Agilent Technologies Ships 12 Millionth Optical Mouse Sensor; Pioneer of Optical Mouse Technology Now Shipping Over Three Million CMOS Positioning Sensors Per Month.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2000

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that it has shipped more than 12 million optical position sensors used in non-mechanical computer mice since the release of the product last fall. Agilent, which pioneered position sensing for mouse technology, is providing these products to all of the leading optical mouse manufacturers worldwide. The company is currently shipping three million devices per month, and continues to increase manufacturing capacity.

"The market response to this technology has been fantastic," said Jason Hartlove, business unit manager of Agilent's Imaging Electronics Division. "We have quadrupled mouse sensor capacity since the beginning of this year and we are continuing to ramp to stay ahead of exploding market demand."

Optical mice offer more precise pointing and movement, and because they have no track ball or cavity, they're very easy to keep clean. When conventional mechanical mice pick up dust and dirt, the cursor will tend to jump around the screen, or simply not track the motion of the mouse. The elimination of the track ball has also eliminated a possible choking hazard for small children.

Agilent introduced the world's first optical position sensor, which operates by actually "taking a picture" of the surface on which it is operating, and comparing images sequentially to detect the speed and direction of even the slightest movement. A tiny CMOS digital camera takes 1,500 pictures per second of the surface beneath the mouse, and a powerful 18 MIPS digital signal processor then analyzes these pictures and translates movement of the mouse into crisp movement of the cursor on the computer screen. This requires no moving parts.

For more information, please visit the Agilent Technologies Imaging Web site at www.semiconductor.agilent.com/cmos/.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a diversified technology company with approximately 46,000 employees serving customers in more than 120 countries. Agilent is a global leader in designing and manufacturing test, measurement and monitoring instruments, systems and solutions, and semiconductor and optical components. In fiscal year 1999, Agilent had net revenue of more than $8.3 billion. The company serves markets that include communications, electronics, life sciences and healthcare.

Information about Agilent Technologies can be found on the Web at www.agilent.com.