Representing a major breakthrough in the convergence of TV, gaming, streaming video, popular web apps and social media, Marvell (Nasdaq: MRVL), a worldwide leader in integrated silicon solutions, announced that the new Foresight Platform, powered by the Marvell ARMADA™ 1500 HD Media System-on-a-Chip (SoC), has been designed into the next generation of Google TVs debuting at CES 2012. Using Marvell's award-winning Qdeo™ video processing technology, the ARMADA-based Foresight Platform is designed to deliver superior 3D video, impressively rich audio, striking 3D graphics and TV-friendly Web content."Marvell and Google have teamed up to change home entertainment forever - transforming the TV into the command center for our connected lifestyle. Marvell and Google are fundamentally changing the relationship between the producers and consumers of content - from Hollywood to Madison Avenue to publishing and major news networks - creating a dynamic, two-way experience featuring real-time global news, social network, entertainment and information," said Weili Dai, Co-founder of Marvell. "I believe this is a major breakthrough movement and it's just the beginning of our bigger vision. The same forces that are revolutionizing today's television experience will transform numerous vertical applications for small businesses and large enterprises, enhancing the way we all work, connect with each other and collaborate globally.""The Google and Marvell teams have been working closely together to bring our combined software and chipset technologies to market to grow the Google TV ecosystem of manufacturers and devices. Marvell-powered Google TV solutions will enable powerful products to be brought to market at attractive prices," said Mario Queiroz, VP, Product Management Google TV.For consumers, today's digital home offers an endless choice of devices and content. For OEMs and service providers, it's an all-out sprint to create offerings that perform noticeably better than competitors and at mass-market prices. The Connected TV Marketing Association (CTVMA) estimates 123 million connected TVs will be sold worldwide in 2014. Those consumers will expect access to the services they love - Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, Picasa and many more - in a lightning-fast, crystal-clear and resource-friendly package.Powerful, energy-efficient, ultra-scalable and immensely affordable, the ARMADA 1500 contains Marvell's highest-performing ARM v6/7-compatible PJ4B SMP super-scalar dual-core CPU. The chip is designed to enable PC-like processing power to support Web browsing with support for Flash™ and other key technologies - with the aid of more than 6000 Dhrystone MIPS of computing horsepower, FPU v3.0, 512KB of L2 cache and WMMX2. The Foresight Platform is energy efficient and has advanced cell-phone like power management.The ARMADA 1500 also contains Marvell's award-winning Qdeo video processing for state-of-the-art HD and 3D video, including scaling, noise reduction, de-interlacing, low bit-rate internet video enhancement and FRC and color/contrast enhancement. The chip offers VMeta™, a multi-format video decoder/encoder/transcoder that can decode up to two simultaneous 1080p streams as well as a host of other video formats and containers. These features make the Foresight Platform ideal for Google TV, which requires tremendous processing power for its numerous applications at a cost effective price point. Product information: http://www.marvell.com/digital-entertainment/armada-1500/

Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL), a worldwide leader in integrated silicon solutions, announced two smart energy management platforms for smart appliance and LED lighting applications, which give consumers the ability to conveniently manage their smart appliances and lighting solutions from anywhere in the world, minimizing wasteful energy consumption and furthering the seamlessly connected lifestyle.Both the Smart Energy and Smart LED Lighting Platforms are designed to provide highly cost-effective, fully-integrated, end-to-end silicon and software solutions that enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop feature-rich smart appliances and smart LED lighting solutions. The Smart Energy Platform provides rich Wi-Fi connectivity enabling smart appliances to seamlessly integrate into consumers' home networks and devices, such as smart phones and tablets, as well as the broader Internet and cloud-based services. The Smart LED Lighting Platform is built around innovative LED driver ICs, along with low-power ZigBee networking, to provide a complete, wirelessly networked lighting control solution. A Wi-Fi/ZigBee gateway connects the lighting control networks to the premises networks, allowing control via smart phones and tablets. Both platforms are complemented by the Marvell® Kinoma® platform allowing rich user-interfaces (UIs) and new applications."As consumers increasingly expect their devices and interfaces to be continuously connected to the content and data they want - at anytime, from anywhere - Marvell is very proud to provide the technologies that enable a seamless Connected Lifestyle across a wide array of platforms and devices," said Kishore Manghnani, vice president of marketing for Green Energy Products at Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. "Currently, appliances and lighting systems do not have high-performance host processors to support connectivity and smart applications. In addition, these appliances and devices are also not mobile - they are in fixed locations and appliances are often surrounded by thick encasings - creating various radio frequency (RF) challenges. Marvell's new Smart Energy and LED Lighting Platforms address each of these areas by providing fully integrated, end-to-end solutions in small form factors that can be easily and affordably integrated into appliances and lighting products for the next-generation of energy-efficient smart homes and offices.""Lighting and appliances are the next frontier for connected consumer electronics and smart energy homes and businesses. These new connected devices have strong value proposition in the home and business connectivity market while maintaining an affordable price point for consumers, which is the key to its widespread adoption and implementation," said Marijana Vukicevic, senior principal analyst at IHS iSuppli. "OEMs must keep both the manufacturing and installation costs low in order to succeed in the market. Integrated silicon solutions are critical to providing efficient connectivity at the needed price point."

AMD has launched the AMD FirePro V3900, which enables excellent workstation experiences at an entry-level price point. By leveraging AMD's latest graphics features, including AMD Eyefinity technology, the AMD FirePro V3900 provides up to 95% better application performance than the competition. The AMD FirePro V3900 will be available in select workstation systems and will be sold for US$119 at select online resellers.Engineered for professionals looking for optimized graphics performance at entry-level pricing, the AMD FirePro V3900's 1GB of DDR3 RAM drives memory bandwidth of almost 29 GB/s, maximizing GPU performance for the highest level of user experience. And through AMD's productive relationship with workstation solution providers, graphics professionals will have access to the AMD FirePro V3900 in a range of industry-leading systems from Hewlett-Packard (HP) and others.The AMD FirePro V3900 has received certification for a variety of applications including AutoCAD, UGS NX, PTC Creo, SolidWorks and Autodesk 3Ds Max.AMD FirePro V3900 graphics cardPhoto: Company

Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry's largest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, and Marktech Optoelectronics today announced the two companies have signed a global distribution agreement.Marktech Optoelectronics is an industry leader in LED technology, products and solutions. Marktech has been involved in many high-end, high-profile projects and serves several markets including Aerospace and Defense, Medical Technology, Industrial Manufacturing and Robotics, and Sign and Signal."Marktech's status as a leader in the application of LED and Photo Sensing component solutions will provide Digi-Key and its customers with a competitive edge in the market," said Mark Zack, Digi-Key's vice president of semiconductor product. "We look forward to developing a successful business partnership with the Marktech team.""Marktech is excited to work closely with Digi-Key as our strategic partner," stated William Moore, executive vice president of Marktech Optoelectronics. "Digi-Key's unparalleled level of service along with Marktech's 26 years of providing optoelectronic solutions will allow engineers to quickly achieve their design goals."Marktech products are available for purchase now on Digi-Key's global websites (www.digikey.com).

As LED Lighting is getting common for green environment, customers expect to have more choices for bulbs replacement. Ecomaa spreads to dimmable and high-efficiency LED lighting from developing current products. Dimmable LED MR16 is the first evaluation bulb, with the ultra-high brightness, quiet fan and no vibration; the wide range of dimming luminance creates your own atmosphere.Economical: Ultra-High Brightness & Wider Dimming RangeOnly 7W of power supply, Ecomaa MR16 can provide 450lm of luminous flux. Traditional light bulbs such as incandescent or mercury vapor lamps, spend about 7 times more energy and carbon emission for the same brightness, whereas 3-7 times shorter life than LED bulbs. Under the same luminance demand, the higher luminous flux the fewer bulbs required and less energy used usually. Also, dimming range is wider as a maximum luminance is higher; lower brightness lower energy waste. Hence, compare to general LED bulbs with 300~400lumen, Ecomaa MR16 (flicker) is more economical for commercial or residential ambiance.Reliable: High Fan Technology-Quiet Fan & Zero VibrationThe reliability and life cycle of LED lighting basically depend on efficiency of heat dissipation, the higher efficiency the better product reliability. The heat dissipation can be divided into active (heat convection, i.e. fan lighting) and non-active (heat conduction, i.e. thermal pad lighting) technology in LED lighting market. Although fan lighting (active) is more effective than thermal pad lighting; also, lighter weight, less metal pollution and less carbon footprint, fan lighting is higher technology barriers to approach. Ecomaa strictly controls fan noise and vibration by simulated, tried and tested.As Ecomaa develops dimmable MR16, luminance efficiency is also raised by better optical technology, no flash and higher power factor. It can be said that Ecomaa dimmable MR16 is more valuable than other well-known manufacturers as the brightness and the reliable quality.Economical and Reliable LED MR16, fan inside, dimmable and more eco-friendly from Ecomaa Lighting.

GlacialLight, a division of experienced technology manufacturer GlacialTech Inc., is pleased to announce that itsenvironmentally-friendly LED lighting products are being used in many applications around the world and providing users with energy-saving light of the highest quality.Porsche automobiles are synonymous with high performance and perfected engineering. Recently, a Porsche showroom in Florida, USA applied these principles to their lighting by installing highly efficient GlacialLight LED lights.The Porsche showroom replaced their outdated recessed halogen bulbs with GlacialLight's GL-BR30 LED lights.Customers and staff have noticed improved visibility with the LEDs shining bright, natural‐looking light with no perceptible flickering. The expert crafting of the Porsche automobiles seems to stand out more with the evenly distributed light.Not only do GlacialLight LED lights produce higher quality light than halogen bulbs, but they also are much more efficient. The GL-BR30 LED lights consume only 11W respectively. With reduced power consumption the Porsche showroom has realized 83% savings in lighting related energy cost. These LEDs will continue to illuminate the showroom using very little electricity for a long time thanks to their long life spans of over 35,000 hours.GlacialLight is excited to see its product lines being used to make businesses more successful and at the same time benefiting society by offering lighting products that have longer lifetimes and save more energy than traditional lighting, emit no harmful UV or IR radiation, and contain no hazardous materials such as mercury.Read more about the GlacialLight GL-BR30 Series at:http://www.glaciallight.com/products/BR30.htmFor more information on how consumers are using GlacialLight's products visithttp://www.glaciallight.com/news/project.htmThe Porsche showroom replaced their outdated recessed halogen bulbs with GlacialLight's GL-BR30 LED lights.

AZZURRO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Erwin WOLF visited Taiwan and announced a variety of new advances in the GaN on Si. programs run by the company. On his trip AZZURRO's VP of Operations Dr. Markus SICKMOELLER and VP Marketing and Sales Erwin YSEWIJN joined him to elaborate on the company progress.With their patented large-diameter GaN-on-Si technology, AZZURRO Semiconductors is showing off their production capabilities on their new manufacturing side in Dresden, Germany, officially moving into mass production stage. "We are the only company in the market that can provide GaN-on-Si wafers for both LED and power semiconductor manufacturing", Erwin Wolf, CEO of AZZURRO Semiconductors, stressed. "Compared with other competitors that only target either market, AZZURRO will be able to reach economic scale more quickly and drive the successful commercial applications of GaN-on-Si technology."Since 2003, AZZURRO is the owner of all GaN-on-Si technology IP from Magdeburg University in Germany. "We showed the first crack free 150mm GaN-on-Si wafer in 2005, and proofed the equal LED brightness to sapphire in 2009", Wolf introduced the development progress of AZZURRO. "After receiving venture funds of 15M Euro in Oct. 2010, we started to setup our new production capacities and now move to volume productions, achieving an important milestone for the company."AZZURRO has MOCVD reactors, with capacities reaching < 1,000 150mm wafers per month. The company plans to keep expanding capacity to 10 x in 2013 and 20 x in 2015.Targeting both LED and power semiconductorsAZZURRO's large-diameter GaN-on-Si wafers can be used for both LED and power semiconductors, enabling breakthrough for lower cost and better performance compared with existing sapphire substrate and silicon wafers. According to Wolf, LEDs are now majorly made based on 50mm or 100mm sapphire substrate. Large-area GaN-on-Si technology can leverage the existing silicon ecosystem to reduce costs significantly.Regarding power semiconductors, the breakdown voltage and low leakage current characteristics of GaN are superior to silicon and can fully support the performance required for high voltage applications. Meanwhile, GaN-on-Si will shift the switching speed upwards by more than 10-fold than silicon, which can help realize more compact designs.In addition, with lower Rds. (on), GaN can provide better efficiency for the same surface then existing silicon. Its better conductivity will create less power loss in the switches and therefore getting less hot; easing the cooling provisions, thus meeting all requirements for next generation eco-friendly, green power designs.Better thickness uniformity through patented technologyThough GaN-on-Si has significant advantages, the technical challenges have made it difficult to be widely adopted. "The main issue is the wafer bow problems caused by the lattice mismatch between two different materials and thickness homogeneity", Wolf explained. Wafer bow not only might cause cracks in post-production process, but together with poor homogeneity also will have different peak wavelengths on the same wafer, which will increase the binning efforts afterwards for LED manufacturing The homogeneity is equally important for High Voltage devices which require a narrow of parameter distribution such as break-down voltage, leakage current etc…AZZURRO's patented GaN-on-Si technology is to grow GaN-based buffer layers on silicon substrate first, and then to grow different GaN films on top of the template for LED or power semiconductors manufacturing.With the patented stress management technology, AZZURRO can effectively solve the bow and thickness uniformity challenges for GaN-on-Si to achieve better manufacturability. Particularly, for LED applications, customers can use the same GaN structure on AZZURRO's GaN-on-Si wafers with less than 0,5 µm growth needed for the MQW structure. This plug & play approach can easy design migration to silicon and result is reduced cycle time and better utilization.Building experienced team to grab market opportunitiesAZZURRO's 50mm, 100mm and 150mm GaN-on-Si wafers for LED and power semiconductors have been designed in by global customers, including one Asian LED makers seriously considering the adaptation of its 150mm technology. The company plans to complete 200mm wafer sampling in 1H12."It takes as long as 12~15 months to complete the qualification and new process migration for LED manufacturing, and the design cycle for power semiconductors may be longer", Wolf said. "So, it is expected that we have to wait until second half next year or first half 2013 to see customer moving into mass production." Despite the downturn for LED market, he didn't see customers stop investing in research efforts, saying that the design-in progress for LED and power semiconductors are not impacted at all.Wolf stressed that AZZURRO is the company that takes the lead to bring GaN-on-Si technology into commercialization. As the capacity is established, AZZURRO will be able to offer quantity wafers to meet customers' demand. "It's a big step for us to be ready to move from R&D to high volume production. With more learning curves accumulated, I believe the manufacturability and yield of this technology can be further improved."GaN-on-Si is an emerging technology targeting at the high growth markets of LED and power semiconductors. There are also several companies jumping on this bandwagon to grab more business opportunities. "I am glad to see more companies investing in this field, which shows the feasibility and commercial values of GaN-on-Si technology", Wolf noted.Though AZZURRO is still in early development stage, Wolf said the company already built a professional and international management team of in-depth experiences in semiconductors. In addition, eyeing on the great potential in Asia market and Taiwan's strong semiconductor industry, AZZURRO set up branch office in Taipei in August 2011, in an effort to provide better support service to customers in this region and to aggressively expand the market.Erwin Wolf, CEO of AZZURRO Semiconductors AG

Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry's largest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, today announced the signing of a global distribution agreement with LeCroy, a leading provider of test and measurement solutions."LeCroy is a welcome addition to our expansive selection of quality suppliers," said Jeff Shafer, vice president, global interconnect, passives, and electromechanical product, Digi-Key Corporation. "Adding a respected name such as LeCroy not only offers quality product to our global customers, but allows us to maintain our commitment to providing the most in-stock product available for immediate shipment.""Not only will our partnership with Digi-Key contribute to our global growth," stated Roberto Petrillo, LeCroy worldwide vice president of sales, "Digi-Key's international communication technology and logistics expertise will provide any engineer looking for our products, anywhere in the world, the value of superior service in the key areas of product availability, on-time delivery, and responsiveness."Since 1964, LeCroy has been designing oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, and related test and measurement solutions to productively validate and thoroughly debug electronic engineering designs. Offering a powerful combination of large and informative displays combined with advanced wave-shape analysis capabilities, LeCroy instruments are tailored to enhance the productivity of engineers in the computer and semiconductor, consumer electronics, data storage device, automotive and industrial, telecommunication, and military and aerospace markets.LeCroy's product lines are employed across a wide variety of industries and are available for purchase now on Digi-Key's global websites: www.digikey.com

Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry's largest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, and LEMO, a global leader in the design and manufacture of precision custom connection solutions, today announced the companies have signed an agreement in which Digi-Key will distribute LEMO's product worldwide.Offering more than 50,000 combinations of product that continues to grow through custom specific designs, LEMO's high quality push-pull connectors are found in a variety of challenging application environments including medical, industrial control, test and measurement, audio-video, and telecommunications."Engineers are continually faced with the need for connectors to meet the challenges presented in a variety of applications," said Jeff Shafer, Digi-Key's vice president of interconnect, passive, and electromechanical products. "LEMO is a leader in meeting this demand with the design and manufacture of their push-pull connectors and we are pleased to offer their products to our global customers.""LEMO strives to achieve the highest level of quality and customer satisfaction," said Dean Pohwala, general manager, LEMO USA, Inc. "With the addition of Digi-Key, we can now offer customers extended customer service delivered with technical expertise, professionalism and speed. We are very happy to have Digi-Key as part of our distribution network and we look forward to a very successful partnership."LEMO's line of high quality connectors can be purchased online from Digi-Key's international websites: www.digikey.com

With the rapid development of urbanization in China, the total population of major cities continues to grow and with it the volume of public transportation, making traffic congestion problems ever more severe. As a result, the first priority many of these cities face is the development of suitable urban rail transit systems. According to recent transportation plans, ten different mainland cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have built and put into operation some 29 rail lines. By 2020, the total length of China's urban rail transit lines will be between 3,000 and 3,500 kilometers.At the same time, the growing trend in urban rail operation has been the development of computer intelligence and automation platforms, and comprehensive monitoring systems play a key role in that growth by improving security and reliability through better access to information and system controls. DAS Intellitech, established in 1995, has a strong reputation for combining professional services with excellent technology, and many of their transportation systems have already been implemented in China.Intelligent rail transit systems are a growing trendDAS Intellitech's General Manager Mu Qing Lin, stated that his company offers a variety of solutions for the security, rail transportation, intelligent building, and factory industries, all built on intelligent and energy-saving technologies. These provide customers with efficient, safe, comfortable, and environmentally friendly facilities. In the year 2000, their company undertook a project to develop comprehensive monitoring systems for rail transport,with the first project to be installed in Hong Kong. The new system, installed in Hong Kong's MTR, monitors the system and also manages electrical equipment such as air conditioning and lighting. Following completion of that project, DAS Intellitech won additional engineering projects in Shenzhen and Chengdu. With the successful completion of each case, the company was able to showcase its strengths and set trends for the development of intelligent computing systems and energy conservation.The comprehensive monitoring system is comprised of many individual systems, including power monitoring, environment and equipment monitoring,emergency exits, train control, fire alarms, transmission, radio, CCTV,clocks, passenger information, and access control. In the past, these systems operated independently and were managed separately. With advanced communication and control technology,the smaller systems can be integrated into a complete system via the network,enhancing management efficiency and reducing operating costs. Staff in the control room can better understand operating conditions and quickly deal with unexpected situations.Compatibility and cost-effectiveness are key pointsSince comprehensive monitoring systems are a very important part of rail transport, Mu Qing Lin said that reliability and stability are crucial factors for customers deploying management solutions. Systems have to meet industrial-grade specifications against dust and vibration, and they need to operate in a wide range of temperatures, to be moisture-resistant,and to have long product life cycles.DAS Intellitech chose Advantech as a long-term partner because Advantech was an early entrant in the industrial control field, and has the ability to develop customized solutions as well as offering verification, testing and other technical services. For the DAS Intellitech public transport cases,Advantech supplies the core platforms, providing compatible system products with excellent performance-cost ratios and has also helped DAS successfully win many additional projects in a highly competitive market.Based on the Chinese rail transport system roll-out schedule, cities in the southern part of the country will be implementing additional subway and transportation systems. Mu Qing Lin believes that, based on their past successes in the rail transportation sector, this is an opportunity for DAS Intellitech to continue to shine. Their familiarity with advanced technology and experience in the field will also allow them to continue to assist China as it pursues a localization plan to develop its own transit system technologies, a national railway system, and more intelligent transportation.