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The SD Association announced today it has defined a new, dual-row pin memory card design achieving bus interface speeds of up to 300 megabytes per second for SDXC and SDHC devices and memory cards. It is fully backwards compatible, allowing equipped devices full use of any SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards.
New high speed interface signals will be assigned on the second row of pins of select SDXC and SDHC memory cards offering the new speed. This option will be available in both full-size and micro form factors and does not change the physical size or shape of the cards. This design will be part of the forthcoming SD 4.0 specification, expected in early 2011.
"Our innovative dual-row pin design ultimately lets consumers using equipped products to manage the massive storage capacity found on SDXC memory cards at incredible speeds," said Norm Frentz, chairman of the SD Association. "SD can now support high definition video from Hollywood movie studios, television broadcasts, or HD videos taken on your latest vacation. SD is a very popular, extremely portable and easy-to-use storage medium that has enhanced the enjoyment and portability of music, photos and data. The Association remains committed to helping consumers maintain the value, usefulness and longevity of all of their SD products."
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Elpida Memory and Spansion today announced they have created the industry's first charge-trapping 1.8 V, 4-gigabit SLC (Single Level Cell) NAND Flash memory. This NAND memory, based on Spansion's MirrorBit® charge-trapping technology, is being produced at Elpida's Hiroshima factory. The advanced technical expertise and strong cooperation of the two companies has made it possible to develop and manufacture the world's first charge-trapping NAND Flash memory.
Compared to floating-gate NAND Flash memory, charge-trapping NAND Flash memory is more scalable and has a simpler cell structure. It offers superior performance, faster read and faster programming speeds.
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Samsung Electronics today introduced its latest wireless universal serial bus (USB) solution, developed using Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology. Offered in a two-chip set, Samsung’s newest S3C2680/ S5M8311 WUSB solution enables high definition content to be wirelessly transmitted from a mobile host device to a tethered device for viewing. Initial applications are high-resolution cameras, camcorders, TVs and PCs with prospects for adoption in other applications including tablet PCs, printers, beam projectors, portable HDDs, Blu-ray players, and mobile handsets.
“The ability to handle wireless high-speed data transmission while consuming less power is a key requirement for many consumer electronic devices,” said Yiwan Wong, vice president, System LSI marketing, Samsung Electronics. “Due to power/performance issues, previous generations of WUSB products were unable to meet the consumers’ expectations. Samsung’s new WUSB chipset delivers up to 480Mbps (Megabit per second) data transmission rate, at an average power consumption of less than 300mW. This level of power efficiency greatly increases the attractiveness of WUSB connectivity in consumer electronic and mobile applications.”
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DivX, Inc., a leading digital media company connecting people and entertainment, and Yamaha, an international leader in audio and video products, today announced at the IFA trade show the worldwide launch of Yamaha DivX Plus(TM) HD Certified Blu-ray players. These new 3D-ready players bring the best in visual quality and full-featured media capabilities, enabling stunning playback of full 1080p DivX Plus HD video using the MKV container.
Yamaha's new line of Blu-ray players are 3D-ready and feature universal playback (BD, SA-CD, DVD-Audio/Video, CD). The BD-S1067 will be available in Europe to start, and Yamaha plans to launch additional DivX HD Certified Blu-ray player models in North America, Oceania and other areas in the future.
With DivX Plus HD technology, these Blu-ray devices will empower consumers to enjoy their personal and Internet video collections in the DivX format directly on their TVs. DivX makes it simple to load and playback digital videos up to 1080p and Hollywood movies in DivX.
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Apple today announced the new Apple TV which offers the simplest way to watch your favorite HD movies and TV shows on your HD TV for the breakthrough price of just $99. Apple TV users can choose from the largest online selection of HD movies to rent, including first run movies for just $4.99, and the largest online selection of HD TV show episodes to rent from ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC America for just 99 cents.
Apple TV also streams content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe™, as well as music, photos and videos from PCs and Macs to your HD TV. Enjoy gorgeous slideshows of your photos on your HD TV using Apple TV’s selection of built-in slideshows. Apple TV has built-in HDMI, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and an internal power supply for easy set-up, and features silent, cool, very low power operation in an enclosure that’s less than four inches square—80 percent smaller than the previous generation.
“The new Apple TV, paired with the largest selection of online HD movie and TV show rentals, lets users watch Hollywood content on their HD TV whenever they want,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “This tiny, silent box costing just $99 lets users watch thousands of HD movies and TV shows, and makes all of their music, photos and videos effortlessly available on their home entertainment system.”
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Panasonic announced today its newest 8GB and 16GB SDHC UHS-I Memory Cards – the RP-SDY08G and RP-SDY16G. UHS-I is the new standard for higher-speed Bus interface defined by the SD Association as part of the SD Memory Card Specification Ver.3.01, which provides up to 104MB/s performance. Both memory cards have maximum data transfer speed of up to 60MB/s and Class 10 speed specification.
With the higher reading speed of up to 60MB/s, the 8GB and 16GB Memory Cards can transfer data to a PC more than two times faster than Panasonic's current Memory Cards. These also offer stable writing performance with Class 10 speed specification, ensuring highly-reliable 3D and full HD video recording. Like the current Gold model memory cards from Panasonic, the RP-SDY08G and RP-SDY16G both incorporate Super Intelligent Controller (SICS), which is designed for high-level data protection.
The Power Failure Protection function automatically retrieves data when power suddenly fails and preserves important data. This high power failure protection is certified by TÜV Rheinland, by passing their power on-off test. More than ten times longer archival life has been achieved by the Refresh function. The Super Intelligent Controller automatically cleans up accumulated errors, extending card life. Also, Smart Data Writing equalizes the rewrite frequency on each writing area of the card to prevent rewriting in a specific area, thereby minimizing the defect risk of the card.
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Buffalo Japan sent out a press release this morning, announcing its new portable, 3D-enabled Blu-ray Disc writer. The the BP3D-PI6U2-BK is capable of 6x BD-R, 6x BD-R DL, 4x BD-R LTH, 2x BD-RE and 2x BD-RE DL writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 6x. The drive also supports Pioneer's PureREAD and PowerRead technologies and can be powered off a computer's USB bus or the included AC adapter. Last but not least, the BP3D-PI6U2-BK comes bundled with CyberLink's PowerDVD 9 software which enables Blu-ray 3D playback as well as 2D to 3D conversion of DVD movies.
The BP3D-PI6U2-BK is scheduled to ship in early September and is expected to cost about 28,500 Yen ($338US).
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Blockbuster announced that Onkyo's newest Blu-ray player, the BD-SP808 will offer BLOCKBUSTER On Demand®. This month, the model will be rolled out in electronics stores nationwide, adding to a list of more than 85 consumer electronic devices that have integrated the service to boost consumer access to the latest releases.
"Our partnership with Onkyo further represents Blockbuster's commitment to increasing the availability of movies, particularly the newest titles, as well as old favorites," said Bruce Anderson, BLOCKBUSTER On Demand's senior vice president and general manager. "Combining BLOCKBUSTER On Demand with Onkyo's sophisticated Blu-ray technology, users will discover a convenient way to enhance their in-home movie watching experience."
The BLOCKBUSTER On Demand service allows customers to browse and select certain movies as soon as the titles are available on DVD and Blu-ray without having to pay a monthly subscription fee. Using the system's search tool, consumers can also view ratings, trailers and other information about each movie for a more personalized and simplified viewing experience.
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Toshiba Corporation, reinforcing its leadership in the development and fabrication of cutting-edge, high density NAND flash memories, has announced that it today started mass production of NAND flash memories fabricated with 24nm process technology. This latest technology advance has already been applied to 2bit-per-cell 64-gigabit (Gb) chips that are the world's smallest and offer the highest density on a single chip (8 gigabytes (GB)), and which are available from today. Toshiba will also add 32Gb and 3bit per cell products fabricated with the 24nm process technology to its product line-up.
Toshiba leads the industry in fabricating high density, small die size NAND flash memory chips. Application of the 24nm generation process technology will further shrink chip size, allowing Toshiba to boost productivity and bring further enhancements to high density, small sized products. The 24nm process products are also equipped with Toggle DDR, which enhances data transfer speed.
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Netflix, Inc. today announced the availability of its free Netflix App for iPhone and iPod touch, allowing Netflix members on plans starting at just $8.99 a month to instantly watch a vast selection of TV episodes and movies streamed to their iPhone or iPod touch at no additional cost. The Netflix App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.
"Apple has changed the game for mobile devices," said Reed Hastings, Netflix co-founder and chief executive officer. "We're excited that our members can now carry Netflix around in their pockets and instantly watch movies and TV shows streamed from Netflix right to their iPhone or iPod touch."
The Netflix App delivers a high-quality viewing experience, a broad array of movie and TV choices and a clean, intuitive interface. It is available via both Wi-Fi and 3G networks. TV episodes and movies are conveniently organized into a variety of categories based on members' personal preferences, popular genres, new arrivals and members' individual instant Queues. Members can choose a movie or TV episode from any of the lists and just tap the innovative Multi-Touch user interface to watch instantly or to save the title for viewing later.
