Our visit to the International CES 2011 show was an ideal forum to showcase to the industry our technology and product roadmap while receiving feedback from our strategic customers on what they would like to see, and get compelling mention in the press.   Suffice to say, we are excited that we achieved all three.

While at the show, Icron held a press conference on January 7^th where we unveiled technology demos of our USB 3.0 extender cable, USB over DisplayPort, along with our KVM product line up.  In case you missed our press conference, here are just a few descriptors of the demos:

• In partnership with Intersil, we introduced our new 20 meter USB 3.0 Active Extension Cable which utilizes our LionsGate IC and leverages USB extension technology, the active cable extends USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity well beyond the USB 3.0 specification distance limitation of three meters.
• Advanced USB over DisplayPort technology, which delivers DisplayPort video and USB 2.0 capability over a standard DisplayPort cable.
• ExtremeLink™ 4500, the newest addition to our KVM product line. The ExtremeLink™ 4500 is one of our KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) extender products and allows a computer to be placed remotely from a workstation area, connected over an existing LAN or dedicated Cat 5 (up to 330 ft).

This abundant set of demonstrations received an enthusiastic article in the CES Daily which is published each day of the show. The article covers our KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) extenders which enable video, USB 2.0 and audio to be extended up to 500 meters (1640 feet) on Cat 5 cables or support connections on a Local Area Network (LAN).

As well, the review of our ExtremeLink™ 4500 in CRN reiterated the impressive performance of our KVM products.

The ability to extend KVM and USB over a dedicated Cat 5 cable was impressive enough. But over a LAN? Testers were truly dazzled when they connected the 4500 sender and receiver to their test LAN and it worked right out of the box, permitting input from the remote keyboard and mouse to be displayed on the remote monitor, and with almost no detectable delay.

Thank you for visiting us at CES 2011 and for helping us make it a successful show. Please feel free to drop me a line with your thoughts of the show. If you are interested in our KVM products or any of our other products, please contact us at any time.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!

Before the holidays, Icron developed another video presenting  USB over DisplayPort.

You can also see our view on our YouTube channel!

Also, in case you didn’t know we are attending the International CES show in Vegas! If you are there, stop by our booth (South Hall 1, Lower Level # 20560) to review our product lines and see demos of the following:

• New 20-meter USB 3.0 Active Extension Cable which utilizes Icron’s LionsGate ASIC and leverages Icron’s USB extension technology, the active cable extends USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity well beyond the USB 3.0 specification distance limitation of three meters
• Advanced USB over DisplayPort technology, which delivers DisplayPort video and USB 2.0 capability over a standard DisplayPort cable
• New uncompressed video and USB KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) extender product

If you’re at the show, please stop by and say “hi”!

Extending our sincere best wishes for a Happy Holiday season and successful New year!

Happy Holidays from your Friends at Icron Technologies

CES is one month away and companies are rushing to complete all of their preparations for the most important consumer electronics show in the world. Many companies, including Icron begin preparations for CES in the summer in order to ensure everything is ready to ship to the show by late December.

This year expect to see lots of new connected TVs, 3D TVs, new mobile devices, and different sized tablet PCs. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will kick off CES this year with a preshow keynote address at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 5 in the Las Vegas Hilton Center. In previous years, Microsoft used the CES keynote stage to launch major products including Xbox, Windows Vista and its Sync technology partnership with Ford. Verizon CEO, Ivan Seidenberg, also has a keynote on January 6, no word if he’ll be announcing the rumored Apple iPhone for the Verizon network.

Rounding up the keynotes will be Boo-Keun Yoon, Samsung President and General Manager of Visual Display Business and Alan Mulally Ford Motor Company President and CEO. 2011 promises to be another year for amazing new technology and product announcements at CES.

Icron has two CES announcements about new products (USB 3.0 extension and uncompressed 1080p video extension) and we’re demonstrating them as well as USB over DisplayPort at our booth, LVCC South Hall 1, Booth #20560.  We also have a press event titled  “Future of Connectivity: Unveiling New Video and USB Technology”.  Write to us if you’re interested in viewing our new product demonstrations or attending the press event (no press credentials needed!).

If you haven’t registered for CES yet, you’ve missed the free registration period, but if you’re an Icron customer, write me and I’ll see if we have any passes left.

See you at CES 2011 and have a great holiday season!

When it comes to video, everyone focuses on the buzz words and wants the latest and greatest.  When price is not an issue, pick any display whether you are using the full features of the display or not.  However, if you really don’t need and will never use a high resolution (i.e. 1920 x 1200), why even spend the money?

The above is also true in KVM (keyboard, video, and mouse) or remote desktop extension.  Consider these market segments; Education, Corporate IT or Enterprise, Pro A/V, Medical, Industrial Automation.   Do you expect Education to need the same resolution as Pro A/V?  Of course not, these are two different markets that need and use different resolutions.

Below are the results of two surveys covering two different types of users; W3Schools who surveys are for people with an interest in web technologies and Steam Hardware who surveys are for people interested in the gaming industry.

*w3schools: January 2010

*Steam Hardware & Software Survey: October 2010

These users are a good example of the most popular resolution; 1280 x 1024 with 18.2% market share.  Thus, when a user needs desktop extension, look at what their target market/use case is and what they really need and use.  In many market segments, 1680 x 1050 is more than enough to support the application.

Icron’s new line of KVM extenders covers the popular resolutions listed above and gives more than enough flexibility to support the appropriate market segments.  We have already signed on OEM partners two of which can be found at Rose Electronics in North America and IHSE in Europe.  For information on becoming an Icron OEM partner please contact sales@icron.com

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Free registration is over but you can still sign up here.

Next week is the CES New York Press Preview where the hottest new products coming out for the holiday season are unveiled to more than 300 top-tier media (click here to see participating companies).

There are many interesting speaker sessions at CES and this SuperSession on Friday, January 7^th looks fascinating.Big Thinkers and Disruptive Technologies – Today’s Thought Leaders, Tomorrow’s Technologies

• 1:30-2:30 p.m. Friday, January 7, LVCC, North Hall, N255-257

Disruptive technologies often drive the industry. Back by popular demand, this SuperSession brings together big thinkers from CE, computers, media and telecommunications to discuss upcoming innovations and their impact on our digital lives. CES is a powerful venue for launching innovative products and technologies and an acknowledged forum for thought leadership. See it comes to life in this thought-provoking session.

Moderator: Tim Bajarin, President, Creative Strategies Inc.

Follow CES news on twitter at @intlCES and join the conversation by tagging all your tech tweets and updates with #CES.

See you at CES 2011.

Icron is at booth #: South Hall 1 Lower Level -20560

I recently returned from 3 glorious weeks in Europe where I visited many countries such as Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. However, I flew into major hubs such as Munich and Istanbul airports

As any traveller has experienced, checking in can be a hassle at the best of times – even with online check in. Unfortunately for me, one of my flights did not allow me to check in online. This is where an interactive kiosk to check in your flights proved to be my godsend! Not only did I not have to wait in the long line ups to verify my information, I was able to do so quickly without having to worry about my flight information being incorrect.

A few of Icron’s products helps expedite that interactive process. Our ExtremeLink™ and Ranger product series help deliver remote connectivity freestanding kiosks. Icron’s solutions transmit secure information and USB peripheral connectivity (keyboard, mouse, imaging devices, flash drives, etc.) to any location within or between buildings.

Of course, you can use these products wherever interactive kiosks are vital to the communication flow in business operations. By having a PC remote from the kiosk it increases serviceability, while lessening noise and heat levels, and takes up less space thereby allowing a kiosk to be small enough to fit anywhere. All while the server processes the information in a remote yet secure area. Interactive kiosks are used in businesses such as banks, shopping centers, information centers, government and restaurants.

Though I loved being in Europe, I am glad to be back to grind of things at Icron – be sure to check back often as Icron has some exciting plans for our product line in the next upcoming months.

As Icron expands its international business we examine a few techniques for to broaden the exposure of our KVM and USB extender products into the global market.  Here are a few methods Icron deployed to expand sales channels and build Icron’s presence and product awareness within the marketplace.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a look at some of the events for technology companies to exhibit, attend meetings, or walk the floor in the US, Korea, and Japan.

IBC in Amsterdam took place September 8-11 with 48,000 visitors and over 1,000 companies. One of the highlights of the show was a new Connected World area featuring Digital Signage, IPTV and Mobile TV. Companies exhibiting at this show included manufacturers such as Panasonic, IBM, Gefen and ThinkLogical.

During September 22-26 there is the CEDIA event in Atlanta, Georgia that brings together companies and technologies interested in audio, video, lighting, security, home networking, environmental controls, and automation. This year they have a new future technology pavilion to showcase 3D video and 10.2 surround.

Next month, in Korea there is the largest IT show in Asia, the Korea Electronics Show (KES), October 14-18. The show draws more than 80,000 participants with exhibits showcasing home entertainment, PC & personal digital-info devices, semiconductors, communication/broadcasting equipment and industrial electronic goods.  Exhibitors at KES range from the large companies, such as LG and Samsung, to smaller more niche companies such as Icron.

In Japan, December 1-3, there is the Embedded Technology show. Exhibitors range from Hitachi, Microsoft to ARM.  Icron’s distributor partner, Bay Technologies, will be exhibiting USB extension products for industrial automation, medical and measurement markets.

December 8-10 in Japan is the ITE event (International Technical Exhibition on Image Technology and Equipment).  20,000 participants attend this event that’s been running for 32 years.

And of course the not to be missed CES 2011 event in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The show attracts 120,000 professionals and 5,000 media and bloggers. Check out the video about CES 2011:

CES 2011 speaker keynotes listed, so far, are Microsoft, Samsung and Verizon. To register for CES, click here.  See you at CES where Icron will be demonstrating new video and USB extension technologies at the show.

Will you be there as well?

As Icron is the leader in USB extension, we are always looking for new USB devices coming out in the market.  I ran across an interesting hard drive that is water proof and fire proof. Check it out!

ioSafe SoloPRO (Courtesy of everythingusb.com)