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ASUS today announced a range of enhanced motherboard solutions that deliver true USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s data throughput performance. The ASUS Xtreme Design P7P55D-E Series motherboard has onboard support while the ASUS Xtreme Design P7P55D Series utilizes the ASUS U3S6 PCIe x4 expansion card to deliver the latest USB and SATA data transfer capabilities. Equipped with the Intel® P55 Express chipset, the P7P55D-E / P7P55D Series supports the latest LGA 1156 socket for Intel® Core™ i7/Core™ i5 Processors. Additionally, they also feature exclusive Hybrid Technology—Hybrid Processor, Hybrid Phase, and Hybrid OS—to give users intelligent performance enhancement, active cooling, and rapid online access.

Faster than Ever—True USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s Performance with Bridge Chip
ASUS’ unique expansion bridge* design fully unleashes USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s transfer rates for both the P7P55D-E Series and the U3S6 expansion card. This specially-designed onboard IC doubles the bandwidth of the PCIe interface from Gen 1 to Gen 2, delivering ten times faster USB 3.0 throughput compared to the previous USB 2.0 standard. Additionally, by eliminating transmission bottlenecks, the expansion bridge increases hard disk read and write speeds by up to 50%**. Transferring a 20GB HD movie now takes less than 70 seconds, while a 4MB song requires less than 0.01sec. Similarly, by inserting the ASUS U3S6 PCIe x4 expansion card into P7P55D Series motherboards, users can achieve the same rapid throughput with the latest USB 3.0 devices and SATA hard disks.

The new easy-to-use and lightweight ASUS CrossLink cable offers a highly efficient way of transferring and synchronizing data, as well as sharing Internet access and optical disc drive (ODD) functions. With its flexible and customizable file management system, users can organize their data with minimal effort, as well as synchronize their emails, contacts, calendar entries, journals, tasks and notes. Doubling as a removable flash drive, the CrossLink cable comes in two colors—black and white. The black version is equipped with 2GB storage and features a full suite of PC functions, while the white option is available in 2GB or 4GB storage, and can be used on both PC and Macintosh platforms.

The ASUS CrossLink cable is designed to allow for rapid transmission and synchronization of data between two PCs. Users can browse, copy and transfer files and folders to and from the PC they are connected to via USB. Users can also use the CrossLink cable to utilize another PC or notebook's ODD. For instance, to perform a CD-based software installation on a computer without an ODD, users can simply hook up the Crosslink cable to a notebook or PC equipped with one and run the installation off it. Users can also synchronize their folders using the Folder Link, ensuring their data are kept up-to-date. Likewise, other essential data such as mail, contacts, calendar entries, journals, tasks and notes can also be synchronized between two PCs via the Outlook Link. Finally, the CrossLink cable allows users to share the Internet connectivity of a connected PC.

Dane-Elec, a global leader in memory-based consumer electronics, today introduced its So SuperSpeed line of External USB 3.0 Hard Drives (HDD) to the U.S. market. The line includes the world's first USB 3.0 Solid State Drive (SSD), capable of true data transfer speeds of 250MB per second. Consumers will be able to purchase these high-speed USB 3.0 devices from Dane-Elec and its U.S. retail partners starting December 11th, coinciding with the Thanksgiving launch of USB 3.0-compatible laptops and PCs from leading OEMs.

"The eagerly awaited USB 3.0 revolution is finally here, and Dane-Elec is thrilled to be at its forefront," said Jon Christeson, Director of Marketing for Dane-Elec U.S. "With transfer speeds of up to ten times faster than USB 2.0 devices, these powerful products will be game changers for consumers and small businesses that regularly work with large files such as video content."

Clickfree, the inventors of Automatic Backup, today announced the availability of the Transformer SE (Special Edition). The Transformer SE allows users to automatically backup their irreplaceable digital photos, videos music and other data files onto the excess storage space of any external USB hard drive, iPod or iPhone. It can also be used to automatically import music from any iPod or iPhone to any computer - Windows or Mac.

The Transformer SE has two key functions; it instantly transforms any external USB hard drive into a Clickfree Automatic Backup solution, completely eliminating the hassle and confusion of installing and configuring backup software while still allowing for the basic storage functionality of an external drive. The SE also allows users to easily backup their files onto the extra storage space of any iPhone or iPod.

Cooler Master Storm Sentinel Advance & CS-M FPS Tactics Pad @ TweakTown
CRU DataPort SecureDock @ High Tech Reviews
Evercool Transformer 4 CPU Cooler @ BCCHardware
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD5 LGA1156 ATX Motherboard @ Futurelooks
Intel X25-M Generation 2 SSD @ Hardware Zone
Lenovo ThinkStation S20 Workstation @ HotHardware.com
Maxcube Amoris 6010 Gaming Case @ TweakPC.de
Shuttle X50 All-in-One PC @ ThinkComputers.org
SteelSeries Merc Stealth Gaming Keyboard @ Hardware Zone
XCM Xbox 360 Diamond Clear Case and Controller Set @ Bigbruin.com
Zalman GS1000 Plus Tower Case @ BCCHardware

NEC Electronics today announced the availability of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 system-on-a-chip (SOC) design solution that customers can use to kick start the development of custom USB 3.0 products. Leveraging NEC Electronics’ design, implementation and manufacturing strengths as a leading integrated device manufacturer (IDM), the SOC design solution helps to reduce risk, improve efficiency and speed time to market, while allowing customers to focus on developing their own differentiated logic.

The SOC design solution features NEC Electronics’ USB 3.0 intellectual property (IP) core, which is fully interoperable with the company’s recently USB-IF-certified USB 3.0 host controller (part number µPD720200) and also backward compatible with previous versions of the USB standard. NEC Electronics expects rapid adoption of the solution by customers developing mass storage, display and video applications, especially as the need to transfer larger and larger amounts of information from PCs to external hard-drives, portable electronics devices, and flash-based drives continues to grow.

Choiix Accu-Mouse (C-PM01-W2) Uni-Retractable Optical Mouse @ MEGATechNews.com
Cooler Master Storm Scout @ InsideHW
Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H50 Self-Contained Liquid CPU Cooler @ ThinkComputers.org
Gigabyte GM-M7800S Swarovski Crystal Mouse @ TestSeek.com
Intel Core i5 and i7 Processors and P55 Express @ HotHardware.com
Intel Core i5-750 and P55 Chipset @ TweakPC.de
Intel Core i5 750, Core i7 870 Linux Benchmarks @ Phoronix
Intel Core i5-750 LGA1156 Processor @ Benchmark Reviews
Logitech Harmony 700 Universal Remote @ I4U
Panasonic VIERA 50-inch V-series Plasma TV @ Hardware Zone
QNAP NMP-1000 Network Multimedia Player @ Hardware Zone
Silverstone Grandia Series GD03 HTPC Case @ Metku.net
Thermaltake ISGC-400 CPU Cooler @ BCCHardware

ASUS today announced the launch of a series of specially-developed motherboards that lets theater-sound aficionados and audiophiles build their dream home-theater PC. The ASUS Absolute Pitch Series features three audio technologies for different forms of aural enjoyment. The DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC delivers theater-like sound on modest equipment for an affordable, full-range sound, ENVY HD delivers a comprehensive 10 channels of audio output for a professional audio experience, and BD 192/24 delivers high-fidelity Blu-ray decoding for a dynamic sound output similar to a live entertainment experience.

To deliver an awe-inspiring audio experience to amateur enthusiasts, ASUS partnered theater sound experts DTS to offer the exclusive DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC technology. This feature raises the bar in surround sound delivery, even on existing 2.1 speaker systems, with voice clarification that boosts barely-audible speech to enhanced clarity; bass enhancement that provides dynamic lows to recreated sound landscapes; and soundstage expansion technology for an extremely powerful virtual surround sound output.

ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim Audio Card @ Bigbruin.com
Corsair Flash Voyager GT 128GB Flash Drive @ Everything USB
Cougar S 550 Watt PSU @ TweakPC.de
Kingston SSDNow V+ SSD @ Benchmark Reviews
Kingwin XT-1264 HTC CPU Cooler @ Rbmods
Logitech Harmony 900 Universal Remote Control @ I4U
MSI GeForce GTX 260 Lightning Graphics Card @ TweakTown
Tacens Fero Notebook Cooler @ TestSeek.com
Thermaltake Element G Mid Tower Case @ ThinkComputers.org
Verbatim 2-Disk RAID External 2TB Hard Drive @ InsideHW