Enova, the leading cryptographic ASIC engineering company, introduces X-Wall MX+, SATA-to-SATA (Gen 3, 2 & 1) Real-Time Cryptographic ASIC Protecting "Data-in-Transit" and "Data-at-Rest" with AES ECB/CBC/XTS 256-bit Strength.The X-Wall MX+, the 10th generation of patented X-Wall Technology, is engineered specifically to encrypt/decrypt entire SATA disk drive including boot sector, temp files and operating system with SATA Gen 3 speed at 6Gbps. The X-Wall MX+ enhances both security and performance of its predecessor MX and is progressing for FIPS 140-2 level 2/3 certification.How does it work?The X-Wall MX+ sits between the host SATA adapter and the device SATA controller, encrypting the attached SATA drive with 256-bit AES ECB, CBC or XTS.System performance with X-Wall MX+ engaged is unaffected. X-Wall MX+ is OS independent including embedded OS. Once authenticated, its operation is transparent to all users.Full Disk Encryption, or FDEThe X-Wall MX+ default is to perform full disk encryption protecting entire Data-at-Rest. The FDE solution is OS independent as no extra software component including driver is needed.File/Folder Encryption, or FFEWith add-on software components, the X-Wall MX+ can be configured to protect Data-in-Transit such that confidential files stored in the Cloud remain MX+ hardware encrypted. Only the right secret key can successfully decrypt those encrypted files. The solution is OS dependent as it requires loading extra software component or driver.Enhanced Security for AuthenticationThe X-Wall MX+ has equipped with HMAC, SHA256, RSA 2048, and DRBG, all in hardware. Secure authentication through these cryptographic components is possible. Key management can be versatile, which includes PIN/Password through Pre-boot authentication, TPM, Smartcard, Fingerprint, Single Sign On, or USB type external key token. One or more factor authentications are applicable.As the entire SATA disk drive is encrypted, there is no secret being left unprotected, including PIN and "Secret Key." In an X-Wall MX+ protected system, there is no way to read the data without the right "Secret Key." The X-Wall MX+ technology is compatible with all system designs incorporating standard SATA drive technologies. A limited amount of sample chips will be made available for qualified customers for testing and evaluation.Key Take AwayThe X-Wall MX+ performs full disk encryption with NIST certified AES hardware at SATA Gen 3 speed with conserved power consumption and small foot print. It can also be configured to adapt to securing cloud. It is OS independent and allows secure authentication through built-in HMAC, SHA256, DRBG and RSA2048 cryptographic components.For more information, please contact info@enovatech.net or visit our website http://www.enovatech.com/.MX+ Block Diagram

Indium Corporation was presented with CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY's NPI Award for its LV1000 flux coating for solder preforms at the IPC APEX Expo on Feb. 24 in San Diego, Calif.Sponsored by CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY, the NPI Awards program recognizes the electronics assembly industry's leading new products. Awards are selected by an independent panel of practicing industry engineers.LV1000is a series of flux coatings that offers low voiding, especially in situations where the component footprint will not allow for proper outgassing of volatized flux. Its glossy, even coating is durable, so it can be used in automated assembly processes.LV1000 is halide-free, meeting ROL0 requirements, and passes Telcordia GR-78 testing in the unactivated state. The coating's tolerances are well-controlled, down to 0.5% by weight, to ensure no additional flux is required. LV1000 is versatile, allowing for the coating of unique geometries and sizes.LV1000 is not only a formulation, but a process which produces flux-coated solder preforms that meet the tightest of flatness tolerances, ensuring that electronic components solder correctly, thereby minimizing defects.For more information about LV1000, visit www.indium.com/LV1000. For more information on flux-coated solder preforms, visit www.indium.com/flux-and-epoxy/flux-coated-preforms.For more information about Indium Corporation, visit www.indium.com or email abrown@indium.com. You can also follow our experts From One Engineer To Another® (#FOETA) at www.facebook.com/indium or https://twitter.com/IndiumCorp.

Acer has unveiled the Liquid M220 smartphone, its first Liquid smartphone to run on the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, featuring a 4-inch 233ppi display.The Liquid M220 features a 5-megapixel auto-focus back-end and a 2-megapixel front-end camera. The back-end camera also sports an 89-degree wide-angle lens for better photo shot.Both the Liquid Leap and Liquid Leap+ smart active bands are compatible with Windows Phone 8.1, making them the ideal companions of the Liquid M220 for users with healthcare demandThe Liquid M220 will also have optional accessories ranging from matching color flip covers to matching color protective cases.The Liquid M220 will become available in April through selected EMEA retailers, starting EUR79 (US$88.42).Acer Liquid M220 smartphonePhoto: Company

Samsung Electronics has announced that it is now mass producing 128GB ultra-fast embedded memory based on the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.0 standard for smartphones. The new embedded memory's UFS 2.0 interface is the most advanced JEDEC-compliant, next-generation flash memory storage specification in the world, the company claimed.UFS memory utilizes "Command Queue," a technology that accelerates the speed of command execution in SSDs through a serial interface, significantly increasing data processing speeds compared to the 8-bit parallel-interface-based eMMC standard, Samsung indicated. Its new UFS embedded memory conducts 19,000 IOPS for random reading, which is 2.7 times faster than eMMC 5.0, the company said.Samsung's UFS memory also delivers a sequential read and write performance boost up to SSD levels, in addition to a 50% decrease in energy consumption. In addition, the random read speed is 12 times faster than that of a typical high-speed memory card (which runs at 1,500 IOPS).In the future, Samsung anticipates that UFS will support high-end mobile market needs, while eMMC solutions remain viable for the mid-market and value segments.For random writing of data to storage, Samsung's UFS embedded memory operates at 14,000 IOPS and is 28 times as fast as a conventional external memory card, making it capable of supporting seamless Ultra HD video playback and smooth multitasking functions at the same time, the company said.Samsung's new UFS embedded memory comes in 128GB, 64GB and 32GB versions, which are twice the capacity of its eMMC line-up, the company disclosed.Samsung's UFS embedded memory package, a new ePoP (embedded package on package) solution, can be stacked directly on top of a logic chip, taking approximately 50% less space, the company noted."With our mass production of ultra-fast UFS memory of the industry's highest capacity, we are making a significant contribution to enable a more advanced mobile experience for consumers," said Jee-ho Baek, senior VP of Samsung's memory marketing. "In the future, we will increase the proportion of high-capacity memory solutions, in leading the continued growth of the premium memory market."Samsung UFS embedded memoryPhoto: Company

Indium Corporation will introduce Indium10.5HF, a new halogen-free, Pb-free solder paste at the IPC APEX Expo Feb. 24-26 in San Diego, Calif.Indium10.5HF is a no-clean solder paste designed to improve ICT first-pass yields. It is specifically formulated to accommodate the higher processing temperatures required by SnAgCu, SnAg, and other alloy systems favored by the electronics industry.Indium10.5HF solder paste has a soft, pliable, non-tacky residue that minimizes build-up on probes during in-circuit testing and increases first-pass ICT yields. Indium10.5HF offers unprecedented stencil print transfer efficiency, making this solder paste suitable in the broadest range of processes. It also provides excellent head-in-pillow performance. Indium10.5HF solder paste saves time and increases output for companies that require ICT as part of their normal production."This solder paste is ideal for customers in a wide range of markets, including automotive, medical, computing, communications, and aerospace/military," Glen Thomas, product manager, PCB solder paste said. "Additionally, many of our customers have reported improved wetting and solderability for their applications, especially for RF shield-attach."For more information about Indium10.5HF or Indium Corporation's complete Pb-free Solder Paste series, visit us at APEX in booth #1027, online at www.indium.com/APEX-2015, or email askus@indium.com.Indium Corporation is a premier materials manufacturer and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, solar, thin-film, and thermal management markets. Products include solders and fluxes; brazes; thermal interface materials; sputtering targets; indium, gallium, germanium, and tin metals and inorganic compounds; and NanoFoil. Founded in 1934, Indium has global technical support and factories located in China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the USA.For more information about Indium Corporation, visit www.indium.com or email abrown@indium.com. You can also follow our experts From One Engineer To Another (#FOETA) at www.facebook.com/indium or @IndiumCorp.Indium10.5HF is a no-clean, halogen-free, Pb-free solder paste

With eCommerce capturing a booming share of sales, physical retailers are challenged but not doomed because they provide irreplaceable touch-and-feel experience for brick-and-mortar consumers. To reinvent shopping experience and rebuild brand values, many physical retailers are building "responsive stores" to merge the advantages of online and offline shops.Responsive stores cover all aspects of shopping experience from entrance to exit. They can be divided into digital shopping carts, digital shelf management system, in-store intelligent video system, virtual fitting room, and experience centers.Responsive Stores: Win-wins for Retailers & CustomersDigital shopping carts are computerized shopping carts with tablets. They provide personal shopping services such as style advice, product search, and wine recommendations. "When customers have questions, these carts show detailed product information with augmented reality technologies or connect to customer service centers," said Steven Wu, GM of Multi-Media Solutions Business Unit, NEXCOM. Also, they automatically scan and check out items in carts, shortening customers' queue time.Regarding digital shelf management system, Wu suggests that retailers can use electronic shelf labels to keep product and price information up to minute based on price comparison information. The system also connects to enterprise resource planning software (ERP) and replenish automatically. When shelves run low, products can be automatically restocked without interrupting customers, thus delivering a comfortable environment.Informative and Thorough Shopping ExperienceIntegrated with cameras and sensors, the in-store intelligent video system performs various features and interactive scenarios. For instance, the system collects customers' eye movement, traffic flow, and shopping behaviors for further analysis. With the system, retailers can identify hot shelf zones and eye-gazed product features for improved shelf layout and product design. Also, the system can greet visitors, identify customer groups, and deliver advertisements relevant to customers.Virtual fitting rooms enable customers to try on clothes virtually. With 3D scanning, depth-sensing, and virtual reality, latest virtual fitting rooms convert the 2D front view into unprecedented 3D experiences. Customers can even upload these fitting photos for peer feedback via social network. This 360-degree perspective can also be applied to furniture stores and car dealers for previewing interior design.Last but not least, retailers can remodel store layout to boost customer satisfaction by establishing service and experience centers between checkout counters and the exit. The digital-signage-enabled space can bring premium interactions to reinforce brand image and perform customer satisfaction analysis.Integrates Bricks with ClicksRecently, eCommerce brands are establishing physical stores and experience centers to strengthen competitiveness. In addition to providing a wide selection of products, abundant product information, and fast checkout, online shops still need the final piece of the puzzle to create physical interactions between customers and products.On the other hand, traditional retailers are also bringing eCommerce advantages into physical stores. Some retailers in Europe and North America are adopting emerging technologies to turn brinks into gold. This migration is accelerating in APAC. As responsive stores continue evolving with technological advancement and customer-behavior changes, the future of retail relies on retailers and system providers. With decades of experience in retail digital signage and responsive store solutions, NEXCOM certainly plays key roles for retail innovation and renovation.For more information about NEXCOM, please visit http://www.nexcom.com/Responsive stores cover all aspects of shopping experience from entrance to exit

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming product companies into service businesses. These companies are discovering that launching, managing, and expanding an IoT service comes with unique challenges. The adoption of cloud, analytics, Big Data, mobile, and social technologies compels solution providers and their partners to deliver increased business value. This pace of change shifts the landscape in terms of technology sales and implementation. Partner organizations that fail to maintain and enhance their employees' technical and sales skills will be unable to successfully apply the best technologies to match the evolving business requirements.During a recent DIGITIMES organized Embedded Technology Forum, Tony Tsao, CEO of Global Channel Resource Corporation, said that with cloud services and different mobile apps, opportunities lie in the creation of new business designs by blurring the digital and physical worlds. As the technological revolution accelerates, consumers have completely changed how they shop, how they make purchasing decisions, and what they expect from product distributors. Differentiation between purchasing channels is introducing a series of changes.The current channel maintains the flow from product vendors, distributors, system integrators and telecom services providers, before finally handing over to the customer. But Tsao remarked that in the future, the role of distributor will be shortened to form a path from product vendors and system integrators straight to a Managed Service Provider/Telecom operator and then to the customer. Tsao dubbed this model Channel 3.0. Managed service providers will play a notable role in the ecosystem by improving operations and cutting expenses by outsourcing day-to-day management responsibilities and functions. This can include outsourcing human resource activities, production support, and lifecycle management activities, which speed up the process flow and improve efficiency.The Channel 3.0 concept will enable progressive changes in IoT service business models. Solution providers deliver applications from single to integrated solutions, or even massively migrate to collaborative solutions. And the system platform has been transformed from Machine-to-Machine (M2M), focusing on serving individual machines with better quality, and aggregating systems to remove redundant information already transmitted by other machines. New service models will emerge by adapting complex applications driven by open collaboration architectures, Tsao said.GCR is a company which offers a cloud-based service platform and online marketplace to help SaaS, ISV and pre-integrated IoT solutions deploy services worldwide. GCR's solutions and services create a platform that ties up with a regional and local business operations to reduce the physical demand gap between worldwide ICT channel partners and global buyers, said Tsao.Tony Tsao, CEO of Global Channel Resource CorporationPhoto: Digitimes

At the recent Digitimes Embedded Technology Forum (DTF), Kamal Khouri, AMD marketing director of embedded solutions, delivered a keynote where he provided AMD's view on the challenges and opportunities represented by the expansion of smart devices and supporting IoT infrastructures. He also elaborated on roadmap highlights and development plans AMD has for delivering near- and mid-term computing solutions called "Ambidextrous computing." This new roadmap combines powerful graphics performance using a shared, flexible infrastructure to enable both the x86 and 64-bit ARM core ecosystems.Khouri also noted that AMD is seeing key trends for the upcoming year on the development of the IoT market.The first trend seen in the IoT (Internet of Things) area is that more and more smart client devices are enabling realistic natural human communication. Smart cloud services are connecting tens of billions of devices in real time, and Smart Things are extending IoT technology across multiple platforms without human input. Taking medical imaging machines as an example, Smart Things from small sensors to cloud applications are creating a revolution in the electronics industry.The second important trend is virtualization powering IoT applications. Visual information is much more efficient for humans dealing with Smart Things. The market for digital signage and gaming applications massively relies on visual features and is creating tremendous growth momentum for the electronics industry. Moving into the future, utilizing the GPU to accelerate applications will play a more important role than before.The third trend is the dominance of two key CPU architectures. While the interaction between IoT devices involves massive data collection and software processing capabilities, computing power requirements will be very different than the programming methods used in the past.From AMD's internal analysis based on historical and projected combined revenue shares across processor architectures for mobile devices to cloud servers, x86 and ARM-based solutions will account for 80% of the CPU market and dominate the future computing world.The question is not which CPU architecture is better. The real question is how quickly you can develop IoT devices and can the ecosystem support your needs using this architecture in order to accelerate time-to-market?These aforementioned trends have made AMD realize the nature of future computing will take both serial and parallel paths at the same time. Ambidextrous computing, the new AMD product roadmap in 2015, reveals a design framework that features x86 cores and 64-bit ARM cores that are pin-to-pin compatible, allowing the motherboard to run off both SoCs and APUs. And the versatile form factors fit the various requirements of IoT and embedded solutions. The wider range of devices covered span simple wearable devices to sophisticated cloud servers.Project SkyBridge, the first AMD Ambidextrous solution in 2015, will feature the new family of APUs and SoCs based on low-power 20nm Cortex A57 cores with AMD's GCN core architecture. In simple terms, Project SkyBridge will allow these low-power 64-bit ARM based SoCs to run on the same motherboards as x86 low-power SoCs and will feature AMD's upcoming Puma+ cores which were recently introduced as a part of the AMD Mullins and Beema APU lineup.These new AMD APUs and SoCs will also be among the first to feature full support for Android OS platforms, Microsoft Windows, RTOS and Linux operating systems. So this could help AMD to soon enter the mobile sector as technology becomes more favorable for small form factor based IoT products.Khouri ended his keynote by noting that Internet connected devices are forecast to reach 26 billion units by 2020. And the question he asked to everybody was, "How do we handle the technology challenges for managing communication among all of these devices? It seems AMD is trying to answer the question by using Ambidextrous computing to link software, hardware solutions and the entire ecosystem.Dr. Kamal Khouri, AMD marketing director of embedded solutionsPhoto: Digitimes

With higher reliability, greater capacity, comparable effective lower costs and faster read/write speeds, solid-state storage devices (SSD) are fast moving into embedded applications, leading both to more alternatives as well as a move toward standardizing interfaces. Robert J.C. Lee, Apacer senior director of R&D, remarked on three major factors that consumers and industrial-grade applications can consider when deciding to implement SSD solutions. They are reliability, performance and endurance.While the quality and durability of successive generations of flash memories have tended to drop, how an SSD device is tested is becoming a very important matter for developers and electronics device makers.Taking the performance test of SSD as an example, SSD controller needs to manage multi-channel NAND memory access and consider internal or external DRAM cache memory operations. The performance is decided based on how an SSD's random IOPS (Input/output operations per second) requirements have improved. The core issue of performance is speed. And the same scrutiny applied to reliability is also used for data integrity; endurance is the main concern of product life.Talking about Apacer SSD solutions in 2015 at the recent Digitimes Embedded Technology Forum (DTF), Lee introduced the company's full product lineup covering network storage, server, embedded systems and smart devices. There are several unique Apacer features to enhance the product's functionality. The first one is HyperCache technology. HyperCache enables data written in SLC page first and ensures the optimized write performance. It then moves data to an MLC area when the device is idle. The leverage of SLC and MLC memory makes the best fit for SSD solutions.Industrial customers are often only willing to use costly SLC memory, which limits SSD capacity for industrial control applications. Apacer has incorporated SLC-Lite memory technology which is 3-10 times more durable than MLC, as well as key technologies that can maintain and monitor program/erase (P/E) wear leveling. This technology also integrates data security features such as SATA link CRC, ECC on DRAM, data plus ECC code on buffer memory, stored data plus ECC code on NAND memory. It allows the SSD to be integrated into lightweight industrial control applications, while SLC-Lite memory will become the new darling of industrial control applications.The next important consideration is that power matters. Unexpected power failure will cause data loss and raise a direct impact on SSD operations. To deal with unexpected power failure situations, Apacer provides a feature of power failure mechanisms with implementing protective CorePower circuits to guarantee all cache data will be flushed into flash memory safely.Apart from the above technologies, Apacer provides enterprise SSD products with high capacity up to 2TB, supporting both UltraSpeed SATAIII and PCIe interfaces and other traditional connections. For server solutions, Apacer also provides small form factor Disk on Modules for 1U servers with a cableless design for fitting operating system backup or cache operating purposes.Lee also highlighted Apacer's patented 7+2 pins power socket design, eliminating the power line of the socket in motherboard layout. This patented technology has been implemented to the Intel Grantley server board family covering the Intel S2600CW Family, Cottonwood Pass, Taylor Pass and Kennedy Pass motherboards.Non-volatile Memory is another area where Apacer's unique designs combine SSD and DIMM technologies together. There is one DIMM memory equipped with SSD and DDR memory altogether, or a Non Volatile DIMM, which is best suitable for backup or for restoring DRAM data.The operation procedures are using DRAM memory addresses visible to the host during the power on state and the NAND memory keeps data for persistency during the power off state. Once the power returns the data will be restored from NAND memory immediately. These products are trying to enhance the reliability of DIMM product lines to create a special purpose memory solution in the embedded systems. Apacer is committed to providing flexible memory solutions to service IoT and embedded solution providers.Robert J.C. Lee, Apacer senior director of R&D

Mouser Electronics, a Texas based company and part of the Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway family of companies, is an authorized distributor of semiconductors and electronic components for over 500 electronic component suppliers. Specializing in the rapid introduction of new products and technologies for design engineers and buyers, Mouser introduced an extensive product offering of MultiSIM BLUE software tools to help engineers speed up the process of selecting, purchasing and designing products during the recent at the recent Digitimes Embedded Technology Forum (DTF).Neil Su, technical support manager of Mouser Electronics Asia, presented the strength of MultiSIM BLUE in this session. In collaboration with National Instrument, Mouser showed how MultiSIM BLUE is a powerful tool to add features and functionality to provide engineers with an industry-standard SPICE simulation environment of electronic circuits using Mouser Electronics' distributed components.First of all, MultiSIM BLUE will include a database of more than 100,000 electronic components with intuitive simulation features and SPICE analyses. Engineers can visualize and evaluate linear performance, making this critical development step of circuit design easier, faster and more productive. With MultiSIM BLUE, engineers can easily create schematics, simulate circuits and build printed circuit board layouts. MultiSIM BLUE gives the ability to scheme and simulate, plus it handles PCB layout, Bill of Materials (BOM) and purchasing.The second, design specification simulation is driven by the same parser technology as NI Multisim software with support from BSIM and other advanced parameters. The simulation tools use a friendly interface to tap different instruments and plug into various circuit designs while also checking the signaling status.Once the simulation is done, MultiSIM BLUE helps with the PCB (printed circuit board) layout process. It generates different gerbers, generic files accepted by any PCB fabrication house for engineers to produce prototype PCB easily.The most important service through MultiSIM BLUE tools is providing instantly on-line component purchasing services, even in small-quantity orders. Users can easily send a BOM to a shopping cart on the Mouser website. Neil Su remarked, Mouser Electronics' website is updated daily and searches more than 10 million products to locate over four million selective part numbers available for easy online purchase. MultiSIM BLUE now supports a wide range of component types including passives, discretes, analog ICs, discrete signal ICs, mixed signal ICs, sensors, power ICs and protection devices. It helps every circuit designer with the latest components on the market.There is one feature called "Share this Cart with a Colleague" In the Mouser's Shopping Cart page initiated by a simple click in the web page. After following the instructions on screen, an e-mail will be sent to a chosen colleague so that they can access a copy of your shopping cart and place the order for you, which will save an immense amount of time for engineering teams to work together.Unlike other tools, MultiSIM BLUE provides a fully interactive schematic interface with a full-right-click menu. Electronic component selection is just a click away along with a fully integrated wiring and reviewing platform.Mouser offers customers 20 global support locations and the latest, advanced components for their newest design projects. Mouser.com also houses an industry-first interactive catalog, data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, technical design information, and engineering tools.Su highlighted Mouser's strong commitment to customer service. Besides the value of having a knowledgeable person and informative online component database and interactive design tools, Mouser can deliver small quantity orders and redefine customer-focused distribution. Su also suggested that people in the audience register an account on the Mouser website to access the services. The website address is http://www.mouser.tw/Neil Su, technical support manager of Mouser Electronics Asia