TWO more companies - Aaeon and Seco - have now signed on to support the new 3.0 Specification of the Computer-on-Module Standard ETX, initiated by Kontron , and supported by MSC, Evalue and Adlink. Other providers of ETX modules also plan to support ETX 3.0.
To obtain a copy of the ETX 3.0 specification, contact a local Kontron office or visit the ETX Industrial Group website (www.etx-ig.org). A downloadable version of the specification will be available in the near future.
By the middle of Q3 2006, AAEON will announce its first ETX 3.0 CPU module adopting the AMD LX/CS5536. Seco is planning to jump from the ETX 2.8 to the new ETX 3.0 Standard with product available in the near term future.
ETX 3.0 introduces 2x Serial ATA without changing any of the ETX pins, making new modules 100 percent pin-to-pin compatible with previous versions and ensuring long-term support for the vast number of embedded application solutions based on these already highly integrated COMs, in applications from automation, medical, gaming and entertainment, to military and aerospace.
ETX 3.0 modules, such as Kontron's ETX-LX, integrate 2x Serial ATA via two slim line connectors that are designed onto the top-side of the CPU module itself, thereby avoiding the need to modify the ETX-connectors of the module and carrier board so that existing solutions can take advantage of faster Serial ATA hard drives.
ETX-LX, which is based on ETX 3.0, also includes USB 2.0 routed through the existing ETX connectors.
Kontron and other members of the ETX Industrial Group (www.etx-ig.org) have adopted ETX 3.0 with the intention of keeping the standard viable until at least 2010.
Additional modules built around dual-core processors and others from Intel, AMD, and VIA are planned for release over the course of this year, with more to follow in future.