LG Display and Iriver Team Up on E-reader Development

Though netbooks are still going strong and tablets have earned the notice of market analysts, e-readers are still poised to grow during 2010. In fact, they are expected to do so well that practically every PC and display maker has at least considered offering something to this industry segment. LG Display, naturally, has no intention of letting this opportunity slide, which is why it is already establishing deals meant to proliferate its EPD displays.

One of the more recent agreements that LG Display entered has it establishing a joint venture with Iriver. Among other things, the latter owns a plant in China and it is there that a new company, dubbed L&I Electronic Technology (Dongguan) Ltd., will be established. This firm will be provided, by its makers, with $5 million and will develop and produce e-book readers for the global market. Furthermore, it will operate on an ODM and OEM system, which means that other brands may find their way on the new e-book readers.

"LG Display decided to establish a joint venture with iriver to supply customers with more competitive products as part of our upstream-downstream business transformation strategy,” said Mr. Eddie Yeo, LG Display's Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile/OLED Business Unit. “LG Display will utilize its advanced EPD technologies to achieve early commercial production of color and flexible EPD and reach the global No.1 position by 2012."

"The joint-venture is significant in that it lays the foundation for a more stable and competitive manufacturing line. If we succeed in generating a synergy between Iriver and LG Display, our joint-venture company will grow to become the market leader with unrivaled competitive power in e-book development and production business,” stated Jae Woo Lee, CEO of Iriver.

Iriver and LG Display will finance 49% and 51%, respectively, of the joint venture. The former will deal with the actual product design and platform development, whereas the latter will be tasked with providing displays, such as EPDs (electronic paper displays).