Light-based 'Metatronics' chip melts minds, not copper

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/26/light-based-metatronics-chip-melts-minds-not-copper/

Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have flipped the switch on a new type of computer circuit. Unlike conventional silicon, the new chip uses light -- not electricity -- to perform its logic. By creating an array of nano-rods, light-flow can be treated like voltage and current. These rods can then be configured to emulate electrical components such as resistors, inductors and capacitors. The benefits of the so-called "metatronic" system would be smaller, faster and more efficient computer chips, which is clearly a welcome prospect. Another curious property the team discovered, is what it calls "stereo-circuitry." Effectively one set of nano-rods can act as two different circuits, depending on the plane of the field. This means your CPU could become a GPU just by changing the signal. We can't speak for the light itself, but our minds are certainly bent.

Light-based 'Metatronics' chip melts minds, not copper originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Optical Smart Hub SE-208BW review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/26/samsung-optical-smart-hub-se-208bw-review/

As a species, we're distrustful of versatility. When Justin Timberlake is as successful in acting and business as he was as a singer, we cry foul. Therefore, it's only natural that Samsung's Optical Smart Hub should raise a hackle or two. It boasts of being a CD / DVD player for your mobile device, a wireless access point, a portable disc burner for your laptop and a backup server (with the help of a USB drive). Doing the work of four gadgets would certainly free up a lot of real estate on anyone's desk -- so is it worth $130 of your hard-earned? The answer's a little more nuanced than you might expect, so join us after the break to find out more.

Gallery: Samsung Optical Smart Hub Unboxing

Continue reading Samsung Optical Smart Hub SE-208BW review

Samsung Optical Smart Hub SE-208BW review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fraunhofer's Full-HD Voice brings high fidelity VoLTE to Android smartphones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/24/fraunhofer-full-hd-voice-for-volte/

The audio nerds at Fraunhofer are set to raise the bar for Voice over LTE next week in Barcelona, as the company has announced a new technology known as Full-HD Voice. By leveraging the AAC-ELD codec, Fraunhofer claims that consumers will experience audio quality that rivals the experience of chatting face-to-face. Technically speaking, it's said the codec offers four times the audio bandwidth of regular phone calls and twice the bandwidth of HD voice services, all without an increase in bit rate. The technology will only be available for Android phones initially, but that seems like a fine place to start. The full PR is after the break -- presented in Full HD, of course.

Continue reading Fraunhofer's Full-HD Voice brings high fidelity VoLTE to Android smartphones

Fraunhofer's Full-HD Voice brings high fidelity VoLTE to Android smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel joins the Document Foundation, pimps LibreOffice

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/24/intel-joins-the-document-foundation-pimps-libreoffice/

You're forgiven if you missed this little blip on the news radar: Intel has joined the advisory board of the Document Foundation and added the coalition's LibreOffice to the AppUp market. What's more, Chipzilla actually worked with SUSE to help optimize the free and open source office suite for Intel hardware and, as part of the advisory board, will be providing the project with significant monetary support. This is good news for fans of LibreOffice, but it's probably not sitting well with Microsoft -- normally Intel's ally and current king of the office suite hill.

Intel joins the Document Foundation, pimps LibreOffice originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OMAP 5's dual A15 cores wipe the floor with four A9s in browsing benchmark

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/23/omap-5s-dual-a15-cores-wipe-the-floor-with-four-a9s/

We've seen Texas Instrument's OMAP 5 in action, but we haven't been able to pit it directly against a competitor. The Dallas company must be growing more and more confident in its product however, as its posted a video demoing its pair of A15 cores alongside an unspecified quad-core A9 part -- presumably the Tegra 3. The video shows the next-gen TI part powering through the EEMBC BrowsingBench in 95 seconds, while its opposition takes a whopping 201. What's more, this thrashing was performed by an 800MHz part -- the four A9s were clocked at 1.3GHz. Of course, Tegra 3s are already in shipping products, while the OMAP 5 might not find a home in consumer devices before 2013. It's also unclear just how much of a hit these new high-powered ARM cores will have on battery life or how much the pair of M4 companion cores helped in the benchmark. Head on after the break to watch a pair of tablets load up 20 websites in quick succession.

Continue reading OMAP 5's dual A15 cores wipe the floor with four A9s in browsing benchmark

OMAP 5's dual A15 cores wipe the floor with four A9s in browsing benchmark originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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