Burnaby, British Columbia, October 21, 2004 – Icron Technologies Corporation IT – TSX.V), announced today the first two shipments of its industry leading Hi-Speed Ranger 130/140 USB 2.0 extension systems to industry leading customers in the broadcast and medical device markets.
The key component of the USB 2.0 extension product is Icron’s patented ExtremeUSB® technology, which facilitates “long-distance” USB connections of up to 2 kilometres.
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is the industry standard in PC connectivity due its simplistic Plug and Play nature. One simply ‘plugs’ a device into a personal computer and the device ‘plays’. No additional software or special cables are needed.
The USB 2.0 standard offers ultra fast data transfer rates of 480Mbps (Megabits per second). These rates are 40 times faster than USB 1.1, which transfers data at 12Mbps. While USB is not an Internet connection, for comparative data transfer rates, high-speed DSL Internet transfers data at 1.5Mbps or 320 times slower than USB 2.0.
Instat/MDR recently reported that all PCs now being shipped contain USB 2.0 interfaces. There are more that 600 million devices compatible with USB 2.0 currently on the market and this number is expected to reach 1.5 billion by 2007.(Instat/MDR March 2004). As new USB 2.0 peripherals are flooding the market there is an increasing demand for Hi-Speed USB extension technology, especially for peripherals devices such as disc drives, web cams and scanners.
“Our customers in the medical, security and broadcast markets are extremely pleased to see the introduction of an high-speed solution to support their applications. Icron’s new USB 2.0 technology opens up new markets for us to apply our technology to devices that transfer large amounts of data.” according to Robert Eisses, VP Sales & Marketing for Icron.
As an additional benefit, the development and release of the USB 2.0 solutions proprietary technology accelerates the delivery of the Wireless USB 2.0 product under Icron’s Wireless USB Program announced recently. Mr. Eisses further stated, “We are looking forward to having our Wireless USB solution commercially available to the market in Q1 2005”
About Icron Technologies Corporation (www.icron.com)
Icron Technologies Corporation creates and markets high-performance digital connectivity technologies and products for the computing and visual display markets. The company provides branded and private-label packaged products, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) modules, developer kits, and engineering and development services.
Icron’s technological innovations include its patented ExtremeUSB® technology which allows customers to increase the range of USB 1.1 and now 2.0 periphery devices from a few meters to over 2 kilometres. These solutions are being used worldwide in industrial automation, movie production, medical devices, aerospace, computer networking and audio/video.
Icron is a publicly traded Canadian corporation and trades under the symbol “IT” on the TSX Venture Exchange.
Contacts
For further information, please contact the following:
| Icron Technologies Corporation | |
| Suresh Singh, President & CEO suresh.singh@icron.com |
Phone: 604-638-3929 Fax: 604-638-3930 |
| Robert Eisses, VP Sales & Marketing robert.eisses@icron.com |
Phone: 604-638-3924 Fax: 604-638-3930 |
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this news release – including, without limitation, statements regarding production estimates and future plans and objectives of Icron – are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.