MEMSIC CAPTURES ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS MAGAZINE’S 2012 PRODUCT OF THE YEAR AWARD

ANDOVER, Mass., January 18, 2013 (Globe Newswire)—MEMSIC Inc. (Nasdaq:MEMS), a leading solutions provider, combining proprietary MEMS technology with advanced mixed-signal processing and systems solutions, today announced its winning of the prestigious “Product of the Year Award” (POY) from Electronic Products magazine.  For the second consecutive year, the company captured the POY, this time for its three-axis magnetic sensor, the MMC3316xMT.  Last year’s POY was awarded to MEMSIC’s MXC6226xC, an ultra-small, two-axis accelerometer.  Electronic Products POY’s are considered one of the electronic industry’s most prestigious and selective award competitions for new product introductions.

The extended range of the MMC3316xMT of +/- 16 Gauss full-scale, enabled by MEMSIC’s proprietary Anisotropic Magnetoresistive (AMR) technology, is the widest available today. As a result, it provides design engineers with a solution that is highly insensitive to placement adjacent to magnetic components on the pc board. Combined with its ultra miniature 2.0 x 2.0 x 1.0 mm LGA package, it provides maximum design flexibility for space critical applications.  Additionally, it’s low power consumption of 0.16 mA at a 7 samples-per-second rate, accuracy of +/- 2.0 degrees and noise density of 2.0 mG at 16 Gauss have made it a product of choice for mobile phone/tablet suppliers.    It is priced at a level that is extremely cost- competitive with other devices that do not come close to its level of performance. 

Richard Comerford, Electronic Products Test/Measurement and Sensors editor, said, “Our team of four senior editors received approximately 300 applications for the 2012 POYs.  In addition, we reviewed the hundreds of products we deemed exceptional that appeared in our electronic and monthly printed publication during 2012. We evaluated all of them according to very specific and strict criteria, looking for a significant advancement in a technology or its application, ground-breaking innovation, and a substantial achievement in price/performance over competitive solutions.  MEMSIC’s MMC3316xMT three-axis magnetic sensor excelled in all of these criteria. One of only 17 products to receive a POY award in 2012, it demonstrated where engineering is headed in the future.  More importantly, this is the second consecutive year MEMSIC has won the award.  In the history of this competition, which has been held for 37 years, it’s extremely rare for an entrepreneurial company such as MEMSIC to receive such recognition.”

John Newton, MEMSIC’s Vice President of Marketing said, “The three-axis MMC3316xMT magnetic sensor is the industry’s highest performance device in terms of noise and ultimately heading accuracy. This is a direct result of the company’s strategic decision several years ago to pursue Anisotropic Magneto-Resistive (AMR) technology, which has historically been used in higher performance industrial and avionics applications.  MEMSIC optimized the technology and is the first supplier to bring the cost of AMR down to price levels where it can compete in the mobile consumer market.  Compared with low-cost, lower-performance Hall sensors, the MMC3316xMT delivers 5x lower noise, and 3x lower power consumption, at  comparable or better price points.  We are very excited about this product and it is gratifying to receive this recognition by the highly credentialed Electronic Products editorial staff.”

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements included in this press release that are not historical in nature are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.  Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements for reasons identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and the company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.

About MEMSIC

MEMSIC Semiconductor is a world's leading MEMS technology solution provider. MEMSIC provides customers with one-stop solutions from MEMS sensor chips, software algorithms to application solutions. MEMSIC’s stable and mass-produced products include the globally unique thermal accelerometers, capacitive accelerometers, AMR magnetometers, low-power consumption Hall switches and more, which are widely used in automotive, industrial, medical, wearable, smart home, and consumer electronics applications, providing people with a more intelligent, reliable and safe technological experience by sensing the displacement and motion changes of the physical world. Sensing the beautiful life with MEMSIC. For more information, please visit www.memsic.com or follow us on WeChat and LinkedIn.