For a change of pace, CDRLabs has taken a look at one of Western Digital's new portable hard drives, the My Passport Elite. This top of the line drive offers a number of unique features including a soft-touch finish, built in capacity gauge and a collection of backup, synchronization and remote access software.

In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the My Passport Elite and see how it performs. Is it the best choice for the person on the go? You'll have to read the review to find out.


Western Digital 320GB My Passport Elite Portable Hard Drive
If you have any comments or questions about this review or the Western Digital My Passport Elite, please post them in the forum. Add a comment
Buffalo Japan has announced the release of its new 22x "Super Multi" drive, the DVSM-X22FB. Based on what appears to be the LG GH22N, the DVSM-X22FB features 22x DVD±R, 10x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. Here are some of the specs:



Writing Speeds:
DVD±R: 22x
DVD±R DL: 10x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-RAM: 12x
CD-R: 48x
CD-RW: 32x

Read Speeds:
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 12x Max
DVD±R: 16x Max
DVD±RW: 12x Max
DVD±R DL: 12x Max
DVD-RAM: 12X Max
CD-R/ROM: 48x Max
CD-RW: 40x Max


The DVSM-X22FB will hit store shelves around mid-June and is priced at 7400 Yen ($71US). Full details can be found here. Add a comment
While Blu-ray player sales in the US have been down since January, sales in Japan have risen by nearly threefold. Much of this is due to the popularity of Blu-ray recorders, which topped DVD recorders in sales for the first time last month.
Sales of high definition Blu-ray DVD recorders are zooming up in Japan as consumers take to the new generation of home movie entertainment after the end of a bitter format war.

Last month the more expensive Blu-ray recorders topped the old generation recorders in the value of sales for the first time, with around a third of machines sold now carrying the new format, research firm BCN Ltd said in a statement.

"Full high-definition picture quality has become a main stream for big-screen TVs, and camcorders with higher picture quality are getting popular, too," said BCN chief analyst Shigehiro Tanaka.
Blu-ray sales are expected to rise even further as manufacturers cut prices in preparation for the Beijing Olympics. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

Aeneon XTune 2GB DDR3-1600 Dual Channel Memory Kit @Bigbruin.com
Cyber Snipa Sonar 5.1 USB Surround Headset @Tweaknews.net
Dell XPS 730 H2C Performance Gaming System @HotHardware.com
Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 4GB USB Stick @Madshrimps
Sparkle Calibre GeForce 9600 GT @InsideHW
ZEROtherm ZEN FZ 120 CPU Cooler @ThinkComputers.org
Add a comment
LaCie sent out a press release earlier today, announcing an updated version of its d2 Blu-ray drive. Along with a new alloy case and software suite, the drive's Blu-ray writing speeds have been boosted from 2x to 4x.

LaCie announced today that is has doubled burn speeds to 4x for it d2 Blu-ray Drive and has updated the aluminum alloy case and software suite. The drive records, rewrites and reads 25 gigabytes (GB) or 50GB BD-R (recordable) and BD-RE (rewritable), as well as DVD±RW DL and CD±RW. The LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drive come fully equipped with Roxio burning software and dual FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 interfaces.

“In early 2007, LaCie was the first vendor to ship worldwide an external solution for professional Hi-Def video recording for both Mac and Windows. Since that time, Blu-ray technology has proven to be the dominant source for video recording and playback,” said Patrick Salin, LaCie Business Development Manager. “Burning up to 50GB of data can take a reasonable amount of time, so doubling burn speeds not only increases work performance, but provides a cost-effective, long-term archival process for storing data to sturdy scratch-resistant media.
LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drives are available now for a suggested retail price of $649.99. If you'd like to read more, LaCie's entire press release can be found website. Add a comment
Sony has announced the European launch of its new upscaling DVD player, the DVP-NS708H. Along with the ability to upconvert standard DVD's to 1080p, the DVP-NS708H offers features such as HDMI output, DivX playback and support for BRAVIA Sync.

A perfect complement to your BRAVIA LCD television or any HD Ready TV, the DVP-NS708H upscales Standard Definition DVDs to 1080p for sublime, detail-packed pictures. The highest resolution format your HD TV can display, 1080p presents 1920x1080 Full HD images with progressive scanning. This guarantees a richer, more cinematic viewing experience, especially at larger TV screen sizes.

It's also a great way to get even more enjoyment from your precious digital photo collection. JPEG images burned onto CD or DVD from your Cyber-shot or α digital SLR camera can be enjoyed on a connected BRAVIA television with breathtaking HD quality. If your BRAVIA TV supports PhotoTV HD, still images are optimised further for the ultimate photo viewing experience.
No word yet on pricing or availability. If you'd like to read more, Sony's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

Cyber Sniper SONAR 5.1 Headset @tkArena
Gl acialtech Altair A380 HTPC Case @Tweaknews.net
Lenovo ThinkPad X300 Series Notebook @TweakTown
Logitech diNovo Mini @InsideHW
NZXT Tempest Case @ThinkComputers.org
PNY Verto GeForce 9600GT Graphics Card @TweakTown
ThermoLab Micro Silencer CPU Cooler @BCCHardware
Western Digital My Passport Elite 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive @Futurelooks
ZEROther m Zen FZ120 CPU Cooler @Virtual-Hideout
Add a comment
JVC announced today that it is spinning off its recordable media business into a new company called Victor Advanced Media Co., Ltd. Once the spin off is complete, JVC plans to transfer a portion of the new company's shares to Taiyo Yuden.
Under its new Medium-term Management Plan, JVC is currently reforming its businessstructure and management foundation by focusing on consumer electronics, professionalsystems, and entertainment as its three future core businesses. These reforms includeconcentrated efforts to strengthen these core businesses, as well as fundamental review ofother businesses.

In the process of JVC's investigation of thorough structural reforms the company consideredthe transfer or spin-off of its recordable media business.

As a result, JVC decided to spin-off this business to the new company Victor AdvancedMedia Co., Ltd. and transfer a portion of the shares of this company to Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd.JVC judged this to be the best option for business continuity. It will also make maximum use ofthe brand strength, technology, and know-how that JVC has cultivated up to the present;ensure continuity in responsibility for product supply to existing customers; and secure the employment of JVC personnel working in the recordable media business.
It's good to see JVC and Taiyo Yuden working together. Hopefully, this way we'll actually see the DVD-RW DL media that JVC has been developing. If you'd like to read more, JVC's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Samsung announced this week that it has developed the world's fastest 256GB multi-level cell (MLC) based solid state drive (SSD). This new 2.5" SSD is equipped with a SATA II interface which allows it to read at 200 MB/s and write at 160 MB/s.
Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has developed the world's fastest, 2.5-inch, 256 Gigabyte (GB) multi-level cell (MLC) based solid state drive (SSD) using a SATA II interface, at the fifth annual Samsung Mobile Solution Forum held here today. Samsung's new 256GB SSD is also the thinnest drive with the largest capacity to be offered with a SATA II interface.

With a sequential read speed of 200 megabytes per second (MB/s) and sequential write speed of 160MB/s, Samsung's MLC-based 2.5-inch 256GB SSD is about 2.4 times faster than a typical HDD. Furthermore, the new 256 GB SSD is only 9.5 millimeters (mm) thick, and measures 100.3x69.85 mm.

Once introduced, the Samsung's 256GB SSD will mark the largest capacity SSD from the global market leader in SSD sales, effectively eliminating density as a barrier to SSD adoption in the consumer space.
Samsung is expected to begin producing its new 256GB SSD by year end, with customer samples available in September. A 1.8-inch version of the drive is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2008. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
I/OMagic recently announced that they have started shipping their new internal and external Blu-ray burners. To test the technical support needs of these new drives, I/OMagic has decided to offer them exclusively through their website.
I/OMagic (OTCBB: IOMG), a leading online retailer of personal data storage devices to major retailers, announced today the availability of internal and external Blu-Ray drives from their new redesigned website. I/OMagic is among the pioneers of optical storage and has maintained a strong presence in this market by offering quality, reliable CD and DVD optical drives. The addition of the Blu-Ray optical drives is an ideal extension of the I/OMagic optical drive line, which already encompasses internal and external dual layer, LightScribe, and slim notebook drives.

"There is strong demand for Blu-Ray burners for video editing, data backup and archiving, playing high resolution movies and state-of-the-art games," says Don Wallis, VP of Marketing. "With ever increasing need for more storage for video, photos, and data, Blu-Ray discs satisfy this need with their huge 25GB to 50GB data storage capacity on a single disc."
Unfortunately, I/OMagic has not released any details about the drives themselves or how much they will be. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, I/OMagic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment