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March 20, 2006 – The Pentax Optio A10 may have been introduced a month ago, but the manufacturer of its image stabilization system announced just today that Pentax used its product in the making of the A10. Cypress Semiconductor Corporation issued a press release today stating that its Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC) is included in the Pentax Optio A10.
"The PSoC device is an integral part of our shake reduction system, which separates the Optio A10 from the competition," said Tahei Morisawa, general manager of the First Development Department for Pentax’s Imaging System Business Headquarters, in today’s press release. "The chip’s flexibility gave us the ability to integrate numerous functions, saving design time and cost. We were able to treat the PSoC chip like our own flash-configurable ASIC."
The Cypress PSoC mixed-signal array system comes in a variety of packages for a variety of applications. Pentax chose the CY8C27643-24LFXI model that measures just 7 x 7 mm. This tiny chip is the A10’s digital shake reduction technology. The Cypress PSoC can also be developed into timers and counters, among other things, with its microcontroller that can perform up to 100 functions.
"The list of applications for the PSoC family continues to grow, based on its uniquely flexible architecture," said George Saul, vice president of Cypress’s PSoC Business Unit. "Digital cameras are another such application, and we are pleased and proud to help enable an exceptional product such as the Optio A10."
The Pentax Optio A10 was announced two months ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The compact digital camera has 8 megapixels, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and a 3x optical zoom lens in a 0.9-inch thick body. It is the first Pentax to include a shake reduction system. The A10 began shipping in February and is available for a retail price tag of $349.