When Data Evolution acquired the Clio line of convertible tablet computers they were looking for a solution that would allow them to upgrade to the next generation product.  After facing a number of engineering delays leading to postponement of product release, Data Evolution eventually approached Nytric to designing the electronics for the proposed next generation Clio product. D.E. were however, faced with the enormous problem of already having a predefined footprint for the Clio, and the new technology had to fit within it.

Ultimately Nytric arrived at a design that used a 12 layer, ultra-fine pitch BGA printed circuit board that exactly fitted the footprint of the existing two-layer board, but with very greatly enhanced functionality. Using a Freescale IMX31 CPU in a 457 MAPBGA  package, the new board includes USB2.0, 802.11g support, 2D and 3D graphics acceleration; with a unique system architecture that incorporates the most advanced PCB technology so as to support, DVD/MPEG encode and decode, along with a host of other features new features.

The Clio NXT board proved to be extremely complex due to many factors, including the fine pitch and complexity of the technology that had to be fitted within a highly constrained footprint, but the product worked perfectly from the first iteration.

Nytric’s involvement with the development of the Clio NXT:

• Developed a compact, advanced 12-layer PCB to fit an already defined and constrained space
• Implemented complex hardware solutions to provide maximum functionality within a fixed space
• Designed power management systems for maximum battery life (9hrs+)
• Developed, wrote and tested system firmware and software
• Successfully integrated new and previously untried technologies into a working product