Details
Flash Memory
Verbatim Europe sent out a press today, announcing two new USB drives. Along with an updated version of the standard Store ´n´ Go, Verbatim has introduced a new drive aimed at business users. The Store ‘n' Go Executive features 128-bit AES encryption and is capable of 30 Mbyte/s read and 12 Mbyte/s write speeds.

The newly developed Store ´n´ Go generation comes in the colour blue. It combines functionality with a smart design. The Retractable System is the perfect alternative to the tiresome cap of the past. “The Retractable System protects the USB interface and is more convenient for our clients”, explains Hans Christoph Kaiser, Business Development Manager Flash and USB Memory Verbatim EUMEA. Software for secure data encryption and a blue LED-light are part of the package which is all rounded off with a free European Hotline Support telephone number. The support of Microsoft ReadyBoost enables Windows Vista users to work faster. The USB drive is available with capacities from 1GB to 16GB. Weighing just 10 grams, it can read data at a speed of 11 Mbyte/s and write data at 8 Mbyte/s.

The Store ‘n' Go Executive USB drive is the star of the Verbatim USB Range. For business users and professionals who need access to large volumes of data, its 4GB to 16GB storage capacity offers the perfect solution. The Store 'n' Go Executive delivers first-class read and write speeds of up to 200x (30 Mbyte/s) and 80x (12 Mbyte/s). The stylish, silver-colored design with its protective rubber coating looks perfect with any model of laptop or PC. Confidential data is secured to the satisfaction of all professional users thanks to 128-bit AES encryption. With the special design of this Store 'n' Go product range, the USB connection is protected by simply sliding the jack in, making the protective cap obsolete here too.
The Store ´n´ Go Standard and Enterprise are available now in capacities up to 16GB. More information on both drives can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Home Entertainment
As we reported a few weeks ago, sales of standalone Blu-ray players have been down since January. To find out why, Harris Interactive surveyed 2,529 U.S. adults and found that only 9% owned a Blu-ray player or Playstation 3. Of the rest, only 9% planned on buying a Blu-ray disc player within the next year.
While many people expected sales of Blu-ray disc players to spike when Toshiba decided to drop out of the high-definition HD DVD market in February 2008, according to a new Harris Poll, it seems that the recently resolved high definition format war is not motivating consumers to purchase the advanced DVD players any time soon. The Harris Poll of 2,529 U.S. adults surveyed online between April 7 and 15, 2008 by Harris Interactive found that:

  • Ownership of standard DVD players is practically ubiquitous (87%);
  • Few report owning Blu-ray disc players (4%), Sony PlayStation 3 (5%), HD DVD players (6%) and the HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360 (1% have external drive while 9% have an Xbox 360);
  • Only nine percent of non-Blu-ray player owners report being likely to purchase a Blu-ray disc player within the next year, even when made fully aware that Blu-ray is considered to be the definitive technology for high definition DVD players going forward;
  • Two-thirds of consumers are familiar with the recently resolved high-definition format war (67%) and seven in ten of them have heard that Blu-ray is the unofficial winner (69%);
  • Nearly a quarter (23%) of those aware of the format war report that they had been waiting for the rivalry to play itself out before purchasing a high definition player, but by April they had yet to do so;
While research groups can forecast all they want, surveys like this show that its going to be some time before Blu-ray replaces the DVD. If you'd like to read more, Harris Interactive entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Other

Aeneon XTune 2GB DDR2-1142 Dual Channel Memory Kit @Bigbruin.com
EVO-G MP1 Mousepad @HardwareLogic
NZXT Tempest @Phoronix
OCZ SATA-II 32GB 2.5-Inch SSD OCZSSD2-1S32G @Benchmark Reviews
Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 Toxic @ASE Labs
Ultra X3 800Watt Modular Power Supply @Tweaknews.net
Zalman FPS Gun Gaming Mouse @BCCHardware
Add a comment

Details
Optical Storage
IDC has released a new study, analyizing the optical storage market for 2005-2007 and providing a forcast for 2008-2012. According to their findings, Blu-ray adoption will gain momentum 2009. However, DVD burners will continue to dominate the market until 2012.
Overall PC market growth, driven by portable PCs, will give the worldwide CD/DVD market a moderately positive outlook in 2008 and lead to increased demand for slim drives. Despite the ramp of Blu-ray drives, DVD burners will continue to be the leading volume product until 2012. However, as the PC market's adoption of DVD burners becomes saturated and increasingly commoditized, Blu-ray adoption will accelerate in 2009 and Blu-ray drives will become the majority of the total market value in 2012.

"DVD burners will remain the bread-and-butter business for ODD vendors," said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, Removable Storage at IDC. "Despite Blu-ray's win over HDD in the format war, Blu-ray drive adoption will be limited in 2008 because of their high price and only moderate consumer interest."
If you'd like to read more, the IDC's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Other

In Win B2 Stealth Bomber Mid Tower Case @TweakTown
Lian Li PC-P80R ATI/AMD Spider Series Case @Hi-Tech Reviews
Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 1TB External Hard Drive @ThinkComputers.org
PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 860 PSU @TweakPC
Samsung T220 22" LCD Monitor @InsideHW
Sapphire Toxic 512MB Radeon HD3870 Graphics Card @Bigbruin.com
Sungju TangoX Nano @VIA Arena
Add a comment

Details
Optical Storage
Falcon Technologies International (FTI) sent out a press release today, announcing its line of FalconMedia Pro Century media. These new CD-R and DVD-R discs feature FTI's hard coat technology as well as a specially-optimized 24k Gold reflective layer that offers ultra-long achival lifespans.
Falcon Technologies International (FTI), the leading manufacturer of optical data storage discs for professional and archival applications, today introduced a complete line of FalconMedia Pro Century Gold CD-R and DVD-R media with specially-optimized 24k Gold reflective layer designs and formulations that offer ultra-long 300 and 100 year archival lifespans, respectively, based on accelerated aging tests.

Like all FTI media, the discs deliver best-in-class recording performance and reliability. The discs' long archival capabilities make them the ideal solutions for a wide variety of applications, including the preservation of important documents such as company and government records, photographs and video files.
FalconMedia Pro Century discs are available now in spindles of 10 or 25, with optional inkjet and thermal printable surfaces. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Home Entertainment
With BD-Live players finally making their way to market, companies like Dreamer are looking to take full advantage of their internet capabilities. Using Dreamer's new BIDDLE technology, content providers can update and add new applications and services, even years after a Blu-ray Disc has been released.
Dreamer's BIDDLE technology is a software platform that makes itpossible for content creators and distributors to deliver customized,interactive programming and services directly to consumers' living roomTVs, via a networked Blu-ray Disc player (BD Live) or a PlayStation(R) 3gaming console.

With BIDDLE technology, the possibilities for interactive content andservices are virtually endless, including video/audio on demand (VOD),product catalogs, e-commerce, casual gaming, social networking,advertising, web portals and much more. All of these can be personalized bygeographic region or even by specific players.
if you'd like to read more, Dreamer's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Home Entertainment
NetBlender announced today that it has partnered with BluFocus to help streamline the development, implementation and certification of BD Touch applications. BluFocus will serve as the exclusive provider of BD Touch SDKs and provide testing and certification services for BD Touch-enabled discs.
NetBlender and BluFocus have formed a partnership for the development, implementation, and certification of BD Touch technology for the Blu-ray industry. BD Touch is a new Blu-ray technology, developed by NetBlender, which allows iPhones and iPod Touch devices to interact with content on a Blu-ray disc.

Under the new relationship, BluFocus will serve as the exclusive provider of BD Touch Software Development Kits (SDKs) to movie studios, authoring facilities and tools providers who wish to produce BD Touch applications with NetBlender's Blend/In SDK. BluFocus will also provide testing and certification services for BD Touch-enabled discs prior to replication.

"We are excited to be working with NetBlender and BD Touch because we feel that the BD Touch technology offers the first Blu-ray interactive experience that is designed to benefit the consumer and truly differentiate what Blu-ray has to offer from that of standard DVD," said Paulette E. Pantoja, founder and CEO of BluFocus. "This two screen environment unlocks endless creative possibilities for a dynamic and engaging user experience with a Blu-ray disc."
If you'd like to read more, NetBlender's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Optical Storage
Last week, we reported that Philips had asked a court in Taipei for the provisional seizure of Prodisc's bank deposits. In response, Prodisc placed ads in local newspapers stating that Philips' royalty rates are unreasonably high and that the entire system is unfair. Apparently, this didn't go over very well with Philips as they have now asked the courts to extend the provisional seizure and place legal attachment on one of Prodisc's factories.
Royal Philips Electronics on May 12 requested a local court in the Taipei area to place legal attachment on a Prodisc Technology factory located near Taipei to protect its claims on unpaid royalties, an extension of the provisional seizure of Prodisc's bank deposits that was earlier requested by Philips and approved by the court, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Philips' request for attachment on Prodisc's factory property was made mainly because Prodisc on May 9 placed an announcement in local Chinese language-language newspapers stating that Philips' royalty charge rates are unreasonably high and that the entire Philips royalty system is unfair due to Philips' being unable to impose charges on makers of blank CD-R discs in China and India, the sources pointed.
The article also mentions that Prodisc has proposed a solution to Philips in the hopes that they can settle the dispute and lift the provisional seizure. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

Details
Other
ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe Motherboard @HardwareLogic
ASUS EN9600GT TOP & Silent Graphics Cards @Hardware Zone
Corsair Survivor 32GB Ultra Rugged USB 2.0 Flash Drive @Futurelooks
NZXT Cryo LX Notebook Cooler @ThinkComputers.org
Overclocked Radeon HD 3650 Showdown, ASUS vs. HIS @HotHardware.com
Palit GeForce 9600GT 1GB Sonic Video Card @ThinkComputers.org andTweakTown
Add a comment

Latest Reviews

Latest Headlines

Latest Forum Threads