March 26, 2007

Keyword           p. 10

FeliCa

What’s New      p. 30

The EU Is Likely to Add Customs Duties on Digital Cameras

Specifications for Internet Connected TVs Move Towards Integration 

Second Generation Lead Free Solder Appears 

Report from PMA 

Lighting Fair 2007: Many High Output White Color LEDs Are Exhibited 

An MIT Startup Develops an Organic EL Display that is Made by Printing

Leading Trends

The First Chapter of Flat Panel TVs Comes to a Close           p. 51

Leading manufacturers of both LCD and PDP televisions—the ones who remain—are about to go head-to-head in the 40-inch market.  The battle will be decided on how they match up against one another in the expansive overseas market.

3D, Animation and Translucency to Make Device Navigation More Colorful              p. 61 

The scene is now set for fun-to-use interfaces to be built into a broad range of devices.  Soon it will become much easier to add color to expression using 3D graphics, animation and transparent windows.  Such interfaces are likely to spread, starting with PCs and gradually moving to digital consumer electronics and Internet-based services.

Buyers’ Guide

MCMs for DC-DC Converters  p. 71 

The maximum current consumption of server microprocessors has surpassed 100A and has reached several tens of amps in field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) for communications devices.  The general view is that current consumption will keep on rising.  Meanwhile, the amount of space on PCBs allocated to DC-DC converters, which provide the power, is already approaching its limits, meaning they have to be both compact and able to output a large current.  This article looks at multi-chip modules (MCM) for DC-DC converters—the trump card needed to satisfy such conflicting requirements.  We compare the products available, focusing on MCMs for DC-DC converters, mainly with input voltage 10V or higher, powering LSI that require large currents.  (Satoshi Okubo)

Cover Story

Finally, Power Supply also Goes Wireless      p. 95

If electric power were able to be transmitted without wires, we could drastically reduce such annoying tasks as recharging with a charger or changing batteries.  In some cases, power cords could become redundant.  By achieving high-power transmission, we have come within reach of application in a wide range of handheld terminals and mobile devices.

Methods of Use            p. 98

Wireless power transfer technology starting to bloom—farewell the final strand!

Technology Trends    p. 106

Mobile phone charger to be ready in 2008—power to be transmitted over several meters

Interview

Waseda University Global Information and Telecommunication Institute, Vice Director, Takuro Sato: “It’s a Wireless LAN that Is a Little Different from Others”         p. 115

Venture company Key Stream Corp. is grabbing a lot of attention in the world of wireless LAN integrated circuits (IC), with its products employed in devices such as Microsoft Corp.’s “Zune” portable music player and various brands of IP phone terminals.  The company is steadily moving forward with preparations to develop next-generation ICs; early in 2007 Renesas Technology Corp. took a stake in the enterprise.  Key Stream was founded in December 2000 by Waseda University Graduate School professor, Takuro Sato.  At the time, he was teaching at the Niigata Institute of Technology and had to work hard to get his venture firm up and running.

Tech Tale

An Air Conditioner with a Self-Cleaning Filter (Final): “We Were Anxious to the Final End” p. 118

Guest Paper

The Golden Age of Software Architecture      p. 123

The process of developing software systems requires decisions to be made on a wide range of design matters.  Some decisions influence a system’s basic configuration and consequently have a major impact on its performance and reliability.  “Software architecture” picks up on those areas that are common to the majority of systems.  Software architecture remains hard to define, yet after first drawing attention in the mid 1980s, it has grown in substance through a number of steps, tools and environments have been developed, and the discipline now fills an essential role in complicated software development.  This translation of a paper from US periodical, IEEE Software, analyzes the trajectory of software architecture’s growth using a six-stage software technology maturation model, the “Redwine-Riddle Model.”  The authors say that software architecture is in its golden age and in the near future will solidify its standing as a genuinely successful software technology.

Embedded Systems Academy

Tutorial of Embedded System(Part 6): Correcting Timing Errors      p. 136

NETs Seminar

Reflecting on the Development of the Prius, the Byword for an Environmental Brand         p. 144

The Prius hybrid vehicle developed by Toyota Motor Corp. is often talked about as typifying the products that helped raise the company’s environmental image.  An engineer who worked on development of the Prius at Toyota for 13 years looks back on that process.  The project is likely to be viewed as a model case for groundbreaking product development.  (Takuya Otani, Nikkei Electronics)

Shipments of Digital Cameras to Exceed 100 Million Devices in 2007            p. 149

Global output of digital cameras is expected to exceed 100 million units for the first time in 2007.  That figure used to be considered the upper limit for the digital camera market, a barrier about to be crossed.  In terms of market share, Canon Inc. is top, Sony Corp. second, while the growth of Korea’s Samsung Techwin Co., Ltd. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. stands out.

What NTT DoCoMo Thinks about the Evolution of the Mobile Phone (Part 3)           p. 153

Standardization activities for fourth-generation (4G) mobile phones are about to move into full swing.  In autumn 2007, a meeting will be held to determine wireless frequency bands and afterwards deliberation on technical specifications will be advanced by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).  In the final installment of this three-part series, we learn about 4G concepts and the various initiatives of NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

For further information, please contact:

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