Managing power delivery of up to 100 watts via Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an important step in enabling a flexible, standardized power management ecosystem. Etron Technology, Inc. (Taiwan GTSM: 5351) today announced its latest USB Power Delivery (PD) Controller IC - EJ888, based on the USB-IF's USB Power Delivery Rev. 1.0 specification, which enables USB power delivery from 10 watts to 100 watts, and significantly reduces device charging time. In addition, it makes power delivery more flexible by adding full bi-directional power that can be renegotiated as system power needs change with the end-user. EJ888 optimizes user mobility by allowing data transmission and power delivery to be combined on a single USB cable. Its advanced power voltage, power stream, and communication features enable low-power-consumption devices, such as phones and MP3 players, and even higher-power-consumption appliances, such as computer monitors and laptops, to be powered via USB.

In a modern life full of various kinds of consumer electronics, power supply voltage and current demands can vary from one cable, charger, and battery to another. In recent years, consumer demand for lower-carbon products and services is growing. USB power delivery is a new power-supply solution that has the potential to greatly reduce electronic waste by eliminating proprietary chargers.

Microsoft Windows 8 introduced the innovative Windows To Go (WTG) feature, which enables people to enjoy their own applications and access their personal data via any smart display that supports the Windows operating system, as long as they have a thumb-sized flash disk with them. Etron Technology, Inc. today announces that its EV266W Flash Driver Controller has received Windows To Go certification from Microsoft. EV266W employs a dual-channel design and advanced 72-bit Error Check and Correction (ECC) functionality. It supports 8 CE (Channel Enable) pins per channel, with up to a total of 16 CE pins, in a 64-QFN (9x9 mm) package or an 88-QFN (10x10 mm) package. The EV266W Flash Driver Controller and platform enables system manufacturers of USB3.0 flash drives to develop a new generation of USB3.0 device end products and accelerate their technologies to market.

To end customers, Microsoft's WTG delivers the convenience of smart living with Plug In, Boot and Go capabilities. This allows users to travel light anywhere with their familiar Windows operating system, applications and personal data on a thumb-sized flash drive; turn any display that supports the Windows operating system into a dedicated PC; achieve hassle-free Windows usage without the need to sync programs and personal data across multiple devices; stay fully productive despite computer hardware failure since people can connect to any PC of their choice; and prevent data loss and compute securely and with privacy.

Gigabyte rolled out the fifth revision to its 990FXA-UD3 socket AM3+ motherboard, which possibly heralds a series of upgrades to the company's existing socket AM3+ motherboard SKUs. The 990FXA-UD3 Rev. 4 features a host of changes over its UEFI-equipped predecessor, beginning with a refreshed 10-phase CPU VRM (Digital Power Engine), a different selection of chokes, capacitors, and MOSFETs, newer VRM and chipset heatsinks capable of handling higher thermal loads, and Gigabyte's newest UEFI setup program. The board is otherwise identical to the 990FXA-UD3 Rev 3.

Designed with support for AMD FX "Vishera" processors out of the box, the 990FXA-UD3 Rev. 4 features a split power-plane 10-phase CPU VRM, with chokes that don't whine under load, and lower footprint MOSFETs. The CPU socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2133 MHz memory, and the AMD 990FX northbridge. This chip gives out two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, and two PCI-Express 2.0 x4 slots (physical x16). Two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI make for the rest of its expansion. All six SATA 6 Gb/s ports from the SB950 southbridge are assigned as internal ports, while a Marvell 9172 controller handles two eSATA 6 Gb/s. The board offers a total of four USB 3.0 ports, driven by EJ168 controllers by Etron. 8-channel HD audio driven by Realtek ALC889 CODEC, and a gigabit Ethernet interface driven by Realtek 8111F, cover the rest of its connectivity. Since it's a revision to an existing SKU, we expect it to be priced the same, around $140.

GIGABYTE created UEFI-equipped revisions of most of its socket AM3+ motherboards with the advent of FX "Vishera" processors last year, but held back with its flagship motherboard for the platform, the 990FXA-UD7. The company released an updated revision of the motherboard, dubbed 990FXA-UD7 Rev 3.0, completely skipping "Rev 2.0." While the new board is essentially laid out similar to its predecessor, a lot has changed.

To begin with, its based on GIGABYTE's newer (though not latest) Ultra Durable 4 construction. A 10-phase high-amperage VRM powers the AM3+ socket, which appears to be ready for AMD's FX-9000 series CPUs for overclockers. The CPU VRM uses driver-MOSFETs, although not quite the PowIRStage chippery we find on Ultra Durable 5 motherboards. A thicker, chunkier heatsink is used to cool these driver-MOSFETs and the AMD 990FX northbridge. This cluster of heatsinks is connected to the one that cools the AMD SB950 southbridge over a heat pipe. The AM3+ socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, which support up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR3-2000+ MHz memory.

Etron Technology, Inc. (Taiwan GTSM: 5351) introduces a new flash drive controller, EV2669, of Etron's USB3.0 Flash Drive Accelerator (FDA) series, in addition to its EV1669 product recently announced at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). EV2669 enables Etron's USB3.0 flash drive customers to deliver unprecedented read and write speeds of 260 and 235 megabytes per second with MLC (Multiple Level Cell) flash memories without additional host drivers or software required. Moreover, EV2669 meets customer demands for large data storage by supporting flash memory capacities up to 128GB.

EV2669 utilizes Etron's proprietary Flash Driver Accelerator technology to improve the overall performance of NAND flash memory access by leveraging advanced firmware algorithms and high-performance flash interface engines. It has been adopted in the products of top-tier USB3.0 flash drive makers, many of which are exhibited at the 2013 CES.

2013 International CES - Advanced gesture recognition and sensing technology is coming to the 2013 CES! Etron Technology, Inc. (Taiwan GTSM: 5351) launches its innovative Cougar Platform, a hardware-based USB3.0 Depth-Map Controller Platform with two cameras that enables gesture/skeleton control and 3D-video/image capture and works with various middleware and application software. Since the data size of captured images is too large to be managed by motherboard CPUs, Etron developed this platform for intensive data computation immediately post-sensing with a hardware-based depth-map engine. As a result, Etron's Cougar Platform works smoothly with X86-based systems and ARM-based systems. It also provides synchronized dual HD (High Definition) video/image capture through a USB3.0 (uncompressed) or USB2.0 (compressed) interface. Etron will demonstrate its Cougar Platform at Booth No. 35114 in South Hall 4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) from January 8th to 11th.

Etron's Cougar Platform supports both short-distance (0.5 - 1.5 m) recognition, such as gesture control, and long-distance (1.5 - 4 m) recognition, such as skeleton control. It realizes full-range recognition by mapping different sensor/lens resolutions with various base lines (i.e., the distance between two sensors).

Etron Technology, Inc. (Taiwan GTSM: 5351) announces a new USB3.0 single-channel Flash disk Accelerator (FDA) IC, EV1669, as the first product of the FDA family. EV1669 is capable of achieving read and write speeds of 100 and 80 megabytes per second, respectively, with a TLC (Triple-Level-Cell) flash memory with no additional host driver or software required.

Etron's USB3.0 FDA series, including EV1669, utilizes proprietary flash disk accelerating technology. This breakthrough technology increases the overall performance of accessing any NAND flash memory by using a new architecture that includes advanced firmware algorithms and high-speed flash interface engines and also significantly enhances the reliability and stability of various NAND flash memories.

Advanced gesture recognition and sensing technology is coming to the 2013 CES! Etron Technology, Inc. launches its innovative Cougar Platform, a hardware-based USB3.0 Depth-Map Controller Platform with two cameras that enables gesture/skeleton control and 3D-video/image capture and works with various middleware and application software. Since the data size of captured images is too large to be managed by motherboard CPUs, Etron developed this platform for intensive data computation immediately post-sensing with a hardware-based depth-map engine.

As a result, Etron's Cougar Platform works smoothly with X86-based systems and ARM-based systems. It also provides synchronized dual HD (High Definition) video/image capture through a USB3.0 (uncompressed) or USB2.0 (compressed) interface. Etron will demonstrate its Cougar Platform at Booth No. 35114 in South Hall 4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) from January 8th to 11th.

Following entry of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed specification, chip-makers such as Renesas, ASMedia, Etron, and VIA made a killing selling third-party USB 3.0 host controllers to motherboard, desktop, and notebook vendors, which ended after Intel launched its 7-series chipset featuring an integrated 4-port USB 3.0 host controller, resulting in drop in demand for third-party chips. These companies each have USB 3.0 hub controllers, and could help drive growth of the specification with USB 3.0 hubs, devices which multiply the number of USB ports available. USB 3.0 hub controllers have been slow in receiving USB-IF certification due to difficulties in conducting compatibility tests, which could ease out by 2013, since Renesas' chip already passed certification. Most peripherals and flash drive manufacturers could have USB 3.0 hubs among their product lineups.

Japanese peripherals retailer AREA announced three USB 3.0 and one SATA 6 Gb/s add-on card models. The PE4U3E-3E1 "Sport Quattro" is a 4-port USB 3.0 card that uses a Etron EJ188 host controller, which connects to the machine over PCI-Express 2.0 x2 (physical PCI-Express 2.0 x4), resulting in higher downstream bandwidth when using multiple ports. The card features three external and one internal USB 3.0 type A ports, it draws auxiliary power from a SATA power connector. It is priced at 2,480¥ (US $30).

Next up is the SD-PEU3R-2E2IL, another 4-port PCI-Express add-on card, driven by Renesas D720201 4-port USB 3.0 host controller. The card features PCI-Express 2.0 x1 bus interface, and unlike the PE4U3E-3E1, features two type A ports on the rear panel, and two ports via standard USB 3.0 front-panel header. It is priced at 2,680¥ (US $33.5). The last of the three USB 3.0 cards is the D-EP34U3R-S3, which ships in ExpressCard-34 form-factor, is driven by Renesas D720202 host controller, and features just one USB 3.0 type A port. It is priced at 1,980¥ (US $24.7). Lastly, the company launched the SD-PESA3ES2L, a 2-port SATA 6 Gb/s add-on card, which lets you choose between using the two ports as internal or eSATA ports, using jumpers. It goes for 2,980¥ (US $37).

EtronTech, which started out as a DRAM IC manufacturer, expanded into PC connectivity solutions, such as USB 3.0 host and webcam controllers, is now shipping its first USB 3.0 flash drive controllers. The EV268-series dual-core controllers come in 2-channel and 4-channel variants, with the ability to offer transfer-rates in excess of 230 MB/s. These controllers are designed to support 30 nm-class and 20 nm-class SLC/MLC/TLC NAND flash memory chips.

With the EV268, Etron entered a small but budding group of companies with USB 3.0 flash-drive controllers: VIA Technology/VIA Labs Inc. (VLI), Phison Electronics, and InnoStor Technology. By Q4 2012, it is estimated that USB 3.0 flash drives will make up 20% of all flash-drives shipped.