LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9, 2006 -- Motorola Inc. and Eastman Kodak Co. have announced a 10-year global product, cross-licensing and marketing alliance to incorporate CMOS sensors in Motorola's camera phones. The collaboration covers licensing, sourcing, software integration, marketing and co-development of devices with joint engineering teams.
In addition, the companies will work to integrate Motorola mobile devices with Kodak home printers, retail kiosks and KODAK Easyshare on-line photo galleries. Motorola said it plans to launch handsets with integrated software for use with EashShare this year.
"Our companies will combine our knowledge and technological expertise to provide a mobile-imaging experience the way the consumer wants it," said Antonio Perez, chairman and CEO of Kodak. "Together, we will pursue our vision of a world where every consumer has a networked imaging device in her pocket or purse by the end of the decade."
The cross-licensing agreement delivers royalty revenues to Kodak. Financial and other details were not disclosed.
The companies announced the agreement at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show, held last week in Las Vegas, where Perez delivered a keynote address.
"Just as consumer desires drove the evolution of photography during the past 125 years, today's consumers are defining the rules that will drive the future of digital imaging," he said. "It's a future where all digital content is automatically identified, organized and instantly accessible anytime, anywhere."
Perez reflected on the current state of the digital imaging industry and said consumers want full ownership of and instant access to all their images and information in order to creatively tell their life stories. "Yet the imaging industry continues to make this a difficult proposition by adding complexity through the proliferation of stand-alone devices and rapidly changing, proprietary technology standards that confuse consumers," he said.
"Today's digital cameras are dinosaurs, with the same basic architecture and functionality as the box Brownie camera that Kodak introduced more than one hundred years ago," Perez said. "It's a lens, shutter and something to capture the focused light. All the imaging industry has done is to replace silver with silicon. In the next era, we will design digital cameras from the ground up to take full advantage of the creative power that digital technology provides."
Achieving this vision, he said, will take intellectual property and brand strength, delivered through innovation, partnerships and consumer insights.
For more information, visit: www.kodak.com