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Flash Memory

17 December 2007

Intel sent out a press release today, announcing the Z-P140 PATA Solid-State Drive (SSD). Developed for handheld devices, this ultra-small SSD is available in 2GB and 4GB capacities and is capable of 40MB/s read and 30MB/s writing speeds.

Intel Corporation announced its latest entry into the solid-state drive market with the Intel Z-P140 PATA Solid-State Drive (SSD), one of the tiniest in the industry aimed at handheld mobile devices. Smaller than a penny and weighing less than a drop of water, these 2 Gigabyte (GB) and 4GB ultra-small devices are fast, low-power and rugged, with the right size, capacity and performance for mobile Internet devices, digital entertainment and embedded products.

SSDs use flash memory to store operating systems and computing data, emulating hard drives. The Intel Z-P140 PATA SSD has an industry standard parallel ATA (PATA) interface and is optimized to enhance Intel-based computers, and will be an optional part of Intel’s Menlow platform for mobile Internet devices debuting in 2008.

The Intel Z-P140 is currently sampling with mass production scheduled in the first quarter of 2008. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Other

17 December 2007

The 1394 Trade Association recently announced a new specification, known as S3200, that will quadruple the speed of FireWire to 3.2Gbps. While slower than USB 3.0, which is expected to top out at 4.8Gbps, this new specification builds upon the IEEE 1394b standard and uses the same cables and connectors already deployed for FireWire 800 products.

The new electrical specification, known as S3200, builds upon the IEEE 1394b standard, preserving all the advantages of FireWire while offering a major and unprecedented boost in performance. The new speed uses the cables and connectors already deployed for FireWire 800 products, making the transition forward easy and convenient for 1394 product vendors and their customers. Because the 1394 arbitration, data, and service protocols were not modified for S3200, silicon and software vendors can deploy the faster speed FireWire quickly and with confidence that it will deliver its full potential performance. The S3200 specification is expected to be ratified by early February.

FireWire 800 products deployed since 2003 have proven that IEEE 1394b delivers outstanding performance. Operating without polling, without idle times, and without continuous software management, FireWire 800 efficiently delivers more than 97 percent of its bit rate as payload -- not overhead. FireWire 800 hard drives today can easily move over 90 megabytes per second. S3200 preserves 100 percent of the 1394b design efficiency and will deliver extremely high payload speeds reaching nearly 400 megabytes per second. Other interface technologies struggle to deliver half their advertised bit rate to the user, even under optimal conditions.

While there is no word on when S3200 devices will hit the market, the 1394 Trade Association expects to ratify the specification in February. If you'd like to read more, the entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

17 December 2007

While much of the world is focused on the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD, companies on both sides are trying to grab their share of the high-def market. According to Video Business, Sony currently dominates the set-top Blu-ray player market with 60% of total unit sales. Their only real competition is Samsung who has accounted for 32% of units sold.

For the week ended Nov. 24, Sony captured 60% of all BD unit sales; and Samsung was its only significant competitor with 32%, according to DisplaySearch. Panasonic was far behind, corralling a 5% share.

Collectively, BD-exclusive players far outpaced demand for dual-format players, which primarily encompassed LG’s first-generation model on shelves. BD-only players represented 37% of all high-def units sold. HD DVD-only was at 62%, and dual-format, less than 1%.

If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

17 December 2007

Fastmac recently announced a 4x Blu-ray Disc writer for Apple's Mac Pro & PowerMac G5 computers. This tray loading drive writes to single and dual layer Blu-ray discs at 4x and is backwards compatible with standard CD and DVD media.

Fastmac today announced a 4x Dual Layer Blu-Ray optical drive upgrade for Apple's Mac Pro & PowerMac G5 computers. The new 5.25-inch, tray loading drive uses one of the fastest Mac-compatible Blu-ray mechanisms to provide up to 50 Gb of storage on 1 dual or double layer disc, without sacrificing compatibility with standard DVD & CD recordable media. Using a SATA connection, the drive's 4x BD-R DL mechanism allows professional Mac users to burn upto 50GB of data on 1 disc in less than 50 minutes.

Fastmac's 4x Blu-ray optical drive upgrade is available now for a special introductory price of $579.95. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Other

14 December 2007

Aeneon XTune 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz Memory @BCCHardware
ASUS Silent Knight II CPU Cooler @TweakTown
Hiper Type R Mk. II 680watt Power Supply @HardwareLogic
HT Omega Claro Plus+ AD8620BR Op Amp HD Sound Card @ Benchmark Reviews
Intel Core 2 Duo Wolfdale E8400 @ChileHardware
Kingwi n Z1-35EU-BK USB 2.0 and eSATA Hard Drive Enclosure @Bigbruin.com
LG GGC-H20L Blu-ray/HD DVD Combo Drive @Hardware Zone
Palit GeForce 8800GT Sonic Graphics Card @TweakTown
Samsung SH-S203N LightScribe DVD Writer @Extrememhz.com

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Duplicators

14 December 2007

Kanguru Solutions has announced the release of the world's first stand-alone USB duplicator. According to their press release, the Kanguru USB Duplicator has the ability to copy information to as many as 24 USB devices at once.

Kanguru Solutions, announces the release of the Kanguru USB Duplicator(TM), a high speed, standalone USB duplicator that allows users to copy to up to 24 USB devices at once.

Designed to streamline data distribution among portable USB storage devices, the Kanguru USB Duplicator is great for back ups, IT work, sales and marketing preparation, PC rollouts and more. The Kanguru USB Duplicator (compatible with both USB 2.0 and USB 1.1) uses eight main function modes to copy and verify data, offers five different setup modes, and works with USB memory sticks as well as USB hard drives. The USB Duplicator comes in 2 sizes: 1 Master to 9 Targets and 1 Master to 24 Targets.

No word yet on pricing or availability. If you'd like to read more, Kanguru's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

14 December 2007

While HD DVD fans in the UK won't be getting the Venturer SHD7001 in time for the holidays, the European HD DVD Promotional Group is making up for it by including a voucher with the player good for five free HD DVD titles.

Not only will the new SHD7001 be supplied with a fantastic add on package worth around £50.00 (two fantastic HD DVDs; Hulk and Troy, and a free HDMI cable) it will also now include a voucher that enables customers to redeem 5 more free HD DVDs courtesy of the European HD DVD Promotional Group.

Until 31st January 2008 customers can use their redemption voucher to select 5 of their favourite titles for free from a list of HD DVDs, giving them complete freedom of choice. No additional charges will be made as postage and packaging will also be completely free.

If you'd like to read more, Venturer's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

14 December 2007

Microsoft recently announced the release of its Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator. By offering this new tool, Microsoft hopes to streamline the development and testing process by giving film studios and disc authoring companies the ability to model the behavior of HD DVD disc content in a virtual environment.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of the Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator, enabling film studios and disc authoring companies to model the behavior of HD DVD disc content, including encoded video and HDi interactivity, in a virtual environment before committing to burning a single HD DVD disc. This comprehensive tool is among the first commercially available, software-based solutions of its kind, eliminating the need for expensive hardware or time-consuming and costly trial-and-error processes for testing HD DVD titles, helping to ensure that titles ship error-free.

The enhanced content and rich interactive capabilities of HD DVD increase the need for an efficient way to troubleshoot coding to maintain the highest-quality consumer experiences. The emulator uses a combination of available hardware (the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player) and specialized emulation software to ultimately enable playback of near-final assets from a network storage share, portable hard drive or optical disc. This allows focused testing of the layout, the menus, and the behavior of the interactivity functionality of a title. Detailed log reports from the Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator deliver valuable tracing information to help quickly and easily pinpoint problems with advanced interactivity code that otherwise could take hours of manual debugging.

The emulator is available now via Xbox LIVE for a one-time licensing fee is $2,999. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

13 December 2007

Addonics Technologies has announced a new optical storage solution that can play back both Blu-ray and HD DVD movies. According to their press release, the Zebra Blu-ray / HD DVD Player can also play standard DVDs and CDs in various file formats and burn DVD±R/RW and CD-RW media.

Addonics Technologies today announced its Zebra Blu-ray / HD DVD Player an optical storage solution that allows your PC to play Blu-ray and HD DVD movies from the same tray.

The Zebra Blu-ray / HD DVD Player also plays standard DVDs and CDs in various file formats and burns DVD±R/RW and CDRW media, which makes it one of the most flexible optical drives available. Users can turn their laptop or desktop computer into a high definition movie player and enjoy high definition video quality of 1080p format at 1920x1080 resolution and the dynamic 7.1-channel audio output that comes with the Blu-ray or HD DVD format.

The Zebra Blu-ray / HD DVD Player is available with an eSATA interface for $409 with a combination eSATA/USB 2.0 interface for $429. Full details can be found here. Add a comment