Computers Hardware And Software Reviews: December 2008

Logitec Readying Slim External DVD Burners

Japanese manufacturer Logitec (≠ Logitech) announced the production of two models of external DVD burners under the LDR-PMD8U2L BR/RD (black/red) model series. The drives are simply slim form-factor optical drives in a stylish brushed metal chassis. They measure 133.6 (W) x 160 (D) x 17.7 (H) mm, and weigh 415 g. The drives use the standard USB 2.0 interface for connectivity. They support write speeds of 8x for for DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW media; 6x for dual-layer DVD+R, DVD-R media and 5x for DVD-RAM. CDs are written at speeds of up to 24x. The drives cost US $92 excl. taxes. The black model will hit stores later this month, while the red one follows in early January.

Source: TechConnect Magazine

The World's First Hybrid Storage Netbook - MSI U115 Hybrid

MSI today announces U115 Hybrid. The very first notebook computer in the world that is capable of operating both SSD and HDD hard drives simultaneously, combining all the features of SSD and HDD in the U115 Hybrid for your enjoyment.

With MSI Exclusive Hybrid Storage Technology, in the "ECO on" mode, the battery life of U115 Hybrid is super long. This amazing battery life can escalate the mobility and the productiveness of the U115 Hybrid, which can also make your daily lives much more convenient.

To Freely Operate
- The World's First Hybrid Storage Netbook
The U115 Hybrid functions primarily with the SSD system, offering a reliable, shock-absorbent, and speedy operating environment. You have the option of choosing the SSD system while operating with Windows, and selecting the HDD hard drive for file storage. The SSD system is much faster than HDD when retrieving files and it takes up less power. It is also much more shock-absorbent while riding on the train or the MRT.

Furthermore, because of the MSI Exclusive Hybrid Storage Technology, the U115 Hybrid will temporarily disconnect the HDD system while operating in "ECO on Mode". Retrieving and storing files will all be done with the SSD system, the battery life of U115 Hybrid is super long. The HDD system can also be activated with a few simple functions for the large storage space.

- New Intel Menlow Platform with Atom Processor
It's easy to bring the Internet to more places with the Intel Menlow Platform with Atom Processor. Maximize your U115 Hybrid’s potential by staying connected whether you’re watching a movie at home, emailing from a café or chatting on a social networking site while on vacation. Also, you’ll be able to stream video and enjoy all your favorite online entertainment.

On the other hand, the power-efficient design enables extended battery life so you can keep on surfing, blogging, listening to music, watching video and communicating with the world as you move through your day.

- Big-Size Keyboard and Touch Pad
MSI has the same persistence for proper ergonomically design even on the keyboards of our smaller notebook computers. The keyboard of the U115 Hybrid not only has great texture, it also increased the space between the keys to 17.5mm, allowing you to be as comfortable as you can. Plus, the ingeniously designed spacebar and touchpad allow your fingers to move smoothly while avoiding strain.

To Freely Watch
- 10" Wide LCD Display
The U115 Hybrid has selected a 10" wide LCD display as oppose to the typical smaller sizes to provide better comfort while viewing or reading. In addition, the 1024x 600 resolution can relieve concerns for the full display of web pages while browsing, giving you the freedom when exploring the internet.

- The Latest in LED Power-Saving Backlight Technology
The U115 Hybrid is embedded with the LED power-saving backlight technology in providing better fullness and brightness in color, elevating the total quality of imagery. Furthermore, the lower usage of power can offer a longer operating time.

To Freely Go
- Lightness in Design
The frame is approximately 26 centimeters in length and 18 centimeters in width. It is only 19-31.5 mm in thickness making it extremely thin. The total weight added with the battery is about 1 kilogram, making the U115 Hybrid very ideal for taking it on the go.

To Freely Play
- Super Long Lasting Battery Life*
With MSI Exclusive Hybrid Storage Technology, in the "ECO on" mode, the battery life of U115 Hybrid is super long. This amazing battery life can escalate the mobility and the productiveness of the U115 Hybrid, which can also make your daily lives much more convenient.

* The Actual battery life varies according to operating conditions and settings.

- The Excitement of Instant Communication
Equipped with a high resolution webcam, high-performance 2 channel stereo speakers and microphone, all fitted perfectly within the framework design, expressing the slickness of technology and the elegance of modern fashion. Web-chats can be broadcasted instantly not missing one exciting moment. The photos taken are very sharp in resolution and brilliant in colors, capturing precise imagery both indoor or out, adding more fun to instant messaging.

- Wireless Internet Connection
The U115 Hybrid has the 802.11 b/g/n wireless all region internet connection and Bluetooth transmission interface, so you can enjoy the convenience of accessing the internet at home or out. There will be absolutely no obstacles getting around your daily life.

- Comprehensive Multi-Media Application Interface
U115 Hybrid offers a complete entertainment interface, which includes the 4 in 1 Card Reader (XD/SD/MMC/Memory Stick), so it may meet the standards of the mainstream memory cards, making it easy to upload digital files into the notebook computer. Our focus was on the common products in the market, such as PDA's, digital cameras, digital video cameras, digital MP3 Players, Global GPS Systems and such, also connecting to the U115 Hybrid through USB 2.0 Port. An external DVD burner may be added (optional) to play and burn important files at will.

Source: MSI

Acer Enhances Aspire 8930G with the New Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 Processor

Acer America, part of the world’s third largest PC company, today introduced the Aspire 8930G-7665 notebook PC, utilizing the new Intel Core 2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000. The new quad-core processors allow for extreme mobile performance and speed for gaming on the go. Designed for multimedia and gaming enthusiasts, the Aspire 8930G-7665 combines superior computing power, innovative technology and productivity features, with stylish PC design.

Featuring Intel’s Core 2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000, the Aspire 8930G-7665 offers ground-breaking levels of high-definition performance needed for multimedia applications and 3D gaming. Utilizing four processing cores, 12MB of shared L2 cache, 1066 MHz Front Side Bus and clock speed rates up to 2.53 GHz, the Aspire 8930G-7665 brings unprecedented swiftness and realism to 3D games, which extreme users demand.

Along with new quad-core mobile processing power, the Aspire 8930G-7665 offers gamers and multimedia enthusiasts dynamic HD functionality. The notebook PC features an 18.4-inch HD CineCrystal widescreen 1920 x 1080 pixel display, with 16:9 aspect ratio for intense color and visual detail. Feature-rich high-definition entertainment is provided by Blu-ray Disc technology, NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT graphics and Dolby audio, giving users a true cinematic experience for movie watching, playing games and listening to music.

“By incorporating the latest capabilities of Intel’s Core 2 Quad mobile processors into the Aspire 8930G-7665, Acer is delivering a perfect combination of mobility, innovation and extreme gaming capabilities,” said Sumit Agnihotry, vice president of product marketing for Acer America. “Gamers and enthusiasts who enjoy HD multimedia entertainment will find the performance benefits of quad core mobile performance in the Aspire 8930G unrivalled to other multimedia notebooks on the market.”

Aspire 8930-7665 Specifications and Pricing

* Intel Core 2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000
(12MB L2 Cache | 2.53 GHz | 1066MHz FSB)
* 18.4" WUXGA Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD (1920 x 1080)
* 4GB DDR3 1066 MHz Dual Channel Memory
* NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT with 512MB dedicated video memory
* 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
* Blu-ray Disc/DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive
* 6-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
* 802.11a/g/Draft-N Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
* Acer Crystal Eye Webcam
* Dolby Home Theater
* Windows Vista Premium 64-bit
* MSRP $1799.99

Availability and Warranty
The Acer Aspire 8930G-7665 is available now via Acer’s authorized resellers and at select major retailers nationwide. The Aspire 8930G-7665 is backed by a one-year limited warranty.

Mushkin Releases 996580X2 DDR2 Memory

Mushkin today announced a new DDR2 800 MHz, 2x 2GB dual-channel memory kit, the XP2 series model 996580X2. The product targeted at the mainstream thru value segments. Mushkin adopted a simplistic product design which includes two modules without heatspreaders. The modules operate at voltages between 2 and 2.1V and DRAM timings of 4-4-4-12. The modules use an 8-layer black coloured PCB to reduce electronic noise. Mushkin plans to sell this kit for 46 to 49 Euros including taxes.

Thermalright AXP-140 Heatsink Pictured

Thermalright, best known for its aluminum fin heatsinks devised the AXP-140 CPU heatsink for HTPCs, that is low-profile friendly with a height of 7 cm. VR-Zone unboxed the heatsink to take a few pictures.

The AXP-140 supports Intel processors on the LGA-775 socket. It consists of a thick nickel-plated copper CPU contact block from which six aluminum heatpipes convey heat to an aluminum fin array. Unlike conventional heatsinks from Thermalright, the array propagates horizontally along the plane of the motherboard. The dimensions of this heatsink are 145 x 147 x 70.2 mm (L x W x H). It weighs 900 g (1.98 lbs). Although this heatsink could cool some processors with low TDP passively for a silent operation, a 120mm fan can be attached to it for active air-cooling. The AXP-140 is expected to be priced at US $59 when it hits the stores.

NVIDIA Ion Platform Energizes Atom Into A Premium PC Experience

NVIDIA is poised to energize the PC market by transforming Atom PCs into a premium experience found today in higher priced laptops and desktops. NVIDIA will supercharge the fastest-growing segments of the PC market - netbooks, small form factor and all-in-one PCs - by enabling these products to play rich media and popular games in high definition. At the same time, the Ion Platform will create new and exciting premium PCs that fit in the palm of your hand.

The formula is simple: Combine the highly rated GeForce 9400 GPU found in new desktop and notebook PCs with the Intel Atom CPU. This combination (code-named Ion Platform) enables the smallest premium PC experience available today, making it ideal for the exploding category of mini-notebooks and compact PCs.

Unlike existing chipsets paired with the Atom CPU, the GeForce 9400 GPU delivers up to ten times the graphics performance, plays full-spec 1080p high definition video, supports the full Windows Vista user interface and the upcoming Windows 7, and runs popular PC games such as Call of Duty 4. The GeForce 9400 GPU does all of this in about one-half of the space of today's Atom CPU-based solutions with minimal affect on battery life.

"NVIDIA's Ion Platform transforms Atom-based PCs into capable mainstream gaming platforms," said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. "Epic is excited about the growth potential offered by these new affordable premium PCs."

"Spore looks and runs great with netbook and nettop PCs featuring GeForce GPUs and Atom CPUs," said Lucy Bradshaw, executive producer, Spore. "Gamers will be impressed with the Ion platform's power and portability."

"Elemental's Badaboom Media Converter accelerates video transcoding by tapping into the power of the massively parallel NVIDIA GeForce GPU and CUDA technology," said Sam Blackman, chief executive officer of Elemental Technologies. "We've seen that the 16-core GeForce 9400 GPU transcodes video up to 10X faster than the Intel Atom CPU alone. Regardless of what CPU you have, for the best video transcoding performance, an NVIDIA GPU is essential."

"Netbooks have exploded onto to the scene, and we are excited that netbook users can now experience full Blu-Ray playback in the smallest form factors with a GeForce 9400 and Intel Atom CPU with the CyberLink PowerDVD player," said Alice H. Chang, CEO of CyberLink Corp.

About the GeForce 9400 GPU:
The NVIDIA GeForce 9400, recently introduced with the Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air, is a single chip, high performance, highly integrated design that is ideal for notebooks and smaller computing devices. It features 16 processing cores that deliver a whopping 52 GFLOPs of processing power, making it the most powerful integrated GPU on the market today. GeForce 9400 delivers up to 5 times faster graphics performance than Intel Centrino 2, adds legendary GeForce application compatibility, and boosts photo and video editing productivity for popular applications like Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe Premier CS4, Cyberlink PowerDirector 8, Badaboom, and more. It also includes NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology which enables Atom-based PCs to play full-spec 1080p movies for the first time.

Source: NVIDIA

AOC Releases V22 Verfino Series Displays, Take Gaming to Another Level

AOC has launched their Gamer Certified series of displays designed to offer the latest in graphic technologies geared toward today's high definition, fast moving games.

AOC's Gamer Certified displays allow gamers to view HD games the way designers intended. All AOC Gamer Certified displays offer high contrast ratios and industry leading 2ms response times with DCR (dynamic contrast ratio) control, HDMI inputs and gaming modes for adjusting them to meet gamer needs on any HD game, whether it be on a console or PC.

* For Gamers who need the latest:
AOC's 2230Fh leads the way with a 22" display, 20,000:1 contrast ratio and 2ms response time wrapped in a sleek designer bezel. AOC's 2230Fh is the gaming monitor of choice by the Underground Gaming Series Tournament and received rave reviews for its performance, design and price point.
* For Gamers who want more:
AOC's award winning 2230Fm HD3 Display offers the same gaming experience as the 2230Fh, but adds a 4-in-1 memory card reader and built-in multi-media player for playing movies with NO PC REQUIRED. It has created a new category as a multi-functional display useful for business applications, gaming, movies, or showing off digital photos directly on an HD display.
* The Next Step for extreme Gamers:
AOC is breaking into the WLED market with their V22 which will launch early in 2009. This ultra-thin display offers HDMI inputs, 100,000:1 contrast ratio and industry leading 2ms response time. This display is for gamers who demand the best in graphics and performance, but also prefer a display that offers the latest in thin display technology at an affordable price.

"AOC's Gamer Certified series of displays are all designed to offer the fastest response times for eliminating ghostly images and high contrast ratios truly show the detail of today's HD games," said Robert Velez, Marketing Manager for AOC. "With our experience as one of the world's largest display manufacturers AOC is able to take proven technologies and offer them for an affordable price. We believe that gamers should be able to play on displays that allow them to get the full experience when playing HD games as the game designers intended; crisp, clear and blur-free," added Velez.

Product Specification Highlights (for all AOC Gamer Certified HD Displays):

* Contrast ratio – 12,000:1 through 100,000:1
* HDMI inputs
* 2ms ultra-fast response time
* Dynamic contrast ratio control
* 22" dispalys

Source: AOC

Lenovo Announces Dual-Screen Mobile Workstation - ThinkPad W700ds

Lenovo this weekend officially announced its ThinkPad W700ds (ds stands for dual-screen), a mobile workstation with two fully functional LCD displays. Inside and round the back of the main 17-inch display is housed a second one, 10.6-inch in diagonal that can also be tilted up to 30 degrees like a car's rearview mirror. The secondary WXGA display (768x1280), allows users to own a workstation notebook with dual-monitor support for the first time. Wes Williams, product marketing manager for ThinkPads, said: "People that use high-end computers, whether they are professional photographers or work in other fields, all use two displays at their desktops ... What we were trying to do in building a mobile workstation is give them the same experience. Not only do you need a great display, great graphics, great processor and RAID hard drive with a workstation, but it is hard going back to a single display mode." The Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds is said to make its first appearance at CES, starting January 5, 2008. Among the other cool features that will be integrated inside the W700ds are the latest Intel Core 2 Quad 45nm processors, NVIDIA Quadro mobile graphics, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, and a pair of hard drive/solid-state drive bays for up to 960GB of storage. The W700ds' starting price is expected to be $3,600 upon availability.

Source: Engadget

Samsung Readies 12.1-inch NC20 Netbook for CES Next Year

Samsung was a bit late to the netbook party with its first NC10 netbook, but now the company is going to catch up on others with NC20. Samsung NC20 will supposedly be the NC10 successor, and while the attention this week is on NVIDIA and Intel, the NC20 will be powered by a VIA platform. The reported specifications claim a 12.1-inch display, a 1.3GHz VIA Nano U2250 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a 160GB hard drive, all packed in a system that weighs 1.5 kilograms and costs US $642 (Euro 450). The netbook will feature built-in Bluetooth 2.0, Wireless 802.11b/g, single Ethernet, a 3-in-1 memory card reader and a 1.3MP camera. Other details remain sketchy for now, it's also unclear what platform this VIA CPU will plug into. Samsung will presumably debut the NC20 at CES next year.

Source: Notebook Italia

SilverStone Out With Low-Profile LGA 775 Cooler

With the introduction of the LGA 775 socket around half a decade ago, Intel introduced its very familiar stock cooler whose design remained essentially the same across generations of processors on the same socket. Intel however, later introduced changes to the size of those coolers with some of its 45nm Core 2 processors, along with other entry-level chips. SilverStone worked out a LGA 775 cooler, the NT07-775, that resembles it, albeit its design methodology circles around being low-profile capable, measuring 93 mm x 36.5 mm x 93 mm (W, H, D).

SilverStone suggests this cooler specifically for 45nm dual-core processors. Its construction is similar to that of the Intel stock cooler. It consists of a copper-embedded central contact base from which forked aluminum fins project radially in a somewhat spiral fashion. The 90mm fan rotates in speeds between 1200 and 1800 rpm and has a rated noise output between 15 and 23 dBA depending on the speed. The cooler will be available in January at a price of 20 EUR.

Source: TechConnect Magazine

GeForce GTX 295 Preview Suggests Aggressive Pricing

The newest lineup of high-end graphics accelerators by NVIDIA includes the dual-GPU GeForce GTX 295. The accelerator features two 55nm G200b GPUs featuring 240 stream processors each, along with a memory sub-system of 896 MB across a 448-bit wide GDDR3 memory bus per GPU. The reference clock speeds are 576 MHz (core), 1242 MHz (shader) and 999 MHz, 1998 MHz DDR (memory).

Guru3D previewed the accelerator. While the notion that this will be the fastest accelerator only gains ground with the preview, the most interesting part of it was in the first page: the street price. The preview suggests a street price of US $499. That's $50 less than the $549 the Radeon HD 4870 X2 asked for, at launch. This indicates that NVIDIA will carry forward its aggressive pricing to counter ATI.

Image Courtesy: Guru3D

Super Talent Ships World’s Smallest 16GB USB Flash Drives

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced that their ultra-small Pico family of USB drives will now be offered in 16GB capacities, making it the world's tiniest line of 16GB USB drives.

16GB Pico drives will be offered in four different styles that use patented closing mechanisms: retractable Pico-B; lidless Pico-C; swivel Pico-D; and sliding lid Pico-E. The Pico family represents a momentous advance in storage miniaturization, accommodating up to 4,000 MP3 songs on a drive that weighs less than a quarter.

Features:

* USB 2.0 and 1.1 compatible
* Weight: about 6 grams
* 200X (30MB/sec) read speeds
* Water resistant
* Hold as many as 5,000 six megapixel JPEGs or 4,000 MP3 songs

According to Super Talent Director of Marketing, Joe James, "Not only are these Pico drives impressively small, they're also quite fast, water resistant, and very fashionable". All Super Talent USB drives are backed with a lifetime warranty. All seven of these models will be available from retailers this month for under $50. Super Talent will showcase all their products at the CES show in Las Vegas, January 8-11 at the Sands in booth #72421. For more product information, please visit this page.

Eee PC is Forbes Asia's Product of the Year for 2008

ASUS' Eee PC has been named Forbes Asia's Product of the Year for 2008, right after being crowned Stuff Magazine's Gadget of the Year and Computer of the Year. In justifying its selection, Forbes hailed the Eee PC for "its innovation and disruption", and added that the "ultraportable" netbook had "changed the global PC industry". This new addition to the Eee PC's mantle joins numerous other awards chalked up in the media, design and industry circles over the past year, most notably NBC.com's Best Travel Gadget and the prestigious G-Mark Award.

The Winner of Prestigious Awards from Around the World
Since its official launch in October 2007, the Eee PC has garnered numerous international awards from the media, design and industry circles. Apart from receiving the Forbes Asia Product of the Year and Stuff Gadget of the Year/Computer of the Year honors, the Eee PC has also been named NBC.com's Best Travel Gadget, Computer Shopper's Best Netbook of 2008, PC Pro's Hardware of the Year, PC World's Best Netbook, and DIME magazine's 2008 Trend Award Winner, amongst other accolades. DIME magazine is a publication from Shogakukan, a large publishing enterprise in Japan. Products are nominated by readers, on the basis that users are the greatest bellwether of consumer trends.

For its impeccable design and leading-edge innovation, the Eee PC has been conferred the Good Design Award (G-Mark) from Japan, the 2008 International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award, and the Taiwan Excellence Gold Award 2008. To date, the Eee PC has received 76 awards and more than 7,300 hits in the media. Such has been the magnitude of the Eee PC's breakthrough, that it has become the subject of a Harvard Business School case study.

Source: ASUS

NOX Introduces the Coolbay HX

NOX's new chassis is ready to support the maximum performance in your PC. It includes an extreme ventilation system with 4 fans and enough space for 9 drive bays to offer great versatility.

Side-door with transparent window and 200mm fan with a blue LED, and an interior finished all in black makes this NOX case unique.

FEATURES:

* Ready for liquid cooling systems.
* Anti-vibration foam in the HDDs mounting wholes.
* Anti-vibration rubber in the base where the PSU is installed.
* Fan with speed control mounted on the rear.
* Power supply mounts at the bottom of the case (power supply not included).
* Expansion Slots with ventilation holes.
* Anti-slide foot stands.
* Stylish black interior.
* Side-door with transparent window.

SPECIFICATIONS:

* Mainboards Supported: ATX/MICRO ATX
* Housing: SECC Steel
* Drive Bays:
* External: 9 x 5.25", 1 x 3.5"
* Internal: 4 x 3.5"
* Air Cooling Set-up: Frontal Fan: 1 x 140 mm with Blue LED, Rear Fan: 1 x 120 mm, Top Fan: 1 x 200 mm, Lateral Fan: 1 x 200 mm with Blue LED, Bottom Fan: 1 x 120/140 mm (Option - Not Included), Ventilation area in the top of the chassis for improved airflow
* Expansion Slots: 7
* Top mounted I/O ports: 3 x USB, eSATA, audio and microphone
* Chassis Dimensions: 500(H) x 205 (W) x 545 (D) mm
* Weight: 9.4 Kg

Source: NOX Xtreme

NOX Launches APEX Series Power Supplies

NOX launches in Europe the new series of modular PSUs, APEX. These are modular PSUs with Plug-n connections in 600W, 700W & 800 W represented in different colors. Its advanced modular design allows connecting only the necessary cables, saving space and improving the airflow inside the PC Case. All three models come with Active PFC (Power Factor Correction), and a ultra-silent 140mm fan with automatic fan speed control.

The APEX PSUs series are compatible with all the SLI or Crossfire configurations, they come with four SATA, and four PCI Express connectors. The APEX PSUs are also equipped with four 12v rails, and all the cables come with an attractive designed mesh sleeve to keep your installation nice and tidy. Furthermore, to ensure their safety and that of the rest of components of your system, the new APEX PSUs, offer you protection against short-circuits in addition to the following protective features OCP (Over Voltage Protection) / UVP (Under Voltage Protection) /OPP (Over Power Protection).

APEX series are environmental friendly PSUs with Green Power Technology, and ensure efficiency performances of 80%.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

* Power Output: 600 W, 700 W y 800 W
* Standard: ATX12V V.2.91
* Active PFC
* Fan: 1 x 140mm
* Rails: 4 rails of 12 V
* 80% Efficiency
* Modular Cables
* Green Power Technology
* Connectors: 1 x 20 + 4 pins, 1 x EPS 12V 4 + 4 pins, 2 x 6 pins PCI Express, 2 x 6+2 pins PCI Express, 4 x serial ATA, 6 x 4 pins (Molex), 1 x 4 pins (FDD)

Source: NOX Xtreme

Westone Releases Westone 3 In-Ear Monitors

Westone, an iconic brand name when it comes to in-ear-monitors, released the Westone 3 in-ear monitor, the world's first true 3-way in-ear monitors. Each bud includes three drivers as well as a proper 3-way crossover, with which low (bass), mid and high (treble) get an armature each. The drivers are mounted in a piggyback fashion that makes them phase-aligned, which could prevent abnormal distortions or reverberations. The set includes as many as 10 kinds of ear-tips that the user can select.

These bits of technologies make the Westone 3 a revolutionary product in its category. The Westone 3 has reached retail channels, and comes at a MSRP of US $399.

Westone Music Products is proud to announce the release of the Westone 3 on November 28, 2008. The 3 is the world's first true three-way earphone specifically designed for personal listening. Built into every 3 is Westone's 50 years of experience producing custom-fit products for the ear and over 20 years of designing and manufacturing in-ear musicians' monitors for the world's top performing musicians. Compatible with virtually any personal listening device, the unparalleled comfort and high fidelity make the 3 perfect for anyone seeking great sound and long-wearing comfort: audiophiles, business travelers, exercise enthusiasts, and more.

The Westone 3 offers a unique sound signature optimized for the needs of the personal listener, with rich low-end response, detailed mids and articulate highs. The sleek new design showcases Westone's commitment to comfortable ergonomics and fit. Each unit includes a "fit kit" with a selection of ten universal eartip options. A soft zippered carrying pouch, 1/8" to 1/4" plug adapter and inline volume control complete the package. The 3 will have a street price of $399.00. For more information or to find a local retailer, please visit this page.

A-DATA Introduces New XPG Gaming Series Memory Modules

A-DATA Technology, a worldwide leader in high performance memory products, introduces today its entire XPG Gaming Series which represents the very best of A-DATA's cutting edge technology in gaming memories, delivering the perfect blend of performance, durability and stability with low power consumption. XPG Gaming Series features highest reliability and fulfills exceptional requirements for high-end modules at a very attractive, low price.

Perfect memory for gamers at every level
In order to provide the ever growing PC gaming market with the best memory hardware designed for gamers at every level, all modules of Gaming Series is available as single channel kits in 1GB/2GB and also as 2GBx2/1GBx2 dual channel configurations. Recent next generation Intel Core i7 platform using the latest DDR3 technologies has proven that i7's internal controller gives a notable performance increase while using DDR3 in triple-channel configuration. Following this new innovation, A-DATA also provides DDR3 Gaming Series modules as triple-channel kits running at 1333MHz and 1600MHz. With high capacities up to 6GB, those memories can unleash the true power of 64-bit operating systems, such as Windows Vista platform.

More than just for gamers
The whole Gaming Series memory line is customized to fulfill gamers' need of performance and stability. A-DATA XPG G Series modules are guaranteed to satisfy the needs of the most demanding multiple online gamers but also professional graphic designers and multimedia auditors, seeking for high reliability and stability.

Source: A-DATA

Swiftech Introduces the Full-Cover Caldera HD4870X2 Water Block

Introducing the Caldera cooling system for AMD HD4870X2 graphics cards from Swiftech. The Caldera 4870X2 is a hybrid cooling system for AMD HD4870X2 reference graphics cards. It is composed of two separate elements: a water-block that cools both GPU's, and a passive heatsink to cool the rest of the components such as the GDDR5 memory, voltage regulators and the I/O chip. The Caldera 4870X2 water-block utilizes Swiftech's proven Diamond Pin Matrix technology and premium copper baseplate for the highest cooling performance. Additionally, there's a built-in white LED that illuminates throught the clear acrylic sides of the GPU water block when in operation. The full-cover water block weights in 411g and has a MSRP of $159.95. It is available now. Inside the package you'll also find 1/2" barbs, (2) plugs, thermal pads, Arctic Céramique thermal grease, mounting screws and installation guide.

Source: Swiftech

SAPPHIRE Launches Special Water Cooled ATOMIC HD 4870 X2 Video Card

SAPPHIRE Technology is now introducing the SAPPHIRE ATOMIC HD 4870 X2, an exclusive new dual GPU water cooled version of the standard ATI HD 4870 X2 card. Because the article is written in Greek which is not my strongest language, I'll stick to the specs and pics, after all that's all we need. As usual, the SAPPHIRE ATOMIC HD 4870 X2 comprises of two complete HD 4870 graphics systems on a single PCI-Express card connected by an on-board PCI Express Gen 2 bridge chip. Each GPU has 1GB of GDDR5 memory, making a total of 2GB on-board memory. Core clock speed for this model is 800MHz, there are 2x800 stream processors, the memory clock speed is 1000MHz with 512-bit memory interface. What's so special in this model is the full cover liquid cooling provided by the famous OEM cooling expert Asetek. The water-block cools both GPUs, all memory chips, the bridge chip and all the power elements. Two Dual Link DVI outputs are provided as well as TV-Out. Additionally the card's bundle includes a CCL UV lamp and Sapphire USB memory stick with drivers. The card will be available starting December 18th for a MSRP of $649.

Source: hwbox

ASUS Introduces Redesigned Eee PC 1002HA Netbook

ASUS, a worldwide leader in notebook design and the fastest growing notebook brand, today announced the newest member of its award-winning Eee PC family—the Eee PC 1002HA. Featuring a stylishly redesigned chassis adorned with a brushed aluminum LCD cover and palm rest, the Eee PC 1002HA is a sophisticated, lightweight, easy-to-use netbook that brings a touch of elegance and utility to everyday computing.

Stylishly Thin and Light for Maximum Mobility
The Eee PC 1002HA is designed primarily for users who desire computing mobility, weighing just 1.2kg with the battery attached and measuring in at only 1-inch thick. To make the netbook as light as possible without sacrificing durability, ASUS chose to use brushed aluminum for both the LCD and the palm rests, which allows the Eee PC 1002HA to feel exceptionally solid despite its thin stature.

Feature-packed Mobile Companion
To complement the mobile user of today, the Eee PC 1002HA is packed with an abundance of user-centric features designed to provide user-friendly convenience to everyday computing. A 10" LED-backlit display (1024 x 600 pixels) provides high contrast pictures with vibrancy, while using little power at the same time. Users will find the keyboard on the Eee PC 1002HA especially comfortable, as it is 92% the size of a standard keyboard. A digital array microphone, coupled with a 1.3 megapixel built-in webcam allows for mobile video conferencing anytime, anywhere, while Bluetooth connectivity enables users to wirelessly connect Bluetooth-enabled devices to the Eee PC 1002HA. Available with both Linux and Windows XP Home edition operating systems, users can choose between an easy-to-use, icon-based interface, and the familiar Windows interface depending on their usage preference. A Multi-touch touchpad provides intuitive interactions between users and their multimedia via finger motions to manipulate pictures and content navigation. Users can also read and write various storage media via the Eee PC 1002HA, with its built-in 4-in-1 card reader capable of reading MMC, SD, Memory Stick and MS-PRO media formats. Finally, a F9 Fast Recovery Key provides peace of mind to users by providing system recovery at a single touch.

Intelligent Power Management for Endurance Computing
The Eee PC 1002HA features the Super Hybrid Engine (SHE) which consists of the Power4 Gear Hybrid application and the Energy Processing Unit (EPU). Power4 Gear Hybrid facilitates the deployment and usage of power according to the users' preferences in relation to the specific tasks that they need to perform, while the EPU accurately detects the users' power requirements and makes the necessary power adjustments. Users can also choose from pre-determined power presets to cater to their computing requirements. Coupled with a custom-made, polymer battery that boasts two high-capacity cells offering 4200mAh, the Eee PC 1002HA can provide users with up to 5 hours* of unplugged computing time.

Combining Physical and Online Storage for Greater Flexibility
In addition to its 160GB of primary storage, the Eee PC™ 1002HA also includes 10GB of online storage via the exclusive ASUS Eee Online Storage. This allows users to access their documents and multimedia files anytime, anywhere, and to share these files with their friends and family. Eee Storage also allows users to set a password to keep intruders from accessing their data. Most importantly, Eee Storage provides users with additional space for backing up important documents, accessible whenever there is Internet access.

Wireless Connectivity
The Eee PC 1002HA is designed to keep users connected to the Internet and wireless devices at all times. To accomplish this, it features the latest wireless technology, including support for Bluetooth and blazing-fast 802.11n wireless connectivity, which is six times faster than the preceding 802.11g standard.

Source: ASUS

HIS Releases Radeon HD 4870 IceQ4+

Amidst lot of speculation concerning its possibility, HIS indeed has an IceQ4+ model graphics card based on the ATI Radeon HD 4870. It uses the iconic IceQ4+ cooler, and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory. The card is overclocked out of the box, with the core clocked at 770 MHz, and memory at 1000 MHz (effectively 2 GHz DDR or 4000 MT/s). The card uses a blue-coloured AMD reference PCB (includes the AMD brand mark on the PCB), with an identical layout of components as that on the reference design cards.

The advantage however, lies in its cooler. The card supports ATI CrossFireX, and sports two dual-link DVI ports for output. It requires two 6 pin PCI-Express power connectors. There are two basic sub-variants: IceQ4+ Turbo 512MB and IceQ4+ Turbo 1GB. The 512 MB model has a higher core clock speed at 780 MHz. The non-Turbo sub-variants use reference AMD clock speeds.

Pricing is as follows:

* HIS HD 4870 IceQ4+ 512MB PCIe – 239,00 €
* HIS HD 4870 IceQ4+ TURBO 512MB PCIe – 249,00 €
* HIS HD 4870 IceQ4+ 1 GB PCIe – 259,00 €
* HIS HD 4870 IceQ4+ TURBO 1 GB PCIe – 279,00 €

HIS also announced its availability through retail channels.

PhysX will Die, Says AMD

In an interview with Godfrey Cheng, Director of Technical Marketing in AMD's Graphics Products Group, Bit-Tech.net has quoted him saying that standards such as PhysX would die due to their proprietary and closed nature. Says Mr. Cheng:

"There is no plan for closed and proprietary standards like PhysX," said Cheng. "As we have emphasised with our support for OpenCL and DX11, closed and proprietary standards will die."

Bit-Tech.net interviewed the AMD person to get the company's take on EA and 2K's decision to adopt NVIDIA

PhysX across all of their worldwide studios, earlier this week. Interestingly, when asked about how the major publishers such as EA adopting PhysX across all of their studios would impact the propagation of the API, Cheng responded with saying that monetary incentives provided to publishing houses alone won't help a great deal in propagating the API, and that the product (PhysX) must be competitive, and that AMD viewed Havoc and its physics simulation technologies as leaders. "Games developers share this view. We will also invest in technologies and partnerships beyond Havok that enhances gameplay." he added. PhysX is a proprietary physics simulation API created by Ageia technologies, which was acquired and developed by NVIDIA. You can read the full Bit-Tech.net interview with Godfrey Cheng here.

Google Chrome Sheds Its Beta Status

Thursday Google removed the beta status of its new web browser, Chrome. This is a surprisingly fast 100 days after its roll out in September, especially for Google whose popular "gmail" still retains beta status. Google is confident that Chrome is read for prime time since it has fewer bugs, is more secure and runs faster than it did three months ago. While Chrome still only claims about 1 percent of the browser market share it is hoped that since the browser is no longer in the beta stages it will be adopted by more users who are leery of the beta title and the negative connotations that come with it.

Source: The New York Times

Seagate Lowers Warranty Period from 5 to 3 Years on Some Desktop Hard Drives

Seagate, the biggest hard drive manufacturer, has announced today that effective January 3, 2009, the company will be making some important changes to its limited warranty terms for selected drives. The warranty period for consumer electronics (Seagate Barracuda 7200 included), notebook (Momentus 7200 and Momentus 5400 included) and personal storage bare drives sold to Seagate Authorized Distributors will be changed from 5 years to 3 years. Seagate believes that the new warranty period and terms better reflect current industry standards. Seagate enterprise class drives and Seagate and Maxtor external retail products that have 5-year warranty periods will not be affected by this change. Please take a look at the Seagate Warranty Matrix for more information.

Source: Seagate

UnitedKeys Taking Pre-orders of its OLED Gaming Keyboard and Keypad

A rival of Art Lebedev is approaching. UnitedKeys OLED, a relatively new name in the computer OLED business, is now pre-ordering two OLED peripherals that resemble Art Lebedev's Optimus Maximus and Optimus Mini Three keyboards. I'm starting with the UnitedKeys OLED gaming keyboard, a 103 standard keys keyboard with 9 customizable monochromatic OLED buttons. This keyboard is 20.5-inches long, 7.25-inches wide and fully functional under both Windows XP or Windows Vista. You can pre-order the UnitedKeys OLED keyboard now for $259.99. Also announced was the UnitedKeys keypad with just 9 OLED (customizable) keys. Both peripherals connect to the PC using normal USB 2.0 connection. The keypad has a MSRP of $199.99 and is also available for pre-order now. For more information, please click here.

Source: UnitedKeys

Lian Li Launches TR-5F Fan Bus with Temperature Fan Combo

Lian Li Industrial Co. Ltd is introducing the new TR-5F, a fan Bus and Fan Temp gauge combo unit. The innovative device takes up one 5.25 bay, and has a full frontal LCD, with a coupled LED fan which changes color according to the RPM registered. At a glance you can see if your PC is running hot (red color), or cool (green color). The Fan is transparent, and has airflow of 53CFM at full speed (1500RPM).

The TR-5 allows up to four different temperatures (0ºC to 99ºC ~ +/-2ºC) and fan speeds, ranging from (1) CPU, (2) VGA, and (3 & 4) system 1 & system 2 fans, the TR-5 is more than adequate for your cooling needs. In addition the device has an Alarm for high temperatures and fan failure as well as a Date and Time function, with settings for either ºC or ºF temperature display modes at the touch of a button. The addition of the Color LED fan adds convenience to an already versatile unit.

For more details on features for the TR-5F please go to the Lian Li website.

Ericsson Collaborates with Intel to Bring Theft Protection to Notebooks

Ericsson announced today that it is collaborating with Intel to ensure that Ericsson's Mobile Broadband Modules are interoperable with Intel Anti-Theft PC Protection Technology for notebooks to offer a secure and reliable anti-theft solution for mobile broadband users. The collaboration addresses solutions to minimize the negative consequences when notebooks are lost or stolen, and in conjunction independent encryption software when sensitive data is lost while on-the-go and to prevent unwanted data intrusion.

The need for taking the profit out of stealing laptops and protecting sensitive and important information continues to grow with the increased popularity of mobile broadband notebooks. Theft or loss of notebooks can have enormous financial consequences for both consumers and enterprise users, especially when sensitive data on the notebook is lost or obtained by unauthorized persons.

Through this collaboration between Ericsson and Intel, a theft management service residing in the network can send a message via SMS to the mobile broadband module inside the notebook, which securely transfers the message to Intel's Anti-Theft function inside the processor platform, which takes appropriate actions, such as completely locking the computer, making it unusable. When the notebook is located and recovered, an unlock message can be sent to the notebook that makes the data accessible again.

Mats Norin, Vice President and head of Mobile Broadband Modules at Ericsson said: "We share a common vision with Intel about offering consumers and enterprise users a secure mobile broadband experience for their notebooks. We are committed to work with industry leaders to shape a complete, end-to-end solution to drive increased mobile broadband adoption."

"We have entered a new era for security for the on-the-go businessperson in which losing a notebook or having it stolen can have disastrous implications," said George Thangadurai, director of Intel's Strategy and Platform Planning Group, and general manager of the company's Anti-Theft Program. "Intel's Anti-Theft PC Protection technology takes notebook security to a new level, making notebook theft for profit an exercise in futility and with third-party software help secure data. By teaming with Ericsson, we are extending the benefits of Intel Anti-Theft PC Protection to those who use mobile broadband networks."

The solution builds on Ericsson's Mobile Broadband Modules, which are tightly integrated in and optimized for notebooks, and Intel's Anti-Theft PC Protection technology, which can lock a stolen or lost notebook. Intel Anti-Theft Technology provides an intelligent mechanism built into the processor platform that detects potential theft situations and responds according to IT policies. Anti-Theft PC Protection technology can be programmed to respond to repeated login failures and expiration of a timer that requires regularly scheduled connection to a central server.

When a loss or theft is detected, Intel Anti-Theft PC Protection technology can lock the laptop, rendering it useless, by blocking the boot process, and when working in conjunction with third-party encryption hardware or software can protect data by deleting cryptographic keys or similar essential code for decryption.

The theft management service can also take advantage of built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology in the Ericsson mobile broadband module, which can send location data to a central server. The location function can be utilized to determine a theft situation when the notebook is moved outside a pre-defined area -- a so called geo-fence to locate a lost notebook.

Ericsson Mobile Broadband Modules are already optimized with Intel Centrino 2 processor technology to achieve excellent battery life and will in addition be validated to guarantee the interworking with Intel Anti-Theft PC Protection Technology. The solution will be available in commercial data protection products starting second half of 2009.

Ericsson Mobile Broadband Modules support HSPA -- the world's most widely commercially deployed technology for mobile broadband, and provides the end user with a simple, cost effective and convenient solution for broadband access while on-the-go.

Source: Ericsson

Cooler Master Black Label Limited Edition Launched

Cooler Master introduces the Black Label Limited Edition with worldwide availability of 500 individually numbered sets. This luxiourious collection brings together the company’s award-winning computing chassis, cooler and power supply, with an added touch of sophistcated black appearance plus feature enchancements: Cosmos Black Label, Hyper Z600 Black Label and a powerful PSU unit. MSRP 599USD or 499EUR. Details at: Cooler Master Black.

The 500 Club
Black Label Limited Edition customers will receive private membership, giving them access to our Black Label Lounge. Members will enjoy exclusive benefits such as: priority purchase privileges, VIP event invitations, interaction with fellow club members and more.

Pure Black Sophisticated Design
Designers at Cooler Master have ensured that pure black means every detail is taken into account, with a full black exterior and interior. This stunning pure black is a first for Cooler Master which shows the excellence in craftsmanship the company has built its reputation on.

Striving for Perfection
Subtle improvements have made this an elite collection. Cosmos Black Label has a unique tinted side panel and its upgraded cooling capability further improves on reliability and performance. Hyper Z600 Black Label with the all new black appearance is equipped with improved PWM fan and airflow cover for unsurpassed cooling.

Source: Cooler Master

Buffalo Readies 240GB SSD Equipped LinkStation Mini NAS Device

Buffalo recently released the LinkStation Mini line-up of NAS devices that fit SSD drives as storage media. Designed specially to ensure maximum transfer speeds, zero noise levels and high reliability for the customer, the LS-WSS240GL/R1 weights in just half a kilo and offers 240GB of storage space. The SSD NAS device measures 40 (W) x 82 (H) x 135 (D) mm and connects through a Gigabit Ethernet or a USB 2.0/1.1 port. General availability of the cube is expected later this month, with retail cost for the 240GB version around $1,146.

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