TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HI CORPORATION (JASDAQ:3846)(Headquarters: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kazuo Kawabata; hereinafter "HI") announced today that HI and South Korean mobile-phone maker PANTECH CO., LTD (hereinafter "Pantech") has signed a license agreement for HI's 3D rendering engine MascotCapsule eruption (hereinafter "eruption") as of September 30, 2009.

This agreement, and the use of eruption with select Pantech handsets, will allow its users to enjoy enriched 3D UIs (user interfaces) and 3D games at high speeds.

"Pantech is one of the world's leaders in cutting edge handset design, and we are constantly searching for ways to make our products even better for our customers," said Joon-Woo Lee, Executive Vice President, Pantech. "HI is a key player in the 3D user interface market, and we are confident that their sophisticated 3D graphics will dramatically enhance the mobile phone experience for our users around the world,"

Kazuo Kawabata, President and CEO of HI said, "Entering this agreement is a great opportunity for us because Pantech is always a pioneer in innovative technologies as well as advanced services, providing mobile handsets globally. I really expect that MascotCapsule will rapidly expand its worldwide market through this license agreement."

[About MascotCapsule eruption]

An OpenGL® ES(*1) 1.0/1.1 compliant 3D engine that achieved a dramatically improved processing speed compared to the existing 3D rendering engines. By using eruption, game developers and content developers can fully leverage the performance of 3D hardware accelerators offering increased speed as well as developing content with rich expression at high-frame rate.

For details on specifications for eruption, visit our web site at http://www.hicorp.co.jp/english/product/eruption.html.

*1 OpenGL ES

Abbreviation of OpenGL for Embedded Systems (OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc.). A 3D graphics API for embedded devices.

For more information, visit the Khronos Group website at http://www.khronos.org/opengles/.

* MascotCapsule® is a registered trademark of HI CORPORATION in Japan.

* Other company names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of respective companies.

[About HI CORPORATION]

Please visit our web site (http://www.hicorp.co.jp/english/index.html).