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Praise and criticism for top products, Q3 2008. by Patrick Mannion Once again, qualified readers of EE Times and eeProductCenter have selected the best of the best--the top products in the seven categories of our quarterly Ultimate Products survey. In Q3 2008, reviewers gave some products high ratings but didn't hold back on criticism. As usual, the categories are Analog, RF & Microwave, Logic/Programmable Logic and Interface, Test & Measurement, Processors and Memory, Power and Interconnection/Passives and Electromechanical. The runaway favorite for the quarter came from the otherwise mundane world of Interconnection/Passives and Electromechanical. Although some reviewers complained about the cost, it was no surprise that a line of LED backlit thin-film transistor liquid-crystal displays (TFT-LCDs) from Toshiba America was a winner. "Looks good, about time we had LED backlit displays," said one reader. "The LED backlit TFT-LCDs will be very important to our customers who are environmentally conscious and are trying to extend lifetimes and lower operation and maintenance costs," effused another. Readers also couldn't get enough of Sequans' latest WiMAX chip, the SQN1170 (RF & Microwave). "Great step toward WiMAX mobile station," said one. "It appears to be a very good product and compact and efficient/easy to consolidate parts," said another. In Test & Measurement, Tektronix took the honors with its DPO3000 Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope (DPO). "Great to see more scope with support for serial protocol," said one. "Sounds like a great tool!" said another. In other areas, readers were a bit more critical. Top of the list for processors and memory was Intel's Z-P230 PATA solid-state drive (SSD) for netbooks and low-cost laptops. While it was a favorite in terms of viewership and some found it good for Linux devices and useful for extending laptop battery life, its 16-Gbyte capacity left readers cold. "Good step, but densities are still too small; they are too expensive for consumer/embedded devices," said one reader. "I have more capacity on my iPod," said another. In analog ICs, Qpixel Technology came out on top with its QL303 and QL305 high-definition H.264 codecs. While readers generally found it to have a good set of features and ahead of the pack in terms of capability, at $20 in 10K quantity, it's just too pricey. "This is a $12 technology max," said one critic. For Power, LEDs took the spotlight again, with Catalyst Semiconductor taking top spot with its CAT3647 and CAT3648 line of Quad-Mode fractional charge pump LED drivers with 32 dimming levels, again for backlighting applications. While popular, some had reservations: "92 percent is great efficiency, however 10 percent improvement at 30 mA is not "green" enough," said one reviewer. "Semtech's parts are smaller and have higher efficiency with 3 modes," said another. Finally, in Logic and Programmable Logic, Fujitsu won out with its first single-chip 26-port 10-GbE switch, the MB86C69RBC. "Looks like a great part for high-speed serial data," was typical of the feedback. We hope you enjoy this, the last of our Ultimate Products series. Please contact me if you have any comments. Patrick Mannion Editor-in-Chief, TechInsights and eeProductcenter.com pmannion@techinsights.com
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