Epson, lightsurf, sandisk, sprint to participate in future image’s visual communication initiative

NEW YORK, NY and SAN MATEO, CA – October 2, 2002 – At the Future Image/Forbes Visual Communication executive conclave in New York today, Future Image, the leading provider of digital imaging information and analysis, announced the addition of several major partners to its Visual Communication initiative.

The initiative, announced in February with the initial support of Hewlett-Packard and Eastman Kodak, aims to focus the business community’s attention on a key emerging trend of the 21st Century: the critical importance of integrated visual content as a tool for businesses to increase productivity, cut costs, develop new revenue streams and communicate more effectively with customers, suppliers, stakeholders, and employees.

“Business executives are becoming increasingly aware that visual communication technologies are of vital importance to their future,” said Alexis Gerard, president of Future Image Inc. "We’re delighted that several more ‘best of breed‘ vendors are joining forces with us and with each other to highlight the coming information shift to enhanced visual content. These new partnerships, along with our joint conference with Forbes and our special section later this month, truly demonstrate momentum for our initiative.”

“LightSurf is the instant visual communications company. Instant visual communications presents an extraordinary opportunity for the next decade. For example, the tremendous demand for PictureMail type services from worldwide markets is hard proof that people want to communicate visually. A picture is worth a thousand words and who doesn't want to snap and instantly share a picture of their kids at a soccer game, their friends at a party or their snapshot from the conference room at a customer meeting all with cool text or voice annotations. We are very pleased to support Future Image in the Visual Communications initiative and look forward to working together to further showcase the power that all visual communication holds,” said Philippe Kahn, chairman, co-founder and CEO LightSurf. the leading provider of  technology, solutions and integrated managed services for Instant Imaging and mobile multimedia.

"Sprint is the only carrier to provide wireless you can hear and see nationwide with the launch of PCS Vision services on the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network" said Scott Relf, senior vice president of marketing for the PCS division of Sprint. "Pictures and Digital Imaging for Business - advanced applications available with PCS Vision, which connect the mobility of PCS Phones and devices with the increased speeds of the enhanced nationwide PCS Network - clearly deliver this by providing customers with the valuable opportunity to take, view, manage and share pictures instantly nationwide. We support Future Image¹s Visual Communication initiative, to spread the message that these types of useful applications create an opportunity for customers to build deeper relationships, be more productive, use their time more efficiently, have fun, and ignite the imagination to the possibilities inherent in our enhanced network."

"Visual content, in the form of digital photographic output, hard copy prints, repurposed electronic files and projected images enable an individual to communicate with greater impact” said John Lang, president and CEO of Epson America Inc. ”Therefore, Epson is committed to empowering not only creative professionals but also other professionals with technology that puts them in control so that they can customize their communications themselves without the frustration of complicated devices or relying on external service providers. To this end, Epson has invested millions in the development of industry-leading printing and display technologies so that we can offer easy-to-use, cost effective and time-saving tools that deliver the ultimate image and text quality for the most effective visual communications. Future Image understands the benefits of using visual communications technology, and we look forward to working with them to help companies develop their own visual communications strategies."

 “SanDisk’s flash storage cards have been an enabling technology for digital cameras, hand held computers, next-generation cell phones and other consumer electronics devices that allow people to communicate visually rich information,” said Bo Ericsson, vice president of OEM product marketing at SanDisk. “As a result, the worldwide flash card market is expected to escalate to $6.4 billion by 2005 according to Semico. As we enter a phase of unparalleled growth in consumer adoption rates of imaging-capable ‘connected’ devices and appliances, SanDisk’s cards will continue to play a key role as the thread that ties these devices and appliances together. We are very pleased to be a part of Future Image’s Visual Communications Initiative to make this a reality.”

The “Visual Communication: Infoimaging At Work” summit, a by-invitation only event for senior executives taking place in New York October 1 and 2Summit proceedings will be available from Future Image. The event will be closely followed by a special section of the same name in the October 14, 2002 issue of Forbes magazine.

The “Visual Communication: Infoimaging At Work” special section will be available online from the Forbes.com, VisualCommunication.info, and FutureImage.com web sites.

About Future Image

Future Image (www.futureimage.com) is the leading independent center of expertise focused on the convergence of imaging, technology and business. It publishes two continuous information services: The Future Image Executive Information Service, and the Future Image WIRE, focused on the intersection of imaging and wireless technology. In addition, Future Image underwrites and publishes numerous research studies on the impact of emerging imaging-focused technologies or business trends. Future Image is the official information and research partner of the international Imaging Industry Association (I3A) and the managing partner of the Visual Communication initiative (www.visualcommunication.info ). 

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