News Archive for 09/11/16
Choose an article from the archive listing on this page or refine your selection using the controls in the gray box below.
| Exclusive Deal | While supplies last, save 40% off over 40 iPhone 5 and iPhone 4/4S cases and chargers as well as Samsung S III cases at Kensington.com. Use coupon code 'SAVE40%' at checkout to receive this exclusive discount. |
Choose an article from the archive listing on this page or refine your selection using the controls in the gray box below.
Verizon has filed a response to AT&T's lawsuit which had sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) to ban the "there's a map for that" ads critical of the latter carrier's 3G coverage. Verizon defends its ad campaign, claiming the coverage maps are accurate and clearly labeled as 3G networks. AT&T argues that the ads mislead customers to believe the comparison includes 2G coverage.
Creative subsidiary ZiiLABS has announced that it will unveil the Zii smartphone platform at the upcoming Zii Summit event. The ZMS-05 system-on-a-chip (SOC) components are claimed to be the first to offer 1080p video playback capabilities on a handheld device. The Media Rich Processor also boasts OpenGL ES 3D graphics with acceleration for web browsing, video playback and imaging.
SGI has introduced the Altix UV, a new series of supercomputers geared for large databases or analysis operations. The computers are based on Intel's Nehalem platform, with support for configurations utilizing quad-, six, or eight-core Xeon CPUs. Devices can be scaled to integrate up to 2,048 cores, with architectural provisioning for up to 262,144 cores.
Mad Catz today dipped into networking with its own wireless bridge. Meant as an alternative to the official Xbox adapter, the Wireless-N Gaming Adapter takes the Ethernet connection from an Xbox 360, 20GB PlayStation 3 or any computer and turns it into an 802.11n Wi-Fi signal. The peripheral doesn't reach full 802.11n speeds but can still peak at 150Mbps.
A new MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) launched today in the US in the form of Simple Mobile. The cell provider has its own pick of phones but emphasizes attaching the SIM card over its own devices; customers are encouraged to bring their own unlocked phones, including smartphones. About 180 phones have already been pre-screened, though it should work with other devices.
Palm on Friday announced users of the Pre smartphone on both the Sprint network and Bell in Canada will receive an automatic over-the-air software update to webOS 1.3.1. The Palm Pixi, released on Sunday, shipped with the updated operating system as well. A number of new features are made possible with the new OS, and some known issues were resolved. One such new feature is the integration of Yahoo contacts, calendar and messaging into Palm Synergy, along with Outlook EAS, Facebook, Google and LinkedIn accounts. The Yahoo contacts and calendars can also be integrated into the Pre's respective applications, while Yahoo! IM can be used in the webOS Messaging app.
Sleek Audio on Monday launched its wooden SA1 in-ear headphones which can be tuned and worn either as wired headphones or wirelessly. The SA1 set has 6mm drivers housed in a Siam rosewood body. Thanks to Sleek's optional Kleer wireless system, the wires can be detached and users can listen to music wirelessly. Frayed, pinched or otherwise damaged wires can be replaced anytime.
T-Mobile is now shipping the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Its arrival at the provider does not come as a surprise and the touchpad-equipped handset is T-Mobile first RIM device with 3G network access. The handset is equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with video capture, and has an integrated Wi-Fi module along with Bluetooth.
As promised, Microsoft has released the Windows Marketplace app for Windows Mobile handsets running on the older 6.0 and 6.1 build of the OS. Devices equipped with Windows Mobile 6.5 already have Windows Marketplace preloaded. The free-to-download application store is available for both touchscreen and traditional handsets, and will allow users to browse and download apps from the store.
Verizon today responded to predictions for Motorola Droid sales with only a brief statement on their actual results (subscription required). A spokeswoman for the carrier declined to say whether or not a rough estimate of 250,000 Droids sold is accurate but did say the company is "very pleased" with sales in just over a week since the Android phone reached stores. Verizon doesn't normally provide sales breakdowns for phones and doesn't intend one for the Droid, she says.
Gartner today said the computer industry is recovering much faster than expected. Based on processor sales, the analyst group estimates PCs have turned from double-digit year-over-year declines at the start of the year to slight increases by the end. It still expects processors, flash memory and other chip technology to face an 11.4 percent decline for all of 2009 but also anticipates levels jumping back to an all-time high seen in 2008.
NVIDIA today provided details of the first official hardware to use its upcoming Fermi architecture. The Tesla 20 series is even more optimized for general-purpose computing standards like OpenCL or NVIDIA's own CUDA and handles complex math that previously hasn't been as practical, such as ISO standard double-precision math and C++ code processing. Unlike past models, though, the card model also has a video output and works as a video card rather than just as a companion device.
Samsung today confirmed plans to launch a new femtocell for those on CDMA phone networks. The 3G UbiCell still creates a local cell for CDMA phones to make calls over a home Internet connection but also adds EVDO Rev A so that 3G phones without Wi-Fi can still get online when reception would be poor. The UbiCell plugs in through Ethernet and has GPS to provide 911 and other mapping features.
IBM's Roadrunner supercomputer has been dethroned from the TOP500 list in terms of computing performance by the Cray XT5 supercomputer, nicknamed Jaguar. The XT5 uses AMD Opteron cores and posted up a 1.75 petaflop/s speed in the Linpack test, outpacing the Roadrunner's 1 petaflop/s performance.
Hitachi on Monday added a new range of SimpleDrive external desktop hard drives available in up to a 2TB capacity. In addition to the new capacity, the disks have a Turbo USB 2.0 interface that is said to be 25 percent faster than the traditional spec. Hitachi includes its Fabrik backup software, which automatically copies over selected files from the host PC and includes 2GB of free online backup.
Intel today promised a version of its Xeon processor specifically tailored to high performance computing (HPC). The design will share the same architecture as the eight-core Nehalem-EX but drop to six cores in return for greater overall performance. Clock speeds should be higher and will still take advantage of the extra bandwidth of the new platform, making it a better pick for clusters and multi-processor servers.
Sprint on Monday launched its 4G mobile broadband in two Texas cities, Austin, and San Antonio. As before, the WiMAX network promises speeds between 3Mbps to 6Mbps for downloads in real-world use, which should bring VoIP, video and other tasks that are normally too data-intensive for 3G networks. Sprint's 4G mobile broadband network is already available in regions such as Chicago, Dallas and North Carolina.
ASUS could push its way to near the top of notebook market share by buying out one of its largest competitors, company chairman Jonney Shih reportedly revealed today. He hopes for ASUS to reach the top three in notebook builders by 2011 and says the company has talked to Toshiba about buying its notebook business. Nothing has been finalized, and it remains unclear how close if at all the two may be to a deal.
AT&T loaded up its phone catalog today with one new BlackBerry, pricing and a ship date for a second, and an updated LG designer phone. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 effectively replaces the 8300 series at the carrier and, like the T-Mobile version, has both GPS and Wi-Fi but keeps the price low by shedding 3G and using a simpler 320x240 display as well as a 2-megapixel camera.
Talk of Nintendo using Tegra 2 gained support today through new sources of information that also point to a faster Sony PSP. Detailed explanations given to DigitalFoundry say the sequel to the DSi should use the future NVIDIA processor and not only see a "colossal" jump in speed versus the DS line but could be as fast as the Wii while supporting more visual effects.
Nokia this morning launched an upgraded version of a key feature phone and shipped its flagship business phone. The 5330 Mobile TV Edition puts a DVB-H mobile TV tuner in Nokia's budget music phone and lets it watch free, digital broadcasts with a programming guide to pick channels. It's optimized for the format as it uses the owner's headphones as the antenna and has long enough battery life to last for six hours of TV.
Casio on Monday upgraded two of its key Exilim cameras to focus on low-light image quality. The EX-FH25 superzoom and EX-FC150 compact both have backlit CMOS sensors borrowed from the Sony TX1 and can take in more light, improving the detail both for night scenes as well as portraits of backlit subjects. Both cameras accordingly have dedicated scene modes.
Samsung started the week by launching its second Android phone on a world level. The Galaxy Spica, or i5700, sits closer to the mid-range but is one of the fastest Android phones ever with an 800MHz proecssor. Its main sacrifices versus the original Galaxy are the use of a less expensive LCD in place of an OLED and a 3.2-megapixel camera instead of the 5-megapixel example on the higher-end phone.
Network Headlines
Most Popular
Sponsor
Recent Reviews
MaxUpgrades MaxConnect for 2006-2008 Mac Pro
Nobody outside of Cupertino's privileged bunch knows the future of the Mac Pro line for sure. Despite Apple's reluctance to tell us wh ...
Brother HL-3170CDW LED Printer
We've mentioned before that we are far from a paperless society. For now, at least, there are tasks that require a piece of paper for ...
HTC One
It is hard to overstate just how critically important the HTC One is to the Taiwanese company’s fortunes. Despite its alarming decline ...
Sponsor
