Atmel Industry-Leading maXTouch Controllers Support Windows 8

MSFT BUILD, ANAHEIM, Calif., Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the BUILD conference, Atmel® Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML), a leader in microcontroller and touch solutions, announced that the Atmel maXTouch® mXT1386 is the first touch controller to enable touch performance with Microsoft® Corp.'s new touch-centric operating system, Windows® 8. The mXT1386 controller is used in the Samsung® Windows Developer Preview PC. Leveraging Atmel's proven maXTouch technology, the mXT1386 is the first device in Atmel's maXTouch family that will support Windows 8 for touchscreens in a variety of sizes.

Touch interfaces have had explosive growth and are now widely adopted in a variety of devices ranging from smartphones to tablets. According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, global shipments for tablets alone are estimated to be 275.3 million units by 2015. With Windows 8, touch interfaces can be added to not only tablets but notebook PCs and all-in-one PCs.  

The Atmel maXTouch mXT1386 controller for Windows 8 provides users all the same benefits of the maXTouch family including better noise immunity for noisy environments, lower power, superior touch performance and stylus support. The product also offers improved noise performance to allow the use of shieldless sensor substrates for thinner, sleeker touchscreen designs. In addition, the maXTouch controller includes a signal-to-noise ratio of 80:1, offering more sensitivity to even the lightest touches. A high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) enables the device to work well with a fingertip touch or a stylus as small as 1mm. The mXT1386 maXTouch controller offers one of the industry's fastest touch frame rates of 180Hz, for a responsive touch interface to ensure a smooth user experience.

"Atmel is clearly the touch leader for mobile devices and tablets. We want to expand this seamless touch experience to notebook PCs and all-in-one PCs with our maXTouch technology," said Jon Kiachian, sr. director of touch marketing, Atmel Corporation. "Our collaboration with Microsoft will help make this a reality. We are excited to be selected as one of a few co-engineering partners to enable Windows 8 with our maXTouch controllers. This selection is further proof of our leadership in the market."

The Atmel mXT1386 controller offers a first touch latency of as low as 20ms with enhanced edge detection to enable fast execution of Windows 8 touch gestures. The mXT1386 is fully compatible with Windows 8 human interface devices (HID) that are 'plug n' play' ready and do not require drivers. All these features provide users an excellent touch interface and experience.

More Information

For more information about Atmel maXTouch products, please visit: http://www.atmel.com/maxtouch. To learn more about the Atmel maXTouch mXT1386, visit: www.atmel.com/mxt1386. To see Atmel's latest maXTouch videos, visit the Atmel YouTube Channel at www.atmel.com/youtube. You can follow Atmel on Twitter www.atmel.com/twitter or on Facebook at www.atmel.com/facebook.

Availability

The Atmel maXTouch mXT1386 is available now.

About Atmel

Atmel Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on industrial, consumer, communications, computing and automotive markets.

©2011 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel®, Atmel logo and combinations thereof, maXTouch® and others are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Windows® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and or other countries. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

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SOURCE Atmel Corporation