News Archive for 08/11/13
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| MacUpdate Weekend Sale | :This weekend MacUpdate has slashed prices on Painter 12 and Painter Lite. Painter 12 retails for $429, but has been reduced by 54% to $199. Painter Lite has seen a 58% price cut from $69 to $29. Hurry, because these deals are only available until May 19th 2013. |
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AMD announced several new projects that will compete with Intel's Atom processor late next year, according to ExtremeTech. The company expects to add the Caspian and Conesus processors sometime next year. Both products are intended for use in mini-notebooks or netbooks, featuring the same 45-nm architecture of the new Shanghai processor announced earlier this week. Dual-cores will be featured in both, along with DDR-2 memory support.
Hercules has unveiled the XPS 2.150, the latest addition to its line of multimedia speakers. The system features two eight-watt compact satellite speakers and a 16-watt wooden subwoofer. The magnetically-shielded satellites feature a gloss black finish with orange driver cones and a back-lit control knob. Users can adjust the ported subwoofer separately, with bass controls and an on/off switch.
Vers on Wednesday announced the release of its Vers 1.5R alarm clock radio with a built-in iPod dock. Sharing many of its features with the existing Vers 2X system, the new system packages them into a smaller product. Vers will offer the 1.5R in the same wood finishes as the 2X, including Natural Bamboo, Natural Cherry, Natural Walnut and Dark Walnut as part of the company's environmentally friendly-focus.
High-end home theater gear and car audio designer Bang & Olufsen recently announced the launch of its BeoSound 5 digital music system meant to let users enjoy their digital music on their traditional home theater gear. The centerpiece of the BeoSound 5 system is a tabletop and wall-mountable remote controller that sports a 10.4-inch LCD screen with 1024x768 resolution with an aluminium scroll wheel as the control interface. The remote oversees the Internet-connected BeoMaster 5 main unit that features all off the audio and video connections and contains the 500GB hard disk drive.
European wireless provider 3 announced it will soon launch its INQ1 handset, integrating Facebook by delivering alerts and synchronizing contacts with their Facebook profiles. The handset will also pair existing contacts with their respective Skype and Windows Live Messenger accounts. The data network connected handset is thus able to replace a user's PC for chat and social interaction, and also complement it thanks to its ability to act as a plug and play modem for notebook PCs.
California-based Mojo Mobility Inc. has developed a technology that is capable of wirelessly charge the batteries of specially equipped portable consumer electronics devices simply by placing them on a piece of specialized metal plate. The system works based on an electromagnetic induction method, with the flat surface lined with thin coil areas that transmit electric power. Similar thin coils to receive electric power need to be installed in the mobile devices, adding the thickness of a mouse pad.
ASUS on Wednesday announced a new range of Xonar Essence STX PCI-express audio cards with an industry-leading 124dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) that delivers clean, clear sound. The cards also offer an uncommon feature with their built-in headphone amplifier that delivers less than 0.001 percent distortion. ASUS used its Hyper-ground technology and EMI Shield design in the construction of the cards to help it achieve the high SNR score and protect its analog outputs from external magnetic interference.
In tandem with its Snapdragon news, Qualcomm today said it was cancelling development on its Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB) technology as a path to 4G Internet access. The move is a reaction to news that Verizon, Bell, Telus and other predominantly CDMA carriers are instead switching to the rival Long Term Evolution (LTE) format that has already been labeled the choice for 4G on GSM networks.
Apple has narrowed the shipping timetable for its new 24-inch Cinema Display, which should be on its way to customers in seven to 10 days. The new LCD display, announced last month with the new MacBooks, features resolution up to 1920 by 1200 pixels with a contrast ratio of 1000:1. The use of LED backlighting is claimed to offer more accurate color, energy savings, and quick transition to full brightness. The device also features an iSight camera, microphone and 2.1-channel speaker system.
Qualcomm today unveiled its first dual-core chip in the Snapdragon family and a potential breakthrough in cellphone performance. The plainly-titled QSD8672 both adds the second core and ups the clock speed to 1.5GHz, lifting the speed to where it can be used for netbooks rather than the cellphones of the past. The multitasking performance gives enough headroom to both encode and decode 1080p video as well as render 3D and output images up to 1440x900.
In Japan, BenQ announced the upcoming release of its MP624 DLP projector with 1024x768 resolution and 2500:1 contrast ratio along with a 3,000 lumens brightness level. BenQ foresees the MP624 will be used for business presentations or home entertainment use. It uses a 0.55-inch DLP chip and a 200W lamp with a life rating of 4,000 hours.
Alienware on Thursday veered away from its normal high-end audience to unveil the Area-51 750i. The system is the company's least expensive gaming tower but comes with the same lightable casing, wiring and stronger power supplies as more expensive Area-51 models; only the individual components dictate its price, and the system can be scaled upwards to include some of the better features from Alienware's catalog, such as liquid cooling and noise damping.
Electronic Arts today sought to build on the formula set out by the Wii Balance Board with a new peripheral and game combo of its own. EA Sports Active centers around a pair of leg straps that hold both the Wii remote and nunchuk in place as well as a single resistance band for the upper body. The set lets Nintendo's own controllers properly track exercise across the whole body and also introduce enough physical stress to provide strength-based exercise.
Expanding on official details from last month, the LG-built Prada II handset will launch November 18th, according to a Thursday report. The fashion phone expands significantly on the original with a 5-megapixel camera and a a QWERTY keyboard underneath the 3-inch, 400x240 touchscreen display preserved from the earlier phone. Unlike the original Prada, the handset will also have support for 3G data networks and video calling capabilities.
A newly-leaked document has elaborated on earlier reports that Verizon will be removing the choice of low-end data plans for smartphones. All new smartphones sold on or after November 14th should indeed require a $30 data plan, the principal exception being Verizon's government clients, who will be able to continue on as normal. The restriction is expected to expand in 2009, when "Mobile Web 2.0" phones with a full HTML browser will be expected to have either a Connect or Premium Plan, or else the $15 VCast add-on.
Intel's Core i7 architecture will translate to workstation- and server-class Xeon processors early next year, leaks from server builders and separate sources indicates. Though not in time for the holidays, the faster Xeon 5500 line will be dominated by quad-core chips and should be headlined by a 3.2GHz, 130-watt Xeon W5580. Its Level 2 cache will drop from 12MB to 8MB but should be offset by Core i7's QuickPath architecture, which reduces the lag in accessing memory and peripherals. It should cost about $1,600 in batches of 1,000 for computer suppliers.
Alltel announced on Thursday that the LG Swift handset is now available for purchase at the wireless provider. The handset is the first from LG's line-up to use a next-generation keypad with what the company calls Fastap Press-to-Experience keys. Comprised of six raised one-touch access Quick Keys that act as shortcuts for Alltel Navigation, Alltel Shop, Email, Alarm Clock and Image Library features, the keys sit atop a traditional numeric keypad.
In an uncharacteristic move, Samsung today used Japan as the venue for five new desktop LCDs with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The 21.5-inch 2233SW and 23-inch 2333SW both output full, 1920x1080 HD despite their relatively small sizes and are braced by the 20-inch 2033SW's 1600x900 to play 720p or sharper movies as well as provide more screen space. The panels are also brighter than some rivals with a dynamic contrast boost that brings them to a 15,000:1 ratio, or 1,000:1 when static.
AT&T today added yet another 3G phone to its roster through the Nokia 6650. The flip phone is adapted from the European version and brings 3G over HSPA that supports the American carrier's one-way Video Share calls as well as its music and video streaming. Nokia's phone is also considered more upscale than most mid-range music phones and is built using a brushed-metal shell rather than plastic and uses touch-sensitive controls on the outside to control music and photography without swinging the phone open.
Sony today said it has broken a new barrier in cellphone cameras through an update to its Exmor sensors. The company has shrunk the pixel size to 1.4µm and now says it can produce a 12.25-megapixel, 28mm equivalent CMOS camera small enough to fit in some cellphones. The unit gives a cellphone the image quality and detail of a modern point-and-shoot camera, according to the company.
Universal Remote Control on Wednesday introduced its Digital R50 universal remote that, unlike similar products from competitors, does not require an Internet-connected PC to set it up for use with home theater systems. Sporting a two-inch color LCD screen and soft, backlit buttons, the Digital R50 can control the functions of 18 home theater system components by copying the codes of their associated infrared remotes.
Dell today officially launched the Inspiron Mini 12 for the US after its initial run in Japan. The 12-inch crossover between a netbook and ultraportable now starts at $549 and is partly slower than the smaller Mini 9. A lesser 1.33GHz Atom is compensated for by 1GB of memory, a 40GB hard drive and Windows Vista Home Basic versus the 512MB memory, 4GB flash and Ubuntu Linux necessary to drive the Mini 9's price down.
RED today formally uncovered the full remakes of its EPIC and Scarlet cameras. Now considered part of the Digital Stills and Motion Camera (DSMC) system, the two are designed both to serve as extremely high-resolution DSLRs as well as RED's staple greater-than-HD video cameras. The two use the REDCODE RAW format to produce both still shots and videos, and introduce a unique modular system to either category: users pick the EPIC or Scarlet as a core unit and then choose displays, eyepieces, grips, lenses, mounts and more depending on the exact need.
Verizon early on Thursday finally committed to a final release date and price for its version of the BlackBerry Storm. Initially announced over a month ago, the first touchscreen phone from RIM will be available on November 21st through the carrier and is conspicuously priced at the same $200 contract price as Apple's iPhone from rival AT&T after factoring in a $50 rebate. The cost difference is effectively a trade-off as the device drops the 8GB of storage and full multi-touch display in favor of a 3.2-megapixel camera with video capture, a dual-format CDMA and GSM radio, microSDHC storage and a touchscreen that "clicks" to produce physical feedback.
Recent filings in the Apple-IBM-Papermaster case reveal that IBM is potentially raising a flag due to an upcoming technology that the company fears could be compromised by Mark Papermaster's employ at Apple. The technology, noted in the Times Online (classified Exhibit 3 in the case), would allow portable consumer devices like the iPod to store exponentially more music, while also cutting battery drain to a fraction of what it is currently. The technology is dubbed "racetrack memory."
AMD has taken the wraps off it's 45nm quad-core 'Shanghai' Opteron processor line", promising improved performance and energy savings. The company says "Shanghai" will be widely available -- unlike its predecessor "Barcelona" which was delayed for months due to production glitches. Designed for the server and workstation market, Shanghai reportedly delivers up to 35 percent better performance while using 35 percent less power at idle -- all at a lower price than competing products from Intel. As it continues to duke it out with Intel, AMD appears to be aiming at the bottom line, hoping to lure recession-weary customers looking for value.
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