Lyon, France - August 3, 2006 - To respond to the growing market demand for small, reliable and inexpensive autofocus solutions, Varioptic today announced the release of a new member in its ARCTIC Series of variable focus lenses: The SMIA-compliant ARCTIC 416 enables camera module and camera phone manufacturers to leverage the advent of higher resolution sensors, and provide enhanced mobile imaging user experience, thanks to DSC-like quality pictures.

Following in the track of the now widely accepted ARCTIC 320 lens, this new product is the perfect fit for low footprint camera modules, especially suitable for the current trend of slim camera phones; it provides a fast track to market for OEMs and ODMs looking for an easy to integrate, high performance autofocus solution.

Taking full advantage of the ARCTIC 416 features, such as its inherent accuracy and un-matched response time, much simpler autofocus strategies can be applied to obtain sharp, crisp focus in time never reached before, well under 500 ms.

Samples are available now, and mass production will start in December this year. Complete, low BOM reference designs will be provided to support integration and shorten time to market.

ARCTIC 416 Specifications