Small Form Factor Qseven™ Gains Further Velocity

The Qseven™ Consortium reaches a total of 10 participating members

Deggendorf, Germany June 9th, 2008 * * * The Qseven Consortium, initiated by congatec, Seco and MSC, has added five  new participating members. This brings the total number of companies that actively support the new Qseven Computer-on-Module standard to a total of 10.

The Qseven™ platform was developed with a focus on the latest low power processor technology and small size requirements. With a maximum power consumption of approximately 12 watts specified in the standard, the new form factor is expected to appeal to manufacturers of applications that require battery operation.

In order to enable real interchangeability, an API software interface, was defined for the embedded features such as watchdog timer, I²C bus, LCD backlight control, access of BIOS user storage area and temperature control. Support for the API is mandatory for all Qseven vendors.Qseven targets mobile applications and supports the latest PC technologies. The entire concept has been successfully developed within the consortium and an increasing number of COM module vendors see the necessity for this type of standard as the industry begins to develop ultra mobile applications.About the New Consortium MembersThe new members include:

• IEI Technology Corp. is a worldwide leading supplier of industrial computers.
• Portwell, a major innovator in the Industrial PC (IPC) market, develops cutting-edge IPC technology and wide-range platforms to meet the varying needs of critical high-performance and low-power interactive client applications. Portwell, with its profound 16- year IPC experience, provides board-level solutions along with high-quality, real-time industrial-level system integration service to deliver excellent performance, reliability and scalability to its partners & customers.
• Grossenbacher Systeme AG from Switzerland, a leading manufacturer of industrial display systems.
• ASEM in Italy builds industrial computers and retail systems.
• DAVE is an Italian company manufacturing ARM and PowerPC based modules.

The new members join Contradata from Italy and Hectronic from Sweden, in addition to the three founding members, congatec, SECO and MSC.