expertise and DVi’s design solutions, CE manufacturers in Hong Kong are able to grow and define their competitive edge in the thriving market in China."

Hitachi Design Studios is a collection of five centers around the globe, helping customers integrate hard drives into an array of applications and CE devices. These centers are located in Fujisawa (Japan), Havant (UK), San Jose (US), Shenzhen and Taipei.

* One GB is equal to one billion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity. Accessible capacity may be less.

About Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies develops advanced hard disk drives to store and preserve the world’s valued data. Founded by the pioneers of hard drives, Hitachi enables users to fully engage in the digital lifestyle by providing high-value, high-capacity storage in formats suitable for the office, in the home or on the road. With vertically-integrated research, design and manufacturing capabilities, Hitachi delivers leadership technology and quality to its global customer base.

With approximately 33,000 employees worldwide, Hitachi offers a comprehensive range of hard drive products for desktop computers, high-performance storage systems and servers, notebooks and consumer devices. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.hitachigst.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 384,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2006 (ended March 31, 2007) consolidated revenues totaled 10,247 billion yen ($86.8 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

About Digital Vision Inc.
Digital Vision Inc. (DVi) is a leading Consumer Electronics (CE) company with over ten years of experience. DVi's operations commenced in 1995 as part of Vision Technology Corporation before being spun off as a separate privately held Hong Kong company in early 2006. DVi's vision is to be an industry leader in supplying innovative turnkey solutions and major components for the digital video and audio markets via OEMs, ODMs, system integrators and retailers. The company has developed over 200 consumer electronics applications, primarily focused on the rapidly growing China market. Additional information can be found at www.dvi.com.hk.