Scottsdale, AZ, March 2, 2007 -- NKK Switches, an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of electromechanical switches, today launched a renewed SmartSwitch™ website that has a brand new look and features a more user-friendly interface and navigation features to aid customers in selecting the right SmartSwitch from the extensive product line.

By highlighting more end product applications, the new website, www.nkksmartswitch.com, is specifically designed to create a better understanding among design engineers as to what they can do with the SmartSwitch. Updates to the website include an expanded products area that provides users with more details and specifications for the entire product line. NKK also added an accessories section that includes information on couplers, panel-mount housing, sockets, and battery boxes, as well as a logic boards section.

Solely dedicated to the SmartSwitch, the site allows engineers to program the software-controlled pushbutton switch directly online. In this virtual environment, engineers can visualize ideas, experiment with different layout designs, validate and test programs, and save projects in a file created for them by NKK Switches. If an engineer likes his creation, the complete prototype can be purchased and received within days.

The SmartSwitch website also offers 3D CAD downloads to aid design engineers in all aspects of design related to PCB and panel design, including space studies and design. Suited for a wide variety of applications, the SmartSwitch programmable LCD switches are essential for any application requiring user interface. Displaying industry-specific text and graphics with real-time sequencing, the SmartSwitch simplifies and improves complex, multidecision operations. Possible applications include industrial control panels, communication systems, audio-video broadcast workstations, and simulation equipment.

NKK launched a compact version of the SmartSwitch in 2006 that is ideal for systems and designs where size is an issue and user interface is required. The compact SmartSwitch, which is distinguished by its smaller footprint, features the same electrical and performance specifications of the original SmartSwitch. The compact SmartSwitch's LCD is a wide, high-contrast viewing area of 13.9 x 10.6 mm with a 36 x 24 pixel resolution to maximize clarity.

NKK's entire SmartSwitch line features low energy consumption, which is important for panel designs, with typical forward current (If) rated 15mA and typical power dissipation (PD) rated 130mW.

The SmartSwitch can be specified in single, bicolor, and RGB versions. With the RGB version, design engineers are able to create virtually any color illumination with one switch. Principle to the success of RGB illumination in NKK's SmartSwitch is the quality of red, green, and blue LEDs used in the packaging. With high quality LEDs for superior color matching, the SmartSwitch enables designers to create customized control panels with project specific colors, including RGB white.

NKK's SmartSwitch product line can be programmed to display an infinite variety of text, graphics, or moving images. Mechanical life and electrical life are both rated at 1,000,000 operations minimum.