ASIA / US : LG Electronics (LG) and Dolby Laboratories, announced that LG would be the first handset maker to incorporate Dolby® Mobile into handsets bound for the global market. The companies signed an agreement that grants LG a license to embed Dolby Mobile technology into its handsets.

Dolby Mobile is an audio processing technology platform designed to deliver rich, vibrant audio and dramatically improve listening enjoyment. Built on Dolby's extensive portfolio of technologies, Dolby Mobile has been optimized for mobile applications.

"Being the first company to incorporate Dolby Mobile technology into handsets for the global market reinforces LG's role as a leader in the mobile industry and in multimedia phones," said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "We believe this technology will raise the bar for audio quality on multimedia phones and expect Dolby Mobile to help us create a new trend in the mobile phone industry. LG is committed to providing our customers with the best features available and our new collaboration with Dolby helps us deliver on this pledge."

"LG shares our passion for cutting-edge innovation. This agreement combines LG's vision and resources with Dolby's pioneering leadership in entertainment technology to deliver the next generation of mobile entertainment," said Bill Jasper, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dolby Laboratories. "Our broad experience and success working with LG in the past gives us great confidence as we move forward."

Dolby Mobile is designed to allow customers to optimize and tailor audio for an enhanced entertainment experience. LG plans to apply Dolby Mobile technology to a wide range of multimedia features on its phones.

Some of the Dolby Mobile features that LG plans to incorporate into its phones include:

• Mobile Surround, which delivers a realistic surround sound experience using headphones
• Sound Space Expander, which creates a wide, rich, and spacious soundstage experience especially suited to music playback
• Natural Bass, which adds powerful boost and bass extension
• High-Frequency Enhancer, which enhances music and other content by restoring high-frequency effects
• Graphic EQ, which helps tune the audio experience for different content types
• Sound Level Control, which helps level out audio for a more consistent playback volume
• Mono-to-Stereo Converter, which improves the playback experience of user-generated content

The companies held a signing ceremony earlier today in Seoul to officially kick off their collaboration. Dr. Woo Young Kwak, R&D Center Head of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, and Stuart Mitchell, Senior Vice President, Sales at Dolby Laboratories, attended the ceremony.

LG plans to begin launching high-end multimedia phones that incorporate Dolby Mobile technology from the fourth quarter of this calendar year.