May 31

JMicron NAND flash controller could lead to significantly lower SSD prices

Posted in: arm, flash, industry, market, market share, marketshare, price, pricing, solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, storage, Today's Chili

Truth be told, SSD prices have been declining at a noticeable tick since way back in 2007, but the reality is that the average consumer still can’t afford one — or, at least they aren’t willing to pay the lofty premium for the decent increase in speed. If a bold claim from JMicron is to be believed, all that could change in the run-up to CES 2010. A new report has it that the aforesaid company will be demonstrating its new NAND flash controller next week at Computex, with the JMF612 aimed specifically at a “new generation of NAND flash chips built using smaller process geometries that will be entering the market soon.” If all goes well, the cheap single-chip controller could lead to SSD prices falling by around 50 percent by Christmas, but after years of waiting for these things to really get priced for Joe Sixpack and his gaggle of siblings, we’re still cautiously skeptical. Not that we wouldn’t love to be proven wrong or anything.

[Image courtesy of HotHardware]

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JMicron NAND flash controller could lead to significantly lower SSD prices originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 May 2009 08:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 30

ASUS to introduce O!Play media player at Computex

Posted in: ASUS, media player, media streamer, MediaPlayer, MediaStreamer, stream, streamer, streaming, Today's Chili

Wait, what’s this? ASUS diving head first into the HD media streamer game? Based on images and details acquired by Hardware, we’d say chances are looking pretty good. Reportedly, the aforementioned outfit will showcase its very own media player at Computex next week in Taiwan, and our expectations are already fairly lofty. The O!Play (codename HDP-R1) is said to be a fair bit quicker than competing models, and the file compatibility list is also worthy of laud. Port wise, this one’s packing eSATA, USB, HDMI, stereo audio jacks, optical digital audio, Ethernet and an AC port. If all goes well, we could see this little bugger in European stores by July, with a price tag pegged at €119 ($168). Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if that price nets you an internal HDD, but we’ll find out for sure soon enough.

[Via The Inquirer]

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ASUS to introduce O!Play media player at Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 May 2009 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 29

ECS plans a trio of netbooks, duo of all-in-one PCs for Computex

Posted in: intel, netbook, nettop, NVIDIA, Today's Chili

Oh look, it’s nearly time for Computex, which means it’s finally time for ECS to come out to play again. For whatever reason, it seems the aforesaid PC maker only pulls out the stakes for Taiwan’s biggest consumer electronics show, and with the doors opening early next week, we’re getting a sneak peek at what it’ll be bringing to the mix. Not surprisingly, three of the five new machines are said to be of the netbook variety, with the other two being all-in-one desktops. ‘Course, the whole lot will be humming along on Intel’s all-too-modest Atom, though we are led to believe that at least one rig will get equipped with NVIDIA’s promising Ion technology. The T10IL (shown left) is apt to steal most of the attention, boasting a thin-and-light frame that’ll look awfully similar to ASUS’ Eee PC 1008HA. The V10IL (shown right) is expected to be more of a vanilla type machine in terms of both design and specification, and the other guys are slated to be revealed at the show. You’re tense with anticipation, aren’t you?

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ECS plans a trio of netbooks, duo of all-in-one PCs for Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 May 2009 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 29

ASUS Mars GPU weds twin GeForce GTX 285s, might just melt your face

Posted in: ASUS, GraphicsCard, NVIDIA, Today's Chili

You into frame rates? No, we mean are you frickin’ bonkers over watching your rig hit triple digits in a Crysis timedemo? If you’re still nodding “yes,” have a gander at what’ll absolutely have to be your next buy. The ASUS Mars 295 Limited Edition is quite the unique beast, rocking a pair of GTX 285 chips that are viewed by Windows as a GeForce GTX 295. All told, you’re looking at 240 shader processors, a 512-bit GDDR3 memory interface, 32 total memory chips and 4GB of RAM. Amazingly, the card is totally compatible with existing drivers and is Quad-SLI capable, and if all goes to plan, it’ll actually peek its head out at Computex next week. Rest assured, we’ll do everything we can to touch it.

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ASUS Mars GPU weds twin GeForce GTX 285s, might just melt your face originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 May 2009 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 29

Pixel Qi demonstrates 3qi display, merges e-ink with LCD

Posted in: e ink, LCD, Today's Chili
Pixel Qi demonstrates three-mode display set to merge e-ink with LCD

We knew Pixel Qi was up to something when it pledged to give us a cheap laptop that could last 40 hours on a charge. Now we can finally see what, with the OLPC spin-off releasing some images of a prototype screen called 3qi that looks like it can combine the best of e-ink and traditional LCD displays — prototypes that will be shown in the flesh at Computex next week. The screen can work as a traditional backlit LCD when indoors, can have that backlight disabled to be perfectly visible outdoors (shown after the break), and, as its pièce de résistance, can be toggled into an energy-efficient “epaper” mode. How exactly the company is fitting these seemingly disparate slices of technology into a single 10.1-inch screen is something of a mystery, but we’re guessing much will be answered next week ahead of a planned product launch by the end of the year. Color us intrigued.

[Via PC World]

Continue reading Pixel Qi demonstrates 3qi display, merges e-ink with LCD

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Pixel Qi demonstrates 3qi display, merges e-ink with LCD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 May 2009 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 27

ASUS’ potent G51 gaming laptop headed for Computex

Posted in: ASUS, Today's Chili

ASUS already struck a chord with portable gamers when it introduced the imposing W90, and now it’s looking to do the same with LAN party goers who need something just a wee bit less gargantuan. Details are light on the forthcoming G51, but we do know that it’ll arrive in a few form factors (15.6- and 16-inch models) and will give buyers the choice between a Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo processor. There’s also room for up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM as well as a 1GB GeForce GTX 260M graphics card; furthermore, you’ll find an optional Blu-ray drive, 2 megapixel camera, dual 500GB hard drives and a white glossy shell. Mum’s the word on pricing, but we expect to hear more on this July-bound beauty at Computex next month.

[Via PCWorld]

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ASUS’ potent G51 gaming laptop headed for Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 May 2009 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 27

Video: Cooler Master’s Storm Sentinel 5,000 DPI gaming mouse with OLED display

Posted in: gaming, mouse, Today's Chili, video

Cooler Master’s first gaming mouse prototype looks to be well on the way to epic. The 8-button mouse for right-handers features seven-color lighting effects from the top- and front-sides, an OLED display where you can independently dial-in your preferred X-and Y-axis DPI (5,000 max), a twin-laser sensor, and up to five user-programmable profiles. The CM Storm Sentinel Advanced gaming mouse will be on display at Computex next week before making its way to retail later this year. Check the video overview after the break.

Continue reading Video: Cooler Master’s Storm Sentinel 5,000 DPI gaming mouse with OLED display

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Video: Cooler Master’s Storm Sentinel 5,000 DPI gaming mouse with OLED display originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 May 2009 05:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 26

Metrological’s Mediaconnect TV: the first Intel CE 3100 retail device?

Posted in: adobe, flash, set-top-box, streaming, streaming video, StreamingVideo, Today's Chili

This one’s been on the books since September of 2007. Now it looks like the first retail product based on Intel’s Canmore System on Chip (SoC), aka the CE 3100, will take its first step into the spotlight at Computex with this “ready-to-market” Mediaconnect TV. The highly customizable Mini ITX device runs a Linux-based Metroconnect OS that supports all the major video codecs and Dobly Digital/DTS decoding over 7.1 channels — the CE 3100 then acts to hardware accelerate sourced 1080p video stored locally or streamed over DLNA / uPnP from anywhere in the house over fixed gigabit Ethernet. Standard features include a pair of USB 2.0 ports, HDMI 1.3a/component/composite and TOSLINK jacks, an SD/MMC card reader, and up to 2TB of on-board (SATA) storage. The box itself is highly customizable with options to include UMTS/HSUPA radios, DVB T/C/S tuners, Bluetooth (for mouse and keyboard), and 802.11n WiFi to take your media streaming wireless. It even features a webcam of unspecified quality. The built-in web browser with Adobe Flash 9.0 support means all the Hulu you can eat and optional dual DVB-T tuners will give you simultaneous over the air TV reception and recording. It remains to be seen how much of this customization will be made available direct to consumers as opposed to the cable companies and telcos that Metrological will ultimately partner with. Nevertheless, they’ll be at Computex next week where we’ll be on hand to bring you more detail. A second picture of a different Mediaconnect TV, or the same device sans faceplate, and meta shot of the main menu UI after the break.

Continue reading Metrological’s Mediaconnect TV: the first Intel CE 3100 retail device?

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Metrological’s Mediaconnect TV: the first Intel CE 3100 retail device? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 May 2009 06:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 18

AMD to flood Computex with mainstream Tigris laptops, reveal Danube?

Posted in: AMD, Today's Chili

Besides being overwhelmed by Intel’s CULV thin-and-lights at Computex, it looks like AMD will use the event to punish Engadget editors and readers with the launch of its Tigris platform. Since you’ve most likely supplanted any memory of Tigris with something useful, let us remind you that Tigris is AMD’s mainstream laptop platform built around a dual-core 45-nm Caspian processor supporting 800MHz DDR2 memory and ATI M9x series graphics. The Commercial Times is also reporting that Computex might even bring a possible unveiling of AMD’s next-generation Danube laptop platform featuring a quad-core Champlain processor with support for DDR3 memory. Unfortunately, Champlain won’t be available for consumers until 2010 — 2009 is all about Tigris laptops and the Athlon Neo thin-and-lights for AMD. Where’s the AMD netbook? Oh they ceded that market to Intel a long time ago; a bad move now that Atom-based netbooks are plundering mainstream laptop marketshare that AMD was betting on with Tigris.

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AMD to flood Computex with mainstream Tigris laptops, reveal Danube? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 May 2009 06:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 14

MSI’s X-Slim X340 vs. X400 vs. X600 CULV laptops… Fight!

Posted in: msi, thin and light, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili

The big Computex show in Taipei is just a few weeks away and that means laptops, tons and tons of laptops. Specifically, CULV thin-and-light laptops that Intel’s hoard of dutiful manufacturers have positioned between netbooks and super-expensive, ultra-portables like the MacBook Air or ThinkPad X301. Engadget Chinese is at the unveiling of MSI’s full range of X-Slim laptops. We’ve already seen the X320/X340 up close, but this is the first time we’ve received official specs on the 14-inch (1366 x 768) X400 and 15.6-inch (1366 x 768) X600. Both feature Core 2 Solo CULV processors, an HDMI jack, hard disks up to 500GB in capacity, up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, and a 2-in-1 card memory reader. The X600 adds eSATA, options for 6 or 9-cell batteries (compared to the X400’s 4 or 8-cells), and bumps the graphics from integrated GMA 4500MHD to ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330. Now we’re just waiting for the ship dates and prices which should start at $699 to about $1,100.

Update: Official press release says to expect these before June is through.

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MSI’s X-Slim X340 vs. X400 vs. X600 CULV laptops… Fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 03:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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