National shrinks switching regulators
National Semiconductor Corp. (www.national.com) has introduced two step-down switching regulators for use in automotive power adapters as well as handheld devices.
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Solid-state devices perfect for high-current switching
For applications that require high current switching – 100A to 1,000A – Perfect Switch, LLC (www.perfectswitch.com) offers a POWER-GATE series of solid state DC relays and isolators. ...
Renesas adds 50 32-bit MCUs
By: By John Day
Renesas Technology America (www.america.renesas.com) added 50 devices to its R32C/100 series of 32-bit microcontrollers, which are built around the R32C/100 32-bit CPU core at the high end of Renesas’ M16C family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) MCUs.
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Melexis develops a 150 Mbps fiber-optic MOST transceiver
Melexis (www.melexis.com) has developed the MLX75605, a single package solution for a 150Mbps fiber optic transceiver dedicated to the MOST150 physical layer, the specification for which (MOST Specification 3.0) was published last month by the MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) Cooperation.
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Continental: Consumer trends impact
Also at SAE, Helmut Matschi, president of Continental's (www.conti-online.com) Interior Division, said that trends appearing in consumer culture are impacting the automotive industry and requiring suppliers to develop innovative, flexible and upgradeable in-vehicle electronic architectures. ...
Bosch: Safety is “next frontier”
Vehicle safety is “the next frontier” for automotive electronics, according to Jason Forcier, president North America, automotive electronics, Robert Bosch LLC (www.bosch.us). ...
ANSYS agrees to acquire Ansoft
Simulation software specialist ANSYS, Inc. (www.ansys.com) has agreed to acquire electronic design automation firm Ansoft Corp. (www.ansoft.com) for approximately $832 million. ...
NEC Electronics America promotes two executives
NEC Electronics America has promoted Jim Trent from associate vice president to vice president of the company’s automotive and general-purpose microcontroller (MCU) strategic business units (SBUs) and promoted Sam Trinch from sales director to general manager of the automotive SBU....
J.D. Power survey says 31% of car buyers want HD Radio
Consumer awareness of HD Radio currently stands at 77%, according to the HD Digital Radio Alliance, and a J.D. Power survey of current or likely auto buyers indicates that 31% want HD Radio in their next vehicle....
Multicore Association readies communications API spec
The Multicore Association said that version 1.0 of its multicore communications application programming interface (MCAPI) specification has been completed and will soon be made publicly available...
GM testing Li-Ion batteries
General Motors is reportedly placing lithium-ion batteries in Chevrolet Malibus fitted with internal systems being developed for the extended-range plug-in electric Volt. The Volt is expected to launch in November 2010....
NDK TCXOs target in-car navigation
Nihon Dempa Kogyo Co. is offering GPS-grade temperature-controlled crystal oscillators (TCXOs) that measure 2.5 x 2.0mm, are no more than 0.8mm high, and weigh 0.013g.
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2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe to offer XM Radio
XM (www.xmradio.com) said XM Radio will be a factory-installed standard feature on the 2010 Hyundai (www.hyundai.com) Genesis rear-wheel drive sport coupe. ...
Chrysler selects Bunkspeed 3-D rendering tools
Bunkspeed, Inc. (www.bunkspeed.com) said that Chrysler Group (www.chrysler.com) has selected Bunkspeed 3D rendering applications to turn CAD data into professional-quality marketing imagery. ...
STMicro’s automotive-grade Cartesio application processor powers Garmin PNDs
STMicroelectronics (www.st.com) said its Cartesio automotive-grade application processor System-on-Chip (SoC) with embedded GPS for navigation and telematics will be used inside several products from Garmin (www.garmin.com), including the new nuvi 205.
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VaST and NEC offer V850-based virtual models
VaST Systems (www.vastsystems.com) and NEC Electronics America (www.am.necel.com/) are offering virtual models of NEC Electronics’ 32-bit V85-based microcontroller units.
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Competitors vie for $10M X PRIZE
More than 60 teams have signed up to compete for the $10 million X PRIZE (www.xprize.org) now sponsored by Progressive Insurance (www.progressive.com). ...
Dual-band UWB PHYs gain WiMedia registration
The WiMedia Alliance (www.wimedia.org) has registered four physical layer chipsets (PHYs) from three companies supporting both WiMedia band group 1 (3.168 - 4.752 GHz) and band group 3 (6.336 - 7.920 GHz), marking the first registration of WiMedia-based devices operating above 6 GHz, and providing the groundwork for continued adoption of WiMedia Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. ...
Continental affirms ’08 targets
With sales and results for the first two months of 2008 that “far exceeded” forecasts, Continental AG (www.conti.de) said it expects to remain on track for the year. ...
