THIS IS A REPORT CARD ON PRODUCTS by the people who matter most - engineers like you.

Each quarter ULTIMATE PRODUCTS performs what we believe is a unique service in this industry. It allows engineers to tap into the collective wisdom and expertise of many hundreds of their peers. It's a two-step process: Our expert editors select 10 of the most significant products introduced during the quarter - in each of seven categories -- and then, using an electronic balloting mechanism, we submit these products with the accompanying editorial reviews to selected, qualified readers of EE Times and eeProductCenter. Readers rate these products on "technical significance" and "likelihood of use."

Welcome to the second issue of ULTIMATE PRODUCTS that reports on the editorial selections and reader rankings of seventy of the most significant products introduced in the second quarter of 2004. Over 1300 of you helped us rank these products in each of seven categories. We are grateful that you took the time to participate and share your expertise with your peers. We are particularly grateful for the hundreds of thoughtful comments that you submitted. Based on the feedback we received for the first issue we believe that such a large-scale peer review is very useful to engineers looking to select products for their designs. We urge you to continue to participate in even larger numbers for subsequent issues. Please let me know how we can improve this service. Your feedback is most welcome.

Marty Gold
Executive Editor, eeProductCenter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Analog ICs

Processors & Memory

IP&E

Logic & Programmable Logic

Power

RF & Microwave

Test & Measurement

THE RANKINGS

Readers ranked products for technical significance and usability on a scale of 1 through 5 (with 5 as the highest score). However, the product rankings reported in this issue are relative to other products within the category-not absolute scores. The product ranked 1 in each category was judged as most technically significant for that category. Relative usability rankings and selected reader comments are also reported.