Kontron and Diamond Systems have entered a strategic partnership under Kontron’s ETX® Certified Design Partner program that bundles Kontron’s highly scalable ETX® computer-on-modules with Diamond Systems’ small form factor boards for I/O intensive data acquisition applications.

With this agreement, Diamond Systems becomes the tenth global member and the fifth North American member of Kontron’s constantly expanding network of ETX® Certified Design Partners. The ETX® Certified Design Partner Program offers OEMs comprehensive certified carrier board design services for modular embedded computing platforms based on the ETX® and COM Express™ computer-on-module standards.

As a Kontron ETX® Certified Design Partner, Diamond Systems will deliver off-the-shelf and customized carrier boards for embedded applications that require state-of-the-art analog and digital I/O technology and extensive serial communications. Diamond Systems will supply these boards with one of the wide range of highly scalable Kontron ETX® computer-on-modules to provide system OEMs with complete single board solutions that exactly meet the budget, energy consumption and performance requirements of their individual data acquisition applications. OEMs benefit by receiving fully integrated, highly scalable and cost-effective carrier board solutions with computer-on-modules from a single source. This eliminates the need to manage multiple suppliers and ensures fast application development and evaluation for quicker time-to-market.

Diamond Systems’ EPIC-based ETX® carrier board, for example, includes a wide range of standard embedded computer interfaces including 6 serial interfaces plus the industry’s widest set of I/O features: 32 analog inputs, 4 analog outputs, 24 digital I/Os, 8 opto-isolated digital inputs, 8 opto-isolated digital outputs, 2 counter/timers for A/D sample rate control, event counting/timing and programmable interrupts. A PC/104-plus expansion slot for fast implementation of OEMs’ individual I/O expansions rounds off the feature set. Custom specific carrier boards are available upon request. The Universal Driver software supports C programming under Windows and Linux.
 
“OEMs specializing in I/O intensive applications receive a number of benefits from this bundle, such as auto-calibration for highly accurate data acquisition under all conditions”, explains Matthias Huber, Director of Kontron America’s Embedded Modules Division. “Temperature- and time-dependent measurement drifts can be eliminated since the EPIC-based ETX® carrier board calibrates as often as needed in just a few seconds to ensure accurate readings in all environments.”


“The comprehensive Kontron family of ETX® computer-on-modules offers highly scalable and low-power CPU performance up to the latest multi-core processors and chipsets from all major suppliers. Since all interfaces on all the latest Kontron ETX® COMs have the same API structure, it is very easy to interchange modules, enabling us to simply select the right COM according to our customers’ needs. System upgrades are also easy. This is exactly what we required to add even more value to our best-in-class data acquisition I/O features. We can now offer our customers not only industry-leading I/O features, but also superior COM-based solutions and increased configuration flexibility”, adds Jonathan Millar, President of Diamond Systems.

More information about the Kontron ETX® Certified Design Partner Program, including the full list of certified partners, is available at: http://www.etx-cdp.com.

More information about Kontron ETX® computer-on-modules is available at: http://www.kontron.com/ETX

A special customer event and a successful showing at G2E Asia 2008 make Atronic a winner in Asia.

The invitation-only pre-show event held at the MGM Grand Macau included casino directors and slot managers from some of Asia’s key casino operators. Members from the gaming industry joined GTECH’s Gaming Solutions Senior Vice President and Atronic CEO, Gerhard Burda, and other Atronic executives for an informational and get-to-know-you evening. Mr. Burda provided guests with an update on Atronic activities following the acquisition of the company by GTECH.

Atronic also exhibited on its own for the first time at G2E Asia 2008 at Macau’s Venetian Casino, unlike in previous years where Atronic shared a booth with Asian distributor RGB. During the show, Atronic welcomed many visitors from all over the world. Under the banner of ‘Gaming Solutions for Asia,’ Atronic showcased new products specifically developed for the Asian market such as the new look tournament concept of Dragonboat™ and the new 5-level jackpot link Fishing for Jackpots™.

Both products were true show highlights and garnished excellent feedback from customers. Dragonboat™ tournaments were held during both days of the show, ending in daily grand finals and the winners walking away with great prizes.

On the systems side, qpon cash™ was launched and presented on the e²™ cabinet along with Dragonboat™. Additionally, chip cash™ was displayed on the Harmony™ Slant Top. Other products on display included King Kong Cash, Roaring Tiger™ and Deal or no Deal™ - The Experience, plus new core games specifically themed for the Asian market.

Atronic has set the standard for slot machines in Latin America with the launch of its e²™ cabinet at the June SAGSE 2008 in Panama.  The exciting design and 19” dual screens of e²™ attracted many visitors to the Atronic booth making SAGSE 2008 another successful show for the company.

“SAGSE Panama is certainly an important event for Atronic given our strong presence within casinos in Panama City,” said Atronic CEO Gerhard Burda. This year we launched our new e²™ cabinet in the Latin American market with the Asian-themed Roaring Tiger™, a 4-level mystery progressive link, and several newly-released games from the Atronic game library.”

Additionally, Atronic exhibited its Mystery Magic™ mystery jackpot, which has proven to be very popular in this region. Also performing well for Atronic in Latin America are the multi-level progressives King Kong Cash and CASH FEVER™, further reinforcing Atronic´s leadership position in the linked gaming sector.

The Atronic booth was busy throughout the show with visitors from all over Latin America, particularly from Central America, Venezuela and the Caribbean. 

Exhibiting for the first time on its own stand at the G2E Asia exhibition in Macao Casino Technology showed a wide range of innovative titles, featuring exciting lovely graphics and proven mathematical models for the different player types.

“We are progressing with GLI approval for the Macau market at the moment with a series of titles that we believe will be perfectly suited to the tastes of the Asian players,” commented Casino Technology’s Sales Director, Sonia Nikolova, at the G2E Asia show.
“We were quite happy to see our products right on target for Macau during the show. As a result all the GLI-approved games will be launched at LT Games casino at Macau strip at the beginning of July. In the meanwhile our game design team are working continuously on developing new game themes so that we can meet the new business year in autumn with an extended slot mix for the Asian-Pacific market.” Steve Surch, Group Director of International Market Development, concluded: “G2E Macau was the next step for us proving that Casino Technology is a world-recognised brand in the gaming industry able to offer high performing game models and best solutions ensuring strong revenues to the operators at any specific market.”

An indication of Casino Technology’s commitment to the Asian market was its ability to secure a seat alongside some of the region’s slot industry big boys at the G2E Asia 2008 forum Sales Solutions: The Slot Vendors’ Round Table.

The company was presented by its Vice President Rossi McKee, who sat alongside representatives from Octavian International, Bally Technologies Inc., WMS International, Aristocrat Technologies and IGT Asia. Speaking at the forum Miss McKee, said: “What’s always been important for us is that in the game design we do develop games for specific markets. Our experience has shown that you can have international versions of games – ones that can be successful across the board – but specifics also really have to be taken into consideration when you develop products for certain territories. That is why our approach especially for the Asian market is to develop a specific library of games taking into consideration a number of factors, including the demographics of casino players.”

The credit card sized nanoETXexpress Computer-on-Module form factor (84 mm x 55 mm) for developing ultra mobile mini-devices based on x86 processors in 45nm technology now has its own dedicated website. The specification and carrier board design guidelines can be downloaded at www.nanoetxexpress.com.

The new dedicated website for the nanoETXexpress form factor, which has been designed as the logical extension to the COM Express™ specification, has the following objectives:
•    Update the PICMG® COM Express™ specification to better address the needs of ultra mobile, handheld applications
•    Key information portal providing all relevant information on the new, open COM Express™ COM.0 Type 1 compatible Computer-on-Module standard – nanoETXexpress.
•    As a manufacturer-independent website, it will incorporate all nanoETXexpress solutions from all manufacturers, thereby underlining the openness of the new form factor. It will also be the main source for documentation on the evolution of the specification. Developers can receive all the latest updates by subscribing to the news alert system that will be implemented soon.
•    Developers of mobile x86 devices are highly recommended to review the information provided on this site as a means of assisting them with the new challenges they face in creating systems. The website offers valuable information on, for example, handling more concentrated heat sources, building SMART Battery Management Systems and integrating various displays with standard software when the screens only offer, for example, 800 x 400 pixels. The nanoETXexpress knowledge base (currently in development) will answer these questions and more.

By utilizing the latest web technologies, nanoETXexpress experts will be able to quickly respond to customers’ questions with precise answers that offer long-term solutions. By providing a knowledge base containing all the relevant information required for designing mobile devices with COMs, hardware and software developers will have a real-time online information resource as well as a community of nanoETXexpress users and designers.

In addition to online content, Kontron (the founding member of the COM-IG and inventor of the nanoETXexpress form factor) also offers comprehensive seminars and company-specific training on developing carrier boards. This program is now being expanded to address the needs of developers of mobile handheld devices.