Icron Technologies Corporation has announced that it will be rolling out the USB 2.0 Ranger 2101 and USB 2.0 Ranger 2104 Cat 5 extenders which are touted to feature significantly lower cost and improved distance over previous USB 2.0 extension solutions. Robert Eisses, President and CEO of Icron Technologies states, “Our customers are connecting USB enabled devices in more challenging and unique applications which demand higher performance and flexibility from our ExtremeUSB technology. “We are committed to enhancing the technology to increase the implementation options to be able to dramatically expand the market for ExtremeUSB technology. Ranger 2101 and Ranger 2104 are the initial products in a new series of solutions from Icron that include other cost down products and ultimately a family of single chip ExtremeUSB devices, ideal for embedding into a variety of applications.”

ExtremeUSB works by transparently bridging USB over a variety of media, ranging from Cat-5 and fibre optics to current and future wireless media, power line communications and coax platforms. It can even be combined with video, enabling ExtremeUSB to provide the ideal plug and play solution for remote desktop and KVM applications in a variety of markets including industrial, commercial, and medical. For the fast expanding Digital Home market, ExtremeUSB brings a cost-effective, plug and play solution for home users to extend the full PC desktop without relying on just selected media, to any TV in the home, without the need to install yet another PC by the TV (and hence saving you more dough in the long run as well).

The Ranger 2101 and Ranger 2104 launch is a step in the right direction when it comes to providing low cost, high performance solutions to the market. The Ranger 2101 comes with a single USB 2.0 remote port at 100m over CAT5 cables that results in a 100% increase in distance over previous solutions while being 45% cheaper. As for the Ranger 2104, it offers the same performance but comes with an integrated USB hub that provides four remote USB 2.0 ports. Both the Ranger 2101 and Ranger 2104 will retail for $349 and $389, respectively.

Press Release