ICMASTER.com Expands - Hearst Business Media and PartMiner WorldWide Team to Accelerate Electronic Component Research and Selection

Uniondale, NY and Centennial, CO, February 9, 2011 – Hearst Business Media and PartMiner WorldWide have joined forces to offer component data from the PartMiner CAPS™ (Computer Assisted Product Selection) Database on Hearst’s ICMASTER.com (www.icmaster.com).

The move gives engineers the ability to analyze datasets on millions of individual electronic components from thousands of active manufacturers around the world to greatly accelerate the process of selecting the optimum electronic component.

With the new version, the best decision-making tool just got better. New features on ICMaster.com include:

- Cross Reference: A unique service for the busy engineer or procurement pro in need of an alternative part or supplier.
- Pricing & Lead Times: In addition to Availability, soon to be added to all Inventory Search results.
- Status: A quick glance to see if parts are still active or obsolete.
- Compare: Incredibly improved to allow a fast and easy visual side-by-side comparative analysis of parts offered by the same or different suppliers.
- Datasheets: readily downloadable – now without having to register.

In acknowledgement of the time crunch engineers constantly find themselves in, many of ICMaster’s key features are now ungated and readily accessible, including basic part descriptions, datasheets, inventory availability, and a handy ‘Buy Now’ and RFQ distributor link.

Hearst chose PartMiner WorldWide because of the company’s reputation as the premier provider of electronic component procurement services and data. PartMiner offers extensive current data on millions of components, data that helps engineers make critical decisions about product design and lifecycle management.

A foundational element of any design team’s tool suite since debuting in print in 1976, ICMaster adapted to the Web to enable designers to quickly sort, select and source ICs and electronic components from a database now spanning 35 years and hundreds of millions of options.

“This is an exciting time for Hearst Electronics as we ramp up our suite of no-nonsense tools for the busy engineer,” said Patrick Mannion, Hearst Electronics Group's Director of Content. “Combined with Electronic Products, Electronic Products China and 21IC, ICMaster.com reinforces our commitment to remaining in lockstep with their ever-shortening time-to-market, cost and functionality pressures.”

The PartMiner CAPS database includes more than 168 million parts from 1,800 active device manufacturers and 50 years of historical data from 3,000 manufacturers. Data comes directly from manufacturer feeds and other comprehensive collection processes. The database is built and maintained with rigid adherence to normalized parametric data for each component for superior cross referencing results.

“PartMiner’s partnership with Hearst ICMASTER.com broadens engineers’ access to comprehensive, high quality components data,” said David Churchill, PartMiner Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited about the opportunity to make the CAPS data available to ICMASTER’s engineering users.”

For questions or more information, please contact us at www.icmaster.com/contactus.aspx

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PartMiner WorldWide Inc. provides electronic component procurement services to thousands of electronics manufacturing companies around the world. PartMiner collects and interprets worldwide market intelligence and component data from manufacturers, distributors, and other supply sources. PartMiner’s CAPS™ database is the leading source of technical information in the industry delivering complete data sets on more than 168 million individual electronic components from more than 1800 active manufacturers. PartMiner is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado and has offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

PartMiner and CAPS are trademarks or registered trademarks of PartMiner WorldWide Inc. www.partminer.com