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Thursday, November 10, 2011

drag2share: Corsair unveils Performance Pro Series SSDs, loads 'em with 6Gb/s Marvell controllers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/10/corsair-unveils-performance-pro-series-ssds-loads-em-with-6gb/

SandForce-equipped SSDs are seemingly all the rage nowadays, but lest we forget that others, like Marvell, have some peppy controllers of their own. Step up Corsair, who's just announced its new Marvell-equipped line of SATA 3 Performance Pro Series 6Gb/s SSDs. These 2.5-inch storage slabs can achieve 515 MB/s read and 440 MB/s sequential write speeds, and sports a TRIM-like "built-in advanced background garbage collection," which company deems helpful for RAID setups. Notably, desktop users will be pleased to know that the drives will mount into 3.5-inch slots via an included adapter. If you're interested, $280 will snag you a 128GB version, while $530 doubles the capacity to 256GB. You'll find more details in the press release past the break.

Continue reading Corsair unveils Performance Pro Series SSDs, loads 'em with 6Gb/s Marvell controllers

Corsair unveils Performance Pro Series SSDs, loads 'em with 6Gb/s Marvell controllers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AnandTech, Hot Hardware | source

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drag2share: CHART OF THE DAY: Amazingly, Ringtones Are Still A $2 Billion Business

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-online-music-sales-2011-11

Here's a breakdown of online music sales from Gartner, by way of Peter Kafka at All Things D. The most insane thing about this chart? How important ringtones are.

Kafka says it better than we can:

"To sum up: More than 10 years after Napster, one of the key pillars of the music business is ringtones, a business that peaked around 2005, when some of you would have recognized the image at the top right of this post.

If you’re reading this, you probably haven’t paid for a ringtone since 2007, and you probably don’t know anyone who does. But there it is, generating two-point-one-billion dollars."

chart of the day, online music revenue worlwide 2011, november 10, 2011

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drag2share: Packard Bell trims the fat on PB oneTwo all-in-one desktop PC line

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/10/packard-bell-trims-the-fat-on-pb-onetwo-all-in-one-desktop-pc-li/

Don't look now, UKers -- but you've got yet another option in the burgeoning world of all-in-one PCs. Thrilling, we know. Packard Bell has just issued the revamped PB oneTwo, an all-in-one PC line that may very well end up referred to as "PB 12" in your domicile. Nomenclature aside, this freshened up device is a full 65 percent slimmer than the one your mate purchased two years ago, giving you 65 percent more reason to brag about it once you've taken delivery. It's available in 21.5-inch and 23-inch flavors, with Intel's 2nd-generation Core i CPU family, NVIDIA or AMD graphics, a pair of 2.5-watt speakers, two USB 3.0 sockets (along with four of the slower USB 2.0 variety), an optional Blu-ray drive, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory and a 1,920 x 1,080 display on the both of 'em. You'll also get a 2 megapixel webcam, multi-format card reader, optional (seriously?) WiFi / Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet and a bundled keyboard and mouse. The PB oneTwo M (21.5-inch) and PB oneTwo L (23-inch) will ship later this month for £599 and £699, respectively, though there's no word on availability beyond the Queen's backyard.

Continue reading Packard Bell trims the fat on PB oneTwo all-in-one desktop PC line

Packard Bell trims the fat on PB oneTwo all-in-one desktop PC line originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink&! nbsp;HotHardware | source

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Packard Bell | Email this | Comments

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drag2share: Nokia's Humanform concept phone, not shaped like us (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/10/nokias-humanform-concept-phone-not-shaped-like-us-video/

We barely recovered from Nokia's futuristic concept buffet at Nokia World, but a new video has unearthed the deceptively named Humanform. Fortunately not shaped like a dolly, this teardrop device cooked up Nokia's in-house labs supposedly uses some as-yet unexplained nanotechnology, with a bendable transparent display and a fully touch sensitive casing. The segmented design also channels some Wiimote-esque gesture features and twist controls seen on the phone behemoth's Kinetic Device. An inert Humanform shell was also on show alongside it last month, although it didn't do much aside from bending. See if you agree with Nokia's vision of the mobile future after the break.

Continue reading Nokia's Humanform concept phone, not shaped like us (video)

Nokia's Humanform concept phone, not shaped like us (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/10/samsung-galaxy-tab-8-9-review/

What is the optimal size for a modern-day tablet? Is it 10 inches? Is it seven? Or, is it something smaller, like the economy-sized smartphone that is the Galaxy Note? We can't say for sure, but we surely can say that Samsung is as much in the dark as we are. Like a gadgety Goldilocks traipsing between an endless sea of options, that company seems completely unable to make up its mind, splitting niches into sub-niches and then cleaving those in twain again with a seemingly endless array of fractionally different tablets.

Today we're looking at the Galaxy Tab 8.9. This powerful slate exists because, apparently, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is too big and the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is too small. Is the $449 8.9 just right, then? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 review

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 review

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Intel's Haswell detailed: three different GPUs, single-chip solution for ultrabooks

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/10/intels-haswell-detailed-three-different-gpus-single-chip-solu/

Haswell

The demo of the 22nm Haswell running on a tiny solar cell at IDF was impressive, but it didn't really give us any idea what shipping products might look like. Well, a few slides popped up over at Chiphell that give us a few more details about how the tock, to Ivy Bridge's tick, is shaping up. For one, were looking at three new on-die GPUs, dubbed GT1, GT2 and GT3 -- the latter of which may be a higher performance part than we're used to seeing out of Intel. We also know that Haswell will have three variants: desktop, laptop (both of which are two-chip solutions with a separate controller hub) and ultrabook, which packs both the CPU and the controller in a single package. If you're in the mood to dig a little deeper hit up the source links.

Intel's Haswell detailed: three different GPUs, single-chip solution for ultrabooks originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AnandTech | source

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VR-Zone, Chiphell (login required) | Email this | Comments

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drag2share: ARM Planning OCTO-CORE Mobile Graphics Processor for 2013 [Guts]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5858201/arm-planning-octo+core-mobile-graphics-processor-for-2013

ARM Planning OCTO-CORE Mobile Graphics Processor for 2013 Chip company ARM has announced its latest processor evolution, in the form of its Mali-T658 GPU. ARM says this'll provide "desktop-class performance" with "ten times" the power of the 400 series found in the Galaxy S II.

The Mali-T658 offers PC and console gaming image enhancement features like 4x Full Scene Anti-Aliasing, plus it can be scaled up to run across eight cores. But you can still allow yourself a brief period of excitement about quad-core devices, as ARM says its newest GPU won't make it into consumer products until 2013.

ARM has also put an extremely bonkers teaser of the sort of graphics and utilities the processor can produce up on YouTube. It's proper 'Tomorrow's World' stuff. [ARM via BBC via Gizmodo UK]

Our newest offspring Gizmodo UK is gobbling up the news in a different timezone, so check them out if you need another Giz fix.

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drag2share: ARM's Mali-T658 GPU aims to beat the world in 2013; president Tudor Brown steps down

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/10/arms-mali-t658-gpu-aims-to-beat-the-world-in-2013-president-tu/

Here's an ARM duo to digest this fine morning -- ARM's president (and co-founder) Tudor Brown has announced that he'll be retiring in May after serving a bit over a score with the company. His final day will be May 3rd of next year, with Chairman Doug Dunn confessing that Brown had played "an important role in the creation and successful development of ARM over the past 21 years and has made an immense contribution in a wide range of positions." Oddly enough, a company spokesperson has stated that ARM has "no plans at this stage to replace Mr. Brown," though we suspect that could change as the date draws closer.

In more product-related news, the company's forthcoming (and by "forthcoming," we mean "perhaps by the end of 2013") Mali-T658 GPU should provide a 10x improvement in performance over the existing Mali-400. According to a slide hosted up over at AnandTech, it'll offer double the shader cores per GPU, twice the arithmetic pipes per shader core and "extensive" API support. For those unaware, the Mali-400 MP4 is a real barnburner for the Android platform, and given that the T658 can scale to eight cores, we're guessing you may have just made your mind up about timing on your next smartphone purchase. Hit the links below to dig in deeper, but remember -- 2013 is about an eternity from now. Depressing, we know.

ARM's Mali-T658 GPU aims to beat the world in 2013; president Tudor Brown steps down originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wall Street Journal, BBC | Email this | Comments

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drag2share: Lytro's light field camera hits the FCC, drop-dead simple user manual in tow

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/10/lytros-light-field-camera-hits-the-fcc-drop-dead-simple-user-m/

2011's most outrageously incredible camera just hit the FCC, leaving it a step or two shy of being on retail shelves here in America. The Lytro light field camera (hands-on) -- for those who blinked through late October -- is a rare game-changing device that enables photographers to shift the depth of field after the image has been captured. The downside, of course, is that this functionality is tucked into a pocket-sized toy rather than Canon's incoming EOS 1D-X (or similar), but we're hoping that it's only a matter of time before the company licenses this out to the big boys. The included user guide proves just how simple the $399 device will be to operate, but on the same token, how few options there will be for advanced users. Dig in yourself in the source link below -- looks like that "early 2012" shipping promise might just be kept.

Lytro's light field camera hits the FCC, drop-dead simple user manual in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | FCC, Lytro User Guide [PDF] | Email this | Comments

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drag2share: If You're Buying a New Camera, You Must Use This Website [Cameras]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5858084/if-youre-buying-a-new-camera-you-must-use-this-website

If You're Buying a New Camera, You Must Use This Website Buying a new gadget is hard. We try to help as much as we can! But there are little things you need to know, like the exact size of a camera compared to another camera, before you buy. CameraSize does exactly that.

It's so smart I wish I invented it. You can see the size difference from each angle too. The only thing I'd want is a better backlog of cameras to compare to (like old cameras you're familiar with). It's like holding a camera without holding a camera! [CameraSize via PetaPixel]

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drag2share: Evoluce Kinect SDK hits the web, gives you an alternative to Microsoft's wares

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/09/evoluce-kinect-sdk-hits-the-web-gives-you-an-alternative-to-mic/

Evoluce Kinect

If you think Microsoft should have all the SDK fun, just cause the company created the Kinect? Well, Evoluce clearly disagrees. The company behind Win & I and the Evoluce ONE 47-inch multitouch PC is offering devs its own tools for creating apps and interfaces that take advantage of the Kinect on Windows 7. The SDK is a free download, but it plans to release a commercial version sometime in the future -- taking the battle straight to the boys in Redmond. Check out the video and PR after the break.

Continue reading Evoluce Kinect SDK hits the web, gives you an alternative to Microsoft's wares

Evoluce Kinect SDK hits the web, gives you an alternative to Microsoft's wares originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, November 09, 2011

drag2share: Talk mounts that version 5 could be Silverlight's last, might only work with Internet Explorer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/09/talk-mounts-that-version-5-could-be-silverlights-last-might-on/

Could Microsoft's Silverlight soon be following in the footsteps of Adobe's Flash Player for mobile devices? That's still unconfirmed by Microsoft, but ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley is reporting that she's heard from several sources who say that Silverlight 5 will be the last version of the rich media platform, and that it's not clear how long it will be supported after it's released later this month. What's more, another source tells Foley that the final version of Silverlight 5 itself might only work with Internet Explorer on Windows, as opposed to earlier versions that have also supported Chrome and Safari on both OS X and Windows. As ZDNet notes, however, the end of Silverlight wouldn't necessarily mean an end to all of the work Microsoft has done on Silverlight -- we've already heard about a Silverlight-like app framework that's coming in a future Xbox update, and many of the same principles can also be found in the Metro-style apps for Windows 8.

Talk mounts that version 5 could be Silverlight's last, might only work with Internet Explorer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Electronista | source

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ZDNet | Email this | Comments

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drag2share: Shaw plants 100Gbps fibers in Canada, watches them grow

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/09/shaw-plants-100gbps-fibers-in-canada-watches-them-grow/

Consumers can dream of 1Gbps, businesses might ask for 10Gbps, but here's the next step along that logarithmic curve: Shaw and Alcatel-Lucent just launched a new 100Gbps inter-city fiber optic network in Canada, following a successful trial between Calgary and Edmonton. The network can purportedly handle 133 million simultaneous voice calls, 440,000 HDTV channels, or transmit the equivalent of 44 Blu-ray discs in a single second. More redweed details in the PR after the break.

Continue reading Shaw plants 100Gbps fibers in Canada, watches them grow

Shaw plants 100Gbps fibers in Canada, watches them grow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Epson's Transparent Video Glasses Let You See the Judgmental Stares of Others [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5857826/epsons-transparent-video-glasses-let-you-see-the-judgmental-stares-of-others

Epson's Transparent Video Glasses Let You See the Judgmental Stares of Others Yesterday we reviewed Sony's HMZ-T1 3DTV Headset and while it provides a great 3D experience, it completely removes the viewer from the world around them. That's not the case with Epson's new see-through Moverio BT-100 video glasses. They allow for a private viewing experience while still allowing the wearer to keep an eye on their surroundings, and everyone staring at them.

According to Epson, a pair of 0.52 inch LCD displays, each with a resolution of 960x540, create a viewing experience that's akin to watching a 320 inch display from 65 feet away. Which is the equivalent of watching a 50 inch display from about 10 feet, for those who don't have a gymnasium sized living room. Multimedia content is fed to the glasses via a tethered control unit running Android 2.2, and while videos and pictures can be played from an SDHC card, the unit is equipped with wifi, a touchpad, and a flash-enabled web browser so content can also be streamed online.

Available in Japan on November 25 for about $643, the Moverios can also be worn over a user's regular glasses, just the like oversized sunglasses that adorn grandparents around the world. And while they seem targeted as the ideal way to pass the time while flying, I think they're far better suited for a daily commute on the subway, letting you catch up on TV while keeping an eye on that sketchy dude sitting across from you. [Epson via TechCrunch]

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drag2share: Will the HTC Ville be the First Phone to Screw Up Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense? [Android]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5857886/will-the-htc-ville-be-the-first-phone-to-screw-up-ice-cream-sandwich-with-htc-sense

Will the HTC Ville be the First Phone to Screw Up Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense? BGR just leaked info about the HTC Ville, an Android phone that'll supposedly be announced by HTC at next year's Mobile World Congress, and it looks really great... except for one thing. It plasters the needless HTC Sense all over Ice Cream Sandwich. WHYYY

Aside from that, the HTC Ville is a 4.3-inch, 1.5 GHz dual phone with a qHD Super AMOLED display and an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p video. The body of the Ville is supposed to be some sort of metal and it'll be less than 8mm thick. According to BGR's sources, the Ville won't have NFC.

That sounds like a super solid phone made better by the fact that it's running Ice Cream Sandwich. But like most Android phone makers, HTC feels the need to ruin a perfectly fine operating system in Android 4.0 with a silly third party skin—HTC Sense 4.0 is expected to launch with the Ville. I was hoping that Ice Cream Sandwich would kill all these dummy skins but I guess they'll never die, they'll just live in a zombie existence on some poor sap's phone. [BGR]

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