VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated chip controllers, today announced two new USB 3.0 Host controllers, the four-port VIA VL805 and the two-port VIA VL806. The VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 allow a PCI Express-equipped platform to interface with multiple SuperSpeed USB peripherals devices simultaneously for blistering fast transfers rates up to 5Gbps while retaining full backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices.

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The next generation single chip VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 Host controllers include enhancements for improved performance, seamless cross compatibility and interoperability, and new features such as support for USB Battery Charging and "Charging Downstream Port" which enables both fast data sync and rapid charging with compatible devices. The VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 comply with the Universal Serial Bus 3.0 specification and Intel's eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI) 1.0 specification and add native inbox driver support for Windows 8. VIA VL805 and VL806 host controllers are USB-IF certified and are currently shipping.

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Synology Inc. today announced selected DiskStation and RackStation are officially certified for Microsoft Windows Server 2012, which delivers important advancements to help businesses increase IT efficiency as well as achieve a new level of availability.

The compelling combination of Synology NAS server and the new Windows Server® 2012 operating system entitles businesses to boost performance and flexibility when migrating running virtual machine without downtime. Additionally, the full Windows Server 2012 support ensures business continuity and minimizes disaster recovery time with real-time virtual machine remote replication. The combined virtualized platform also enables enterprises to flexibly leverage the new VHDX format and its ability of supporting up to 64TB storage per virtual hard disk. Moreover, Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) 2.0 provides a highly scalable and flexible shared storage infrastructure with increased performance. CSV 2.0 will be supported with more workloads, including File Server for scale-out application data.

“Synology DiskStation and RackStation take full advantage of the enhancements in Windows Server 2012 to address the critical challenges around virtualization, cloud computing, and managing big data,” said Wayne An, product manager of Synology Inc. “They help IT administrators create dynamic data centers and cloud infrastructures that provide agility and high availability,” added An.

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WD, a Western Digital company, and a world leader in external storage and solutions for today’s connected life, today unveils the new My Net AC1300 HD Dual-Band Router and My Net AC Bridge as the latest additions to the acclaimed My Net family of HD dual-band routers. These products combine next-generation 802.11ac wireless technology with WD’s exclusive FasTrack™ technology for automatically prioritizing high-bandwidth entertainment services like Netflix™, YouTube™, online games and Skype™, to provide maximum streaming performance inside the home.

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A leading product testing and analysis organization, The Tolly Group, conducted performance testing of the My Net AC1300 router and My Net Bridge amongst comparable products on the market today.  Results show that the My Net AC1300 router is faster than leading competitive products averaged across ranges of 30 to 75 feet, demonstrating the strongest performance in providing stable wireless speeds over long distances, and cutting out buffering and lag times to provide a smooth HD entertainment streaming experience throughout the home.

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As the online karaoke and recording phenomenon continues to gain traction, demand has emerged for dedicated hardware that enables pro-level singing and recording via PC at home. The ASUS Xonar D-KARA karaoke audio card (PCI interface) presents professional effects and recording capabilities, designed by Xonar and music industry engineers. It supports simplified pre-set recording and extra-detailed input, with strong hardware that ensures optimized voice syncing and ultra-vivid 106dB SNR. D-KARA helps customers enjoy social singing, recording, editing, and sharing of vocal performances, consolidating features under the user-friendly Xonar Audio Center.

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Internet-based communal singing and karaoke-style experiences have seen tremendous growth recently. Supported by numerous services and sites (including YouTube), online karaoke is becoming more popular due to its social entertainment value. Like-minded people with a fondness for singing get together, friends and family gather for enjoyable singing sessions, and would-be performers hone their skills on the way to possible superstardom. Accommodating this, the Xonar team carried out research that shows over 100,000 people engage in daily online karaoke across Eurozone markets, while in mainland China the customer base stands at an amazing 500,000 singers per day. The team also received feedback showing that customers are interested in karaoke-specific hardware to improve their experiences, as software-based karaoke sites and services often offer basic features, suffer from latency, and lack proper recording facilities. Xonar D-KARA corrects these shortcomings in direct response to community input.

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Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, today announced the release of its four-port USB 3.0 Hub, the HUB3 - a compact and easy-to-carry solution for connecting more peripherals to a computer than would normally be possible. Compliant with the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 specification, the HUB3 provides data transfer rates up to ten times faster than USB 2.0.

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As more and more devices incorporate the USB 3.0 standard, users of today's advanced Ultrabooks and thin-and-light laptops may feel that there is a lack of USB 3.0 connectivity options. To overcome these limitations, Transcend's HUB3 transforms a single USB 3.0 port into four, instantly expanding the number of high-performance USB 3.0 devices that can be connected to a single computer simultaneously.

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wd_my_net_wi-fi_range_extender.pngWD, a subsidiary of Western Digital, and a world leader in external storage and solutions for today’s connected life, today unveils its My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender to expand wireless home networks into out-of-reach areas of the home. Following the introduction of its first line of wireless home networking products, the acclaimed My Net family of HD dual-band routers, the selectable dual-band My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender provides faster, stronger and more reliable wireless network coverage to computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, media players, smart TVs and other Wi-Fi connected devices that suffer from a weak Wi-Fi signal within the home.

“Today’s home is filled with multiple Wi-Fi connected devices simultaneously streaming movies, music and TV shows on services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, VUDU and others,” explains Scott Vouri, general manager for WD's connected life solutions group. “The My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender provides faster speeds at greater distances, enabling HD streaming to the outermost areas of the home.”

My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender’s power comes from its 3x3 multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antenna array design, versus the 2x2 design used by most competitive products. This design enables customers to significantly extend the Wi-Fi signal from their existing routers or gateways, letting them enjoy HD streaming movies, online gaming and video calls in remote areas of the home with the fastest wireless-N speeds possible. The range extender also features a Gigabit Ethernet port, providing a high-speed Internet connection for distant, wired-only entertainment devices.

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adata_dashdrive_air_av200.pngADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today launched the DashDrive Air AV200, a groundbreaking device that functions as both a memory card & USB Flash drive reader, and also a portable router/access point(AP) and a repeater, which is an indispensable accessory in the digital life.

ADATA DashDrive Air AV200 adopts FTP file server/ HTTP Streaming protocol to provide simple data transfer and sharing, providing your mobile device (iOS/Android/Windows/OS X) with wireless access to your SD Card and USB Flash drive. Designed for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone users, and requiring iOS 5.0 or later versions, users can easily download the DashDrive Air application for use with the AV200. It can also act as a wireless router/AP or a repeater with support for 802.11 b/g/n wireless networking, conveniently connecting to the internet through an Ethernet to create a wireless hotspot, creating a shared internet connection for up to 5 mobile devices at the same time. This looks to be an ideal solution for smart phone, notebook and tablet users in situations where there is no wireless network available, but a connected Ethernet cable is present. AV200 can also be a personal mini-data center to conveniently share data with mobile devices.

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d-link_shareport_go_dir-506l.pngD-Link today announced its latest addition to its family of SharePort mobility products – the SharePort Go (DIR-506L), giving families and mobile professionals a simple-to-use and feature-rich solution for easy media streaming to a range of devices and Wireless networking on-the-go. Featuring a compact design and rechargeable battery, the portable SharePort Go (DIR-506L) allows users to easily share and stream across a range of devices, add wireless storage to a smartphone or tablet, or turn any Internet connection into a Wi-Fi hotspot.

"Internet access is ubiquitous in public places across the globe – hotels, coffee shops, airports and more – however, often times these connections are not secure and they don't offer an easy way to share an Internet connection with multiple devices," said Ken Loyd, director, consumer products, D-Link. "The new SharePort Go not only provides easy and secure networking wherever you are, but enables you to share all types of media with any number of devices, effortlessly."

Featuring a rechargeable built-in battery, the SharePort Go can be used almost anywhere, at home or on the road and can also be used to charge a smartphone when its battery is running low. With SharePort Go, users can seamlessly add wireless storage to an iPhone®, iPad® or Android™ device using any USB Flash drive – a very convenient feature when you run out of storage and are unable to add more media or download new apps. Additionally, the device offers a range of network functionality, turning an Internet connection into a Wi-Fi Hotspot and can also be used as a portable router to create a secured wireless network anywhere.

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Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the availability of its SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) hub controller system-on-chip (SoC), the µPD720210, for use in hubs that enable connection of multiple devices supporting the USB 3.0 standard, such as PC peripherals and digital TVs.

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The USB interface standard has been widely adopted worldwide. The recent proliferation of video content and large-capacity recording media has increased demand for interfaces capable of handling higher data transfer rates. In response, new products are coming to market with support for USB 3.0, which delivers speeds 10 times faster than the 480 megabits per second of USB 2.0 speeds. Adoption of USB 3.0 in non-PC products, such as digital consumer electronics, is growing due to factors such as the appearance of solid state drives (SSDs), which allow reading and writing of data at faster speeds than conventional hard disk drives (HDDs), and chipsets with a built-in USB 3.0 host controller.

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PROMISE Technology Inc., a leader in providing high-performance storage solutions for the rich media market and the leader in designing cutting-edge Thunderbolt enabled devices, today announced the introduction of 3TB drives for the Pegasus R6 -- expanding capacity to 18TBs. The expanded capacity addresses the performance and storage needs demanded by video editors and creative professionals who want to dramatically increase the amount of digital assets they can ingest, edit or playback including multiple streams of uncompressed HD (10-bit and 12-bit) video.

In conjunction with this increased capacity, PROMISE also announces a price reduction for their internationally award winning Pegasus R6 12TB units. The increased availability of HDDs due to the stabilization in the recently volatile market has resulted in dramatically lower costs for drives and PROMISE has seized on this unique opportunity to pass along these savings directly to their customers.

This newly expanded capacity affords greater protection of valuable workflows, audio sessions and other media content on-location or in the edit suite while leveraging the dynamic increase in flexibility and performance. The complete Pegasus family of storage offerings is fully compatible with the recently announced OS X® Mountain Lion, the world's most advanced operating system.

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