Friday, January 30, 2009

Samsung's 4Gb chip promises 32GB DDR3 memory modules for PCs and laptops

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/30/samsungs-4gb-chip-promises-32gb-ddr3-memory-modules-for-pcs-and/


Oh Samsung, you and your world's firsts. We like to tease but your latest breakthrough is truly notable: the world's first 4Gb (bit, not Byte) DDR3 DRAM PC memory chip based on relatively frugal 50-nm processes. Two things here: 1) the new chips consume 40% less power than previous DD3 memory modules, and 2) the chips pave the way for 32GB (Byte, not bit) DIMM modules. The first modules will come in capacities of 16GB (containing 32 of the new 4Gb chips) for servers, 8GB DDR3 DIMMs for desktops, and 8GB SO-DIMMs for laptops. When, is the question Samsung fails to answer. The question to you is this: you're not still buying full-spec'd DDR2-based laptops are you?

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Samsung's 4Gb chip promises 32GB DDR3 memory modules for PCs and laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Image of the Day: A Better Reality [Iotd]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/jYcqXKXu0Cw/image-of-the-day-a-better-reality

This image by pyxelated on deviantart has been floating around for a little bit, but I think it captures one possible future scenario perfectly.

People walking around with headphones and MP3 players/cellphones already aurally isolate themselves from their surroundings, but if personal viewing glasses like the Myvu take off and get really immersive, will we find visual-tainment junkies in rooms like this? [Deviantart]



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Gore-Tex's Evolution [Outdoors]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Ievfi9tWOhs/gore+texs-evolution

Gore-Tex is about to take another step forward in its dominance of artificial wet weather skin. Now, they can fuse together outer layers with foreign inner layers, to two great results.

Gore-Tex's most capable shell materials have always had to be stand alone, making them a little bit like wearing a crinkly sheet or garbage bag (without the sweat build up, of course). They're taking their 3 layer shells and bonding them to interesting inner liner materials in an extension of their "comfort mapping" tech. So, if the chest and back need insulated, they can attach a piece of fleece there; or padded armor on elbows and shoulders; or antimicrobial liners on armpits. The sub brand isn't new, but before, comfort mapping involved sewing, opening up the potential for unsightly seams and water leakage. Now they heat press the new layers in, so that there are no extra punctures in the outer layers, and things like pockets can be sewn now into the inner materials without causing punctures, either. The materials will be breathable, but not as breathable as the naked Gore-Tex layers we're used to now. But it would be nice to have a jacket while peeling off a few undergarments. (I'll take some pants with built in butt and knee padding, please.)

The other tech is called X-trafit. Most multi-layer gloves get some parts turned inside out when you take them off. Also, multi layer gore gloves have reduced mobility, grip and finger feel because of the slipping of each layer against another. X-trafit gloves fuse the inner and membrane together, while a grippy material between the inner liner and the outer shell makes the entire thing feel as if it's one piece of material. The only downside is that these gloves are not going to be as warm as those with many different components.



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Dell Builds Prototype Android and Windows Mobile Phones, May Finally Sell Them [Dell]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/7p72mgEvzRw/dell-builds-prototype-android-and-windows-mobile-phones-may-finally-sell-them

Stop me if you've heard this one: Dell might go into the smartphone business. OOOLLLDDD? But today the WSJ reports Dell's closer than ever, with prototypes built in two different styles and two competing platforms.

The two styles may seem familiar to you, as demonstrated by my totally fake images above. One, we'll call "iPhone," is described by the Wall Street Journal as "a touchscreen but no physical keyboard." The other, which we'll call "Pre," is a "slider-style phone with a keypad and that slides from beneath the screen." Dell is reportedly exploring both Windows Mobile and Android, and has both operating systems running on its prototypes. The WSJ cites those always helpful "people familiar with the matter," and says the formal move into the phone market could happen as early as February, perhaps just in time for the 3GSM global phone biz show in Barcelona on the 15th.

As I so subtly alluded, Dell has been in the smartphone business, or at least rumored to be, for some time. We heard about an impending smartphone in April 2007, then again in December 2007, solidifying last January before being quickly smashed down again.

Just two weeks ago, the rumors surfaced again, as analyst extraordin! aire Sha w Wu predicted Dell would do the Android secret handshake, publicly, at the upcoming 3GSM phone show in Barcelona. The Journal is confirming these rumors, with good reason. (Let's just hope the "people familiar with the matter" don't all turn out to be Shaw Wu wearing wigs and fake moustaches.)

As the Journal states, the most likely peg for this, and reason for the delay until now, is that Ron Garriques, former head of the cell business at Motorola, can finally build phones for Dell. He left the burning building in Schaumburg, IL for the greener pastures of Round Rock, TX under a noncompete clause that won't lift until...yep...next month. Garriques and his former Moto crony, John Thode—current head of netbooks and cheap PCs at Dell—are probably planning one heck of a comeback. If the combination of Dell and Motorola DNA doesn't render that completely impossible, that is. [WSJ]



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Acer uncages AMD-powered Ferrari 1200 ultraportable

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/29/acer-uncages-amd-powered-ferrari-1200-ultraportable/

Wow, has it really been almost a year since Acer's Ferrari 1100 ultraportable was released from the garage? Believe it or not, the proper successor to the aforesaid machine is just now getting its inspection sticker, and it's apparently planning to hit the streets of Britain in the near future. The Ferrari 1200 arrives with an elegant LED-backlit 12.1-inch panel, a carbon fiber cover, a unique ventilation design that "echoes the exhaust pipes of F1 cars" and an "anodized-metal touchpad that resembles the brake and acceleration pedals of a Ferrari car." Corny? Sure, but it's good to know you aren't paying a premium for a logo and nothing more, right? At any rate, you'll also find a bundled BT wireless mouse, an optional Xpress VoIP phone, WiFi module, an AMD Turion X2 Ultra CPU, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a SATA HDD and a fingerprint reader for good measure. Mum's the word on pricing / availability, but we'd bank on "expensive" and "soon."

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Acer uncages AMD-powered Ferrari 1200 ultraportable originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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