Touch user interfaces have made significant advances in the consumer electronics market particularly for mobile phones and notebook computers, opening the door for adoption in other applications including white goods, computer peripherals, medical equipment, and instrumentation. Synaptics made its debut in the home appliance market earlier this year with the launch of the Samsung Hauzen ZERO air conditioner.
The standout products on day three of the SID 2010 conference is Universal Display's new PHOLED display architecture with a unique four-color, sub-pixel design, which promises to drive commercial development of all-phosphorescent active-matrix OLEDs and Sony's tiny rollable OLED display that can wrap around a pencil.
Smaller distributors were the only ones to post sales gains in 2009. Interestingly, two of the five distributors that posted growth last year -- Interstate Connecting Components and Sherburn Electronics -- derive 100 percent of their sales from interconnect products. Both of them also target the military/aerospace industry. Here are the top 10 sales leaders by ICs, passives/electromechanical devices, interconnects and computer products as well as sales growth.
Cisco selects Avnet as specialty distributor for data center products in U.S., Canada
Tempe, Ariz. — Avnet Technology Solutions has signed a distribution agreement with Cisco to become a high-value specialty distributor for its data center products in the U.S. and Canada. Avnet will help Cisco further expand its market penetration into the data center market through qualified value-added resellers (VARs).
Avnet will also create a dedicated business unit to market, sell and service the Cisco data center product suite, which will be led by Avnet executive Chris Swahn, as the vice president and general manager of the new business unit.
Avnet will provide the following Cisco data center products:
- Nexus Data Center Family of Switches
- MDS Family of Fiber Channel SAN Switches
- Catalyst E-Blade Switches
- Unified Computing System (UCS) Blade and Rack Servers (B and C)
- Application Control Engine (ACE)
- WAN Optimization (WAAS)
These products will be offered together with Avnet’s consulting, integration, implementation and managed services to create complete data center solutions.
Avnet said it will also develop market enablement programs based on the success of its technology-focused practices, such as Avnet SecurePath, Avnet StoragePath and Avnet VirtualPath.
NXP offers a low-power IC aimed at MPPT applications using PV cells or fuel cells. 
C&K Components offers a series of low-cost, miniature slide switches. The OS Series of RoHS-compliant switches feature a new high-temperature option for lead-free soldering.