In Brief Apple launches U2 iPod

Apple Tuesday launched a special-edition iPod featuring Irish band U2.

The latest MP3 player has custom engraving signatures of all four band members, and buyers will also receive 30 minutes of exclusive U2 video downloadable from the iTunes music store.

"We're thrilled to continue working with one of the greatest bands in the world to bring U2 fans a special edition of the world's best digital music player," Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of worldwide iPod product marketing, said in a news release.

Based on the fifth-generation 30 gigabyte iPod, the U2 player will hold up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 photos or more than 75 hours of video, retailing for about $330 in the United States.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

Dell, HP and Lenovo Announce Joint Support for DisplayPort

DVI-I, DVI-D, UDI, HDMI -- a confusing group of abbreviation for many. Interestingly, all of them do similar things and the two later ones attempt to address the same issues including backwards compatibility while being different themselves. As far as standards go, computer and digital displays have pretty much been using one big standard, DVI. However, industry supporters say that connectivity is too confusing, and in fact, will now launch a newer standard, called DisplayPort.

DisplayPort, designed by the VESA group, attempts to do one thing: unify digital display connection interfaces. Like UDI and HDMI, DisplayPort will be backwards compatible with DVI. The specification claims however, that DisplayPort offers greater bandwidth for HD video while at the same time offering a connection interface that's simple and easy to use. Dell's press release claims:

The DisplayPort specification also addresses the industry need for a ubiquitous digital interface standard with a compact connector, as well as optional content protection, that can be deployed widely at low cost. A protected digital interface that can be easily deployed on a PC enables broad access to premium content sources such as high-definition movies.

The DisplayPort interface is designed to be used for all types of digital display connections, including internal connections in a notebook, monitor, or TV. This capability makes it possible to avoid the costly signal translation from one display format to another that is required with today's display interfaces.

Interestingly, the original supporters for UDI and HDMI also vouched to offer the same things. What consumers hate most however, are too many competing standards that just confuse the purchasing and learning progress. Too many standards also drive up manufacturing costs, where some manufacturers end up implementing an entire range of standards just so that their customers won't be left out. This drives up costs, and in the end, the consumer is the one left paying. HDMI cables, for example, still cost upwards of $ 30 for even small lengths.

DisplayPort, however, is now receiving major industry support by Dell, HP and Lenovo -- three major PC giants that make up most of the world's desktop PC shipments. The HDMI forum recently said that HDMI would replace DVI by 2008. DisplayPort's supporters say however, that its standard will be superior to existing and emerging standards.

On the other side of the industry, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD still have yet to come to terms. Drive manufacturers are now implementing both standards into drives and it looks like we will have another DVD-R and DVD+R situation on store shelves. For now however, it is uncertain which digital interface will succeed but DisplayPort definitely has significant industry backing.

In Brief Intel to unveil Core 2 Duo PC chips

Intel is unveiling its Core 2 Duo chips for laptops and desktop personal computers Monday.

The line is formally known as Conroe and Merom and reportedly gives Intel a multimedia processor that uses less power and produces less heat than the Pentium 4 processor.

The increased efficiency will allow designers to cram more circuitry into standard-sized computer frames and will eventually render the familiar Pentium 4 obsolete.

Tech media reports Sunday listed the specs at 4 megabytes with 128-bit SSE units and macro-op fusion.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

Nortel to sponsor 'One Laptop per Child'

Nortel announced Wednesday that it has become a corporate member of the "One Laptop per Child" (OLPC) initiative.

OLPC, a non-profit organization, was formed earlier this year by Nicholas Negroponte and other faculty members from the MIT Media Lab. As a corporate member, high-tech networking company Nortel will provide an annual fee for purposes of funding OLPC initiatives.

The objective of OLPC is to develop a fully functioning, connected laptop to give the largest number of the world's children -- especially those in developing nations -- an educational tool.

According to OLPC, the laptop, currently in the early stages of development, is designed to be the size of a standard school notebook and will use wireless networking capabilities to allow children to interact with each other and access the Internet. It is expected to leverage built-in wireless capabilities that support WiFi and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and be used as a conventional computer, electronic book, handheld game console and function as a TV.

"Nortel has a firm belief in the power of communications technology to enhance the lives of people around the world. Our sponsorship of initiatives such as the OLPC can help address some of the greatest challenges in emerging markets," said Martha Bejar, president, Caribbean and Latin America and Emerging Markets Solutions, Nortel.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

Discover More Music With Twitter And Ping

If you are on Twitter and enjoys music, well, you can now share the songs you bought or came across with your friends more easily, especially withmusic previews and links to purchase the songs.

Apple'siTunes social music site, Ping, has collaborated with Twitter to make it easier for users on social network to discover more music. If you are already on Ping, just link to your Twitter account to findPing users among the people you already follow on Twitter. Once it's linked, when you purchase a song or do a post or review, the post will be tweeted to your followers.The post will also contain the playable song previews and links to purchase and download music from iTunes store.

Twitter has also included a few recommendations for you to follow like @Amazonmp3 whereby there are tweets ondaily deals on digital downloads, and @AllSongs, @Stereogum and @Pitchforkmediaif you wantto follownews about new bands.

Source: Twitter Blog

Details of BlackBerry Monaco Touch leaked

A BlackBerry touchscreen phone has been recently exposed, which boasts a stylish and modern design. Compared to its predecessor, the BlackBerry Monaco Touch comes with a powerful 1.2GHz processor and 768MB memory, which meets the minimum hardware specifications for current breed of smartphones on the market.

The Monaco Touch runs the latest BlackBerry OS 6.0 and has 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports 800x480 pixel resolution. Other features include 5-megapixel camera, 720p high definition video support, Bluetooth 2.1, NFC and built-in GPS. No news as to whether the BlackBerry Monaco Touch will be retailing in the first half this year, but let's wait and see.

Source: imobile.com.cn

Canaan le premier MMORPG en flash de gPotato

L'éditeur Gala Networks annonce aujourd'hui l'arrivée, début 2010 sur le portail gPotato, d'un nouveau MMORPG nommé Canaan. Entre Rappelz, Fly for Fun ou encore Dragonica, le portail était déjà bien fourni en la matière. Mais Canaan a une particularité : c'est un jeu en flash, jouable depuis n'importe quel navigateur web sans téléchargement ni installation d'aucun client. Développé par le studio chinois XPEC, le jeu a été élu "meilleur MMO sur navigateur 2008" en Chine.

Canaan prend place dans un univers fantastique d'inspiration manga. Ses habitants, fuyant leur monde ravagé par la guerre, se retrouvent sur une terre sauvage où ils se battent pour reconstruire leur civilisation. Canaan possède un système de combats au tour par tour. Parmi ses fonctionnalités, vous retrouverez donjons, PvP et guerres de guildes, familiers à apprivoiser, système d'artisanat et housing (maisons personnelles).

Quelques visuels accompagnent l'annonce de Gala Networks, mais il faudra attendre pour bénéficier d'images du jeu lui-même.

Canaan Web

Display Taiwan 2011

Although Chimei and AUO were absent from the show this year, Taiwans third panel maker CPT or Chunghwa Picture Tubes was at the show and had a fair few things on display. First up the company was demoing a 10.1-inch USB 3.0 powered display and although it featured standard netbooks resolution of 1024x600 it was low power enough to be able to be powered by a single USB 3.0 port. On top of that CPT had added support for two point touch and theres even a USB 3.0 pass-through port, as the display wouldnt use up all the available bandwidth.

CPT was also showing off larger 18.5 and 21.5-inch USB 3.0 powered displays, although both of these models required two USB 3.0 ports to get enough power, something of a failure in terms of usability with most notebooks. On the upside were looking at resolutions of 1366x768 and 1920x1080 which is vastly better than that of the 10.1-inch model. The brightness level on both of these displays was also close to that of regular desktop displays, something many USB displays have a problem with.

Next we have CPTs transparent 15.6-inch display which has a fairly impressive resolution of 1600x900 and this is a truly transparent display, not semi-transparent as most other larger transparent displays are. Have a look at the video below for an idea of how well it works. The demo consisted of a couple of small figurines behind the panel and various moving elements that reveal or hid the objects behind the panel.

CPT was also demoing a 2.18mm thin 3.5-inch phone display with qHD or 960x540 resolution and the company claims that this is one of the thinnest screens of this kind in the world. Its really quite hard to see how thin it is on the picture, but this is the kind if display that will help make smartphones even thinner than they are today.

The final model were going to cover here is CPTs joint venture with Pixel Qi which was announced at Computex, but which we sadly missed then. The new screen is a 10.1-inch model with 1280x800 resolution and its targeting Android tablets. The advantage of the Pixel Qi technology is that the backlight can be switched off while the screen remains readable, although colours suffer quite badly from it. The advantage is that you can extend the battery life of your device by a pretty good margin and it also makes it much easier to read the screen as it looks more like an eBook reader than a tablet, which in our opinion is a good thing when reading text.

AMD To Remain Low Until K8L In Q3

Motherboard makers in Taiwan say AMD may not regain its competitive edge until the launch of the Socket AM2+ platform and K8L architecture based CPUs in the third quarter 2007. The motherboard makers noted that according to AMD's planning, no major 64-bit dual-core processors will be unveiled in the first half of 2007. Processors based on AMD's new K8L architecture, which are currently known by the codenames Agena FX (quad-core), Agena (high-end dual-core), and Kuma (mid-range dual-core), will not hit the market until the third quarter 2007. AMD will have to accelerate its migration to the 65nm node so as to cut costs and increase output, or it may plunge further down if Intel resorts to even fiercer pricing campaigns, the makers added.

Apple Wins Samsung Galaxy Nexus Injunction

The Galaxy Nexus smart phone by Samsung and Google has been barred from the US market - the worlds largest just ahead of China – due to the probality that it is engaging in patent infringements against competitor Apple Inc.

Judge Lucy Koh of the US District Court for the Northern District of California found the Galaxy Nexus probably infringes four patents belonging to Apple Inc and agreed to grant an injunction to Apple while the court considers Apples claim that the South Korean company has infringed its patents.

"Apple has clearly shown that it is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary injunctive relief," Judge Lucy Koh stated.

The four patents that Samsung has likely breached are: Slide-to-lock/unlock, Data tapping, Auto correct and Siris unified search function.

Judge Koh then ordered Apple to post a $96 million bond — the sum being an estimation of the damage suffered by Samsung from the temporary ban on its sales —should the iPhone maker lose to Samsung in later proceedings, scheduled for 2014. The sales ban in the United States will be effective immediately when Apple posts the bond.

With the Galaxy SIII already the subject of preliminary legal proceedings by Apple, there is little doubt that either a settlement or further legal proceedings lie ahead for the Samsung Google partnership.

This case has ramifications for future patent disputes relating to fair and reasonable, non-discriminatory licensing.

Arctic Unleashes Accelero XTREME Plus VGA Cooler

Swiss based Arctic Cooling has launched the Accelero XTREME Plus VGA Cooler, adding on to its Accelero series of graphic cardcoolers.







Measuring 290 x 104 x 56mm and weighing 622g,the beefy cooler features 84 aluminum fins, five copper heat-pipes, acopper base with pre-applied Arctic MX-4 thermal paste, and is equippedwith three 92mm fans that work at 900 - 2000 RPM. The Accelero XTREMEPlus, backed by a six year warranty, is SLI/ CrossFireX compatible andis expected to hit stores come end September at a MSRP of USD 65.95/54.95 Euro.




News via [Techpowerup]

Trion Worlds licencie

C'est la crise ! Mais ça, vous le savez à force de répétition incessante dans les médias. Et les premiers à en souffrir sont bien sûr les petits employés.

En voici encore un triste exemple qui nous provient de chez Trion Worlds. L'éditeur/développeur, à qui l'on doit notamment Rift et qui planche actuellement sur Defiance et End of Nations, ne déroge pas à la règle des studios ayant trait avec des jeux massivement multijoueurs et se voit contraint et forcé de se séparer de 40 employés (soit le tiers de ses effectifs tout de même). Plusieurs départements du développeur (artistique, design, animation) sont touchés. L'entreprise invoque les conditions du marché et les agendas de production mais aussi l'évolution "naturelle" de la société...

Trion Worlds souhaite toutefois le meilleur pour la suite à ces pauvres employés lourdés du jour en lendemain. Voilà qui doit leur faire plaisir...

AMD Socket AM2 Pricing

ModelsMid 2006Athlon 64 FXWindsor
(90nm, Socket AM2,Dual Core, 2 x 1MB L2, DDR2 667, AMD-v, 125W TDP)
FX-62 (2.8GHz) - $ 1236Athlon 64 X2Windsor
(90nm,Socket AM2, Dual Core, 2 x 1MB L2, DDR2 667, AMD-v, 85W TDP)
5200+ (2.6GHz, 1MB x 2) - ?
5000+ (2.6GHz, 512KB x 2) - $ 696
4800+ (2.4GHz, 1MB x 2) - $ 645
4600+ (2.4GHz, 512KB x 2) - $ 558
4400+ (2.2GHz, 1MB x 2) - $ 469
4200+ (2.2GHz, 512KB x 2) - $ 365
4000+ (2.0GHz, 1MB x 2) - $ 328
3800+ (2.0GHz, 512KB x 2) - $ 303Athlon 64Orleans
(90nm, Socket AM2, 512KB L2, DDR2 667,AMD-v,62W TDP)
4000+ (2.6GHz) - ?
3800+ (2.4GHz) - $ 290
3500+ (2.2GHz) - $ 208SempronManila
(90nm, Socket AM2, 256KBL2, DDR2 667, AMD-v)
3800+ (2.2GHz, 256KB) - ?
3600+ (2.0GHz, 256KB) - $ 123
3500+ (2.2GHz, 128KB) - $ 109
3400+ (1.8GHz, 256KB) - $ 97
3200+ (1.8GHz, 128KB) - $ 77
3000+ (1.6GHz, 256KB) - $ 67

ATi R600 Retail Card Sneak Peek

AMD Turion 64 Appears at IDF

This is kinda funny. Ben has sent over a photo taken over at SanFrancisco while Intel IDF is running where AMD took to the sky with a messageabout their new Turion 64 mobile technology, the forthcoming notebook PCprocessor solution that is made for mobility.

Apple in talks to buy flash storage firm Anobit

Apple is in talks to buy flash storage company Anobit for upwards of $500 million in a move that could give it more control over the storage element of its successful iPhone and iPad ranges.

The Cupertino, California-based company is allegedly in “advanced negotiations” with Israeli company Anobit to acquire the firm for between $400 million and $500 million, according to a report in Israels financial newspaper The Calcalist.Anobit develops flash chips that enhance performance via signal processing. These are already used by Apple in its iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air devices.Apple is apparently looking to buy Anobit in order to increase the memory volume and performance of its devices, which could double with the use of Anobit chips.This marks an unusual departure for Apple, which traditionally has bought software firms instead of hardware. It may mean a shift in direction following the death of Apples iconic leader Steve Jobs in October.Anobit also supplies chips to companies like Hynix and Samsung, the former of which makes flash memory for the iPhone 4S and the latter of which manufactures the A4 processor chips for Apple. If the Anobit acquisition goes ahead it would mean that Apple would become a supplier to Samsung, a move which could either strengthen or worsen relations between the two companies.Source: Reuters

An iPad 2, you say Well, China got the real deal two days ago!

Apple may have just released its brand new tablet device today, but chances are that most people who have been keeping up with the rumour mill regarding information about the iPad 2 would have had quite a good idea as to what the average user to expect from Apples new new device. Add that to the fact that leaked renders of the iPad 2 were reportedly making their way around the depths of cyberspace before the actual launch event, and it should probably come as little surprise that many would have had a mental image of how the product would look like as well.

However, it also seems that no one can beat the Chinese when it comes to digging out Apples secrets, and a recent article posted a couple of days ago on a Chinese website known as DGtle seems to confirm that fact. Apparently, DGtle was able to obtain actual photographs of the iPad 2 two days before its launch, and had posted them all on its website for readers to make some comparisons. Here are some of the images:

To ensure that we were not being taken along for a ride, we compared some of the pictures with those that were posted in Engadgets hands-on with the actual iPad and it turns out that the similarities were rather striking. In fact, the only inconsistency we spotted between DGtles and Engadgets images was that DGtles device had a black bezel, while the official iPad 2 sports a white-coloured bezel instead.

What do you think? Did DGtle really get its hands on actual images of the iPad 2 while it was in its final stage of product development, or is that device we see nothing more than a very well-crafted clone?

Source and images courtesy of DGtle

ASMedia's USB 3.0 host controller gains USB-IF certification

It seems like hell froze over and pigs flew today, at least at the USB-IF as ASMedia has as the first Taiwanese USB 3.0 host controller manufacturer gained certification. So whats all the fuss about? Well, for one, ASMedia is the first Taiwanese USB 3.0 host controller maker to pass the certification process, which is a pretty big deal, but its slightly more important than that.

ASMedia is a daughter company to Asus, but several motherboard makers have already started to use ASMedias USB 3.0 host controller – known as the ASM1042 – on their motherboards. Not being certified by the USB-IF means that there might be some compatibility issues, but it also means that you cant use the Super Speed USB 3.0 logo on your products.

Oddly enough, all three of the Taiwanese USB 3.0 host controller makers – ASMedia, Etron and VLI – have all got WHQL certified drivers, yet, until now, none of them had passed the USB-IF certification. Ok, so getting Microsofts WHQL certification isnt quite the same, but it still suggests that the hardware is working as intended.

Well have to wait and see now as to when Etron and VLI gains their certification and its worth keeping in mind that its just ASMedias two port ASM1042 host controller that has gained certification, not its single port ASM1041 host controller which is found in some notebooks and on some cheaper motherboards.

Archos greets us with low-cost Arnova 8b G2 tablet

Archos has just extended its low-cost Arnova tablet line with a new 8-inch sized model dubbed the Arnova 8b G2. For the most part the tablet appears to be much like the existing Arnova 8 G2 which has been on the market for a few months, only the new 8b model has a different looking case design and does away with physical buttons such as home, back, menu and search.

While the tablet ships with a cobwebbed version of Android (2.3 Gingerbread), the removal of physical buttons suggests that Archos might be planning to roll out an Android 4.0 update for it sometime soon. Dimensions of the Arnova 8b G2 are 8.8" x 6.1" x 0.5" with a weight of 1.1 pounds.

In terms of actual specs, the Arnova 8b G2 uses a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 single core processor, has 512MB of RAM and comes with 4 or 8GB of built-in storage + a microSD slot for further expansion possibilities.

The 8-inch TFT display has an 800 x 600 resolution and theres the inclusion of a front-facing shooter along with mic, g-sensor and speaker. The tablet has 802.11b/g WiFi and there is support for Archos 3G USB stick and host cable if you want to connect to mobile networks or add a camera, USB flash drive or otherwise.

Archos has not revealed pricing on the Arnova 8b G2 as yet, but this will most likely be its best selling point and given the original Arnova 8 G2 can be had for as little as US $149 its hard to imagine the new one going north of US $200.

Source: Arnova

AMD Support Enterprise Server Virtualization

AMD today announced that VMware ESX Server, virtual infrastructure softwarethat enables enterprises to partition, consolidate and manage systems inmission-critical environments, is qualified on AMD Opteron(TM) processor-basedplatforms from HP and IBM. VMware, Inc.'s qualification of the four-way HPProLiant DL585 and IBM e325 for VMware ESX Server underscores the extent towhich the AMD Opteron processor, the world's first x86 processor for both 32-bitand 64-bit computing, is well suited to the demands of server virtualization.The AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture features anintegrated memory controller and HyperTransport(TM) technology, enabling moreefficient memory and I/O access, which are critical to memory-intensivevirtualization.

"Enterprises are increasingly looking to the AMD Opteron processor, as the onlyprocessor that delivers simultaneous 32- and 64-bit x86 computing inmulti-processor server platforms, to meet their server virtualization needs,"said Marty Seyer, vice president and general manager of the MicroprocessorBusiness Unit, Computation Products Group, AMD. "Additionally, featureenhancements planned for our future dual-core and single-core processor productswill further enable the availability of 64-bit virtualization software and helpprovide the infrastructure needed for virtualization vendors to offermainframe-quality virtualization to the x86 market."

Server virtualization generates improved return on IT investments and helpsreduce the total cost of computing infrastructures ownership by deliveringresource consolidation, improved availability and infrastructure flexibility.According to research firm Gartner, "Strategically, enterprises that leveragevirtualization technologies will be able to react to changing requirements morerapidly by using server resources as a pool of resources. Enterprises shouldpursue long-term relationships with vendors that have solid virtualization planseither directly or through partnerships."

VMware recently announced its 64-bit roadmap in which support for concurrent32-bit and 64-bit virtual machines on 64-bit architectures, including AMD64,will be introduced across the VMware product line. Today support for AMD64 isavailable on an experimental basis in VMware GSX Server and VMware Workstation,with support for both Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and SuSE Linux EnterpriseServer 8 64-bit host operating systems as well as for Windows® Server 2003(Beta) for 64-bit extended systems.

"AMD64 technology allows enterprises to leverage existing IT investments whilesimultaneously positioning them to respond faster to changing business demands,"said Michael Mullany, vice president of marketing, VMware. "We are committed toproviding our customers with the support they need to maximize their technologyinvestments, including support for technology like the

AMD Opteron processor. The qualification of ESX Server on the AMD Opteronprocessor-based HP ProLiant DL585 and IBM e325 servers provides users withperformance-based platforms that support our 32-bit products today with theability to migrate to our 64-bit products as they become available."

ATI Chipsets Lineup For 2006

ATI is preparing the RD580 and RD580C for the high-end segment, with the chipsets supporting ATI Crossfire to compete against NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI series. Volume production is slated for the end of this year. For the OEM and SI markets, ATI will offer the RX485 and RS485 parts, which are upgrade versions of its current RX480 and RS482 solutions, with production also slated for the end of this year. The integrated RS485 will be based on Radeon X300 graphics chip. ATI will also release the RS690, which will be an upgrade version of the RS485, with more advanced performance in the graphics core. Volume production of the RS690 is scheduled for the second quarter of 2006.

Apple May Start Off w Pentium M Yonah

Apple will use Intel processors in its Macintosh computers starting in 2006. The first Apple systems in 2006 will use Intel's Pentium M processor. The Pentium M uses the same x86 architecture as the Pentium 4, but consumes far less power than Pentium 4 chips and its design philosophy is expected to be the model for Intel's future processors. Jobs justified the move away from the PowerPC architecture to Intel's x86 architecture based largely on Intel's ability to deliver a high-performance per watt ratio compared to IBM's future chips. This would tend to favor the Pentium M, which is just as powerful as high-end Pentium 4 processors yet uses far less power. Pentium M product Intel plans to launch in early 2006, the dual-core Yonah processor, could be an industry leader in performance per watt at that point.

AMD Low-end GPUs to co-exist with Fusion

With the release of Fusion and Sandy Bridge in early 2011, many havepredicted the demise of low-end GPUs like the Radeon HD 5450 or theGeforce 310. Both the entry level products, priced under $50, areseverely underpowered, and have very limited use. Featuring only 80 SP,the spec for the entry level product has remained the same for overthree years, whereas the next product in line continues to increasesubstantially every generation. The next product, the HD 5500 series,therefore, has 5 times the number of SP - 400. It is a similar case forNvidia as well, where the Geforce 310 contains similar specs to thethree year old 8400 GT, with 16 SP.

AMD Fusion (Llano) is set to feature upto 400-480 SP on die, making it far more powerful than the entry level GPUs, opening up the possibility for gaming and GPU compute acceleration. It is clear that entry level GPUs will decrease in volume substantially, but AMD expects demand for these products even after Fusion is released.

A possible use of these GPUs could be as a backup. There will also continue by CPUs which don't incorporate a GPU, such as the high-end Sandy Bridge CPUs or AMD's first gen Bulldozer. However, one could question why a multi-thousand dollar high-end CPU would want to save a few dollars on an entry level GPU.

Certainly, the transition to CPU+GPU / APUs will be slow, and AMD has no intention to discontinue its entry level GPUs in the near future.

Reference: Xbitlabs

Another x86 tablet PC shows up in China

Most people may be quick to shun Windows 7-based tablets in favor of alternative devices powered by Googles Android operating system, or Apples iOS, and for good reason. Even at its best, Windows 7 and its overlaying user interface was designed to be used with a precision pointing tool such as a mouse or stylus; anything else will definitely result in a sub-optimal user experience. And this issue is further complicated by the fact that installing said OS on devices with small display resolution do no favours for Windows already touch-unfriendly interface.

However, it appears that not all OEMs are ready to give up on Windows-based tablets just yet, and this latest announcement from a certain Shenzhen-based manufacturer appears to back that claim. Apparently, the manufacturer, which is known as GFive, has claimed that it plans to launch a new x86 tablet known as the WisPad some time in the "immediate future", and that Windows will definitely come bundled on the device.

According to online sources, the WisPad GFT97A will be sold to global OEMs and carriers for rebranding, although GFive is reportedly thinking of introducing its own retail brand in order to sell the WisPad directly to the Chinese domestic market, with an option for BTO if need be.

That aside, not much detail about the elusive WisPad has been revealed by GFive. What we do know is that the WisPad will feature an Intel Atom N455 processor and a 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen, although the actual display resolution is still a mystery. In addition to that, GFive has also revealed that the WisPad features 1GB of system memory, while storage is provided via an optional SSD capable of capacities of up to 16GB or 32GB. Last but not least, the tablet also appears to be designed with the style-conscious in mind, as it sports a full aluminium body and a relatively thin profile with its maximum height of 14mm.

No pricing information for the WisPad has been announced yet; however, given the fact that the device will eventually be sold under a different brand name, chances are that its price will vary greatly between various OEMs. Oh, and one more thing: GFive has reportedly confirmed that the actual production model will feature the ability to dual boot between both Windows and...yes, you guessed it, an x86 port of Android. Now we are talking.

Source: M.I.C Digi

Apple lowers iPhone 4 shipment volume for 2nd Quarter

Reasons for the lowered shipment volume are cited to be due to an inventory volume of about 2 million units of iPhone 4 and the upcoming launch of iPhone 4S which is scheduled in September 2011. Sources indicated the production of iPhone 4S to begin in August.

iPhone 4S will be using Qualcomm 3G and CDMA chips.Therear camera is expected to be a 8-megapixel resolution model which OmniVision Technologies and Taiwan-based Largan Precision will supply.

Source:DigiTimes.

ATi GPU amp; Chipsets Q2 Plans

The tight supply of ATI graphics chipsets, particularly the Radeon 9600XTlineup, will ease by the end of March. ATI will start delivering chipsetssupporting PCI express technology in the second quarter. Many of ATI’s OEMclients of motherboards and graphics cards have already verified the company’sPCI express-based chipsets and have decided to use the products. The proportionsof PCI express and AGP 8X chips to ATI’s total shipments of graphics chips willbe at comparable levels by the end of this year.

GPUs

R420 (AGP8X)
R423 (PCI Express x16)
RV380 (PCI Express x16)
RV410 (AGP8X, PCI Express x16)
RV370 (PCI Express x16) Chipsets

RX480 (AMD, Discrete)
RS480 (AMD, UMA)
RS400 (Intel, UMA)

ATi will have PCI Express GPUs like RV423 and RV380 on AGP8x interface byusing a PCI Express x16 to AGP8x bridge as well so as to facilitate thetransition. ATi' method is different from NVIDIA's High Speed Interconnect (HSI)that bridge AGP8x GPU to PCI Express x16 interface.

Antec Launches New Laptop Netbook Coolers

Notebook Cooler Basic

Antec, Inc has announced 3 new laptop/ netbook coolers (Notebook Cooler Basic, Notebook Cooler Designer & Notebook Cooler Mini), adding on to its family of notebook coolers.


Notebook Cooler Designer


Notebook CoolerMini

Measuring 269.2 x 238.8 x 27.9mm andweighing 300g, the slim Notebook Cooler Basic is “constructed” fromperforated aluminum, has an integrated flip-up stand, and passivelycools all Mac and PC laptops/ netbooks up to 14" in size. Next up, wehave the stylish Notebook Cooler Designer. Measuring 330 x 280 x 42mm,the stylish and compact cooler supports Mac and PC laptops/ netbooks upto 15" in size, and is cooled by a 110mm fan that operates at speeds of up to 800 RPM. The Notebook Cooler Mini, the smallest cooler in its portfolio of coolers,measures 229 x 121 x 25mm and weighs 200g. It is compatible with Mac andPC laptops/ netbooks up to 17" in size and features one 80mm fan thatruns at speeds of up to 1,200 RPM.

Covered by Antec’s Quality3-Year limited warranty on parts and labor, they can be purchased frommajor retailers, e-tailers and distributors at a MSRP of USD 24.95(Basic), USD 39.95 (Designer) and USB 29.95 (Mini) now.

“With the worldwide increase in the number of notebook users, more diverse cooling solutions are needed to handle each individual user’s needs,” said Scott Richards, senior vice president of Antec. “Antec’s new line of Notebook Coolers is an essential part in helping to ensure stable and reliable notebook performance for everyone.”


News via [Legitreviews]

AMD Trinity A10-4600M APU Review Jumping the Shark

Introduction

AMDs 2012 Consumer top to bottom VISION product positioning with FX CPUs for the enthusiasts, Trinity APUs for the mainstream and Brazos for the entry level.

Summary of Trinity APU improvements - now using "Piledriver" modules (2nd generation of Bulldozer, still the obtuse 2 integer/1 FP unit per module design), featuring DDR3-1866 memory support (1600 for notebook) and depending on SKU, up to 384 Radeon "Cores".

Technical Specifications and block diagram of the partitioning inside the die

The desktop APUs are still rated at 100W TDP like Llano models (not too surprising considering that they are both on the same manufacturing process), with 17W/25W/35W models for mobile variants. Operating frequencies are expected to be between 2.0-3.8GHz on the CPU and 424-800MHz on the GPU. FMA3 instruction set (which is the one adopted by Intel on the upcoming Haswell, instead of FMA4 first seen on Bulldozer) makes its debut here. Improved scheduling, branch prediction and prefetcher also account for higher IPC than the Husky cores used in Llano.

Integrated northbridge and memory controller

The new Turbo Core 3.0 now balances power envelope of the CPU/GPU to fit within the TDP, dynamically throttling the clocks to fit the workload profile of the active running application. There is no indication on whether this is handled by hardware or software driver (ahem quack3.exe).

These are the 32nm Trinity mobile SKUs that are officially announced today:

AMD A-Series Mobile APUs (FS1r2 package, 35W TDP, DDR3-1600 support)

ModelGPUCPU Cores / ModulesCPU Clock (Max/Base)L2 CacheRadeon CoresGPU Clock (Max/Base)A10-4600MHD 7660G4 / 23.2 / 2.3 GHz4MB384686/ 497 MHzA8-4500MHD 7640G4 / 22.8 / 1.9 GHz4MB256655 / 497 MHzA6-4400MHD 7520G2 / 13.2 / 2.7 GHz1MB192686 / 497 MHz

AMD A-Series Mobile LV / ULV APUs (FP2 package, DDR3-1333 support)

ModelGPUCPU Cores / ModulesCPU Clock (Max/Base)TDPL2 CacheRadeon CoresGPU Clock (Max/Base)A10-4655MHD 7620G4 / 23.2 / 2.3 GHz25W4MB384497 / 360MHzA6-4455MHD 7500G2 / 12.8 / 1.9 GHz17W2MB256424 / 327MHz

Expect to see desktop Trinity APUs surfacing in the next quarter, with the chips using the new FM2 socket and motherboards.