BURNABY, B.C., July 29, 2004 – Icron Technologies Corporation (TSX Venture: IT), the developers of ExtremeUSB® today announced that they have launched a Wireless USB program to address the growing market demand for wirelessly enabling the millions of USB devices currently on the market.
Icron and its partners have recognized that the computing marketplace does not have a true USB Cable replacement solution and that most USB wireless products are merely adapters for other proprietary interfaces. Icron’s solution would not only support all the legacy USB devices in the field, but also be available in a format that can be embedded into new products, such as USB based Flash Drives, Digital Cameras, CD/DVD Drives and MP3 Players, to name a few.
The program focuses on the development and commercialization of a true USB cable replacement solution that is independent of the RF interface and modulation scheme. The solution supports USB 1.1 (1.5Mbps, 12Mbps) and USB 2.0 (480Mbps) and is compatible with most commonly available transceiver architectures (FSK, 802.11b/g, and UWB) at frequencies of 900MHz, 2.4GHz, and 5 GHz.
“The ExtremeUSB protocol is ideally suited to the wireless domain because it was originally designed to address the issues of delay, latency and power management in long range cable based environments,” commented John McLeod, VP Engineering at Icron. “Adding the wireless interface was a natural and planned roadmap for ExtremeUSB.”
Icron has been working with partners in the RF market such as Micro Linear (NASDAQ: MLIN), and potential customers of Wireless USB to identify the optimal RF platform to build on, based on their unique requirements.
“The Icron / MicroLinear solution takes a proven RF Transceiver and combines it with the ExtremeUSB protocol to provide a superior solution in terms of range, cost, flexibility, and the simplicity of a true USB connection, that is not found in the market today,” stated Robert Eisses, VP Sales & Marketing at Icron.
Initial prototypes of the solution are based on a high data rate radio that will support full speed USB devices and will be available in Q4, with commercial product available shortly thereafter.
Icron has recently joined the MultiBand OFDM Alliance (MBOA) an organization driving the UWB standard that identifies Wireless USB as an important application for the success of UWB.
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 touches several large worldwide markets from industrial automation to medical devices, aerospace, computer networking and audio/video. ExtremeUSB allows devices to be placed up to 100m over Category 5 UTP or up to 2 km over fiber away from their host computer.
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.