June 7, 2004 – Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has designed a motion sensor by MEMSIC Inc. into a mobile phone manufactured for Vodafone Group PLC.

The accelerometer in Vodafone’s V401D, which is expected to be released later this month in Japan, enables a pedometer to measure distances and provides image orientation for the camera in either portrait or landscape modes. The sensor also allows a user to use the phone as a joystick for video games.

“It’s actually a big win for us — probably number two in terms of unit volumes,” said Evan Sanders, vice president of worldwide sales for N. Andover, Mass.-based MEMSIC. “More importantly, it’s sort of a name-brand customer who is a leader in the marketplace. From a business perspective, it’s the first design win in a market where there’s tremendous opportunity for many more design wins.”

Sanders declined to provide sales figures, but said it’s a huge market opportunity. The Japanese buy 45 million mobile phones a year, and Mitsubishi has roughly 10 percent of the market. MEMSIC makes sensors using standard semiconductor processes. The company’s technology is based on heat convection and has no mechanical or moving parts.