Taipei, Taiwan, April 23, 2010 - GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and computing hardware solutions demonstrated their continued industry leadership today with the official release of GIGABYTE On/Off Charge technology that enables faster iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch charging. A derivative of GIGABYTE's highly acclaimed 3x USB Power feature, On/Off Charge technology allows iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices to draw more current from GIGABYTE motherboard USB ports than standard USB ports allow, with the added benefit that the PC can be on, in standby mode or even off.

Many mobile devices can be charged via a desktop PC's USB ports as long as the system is connected to an active power source, however this is not the case with the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Even when the PC is being used and charging is enabled, these devices usually only draw a mere 0.5A for a trickle charge that can take 3 hours or more to fully charge the device. The benefits of GIGABYTE On/Off Charge are that users can reduce their charge time by around 40% while also acting responsibly and shutting down their PC system while it is not in use, e.g. while they sleep.

"We aim to offer our customers the best possible user experience through innovation and superior quality products, and we believe that On/Off Charge will benefit millions of Apple mobile device users around the world," commented Tim Handley, Deputy Director of Motherboard Marketing at GIGABYTE Technology Co. Ltd. "At GIGABYTE, we are big believers in the convenience and usefulness of USB ports, and that's why we put so many resources into innovations such as GIGABYTE 3x USB power. Look for more USB innovations from GIGABYTE in the near future!"

GIGABYTE On/Off Charge comes in two flavors: a backwards compatible On/Off Charge driver* that was made available on March 10th, 2010, from the official GIGABYTE utility web page, and an On/Off Charge front panel connector that will be available on selected soon-to-be-released GIGABYTE motherboards. The On/Off Charge front panel connector features a special controller combined with the On/Off Charge driver that allows the computer to detect the current required by iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch products. The device dictates the current it draws, so there is no threat of overcharging from GIGABYTE 3x USB Power technology. Tests conducted in the GIGABYTE labs have shown various charging speeds with an average charging time saving of around 40%.

GIGABYTE will hold a brief technology demo on Tuesday April 27th at their head office in Taipei to demonstrate On/Off Charge from the On/Off Charge driver and also the On/Off Charge USB port connector. A demonstration video will be available from: http://www.youtube.com/user/MoboTV2010.

About 3x USB Power Boost:
3x USB Power Boost from GIGABYTE is designed to deliver the utmost compatibility and stability for USB devices by supplying sufficient power through a single USB port. This helps free-up USB ports for using multiple USB devices and is particularly useful with PC cases that only have 2 front panel USB ports. Please visit the GIGABYTE 3x USB Power Boost website for more details.


Download the GIGABYTE On/Off Charge driver from: http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/Utility.aspx?cg=2. Learn more about GIGABYTE On/Off Charge from the official microsite: http://www.gigabyte.com/MicroSite/185/on-off-charge.htm.