AMD today announced new CPU offerings for the AMD Embedded R-Series high-performance computing platform, along with the introduction of a discrete GPU promotional program to provide embedded designers more choices for meeting demanding performance requirements.

The new options include quad-core and dual-core CPUs scaling from 2.2 GHz to 3.2 GHz with Thermal Design Power (TDP) ranging from 17 to 35 watts for applications that require high performance x86 compute such as network attached storage (NAS). To address high-end visual needs for applications like digital gaming and signage that require high-performance x86 compute coupled with industry-leading discrete graphics, AMD is introducing a new discrete GPU promotional program that provides customers with both a CPU and discrete GPU for savings of up to 20 percent.

AMD today announced a new low-power Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) in the award-winning AMD G-Series SOC family with the GX-210JA, further reducing x86 power requirements for embedded designs. The new GX-210JA APU, a full System-on-Chip (SoC) design, uses one third less energy than the previous low-power Embedded G-Series SOC product while providing industry-leading graphics capabilities.

At only 6 watts maximum thermal design power (TDP), and approximately 3 watts expected average power, this new member of the G-Series SOC family will enable additional fanless designs for a variety of applications ranging from industrial controls and automation, digital gaming, communications infrastructure and visual embedded products including thin client, digital signage and medical imaging.

MSI's IPC division proudly announced a new embedded system, MS-9A68, for display-critical applications in diversified industrial fields. Aiming at the monitoring, video-interactive, or demanding applications with both intensive displaying and processing tasks, MS-9A68 is designed with high-performance CPU power and brilliant display capability that well-satisfy those applications, such as digital signage, gaming, surveillance, Kiosk, and public transportation. In addition to its outstanding performance, the slim, light-weighted mechanical design makes the MS-9A68 especially ideal for space-limited sites or cabinet installation.

Stealth.com Inc. (Stealth Computer), a leading ISO 9001 manufacturer of industrial rugged computers and peripherals has released a new powerful Fanless Mini PC model LPC-700F featuring built-in PCI or PCIe expansion slot capability. The LPC-700F outperforms other small sized PC systems due to the integration of the latest Intel 3rd Generation Core i7 mobile processors. The LPC-700F ships standard with an Intel i7 Processor 3610QE CPU exceeding the performance of computers many times its physical size. The LPC-700F fanless mini PC features a multitude of I/O connectivity built directly into its impressively small design such as; 4x USB 3.0, 6x RS232/Serial, 2x Gigabit LAN ports, VGA, DVI-D & HDMI video connectors and Audio In/Out. The LPC-700F fanless computer comes standard with a 128GB solid state drive (SSD).

"Our new Stealth Model: LPC-700F is the most powerful and technologically advanced fanless PC we have introduced to date. Our full featured machine features built in PCI or PCIe expansion card slots for applications requiring additional expansion capability", stated Ed Boutilier CEO of Stealth.com Inc. Stealth's LPC-700F is a powerful diminutive computer that operates without noisy cooling fans that could draw in dirt and dust potentially causing catastrophic failures. Stealth's fanless computers are encapsulated in a rugged extruded aluminum chassis performing as a heat sink to dissipate heat build-up.

Innodisk, a designer and manufacturer of SSDs for commercial and industrial applications, announces a release of the industrial-embedded industry's first SATA device in accordance to SATA µSSD standards - nanoSSD.

Through the integration of a control chip, flash memory and peripheral power components into a single ball grid array (BGA) package, Innodisk has managed to reduce the size of the nanoSSD to approximately 1% the size of a 2.5" SSD. With dimensions of only 16 x 20 x 2 mm (WxLxH), a weight of only 1.5g, SATA III support, capacities ranging from 4 to 64 GB and both x86 and ARM compatibility, nanoSSD can be incorporated into a wide variety of applications where a small form-factor and high transfer rates are important, including industrial mobile devices, embedded systems, tablets, high-end smart phones and Ultrabooks.

Advantech, a global embedded platform manufacturer, today unveiled the new ASMB-822I server-grade motherboard powered by Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 family technology. This new technology comprises 64-bit multi-core processors, PCI Express Gen3 high speed communications, and DDR3 memory with total capacity up to 96GB. ASMB-822I is perfect designed for high performance demands such as NVR, DVR and also target to video wall, video conferencing, surveillance and other mission-critical applications.

"Advantech is committed to providing a full spectrum of embedded systems with advanced and intelligent built-in technology, from fanless and ruggedized to high-performance solutions," said Linda Tsai,Director of Advantech Embedded Systems Group. The ASMB-822I is an ATX server board equipped with LGA 2011 Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 series and Intel C602J series chipset. It supports six DDR3 registered DIMM slots for a 96 GB total capacity and dual GbE LANs using Intel controllers.

AMD today announced the new AMD Embedded G-Series System-on-Chip (SOC) platform, a single-chip solution based on the AMD next-generation "Jaguar" CPU architecture and AMD Radeon 8000 Series graphics. The new AMD Embedded G-Series SOC platform further signifies a strategic push to focus on high-growth markets outside the PC industry, with an emphasis on embedded systems. The announcement was made at this year's DESIGN West expo.

Embedded systems are increasingly driving intelligence into new areas of our lives, from smart TVs and set-top boxes to interactive digital signage and informational kiosks. This supports greater productivity and connectivity and is expected to be a strong driver for Surround Computing, an area of substantial growth in the computing industry. Among the forces that are enabling this next-generation computing era are single-chip, SOC solutions that offer smaller size, higher performance and more energy-efficient processors.

Axiomtek ultra low-power fanless embedded system with Intel Cedar Trail platform and dual display interfaces, the eBOX623-831-FL, is available now! It provides advanced graphics processing capability via the new dual core Intel Atom Cedarview processor N2600 at 1.6 GHz or D2550 1.86 GHz in 45nm technology with Intel NM10 Express chipset. This slim yet compact embedded system supports system memory of one 204-pin DDR3 800 MHz maximum up to 2 GB with N2500 and DDR3 1066/1333 MHz maximum up to 4 GB with D2550. By adopting the new Intel Cedar Trail platform, fanless eBOX623-831-FL boosts graphics performance and power efficiency. With the optimized graphics capability and dual view support (VGA and DisplayPort), the rugged unit is an ideal fit for automatic optical inspection, digital signage appliance (DSA), POS/Kiosk, embedded controller, factory automation and more applications.

MSC Embedded Inc., manufacturer of highly integrated standard board level products and customer-specific boards and systems, today introduced a powerful, new COM Express Type 6 module family. This family, called MSC C6C-A7, is based on the AMD embedded R-Series processors also known as accelerated processing units (APUs). MSC C6C-A7 members are compact form factor computer-on-modules characterized by very powerful graphics and high parallel computing performance with low power dissipation.

The MSC C6C-A7 module family integrates AMD R-460L 2.0 GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo) or AMD R-452L 1.6 GHz (2.4 GHz Turbo) quad-core processors. The thermal design power (TDP) levels are 25 W and 19 W, respectively. The two dual-core versions are populated with the AMD R-260H 2.1 GHz (2.6 GHz Turbo) processor or the AMD R-252F 1.7 GHz (2.3 GHz Turbo) processor -- each featuring 17 W TDP. The processors support the AMD64 technology and the AMD-V virtualization technology. The AMD Fusion Controller Hub (FCH) A75 chipset was also selected. The main memory can be expanded to 16 GB DDR3-1600 dual-channel SDRAM via two SO DIMM sockets.

PLX Technology, Inc., a leading global supplier of high-speed connectivity solutions enabling emerging data center architectures, and Kontron, a global leader in embedded computing technology, today announced an industry breakthrough in the deployment of PCI Express (PCIe) technology as a backplane interconnect. Built around PLX ExpressLane PCIe 3.0 (Gen3) switches, Kontron's VX3042 and VX3044 Intel Core i7-based single-board computers (SBCs) routinely achieve 5.6 gigabytes per second (GB/s) in data throughput between any boards in a VPX rack.

Following ASUS' venture into the consumer NAS segment as ASUStor, Gigabyte responded with its own. The company launched its Home NAS family with the GR-EZI04H, a 4-bay consumer NAS based on the Intel Atom platform. Pictured below, it uses a common desktop cube form-factor, with a main lockable door covering its four caddies.

Gigabyte used an interesting combination of hardware. It combined a current-generation Atom D2500 dual-core processor clocked at 1.80 GHz, with an old (yet effective) ICH10R southbridge, instead of the usual NM10 PCH. The ICH10R has been used on high-end Intel 4-series and 5-series platforms, and provides six SATA 3 Gb/s ports with RAID 0/5/10. The GR-EZI04H features two gigabit Ethernet ports, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0/1.1 ports, and a VGA display output. Its OS, a choice between Windows Home Server 2011 and Embedded Linux, is stored on an mPCIe DOM. Gigabyte used a custom NAS management software that isn't extensively detailed, but features a standard feature-set. More details are awaited.

AMD today announced a new global distribution agreement with Symmetry Electronics, a distribution leader in the embedded market which includes digital signage, industrial control, automotive, manufacturing and machine-to-machine technologies. Symmetry Electronics will immediately begin to promote, sell and support the full line of AMD embedded products including the newest family of AMD Embedded R-Series accelerated processing units (APUs).

This new development underscores AMD's commitment to expanding its presence and penetration in the embedded market, specifically around the need for high-performance, low-power graphics solutions.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced a next-generation 64 GB embedded multimedia card (eMMC) using 10 nanometer (nm)-class process technology. The new 64 Gb NAND memory went into production late last month.

Myungho Kim, vice president of Memory marketing, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics noted, "The new high-speed, small form factor eMMC reinforces Samsung's technology leadership in storage memory solutions. We look forward to expanding our line-up of embedded memory solutions in conjunction with the new chip's design, in pursuing a system-level adoption of application processors and other key components that form the foundation for the most advanced mobile platforms. This will allow us to better attend to time-to-market demands enabling the design of more convenient features for next-generation mobile applications."

ADLINK Technology, Inc., a leading global provider of trusted I/O platforms, announces the release of its new Matrix MXE-1300 series of low-power fanless computers based on the Intel Atom D2550 processor. Equipped with the Intel Atom D2550 processor, the MXE-1300 increases processing power by 44% and graphics performance by 90% over the previous Intel Atom platform.

Featuring low power consumption, rich I/O capability, and large storage with 3.5" HDD support, the MXE-1300 series not only leads the market with its fanless, cable-free, and robust mechanical design in a compact form factor, but also makes an ideal application-oriented platform for digital surveillance, intelligent transportation, and factory automation applications.

NETGEAR, Inc., a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, today announced the new NETGEAR Developer Program, a revolutionary, simple way for developers to create new apps to help customers get more out of the millions of NETGEAR devices purchased every month. In an industry first, NETGEAR has created a huge opportunity for developers to produce apps by leveraging the NETGEAR Smart Network architecture built into an increasing number of its consumer and small-business devices, including a selection of routers, gateways and network-attached storage (NAS) devices.

Developers simply register at the NETGEAR Smart Network website (here), where they can access all the Java-based building blocks they need to create apps. NETGEAR makes it easy for developers to share or sell their apps through the NETGEAR genie+ marketplace. For the first time, home and small business customers can remotely download apps directly to their connected NETGEAR devices just as they would to a smartphone or tablet - to expand functionality. No other network vendor offers an app development platform or app store for these types of devices.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA ETX-8X90 module which features a 1.2 GHz VIA Nano X2 E-Series dual core processor and the VIA VX900 media system processor (MSP), providing industry leading performance in a power efficient design. The VIA ETX-8X90 module provides a highly integrated and compact platform for embedded applications in medical, test and measurement, industrial automation and transportation.

The modular design approach allows for short time-to market, application-specific customization, simplified development, high stability and long life cycles enabling customers to rapidly develop new and innovative devices. Customers can take advantage of a proprietary start-up kit including a multi-I/O baseboard reference, or can utilize extensive technical support from VIA in developing a custom baseboard. In addition to support for the embedded industry leading VxWorks RTOS, the VIA ETX-8X90 runs a wide range of Windows and Linux based operating systems.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-M920 Mini-ITX board, the first VIA Mini-ITX board to feature the latest VIA VX11H media system processor (MSP) enabling DirectX 11 and 3D stereoscopic display capabilities for immersive environments. Providing superior performance with the latest in connectivity technology in a low power envelope, the VIA EPIA-M920 Mini-ITX provides the ideal platform for a wide array of next-generation compact devices for applications in healthcare, gaming, digital signage, and other vertical market segments.

With the choice of a 1.2GHz VIA QuadCore-E processor for high-end performance or a 1.0GHz VIA Eden X2 dual core processor for fanless system design, the VIA EPIA-M920 is a highly flexible platform for compact, low power systems with today's latest connectivity options including HDMI and USB 3.0. In combination with the VIA VX11H MSP, the VIA EPIA-M920 Mini-ITX provides the latest in graphic capabilities, for richer textures and more life-like images in even the most demanding multi-display environments.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX board, the first VIA board to feature the latest VIA VX11H MSP in combination with a VIA QuadCore E-Series processor. Providing superior performance and outstanding display capabilities, the VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX provides the ideal platform for a wide array of next-generation ultra compact devices for applications in health-care, logistics, fleet management and other vertical market segments.

The VIA EPIA-P910 Pico-ITX is the first VIA board to include the VIA VX11H MSP which provides the latest in graphic capabilities, including DirectX 11 support, for richer textures as well as 3D stereoscopic display. In combination with a 1.0GHz VIA QuadCore E-Series processor, the VIA EPIA-P910 offers high performance computing in an ultra compact, low power design with today's latest connectivity options including HDMI and USB 3.0.

Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry's research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, announced estimated graphics Add-in Board (AIB) shipments and sales' market share for Q2'12. The JPR AIB Report tracks computer graphics boards, which carry discrete graphics chips. They are used in desktop PCs, workstations, servers, and other devices such as scientific instruments. They may be sold as after-market products directly to customers or they may be factory installed. In all cases, they represent the higher-end of the graphics industry as discrete chips rather than integrated processors.

We found that AIB shipments during Q1 2012 did behave according to past years with regard to seasonality, but in unit shipments was lower on a year-to-year comparison and on a quarter-to-quarter comparison for the quarter. Overall, for the AIB, and PC market in general, 2012 has been, and is forecasted to have a decline in shipments due to the popularity of notebooks and worldwide economic depression.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has now begun volume production of an ultra-fast embedded memory for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices in 16-, 32- and 64-gigabyte (GB) densities.

The new Samsung eMMC (embedded multimedia card) Pro Class 1500 delivers the industry's fastest speeds for an embedded memory device, reading data sequentially at up to 140 megabytes per second (MB/s) and writing it at up to 50 MB/s. For random reading and writing, it can process up to 3500/1500 IOPS (inputs and outputs per second), four times the speed of previous eMMC solutions.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA VAB-800 Pico-ITX embedded ARM board. Featuring a choice of an 800MHz or a 1GHz Freescale ARM Cortex-A8 processor, the VIA VAB-800 combines a wide operating temperature range with extremely low power consumption to meet the demands of high-end industrial and in-vehicle fanless embedded applications.

Based on the industry standard 10 cm x 7.2 cm Pico-ITX form factor created by VIA, the VIA VAB-800 Pico-ITX board combines a rich I/O set with superb multimedia performance, supporting playback of the most demanding video formats in resolutions up to 1080p. Leveraging VIA's hardware design expertise, the VIA VAB-800 delivers the highest I/O integration on the Pico-ITX form factor for an ultra compact yet highly flexible platform for the latest embedded devices.

TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, announces today the availability of the 500 Mbps Compact Powerline AV Adapter Kit, model TPL-406E2K, which comes with two TPL-406E powerline adapters. These high performance 500 Mbps adapters are fifty percent smaller than the average 500 Mbps adapter.

New media center devices such as Internet televisions, digital video recorders (DVRs), receivers, and game consoles are capable of streaming large HD files directly from the Internet. TRENDnet's ground breaking TPL-406E2K connects all of these devices to the Internet using existing electrical lines.

AMD today introduced the latest entry to the AMD Embedded G-Series processor family with the AMD Embedded G-T16R Accelerated Processing Unit (APU). The AMD G-T16R is targeted at very low power, small form factor and cost-sensitive embedded designs that require a combination of x86 compatibility and graphics. The optimized design of the AMD Embedded G-T16R sips power, with power consumption of just 2.3 wattsiv on average or 4.5 watts thermal design power (TDP).

Embedded product designers are taking to the industry's green challenge to design a broad range of next-generation applications for the industrial control, point-of-sale, medical appliance and transportation markets. For example, industrial customers can use the APU to help create greener factories based on more power-efficient factory hardware. Additionally, embedded designers can develop applications like point-of-sale order entry stations and tablets, medical bedside terminals and even solar-powered traffic control devices using the AMD G-T16R.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA ARM DS (Digital Signage) system.

Developed for the Android operating system, the VIA ARM DS is an all-in-one system-ready solution for managing dynamic displays for cost sensitive high volume segments where high performance video and connectivity are paramount for enhanced customer engagement. Applications range from kiosks, POS systems, video walls, and menu boards to TVOIP, cloud streaming, and Out of Home Advertising across a broad spectrum of retail, hospitality, education, and entertainment environments.

To further capitalize on the opportunity for Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) in embedded applications and form factors, AMD today announced the formation of a new Embedded Solutions Group and appointed Arun Iyengar as its corporate vice president and general manager. The AMD Embedded Solutions Group will operate as a separate business within AMD's Global Business Units under AMD Senior Vice President Lisa Su.

"AMD APUs have been extremely well received by embedded system designers who require more graphic-intensive displays and compute power, while continuing to increase our engagement with ecosystem partners to deliver a complete solution," said Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Global Business Units. "Arun's appointment and dedicated focus on expanding our differentiated embedded offerings will help ensure we are seizing the opportunity to expand in this rapidly growing market."