VR-Zone Tech News for the Geeks Nov 2011 Issue by VR Media Pte. Ltd.

October 31st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Exclusive: Gigabyte to include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 with X79 motherboards Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/exclusive-gigabyte-to-include-wi-fiand-bluetooth-4.0-with-x79-motherboards/13844.html October 31st, 2011

Gigabyte has already had leaks with regards to some of the features of its upcoming X79 motherboards and today we have an exclusive leak of our own, Gigabyte is going to add Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11n Wi-Fi support to its X79 motherboards. However, the company is taking a different and in our opinion better approach than its competitors when it comes to adding support for wireless connectivity. Gigabyte has already had leaks with regards to some of the features of its upcoming X79 motherboards and today we have an exclusive leak of our own, Gigabyte is going to add Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11n Wi-Fi support to its X79 motherboards. However, the company is taking a different and in our opinion better approach than its competitors when it comes to adding support for wireless connectivity. As we've already seen, ECS went for a pair of USB type dongles at the rear of its X79 motherboard, although seemingly the WiFi part relies on a PCB antenna connected by hardwired and rather messy wire to the rear I/O of the motherboard. Asus has added a proprietary raiser card for its P9X79 Deluxe which is a custom designed USB setup as far as we can tell. Both companies are also only offering Bluetooth 3.0, although this is at least less of an issue at the moment.

Gigabyte decided to go with a slightly more sensible solution and one that has a bit of future proofing thrown in for good measure. What you're looking at is a PCI Express to mini PCI Express adapter which takes a standard half-size mini PCI Express card, in this case a card based on Atheros chips. The unusual thing with this adapter is that it has a USB pin-header that attaches to the USB pin-header on the motherboard. This is for the Bluetooth 4.0 part of the card, while the Wi-Fi part connects over PCI Express. There's also a USB port on the card â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a feature we've never seen before â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to which you can attach any USB device with a standard USB connector, a neat addition that we're sure plenty of people will find useful. The Bluetooth part of the card is compatible with Bluetooth 3.0 + HS as well as the low power Bluetooth 4.0 standard. For now very few devices are available that supports Bluetooth 4.0, although the iPhone 4S is one of the first devices out there that officially supports the standard. That said, it's not meant to a standard for syncing files or using Bluetooth headsets, instead it's meant to connect to low power sensors or home automation solutions, but we'll see how things develop.

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We have one minor gripe with the card, as although you can swap out the mini PCI Express card for something faster in the future, the way Gigabyte designed the PCI Express card means that you're stuck using 150Mbps Wi-Fi, as there are only two antennas. This translates to no MIMO support which is needed to hit Wi-Fi speeds of 300Mbps or more, but hopefully this is something we'll see in future revisions. The card will ship with the X79-UD5, X79-UD7 and G1.Assassin 2, but we're hoping that Gigabyte will be selling it on its own as well, as it's an easy way to add Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support to any desktop PC.

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4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes

First Looks: Cooler Master Hyper 412 PWM CPU Cooler (with LGA 2011 support) Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-looks-cooler-master-hyper-412pwm-cpu-cooler-with-lga-2011-support-/13843.html October 31st, 2011

View from the top

The Cooler Master Hyper 412 PWM is one of the first air coolers with native Socket LGA 2011 screw-type support to arrive at our test labs. We give our readers a glimpse of the new member of our extensive heat sink collection... The Cooler Master Hyper 412 PWM CPU Cooler, weighs 538g.

Wider fin gaps help to maximize cooling performance at low fan speeds

October 31st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

120mm Sleeve Bearing PWM Fan rated at 0.37A, 2000 RPM and 82.9CFM Additional Brackets for another 120mm fan and provided thermal paste

Bolts, Nuts, Screws and Universal Bracket

Universal 4-corners screw-type mounting system (better for even mounting pressure) for all modern Intel and AMD sockets

Shenzhen - The new hardware and electronics shopping Mecca? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/shenzhen--the-new-hardware-andelectronics-shopping-mecca-/13842.html

October 31st, 2011 October 31st, 2011

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electronics, mobile phone accessories, or security products, or batteries, or LED displays, and so on.

Going to Tokyo or Taipei to find fancy electronics? If your local electronics mall doesn't have what you want, or not at the price you want, try Shenzhen's Huaqiang Road first - it's likely much cheaper with wide choices, and just a budget flight away... Huaqiang Road instead of Akihabara For quite a long time now, it is Far Eastern cities that have the largest, glitziest and choicest computer and electronics shopping malls around. While the tradition started in US and Europe long before, it's here now that every major city has a full fledge 'electronics district' with multiple large centres covering everything from consumer electronics to computers and components. Singapore's combined Sim Lim Square + Tower may look small compared to Shanghai's Xujiahui or one of Seoul's multiple 'digital complexes', not to mention the old champion, Tokyo Akihabara. However, one particular place is seemingly bound to overtake them all. Shenzhen, the 15-million populated centre of China's electronics industry and of the new 50+ million supercity starting from Foshan and Guangzhou then continuing all the way to Hong Kong, houses thousands of companies manufacturing and increasingly designing everything from ICs, display panels, flash storage to mainboards, enclosures and of course whole systems. Being right at the source means that any shopping for the stuff we want would be quite direct without too many hops, and also greater likelihood of finding some unusual stuff. While Shenzhen and neighbouring Dongguan city have the electronics factories and design centres spread across their whole municipalities, the focal area of electronics shopping, both end user and channel wise, is Huaqiang North Road (Huaqiangbeilu), a long street located in the centre of the city between the Luohu (Lowu) and Futian CBDs. The main street, as well as its numerous back alleys full of even more electronics related bazaars, is served well by two metro lines, one of which connects to both the main Lowu HK border crossing and the Shenzhen airport, while the other one, with a station in the northern part of the street, links to the Shekou international ferry port with its direct service to HK Airport departure halls, bypassing HK immigration and the security. So, no problems getting there. The roughly half a mile of length of Huaqiang North road street level between these two metro stations contains about a dozen electronics malls of different sizes, with the two largest ones SEG Plaza and the Huaqiang Electronic World - being million square-ft sized gigantic establishments. SEG Plaza, topped up by a 72 storey 354 m tower. The rest of the malls, along the main street, as well as another dozen or so malls in the back alleys, focus more on specific areas, like only communication 4

October 31st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

We focused mostly on SEG Plaza and the Huaqiang Electronic World, as your exploration adventure should start from there. The lower floors are a good point to look at first, as it is a heaven for component seekers. Any kind of PCIe connector, or memory or FPGA or flash chip, or funniest wires, batteries, disk drives, even screws, you could ever think of - have a look!

The higher floors will normally house the same stuff you'll find on floors 4, 5 and 6 of Sim Lim Square in Singapore, or Low Yat Plaza in KL. There are all the mainboards, cases, monitors, enclosures with PSUs and such. You'll find the same high end offerings too, just like here. The difference? Many things are cheaper, especially things like enclosures and, yes, monitors. A miniITX casing with PSU here will cost you some 30 singapore dollars cash and carry, while a 24-inch 16:10 format (!) Samsung LED-backlit super slim LCD monitor will go for around S$ 250 or so. For the parts such as memories 5

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and disks, usually the price will be slightly lower than here, but there were cases where, on the first inquiry, some vendors will try to play too smart with high prices. Note that a little bit of haggling is expected anyway, but only that much literally - little bit as in able to squeeze prices by maybe 10% on average. Electronics is quite a challenging business to make high margins anyway...

Published by: VR-Zone October 31st, 2011

Thought you've seen it all about ASRock's X79 lineup with the X79 Extreme7? Think again, it seems ASRock has another, more feature-rich socket LGA2011 motherboard in the works, which will top off the first wave of ASRock's motherboards compatible with Core i7 "Sandy Bridge-E" LGA2011 processors, the ASrock X79 Extreme9. This board is packed to the brim with connectivity options, a meatier VRM, and better memory expansion compared to the Extreme7. Thought you've seen it all about ASRock's X79 lineup with the X79 Extreme7? Think again, it seems ASRock has another, more feature-rich socket LGA2011 motherboard in the works, which will top off the first wave of ASRock's motherboards compatible with Core i7 "Sandy Bridge-E" LGA2011 processors, the ASrock X79 Extreme9. This board is packed to the brim with connectivity options, a meatier VRM, and better memory expansion compared to the Extreme7.

Either way, SEG Plaza and the Huaqiang Electronic World will pretty much take you most of one day - the other day should be there to check the smaller malls and their oddity of things on offer. The places are so huge, there is so much on offer, and with very special offers for things you'd never think you could find - whether it's a super custom cellphone enhancement, or an odd chip from days gone by, or parts for your own home radar - this is the next mecca for electronics afficionados.

ASRock X79 Extreme9 Tops Off Lineup

The ASRock X79 Extreme9 uses strong digital PWM power circuitry that draws power from two 8-pin EPS connectors. The CPU is wired to eight DDR3 DIMM slots, unlike six on the Extreme7. This ensures that each of the four DDR3 memory channels can seat up to two DIMMs. PCI-Express expansion includes five PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, and an x1 slot. On one of these slots the bundled ASRock "Game Blaster" (if we're reading it right) daughterboard is to be installed. The "Game Blaster" daughterboard holds high-grade Sound Core 7.1 channel audio, and a gaming-grade network controller. We're not entirely sure if the NIC and audio controllers are made by Killer and Creative, respectively, like on the ASUS ROG Thunderbolt.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asrock-x79-extreme9-tops-offlineup/13841.html

October 31st, 2011

There is plenty of SATA connectivity thanks to the use of as many as three Marvell-made 2-port SATA 6 Gb/s controllers to supplement the X79 PCH. The X79 itself gives out two SATA 6 Gb/s and four SATA 3 Gb/s ports. There are as many as four USB 3.0 controllers, giving out eight ports (four on the rear panel, four by headers). Apart from the network connection on the Game Blaster card, there is one network connection local to this board, apart from Firewire, USB 2.0, and eSATA 6 Gbps. Expect the ASRock X79 Extreme9 to be counted among the costliest socket LGA2011 motherboards.

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate DSP Limited Pack Nanami Edition retails 4 November in Japan Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-windows-7-ultimate-dsplimited-pack-nanami-edition-retails-4-november-in-japan/13840.html October 31st, 2011

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Microsoft in Japan will be retailing the Windows 7 Ultimate DSP Limited Pack Nanami Edition that comes bundled with a Microsoft Touch Mouse. The limited edition Touch Mouse features a modern design with subtle tones and white and is designed by renowned illustrator, designer, art director and artist, Deanne Cheuk. On top of that, this edition also comes with Madobe Nanami, the special character created to promote Windows 7, who will provide video guides, as well as Windows 7 themes, three desktop wallpapers and 24 original sounds. The Windows 7 Ultimate DSP Limited Pack Nanami Edition is scheduled to retail on 4 November. Pricing has not been established at press time.

HP announces TouchSmart620 3D Edition PC and 2311gt 3D LCD monitor Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hp-announces-touchsmart620-3dedition-pc-and-2311gt-3d-lcd-monitor/13839.html October 31st, 2011

Microsoft in Japan will be launching a special limited pack Nanami edition of the Windows 7 Ultimate DSP. Aside from the operating system, the bundle will include the Microsoft Touch Mouse for use with Windows 7, and some additional content. Read on.

Seeing the popularity of 3D technology, PC giant HP has recently unveiled their latest consumer portfolio which claim to offer immersive 3D experience to consumers. The HP TouchSmart 620 3D Edition PC features an intuitive and ergonomic design with active shutter 3D glasses, while the HP 2311gt 3D LCD monitor provides improved brightness and a flicker-free 3D picture. HP TouchSmart620 3D Edition PC

October 31st, 2011

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Cyberlink’s PowerDVD, users can convert their existing 2D content such as photos and videos into 3D content while the TriDef Ignition Game Player displays 2D games in 3D. The HP 2311gt 3D LCD monitor is available now in APJ from a starting price of around US$299.

Sandy Bridge-E and X79 available for (pre-)order Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sandy-bridge-e-and-x79-available-forpre-order/13837.html October 31st, 2011

The new HP TouchSmart620 3D Edition PC offers an all-inone hub of fun and entertainment. Users can create their own 3D videos and pictures with the TouchSmart’s built-in webcam and share them with family and friends online or via the 23inch diagonal high definition display. With the TriDef Ignition Game Player, it allows users to enjoy playing their favorite games in 3D. The TouchSmart620 3D Edition features an intuitive and ergonomic design, can swivel up to 180-degrees and reclines up to 60-degrees, and allows users to adjust the display’s position for comfortable viewing of 3D content with the Active Shutter 3D Glasses. In addition to exclusive HP features like LinkUp Technology and Beats Audio, the HP TouchSmart620 3D Edition also offers the latest version of the company's proprietary TouchSmart software, premium graphics and processors. The HP TouchSmart620 3D Edition PC is expected to be available from mid November in APJ from a starting price of around US$1,399.

With just over two weeks to the launch, Intel's Sandy BridgeE processors are starting to appear in listings with online retailers around the globe. What's even more interesting is that you can pick up X79 boards – at least in some countries – today, with several models being available for pre-order, including Intel's own two models. With just over two weeks to the launch, Intel's Sandy BridgeE processors are starting to appear in listings with online retailers around the globe. What's even more interesting is that you can pick up X79 boards – at least in some countries – today, with several models being available for pre-order, including Intel's own two models.

HP 2311gt 3D LCD monitor

The HP 2311gt 3D LCD monitor can deliver enhanced 3D experience in an ultra-slim 23-inch diagonal LED backlit display. It features Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) technology, which offers a display with improved brightness and a flickerfree 3D picture. Bundled with two pairs of passive 3D glasses, users will also enjoy software from Cyberlink and TriDef as well as a 3D movie trailer for the upcoming animated film ? Puss in Boots from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. With

Let's start with the CPU's, although we have a feeling that the prices are a little bit off, as the Core i7-3930K is listed for a steep 5,800 RMB (US$912/S$1,135) in China, £481.19 (US $776/S$695) in the UK and for between 5,000 and 6,000 SEK (US$784-940/S$975-1,169) in Sweden, a CPU that should in fact retail for around US$583 unless Intel's rumoured list price is going to be a lot higher than anticipated. It's worth taking into account things like VAT here, but that only makes the 8

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cheapest prices end up somewhere close to Intel's expected list price.

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that the ones worth having will be the D stepping models which should have all the kinks worked out, but they're not likely to arrive until much later next year.

Corsair TX550M Power Supply Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/corsair-tx550m-power-supplyreview/13836.html October 31st, 2011

The Core i7-3960X is listed at 7,800 RMB (US$1,226/S $1,525) in China, £854.39 (US$1,379/S$1,715) in the UK and between 8,800 and 11,000 SEK (US$1,380-1,725/S $1,715-2,145) in Sweden which means that the Core i7-3960X is at least in most cases a lot closer to the rumoured list price which we're still expecting to be over US$999 which has been Intel's standard price point for its Extreme Edition models in the past.

It appears that the latest TX-M series which Corsair released a few weeks ago will be a great success for the company, as the market demand of the new units is very high and enthusiasts seem to embrace the idea of high performance, partly modular power supplies. It was only a few weeks ago that we had a look at the TX750M 750W unit, which offered great overall performance and quality for the price. Today we are going to examine and review the performance of the TX550M, the weakest and most affordable power supply of the series, which also comes only in the M (modular) variant. It appears that the latest TX-M series which Corsair released a few weeks ago will be a great success for the company, as the market demand of the new units is very high and enthusiasts seem to embrace the idea of high performance, partly modular power supplies. It was only a few weeks ago that we had a look at the TX750M 750W unit, which offered great overall performance and quality for the price. Today we are going to examine and review the performance of the TX550M, the weakest and most affordable power supply of the series, which also comes only in the M (modular) variant. Manufacturer’s features and specifications · Conforms to the latest ATX12V v2.31 and EPS 2.92 standards, and is backward compatible with the ATX12V 2.2 and ATX12V 2.01 standards · A dedicated single +12V rail offers simple configuration and maximum compatibility with the latest graphics cards and other components

We only found the quad core Core i7-3820 listed in China for 3,500 RMB (US$550/S$685), a CPU which should be retailing closer to US$300. We're hearing rumours that the Core i7-3820 has been delayed further and it shouldn't arrive until the middle of Q1 next year now. As for the Core i7-3930K and 3960X, we're hearing that Intel will offer a very limited amount of CPU's in the tens of thousands, although we can't disclose the exact figure we've been told. The reason for this is that the current consumer SKU's are C2 stepping chips and Intel is already working on a C3 stepping, but we're hearing

· An ultra-quiet, 140mm double ball-bearing fan delivers excellent airflow with exceptionally low noise levels by varying fan speed in response to temperature · Complies with the European Union ErP Directive (2009/125/EC) so the power consumption of the whole system, in either standby or off mode, can be less than 1W when used with a properly configured, ErP-compliant motherboard · 80 PLUS® Bronze certified, delivering up to 85% energy efficiency under real-world load conditions 9

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· Active Power Factor Correction (PFC) with PF value of 0.99 ·

Universal AC input from 90~264V

· Over-voltage, under-voltage, over-current, and short circuit protection provide maximum safety for your critical system components · High-quality capacitors provide uncompromised performance and reliability · A five year warranty and lifetime access to Corsair's legendary technical support and customer service · Safety Approvals: cTUVus, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TÜV, CCC, C-tick

C orsair T5 50 M AC 1000-240V INPUT ~ 12A 50/60Hz DC +5V +3.3V OUTPUT MAX 25A 25A CURRENT MAX 140W 540W COMBINED WATTAGE TOTAL POWER: 550W @ 50°C ambient temperature

+12V

-12V

+5Vsb

45A

0.8A

9.6W

15W

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Curve 9360 NFC smartphones gain MasterCard PayPass cert

While MasterCard's contactless payment system was rolled out years ago, it was only earlier this year that the company announced the inclusion of SIM-based systems. In a prepared statement, Andrew Bocking, Vice President, Handheld Software Product Management at RIM said, "NFC technology is making smartphones even smarter and the MasterCard certification is a significant step forward in helping transform the way we use mobile devices for payments. We are working proactively with our carrier partners, banks, retailers and other industry players and we are excited to push the boundaries of how NFC can enable new mobile experiences for BlackBerry smartphone users around the world." The Bold 9900 and Curve 9360 are two of the latest smartphones from RIM that runs on the BlackBerry 7 OS, incorporating built-in NFC hardware. This means that a separate radio antenna will transmit the requisite payment details wirelessly to a high-speed reader at checkout. The NFC radio can be switched off if desired. The certification from Mastercard will be a shot in the arm for NFC projects around the world. Interest in NFC is increasing, and mobile devices have been tipped to spur adoption given the ubiquity of phones in both developing and developed countries. In Singapore, IDA and seven companies will invest S$40 million into NFC to eventually allow banks and card issuers to connect via a common infrastructure, as reported by Channel News Asia just last week. The report mentioned selected models from Nokia, Samsung and RIM. This presumably includes the Bold 9900 and Curve 9360.

Lexmark extends workgroup product line with new colour laser MFPs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lexmark-extends-workgroup-productline-with-new-colour-laser-mfps/13834.html October 31st, 2011

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/blackberry-bold-9900-andcurve-9360-nfc-smartphones-gain-mastercard-paypass-cert/13835.html October 31st, 2011

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360 have become the first SIM-based smartphones to earn the MasterCard PayPass certification. This means that MasterCard is confident that the two mobile devices meet its functionality, interoperability and security requirements to be certified as PayPass-approved devices. Issuing banks are hence allowed to assign a PayPass account to the SIM cards used in the two smartphones to work with the NFC-based, or near field communication, payment system.

October 31st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone October 31st, 2011

Lexmark has introduced two new colour laser multifunction printers (MFPs) targeted at the rapidly growing SMEs and mid-sized workgroup segment. The company says the Lexmark X548de and X548dte colour laser MFPs delivers various high performance capabilities and advanced security features representative of more costly devices in the market, but with a smaller footprint and at an affordable price point. "The introduction of the X548 smart MFPs strengthens Lexmark's position in a strategic growth area for our company - workgroup colour laser devices," said Marty Canning, Lexmark executive vice president and president of Imaging Solutions and Services"We are committed to driving innovative, disruptive A4 technology with smart devices, customisable with industry-leading software and tailored solutions, to make our business customers more productive."

ECS (Elitegroup Computer Systems) is a Taiwanese electronics firm synonymous with entry level offerings or being the motherboard OEM for brands like HP and IBM. In our labs today is their latest offering â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the X79R-AX Black Extreme. Boasting a whopping 12 SATA ports, dual LAN/ eSATA, Bluetooth/Wireless LAN connectivity and four PCIe x16 slots for multi-GPU extravagance, we see if it has what it takes to be the X79 motherboard of choice. Box Front View - with a cloth string carrying handle to take it from the shops

Both colour laser printers come with a large 7-inch colour touch screen that allows for intuitive navigation to access work?ow solutions and shortcuts. Moreover, pre-loaded applications can be customised with tailored workflows based on unique business needs. Advanced scanning capabilities includes the ability to scan to e-mail, scan to FTP, scan to fax, scan to network as well as scanning to a flash drive plugged into a front USB port. The duplex automatic document feeder allows for duplex colourscanning with a 50-sheet input capacity. On the security front, both laser printers support a variety of user authentication and authorization controls, while securityaudit logging helps tracks and identi?es security risks. A step up from the Lexmark X548de base model, the Lexmark X548dte adds an internal hard disk drive which enables extra features, as well as a 650-sheet Duo Drawer for additional media handling capabilities. Sensitive data on the hard disk drive of the X548dte is protected by means of advanced hard disk encryption.

Box Behind - this is one of the most colourful and vibrant boxes we have in our lab

The Lexmark X548de (SG$2,449) and Lexmark X548dte (SG$3,059) are available for sale from authorised Lexmark business partners. All prices above exclude GST and other prevailing taxes.

First Looks: ECS X79R-AX Black Extreme - The Feature Filled X79 Dark Horse Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-looks-ecs-x79r-ax-black-extreme-the-feature-filled-x79-dark-horse/13832.html

October 31st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

ECS X79R-AX Black Extreme Motherboard Front View passive cooling and no flamboyant heatpipes.

Find out more on the next page...

Motherboard Back View

MSI GT780R Gaming Notebook Review - Taking the battlefield on the road Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-gt780r-gaming-notebook-review-taking-the-battlefield-on-the-road/13794.html October 31st, 2011

The MSI GT780R was first seen at Computex 2011, and is a 17inch full HD gaming powerhouse, equipped with Intel Sandy Bridge Quad Core, Nvidia GTX560M for graphics, impressive 1.5 terabytes of speedy RAID-0 storage and multi-colour LED backlighted SteelSeries keyboard. We check out the firepower of this mobile tank and take it for a spin in Battlefield 3! I/O Panel (A nifty clear CMOS button, 2 eSATA 6gbps from a ASMedia ASM1061, Bluetooth V2.1+EDR/150Mbps Wifi from Atheros AR9271L, 4 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 from a Ti TUSB7340, 2 Gigabit LAN Ports from Realtek RTL8111E controllers and 7.1+2 channel audio from a Realtek ALC892)

Front of Box

Laptop Specifications 12

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Exterior of the MSI GT780R

Manuals, Warranty and Driver CD

7600mAh, 87Wh Lithum Ion Battery

17-inch 1920x1080 (16:9) LED Display

Brushed Metal Cover

150W Power Adapter by Delta Electronics LED indicators for charging, harddisk activity and others 13

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Excellent Dynaudio Speakers on both sides, Hotkeys and a Large Power Button

2 USB 2.0 on the Right Side. Our review unit came with a DVD Super Multi drive

From left to right: Kensington lock, Charger Hole, Gigabit Ethernet Port, Analog VGA, eSATA and HDMI port

Obligatory Stickers From left to right: a large vent for cooling, 2 USB 3.0 ports, Card Reader, 1 USB 2.0 port and 7.1 channel audio ports

30fps@720p Camera with a Array Mic Shortened Right-Shift Key mashed together with the arrow keys - don't like this. We'd rather they do away with the numpad and have larger keys

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With the Usual WASD/Space/Ctrl/Shift keyboard game assignment, the touchpad can get accidentally actuated by the user's hand. Fortunately, MSI has included a nifty touchpad disable button

Pictures of LG Prada K2 leaked Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/pictures-of-lg-prada-k2leaked/13830.html October 31st, 2011

The collaboration between LG and Prada started in 2006 with the first LG Prada (KE850) launched in 2007. And in 2009 in Singapore, we saw the LG Prada II (KF900). And it looks like the time has come once more as pictures of the new LG Prada K2 have been leaked online.

Provided Software to change keyboard lighting colors and intensity.

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AMD's Graphics segment revenues increased by 10% over Q2 2011, and 4% over Q2 2010 to $403 million. AMD's overall results were better than the forecast revisions suggested.

Belkin announces new wireless routers Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/belkin-announces-new-wirelessrouters/13828.html October 31st, 2011

The LG Prada K2 sports a slim body with a candybar form factor design. It has a 4.3-inch TFT touchscreen display and incorporates NOVA display technology that offers over 1000 nits of brightness. The 1.3-megapixel camera is located above the display, while below it are touchsensitive keys. LG Prada series of phones are known to only incorporate their own proprietary OS, so don't expect it to be running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich though. The backlit power button, USB port, a headphone jack are on the top, while the volume controls are on the left of the phone. The rear holds the 8-megapixel camera with LED flash, and is probably capable of 1080p full high definition video recording and a loudspeaker on the bottom. The LG Prada K2 claims to be powered by dual-core processor and supports HSPA+ connectivity.

AMD's next-gen GPUs to ship in 2011 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-s-next-gen-gpus-to-shipin-2011/13829.html October 31st, 2011

At their last conference call for Q2 2011, AMD revealed that 28nm GPUs were on track for 2011. Moving forward to the Q3 2011 financial report, AMD still plans plans to ship for revenue the first next-gen GPUs by the end of the year. At their last conference call for Q2 2011, AMD revealed that 28nm GPUs were on track for 2011. Moving forward to the Q3 2011 financial report, AMD still plans plans to ship for revenue the first next-gen GPUs by the end of the year. Of course, while shipping for revenue does not necessarily translate to retail availability, it does mean AMD will be shipping next-gen chips to their AIB partners some time in Q4 2011. If all goes well, we will see AMD's first Radeon HD 7000 products in either late 2011 or more likely early 2012.

Belkin has announced their new wireless routers which come in the form of N150, N300, N600 Dual-Band and N750 DualBand. The routers claim to incoporate MultiBeam technology that can deliver fast speeds and fuller coverage for PCs, tablets, smartphones, TVs, and gaming consoles.

Engineered with MultiBeam technology for maximum speed and coverage, the new Belkin routers N150, N300, N600 DualBand (DB) and N750 Dual-band support the proliferation of wireless devices, from smartphones and tablets to Internet TVs and gaming consoles. The exclusive technology also claims to offer higher throughput at longer distances, enabling users to connect multiple devices easily. The Belkin N600 DB and N750 DB routers also feature dual-band channels to eliminate interference and optimize performance for bandwidth-intensive applications such as high-definition video streaming. The router chassis was specifically designed to support the latest MultiBeam antennas and maximize the MIMO sphere and absolute coverage distance. While traditional routers tend to provide a donut-shaped coverage pattern – flat and wide – the new Belkin routers come in an apple-like shape to provide more coverage, power and speed for all online activities. Each router features Belkin’s Easy Setup, a simple process for getting the router out of the box and online in three easy steps, and pre-configured encryption settings for built-in wireless security. Pricing and Availability The Belkin N750 DB, N600 DB, N300 and N150 routers are commercially available now in Singapore at major retailers like Best Denki, Courts, Harvey Norma, Challenger, Mustafa, IT Malls and Gain City. 16

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Belkin N750 DB Wireless Dual Band N+ Router - S$229

- Easy Setup and preset security

- Wireless speeds of up to 300Mbps (2.4GHz) + 450Mbps (5GHz) - Simultaneous dual-band operating on 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands

Belkin N150 Wireless USB Adapter - S$27 - Wireless speeds of up to 150Mbps

- Two USB ports for more media sharing or wireless printing

Belkin N300 Wireless USB Adapter - S$36 - Wireless speeds of up to 300Mbps

- Self-Healing App automatically resolves potential network problems - Video mover App for wireless streaming of video content throughout the house - Print Zone App allows you to print from anywhere in the home - Memory Safe App automatically backs up files to your external hard drive - Easy Setup and preset security N600 DB Wireless Dual Band N+ Router - S$149 - Wireless speeds of up to 300Mbps (2.4GHz) + 300Mbps (5GHz) - Simultaneous dual-band operating on 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands - One USB port for wireless printing or storage - Self-Healing App to automatically resolve potential network problems - Video Mover App for wireless streaming of video content throughout the house - Print Zone App allows you to print from anywhere in the home - Memory Safe App automatically backs up files to your external hard drive - Easy Setup and preset security Belkin N600 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Modem Router - S $169 - Built-in ADSL2 + modem - Same features as Wireless Router Belkin N300 Wireless N Router - S$59 - Wireless speeds of up to 300 Mbps - Easy Setup and preset security - Self-Healing App to detect network problems Belkin N150 Wireless Router - S$45 - Wireless speeds of up to 150 Mbps - Wireless coverage at twice the speed of G technology

- Backward-compatible with 802.11a/g devices at 54 Mbps and 802.11b products at 11 Mbps

- Backward-compatible with 802.11a/g devices at 54 Mbps and 802.11b products at 11 Mbps Belkin N600 Wireless USB Adapter - S$54 - The fastest dual-band speeds for video streaming and online gaming of up to 300Mbps - Backward-compatible with 802.11a/g devices at 54 Mbps and 802.11b products at 11 Mbps

ARM gives us a glimpse of what to come Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/arm-gives-us-a-glimpse-of-what-tocome/13826.html October 31st, 2011

Although ARM has already announced its next gen CortexA15 core based on the ARMv7 architecture some time ago, the company has now unveiled some details of its upcoming ARMv8 architecture. The biggest and possibly most important change, depending on how things move forward in the universe of ARM powered devices, is 64-bit support in ARMv8. Although ARM has already announced its next gen CortexA15 core based on the ARMv7 architecture some time ago, the company has now unveiled some details of its upcoming ARMv8 architecture. The biggest and possibly most important change, depending on how things move forward in the universe of ARM powered devices, is 64-bit support in ARMv8. The ARMv8 architecture is a major step forward for ARM, at least when it comes to making processors that aren't necessarily the most power frugal chips out there. With a clear move towards more ARM powered devices outside of the phone space, ARM needs to up its game and offer competitive processor cores on more than one level. With Windows 8 adding ARM support and maybe even more importantly, the server market starting to show interest in ARM powered servers, being able to address more than 4GB of RAM. However, ARM already supports virtual memory addresses of 40-bit or larger and that gives the ARMv7 architecture the option to support up to 1TB of RAM. Even so, a move towards 64-bit is going to be a must as operating systems, especially the ones from Microsoft, looks 17

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set to move to 64-bit only in the future, as there simply is no need to have separate 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows these days. Native 64-bit support should also offer better performance than virtual memory addressing, as the latter adds a performance hit. Another reason for 64-bit support is as mentioned, servers and with today's virtualized server environments, having 64-bit memory support is going to be a must for ARM if they want to compete with the big boys. ARM will of course continue to use its current technology and further enhance them in the ARMv8 and we'll see improved versions of TrustZone, virtualization and NEON advanced SIMD. What isn't mentioned are any additional features beyond the 64-bit addition to the ARMv8 architecture, but depending on where ARM and its partners want to take things, we'll most likely see a big change when it comes to power efficiency and thermals, at least for high-end cores that will end up both consumer devices and servers. In as much as we're expecting new low-power solutions for phones and tablets, ARM and its partners are clearly taking the game to Intel and something is going to have to change if they want to compete on equal terms. That said, we doubt that we'll see power hungry processors based on ARM's technology, at least not compared to x86 based processors. There is a fine line between enough performance and power efficiency and ARM is likely to have to cross that line to stay competitive in the long term. The easy way to get more performance, at least in some scenarios is to add more cores and this is reasonably easy to do with ARM based technology, especially if you use multiple chips which are smaller and run cooler than x86 processors. More cores are great, except as AMD showed with its Bulldozer based FX series of consumer CPU's, having more cores doesn't always translate to real world performance gains. On the other hand, we're not expecting to see a huge influx in cores when it comes to consumer processor designs from ARM, instead the company is going to have to come up with some new, clever ways of doing things. Of course, moving to new manufacturing technologies will help ARM and its partners to keep the power envelope down, for now at least, but the next step beyond 28nm is going to take a while, at least if the move from 40nm to 28nm is anything to go by. Yes, the foundries have roadmaps, but it's worth taking into consideration that TSMC has decided to cut its capex for the next year or so with yet another global downturn being expected. This implies that we might have to live with 28nm chips for a bit longer than originally though. Then again, ARM is only expecting to disclose its first processors based on the ARMv8 architecture sometime next year and doesn't expect its partners to have any prototypes ready until 2014 which right now is an awfully long time away for a new processor technology.

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Sony and Ericsson part ways, remain friends Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-and-ericsson-part-ways-remainfriends/13825.html October 31st, 2011

In a not entirely unexpected move, Sony is set to buy out Ericsson from the joint Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB joint venture for a not insignificant €1.05 billion and will turn Sony Ericsson into a whollyowned subsidiary that will fall under its network-connected consumer electronics division. The two companies remain friendly though, the deal also includes an IP cross-licensing agreement and they'll also create a joint wireless connectivity initiative. In a not entirely unexpected move, Sony is set to buy out Ericsson from the joint Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB joint venture for a not insignificant €1.05 billion and will turn Sony Ericsson into a whollyowned subsidiary that will fall under its network-connected consumer electronics division. The two companies remain friendly though, the deal also includes an IP cross-licensing agreement and they'll also create a joint wireless connectivity initiative. It's been 10 years since Sony and Ericsson decided to team up and create Sony Ericsson and between then and now, the mobile device market has changed and is still changing at a rapid pace. Sony Ericsson has sadly gone from third position to a 10th position when it comes to mobile handset market share or from 8.5 percent to 1.7 percent of the global market share. Back in 2008 Sony Ericsson said that their goal was to become the third biggest mobile handset maker within the next five year, but instead the company dropped from fifth to 10th position since then. Last year the company went out and said that they wanted to be number one in Android handsets and although as with Motorola, it seems like Android has been a saviour to a degree for Sony Ericsson, it's clear that the company is far from the market leader. It's easy to point fingers as to what went wrong, but some of it has been Sony's unwillingness to use some of its brand names, most significantly the Playstation brand for Sony Ericsson products, at least until it's generally been too little too late. The Playstation phone didn't exactly take the world with a storm, but in all fairness some of Sony Ericsson's other Xperia handsets aren't half bad. The new Sony mobile handset division which has yet to get an official name – although all future handsets will only carry the Sony brand – has a tough job ahead of it. Currently a lot of its R&D is located in Sweden, although it's expected that this division will be closed down over time with most, if not all of it being moved to Japan. With tough competition from both the big Korean handset manufacturers, especially Samsung, 18

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as well as HTC and let's not forget Apple, it's clear that Sony is going to have to come up with some pretty impressive hardware and get it out in the market in a timely fashion. With what happened in Japan earlier this year, most of Sony Ericsson's handsets were delayed, some by as much as six months and in an industry that's moving in leaps and bounds on almost a monthly basis when it comes to new handsets, this is the kind of thing that just isn't allowed to happen.

Looking forward to Q4, AMD expects a 3% Âą 2% increase in revenue. AMD's shares rose by 5.05% in after hours shortly after the results were announced, and an immense 14% in the last 24 hours.

As for Ericsson, well, they'll go on their merry way and continue to build the network infrastructure which is its core competence these days and the company is also busy doing various projects involving digital content delivery which ties in nicely with its network infrastructure business. As for ST Ericsson, Ericsson's joint venture to develop various device end solutions with STMicroelectronics for handsets and wireless modems, well, it's likely to take a potential hit from the split from Sony, although it should be said that none of Sony Ericsson's handsets used the ST Ericsson ARM processors, at least not to our knowledge. That said, we'd expect this business venture to continue to develop modem technology for handsets, especially as we slowly continue to move towards more LTE enabled devices where ST Ericsson has some potentially strong solutions.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/more-next-gen-gpu-codenamesrevealed/13823.html October 31st, 2011

The press release doesn't go into any details about the IP crosslicensing deal, except to mention that it involves five essential patent families. This should involve baseband technology for 2G, 3G and 4G networks, as well as other handset related technology that Ericsson holds patents for. With regards to the wireless connectivity initiative the press release simply reads "Ericsson and Sony will work to drive and develop the market's adoption of connectivity across multiple platforms" which really doesn't explain what the two companies will be doing together. The deal is expected to close in January 2012 pending the usual regulatory and shareholder approval.

AMD reports Q3 2011 results Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-reports-q3-2011results/13824.html October 31st, 2011

Last month AMD revised its Q3 forecasts, much to the disdain of its shareholders, with AMD's stocks taking a nosedive. As it turns out, the forecast revisions, which suggested revenues of $1.65B were off the mark. AMD has instead reported revenues of $1.69 billion and net income of $110 million. Last month AMD revised its Q3 forecasts, much to the disdain of its shareholders, with AMD's stocks taking a nosedive. As it turns out, the forecast revisions, which suggested revenues of $1.65B and earnings of $80 million were off the mark. AMD has instead reported revenues of $1.69 billion and net income of $110 million. AMD's new CEO Rory Read announced a strong 35% increase in mobile business, with double digit growth in emerging markets like China and India. However, AMD's Q3 was marred by yield issues for Llano, being unable to meet the strong demand.

More next-gen GPU codenames revealed

There have been no shortage of code name / branding leaks for next-gen GPUs in the last few weeks. To add to the list, not surprisingly, GK104 is in the works. This chip will form the basis for N14E mobile Quadro GPUs. On the AMD side, the already reported Tahiti desktop GPU will also arrive in Woody and Buzz workstation variants. There have been no shortage of code name / branding leaks for next-gen GPUs in the last few weeks. To add to the list, not surprisingly, GK104 is in the works. This chip will form the basis for N14E mobile Quadro GPUs. On the AMD side, the already reported Tahiti desktop GPU will also arrive in Woody and Buzz workstation variants. As a recap, leaked drivers have already mentioned GeForce 600 and AMD Radeon HD 7000 families. We know a bunch of AMD codenames, ranging from islands (desktop GPUs), locales in London (mobile GPUs) and Chinese monuments. We are also aware of GK107, which is already sampling, and will feature in N13P-LP, N13P-GS, N13P-GT and N13E-GE GeForce mobile SKUs and N14P-Q1 and N14P-Q3 mobile Quadros. GK104 is expected to be the successor to GF114, serving as performance GPUs on desktops and flagship GPUs on mobile SKUs. On the mobile side, GK104 could power the successors to GTX 570M/580M, most likely codenamed under the N13E series. On the mobile workstation front, GK104 will feature in N14E-Q1, N14E-Q3 and N14E-Q5 mobile Quadro SKUs. These Quadro GPUs will play one segment higher than the GK107 based N14P Quadro. On the AMD front, there's no scarcity of codenames, with the most often mentioned being Tahiti. Tahiti will release on the desktop as Tahiti XT and Tahiti Pro, and also as Tahiti Woody and Tahiti Buzz on workstations under the AMD FirePro brand. While leaked code names and brandings have provided much fodder for the rumour mill in the last few weeks, little is known about the GPUs themselves.

October 31st, 2011

Logitech unveils G105 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 official gaming keyboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/logitech-unveils-g105-call-of-dutymodern-warfare-3-official-gaming-keyboard/13822.html October 31st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

- Multi-key input so you can use up to five keys at once to perform multiple – and more complex – actions without the interference or ghosting that can occur with other keyboards.

Beats By Dr.Dre and Monster launch new Heartbeats by Lady Gaga Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/beats-by-dr.dre-and-monster-launchnew-heartbeats-by-lady-gaga/13821.html October 31st, 2011

Logitech has introduced the G105 which claims to be the official gaming keyboard for the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 first person shooter. It features militarystyle, night-vision blue LED backlighting, six programmable G-keys with three mode states; with each providing up to 18 possible macro combinations per game.

The Logitech Gaming Keyboard G105, which claims to be the official keyboard of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, features night-vision blue LED backlighting. It also has six programmable G-keys with three mode states each provide up to 18 possible macro combinations per game.You can also choose to record new macros on the fly, perform multiple and more complex actions without interference or ghosting. The Logitech Gaming Keyboard G105 is available now at all authorised Logitech resellers at a suggested retail price of S$69. The G105 model that is available in Singapore will only come with blue LED backlighting. The company has not confirmed if the keyboard with green LED backlighting and ‘Call of Duty’ branding will be made available locally. - Long-life, night-vision blue LED backlighting so you can easily locate the keys you need – even in the dark. The military style, night-vision green backlight can be set to two different brightness levels – or turned off completely. - Six Programmable G-keys each with three mode states, let you configure up to 18 unique functions per game, including single key presses or complex macros. Use the MR key to record new macros on the fly.

It was two years ago when we first saw the Monster "Heartbeats by Lady Gaga" became available in Singapore. Well, it looks like Beats by Dr. Dre and Monster have jointly unveiled the new Heartbeats in-ear headphones, designed by the pop singer-songwriter herself.

Beats by Dr. Dre and Monster have announced the latest addition to the line of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, Heartbeats by Lady Gaga, an updated version of the popular in-ear headphones. Designed by Lady Gaga, the uniquely styled in-ear headphones were inspired by leather and studs and feature ultra-crisp sonic technology from the Beats by Dr. Dre products. The new Heartbeats by Lady Gaga are a reflection of the pop queen high-end sense of style and commitment to provide fans with the best music listening experience. The Heartbeats by Lady Gaga feature all-new, lightweight design, six sets of eat tips, tangle-free cable, hard-carrying case and ControlTalk, which enables iPhone and iPod music playback control as well as hands-free calls with iPhone and many smartphones. The Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Heartbeats Headphones retails for S$259 and is available at Audio House, Alpha Audio, Best Denki, Courts, DG Lifestyle Store, Epicentre, Farle Innovation, Gadget World, Harvey Norman, 20

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HMV, i Studio, iP Case, Macshop, Nubox, Orange Comm, Stereo and all Two Bros outlets. Key Features: Gagaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Signature Touch - Sound that transcends ordinary headphone and a fashionforward style design by Gaga herself. Updated Design and Style - Newly improved design offers smaller and lighter shape for a better in-ear fit and thinner tangle-free cord.

Published by: VR-Zone

This holiday season, two limited editions of the Arc Touch Mouse will be made available in white and red. The new designs will also come with unique patterns on the silicone "tail" portion of the mouse: The red edition will sport a diamond pattern, while the white edition will come with a maze-like pattern. Arc Touch Mouse in the new designs will be available at an estimated retail price of S$89 at all major IT retailers from end October 2011. Touch Mouse

High Performance Sound - Accurate speaker design delivers the details of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hottest music with extreme clarity and deep bass. A Fit for Every Wearer - Multiple ear-tip sizes, so you can find a perfect fit for your ears. This custom-fit seals in your music and help cut out unwanted noise. Built-in Mic for Hands-Free Calls and Online Chats - ControlTalk enables iPhone and iPod music playback control as well as hands-free calls with iPhone and many smartphones. It even works with online voice or video chats.

Microsoft launches limited edition Arc Touch Mouse and Touch Mouse Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-launches-limited-editionarc-touch-mouse-and-touch-mouse/13820.html October 31st, 2011

Racking your brains on the perfect gifts to buy for your loved ones this upcoming Christmas season? Microsoft has launched limited editions of its Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse and the Microsoft Touch Mouse that may just be the perfect gift. In addition, Microsoft says that every purchase of the Arc Touch Mouse, Explorer Touch Mouse and Touch Mouse from today till 31st December 2011 will come with a free exclusive PC accessory pouch. Arc Touch Mouse

The company's fastest-selling premium peripheral in local history, the slim Arc Touch Mouse snaps into an arc shape for use, and flatten for the ultimate in portability - no more having to deal with the added "bump" of a mouse in your laptop bag. A touch control strip allows for controlled scrolling or hyperfast scrolling by flicking on it.

The Touch Mouse is a multitouch device designed exclusively for Windows 7 to support clicking, flicking, scrolling and swiping getures. Originally available in black, a white Artist Edition with a calligraphy-like motif designed by New Yorkbased art director, illustrator and artist Deanne Cheuk will be exclusive to Challenger stores. It is available as of today at an estimated retail price of S$99, while stocks lasts. The original black edition is also available at all major IT retailers at S$99. As with the original Arc Touch Mouse and Touch Mouse, both limited edition mice also comes with BlueTrack technology that allows it to track on more surfaces than conventional laser and optical mice.

First Looks: ASUS P9X79 Pro & Deluxe - Mainstream Boards, High End Features Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-looks-asus-p9x79-pro--deluxe-mainstream-boards-high-end-features/13814.html October 31st, 2011

Completing our three part Asus X79 Motherboard series roundup is the mainstream P9X79 Pro and P9X79 Deluxe. Like the Sabertooth X79 and the ROG Rampage IV Extreme, 21

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both boards did not compromise on implementing full 8 slots of DDR3 memory expansion, and every inch of their PCB is packed with quality components for lasting reliability and unhinged performance. P9X79 Pro front view (8 DIMMs for a maximum of 64GB, PCIe 3.0 x16 slots)

Two SATA 6Gbps ports (white) and 4 SATA 6Gbpss ports(blue) from the X79 chipset. Like the Sabertooth X79, A Marvell 9128 provides two additional 6Gbps ports (grey) and supports pairing a mechanical harddrive with a solid state drive for SSD caching, a useful features as the X79 chipset doesn't support Intel SRT as seen on Z68 motherboards.

P9X79 Deluxe - no you are not seeing double. The Deluxe has an almost identical board layout but has an additional Realtek Gigabit controller and BT GO! 3.0 with Wi-Fi connectivity.

The PORT80 debug display and power/reset buttons - these life-saving features should be a must-have on any DIY retail motherboard. All ASUS X79 boards also have 64Mbit of UEFI Flash ROM, which is a requirement for the next generation Intel Ivy Bridge-E platform.

Some minor PCIe switching and multiplexing going on here I/O Panel of the P9X79 Pro (Intel 82579V Gigabit LAN, two powered eSATA (eSATAp) from an ASMedia ASM1061 controller, four USB 3.0 ports from a pair of ASMedia ASM1042 controllers, although two of the rear ports share bandwidth with the two front ports courtesy of a VLI VL810 USB 3.0 hub and finally audio from a Realtek ALC898 audio codec. The BIOS reset button can also be used to update the BIOS using a USB thumbdrive without booting the PC.

October 31st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Digi+ EPU (VRM) for the memory and another for the CPU. Both boards have 8+2+2+2 power phase design

CPU socket area. We noticed that the whole family of ASUS X79 boards share almost the same layout over here, which could explain why they could implement the full 8 slots of DIMMs even on their lower end SKUs.

Accessories of the P9X79 Pro

MemOK! boot-time watchdog trigger button and plenty of PWM 4-pin fan headers (6 in total) around the motherboard

RIM delays PlayBook OS update to 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/rim-delays-playbook-os-updateto-2012/13819.html

October 31st, 2011 October 31st, 2011

Research in Motio won't be upgrading the software on its PlayBook tablet until February 2012. The announcement was the latest in a string of delays following a promise by co-CEO Jim Balsillie that the company will add native email and other features within 60 days of its launch earlier this year. The update was subsequently pushed back to August, and then to October.

Published by: VR-Zone

not appear to have production plans beyond 2011, a telling sign that the company is either in an internal state of chaos or has way too much unsold stock. On the other hand, given that its top competitors are using the same platform for both their smartphones and tablets offerings - think Apple iOS and the recently unveiled Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, quitting the tablet space certainly isn't a viable option for RIM.

Adata launches its XM13 series of mSATA SSDs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/adata-launches-its-xm13-series-ofmsata-ssds/13818.html October 31st, 2011

"As much as we'd love to have it in your hands today, we've made the difficult decision to wait to launch BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 until we are confident we have fully met the expectations of our developers, enterprise customers and endusers," wrote David J. Smith, SVP for BlackBerry PlayBook in a blog entry. Smith was quick to point out that a beta of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 has been launched, and is currently in closed testing with some of the company's enterprise customers. Feedback and improvements from these betas will ultimately benefit the BlackBerry PlayBook experience, says Smith. The news was met with strong reactions with a scattering of comments voicing support for RIM's decision to "get it right." On the most part however, many readers who proclaimed themselves as BlackBerry users have voiced frustration and even anger at the shifting goalposts where the availability of promised features are concerned.

SSD caching has as yet not take off, at least not that we're aware, although some of the first Ultrabooks seems to be taking advantage of Intel's SRT technology. Now Adata has announced its first mSATA SSDs which are as far as the press release is making it sound like, intended for use as hard drive caching SSDs. SSD caching has as yet not take off, at least not that we're aware, although some of the first Ultrabooks seems to be taking advantage of Intel's SRT technology. Now Adata has announced its first mSATA SSDs which are as far as the press release is making it sound like, intended for use as hard drive caching SSDs. The XM13 series of mSATA SSDs won't be breaking any speed records as far as SSDs are concerned, but they're one upping OCZ's Nocti series of mSATA SSDs in terms of performance. The XM13 will be available in 30 and 60GB sizes and Adata is rating the max sequential read performance at 280MB/s, with the read performance hitting 260MB/s. The random read and write performance should hit 12,500 IOPS according to Adata.

"We've all be fed a pack of lies since launch of the device, I wasted ÂŁ300 on the promise of Native Email, Android Player and DLNA by the end of summer....now 2012....when will the delays end 2013?" wrote a frustrated user named Matt in response to the announcement. The decision to delay the PlayBook OS update appears to reflect a new strategy of slowing everything down in order to release a properly polished product out the door. While PlayBook 1.0 was reasonably polished, it paled in several areas against competing tablets. Moreover, the repeated delays and missteps are doing nothing for the confidence of existing users. Moving forward, there appears to be some apprehension about what RIM intends to do in the tablet space. A report on TechNewsWorld cited supply chain contacts that RIM does 24

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Both SKUs feature an unspecified Sandforce controller, although we're most likely looking at something similar to that of OCZ's Nocti series, as the XM13 sports a SATA 3Gbps interface. Adata is suggesting that you should pair up its new mSATA SSD's with one of Gigabyte's mSATA sporting Z68 motherboards, although it should also be possible to upgrade mSATA equipped notebooks too, at least as long as you're not afraid of a bit of notebook DIY. No word on pricing or availability, so it's hard to tell if these mSATA SSDs will be competitive or not.

Nokia partner up with Monster for co-branded headsets Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-partner-up-with-monster-for-cobranded-headsets/13817.html October 31st, 2011

The most surprising announcement at Nokia World 2011 wasn't one of Nokia's new handsets, instead it was the announcement that Nokia is teaming up with Monster to cobrand headsets for its phones. What makes this so interesting is that HTC bought into the Beats brand, which was originally a collaboration between Monster and Dr Dre and we're curious about what HTC will have to say about this partnership

There will be two headsets to start with, the Purity HD stereo headset and the Purity stereo headset; of course both models carry a "by Monster" tag at the end of the product names. The Purity HD is an over ear type headset with square-ish kind of flat ear pads. The headband is foldable and features a very similar design as the Beats audio headsets. The wire has a microphone and control buttons that are compatible with Nokia's new Lumia phones, although we expect that it should work with at least any other Windows Phone 7 device. The buttons allow for adjustment of volume and answering and ending calls. The Purity HD headset will come in black, white, cyan and fuchsia for what is likely to be a steep price tag.

October 31st, 2011

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The Purity headset on the other hand a standard in-ear affair, although it uses the kind of flat cables that once again Monster has used for the Beats audio products. This is a noise insulation set or headphones and it comes with five different sized ear buds to allow for a tight seal. The rest of the features are the same as for the Purity HD and we'll be seeing the Purity in the same choice of colours as well. No word on pricing here either, but expect them to be expensive.

Nokia Asha, the handsets for the next billion Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-asha-the-handsets-for-the-nextbillion/13816.html October 31st, 2011

As for the new Symbian S40 6th Edition handsets announced today at Nokia World 2011, it's clear that Nokia is pushing for a death of the "dumb phone" even though it's hard to call the new Asha handsets smartphones, but they most definitely fall in the feature phone category. The four new models are the Asha 303, Asha 300, Asha 201 and Asha 200, of which three comes with a full QWERTY keypad. Apparently these handsets are intended for the developing markets, or for the "next billion" mobile users, according to Nokia. As for the new Symbian S40 6th Edition handsets announced today at Nokia World 2011, it's clear that Nokia is pushing for a death of the "dumb phone" even though it's hard to call the new Asha handsets smartphones, but they most definitely fall in the feature phone category. The four new models are the Asha 303, Asha 300, Asha 201 and Asha 200, of which three comes with a full QWERTY keypad. Apparently these handsets are intended for the developing markets, or for the "next billion" mobile users, according to Nokia.

Starting at the bottom, we have the Asha 200 and 201, which are more or less the same handset, although with some minor differences in terms of the internals. Neither model offers 3G connectivity with both limited to dual band GSM/EDGE. Both models sport a 2.4in QVGA (320x240) display, up to 64MB of internal storage memory, a micro SD card slot, a 2Megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, FM radio, a micro USB port and a 3.5mm headset jack. The main difference is that the Asha 200 is a dual SIM phone, but the neat thing here is that the second SIM can be swapped without having to restart the phone. The Asha 200's have a battery rated at 1,430mAh which is good for up to 35 days standby or 7h talk time. Both models will be available in eight different colours depending on the market, with the Asha 200 expected to launch this quarter with the Asha 201 set to follow in Q1 next year with an estimated retail price of â&#x201A;Ź60 (S$105) excluding tax.

October 31st, 2011

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The fourth and final new handset is the Asha 303 which gets a slightly bigger capacitive 2.6-inch screen, but it retains the low QVGA (320x240) resolution. It too boosts an unspecified 1GHz processor, but the rest of the specs have been given a bump. It has 170MB of storage memory, pentaband 3G/HSPA support, a QWERTY keypad, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, a 3.2Megapixel camera, FM radio, a micro USB port with USB OTG support and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Nokia claims that the 1,300mAh battery should be good for up to 30 days standby in 2G mode or 35 days in 3G mode with up to eight and seven hours of talk time respectively. The Asha 303 will come in six different colours and it too should arrive later this quarter for about €115 (S$205), again excluding tax.

Next up we have the Asha 300 which looks a lot more like a traditional “dumb phone” but the looks are deceiving in this case. The Asha 300 features an unspecified 1GHz processor, a 2.4-inch QVGA (320x240) resistive touch screen and quad band 3G/HSPA connectivity. It also has 140MB of internal storage memory, a micro SD card slot, a 5Megapixel camera that will also shoot VGA resolution vide at 25fps, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, FM radio with RDS, a micro USB port with USB OTG support and a 3.5mm headset jack. It's also the first of two Symbian S40 devices from Nokia that will come with Angry Birds Lite pre-loaded. The Asha 300 will be available in six different colours and should arrive this quarter with a retail price of around €85 (S$150) excluding tax.

November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Asus' Transformer Prime benchmarked? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-transformer-primebenchmarked-/13877.html November 4th, 2011

We've already seen a glimpse of the internals of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime and now it seems like benchmark numbers have leaked, in a very peculiar way. An Android benchmark called AnTuTu Benchmark got updated to version 2.4.2 and the company behind the benchmark has included numbers for the Transformer Prime for comparative purposes, despite the fact that the new tablet hasn't even launched yet. We've already seen a glimpse of the internals of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime and now it seems like benchmark numbers have leaked, in a very peculiar way. An Android benchmark called AnTuTu Benchmark got updated to version 2.4.2 and the company behind the benchmark has included numbers for the Transformer Prime for comparative purposes, despite the fact that the new tablet hasn't even launched yet. According to the version history on the Android market, AnTuTu got support for quad core processors in version 2.4 and at some point after that the company got its hands on a Transformer Prime. According to the benchmark comparison graph, the Tegra 3 chip inside the Transformer Prime is clocked at 1.4GHz, a smidgen slower than the up to 1.5GHz speed that been thrown around earlier.

So how does the Transformer Prime perform, well, at least in this specific benchmark, it's blowing the competition away. We're a little bit suspicious about the numbers though, as the memory performance appears to be way too high considering that Tegra 3 has a single 32-bit LPDDDR2 memory interface and even Nvidia has stated that Tegra 3 will only have close to double the memory bandwidth. Interestingly, the graphics performance doesn't seem to be all that mind blowing, as both the 2D and 3D chunks in the graph, are no bigger than those of other high-end Android smartphones. We should find out soon enough if these numbers prove to be the real deal or not, but if it's proven to be true, then Nvidia could have a real winner on its hands with Tegra 3 and for the same intents and purpose, Asus with its Transformer Prime. That said, we're not sure if Android can take advantage of all this performance that's on offer, but hopefully Android 4.0 will be able to make better use of the additional cores that are on offer here.

November 4th, 2011

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Gigabyte's new 3D BIOS shown off on video Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-s-new-3d-bios-shown-off-onvideo/13875.html November 4th, 2011

It's been long coming and although we didn't expect it to be shown off quite so soon, details of Gigabyte's upcoming 3D BIOS – where BIOS really is UEFI – have appeared online. Back when the 6-series launched, Gigabit got a lot of criticism for sticking with the good old BIOS for its boards, but with its X79 motherboards, Gigabyte have been more or less forced to move to UEFI. It's been long coming and although we didn't expect it to be shown off quite so soon, details of Gigabyte's upcoming 3D BIOS – where BIOS really is UEFI – have appeared online. Back when the 6-series launched, Gigabit got a lot of criticism for sticking with the good old BIOS for its boards, but with its X79 motherboards, Gigabyte have been more or less forced to move to UEFI.

Beyond the simple fact that Gigabyte has moved to UEFI, the company seems to have sat down and had a think about how create an easy to access UI. For those that are worried that Gigabyte has dumbed things down, fret not, all the advanced settings are still there, although we'd go out on a limb here and say that Gigabyte still need to tweak the advanced settings a bit. But let's go back to the new simple UI; this is really where the 3D BIOS name comes into play. Gigabyte simply snapped a couple of pictures of the board in question, put them in the UEFI and made the various components selectable.

Let's take an example here, click on the SATA ports and you get a menu that allows you to change the settings for the SATA ports. The options are kept fairly basic in most of the options, but some of the 3D BIOS settings have more advanced features and there's even an overclocking menu. This is a pretty revolutionary way of accessing the BIOS settings and something no-one else has done before. We'll reserve judgement until we actually get to have a play with it though, as it's not easy to judge how well it works, even from the video.

As for the advanced options, we feel Gigabyte need to make things a bit easier to read, as the font used is very skinny which makes it a bit difficult to read. It also looks like Gigabyte didn't make the best possible use of the screen real estate on offer, although this seems to be a common issue among all the graphical UEFI implementations to date. You can of course still use your keyboard to navigate around if you're not keen on using the mouse. We'd suggest you have a look at the video to get a better idea of Gigabyte's new 3D BIOS which should be standard on all new motherboards from Gigabyte.

November 4th, 2011

Sapphire Shows Off its X79 Pure Black Motherboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sapphire-shows-off-its-x79-pure-blackmotherboard/13874.html November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

The Sapphire Pure Black X79 is designed for overclocking, backed by a strong power delivery and some nifty features overclockers can use to their advantage. To begin with, power delivery to the CPU is habdled by a 7-phase digital PWM power supply that draws power from an 8-pin EPS connector, and a 2-phase VTT circuit that uses common choke + DrMOS design. Apart from the 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS, the board also draws power from a 6-pin PCIe power connector, this is probably to stabilize PCIe slot power delivery and other power domains.

Although known more for its AMD Radeon graphics cards, Sapphire always tried to make inroads to the motherboard industry. Not that there are any major hurdles in its way, given that it has a cash-rich OEM (PC Partner) pulling its strings. Come LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E HEDT platform, and Sapphire is out for its slice yet again, with the Pure Black CI7X79N motherboard, of which we scored some early pictures. Although known more for its AMD Radeon graphics cards, Sapphire always tried to make inroads to the motherboard industry. Not that there are any major hurdles in its way, given that it has a cash-rich OEM (PC Partner) pulling its strings. Come LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E HEDT platform, and Sapphire is out for its slice yet again, with the Pure Black CI7X79N motherboard, of which we scored some early pictures.

There are four DDR3 DIMM slots, one per memory channel. Sandy Bridge-E packs a quad-channel DDR3 memory controller. The memory on this board is powered by a 4-phase VRM, which uses common chokes and driver-MOSFETs.

November 4th, 2011

Speaking of PCIe, all the expansion slots on this board are physical PCIe x16. Among these, three are PCI-Express 3.0 x16 capable, and all six are PCI-Express 3.0 x8 capable. We're not quite sure what the third set of 16 PCIe lanes are wired to, but that is quite a big heatsink (board area-wise) cooling the chipset. Perhaps there's a bridge chip, too? Even if there is, we don't expect it to be NVIDIA-made. Due to some industry politics, Sapphire doesn't have access to NVIDIA SLI on its motherboards, but hey you're not missing out much, and there are plenty of options from the Radeon camp.

Storage connecitivy includes four internal SATA 6 Gb/s (red) ports, out of which two are wired to the X79 PCH, and two to a Marvell-made SATA 6 Gb/s RAID controller; four SATA 3 Gb/ s (black) ports from the X79 PCH; and two eSATA 6 Gb/s ports on the rear panel, driven by a Marvell-made controller.

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There are six USB 3.0 ports on this board, four on the rear panel, and two via internal header, all driven by ASMediamade 2-port controllers. There are two gigabit Ethernet connection, which surprisingly, are handled by Marvell Yukon Ultra II PCIe GbE controllers - you don't see that everyday. Audio is care of a Realtek ALC892 HD audio CODEC, with 8+2 channels, optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs. Connectivity also includes a Bluetooth controller.

Moving on to the business-end of this board (overclocking), we could find many nifty features, starting with a strong VRM, a UEFI firmware with at least a basic interface yet loaded with options, consolidated voltage measurement points covering key voltage domains, some jumper-based hard overclocking, phase LEDs that give you a visual measure of phase loading, and both POST LED numeric display and a fixed PC speaker - a nifty touch. Expect the Sapphire Pure Black X79 to feature in the first wave of LGA2011 motherboards.

Klipsch Image S4A, first for Android headphones, available now Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/klipsch-image-s4a-first-for-androidheadphones-available-now/13873.html

November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

November 4th, 2011

This new Klipsch Image S4A claims to be the first headphones for Android devices. Android users can download the free Klipsch Control app to customize button functions of the single-button remote control- play, pause, answer and end calls etc.

This afternoon, Motorola Mobility unveiled the new RAZR smartphone which features dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB memory and runs Google Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread mobile operating system. The 4.3-inch phone with Super AMOLED Advanced touchscreen display will be available from next week.

Tat Chuan Acoustic has brought Klipsch Image S4A, first for Android headphones, to Singapore. Android users can download the free Klipsch Control App prior to use. Once installed, the headphone instantly becomes a fully functioning headset for any device running the Android 2.1 or higher. With its single-button remote, users are able to play, pause and skip music tracks, answer and end incoming calls, and voice search. Each button function can be customized by users through the use of the Klipsch Control App. By simply assigning the single, double or three-click functionalities of the remote to the different call and music controls, users are granted a customized listening experience each time they plug in.

The Motorola RAZR measures 7.1mm at its thinnest point and sports a 4.3-inch qHD (960x540) Super AMOLED Advanced touchscreen display with Corning Gorilla glass. Powered by dual-core 1.2GHz processor and runs Google Android 2.3.5, the phone has a curved body with laser-cut KEVLAR rear, stainless steel core and laminated construction that offer good durability.

Available in a sleek black finish with chrome accents, the Image S4A comes complete with four different-sized oval ear tips (a small/medium dual flange design as well as small, medium and large single flange designs), a nylon zipper case, clothing clip and two-year warranty. The Klipsch Image S4A is retailing at S$169 (inclusive of GST) and is available now at Tat Chuan Showroom at The Adelphi #01-17, as well as all Handphone Shop and 3 Mobile outlets.

Motorola Mobility brings the new RAZR Android smartphone to Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/motorola-mobility-brings-the-newrazr-android-smartphone-to-singapore/13872.html

November 4th, 2011

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The report also suggests NVIDIA's performance Kepler GPUs are now scheduled for a Q2 2012 release, around the release of Ivy Bridge. By that time, AMD will have quite a few of their 28nm GPUs on the market.

Samsung Series 9 TA950 3D LED HDTV monitor review: As good as it looks Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-series-9-ta950-3d-led-hdtvmonitor-review-as-good-as-it-looks/13751.html November 4th, 2011

At the top of the new Motorola RAZR are a 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB and HDMI connectors for charging/data transfer and video output. The volume controls and power/lock button are on the right, while the left holds the microSD and SIM card slots. The 8-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash are at the rear and is capable of recording videos at 1080p high definition. The Motorola RAZR also comes preloaded with MotoCast app that lets you remote access your files from your PCs securely.

The Samsung Series 9 TA950 3D LED HDTV monitor is designed for both entertainment and work, and comes with Smart TV features for users to navigate YouTube and social networking services like Facebook and Twitter. So how good is this 3D LED backlit monitor? Read on.

The Motorola RAZR will be available from SingTel, M1 and StarHub from 11 November 2011 at a recommended retail price of S$888.

Report: 28nm AMD GPU volume shipments in 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-28nm-amd-gpu-volumeshipments-in-2012/13871.html November 4th, 2011

According to a report from Fudzilla, AMD will be able to supply next-gen 28nm GPUs in mass quantities only in 2012. At its last conference call, AMD confirmed that the next-gen GPUs will ship by the end of the year, although the actual general release still remains a matter of speculation. According to a report from Fudzilla, AMD will be able to supply next-gen 28nm GPUs in mass quantities only in 2012. At its last conference call, AMD confirmed that the Since AMD will be shipping some GPUs within 2011, a launch for at least one 28nm GPU could be possible by the end of the year. However, availability will be very limited in 2011 and widespread availability for the same GPU will only happen in early 2012. As expected, the reasons cited have been challenges and yield issues with the long pending transition to 28nm at TSMC. AMD also plans to use Globalfoundries' 28nm process for selected chips, but GloFo's no better off than TSMC with the 28nm transition.

These days, even though LCD TVs are becoming highly affordable these days, the LCD monitors are still in demand, especially for PC users who want a replacement or a bigger monitor display. Well, it is true that you can use a 32-inch or larger LCD TV, but unless that TV is full high definition 1080p (1920x1080), else the screen resolution would be smaller than most LCD monitors. Moreover, some users may want even higher resolutions, like 2560x1600 pixel resolution like what the Dell 30-inch 3007WFP LCD monitor offers, which is only slightly smaller than a 32-inch LCD TV. Another thing to consider is connectivity, since not all PCs have HDMI output, or LCD TVs having VGA and DVI inputs. And if you choose to use the LCD TV as your PC's monitor, built-in features including TV tuner and analogue AV inputs would be of no use as there is no need to use them. On the other hand, the LCD monitors can double up as a TV display with their HDMI input, provided you don't mind the smaller screen size. The Samsung TA950 is the latest in the 6

November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Series 9 LED-backlit monitors and claims to offer both 2D and 3D capabilities. Before we go on, let's take a look at its specifications:Samsung Series 9 TA950 3D LED HDTV monitor Display Ultra Clear Panel Video Resolution Picture Engine Panel Frame Rate Dynamic Contrast Ratio Auto Motion Plus 120Hz Brightness

BLU LED Yes Screen Size 27-inch 1,920 x 1,080 DNIe + 3D HyperReal Engine 120Hz Mega DCR Yes

300cd/m2 Response time 3ms Viewing Angle (H/ 170/160 V) Audio Sound Solution

Sound output (RMS) Woofer Feature 3D Sound (TV) Wireless HeadSet Smart@TV Remote Control App Support Extended PVR Allshare (Powered by DLNA) ConnectShareâ&#x201E;˘ (USB2.0) RUI WiFi Built-in EPG Teletext (TTXT) OSD Language Digital Noise Filter BD Wise InstaPort S Room EQ , Auto Sound Calibration (ASC) Anynet+ (HDMICEC) Auto Channel Search Auto Power Off

Dolby Digital plus pulse, dts2.0, SRS TheatreSound HD

7 watts x 2 No Samsung 3D Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No No English Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Yes

Auto Volume Leveler Caption (Subtitle) Clock & On/Off Timer Game Mode Picture-In-Picture Sleep Timer Still Picture Hotel TV Feature System DTV Tuner Built-in MHP / MHEG (version) Input & Output

Yes Yes Yes Yes 1 Tuner PIP Yes No Hotel Mode DTV Reception Yes MHEG (1.0.6)

Audio Out (Mini Jack) Component In (Y/ 1 Pb/Pr) Composite In (AV) 1 (Common use for Component Y) Digital Audio Out 1 (Optical) DVI Audio In (Mini 1 (Common use for Jack) PC Audio in) Ethernet (LAN) Yes Headphone 1 (Common use for Audio out) HDMI 2 PC Audio In (Mini Yes Jack) PC In (D-sub) No RF In (Terrestrial/ 1 Cable input) RF In (Satellite No input) RS232C (AV No CONTROL) USB 2 Design Concept / Type (ToC or High Glossy) Front Color Black Tilt Yes Swivel (Left/Right) No Mark Energy/ Environment Mark Power Power Supply Power Consumption (Max.) Power Consumption (Stand-by)

Yes DVB-T

Yes

Metalic Material

AC100 - 240V 50/60Hz

Typical 70 watts / Max 80 watts < 1.5W

November 4th, 2011

Dimension

Set Size without Stand (WxHxD, mm) Set Size with Stand 621.0 x 472.5 x (WxHxD, mm) 185.5 Package Size 691.0 x 543.0 x (WxHxD, mm) 216.0 Weight Set Weight with Stand (kg) Package Weight 9.8 (kg) Accessory 3D Glasses (Bundle) Remote Control TM1060 Model Batteries (for Yes Remote Control) Vesa Wall Mount Not support any Support wall mount Slim Gender Cable Yes ANT- Cable No Power Cable External Adapter Signal Cable HDMI to HDMI (Default) Cable Quick Setup Guide Yes E-manual Yes Install CD Yes (for PC 3D Game S / W)

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621.0 x 380.0 x 11.4

IT professionals for security, manageability, service and support. The Dell Latitude ST is available now.

5.9

Yes

Dell has announced their new Latitude ST tablet PC that is designed for both mobile and IT professionals. Incorporating Windows 7 productivity in a convenient, lightweight body, the Latitude ST promises security, manageability, service and support. The tablet PC sports a 10-inch multi-touch display with a stylus for intuitive ease-of-use, and lets you access data anytime and anywhere via Wi-Fi and mobile broadband options. The Dell Latitude ST can be tailored to specific business or end user needs with certified applications and professional services. It is also ideal for any organization where employees need to run a core set of applications in safe computing environments.

Asus launches feature packed 11.6-inch U24E notebook in Japan Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-launches-feature-packed-11.6inch-u24e-notebook-in-japan/13869.html November 4th, 2011

Dell introduces Latitude ST Tablet for business, healthcare and education Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/dell-introduces-latitude-st-tablet-forbusiness-healthcare-and-education/13870.html November 4th, 2011

Today, Dell Singapore unveiled their latest Latitude ST, a lightweight and portable tablet PC designed both mobile and

When it comes to notebooks, Japan seems to be getting all the cool models and now Asus has gone and launched a new 11.6inch notebook in Japan and no, it's not another Ultrabook, as the U24E features a full-fat CPU, yet still manages to weigh in at 1.5kg. This is the reason why Ultrabooks are pointless, as it's obviously possible to create notebooks with standard notebook CPUs without making big, heavy 15-inch or larger behemoths. When it comes to notebooks, Japan seems to be getting all the cool models and now Asus has gone and launched a new 11.6inch notebook in Japan and no, it's not another Ultrabook, as the U24E features a full-fat CPU, yet still manages to weigh in at 1.5kg. This is the reason why Ultrabooks are pointless, as it's 8

November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

obviously possible to create notebooks with standard notebook CPUs without making big, heavy 15-inch or larger behemoths.

smaller 8.2-inch screen, although both models should have the same 1280x800 resolution.

The U24E sports a Core i5-2430M processor which is clocked at 2.4GHz, but will turbo all the way up to 3GHz. It also comes with 4GB of RAM as standard which is upgradeable to 8GB. Storage is a regular old hard drive, but Asus will offer sizes up to 750GB. There's of course no optical drive, as this is a rather small machine at 291x207x28mm (WxDxH) and it's 11.6-inch screen has typical notebook resolution of 1366x768 pixels which is powered by Intel's integrated HD 3000 graphics.

Motorola has launched a pair of Android tablet in the shape of the Xoom 2 and Xoom 2 Media Edition and the two are quite different, even though the name wouldn't suggest so. The Xoom 2 should be replacing the original Xoom, as both feature a 10.1-inch display, whereas the Xoom 2 Media Edition has a smaller 8.2-inch screen, although both models should have the same 1280x800 resolution.

Other features include two USB 3.0 ports, a single USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet, a D-sub connector, a memory card reader, audio jacks, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 + HS and of course a webcam. The 6-cell battery is rated at 6.8h and although this is where things aren't as good as some of the Ultrabooks, it's not significantly less when you compare, in fact Asus' on Zenbook UX21 has a comparatively small battery that won't give you much more usable battery life. The U24E is on sale in Japan now for 59,800 Yen (S$968/ US$766) which seems quite reasonable for what you get. As to when the U24E will be available outside of Japan, is anyone's guess.

Motorola Xoom 2 and Xoom 2 Media Edition launches Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/motorola-xoom-2-and-xoom-2-mediaedition-launches/13868.html November 4th, 2011

The two tablets share a similar design, run Android 3.2 and feature gorilla glass as well as rubberised edges to improve the grip. Both tablets are powered by a dual core 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4430 SoC which has been paired up with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi, a rear 5Megapixel camera with LED flash and a front facing 1.3Megapixel camera. Both models also has a micro USB port and a micro HDMI port, with the Xoom 2 also having a micro SD card slot, although it's apparently not enabled at the moment. The Xoom 2 Media Edition also features an infrared transmitter which allows you to use it as a universal remote control.

November 4th, 2011

Currently the two models are only available in the UK and Ireland, although we'd expect to see broader availability over time. There's also a potential of a 3G model for the Xoom 2, as it's already equipped with a SIM card slot, but the UK model will be Wi-Fi only. The Xoom 2 weighs in at 599g while the smaller Xoom 2 Media Edition is a bit more portable at 386g. Apparently the Xoom 2 Media Edition also sports a subwoofer speaker, although we'd have to hear it to believe it. Price wise the Xoom 2 will retail for £379.99 (S$780) with the Xoom 2 Media Edition coming in slightly cheaper at £329.99 (S$650).

Asus' Transformer Prime gets undressed, reveals Tegra 3

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It looks like Nvidia has managed to shrink the size of the chip quite significantly compared to Tegra 2, despite doubling the core count and then some. It’s unlikely that this same chip will be used in smartphones though, as it’s still bigger than your average ARM SoC. Beyond the Tegra 3 chip, we’re looking at an unknown amount of 32-bit DDR2 or possibly LPDDR2 memory from Elpida, as the specific model number doesn’t appear on Elpida’s website. Storage comes courtesy of an eMMC chip from Hynix, in this case a 32GB chip built on 2Xnm technology that is compliant with the eMMC 4.41 standard that offers a maximum memory bandwidth of 104MB/s.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-transformer-prime-getsundressed-reveals-tegra-3/13867.html November 4th, 2011

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) had kindly posted pictures of the guts of Asus’ upcoming Transformer Prime tablet, since if you want to sell a device in the US; it has to pass through the stringent testing of the FCC. As such, we now know not only what Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chip for tablets look like, but also some details about the specifications of the Transformer Prime beyond the processor. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) had kindly posted pictures of the guts of Asus’ upcoming Transformer Prime tablet, since if you want to sell a device in the US; it has to pass through the stringent testing of the FCC. As such, we now know not only what Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chip for tablets look like, but also some details about the specifications of the Transformer Prime beyond the processor.

Other chips spotted include Wi-Fi from Azurewave, a GPS receiver from Broadcom, audio from Realtek and a touch screen controller from Atmel with support for up to 16 simultaneous touch inputs. The tablet also appears to have a micro SD card slot, a built in camera with what appears to be an LED flash, an audio jack and a USB port. There’s also a custom dock connector for the keyboard dock, but it’s a bit hard to see in the pictures. The battery pack seems to take up most of the space inside the tablet and it’s rated at 25Wh 10

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or 3,380mAh whichever you prefer. That said, we shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to wait too long for the Transformer Prime to launch and we should know more then. Check out the source for more pictures of the internals of the Transformer Prime.

Rosewill releases the monstrous Blackhawk-Ultra Gaming Case

Published by: VR-Zone

Continuing with tradition, Noctua is offering the new NMI2011 SecuFirm2â&#x201E;˘ mountings free of charge to new and existing customers, which is compatible with their whole line of retail heatsinks. We at VR-Zone tested it on our previously reviewed NH-C14 and the new ASUS Sabertooth X79 to bring you the mounting procedures and some idea about ram clearance. The kit came in a small and glossy box

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/rosewill-releases-the-monstrousblackhawk-ultra-gaming-case/13866.html November 4th, 2011

Today Rosewill released the Blackhawk-Ultra Gaming Super Tower Computer Case, a product of monstrous proportions and loaded with features. The case can support HPTX motherboards, two power supplies and a ludicrous number of cooling fans; it comes with 8 LED fans pre-installed.

Opening the box was akin to opening a jewellery case, quite impressive considering its free of charge

The case also includes a full black interior with many cable routing options, ten HDD trays and up to 43cm long GFX cards. Rosewill offers the case with a MSRP of 229.99$ USD.

Noctua NM-I2011 SecuFirm2 LGA 2011 Mounting Kit Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/noctua-nm-i2011-secufirm2-lga-2011mounting-kit-review/13865.html November 4th, 2011

November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Fool-proof instructions

ASUS Sabertooth X79

The mounting nuts, screws and bolts

Fujitsu launches 13.3-inch LIFEBOOK SH771 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/fujitsu-launches-13.3-inch-lifebooksh771/13864.html November 4th, 2011

With notebook manufacturers coming up with their line of thin and light portables, Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific has recently launched their 13.3-inch LIFEBOOK SH771 which claims to be the thinnest and lightest LIFEBOOK yet, with 9.5 hours runtime on a standard battery.

We will be testing it on the NH-C14 top-flow heatsink

November 4th, 2011

Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific has announced the launch of their Fujitsu LIFEBOOK SH771 designed for professionals and users who want a portable laptop with good performance and long battery life. The LIFEBOOK SH771 claims to be the thinnest and lightest 13.3-inch two-spindle LIFEBOOK, weighing just 1.33kg in a sturdy magnesium alloy body that can withstand up to 200kgf of force, and offers an extended battery life of up to 14 hours. Users can choose between an Intel Core i7 or i5 processor with 500GB 7200rpm hard disk drive and 4GB RAM for superb computing performance and smart multi-tasking features. The LIFEBOOK SH771 is also equipped with an USB Anytime Charging plus feature and a USB 3.0 port that allows you to effectively charge your smart phone, PlayStation Portable, MP3 players and other devices, without powering up the notebook PC. Other features include DTS Boost that can deliver superb audio experience and clarity in sound, and Intel Wireless Display that allows users to wirelessly connect to a large screen High Definition (HD) TV for sharing of picturess and videos with family and friends. The Fujitsu LIFEBOOK SH771 is retailing from S$2,288 w/ GST and will be available from early November 2011.

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Mali-400 MP graphics which means that we're looking at chips that are up there with the cutting edge of current ARM solutions. But what's even more interesting is that the company is already sampling its next generation Cortex-A9 SoCs which will be built on 32nm and will be running at speeds of up to 1.8GHz. As if that wasn't good enough, the company should also be close to start sampling its 28nm Cortex-A15 based SoCs with clock speeds of up to 2.5GHz and next generation PowerVR graphics which supports DirectX. This makes us wonder if this platform might be destined for a future Nokia Windows tablet or not, as the company's CEO Stephen Elop has hinted at the fact that the company might be interested in building a Windows 8 tablet. It's easy to speculate as to what may or may not happen, but one thing is clear unless ST-Ericsson got ahead of itself, the Windows Phone platform is finally going to get support for better hardware than Qualcomm's rather dull single core offerings. Competition with regards to the phone internals is also a good thing as it's likely to finally bring out a major differentiator between the various Windows Phone devices.

Hands on pictures of Gigabyte's upcoming X79 Nokia to move from Qualcomm motherboards to ST-Ericsson for Windows Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hands-on-pictures-of-gigabyte-supcoming-x79-motherboards/13862.html Phone chips November 4th, 2011 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-to-move-from-qualcomm-to-stericsson-for-windows-phone-chips/13863.html November 4th, 2011

In a surprising announcement it has come to light that STEricsson will soon be part of the Windows Phone ecosystem which so far has been the sole playing ground for Qualcomm. ST-Ericsson has been selected by none other than Nokia to become its supplier of SoCs for its future Windows Phone handsets. In a surprising announcement it has come to light that STEricsson will soon be part of the Windows Phone ecosystem which so far has been the sole playing ground for Qualcomm. ST-Ericsson has been selected by none other than Nokia to become its supplier of SoCs for its future Windows Phone handsets. The press release issued by ST-Ericsson is short and virtually free of details and if it wasn't for the fact that the company mentions its NovaThor platform, it could simply have been that ST-Ericsson would've been selected to provide modem solutions to Nokia, something that they offer to a lot of handset manufacturers.

VR-Zone got to spend a little bit of time with Gigabyte's upcoming motherboard for (as we were informed by Gigabyte who in turn had been instructed by Intel to tell us that we should call it) the Intel Core i7 processor family for the LGA 2011 socket, otherwise known under Intel's code name of Sandy Bridge-E. We've already seen Gigabyte's X79 motherboards a few times, but these are the first detailed pictures and as such we have a few additional snippets of information to share with you. VR-Zone got to spend a little bit of time with Gigabyte's upcoming motherboard for (as we were informed by Gigabyte who in turn had been instructed by Intel to tell us that we should call it) the Intel Core i7 processor family for the LGA 2011 socket, otherwise known under Intel's code name of Sandy Bridge-E. We've already seen Gigabyte's X79 motherboards a few times, but these are the first detailed pictures and as such we have a few additional snippets of information to share with you.

The NovaThor platform is an entirely different ballgame though, especially as it reveals a lot about the future of Windows Phone. Currently ST-Ericsson's NovaThor platform only includes dual core Cortex-A9 based SoCs, all with ARM 13

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Starting with the X79-UD3 we don't have too much new to report, but we know for sure that we're looking at a couple of additional Marvell controllers for the extra four SATA 6Gbps ports. Another feature we weren't aware of until now is that Gigabyte has moved away from Realtek on all of its X79 motherboards in favour of Intel Ethernet controllers. That said, the audio is still from Realtek, but that's more or less the norm today, no matter what motherboard you buy with a few exceptions.

A third Marvell controller adds the two eSATA ports and as we mentioned before, Gigabyte has moved over to Fresco Logic for the USB 3.0 host controllers on its X79 boards. Sadly Fresco Logic's four port host controller wasn't ready in time, so multiple controllers had to be used. This is also the only of Gigabyte's X79 motherboards that lacks a heatpipe, but to make up for it a taller heatsink has been fitted to help cool the VRM.

Published by: VR-Zone

Moving on we have the X79-UD5 and we'd like to point out that the heatsink in this case is quite different to the UD3 and we're not talking about the blue colour here. Due to in part the heatpipe running from the VRM to the heatsink and in part to the two different coloured materials used, Gigabyte has fitted a much thicker and more solid feeling heatsink on the UD5, even though it might not look like it's anything special from the pictures. As we mentioned before, the UD5 is Gigabyte's only eight DIMM board, although this is at the cost of the seventh expansion slot. We should also mention that this is there are no PCI Express switches on this board, as it's configured in dual x16 and a single x8 slot and as there are enough PCI Express lanes to go around, there's no need for any switches.

For those still using FireWire, this is also Gigabyte's only X79 motherboard that supports FireWire. You'll also find an eSATAp (powered eSATA/USB combo) port around the back. As we mentioned back at the IDF preview, that blue and green button below the O.C. button around the back is in fact for manual BIOS switching. There's also what appears to be a small clear CMOS button here. Otherwise this board offers fairly similar functionality to the UD3.

November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone November 4th, 2011

Christmas is just round the corner, and Canon has come up with some gift ideas from compacrt digital cameras, video camcorders and digital SLR cameras for your friends and loved ones, be they ladies, teens or photo enthusiasts. For Ladies and Teens

AMD gains CPU market share in Q3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-gains-cpu-market-share-inq3/13860.html November 4th, 2011

The 12.1-megapixel IXUS 230 HS is a slender and chic compact camera which claims to be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s slimmest with 8x optical zoom. With the IXUS 230 HS you can take great party shots with the Smart Auto feature that can automatically focuses on the subject and the background, creating ideal scenes for each photo. Recommended retail price of the Canon IXUS 230 HS - S$399.

According to Mercury Research, AMD has gained market share year-over-year in Q3 2011, up by 0.5% to 18.8%. Intel's market share, meanwhile, dropped to 80.3%. Overall shipments were up 5% versus Q3 2010. According to Mercury Research, AMD has gained market share year-over-year in Q3 2011, up by 0.5% to 18.8%. Intel's market share, meanwhile, dropped to 80.3%. Overall shipments were up 5% versus Q3 2010. However, sequential market share increased for Intel, from 79.9% in Q2. AMD's fell from 19.4% during the same period. This drop is largely due to severe supply shortages for Llano at Globalfoundries' 32nm process. In view of this shortage, AMD chose to prioritize on the mobile market. This lead to a higher growth in mobile shipments for AMD compared to desktops. The average CPU price increased to $107 - the highest in five years.

Canon Christmas Gift Ideas Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-christmas-gift-ideas/13859.html

The Canon PowerShot S95 is a heavyweight compact with revolutionary HS system that makes it excellent in low-light situations. It features a range of features like High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode, 10-megapixel resolution, a fast f2.0 zoom and a hybrid IS system for advanced image stabilisation. In short, the PowerShot S95 is the ultimate travel companion. 15

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Recommended retail price of the Canon PowerShot S95 - S $599. For Techies and Photo Enthusiasts

The EOS 600D is powered by an 18-megapixel high image quality CMOS sensor and the powerful DIGIC 4 image processor, allowing photos to be created into gallery masterpieces even after cropping them. Choose from two kits with different lenses to give you the look you want to achieve. With Scene Intelligent Auto feature in this camera, it can deliver full HD recording in up to 30fps. Recommended Retail Price of the Canon EOS 600D - S$1,199 with EF S18-55 IS II lens, and S$1,549 with EF S18-135 IS II lens.

The Canon EOS 60D incorporates an 18-megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor with a dynamic DiGIC 4 image processor for taking breathtaking photos. It comes with a 3-inch wide VariAngle LCD screen, and lets you edit easily with In-camera post processing. Recommended Retail Price of the Canon EOS 60D - S$1,699 with EF S18-55 lens, S$2,049 with EF S18-135 lens, and S$2,199 with EF S18-200 lens. For New Parents and family

The Canon LEGRIA FS406 is a user-friendly standard definition camcorder. It has a Video Snapshot and a Pre REC function to ensure users capture key moments even if record button was pressed three seconds later.Parents do not need to worry about shaky videos of juniors since the Electronic image Stabilizer with Dynamic Mode eliminates shakes. Recommended retail price of the Canon LEGRIA FS406 - S$499.

The latest Canon PIXMA MG8270 all-in-one will suit everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs from home office, to creative photo prints, copy, scanning and faxing. It features Intelligent Touch System and a 3.5-inch LCD display that provides a variety of creative printing options for digital images and high definition movie stills. The MG8270 is also enabled with PIXMA Cloud Link and can easily print photo from online albums, access stationery templates directly from the printer, or print Gmail messages or Google Docs from smartphone or tablet via Google Cloud Print. Recommended retail price of the Canon PIXMA MG8270 - TBA.

SingTel launches deF!ND digital concierge app for iPhone and Android Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/singtel-launches-def-nd-digitalconcierge-app-for-iphone-and-android/13858.html

November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

November 4th, 2011

- Banking and finance - Business and professional services - Groceries and liquor Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has launched a new digital concierge app for the iPhone and Android devices, which allows users to book cabs, make restaurant reservations, purchase movie tickets and even find amenities in their vicinity easily. On top of that, deF!ND also comes with a voice recognition feature for you to find your local food and ethnic restaurants just by saying it out.

- Sports and recreation - Medical and dental services - Government and organisations - Arts and entertainment - Pets - Real Estate and housing - Automotive and Motorcycles - Legal services - Travel and transportation - Education - Personal services Amenities - ATM

SingTel has unveiled deF!ND, which claims to be the company's first intelligent mobile concierge app that integrates local information and allows bookings of services that Singaporeans find essential while on the move. The app also has a voice recognition capability for local food and ethnic restaurants and it is available at no charge from the Apple App Store and the Android Marketplace. With deF!ND, users can book cabs, make restaurant reservations, buy movie tickets, locate ATMs, medical clinics and other essential amenities around their vicinities, as well as find the best shopping deals, search business directories and get updates on local events.

- Banks - Clinics - Minimarts - Car Repair and Services - Florist - Hospitals / Polyclinics - Laundry Service

deF!ND search categories include: Taxi Bookings Food around me Movies Book me a restaurant Business directory - Food and drink - Shopping and retail - Computers and electronics - Home and garden

- Money Changer - Singapore Pools - Petrol Kiosk - Courier and Postal Services - Supermarket Hot Deals - Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apparel and accessories - Ladies apparel and accessories - Beauty and Spa 17

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- Electronics and appliances - Children and infant wear - Home and garden - Restaurants Events - Featured events - Performing arts - Fairs and festivals - Kids and family - Leisure and Sport - Night Out

Samsung introduces NX200 mirrorless compact system interchangeable lens camera Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-introduces-nx200mirrorless-compact-system-interchangeable-lens-camera/13857.html November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Samsung has launched the NX200, a new compact system camera that delivers professional standard photography, promising an easy experience. The NX200 delivers DSLR quality imaging in a camera that is compact and easy-touse. The camera incorporates a 20.3-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor that provides high quality image with great details. For high speed capture, the NX200 can achieve 100ms Advanced AF speed. With its Fast Boot and seven frames per second continuous shooting, you can rest assured not to miss a shot. In addition, the camera offers a wide range ISO (100-12800) that gives natural colours and sharp details, even in dark environments or when capturing fast moving objects. The NX200 also features 1920x1080/30p (H.264) high definition movie recording with stereo sound. The compact system camera is compatible with i-Function 2.0 lenses, which gives control to a range of parameters from the lens, providing complete focus on a shot. The NX200 is also compatible with nine different i-Function lenses which enable toggling between shutter speed, aperture, EV, WB, and ISO quickly and easily. With the upgraded i-Function 2.0 on the NX200, you can control six different Smart Filters and the intelli-Zoom function from the lens whilst in Lens Priority Mode. New lenses for the i-Function system include 18-200mm, 16mm, 60mm and 85mm focal lengths. With the new Panorama function, it provides lengthened shots of large objects or converts the image into 3D and brings the object to life. The NX200 also comes with the added Sound Picture function, a snippet of sound can be recorded to a still image to include interesting memories to a shot. The Samsung NX200 (with 18-55mm i-Function 2.0 lens) is available at S$1,099.

Samsung has introduced their new mirrorless compact system interchangeable lens camera, the NX200, which boasts professional image quality with great ease of use. The NX200 is fully compatible with nine different i-Function lenses with new lenses for the i-Function system including 18-200mm, 16mm, 60mm and 85mm focal lengths.

Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega wireless gaming headset available now Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/creative-sound-blaster-tactic3d-omegawireless-gaming-headset-available-now/13856.html November 4th, 2011

Creative Technology has announced the availability of their Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega wireless gaming headset, designed to provide superb audio quality for an immersive gaming experience. The Tactic3D Omega wireless gaming headset is now available at the Creative online store, the CREATIVE Stores outlets and authorized retailers.

November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Biostar's TPower X79 smiles for the camera Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/biostar-s-tpower-x79-smiles-for-thecamera/13855.html November 4th, 2011

Creative Technology has announced the availability of the new Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega Wireless Gaming Headset. The Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega Wireless Gaming Headset can connect wirelessly to an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC or Mac, and delivers superior audio quality via a powerful FullSpectrum 50mm drivers for animmersive gaming experience. The Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega Wireless Gaming Headset also features a detachable noisecanceling microphone for clear voice communications. With the included software, PC and Mac gamers can experience THX TruStudio Pro audio technology to customize their own gaming audio settings and profile. Key Features - Award-winning wireless technology delivers low latency and lack of interference with other wireless products in the home - Full Spectrum tunable 50mm audio drivers for great audio performance

There seems to be no end to the X79 motherboards that are being shown off ahead of the official launch which is now less than two weeks away and pictures of Biostar's upcoming X79 board which will be called the TPower X79 has now made their way online. We don't have tons of details on this board and have to simply go with what we can deduct from the pictures, so sadly this won't be the most detailed look at the board There seems to be no end to the X79 motherboards that are being shown off ahead of the official launch which is now less than two weeks away and pictures of Biostar's upcoming X79 board which will be called the TPower X79 has now made their way online. We don't have tons of details on this board and have to simply go with what we can deduct from the pictures, so sadly this won't be the most detailed look at the board. First impression of the TPower X79 is a messy board with a somewhat peculiar board layout. There are a pair of red x16 PCI Express slots as well as a white one, although we're not sure if the white slot is somewhat different or not. The markings on the board read PCI Express 2.0, rather than 3.0 which is also somewhat strange. There's also a pair of x1 PCI Express slots and a single PCI slot and we can't say that we're sold on Biostar's slot layout in this case.

- Independent voice and game volume controls directly on the earcups - Optimised lightweight design for marathon game play - Detachable noise-canceling microphone allows headset to be used as great-sounding headphones - Comfortable, durable design with customisable illuminated earcups - Includes a base station, which features a line-in to expand the capabilities of the headset, making it ideal for use with media streamers, TVs or MP3 players Pricing and Availability The Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega Wireless Gaming Headset will be available at the Creative online store at sg.store.creative.com and The CREATIVE Stores outlets at International Business Park, Marina Square and authorised dealers in Singapore from Nov 2011 onwards at the following suggested retail price S$269.

The six white SATA ports are presumably connected to the X79 chipset, although there's no simple way of telling which two ports are SATA 6Gbps. There's also a seventh SATA port in red just next to the main block of ports. Biostar has gone overboard when it comes to power delivery with a pair of 8-pin 12V power connectors as well as a Molex connector, something overclockers might find useful though. They've also put a small shield over the audio codec, but there's no special components 19

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Published by: VR-Zone

hiding underneath the shield as seen on a different picture at the source.

The rear I/O consist of a PS/2 port, two USB 2.0 ports, no less than six USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, a Gigabit Ethernet port and 7.1-channel audio with optical and coaxial S/PDIF out. The board also has a pin header for a pair of front USB 3.0 ports and power, reset and clear CMOS buttons as well as a POST80 debug LED display. We don't know what USB 3.0 controllers Biostar is using on this board, but we'd guess it's ASMedia as it looks like there's a chip for each pair of USB 3.0 pots. Not a bad show, but not our first choice either.

Intel leaks the DX79SI on its own website Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-leaks-the-dx79si-on-its-ownwebsite/13854.html November 4th, 2011

So what are we looking at here? Well, what we have here is the final version of a board that Intel showed off at IDF back in September, but to which some changes have been made. Intel “fixed” the SATA ports, so now there are six instead of four, instead of 10, instead of SAS, all thanks to a few bugs in the chipset. However, unlike its partners, Intel decided not to fit any additional SATA ports to the DX79SI which makes it a fairly basic motherboard considering it's Intel's high-end model. Judging by the picture, Intel did a quick fix rather than re-design the entire motherboard and as such there's no space for extra SATA controllers. In terms of slots we have three x16 PCI Express 3.0 slots and it's interesting that Intel actually specifies this, as the company is still busy testing compliance due to the lack of devices that supports PCI Express 3.0. There's also a pair of x1 PCI Express slots and a PCI slot. For those looking for a board to load out with tons of memory, the DX79SI might appeal, as it has the full eight DIMMs and Intel claims 64GB/s memory bandwidth with the memory running at 2.4GHz. That said, that only works when you have four DIMMs in the blue slots, stick for more DIMMs in and the overall memory speed is reduced.

Look what we found, Intel has been sloppy and put up information about its upcoming DX79SI motherboard – also known as Siler – which will be part of Intel's Extreme series of motherboards. It's not worth getting overly excited about the DX79SI though, as Intel isn't really pushing the envelope with this motherboard, despite it being Intel's high-end X79 model. First we'd like to apologise for the poor quality picture, but it's all we managed to dig up as Intel didn't include any high resolution images. Secondly, we've included a screenshot to show you that this is indeed from Intel itself and not from some third party source, although the details appeared on the company's mobile site, although we're not sharing the URL, but anyone that knows how to use a search engine might be able to locate the page themselves.

Around the back are six USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a FireWire port and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports wired up to Intel network chips and last but not least 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and a clear CMOS button. The board 20

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Published by: VR-Zone

also has a wide range of pin headers, but the most important one has to be the one that adds a pair of front USB 3.0 ports. At least Intel went with a passive chipset cooler, unlike some boards we've seen, so it's clear that active cooling isn't needed. Intel is also supplying a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module, as well as a mouse pad and UV reactive SATA cables with the board. We should have a more detailed look at the board shortly, although we just wanted to get this up ASAP, as it's not every day that Intel leaks its own unreleased products.

GlobalFoundries makes interim CEO permanent Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/globalfoundries-makes-interim-ceopermanent/13853.html November 4th, 2011

Shareholders don't tend to be happy with interim management and GlobalFoundries have now gone and made its interim CEO, Ajit Manocha its fulltime CEO. Apparently he wasn't the only choice though, but he proved himself to the board of directors during his four months as interim CEO and was chosen from a range of candidates for the CEO position. Shareholders don't tend to be happy with interim management and GlobalFoundries have now gone and made its interim CEO, Ajit Manocha its fulltime CEO. Apparently he wasn't the only choice though, but he proved himself to the board of directors during his four months as interim CEO and was chosen from a range of candidates for the CEO position. Mr Manocha has extensive background in the foundry business with past experience including the role as Executive VP and Chief Manufacturing Officer at NXP, as Executive Vice President of Worldwide Operations and a member of the Executive Management board at Spansion. He has also worked for AT&T Microelectronics and AT&T Bell labs in the past. He even holds patents for various inventions relating to wafer processing, so the man obviously knows what he's getting himself into.

We meet Mr Manocha briefly at GTC Taiwan earlier this year and he came across as a charismatic person that knows what he's talking about, although it's hard to draw any conclusions during a lunch meeting. That said, he's got tough times ahead of him, as he needs to get GlobalFoundries up and running at 100 percent capacity and get the company's 32nm and 28nm nodes working at a level where all its customers are satisfied, something we're hearing isn't quite the case at the moment. Time will tell if he's the leader GlobalFoundries has been lacking, we can only hope as we need another strong foundry player beyond TSMC if for no other reason than to keep things competitive.

Intel's soon to launch Z68 motherboards detailed, pictured Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-s-soon-to-launch-z68motherboards-detailed-pictured/13852.html November 4th, 2011

We've finally managed to dig up details of Intel's upcoming DZ68PL and DZ68AF motherboards along with a couple of pictures of each of the boards. We first got wind of the new boards back in September, but then we only knew the models

November 4th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

names and we'll do our best to fill in the rest of the details today. We've finally managed to dig up details of Intel's upcoming DZ68PL and DZ68AF motherboards along with a couple of pictures of each of the boards. We first got wind of the new boards back in September, but then we only knew the models names and we'll do our best to fill in the rest of the details today. We need to start this by correcting a small mistake from our September article, the DP67BA is in fact being replaced by the DZ68PL and the DP67DE is being replaced by the DZ68AF and as such Intel is not adding Smart Response technology to its P67 motherboards. This was a misunderstanding on our side due to unclear information given to us. It's really hard to follow Intel's logic here, as we're now nearly a year into the Sandy Bridge life cycle and Intel is putting out Z68 motherboards akin to the first generation boards that arrived back in May, some six months ago. What we mean by first generation is that neither of Intel's two new boards feature any kind of display connectivity, despite that both boards clearly has space for the display connectors.

As such the DZ68PL which is the ATX size board is a rather strange addition to Intel's media series of motherboards, as when you think about media, you think about products that somehow are connected to a display. The DZ68PL is a rather boring board with a single x16 PCI Express slot, two x1 PCI Express slots and three PCI slots. It has five internal SATA connectors of which two are SATA 6Gbps. The only other “feature” if you can call it that are four pin headers for eight USB 2.0 ports and a pin header for a single FireWire port.

Around the back are six USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, a FireWire port, a Gigabit Ethernet port – using an Intel Ethernet controller of course – and 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out. There really isn't much to this board and considering the multitude of choice, there are many better options to go for by now. The DZ68AF follows a similar concept, although this is a mATX board so it only has a single x16 PCI Express slot, two x1 PCI Express slots and a single PCI slot. Intel has once more gone for five internal SATA ports of which two are SATA 6Gbps. Other similarities carried over are the four internal pin headers for eight USB 2.0 ports and the single pin header for a FireWire port. The rear I/O is also identical with exactly the same port layout.

We just don't understand why Intel are launching these products when there should be less than five months before Ivy Bridge and new 7-series chipset based motherboards arrive. It's possibly that Intel has done this as the company is cutting the production of the P67 chipset as the demand is so low and 22

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only minor changes were needed to the PCB. We'd still have much preferred these new additions if they'd at least had some kind of display connectivity, since as they stand; they look outdated before they've even launched. Both boards should be available shortly.

Foxconn Quantum Force X79 Motherboard (Final) Pictured Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/foxconn-quantum-force-x79motherboard-final-pictured/13851.html November 4th, 2011

Here are the first pictures of the Foxconn Quantum Force X79 in a form that’s almost ready for market. Quantum Force is Foxconn’s brand that targets the “gamer-overclocker” market, the same one that ASUS’ Republic of Gamers, Gigabyte’s G1.Killer, and ASRock’s Fatal1ty Professional motherboards target. Foxconn also has a knack of surprising some (pleasantly) with the pricing of these boards compared to others in the segment. An example of this was the company’s Quantum Force boards based on the X58 chipset. Here are the first pictures of the Foxconn Quantum Force X79 in a form that’s almost ready for market. Quantum Force is Foxconn’s brand that targets the “gamer-overclocker” market, the same one that ASUS’ Republic of Gamers, Gigabyte’s G1.Killer, and ASRock’s Fatal1ty Professional motherboards target. Foxconn also has a knack of surprising some (pleasantly) with the pricing of these boards compared to others in the segment. An example of this was the company’s Quantum Force boards based on the X58 chipset.

The LGA2011 socket supports upcoming Core i7 “Sandy Bridge” processors. Foxconn is using a 14-phase CPU VRM design for this board, with 2-phase VRM for the memory. There are four DDR3 DIMM slots on this board, two on either sides of the socket, one per memory channel. Expansion slots include four PCI-Express x16, among which three are wired to the CPU. The red slots are PCI-Express 3.0 x16 capable, the bottom-most slot is PCI-Express 3.0 x8 capable. The second black slot is electrically PCI-Express 2.0 x8, and is wired to the X79 PCH, so the board is optimal for 3-way SLI and CrossFireX. There are eight internal SATA ports, four of these (color coded red) are SATA 6 Gb/s, two of these (top) are driven by the X79 PCH, the other by an ASMedia-made controller. The black ports are SATA 3 Gb/s, wired to the PCH. There are two eSATA ports on the rear-panel, driven by a JMicron-made SATA 3 Gb/s controller. In terms of general connectivity, you’ll get 8+2 channel HD audio with optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs; four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear-panel, two via standard header), powered by Renesas-made controllers; two gigabit Ethernet connections, one controlled by an Intel-made controller, the other by Realtek-made one; and other common ports such as USB 2.0 and PS/2.

The Quantum Force X79 looks to be packing quite a few features that benefit overclockers. To begin with, there is redundant BIOS stored in three separate, socketed EEPROM chips, consolidated voltage measurement points that let you manually measure voltages (using a multimeter), onboard OC tuning switches, onboard power/reset switches, clear CMOS switch on the rear-panel, and POST code speaker. Pricing is unknown, but it’s likely that the Foxconn Quantum Force X79 will be a part of the first wave of motherboards for Sandy Bridge-E. 23

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JPR: Processor graphics/APUs take over in Q3 2011 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/jpr-processor-graphicsapus-take-overin-q3-2011/13848.html November 4th, 2011

Call them Processor Graphics, as Intel do, or Accelerated Processing Units (APU) as per AMD, chips combining GPUs and CPUs are starting to dominate overall graphics shipments. In Q3, as a result of Sandy Bridge's massive success, Intel's jumped to a 60% market share in graphics shipment. AMD held on to 23% which NVIDIA, left without an APU competitor, dropped to 16%. Call them Processor Graphics, as Intel do, or Accelerated Processing Units (APU) as per AMD, chips combining GPUs and CPUs are starting to dominate overall graphics shipments. In Q3, as a result of Sandy Bridge's massive success, Intel's jumped to a 60% market share in graphics shipment. AMD held on to 23% which NVIDIA, left without an APU competitor, dropped to 16%. Overall, graphics shipments soared by 16.7% over Q2 2011, as is the trend for Q3. However, 16.7% is still over general trends and 18.4% over Q3 2010. AMD's shipments increased by 9.9%, Intel's by 28.5% while NVIDIA's fell by 6.2%. However, NVIDIA did note disruptive market share growths in the discrete markets, growing by 30% over Q2 2011. Much of this is attributed to Optimus technology working with Sandy Bridge notebooks. Strangely, NVIDIA also sold IGPs to power older AMD CPUs.

Google will be charging map developers for usage Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/google-will-be-charging-mapdevelopers-for-usage/13847.html November 4th, 2011

If you are a map developer who utilizes Google Maps API for your site, it seems that the search engine giant Google is planning to charge map developers a small fee for the usage of their service, beginning next year.

Starting next year, Google will charge US$4 for every 1,000 map loads on sites where traffic exceeds 25,000 map loads per day. According to the company, the new fees are intended to make sure Google Maps remains free for small developers. Small sites will remain unaffected since the Google Maps API will still be free for the first 25,000 views per day. However, for the big boys, they can choose to pay US$10,000+ for a Google Maps API Premier licence, which offers unlimited access, more advanced geocoding tools, tech support, and control over any advertising shown on the site. Or they can always use OpenStreetMap, which is free and, in many parts of the world, much more detailed than Google Maps.

Near reflection free glass invented Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/near-reflection-free-glassinvented/13846.html November 4th, 2011

If you, like us, hate glossy screens, then the latest development from Japan will surely interest you. Nippon Electrical Glass Co Ltd has come up with a new glass substrate that is very close to reflection free, something that should make all the new "infinity display" notebooks and of course tablets and smartphones much more enjoyable to use in many environments. If you, like us, hate glossy screens, then the latest development from Japan will surely interest you. Nippon Electrical Glass Co Ltd has come up with a new glass substrate that is very close to reflection free, something that should make all the new "infinity display" notebooks and of course tablets and smartphones much more enjoyable to use in many environments. The new glass substrate was shown off at the FPD International convention in Japan last week and it apparently awed visitors who didn't quite know what they were looking at, or rather wasn't looking at. It's pretty clear from the picture that we're looking at something which has the potential to 24

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revolutionize the market, at least as long as device makers insists on putting sheets of glass in front of notebook screens to make them appear to have a slimmer bezel, among many things.

Published by: VR-Zone

We can't be far from AMD's updated Llano APU's, as all of the major motherboard manufacturers have issued BIOS/UEFI updates for their socket FM1 motherboards for at least some of the expected models. However, what we've also found are several new models that we weren't aware of that will carry the Athlon II and Sempron branding. Starting at the bottom of the list, we have the dual core Sempron X2 198 which is a 2.5GHz processors, in other words, there's no graphics to be found here. It still fits the FM1 socket, has a total of 1MB of L2 cache and a 65W TDP. This should be one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest socket FM1 processor out there. Moving up a step we have the dual core Athlon X2 221 which moves the clock speed up to 2.8GHz, but with the limited information we have at hand, this is the only difference between the two. The quad core Athlon II X4 631 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a 2.6GHz part with 4MB L2 cache â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is getting a faster sibling in the shape of the Athlon X4 II 641 which is clocked at 2.8.GHz, as well as a more power efficient version of itself with 65W TDP rather than the 100W TDP of the current model. No other changes appear to have been made and for now this is AMD's entire range of CPU's for socket FM1.

The process of getting the glass substrate nearly reflection free involves some 30 layers of anti-reflective film, each being only a few nanometres thick. This allows for 99.5 percent of the light to pass through the glass and only the remaining half percent causes reflection. Surprisingly regular glass has a fairly low reflection percentage of eight percent, but this is still enough to cause the effects we all loathe. No word as to when this technology might be commercially available, but it can't be soon enough in our opinion.

Motherboard makers leak upcoming AMD FM1 processors Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/motherboard-makers-leak-upcomingamd-fm1-processors/13845.html November 4th, 2011

Moving on to the new APU's we can apparently look forward to the arrival of AMD's E2-3200 which was announced when AMD launched its Llano range of APU's, but never made it to market. This is a dual core 2.4GHz processor with 1MB of L1 cache combined with a Radeon HD 6370D GPU which has 180 shaders, eight TMUs and four ROPs with a graphics clock of 443MHz. The only other new model of the ones that are expected to be launched by AMD before the end of the year is the A8-3870, which is expected to be AMD's first unlocked APU. It will also have the fastest CPU core to date with a clock speed of 3GHz. This is of course a quad core APU and it has 4MB of L2 cache. The graphics part should be a Radeon HD 6550D, the same as the current A8-3850 and there's no indication that AMD has changed any of the specifications between the two APUs in terms of clock speeds or configuration. Other models that may or may not launch this year includes the A4-3420, A6-3420, A6-3620, A6-3670 (unlocked) and A8-3820. Apart from the A6-3670, all of these models are expected to feature a 100MHz clock speed improvement over their current counterparts, although for some reason the A6-3670 is expected to be clocked 100MHz slower than the A6-3650. AMD has only two months left of this year to get its new processors out and we doubt they'll launch them all in the run up to the Christmas season. We have a feeling some models have been pulled in favour of the upcoming Trinity based models that AMD is expected to deliver in Q1 next year.

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Kingston announces new wallet friendly SSDs

a snug fit. The notebook upgrade kit also comes with a USB enclosure for that old mechanical drive and the desktop kit comes with brackets for fitting the SSD in a 3.5-inch drive bay, as well as all the cables needed. Both kits are also supplied with drive cloning software.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/kingston-announces-new-walletfriendly-ssds/13910.html November 9th, 2011

Another day, another new SSD range offering higher performance than the one announced the day before, oh, hang on, the new V200 series from Kingston isn't actually a highend range of drives, instead Kingston has focused on good enough performance at a lower price point. The company claims that its new V200 series will offer close to twice the performance of its previous budget model, the V100, at a more attractive price point. Another day, another new SSD range offering higher performance than the one announced the day before, oh, hang on, the new V200 series from Kingston isn't actually a highend range of drives, instead Kingston has focused on good enough performance at a lower price point. The company claims that its new V200 series will offer close to twice the performance of its previous budget model, the V100, at a more attractive price point.

Size wise the V200 series will be available in 64, 128 and 256GB SKUs. The performance isn't going to set anyone's world on fire, despite all drives featuring SATA 6Gbps interfaces. The 64GB model is rated at up to 260MB/s for sequential reads and a mere 100MB/s for sequential writes. The 128GB model hits 300MB/s for the reads and 190MB/ s for the writes with the 256GB model featuring the same read speed as the 128GB model, but boosts the write speed to 230MB/s. That said, with the possible exception of the write speed of the 64GB model, this is significantly faster than any mechanical hard drive.

As always with Kingston, the new V200 series comes in a standard drive only option, a desktop upgrade kit and a notebook upgrade kit. The V200 series stands a mere 7mm tall (except the 256GB model), compared to 9.5mm for standard 2.5-inch drives and as such a plastic bracket is provided with all the bare drives and the notebook upgrade kit to allow for

The press release talks about "up to 20 percent lower price than [the] V100" series of SSDs from Kingston, although doing a quick search online doesn't verify this. We found the 64GB 1

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

model on sale in Canada of all places for C$126 (S$159), whereas the 64GB V100 retailed on the same website for a mere C$79 (S$100). The 128GB bare drive was on sale for C $209 (S$264) and the 256GB bare drive for C$444 (S$560). There are also plenty of other faster SSDs on sale for less, such as Corsair's Force 3 series of SSDs and Patriot's Pyro series. That said, this isn't official pricing from Kingston and it's possible we'll see different pricing in other regions.

time and resources to make sure we got it right by combining a highly efficient core with Japanese capacitors, a whisper quiet 120mm fan, and the flexibility of modular cabling, all to create the best Silencer yet, and we are releasing this exciting new series in a range of models up to 600W and pricing them competitively, making the Silencer MKIII PSU’s the ideal blend of performance, features, and overall value for customers.”

OCZ Technology releases PC P&C Silencer MK III Power Supply Series

Detailed Intel Haswell specs revealed

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-technology-releases-pc-p-csilencer-mk-iii-power-supply-series/13909.html November 9th, 2011

Today OCZ announced the release of the new PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Power Supply Series. Although the mainstream character of the series might not draw the attention of enthusiasts, this is the very first modular design coming from PC Power & Cooling, which is interesting all by itself.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/detailed-intel-haswell-specsrevealed/13908.html November 9th, 2011

We're still an estimated five to six months away from Intel's launch Ivy Bridge, a platform which is expected to offer slight improvements over Sandy Bridge in terms of performance, although it should improve power efficiency and graphics performance quite significantly. However, Intel's 2013 platform code named Shark Bay has now turned up on some quite detailed slides online and it has some interesting new features on offer as well as yet another performance bump. We're still an estimated five to six months away from Intel's launch Ivy Bridge, a platform which is expected to offer slight improvements over Sandy Bridge in terms of performance, although it should improve power efficiency and graphics performance quite significantly. However, Intel's 2013 platform code named Shark Bay has now turned up on some quite detailed slides online and it has some interesting new features on offer as well as yet another performance bump.

The first modular power supply from PC Power & Cooling is no beast, with the series consisting of only three units with an output ranging from 400W up to "only" 600W. The units of the series are clearly not designed for hardcore enthusiasts, they do however have an 80Plus Bronze certification and come with a 5 year long warranty.

There seems to be some changes going on at Intel with regards to platform names, as in the past, Intel has gone for different platform code names for its mobile and desktop offerings, but Haswell's platform for both mobile and desktop appears to be called Shark Bay, whereas for Ivy Bridge we're looking at Chief River and Maho Bay for the mobile and desktop platforms respectively. As you can see from the slide below, we're still looking at no more than four cores for Intel's consumer platform which suggests that Intel isn't really about AMD catching up any time soon.

“PC Power and Cooling has always catered to those clients that are looking for both performance and reliability from their power management solutions and the Silencer MKIII PSU continues that tradition and incorporates new features such as a modular cable design,” said Steve Lee, Senior Vice President of Power Management at OCZ Technology Group. “This is the first modular PC Power PSU and we spent extra 2

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Other platform features include NFC support for mobile devices, configurable TDP and LPM (Link Power Management), improved system idle states (S0ix) for the mobile platforms, vastly improved boot times and general updates and improvements to current Intel technology found on its desktop and mobile platforms. One interesting new addition is three levels of Intel graphics, currently known as GT1, GT2 and GT3. Once again the desktop parts end up with slower graphics than the mobile platforms, which we still don't quite understand as it's not as if desktop users would want worse graphics performance. It's almost as if Intel is telling desktop users to go and get a graphics card. The slides are also suggesting that we'll see real time HD to HD video transcoding

Although Haswell is a new "core" or a "tock" as Intel likes to call it, unlike Ivy Bridge which is a 22nm trigate version of Sandy Bridge or a "tick", Haswell will actually be very similar to Ivy Bridge at least in terms of the manufacturing process, as this is also a 22nm trigate part. Haswell will use the LGA-1150 socket for desktops and either rPGA947 or BGA1364 for notebooks as we reported a few days ago. The biggest change that we're seeing beyond the new core is a move to multi-chip packaging for the ultra-low Voltage segment, which Intel appears to have unified into a single ULT SKU (we're not sure what the T stands for) instead of the long running ULV and UL SKUs. This will make the ULT models Intel's first single chip performance processor, but more on this a little bit later. We're of course getting a new chipset, codenamed Lynx Point, although we don't have much in terms of details with regards to new features compared to the 7-series chipsets. What the slides do give away is that Intel has at least made one major change to the Shark Bay platform, there's no longer an FDI interface, which is used for piping the display connectivity via the PCH on the 6 and 7-series chipsets, again something we reported on a few days ago. It's also possible that we'll see integrated Thundebolt support, but there's no indication as to if this will be part of the Lynx Point chipset, or continue to rely upon a separate chipset, as all the slides are informing us about is support for the interface.

Report: AMD Tahiti in January 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-amd-tahiti-injanuary-2012/13907.html November 9th, 2011

AMD's long awaited next-gen 28nm GPU is finally set to release in January 2012, according to a report from Fudzilla. AMD announced during its latest financial conference call that the first next-gen GPUs were to ship by the end of 2011. Whether this shipment was for a Dec 2011 launch or in anticipation of an early 2012 remained a matter of speculation. The first next-gen GPUs to release is reported to be based on the high-performance Tahiti chip. AMD's long awaited next-gen 28nm GPU is finally set to release in January 2012, according to a report from Fudzilla. AMD announced during its latest financial conference call that the first next-gen GPUs were to . Whether this shipment was for a Dec 2011 launch or in anticipation of an early 2012 remained a matter of speculation. The first next-gen GPUs to release is reported to be based on the high-performance Tahiti chip. Tahiti will be the direct successor to Cayman, currently powering AMD Radeon HD 6900 series. As a result, the two Tahiti SKUs are most likely to be branded as AMD Radeon HD 7970 and HD 7950 for the XT and PRO variants respectively. As expected, a dual-GPU variant combining two Tahiti chips will release later in 2012, possibly within Q1 2012. The branding is likely to be Radeon HD 7990. Thanks to TSMC's 32nm cancelation, the 40nm to 28nm transition is a significant full node shrink. Barring any major production troubles, Tahiti will thus end up significantly faster than HD 6970, and not too far away of dual-GPU HD 6990. NVIDIA's high-performance Kepler GPUs are expected release later in 2012. However, the first next-gen GPU, GK107, might release around the same time as Tahiti.

November 9th, 2011

Coolermaster released their first LGA 2011 cooler Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/coolermaster-released-their-firstlga-2011-cooler/13906.html November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

HTC to penetrate Chinese market with new social networking phone Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/htc-to-penetrate-chinese-market-withnew-social-networking-phone/13905.html November 9th, 2011

Coolermaster has just released their first LGA 2011 cooler. Their new product listens to the name Hyper 412S and is a direct heatpipe contact tower cooler utilizing one or two 120mm fans. It also has the option to run entirely silent by slowing the fan down at only 900RPM.

HTC will be releasing a Chinese version of their Explorer budget phone in China, under the label HTC Daren. The new dedicated phone is geared towards feature integration with Renren.com's social network service, but will the new phone be able to attract China's increasingly social saavy population?

Interestingly enough, Coolermaster went with fewer fins and larger fin gaps in order to improve the cooler's performance with the fan running at low speeds. That ought to hurt the cooler's maximum performance as well though. HTC has announced that it will release their rebranded version of the HTC Explorer, dubbed the HTC Daren, in China. The Daren is the second of seven phones which HTC will be bringing to the Chinese mobile market in hopes of achieving a share of China’s growing mobile demands. The Taiwanese handset maker had previously partnered with Sina's Weibo micro blogging service to create a dedicated phone. This second attempt will be a tie-in with Renren.com, China’s equivalent of Facebook.

Coolermaster also improved the direct contact design, baptizing it CDC™ (Continuous Direct Contact) technology, which consists of side-by-side heat pipe configurations with no gaps creating a perfectly smooth surface for heat conduction.

This is done simply by swapping Facebook and Twitter integration for Renren, which will be powering HTC’s Friendfeed feature. Due to fact that the new social network phone is modeled from a budget mobile platform, its 480 by 300 pixel low-resolution 3.2 inch screen and 3-megapixel camera can hardly impress any power user. The Chinese mass market, however, may like the price tag of 2099RMB(US$330) without any telco contracts. The challenge, however, comes from another competitor, and it’s a tough one too. Xiaomi Tech, a Chinese mobile startup, has been able to assemble and retail a premium level smartphone with cutting edge components including a dual-core 1.5Ghz processor, 4

November 9th, 2011

8-megapixel camera, and Android OS preloaded with the popular ROM interface MIUI, all at a lower price of 1999RMB (US$315). This is all in addition to it being from a locally designed and manufactured phone, and therefore hold more clout with the country's population. HTC still has five cards up its sleeve. It will be interesting to see how the match between Xiaomi Tech and HTC will proceed.

Published by: VR-Zone

ASUS exclusive SonicMaster technology for impressive audio performance. And is available in 32GB and 64GB flavours, along with a micro SD card slot, 3.5mm combo audio jack and micro HDMI port. It boasts a battery life of up to 12 hours and when combined with the mobile dock, it can last up to 18 hours. Unfortunately, no details on the pricing and availability at press time. Display

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime's specifications unveiled Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-sspecifications-unveiled/13904.html November 9th, 2011

Operating System

CPU

At the AsiaD: All Things Digital event in Hong Kong few weeks ago, ASUS chairman Johnny Shih showcased the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime which claims to be the world’s first tablet to incorporate NVIDIA Tegra quad-core mobile processor. Well, it looks like the specifications of the Eee Pad Transformer Prime are officially out.

Memory Storage

Wireless Camera

Interface

Sensor

Comes in Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime, with metallic spun finish design made of aluminium, is incredibly slim at just 8.3mm thin and weighs a mere 586g. It features NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor that can deliver superb experience for tabletbased multitasking, web browsing, full high definition video playback and gaming. On top of that, the Eee Pad Transformer Prime also sports a bright 10.1-inch Super IPS+ screen with LED backlight and Corning Gorilla glass for protection. On the front is a 1.2-megapixel camera for video conferencing while the 8-megapixel camera at the rear comes with autofocus and LED flash for taking brilliant pictures and full 1080p HD video. The Eee Pad Transformer Prime is also powered by

Flash support Multi-tasking Special Apps

Battery

10.1"LED Backlit screen with Super IPS+ (1280 x 800) 10 finger multitouch, Corning® Gorilla® Glass Android™ 3.2 Honeycomb (Upgradable to Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich) NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 Quad-core CPU LP DDR2 1 GB 32GB /64GB(1) EMMC + ASUS WebStorage 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR 1.2MP (front)/ 8MP Auto-focus (rear) with LED flash, large F2.4 aperture PAD: 2-in-1 Audio Mobile Dock:1x Jack (Headphone/ USB2.0 port; 1x SD Mic-in); 1x micro Card Reader HDMI port; 1x Micro SD Card Reader; 1x Internal Microphone; 1x Stereo Speaker G-Sensor, Light Sensor, Gyroscope, E-compass, GPS Yes Yes ASUS launcher, @Vibe Music, ASUS WebStorage, MyLibrary, MyNet, MyCloud, File manager, ASUS sync, SuperNote, App Locker, App Backup, TegraZone, Polaris® Office 12hours; 25Wh Lipolymer Battery(2)

November 9th, 2011

Size / Weight

Published by: VR-Zone

18 hours pad with dock ; 25Wh(pad) & 22Wh(mobile dock) Li-polymer Battery(2) Pad: 263*180.8*8.3mm / 586g Mobile Dock: 263*180.8*8~10.4mm / 537g

Microsoft Office 365 and doing Business in the Cloud Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-office-365-and-doingbusiness-in-the-cloud/13903.html November 9th, 2011

Launched globally at the end of June this year, Office 365 represents a radical move by software giant Microsoft to shift its premium productivity, communications and collaboration products into the cloud. To find out more about Office 365, I have arranged to meet up with John Fernandes, the director of marketing and operations of Microsoft Singapore at the company's local headquarters.

corroborated by its strong take up rate, which doubled to about 1,000 organizations in the two months following its launch in Singapore. The hype about the cloud One of the advantages offered by cloud computing is how it allows companies without dedicated IT personnel to leverage best-of-the-breed technology to level the playing field against larger competitors. Office 365 is not a product sell, asserts Fernandes, but it represents an opportunity for these businesses to compete. As a productivity platform, Office 365 extends the ability of small businesses to take advantage of productivity tools that they are already familiar with. To illustrate his point, Fernandes offered the example of how some employees may not require a dedicated workstation, but could benefit from having email access in order to check their leave status or their next duty roster, for instance. In this context, businesses can deploy shared terminals where "kiosk" workers can access messaging services for as low as US$4 per user per month. Seen in that context, it is evident that Office 365 is about providing businesses with more options than about releasing a "me-too" product. Hype aside, Fernandes says that the cloud computing market is an ambitious one where users have high expectations, a trait which he expects to drive future growth. The director views the red-hot interest in the cloud as something that will pass however. "Now when people think cloud, this is like when we talk about the Internet in the past. The cloud is merely an enabling layer" he said, noting that "nobody talks about the Internet now."

We spoke on topics ranging from the advantages offered by the cloud as a platform, business expectations towards cloud computing and how Office 365 can help smaller businesses change the way they do business. Always forthright in his responses, Fernandes also spoke candidly about the relative risks of outages as well as the local take-up rate for Microsoft's latest and grandest foray into cloud computing.

What of the IT department?

What is Office 365?

However, Fernandes suggested that the ultimate outcome of whether jobs will be impacted boils down to the topic of value creation. Given that the primary constrains those organizations often face pertains to cost, it is reasonable that a migration to the cloud could allow them to redirect any surplus IT resources towards projects to positively impact the bottomline.

For those not already familiar with it, Office 365 is a comprehensive suite of services consisting of multiple products such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online to provide services such as messaging, collaboration and communication. On the productivity front, Office Web Apps (OWA) let users view and edit documents created on desktop versions of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) using nothing more than a supported web browser. Finally, an Office Professional Plus option provides businesses that still require the desktop version of Microsoft Office with the appropriate software licenses and installation files. Underscoring the point that Office 365 was a complete redesign as opposed to a tweak to slap on cloud functionality, Fernandes told me that Office 365 can scale from "3 to 100,000" in terms of users. He ticked off how it can help businesses reduce complexity, increase agility and manage their costs, allowing small businesses to transform the way they do business. The list of advantages appears to be partially

One perennial concern about the rise of cloud computing has been its potential impact on the IT department. Accordingly, I raised the question to Fernandes, who conceded that it is a subject of concern for IT professionals. "People in the IT industry have been trying to figure out their position in this (cloud) space," he said.

Moreover, Fernandes also pointed out those most small businesses do not have an IT department in the first place; such companies would typically task their most IT-savvy staffer as the ad-hoc IT department. In such a situation, a cloud deployment would free the beleaguered employee to focus more on his or her primarily work responsibilities. All about uptime Does Microsoft have the ability to deliver a truly robust solution in the cloud? There had been a number of localized and global outages since Office 365 was launched, and I wanted to know what Microsoft is doing to guarantee the reliability and overall uptime of its cloud offering. Fernandes started off by acknowledging that mistakes are made in 6

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

every company, and that outages "will happen." This is a fair statement, given how every cloud service out there has suffered some form of downtime or service disruption. On its part, Microsoft addresses availability by placing safety, privacy and maintaining of SLA (Service-level agreements) as top priorities. In addition, the company has stringent internal policies and certifications that go beyond the expectations of customers. Outages are also preemptively addressed by mitigation planning and having strong resources available in the country to support and address any outages. To top it off, Fernandes reminded me that Office 365 is really building on top of decades of cloud experience that Microsoft has accrued over more than a decade - think Hotmail with its almost half a billion user accounts. In closing... Interestingly, Fernandes consider one of the greatest inhibitors towards the adoption of Office 365 in Singapore and the region to be a lack of awareness. In his opinion, there is currently so much information about the cloud that it is leading to an overload and a general reticence for businesses to consider Office 365. In closing, Fernandes reiterated how Office 365 can help businesses to collaborate in the cloud, exhorting them to leverage the cloud to help them compete. "Your competitors may [already] be using it," cautioned Fernandes, "Use the best technologies for your business, don't delay. Don't wait." Interested businesses can sign up for a free 30 days trial here.

Gobby iPhone and Android app makes English idioms easy to understand Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gobby-iphone-and-android-appmakes-english-idioms-easy-to-understand/13902.html November 9th, 2011

Developed by Stealth Education, this Gobby mobile app for Android and Apple iPhone lets you learn the frequently used English idioms in everyday speech. And apparently, there is a nationwide contest going on whereby you stand a chance to win an Apple iPad 2 grand prize.

The Gobby mobile app is designed to make English figure of speech less daunting by providing users with a quick reference at their fingertips. Developed by Stealth Education, the app helps to explain the meaning of frequently used idioms in everyday speech, with idioms divided into 10 useful categories, which include Love and Romance, Work and Business, and Insults. Each explanation is supported with an example of how it is used in context as well as an audio clip of pronunciation. The app’s Chilli-O-Meter rates idioms by where and how they should be used — so users don’t end up in hot water. The lower the Chilli rating, the more you can comfortably use the phrase in almost any situation. The highest Chilli rating is reserved for idioms which are not appropriate for formal or business environments. Gobby is completely free and is now available on the iTunes App Store and Android market. In conjunction with the launch of the new app, Stealth Education is running ‘Gobby It Up’ contest for users in Singapore starting 3 to 30 November on its microsite gobbytalk.tumblr.com. Each week, five weekly winners will walk away with Gobby Goody Bags and stand a chance of winning the Grand Prize — a 32GB+WiFi Apple iPad2 and have their winning sentences immortalised on a T-shirt that will be sold worldwide in the Gobby merchandise store. To enter the contest: 1. Download the free app from the iTunes App Store at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/gobby/id453435084 or from the Android market at https://market.android.com/ details?id=com.gobbytalk/ 2. Choose one of the 300 Gobby phrases and use it in a sentence (be as funny & creative as you can) 3. Email your entry togobbyitup@gmail.com with the following subject: Gobby It Up 4. Include your name, followed by NRIC or Passport No. 5. Repeat Step 1 to submit more. Entries must be sent to gobbyitup@gmail.com with the following subject: Gobby It Up. All entries should include contestant’s name, followed by NRIC or Passport No. Contestants are allowed to submit multiple entries. Terms and conditions apply.

November 9th, 2011

Apple bans researcher for making security loopholes public Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-bans-researcher-for-makingsecurity-loopholes-public/13900.html November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

stating that “without a real app in the App Store, people would say Apple wouldn’t approve an app that took advantage of this flaw.” “Now you could have a program in the App Store like Angry Birds that can run new code on your phone that Apple never had a chance to check”, Miller mentions, “with this bug, you can’t be assured of anything you download from the App Store behaving nicely.” Miller was apparently unhappy with Apple’s decision to punish him, as he tweeted: “First they give researcher’s access to developer programs; (although I paid for mine) then they kick them... for doing research. Me angry.”

Apple platforms have mostly been less susceptible to security breaches, and are more trusted. That good name may now be tarnished by a recent stunt to uncover a flaw in the system which allows a virus loaded app to pass and made public to show that the vulnerability is real. Instead of acknowledging the issue, Apple's first priority was to remove the app and kick him out from the Apple developer's program.

He has reasons to be upset, as he intended to reveal the security flaw at the SysCan conference in Taiwan due on 17November. Like it or not, Miller has successfully put a dent in Apple’s reputation for creating well-protected platform, and while this may not balance out the mobile security playing field, it has done enough to show that lapse in vigilance can exist anywhere.

Review: ASUS O!Play Mini Plus Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/review-asus-o-play-miniplus/13861.html November 9th, 2011

Smart TV is all the rage and if you want to get in on the trend you may end up ditching a fairly new LCD TV to do so. Thankfully, there are companies like ASUS out there that have a solution – ASUS O!Play Mini Plus.

The security of Apple’s approval system for third party apps was publicly put to question recently when a stock tracking app, InstaStock, written by a security researcher Charlie Miller, was discovered to have utilized a security loophole to demonstrate a weakness in Apple's iOS. While harmless by itself, the app will install a malware which is obtained when the user is connected to the Internet, giving ability to manipulate sensitive information on the device, as well as pushing bogus notifications. While the app has been live since September, it was quickly removed when the security breach it was employing was discovered. The creators of the iOS were also swift to show their unhappiness by revoking Miller’s developer license as well. The former NSA analyst had previously highlighted to Apple about a security flaw which existed since iOS 4.3 update last year, which allowed JavaScript code to have a higher influence with the device. Despite knowing the kind of reaction Apple will have, Miller proceeded to manifest this security flaw by stealthily inserting this app for cirulation in the AppSotre,

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

LCD TVs are coming equipped with multiple HDMI inputs but it wasn't until a few years ago you'd find more than two or three on a TV unless you bought a high-end model. With multiple HDMI inputs you can dedicate one of the HDMI ports to the O!Play Mini Plus (Mini Plus). In the event you have run out of HDMI ports you can still use the Mini Plus via the analog A/V output. It kind of defeats the purpose of having the high resolution LCD TV but if you have a setup at home like me, you may find yourself with no digital ports left. I’ve got a Sony PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, DVD Player and the cable settop box. All of these already command the use of four HDMI ports and my computer isn’t even connected yet. Luckily the LCD TV I am using has a separate VGA port and my DVD player can work with the Component connector. So, I’ve got one HDMI port left. With a high definition video signal to the TV settled I needed to worry about an additional wire for network connectivity. You can setup the Mini Plus for wireless but I prefer wired connectivity especially for devices that can be affected by the consistency of the transmission. Streamed video is definitely subject to latency and congested Wi-Fi signals. So, Wi-Fi networking just leaves open the door for complaints when the stream gets jerky or pixelated. The wired connectivity is a Gigabit connection so it is well worth the wiring versus the Wireless-N speed. So, why would you even need to consider the Mini Plus when you could just as easily accomplish the same by connecting a notebook or desktop computer to the LCD TV. Well, the same reason why Smart TV’s are the ‘In’ thing. The Smart TV’s builtin applications are instant-on with literally no shutdown time. Flick the switch and you are good to go. This is one of the most compelling reasons to owning a Tablet and in my humble opinion one of the reasons for its success but that's a different story.

Panasonic announces Toughpad FZ-A1 professional Android tablet Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/panasonic-announces-toughpad-fz-a1professional-android-tablet/13899.html November 9th, 2011

Panasonic's Toughbooks are known for their ruggedness that can withstand drops, extreme weather and other rough handling. And it seems like the company is also going the tablet way with the announcement of their new ToughPad FZ-A1, running on Android mobile operating system.

Panasonic Computer Products Europe has unveiled the Toughpad FZ-A1, the first in its Toughpad family of professional-grade Android-powered tablets. The 10-inch Toughpad FZ-A1 is designed for mobile outdoor workers in conditions such as aviation, construction, field service and public safety. It comes with a wide range of work accessories, such as vehicle mounting and ergonomic handsfree holsters and the company and its partners can also provide professional services such as project management, imaging and kitting. The Toughpad FZ-A1 claims to incorporate the same durability standards as the Toughbook laptops, with a MIL-STD-810G rating for 120cm drops as well as an IP65 ingress protection rating for resistance to dust and water. The Toughpad FZA1 is also rated for use in extreme temperatures. In terms of security, the CPU in the Toughpad FZ-A1 feature a dedicated, tamper-proof, security processor which frees up the multi-purpose CPU core for other tasks. The security CPU core handles software and data encryption, enhanced VPN, authentication, trusted boot and device management. This enhanced level of device security means the System on a Chip family of Toughpads will be compliant with FIPS 140-2 level 2. The Toughpad FZ-A1 also sports a high brightness, 10.1-inch XGA, capacitive multi-touch screen with anti-glare coating. It also offers 10 hour all day working and the battery is replaceable ensuring mid-life battery upgrades. Other features include standard Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, GPS and optional 3G mobile broadband offering up to 21Mb/ s download speeds. The Toughpad FZ-A1 will be available in spring 2012 at an estimated street price of €850 (+VAT) for the standard model, and €999 (+VAT) for the 3G model. According to Panasonic, a 7-inch tablet will be added to the Toughpad range in the second half of 2012.

Operating System Processor Storage Optional Storage RAM

Panasonic Toughpad FZ-A1 Android 3.2 Marvell 1.2GHz dual core 16GB Micro SD optional 32GB 1GB SDRAM

November 9th, 2011

Display

Battery Life Weight Drop Rating Ingress Protection Temperature rating Inputs Camera Connectivity/Comms Security Features

Dimensions

Published by: VR-Zone

500 nit, daylight viewable, 10.1” XGA (4:3), capacitive multi-touch with anti-reflective treatment and built in ambient light sensor 10 hours (Battery replaceable by IT support) 970g 1.2m IP65 –10 °C to 50 °C (operational) micro USB, micro SD, micro HDMI 5-megapixel rear, 2megapixel front 3G, 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, GPS Hardware-level security, FIPS 140-2 Level 2 (as SoC family), cable lock slot 266.3mm x 17.0mm x 212.0mm

Microsoft fixes four bugs in simple Patch Tuesday this month Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-fixes-four-bugs-in-simplepatch-tuesday-this-month/13901.html November 9th, 2011

As part of its strategy to stagger alternate months with fewer security updates, Microsoft this week released a lighter Patch Tuesday consisting of only four security bulletins - only one of which has been flagged as critical. Indeed, the assigned exploitability rating of ‘3' in spite of it being a remoteexecution vulnerability also suggests that the underlying flaw is not easily exploited.

Jason Miller, Manager, Research and Development, VMware, confirmed that the critical vulnerability is not easy to exploit. In an email message, Miller wrote: "First, the network port attacked on the target machine must be closed. Second, a normal UDP packet streamed to a vulnerable machine will not allow the attacker to gain access to the system. The UDP packet must be "specially" crafted. An attacker will need to figure out the type of packet to send to a vulnerable machine. Finally, this vulnerability was privately disclosed to Microsoft so there is no known code out in the wild at this time and Microsoft has not received any reports of attacks against this vulnerability." As with all security vulnerabilities, it would be folly to deliberately leave any of them unpatched. However, the mitigating factors does mean that system administrators have more time to perform proper testing as well as greater flexibility to stagger them for installation at the end of a work day. Duqu workaround Security managers hoping for a patch to fix a kernel-level Windows vulnerability exploited by the Duqu Trojan were left disappointed however. Its sophistication and similarity to the notorious Stuxnet malware has led security researchers to conclude that they originated from the same team of elite hackers. Citing the need for more time, Microsoft instead released a temporary workaround last week that essentially blocks off access to the vulnerable DLL file used by the Win32k TrueType font-parsing engine. The utility to apply (and disable) the workaround can be downloaded here. Additional information about the workaround can also be found in this Microsoft security advisory.

Mozilla's Boot 2 Gecko prototype in pipelines Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/mozilla-s-boot-2-gecko-prototype-inpipelines/13891.html November 9th, 2011

Mozilla has developed the open web experience with much success, and is bringing community contributions to the mobile platform. Developement road map has hit a new milestone with a working prototype round the corner, but will they strike a chord with it? Two of the other patches are tagged as 2 important, with the final one tagged as 1 moderate. All 4 patches will impact Windows platforms and will require a reboot.

November 9th, 2011

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Intel confirms upcoming motherboard models in marketing materials Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-confirms-upcomingmotherboard-models-in-marketing-materials/13897.html November 9th, 2011

Just a few months ago, Mozilla announced the intention to create their own operating system with some help from Androidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s low level coding as well as Linux, dubbing it Boot 2 Gecko or B2G in short. A recent update revealed that the OS is currently in the testing phase and refining fundamental elements such as text, phone and camera functions. While these elements are derived from Android and Linux, Mozilla has expressed that B2G should depend as little as possible on the above mentioned platforms. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exciting is the prospect of a working prototype to be completed for demonstration of the abilities of the mobile OS at the end of the year or first quarter of 2012, while a retail version may appear as soon as second quarter of next year. The HTML5-powered OS certainly shows great potential with some interesting combination of ideas, such as holding and swiping icons to summon the associated applications, and the options for either hardware or virtual buttons to support the back and menu function. With the aggressive and unforgiving climate in the mobile industry today, it may be seen either as bravery or craziness to step into the fray now. However, consumers stand to gain if Mozilla can create a viable platform which can stand up against the competition. As a community oriented brand name which champions the open web approach, a mobile platform developed with this in mind will certainly has its own niche.

We're not sure what's going on at Intel at the moment, but the company seems to be leaking its own products left right and centre. The company has now revealed its upcoming 7-series motherboards in some of its marketing materials and it looks like we can expect an onslaught of motherboards from Intel come Q1 next year. As you can see from the picture below, the DX79SI and DX79TO will be Intel's only X79 chipset motherboards and both fall in the Extreme category of motherboards, but these are just around the corner and what's much more interesting is what's coming next year. First up we have the DZ77RE (Roads End) which will be a higher-end model than the current DZ68BC and it's rumoured to feature Thunderbolt support, although we'll see if this becomes reality or not. It's more affordable partner in crime is the DZ77GA (Gaspar) and both models should feature what Intel calls Max-OC, suggesting that they're both very overclockable, although that might be by Intel standards. Moving down to the Media series of motherboards we have one last Z77 chipset motherboard, the DZ77BH (Blue Hills) and this alongside the DZ75SL (Spur Lake) are the only other two of Intel's upcoming boards that features overclocking support, although in this case mid and min OC. The DZ77BH is also one of only three boards to offer dual x8 slots for Crossfire or SLI, with the already mentioned Extreme boards being the other two models.

For now, however, with a looming deadline now made public, Mozilla has a lot to prove against established mobile platform giants such as Google's Android and Apple's iOS.

November 9th, 2011

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Patriot goes after the Mac upgrade market with new line of SSDs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/patriot-goes-after-the-mac-upgrademarket-with-new-line-of-ssds/13896.html November 9th, 2011

Patriot Memory has launched not only three new SSDs for Apple's Mac line of computers, but also a range of memory upgrade options for Mac notebooks as well as iMac's. However, we're not entire sure what's Mac specific about the products apart from the stickers on the products saying so. Patriot Memory has launched not only three new SSDs for Apple's Mac line of computers, but also a range of memory upgrade options for Mac notebooks as well as iMac's. However, we're not entire sure what's Mac specific about the products apart from the stickers on the products saying so. Next up is the DH77SD (Sundale) which from what we can tell is going to be one peculiar board as it's a mATX model with a pair of mini PCIE Express slots, although one of them appears to be an mSATA slot for SSD caching. This is followed by the DH77DF (Dry Fork) which is Intel's only mini-ITX consumer 7-series board and it too has a mini PCI Express slot, again most likely used for mSATA support. Moving on we have the DH77KC (Knoll Creek) which is a standard ATX board, again with a mini PCI Express slot an mSATA support, just like its mATX sibling the DH77EB (EB lake). All the H77 models sport DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort connectivity. Last, but not least we have the Executive series which consists of motherboards for the corporate market. Here we have the DQ77MK (Moccasin Peak) which is a mATX board with USB 3.0 support and dual Ethernet. It is followed by the lowprofile, or as Intel likes to call them, thin mini-ITX DQ77KB (Kearnens Bend) which also sports USB 3.0. Finally we have the DB75EN (Elkhorn Creek) which is yet another mATX board with USB 3.0 connectivity, but without support for Intel's vPro technology and AMT 8.0. It's at least nice of Intel to confirm its own roadmap leaks a few months ahead of the launch and this is also suggesting that we'll see the first 7-series chipset based motherboards in March rather than April, since the boards are listed as arriving in Q1. We'll just have to wait and see how things go, but hopefully there won't be any delays or chipset recalls this time around.

The Mac Series XT as the new SSDs are called is built around the SandForce SF-2281 SSD processor and 60, 120 or 240GB of synchronous NAND flash. Patriot rates the new range of SSDs at up to 520MB/s read and up to 500MB/s write, which falls in line with its other high-end SSDs. Apparently what makes these drives special is the fact that they've been tested by the Apple Developer Compatibility Labs which should at least in theory mean that they're guaranteed to work in a Mac. Interestingly Patriot is stating TRIM support in the specs, although so far non Apple SSDs have not supported TRIM in OS X, so it'll be interesting to see if this feature actually works with the Mac Series XT.

November 9th, 2011

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we're not looking at a high-resolution screen as with the Asus Zenbook, instead we get stuck with a typical 1,366x768 panel. Graphics is of course handled by Intel's integrated HD 3000 graphics.

Patriot also launched its "Signature Apple DDR3" series of SODIMMs which are available in 2GB or 8GB as well as in a dual 8GB pack. All the modules are clocked at 1333MHz with a CAS latency of 9, in other words fairly regular stuff. Once again, these models are certified by Apple's Developer Compatibility Lab, so they should be guaranteed to work. No word on pricing or availability, but we'd expect the products to roll out shortly and most likely cost more than the PC equivalent product from Patriot.

Toshiba unveils its first Ultrabook in Japan Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/toshiba-unveils-its-first-ultrabook-injapan/13895.html November 9th, 2011

Other features include Intel 802.11b/g/n with support for WiDi and in Japan you also get WiMAX. Then there's a Dsub connector, an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 port, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, a pair of audio jacks, an SD card slot, a 1.3Megapixel webcam and finally a finger print reader for biometric security. Toshiba claims up to 9h battery life with a 3h recharge time. The R361 weighs in at 1.12kg and measures 316x227x8.3-15.9mm (WxDxH) which Toshiba claims makes it the world's thinnest and lightest Ultrabook to date.

So far only two Ultrabooks have made it to the market, Asus' Zenbook and Acer's Aspire S3, but now it looks like Toshiba is getting ready to join in with its dynabook R631 in Japan. That said we're expecting it to carry the Portégé brand outside of Japan, as is generally the case for its ultra-thin notebooks, although we don't know the specific series as yet, but we're expecting an announcement in a day or two. So far only two Ultrabooks have made it to the market, Asus' Zenbook and Acer's Aspire S3, but now it looks like Toshiba is getting ready to join in with its dynabook R631 in Japan. That said we're expecting it to carry the Portégé brand outside of Japan, as is generally the case for its ultra-thin notebooks, although we don't know the specific series as yet, but we're expecting an announcement in a day or two. The dynabook R631 looks set to be ver similar to what we've seen so far from Asus and Acer and at least in Japan, Toshiba will only offer a single SKU to start with. That said, we're looking at fairly decent spec with a 1.6GHz Core i5-2467M CPU, 4GB of RAM which appears to be at least upgradeable to some degree as it consist of 2+2GB and a 128GB SSD of unknown brand. The R631 is a 13.3-inch model, but sadly

There's one problem with the dynabook R631 though and that's the price tag, as it's up for pre-order for a whopping 139,800 Yen (S$2,275/US$1,798) making it not just the thinnest and lightest Ultrabook, but also by far the most expensive Ultrabook in the market. It'll be interesting to see 13

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how the international version compares in terms of cost, but hopefully it'll be a bit more affordable.

ASUS Eee Slate and Zenbook land in Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-eee-slate-and-zenbook-land-insingapore/13893.html November 9th, 2011

This afternoon, ASUS Singapore unveiled the highly anticipated Zenbook that features a sleek and stylish design, boasts two-seconds always instant on and SonicMaster technology for superb audio experience. The company also launched the ASUS Eee Slate B121 tablet, designed for both consumers and small businesses.

A USB3.0 port (with USB Charger+ technology for quick charging), micro HDMI and mini VGA connectors are on the right, while the left holds another USB and headphone ports, and SD memory card reader (for the UX31E). The ASUS Zenbook sports a silver exterior with a concentric circle design, and measures 2.8mm at the thinnest point. It incorporates an instant-on feature that can resume the system in approximately two seconds, and standby times of up to two weeks. The Zenbook is available in two models - UX21E and UX31E. The UX21E comes in the choice of Intel Core i5-2467M or Intel Core i7-2667M processsor with 4GB DDR3 memory, 128GB SSD, 0.3-megapixel camera and features 11.6inch LED backlit TFT LCD display (1366x768). Available from tomorrow, the ASUS UX21E is retailing at S$1,398 (w/GST) and S$1,598 (w/GST) respectively. The UX31E with 13.3-inch TFT LCD display (1600x900) is available in Intel Core i5-2557M processor with 4GB DDR3 memory and 128GB SSD, as well as Intel Core i7-2667M with 4GB DDR3 memory and 256GB SSD. It will be retailing atS$1,498 (w/GST) and S$1,998 (w/GST) respectively

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The ASUS Eee Slate B121 claims to be the most powerful tablet PC for businesses, corporate, goverment as well as consumers. It features Intel Core i5-470um processor, 12.1-inch LEDbacklit WXGA capacitive and electromagnetic screen, 64GB SSD, and runs Microsoft Windows 7 Professional operating system. The Eee Slate B121 also comes with built-in security of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and one-year free unlimited ASUS WebStorage access. The ASUS Eee Slate B121 is available from tomorrow 9 November at S$1,699 (w/GST).

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Some highlights of the Galaxy Note: • Unique mobile device that incorporates a touchscreen smartphone with S Pen pen-input technology • Large size 5.3" HD Super AMOLED display at 1280x800 resolution

Samsung announces Galaxy Note and Galaxy Nexus in Singapore

• Thickness of only 9.65mm

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-announces-galaxy-note-andgalaxy-nexus-in-singapore/13894.html November 9th, 2011

• Runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

• Powered by a beefy 1.4GHz dual-core processor • USB 2.0 Host support (Allows for connecting of USB flash drives, mouse or keyboard)

Samsung today announced the availability of the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Nexus smartphone in Singapore. The Galaxy Note 16GB is available at S$998 in November, while the Galaxy Nexus will be available at S$948 by January 2012. Both prices are without line contract and are inclusive of GST. The Galaxy Note comes with an expansive 5.3" high-resolution screen that provides an immersive viewing experience. A peninput technology called the S Pen allows users to freely capture and create ideas while on-the-go. The Galaxy Nexus is the first smartphone to feature Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Some highlights of the Galaxy Nexus: • World's first smartphone running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich • Features a 4.65" HD Super AMOLED display at 1280x720 resolution • One of the slimmest smartphones at 8.94mm • Powered by a 1.2GHz dual core processor

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• Redesigned user interface with NFC support and full web browsing experience

Amiga returns... with an $98 Android Tablet Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amiga-returns...-with-an-98-androidtablet/13892.html November 9th, 2011

Amiga is one of world's iconic brands from the dawn of modern computing era. In 1990s, the platform was squeezed out of the market thanks to the success of PlayStation from gaming perspective, and Windows PC from workstation place. If we got a dime every time we heard that "Amiga is coming back", we'd be driving a Tesla Roadster by now. About a year ago, we heard that Commodore USA is bringing the Amiga back (again), focusing on tablets this time around.

Lo and behold, we received news from Bill McEwen that Amiga is introducing a seven inch tablet powered by Android 2.2 operating system. The price of the 7" Amiga Xpedio 7MTB is set at only $98, while the add-on USB keyboard and protective case raise the price to only $118. The Amiga Xpedio 7MTB is powered by VIA Technologies WM8650 ARM chip ticking at 720MHz, 256MB LPDDR2 memory, 4GB embedded storage and of course, the multitouch screen. In order to keep the price down, 7MTB comes with resistive two-point touch-screen. You can expand the storage up to 32GB locally via MicroSD/MemoryStick/MMC cards. Besides the Xpedio 7MTB, Amiga also offers Xpedio 7 MT ($189) and Xpedio 10 MT ($289), which also feature Samsung PV210 SoC with ARM Cortex-A8 processor ticking at 1GHz, 512MB LPDDR2 memory and 8GB of local storage, also expandable up to 32GB. 7MT and 10MT are both equipped with capacitive multi-touch display. The manufacturer is stating that the preorder prices are good until November 11, 2011 with the delivery taking place before December 25, 2011.

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Information censorship to be strengthened in China, supported by tech firms Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/information-censorship-to-bestrengthened-in-china-supported-by-tech-firms/13882.html November 9th, 2011

China seeks to increase their control of infomation across the internet, specifically social media, and claims to "stop the spread of harmful infomation", according to state news agency Xinhua.

Chinese tech giants including Sina Corp and Alibaba took part in a three-day meeting which concluded with a common consensus amongst all leaders to “conscientiously safeguard the broadcasting of positive messages online” while helping to “curb the spread of rumours online, online pornography, fraud and the illegal spread of harmful information on the Internet. A key method is to invest in "tracking surveillance", which helps to keep up-to-date with the sentiments of users of micro blog services such as "Weibo" and remove infomation unfavorable to the ruling party before it spread to local or foreign news. This move may be seen as a strong response to a recent string exposure of events which highlights the behaviour of China and the government in less favourable light. These includes a surveillance video footage showing a child in a hit-and-run accident involving a van, followed by many pedestrians who completely ignore the plight of the child, as well as a badly mismanagement of a high speed rail accident. China may be seeing more enforced and official regulations as it will be controlled directly from the top of the governmental system, in addition to the strict regulation of infomation regulation teams for each individual service.

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In addition to the regulation kept by "information control" teams in each individual service, the government may be having more official influence over censorship decisions in the future. While these are not new to the increasing web savy population, it faces strong opposition as the younger generation of the population who will probably want to retain the level of freedom they had before. With over 100 million users in some of these services, it is easy to speculate a drastic change in reception depending on the level of censorship imposed.

Sony unveils WA700 digital photo frame with online photo retrieval

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and MP3/AAC/LPCM/WMA audio playback while viewing their photo slideshows. On top of that, it has several ecofriendly features such as LED backlight technology that uses less power to display images than typical CCFL technology without compromising on picture quality. An automatic on/ off timer also allows users to set their frames to turn off automatically when not in use after a period of time. The Sony DPF-WA700 digital photo frame will be available in January 2012, pricing is not available at press time.

GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 2 Z68 Gaming Motherboard Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-g1.sniper-2-z68-gamingmotherboard-review/13881.html November 9th, 2011

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-unveils-wa700-digital-photoframe-with-online-photo-retrieval/13890.html November 9th, 2011

Sony Electronics Asia Pacific has introduced their latest WA700 digital photo frames which is not only Wi-Fi enabled but it comes with online photo retrieval from Facebook and emails. It sports a 7-inch resistive touchscreen and features 1GB internal memory and card slots that support Memory Stick Duo, SD and SDHC.

Sony has announced their first ever Wi-Fi enabled S-Frame, in the form of the DPF-WA700. The DPF-WA700 digital photo frame has a 7-inch resistive touchscreen and comes with home network connectivity for easy viewing of photos. Other features include the support for AccuWeather forecasts, 1GB internal memory that can store up to approximately 4,000 photos, and card slots supporting Memory Stick Duo, SD and SDHC formats. The WA700 users will also enjoy the benefit of vTuner Internet radio compatibility, AVCHD video file playback,

Today we take a look at one of the most feature filled Z68 Sandy Bridge motherboard from GIGABYTE's G1 series of gamer oriented motherboards, the GIGABYTE G1 Sniper 2. Follow us as we put the Sniper 2 under the microscope and examine its every aspect.

Before we start looking at the G1 Sniper 2, let's take a look at the platform and its benefits to gamers over the P67 platform. To begin, it seems that GIGABYTE waited for Z68 before launching a LGA1155 based G1 series motherboard, and on top of that they gave the G1 Sniper 2 an HDMI output, something that sine of the top-end GIGABYTE boards (like the Z68XUD7) lacks. So why does that matter for gamers? Well a gamer can use the Lucid Virtu switching to help lower energy costs when not gaming, and any user can use D-Mode without having to use the HDMI output in the back which can limit resolution to 1920x1600. Another thing to realize is that most games do not take advantage of SSDs, so most gamers don't want to buy the expensive 128GB or 256GB SSDs, they would rather save the money and put it towards a sound card or even a few games. SSD Caching (Intel Smart Response) can let that gamer slowly 17

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upgrade to a faster storage system, while keeping their large HDD they can add a smaller and much cheaper SSD to help speed up things. They don't even have to reformat to do so. A game can easily fit into the 18-64GB cache that SSD Caching provides. Z68 is a better chipset for gamers than P67 would be, and generally better for users as a whole.

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GIGABYTE G1 Sniper 2 CPU Support 1. Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors/ Intel® Core™ i5 processors/ Intel® Core™ i3 processors/ Intel® Pentium® processors/ Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1155 package

Chipset Memory

2. L3 cache varies with CPU Intel Z68 Chipset 1. 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory * Due to Windows 32bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than 4 GB.

Intel probably should have skipped P67 and just come out with the Z68 PCH. This motherboard fully supports Lucid Virtu GPU switching which allows for switchable graphics, but only an HDMI port is used, so maximum resolution will be 1920x1080 for those of you who want to use i-Mode Virtu to save power. Of course D-Mode can be used on this board without plugging into the HDMI output, so gamers can still take advance of the faster transcoding that the Sandy Bridge iGPU provides. GIGABYTE also has an Easy Smart Responce program which can set up the SSD Caching with the press of a button, which might be to a gamer's benefit if they aren't a hardware enthusiast as well.

2. Dual channel memory architecture 3. Support for DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules 4. Support for non-ECC memory modules

Multi-GPU Support

5. Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules Integrated Graphics Processor: HDMI Output (1920x1600) max resolution. Support for AMD CrossFireX™/NVIDIA SLI technology

Expansion Slots

The Intel Z68 PCH is the main chipset on the motherboard, and there is no longer a North Bridge (IOH) and South Bridge (ICH) like we still see on most AMD boards.

1. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be

Specifications: 18

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sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. 2. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode.

LAN Audio

1. 1 x Creative CA20K2 chip 2. Support for Dolby® Digital Live and DTS™ Connect 3. Support for X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity® and

3. 2 x PCI Express x1 slots (All PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.) Storage

1 x Bigfoot Killer E2100 chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)

EAX® Advanced HD™ 5.0 technologies 4. High Definition Audio

4. 2 x PCI slots 1 x Marvell 88SE9172 chip:

5. 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel 6. Support for S/PDIF Out USB

1. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connector (GSATA3_6, GSATA3_7) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices

1. Up to 14 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (8 ports on the back panel, including 1 eSATA/USB Combo connector, 6 ports available through the internal USB headers)

2. Support for RAID 0 and RAID 1

2 x Etron EJ168 chips:

Chipset:

1. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3_0, SATA3_1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices 2. 3 x SATA 3Gb/ s connectors (SATA2_2~SATA2_4) supporting up to 3 SATA 3Gb/s devices 3. 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s connector (eSATA/ USB Combo connector) on the back panel supporting up to 1 SATA 3Gb/s device 4. Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 * When a RAID set is built across the SATA 6Gb/s and SATA 3Gb/s channels, the system performance of the RAID set may vary depending on the devices being connected.

1. Up to 4 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header) FireWire GIGABYTE Unique Features

1. Support for @BIOS 2. Support for Q-Flash 3. Support for Xpress BIOS Rescue 4. Support for Download Center 5. Support for Xpress Install 6. Support for Xpress Recovery2 7. Support for EasyTune * Available functions in EasyTune may differ by motherboard model. 8. Support for Dynamic Energy Saver™ 2 9. Support for Smart 6™ 10. Support for Auto Green 19

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11. Support for eXtreme Hard Drive (X.H.D)

3. 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors

12. Support for ON/OFF Charge

4. 3 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors

13. Support for Cloud OC

5. 1 x CPU fan header

14. Support for 3TB+ Unlock

6. 4 x system fan headers

15. Support for TouchBIOS

8. 1 x front panel audio header

7. 1 x front panel header

16. Support for Q-Share H/W Monitoring

9. 1 x S/PDIF Out header 1. System voltage detection

10. 3 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers

2. CPU/System temperature detection

11. 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header 12. 1 x serial port header

3. CPU/System fan speed detection

13. 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header

4. CPU overheating warning

14. 1 x clearing CMOS jumper

5. CPU/System fan fail warning

15. 1 x heatsink LED power connector

6. CPU/System fan speed control * Whether the CPU/ system fan speed control function is supported will depend on the CPU/system cooler you install.

16. 1 x CPU overclocking button header BIOS 1. 2 x 32 Mbit flash 2. Use of licensed AWARD BIOS 3. Support for DualBIOS™

Back Panel I/O Ports

4. PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b

1. 7 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 2. 1 x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse port

Bundle Software

3. 1 x CPU overclocking button

1. Norton Internet Security (OEM version)

4. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector

2. Intel® Smart Response Technology

5. 1 x eSATA/USB Combo connector 6. 1 x HDMI port 7. 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports 8. 1 x RJ-45 port 9. 5 x audio jacks (Center/ Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Side Speaker Out, Line In/ Mic In, Line Out) Internal I/O Connectors 1. 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 2. 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector

Form Factor

3. LucidLogix Virtu * Make sure the monitor cable has been connected to the integrated graphics port on the back panel. ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 26.4cm

Apple looking for LED backlight solutions for upcoming iPad 3 with Retina display Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-looking-for-led-back-lightsolutions-for-upcoming-ipad-3-with-retina-display/13889.html

November 9th, 2011

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November 9th, 2011

Rumors have been going around as to whether Apple's upcoming iPad will come with Retina display. And it looks like the company intends to incorporate that on the tablet device with news reports stating that Apple is looking for new backlight solution to maintain or strengthen the level of brightness.

According to Digitimes, LED back-light unit (BLU) vendors have reportedly offered Apple two alternative backlight solutions for its next-generation iPad. The sources said that the single LED light bar for the iPad 2 (1024x768 resolution) display isn't able to handle the upcoming iPad 3's retina display, and therefore the solution would either be using dual LED light bars or keep the light bar in a single-bar form factor but with two LED chips; the iPad 3 is expected to adopt LCD panels with resolutions higher than 2048x1536 pixels. The Apple iPad 3 is rumored to launch in March 2012 with a slimmer design and minor update.

Teledyne DALSA announces new Icon user programmable camera Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/teledyne-dalsa-announces-new-iconuser-programmable-camera/13888.html November 9th, 2011

Today, Teledyne DALSA unveiled its new Icon user programmable camera series for embedded image processing applications. It features high quality, high sensitivity sensors and supports resolutions from 640x480 (VGA) to 1600x1200 in color and monochrome. It gives vision system developers power and flexibility to develop their own embedded imaging applications with the Embedded Sapera Vision SDK, a suite of embedded image acquisition, processing, analysis and control libraries using conventional programming languages like C/C ++. The Embedded Sapera Vision SDK package also features CamExpert as well as system configuration tools for easy configuration, development, debugging, and deploying vision applications. Key Features and Benefits - Available in resolutions of 640x480 and up to 1600x1200 in monochrome and color - Bundled as part of the Embedded Sapera Vision SDK, Embedded Sapera Processing features highly optimized image processing primitives, Barcode, OCR, blob analysis, area and geometric search and calibration tools - Pre-licensed to run the entire suite of Embedded Sapera Processing - Designed for standalone operations and to carry out necessary actions with the help of onboard general purpose I/ O - Communicates with external devices, like PLC, using either Ethernet or RS232 ports

Machine vision hardware and software manufacturer Teledyne DALSA has unveiled their new Icon user programmable camera, though it is designed mainly for OEMs. The Icon camera series features a 1GHz ARM CortexA8 and C64x+ DSP processor, Microsoft Windows CE realtime operating system and supports resolutions from VGA to 1600 in color and monochrome.

- Incorporates non-volatile memory to store user applications and can be configured to run on power up without any assistance from a PC - Features optically isolated inputs and outputs for reliable operations - Available in C and CS-mount versions

November 9th, 2011

No 64-bit graphics driver for Cedar Trail, nor any DX10.1 drivers Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/no-64-bit-graphics-driver-for-cedartrail-nor-any-dx10.1-drivers/13887.html November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

although we don't have any details on clock speeds here, but in this day in age we'd advice to steer clear from single core processors unless you have a very limited budget. The new, as yet un-named Cedar Trail-M single core CPU should arrive sometime in January next year.

MSI shows off its Big Bang XPower II X79 motherboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-shows-off-its-big-bang-xpower-iix79-motherboard/13886.html November 9th, 2011

If you haven't kept up with our past stories about Intel's Cedar Trail Atom processors, then this might come as a bolt of lightning from a clear sky if you were planning on getting a new netbook later this year, as Intel has decided not to develop any 64-bit drivers, nor will there be any DirectX 10.1 drivers. Despite more than capable hardware, Intel won't be offering drivers for Windows 7 64-bit, as the company has decided to re-focus its driver development efforts on Windows 8. If you haven't kept up with our past stories about Intel's Cedar Trail Atom processors, then this might come as a bolt of lightning from a clear sky if you were planning on getting a new netbook later this year, as Intel has decided not to develop any 64-bit drivers, nor will there be any DirectX 10.1 drivers. Despite more than capable hardware, Intel won't be offering drivers for Windows 7 64-bit, as the company has decided to re-focus its driver development efforts on Windows 8. In as much as Intel has finally come up with an acceptable Atom CPU, it looks like its lack of drivers will now be crippling the platform instead of moving it forward. The motive isn't exactly clear to us, but it's possible that Windows 8 is a lot closer than anyone's expecting and Intel want to put as much effort as possible into having a fully featured driver ready for Microsoft's new operating system. Intel should have its first alpha driver ready early next year for Windows 8, but this is not really helping the current situation. What's even worse is that Intel won't even have its first WHQL certified driver ready for the launch of Cedar Trail which expected to happen this month, although best case Intel will have a driver ready by the very end of this month. Other features such as support for Wireless Display 1.2 and Intel Smart Connect 1.2 won't arrive until next year, so its' clear that Intel has some issues getting its drivers out in a timely manner. That said, support for Wireless Display 1.1 should be part of the standard drive package, if this is a must have feature for your next netbook.

MSI has unveiled its top of the range X79 motherboard on its Facebook page – the Big Bang XPower II – and it really is a feature packed board, but it looks like MSI's marketing team has run out of ideas. Why? Well, simply because MSI has borrowed heavily from Gigabyte's G1 series of motherboards when it comes to the heatsink design, which in this case is also very much gun inspired. MSI has unveiled its top of the range X79 motherboard on its Facebook page – the Big Bang XPower II – and it really is a feature packed board, but it looks like MSI's marketing team has run out of ideas. Why? Well, simply because MSI has borrowed heavily from Gigabyte's G1 series of motherboards when it comes to the heatsink design, which in this case is also very much gun inspired. MSI appears to have packed the board to the brim with features, in fact, it's so full that MSI had to go for an XL-ATX form factor. The Big Bang XPower II has no less than seven x16 PCI Express slots, although only two of them have 16 lanes worth of bandwidth, while the remaining five appear to be x8 slots. The labelling in this case is anything but clear, but Intel's new CPUs don't support enough PCI Express lanes for all the slots and we can see at least one set of switches on the board. There's also a set of dip switches that are labelled PCI-E CeaseFire which suggests that it's possible to manually disable at least some of the slots.

For those interested in a Cedar Trail netbook with Linux, then things get even more complicated as apparently Intel has decided to integrate the Linux driver into MeeGo 1.2, but it's not clear if the company will offer it for a separate download or not. That said, Intel isn't expecting to have final drivers ready until the end of January next year for Linux. In related news, Intel will also be offering a single core "off roadmap" version of the mobile Cedar Trail-M processors, 22

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Around the back we're looking at a PS/2 port, six USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, a FireWire port, a pair of Gigabit Ethernet jacks which appear to be utilizing two different Intel network controllers, 7.1-channel audio with optical and coaxial S/PDIF out and what appears to be a CMOS reset button.

Moving on we have 10 SATA ports, of which six are SATA 6Gbps as far as we can tell, although four of those ports should be from third party chips which aren't visible due to the rather large chipset heatsink. There are also two 90 degree angled connectors for four USB 3.0 ports, two pin headers for four USB 2.0 ports and one pin header for a FireWire port. We're disappointed to see the old NEC/Renesas USB 3.0 host controllers on this board, as they're not quite keeping up with the competition these days.

Then there's that thing about the heatsinks, people have already complained enough about Gigabyte's G1 series of motherboards, but apparently MSI didn't notice this and has come up with its own gun inspired design. The VRM area is cooled by what looks like a Gatling gun, or in more modern terms, a mini gun, whereas the chipset itself has been fitted with what we guess are supposed to be six rounds of ammunition, although they look more like crayons to us and the gold-ish colour doesn't help in this case either. The chipset is connected via a flat heatpipe to a secondary heatsink which appears to be cooling little else, whereas the VRM heatsink is connected via a heatpipe to the Gatling gun. Not the most classy design and there's even a cut-out in the Gatling gun to allow for access to the screw hole beneath it.

Other bits of interest includes X-Fi MB2 audio, which we presume is software based, although a piece of metal is hiding the actual audio components, measurement points for Voltages, a POST 80 debug LED display, a power, OC Genie, Multi BIOS button and a pair of buttons labelled Direct OC. MSI has also added a pair of 8-pin 12V connectors and a 6-pin power connector in a really poor placement in front of a pair of the x16 PCI Express slots. Speaking of power, the board has a 24-phase VRM design, plus an additional four phases for the memory. We should commend MSI for only having 4-pin fan headers, although the location of some of them is pretty poor.

As for pricing, well, we'd guess MSI will be charging a pretty penny for the Big Bang XPower II, as with all the components thrown in, it's not going to be cheap to make. It's clearly gunning for Asus and Gigabyte, although we think MSI has missed the mark a little bit and it's sad to see that they couldn't come up with their own ideas for the heatsinks. On the plus side, MSI went with passive cooling, all x16 PCI Express slots 23

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

and eight DIMMs, something we're sure will appeal to plenty of potential buyers. It's a week to go until the launch, so all is likely to be revealed very soon.

the life of NAND flash by up to two times. However, the first generation of Indilinx controllers that will support TLC will only feature first generation nDurance technology and will as such not offer the extra life span for NAND flash.

OCZ to launch TLC NAND based SSDs next year

The company is also planning some new high-performance SSD controllers for both SATA and PCI Express interfaces which are said to hit 100,000 IOPS for the enterprise market and 70,000 IOPS for the consumer market. Other new additions are NVM Express based SSDs, where NVM Express is a new PCI Express based SSD solution for the enterprise market. Judging by OCZ's future plans, it looks like 2012 will be an interesting year for SSDs and we very much doubt that OCZ's competitors are sitting back and let OCZ be the only company hitting these new market segments.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-to-launch-tlc-nand-based-ssdsnext-year/13885.html November 9th, 2011

If you still think SSDs are too expensive, then OCZ might have a solution for you come early next year, as the company is planning to offer SSDs with TLC (three bits per cell) NAND flash. This means that less flash memory is needed to make an SSD of the same capacity as when MLC NAND flash is being used, much in the same way as MLC is cheaper than SLC. The company also has some new Indilinx SSD controllers coming which will further help keeping costs down. If you still think SSDs are too expensive, then OCZ might have a solution for you come early next year, as the company is planning to offer SSDs with TLC (three bits per cell) NAND flash. This means that less flash memory is needed to make an SSD of the same capacity as when MLC NAND flash is being used, much in the same way as MLC is cheaper than SLC. The company also has some new Indilinx SSD controllers coming which will further help keeping costs down. If the upside of using TLC NAND flash in an SSD is lower cost, the downside is reliability, as for one, TLC NAND flash has so far only been used in various memory cards and possibly a few USB flash drives, but not in a single SSD to date. On top of that, writing more data per cell means that each cell will wear out quicker. However, OCZ seems to argue that it's not an issue in consumer applications, as the company is expecting the TLC NAND flash life to be at least four years and by then most consumers have upgraded their computer already.

Exclusive Look at G.Skill RipjawsZ Quad-Channel Kit Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/exclusive-look-at-g.skill-ripjawsz-quadchannel-kit/13884.html November 9th, 2011

In exactly a week's time from now, Intel Sandy Bridge-E HEDT (high-end desktop) platform will be upon us. But November 14 isn't a big day just for Intel and its three new processors, but an entire ecosystem of manufacturers and products that are designed for Sandy Bridge-E, including motherboards, memory, and cooling. After motherboards, memory is another key component. G.Skill is timing the launch of its latest performance-segment DDR3 memory series, RipjawsZ for Sandy Bridge-E launch. We got a rare closer look. In exactly a week's time from now, Intel Sandy Bridge-E HEDT (high-end desktop) platform will be upon us. But November 14 isn't a big day just for Intel and its three new processors, but an entire ecosystem of manufacturers and products that are designed for Sandy Bridge-E, including motherboards, memory, and cooling. After motherboards, memory is another key component. G.Skill is timing the launch of its latest performance-segment DDR3 memory series, RipjawsZ for Sandy Bridge-E launch. We got a rare closer look.

In addition to that, OCZ is planning to introduce new Indilinx SSD controllers, of which the second generation that should arrive towards the end of next year will feature nDurance 2 technology which the company claims will further increase 24

November 9th, 2011

RipjawsZ sports a new DDR3 module design by G.Skill. It makes use of the latest performance low-voltage DDR3 chips and uses them to its advantage, such as getting high DRAM speeds and tight timings at acceptable DRAM voltage levels. The boards shed the green PCB color for pure black, and a slightly chunky piano-black heatspreader. We have with us a F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZHD, a quad-channel DDR3-2133 MHz kit that can run at its advertised speeds with timings of 9-11-9-28T, and DRAM voltage of 1.65V. The kit consists of four matched 4 GB modules, totaling its capacity to a zesty 16 GB.

What's more, this kit is the ZHD variant (high performance + tight timings + active cooling), and includes a dual-fan cooling module that latches onto a set of DRAM slots and actively cools the modules.

Published by: VR-Zone

We think there's a problem area. Most X79 motherboards have four DDR3 modules arranged in sets of two on either sides of the socket. Few boards have eight slots with four on either sides. We got just one cooler in our kit, but we're not sure if the final product will have just one. It's likely that a second cooler is already on its way. In any case, G.Skill recommends the use of the included cooler.

Although the heatspreaders look a little chunky and tall, they're designed keeping in mind the space constraints of Sandy Bridge-E motherboards. Here's a picture of a couple of these seated on an ASUS Rampage IV Extreme X79 motherboard, with a typical high-end tower-type cooler hanging over its head.

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

however they turned into a major player after they acquired PC Power & Cooling, a company which specialized on the field. The company currently markets three series: The premium ZX series, the ZT series which are fully modular units aiming towards enthusiasts but are more sensibly priced than the premium ZX series and the value range ZS series. Today we are hosting the first power supply review of an OCZ product in VR-Zone and the product is no other than a ZT 550W power supply. OCZ might have started off as a memory modules manufacturer but the company diversified into several other segments of the computer components market, such as CPU coolers, SSD drives and power supply units. OCZ has been marketing performance power supplies for over half a decade; however they turned into a major player after they acquired PC Power & Cooling, a company which specialized on the field. The company currently markets three series: The premium ZX series, the ZT series which are fully modular units aiming towards enthusiasts but are more sensibly priced than the premium ZX series and the value range ZS series. Today we are hosting the first power supply review of an OCZ product in VR-Zone and the product is no other than a ZT 550W power supply. Manufacturer features and specifications Thanks to some early info from our friends at Maximum-Tech, we know what the rest of the RipjawsZ lineup looks like:

•

Single +12V rail for efficient power distribution

•

Heavy-duty protection circuitry

•

Fully Modular Cabling System 80-Plus Bronze Certified (85% efficient at typical

• load)

OCZ ZT Series 550W PSU Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-zt-series-550w-psureview/13883.html November 9th, 2011

OCZ might have started off as a memory modules manufacturer but the company diversified into several other segments of the computer components market, such as CPU coolers, SSD drives and power supply units. OCZ has been marketing performance power supplies for over half a decade;

•

140mm ball-bearing fan

•

Dimensions: 150 x 86 x 175mm (W x L x H)

•

Rated at 45°C ambient

•

Premium 105°C electrolytic capacitors

•

Erp compliant, low power usage in standby mode

•

Active PFC

•

ATX 12V 2.2 Compliant

•

MTBF: 100,000 hours

•

5-year warranty

OCZ ZT 550W AC INPUT

100-240V ~ 8A-4A 50/60Hz +5V +3.3V

DC OUTPUT MAX 24A CURRENT MAX 140W COMBINED WATTAGE

+12V

-12V

+5Vsb

24A

45A

0.5A

540W

15W

November 9th, 2011

TOTAL POWER: 550W Continuous

3-way AMD A75/A55 Llano motherboard shootout

Published by: VR-Zone

Now in red is what the A55 chipset lacks. This includes the loss of 4 USB 3.0 ports and FIS based switching for RAID arrays. There is also one other major difference, the lack of SATA 6GB/s ports. All of the SATA 6GB/s ports have been toned down to slower SATA 3GB/s ports, which might have an impact on some of the new SATA 6GB/s SSDs which actually take advantage of the higher bus speed. Of course all these downgrades do save the budget minded consumer a good bit of cash. What is most notable about the A75 FCH is its ability to house so many different devices, as well as a consumer IR system which will be great for home theater systems.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/3-way-amd-a75a55-llanomotherboard-shootout/13879.html November 9th, 2011

Today we take a look at three different Llano boards through the entire range of the AMD Fusion Lynx platform. The Asus F1A75-V Pro, Gigabyte A75M-UD2H and ECS A55F-A are put under the microscope and through the tests to determine not only which comes out on top, but also which fits your needs best. AMD introduced their Lynx platform with the A75 chipset a few months ago, and since then they have also released the toned down A55 chipset aimed at builders on a budget. The most impressive aspect of the Lynx platform is its ability to house a DX11 capable GPU on-die with 4 real processor cores, and keep the TDP under 100W. Today we will take a look at three boards in three different prices ranges, two are A75 chipset motherboards and one is an A55 chipset board. We will focus on their build quality as well as their performance in various benchmarks. First letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at the Lynx platform, as well as the difference between the A75 and A55 FCH (Fusion Controller Hub).

CPU Support Chipset Memory

On-Board Graphics

ASUS GIGABYTE ECS A55F-A F1A75-V Pro A75M-UD2H AMD A series AMD A series AMD A series & E2 series & E2 series & E2 series processors processors processors A75 A75 A55 4 x DIMM, 4 x DIMM, 4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, Max. 64GB, Max. 64GB, DDR3 DDR3 1866/1600/1333/1066 DDR3 1866/1600/133 2250(O.C.)/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz NonMHz NonMHz NonECC, UnECC, UnECC, Unbuffered Memory buffered Memory buffered Memory 1. 1 x DSub port 27

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

1. 1 x DSub port

2. 1 x DVID port, supporting a maximum resolution of 2560x1600 3. 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200 4. 1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 2560x1600

Audio

LAN

Expansion Slots

Realtek® ALC892 8Channel High Definition Audio CODEC

a. 1 x DSub port

2. 1 x DVID port, supporting a maximum b. 1 x resolution DVIMultiof D Graphics 2560x1600 port, Technology supporting 3. 1 x a HDMI Storage maximumport, resolutionsupporting of a 2560x1600 maximum resolution c. 1 x HDMI of 1920x1200 port, supporting 4. 1 x a DisplayPort, maximumsupporting resolutiona of maximum 1920x1200 resolution of d. 1 x 2560x1600 DisplayPort,

2. 2 x PCI Express x1 slot

at x4 (PCIEX4)

3. 2 x PCI Express x1 slot

4. 1 x PCI 4. 3 x PCI slot slot Supports Support for Support for AMD AMD Dual AMD Dual CrossFireX™ Graphics Graphics Technology technology technology 1. 6 x SATA 1. 5 x SATA 5 x Serial 6Gb/s 6Gb/s ATA 3Gb/s connectors connectorsconnectors supporting supporting up to 5 up to 5 SATA SATA 6Gb/s 6Gb/s devices devices

3. (ASMedia)1 3. x SATA 6Gb/s (red)

Realtek® ALC892 8Channel High Definition Audio CODEC

97dB SNR 108dB SNR 97dB SNr Realtek Realtek Realtek RTL8111E RTL8111E RTL8111E chip chip chip (10/100/1000 (10/100/1000 (10/100/1000 Mbit) Mbit) Mbit) 1. 2 x PCI 1. 1 x PCI 1. 1 x PCI Express Express Express x16 slot, x16 slot, x16 slot, one running running running at x16 at x16 at x16 (PCIEX16) (PCIEX16) (PCIEX16), 2. 1 x PCI 2. 1 x PCI two Express Express running x16 slot, x16 slot, at X8/X8 running running

3. 1 x PCI Express x1 slot

2. (ASMedia) 2. 1 x 1x eSATA eSATA 6Gb/s 6Gb/s port on port on the back the back panel panel supporting supporting up to 1 up to 1 SATA SATA 6Gb/s 6Gb/s device device (Note 7)

supporting a maximum resolution of 2560x1600

Realtek® ALC889 8Channel High Definition Audio CODEC

3. 3 x PCI slot

USB

Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, and JBOD

4. Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, and JBOD 1. Up to 10 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)

1. Up to 8 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)

2. Up to 6 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (4 ports

2. Up to 4 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports on

1. Up to 12 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (6 ports on the back panel, 6 ports available through the internal USB headers)

November 9th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header) IEEE 1394

None

Internal I/O 1 x USB 3.0 Connectors connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) (19pin) 4 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 8 USB 2.0 port(s) 1 x COM port(s) connector(s) 7 x SATA 6Gb/ s connector(s) 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (4 -pin) 2 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 -pin) 1 x Power Fan connector(s) (3 -pin) 1 x S/PDIF out header(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)

the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header) Up to 2 IEEE None 1394a ports (1 on the back panel, 1 port available through the internal IEEE 1394a header) 1. 1 x 24- º 1 x 24pin ATX pin ATX main Power Supply power connector connectorº 1 x 82. 1 x 4-pin pin ATX ATX 12V 12V Power Connector power connector º 1 x 243. 5 x SATA pin ATX 6Gb/s Power Supply connectorsconnector 4. 1 x APU º 1 x 4-pin fan header CPU_FAN connector 5. 1 x system º 1 x 3-pin fan SYS_FAN header connector 6. 1 x power º 1 x 3-pin fan header PWR_FAN connector 7. 1 x front panel º 3 x USB header 2.0 headers 8. 1 x front support panel additional 6 audio USB ports header º 5 x Serial 9. 1 x S/ ATA 3Gb/s PDIF connectors Out header

º 1 x COM 10. 2 x USB header 2.0/1.1 headers º 1 x LPT header

1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x System panel(s) 1 x MemOK! button(s) 1 x TPU switch(es) 1 x EPU switch(es)

Back Panel 1 x PS/2 Connectors keyboard/ mouse combo port(s) 1 x DVI-D 1 x D-Sub 1x DisplayPort 1 x HDMI 1 x eSATA 6Gb/s 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 4 x USB 3.0 2 x USB 2.0 1 x Optical S/ PDIF out 6 x Audio jack(s)

11. 1 x USB º 1 x Front 3.0/2.0 panel audio header header 12. 1 x IEEE º 1 x Front 1394a header panel header 13. 1 x serial º 1 x Speaker port header header º 1 x SPDIF 14. 1 x parallel out header port header 15. 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header 16. 1 x clearing CMOS jumper 1. 1 x PS/2 º 6 x USB 2.0 keyboard/ports mouse º 1 x PS/2 port keyboard & PS/2 mouse 2. 1 x DSub port connectors 3. 1 x DVI- º 1 x DD port sub(VGA) 4. 1 x HDMI º 1 x DVI Port port º 1 x HDMI 5. 1 x Port DisplayPort º 1 x RJ45 6. 1 x optical LAN S/PDIF connector Out connectorº 1 x Audio port (1x Line 7. 4 x USB in, 4x Line 2.0/1.1 out, 1x Optical ports SPDIF Out) 8. 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 º 1 x ports Clear_CMOS button 9. 1 x eSATA 6Gb/s port 10. 1 x RJ-45 port

November 9th, 2011

BIOS

32 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI BIOS, PnP, DMI v2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS V2.6, ACPI V2.0a

Published by: VR-Zone

11. 6 x audio jacks (Center/ Subwoofer Speaker Out/ Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/ Microphone) 1. 2 x 32 º AMI BIOS Mbit with 32Mb flash SPI ROM º Support 2. Use of licensed Milti-language AWARD BIOS Utility BIOS

º Support 3. Support ECS M.I.B III for Utility DualBIOS™ 4. PnP 1.0a, º Support DMI 2.0, eBLU SM BIOS º Support 2.4, eDLU ACPI 1.0b º Support eSF º Support eGS

November 9th, 2011

Right now, even after AMD's Bulldozer roll-out, Intel still seems to have quite clear processor performance dominance on the desktop for some time to come. So, since the refinements to the existing processes, and the new semiconductor process nodes will bring the capability to improvements, how to use them? Performance, power or price (read: integration)? The LGA1155 mainstream desktop platform already has a decent level of integration: 16 PCIe lanes are there on the CPU die already (in fact, there are also 4 extra PCIe lanes on the Xeon versions of LGA1155 Sandy Bridges, a rarely observed fact!), and of course the graphics is there too for those who want to use it. The IO hub is relegated just to that, a bunch of general I/O interfaces connected via dedicated DMI2 lanes, basically PCIe v2, to the CPU. So, the total is a two chip solution. Now, the March-timeframe Ivy Bridge desktop refresh can't integrate more despite the 22 nm process migration benefit, since there are limitations due to the the LGA1155 plug-in socket compatibility. Simply, the focus is on - to some extent performance enhancements like 20%++ per-core speed jump after counting the slight IPC improvements and frequency gains, as well as at least double the graphics performance. But, to a much greater extent, the focus will be on reduced power consumption, so that both the desktops, and especially laptops and ultrabooks, can gain from extra power savings for a given performance level.

º Support EZ Charger

So, when extra integration isn't possible due to the socket compatibility limitation, there will be some performance focus, but more power saving focus, in the Ivy Bridge º Support eOC generation some six months from now. Watch for some really Form Factor ATX Form Micro ATX º ATX Size, Factor Form Factor; 305mm*220mm lovely TDP figures there. 12 inch x 9.6 24.4cm x inch ( 30.5 cm 24.4cm After that, Haswell will keep the same 22 nm process in x 24.4 cm ) early 2013, of course with some refinements as Intel tunes Price (USD) $120 $95 $80 up the new process over time. However, mainstream Haswell will have new sockets - LGA1150 for desktops and rPGA947 & BGA1364 for the mobile market - so the door is open for more integration on-die this time. At the same time, if AMD's "Piledriver" and other coming cores don't improve the performance dramatically, Intel is bound to have massive performance advantage by that time still. So, what to focus on in Haswell?

Mainstream desktop CPUs future evolution - more performance or just more integration?

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/mainstream-desktop-cpus-futureevolution--more-performance-or-just-more-integration-/13880.html

As of now, if you rate the advancement in each category by number of +++++ from 1 to 5, the deep throats say Haswell will focus on Performance (++), Integration (+++) and Power as (+ +++)! Basically, the performance improvements are expected to be limited to increased instruction per cycle parallelism with new execution ports and better prefetching & branch handling for per-thread performance improvement, as well as AVX2 30

November 9th, 2011

improvements like fused multiply add (which doesn't always speed up things) with doubled cache bandwidth to feed all that. This by itself is very good and could lead to another above 20% same-clock per-core performance jump even in many current apps, but is still less compared to the effort put in the other two departments. After all, the other key related performance aspects - like the L3 cache size of 8 MB, and the dual-channel DDR3-1600++, are expected to stay the same.

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The massive reduction in idle power, accompanied also by noticeable reduction in full-load power for a given performance level, will help Haswell also be a very very 'green' CPU, something not usually expected from X86 processors with their awful baggage from 30 years of backward compatibility to what was, even in the '80s, considered the most awkward CPU architecture around - compared to the Motorola 68K of the day, which powered Steve Job's first Mac then, remember? Another important thing, related to this, is that as the AVX instruction extensions with their RISC-like 3-address instruction format and much more elegant programming are expanded to integer in the Haswell generation, the next generation X86 code with AVX can in fact look less and less like X86 code, and more and more like elegant RISC code, the way PowerPC, Alpha and MIPS did it all those years ago? This would be a very smooth way for Intel (and AMD) to gradually de-emphasise the X86 baggage portion and use the extended AVX as a base of a new 'X86' instruction base, using those SSE registers as the main pool.

On the integration front, there are system level enhancements that would help board and system designers get things done faster and better, and should I say cheaper, the magical word for the uber-thrifty Taiwanese. The voltage regulators are to be fully integrated in the CPU, greatly assisting the power design, not just the overclockers. Also, the display ports are all right there on the CPU die, no need to route through outside IO hubs or such. These two changes may look minor, but actually they help quite a bit in the system design, even reducing the required board area in the case of integrated VR, or simplifying the high speed video routing as HDMI and DisplayPort come out directly from the CPU to the outside connectors, only VGA being routed via Lynx Point chipset. The latter now obviously becomes even simpler, leaving the die area to implement more USB3, SATA3 and such interfaces, including built-in Ethernet. Here, of course, extra integration means also lower costs, therefore lower end user price. The most interesting development, though, is on the power consumption front here. As Intel mentioned during the past IDF keynotes, the idle power consumption on Haswell will be reduced by an order of magnitude. That doesn't benefit tablets or Ultrabooks only - it is very useful for desktops as well, which are often left running when hundreds of millions of company employees worldwide go out for their lunch breaks, for instance. This alone would be untold gigawatts of power saved at the global level. And yes, you could have an iPad-sized fully PC-capable tablet too. And, there is more: the converged platform power management, or Intel Power Optimizer, now includes new even deeper power states for further savings and rapid transitions between them due to that integrated voltage regulator.

Why is that so important? It's not just performance or design simplicity, but also power saving. Look at how well the Chinese RISC CPUs, based on MIPS and Alpha respectively, perform so well even when 2 process generations behind Intel or AMD. They run at similar performance at least in FP, and, if you look at their recent supercomputers, consume far less power than their X86 based US counterparts, partly because their CPUs save millions of gates by not having the X86 oddities and complexities. A future X86 PC rehash where AVX , not old X86, is the base, and X86 is left to some 'compatibility box' aside, would provide the next much needed power, performance, and parallelism scaling push for the mainstream PC CPUs.

Canon Makes Hollywood Debut Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-makes-hollywooddebut/13878.html November 9th, 2011

November 9th, 2011

Canon Inc. and Canon Singapore announce the Cinema EOS System - the new professional level system introduces Canon to the world of motion picture production and is sure to make waves in the industry. The system is a full range of lenses, Cinema EOS lens, digital video camcorder and dSLR products. The announcement introduces two digital video camcorders, seven EF Cinema Lenses and a digital SLR camera, the later is still a concept product and still under development. We all know that the Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR camera is the camera that brought Canon into the motion picture and television industry. This vertical isn't about to go die, in fact, statistics have shown that the consumption of online media content is on the rise thanks YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr and a host of other online services. Here's a break down of the products announced or introduced in Hollywood, California on 3 November, 2011 (Singapore, 4 November 2011). EF Cinema Lenses • CN-E14.5 - 60mm T2.6L S EF mount • CN-E14.5 - 60mm T2.6L SP PL mount • CN-E30 - 300mm T2.95 - 3.7L S EF mount • CN-E30 - 300mm T2.95 - 3.7L SP PL mount • CN-E24mm T1.5L F EF mount • CN-E50mm T1.3L F EF mount • CN-E85mm T1.3L F EF mount Digital Video Camcorders EOS C300 EF mount • EOS C300 PL PL mount Digital SLR Camera (under development) TBD EF mount

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The lenses are 4K Cinema lenses available in both EF mount and PL mount, the later PL mount (Positive Lock) is an industry standard for 16mm and 35mm movie cameras. The EF mount is for Canon's digital SLR cameras. The reason they are referred to as 4K lenses is due to their optical performance, capable of delivering on high resolution digital video of 4096 x 2160 pixels. The prime lenses are compatible with full-frame dslrs, in the case of Canon digital bodies that would make them compatible with the 1Ds and 5D bodies. Let's not forget the most recent Canon announced EOS-1D X is also a full frame camera. The EOS C300/C300 PL (above) looks more like a medium format camera, that would be an interesting path for Canon to go down since they certainly have the know-how to produce huge mega-pixel sized sensors but that's a different story. The EOS C300 PL offers compatibility with industry standard PL glass. The camcorder sensor is equipvalent to Super 35 film and has an approximate resolution of 8.29-megapixels. The concept DSLR camera with the ability to shoot 4K vmovies is equipped with the larger full frame CMOS sensor and it records the 4K video at a frame rate of 24P using Motion-JPEG compression. It is like a Canon EOS 5D Mark II on steroids. Everyone is still waiting to see what the 5D Mark 2 successor is going to deliver and with the announced capabilities of the new 1D X the bar has been set pretty high, but 4K video will top the 1D X video capabilities. This begs to question if the 5D Mark II's successor is going to go down the camcorder path more than the still photography path and the 1D X will take the reigns as the hybrid full-frame camera. * Cropped to APS-H equivalent size (dimensions measure approximately 80% verticall and horizontally of a 35mm fullfram sensor) wne recording in 4K. Pricing and Availability to be advised Full Press Release from Canon Singapore:

November 13th, 2011

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VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Corsair Force GT 180GB SSD Drive Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/corsair-force-gt-180gb-ssd-drivereview/13952.html November 13th, 2011

The SSD market is growing rapidly with each passing day and became even more attractive after the recent catastrophe in Thailand which caused the prices of mechanical drives to rise significantly. One of the leading SSD providers is Corsair, which may have started off as a RAM modules manufacturer but today is famous for their many enthusiast-class products. A few months ago we reviewed a SSD from their fastest series of drives, the 120GB Force GT. Corsair soon afterwards released slightly better, larger versions of the drives utilizing the same controller. Today we are going to have a look at one of those drives, the 180GB Force GT SSD. The SSD market is growing rapidly with each passing day and became even more attractive after the recent catastrophe in Thailand which caused the prices of mechanical drives to rise significantly. One of the leading SSD providers is Corsair, which may have started off as a RAM modules manufacturer but today is famous for their many enthusiast-class products. A few months ago we reviewed a SSD from their fastest series of drives, the 120GB Force GT. Corsair soon afterwards released slightly better, larger versions of the drives utilizing the same controller. Today we are going to have a look at one of those drives, the 180GB Force GT SSD. Manufacturer features and specifications Warranty SSD Unformatted Capacity Max Sequential Read/ Write (using ATTO Disk Benchmark) Max Random 4k Write (using IOMeter 08)

Three years 180 GB 555 MB/s sequential read

Interface SATA Form Factor DRAM Cache Memory Weight Voltage Power Consumption (active) Power Consumption (idle/ standby/sleep) S.M.A.R.T. Support Shock MTBF

6Gb/s 2.5 inch No 80g 5V ±5% 2.5W Max 0.6W Max Yes 1500 G 2,000,000 hours

Operating temperature: 0° C to +70° C

Storage temperature: -20° C to +85° C

Operating Humidity: 10% to 90% RH (0° to +40° C)

Maximum Operating Altitude: 3,048 m (up to 10,000 ft.)

· Maximum Non-Operative Altitude: 12,192 m (up to 40,000 ft.)

SITEX 2011 "All I Want for Xmas" Lucky Draw Prizes Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sitex-2011-all-i-want-for-xmas-luckydraw-prizes/13949.html November 13th, 2011

Accumulate $100 in a single receipt and stand a chance to win 10 x $2000 cash PLUS a X'mas gift of your choice. S$2000 CASH + SAMSUNG 60" FHD Smart LED TV worth $8,888 (Model No. UA-60D8000)

S$2000 CASH + SONY 46" FHD 3D LED TV worth $3,299 (Model No. KDL-46NX720)

525 MB/s sequential write 85k IOPS (4k aligned)

S$2000 CASH + LG 55" FHD 3D LED TV worth $4,399 1

November 13th, 2011

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(Model No. 55LW6500) S$2000 CASH + NIKON DSLR 16.2MP C/W 18-105 Lens worth $2,149 (Model No. D7000KIT)

S$2000 CASH + OLYMPUS Micro Forth Third worth $1,298 (Model No. EP3/1442) S$2000 CASH + SHARP 40" FHD LED TV worth $1,899 (Model No. LC-40LE820M) S$2000 CASH + SONY Digital Video Camcorder worth $1,449 (Model No. HDR-XR160E/B) S$2000 CASH + CANON DSLR C/W 18-135MM Lens worth $1,549 (Model No. EOS-600D KIT2)

S$2000 CASH + PHILIPS 3D Blu-Ray Home Theatre worth $699 (Model No. HTS-5561) S$2000 CASH + SONY 16.2 MP DSC worth $499 (Model No. DSC-TX10/B) “All I Want for X’mas” Draw Terms & Conditions Terms & Conditions: • Participants are entitled to one lucky draw coupon for every S $100 spent or deposited (single receipt) during SITEX from 24 to 27 November 2011 (up to a maximum of 20 entry forms per pax). • To enter, simply drop the completed Lucky Draw Coupon into the Lucky Draw Box at the Redemption area (Hall 4B).

• Your prize will be based on your selection on the entry form. • The draw will be conducted on 7 December 2011, 10am at Singex Exhibition Ventures Pte Ltd. • Results of the draw will be published in The New Paper and www.sitex.com.sg on 14 December 2011. All winners will be notified by email/phone. • All prizes must be collected by 10 February 2012 (Friday), 5.00pm, from Singex Exhibition Ventures Ptd Ltd (1 Expo Drive #01-01, Foyer 1) or designated prize collection centres. • Unclaimed prizes will be donated to a charitable organisation chosen by the Organiser. The winner whose prize is forfeited is not entitled to any compensation not withstanding nonreceipt of notification. • As a participant of the draw, he/she hereby authorises the Organiser to disclose and publicise his/her name, and other particulars deemed appropriate by the Organiser. • The Organiser may at its discretion, at any time, replace or substitute any prize with another of equal value. • Prizes are not exchangeable for cash, credit or in kind.

November 13th, 2011

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• The result of the draw is final and no correspondence will be entertained. • All staff of Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF), Singex Exhibition Ventures Ptd Ltd, and their agencies are not eligible to participate in the draw. Original Source: http://www.sitex.com.sg/content_page/ Xmas_prizes_2011.html

SITEX 2011 @ Singapore EXPO Floor Plans Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sitex-2011--singapore-expo-floorplans/13948.html November 13th, 2011

example, a user with the nick of eharrell says he resolved his battery drain issue by changing his email settings from "Push" to "Fetch," while others are adamant that performing a reset of network settings fixed the problem. Another user by the nick of Deannanel cast suspicion instead on the new iOS 5 rather than a hardware problem with the new iPhone 4S. He outlined various techniques he tried in order to reduce the problem: "I have been closing out as many apps as possible and limited notifications to try to preserve battery but the iPad is a real problem. Could it be Safari? There are tabs now instead of pages. Is this somehow sucking up battery?" The concern that users have over battery life of their iPhones is perfectly understandable, since many have locked into hefty two year contracts in order to get their iDevices. In Singapore, at least one mobile operator has stipulated additional penalties preventing early termination of contract and more stringent clauses forbidding early re-contract. The strict terms are probably due the far higher prices that mobile operators are forced to subsidize. Nevertheless, if you are currently on iOS 5.0 and would like to update, you may do so over-the-air, which is a new capability found only in iOS 5. To initiate it, just go to the Settings App, ‘General' -> ‘Software Update'.

Asus P9X79WS makes a brief appearance ahead of launch Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-p9x79ws-makes-a-briefappearance-ahead-of-launch/13946.html November 13th, 2011

iOS update fails to fix battery problem for some Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ios-update-fails-to-fix-batteryproblem-for-some/13947.html November 13th, 2011

The iOS 5.0.1 update that was supposed to resolve problems in the battery consumption of the new iPhone 4S did not appear to have solved the battery-drain issue for everyone. A quick visit to the Apple Support Communities forum shows many irate posts of users complaining of the same battery problems even after updating to iOS 5.0.1. Resolving the battery issue has been tricky affair, mainly due to conflicting experiences encountered by different users. For

Not entirely unexpected, Asus will be launching a WS or Work Station version of its P9X79 motherboards which is simply called the P9X79WS and the first picture of the new board has now appeared online. This model shares some basic design elements with the Pro and Deluxe boards, but it's pretty clear that it's not intended for the same market. Not entirely unexpected, Asus will be launching a WS or Work Station version of its P9X79 motherboards which is simply called the P9X79WS and the first picture of the new board has now appeared online. This model shares some basic design elements with the Pro and Deluxe boards, but it's pretty clear that it's not intended for the same market. The most obvious difference between the WS model and the consumer models is the slot configuration and the different heasink design. The P9X79WS has no less than six x16 PCI Express slots, although we're not sure about the exact 3

November 13th, 2011

configuration here, but we're guessing that the two blue slots are both actual x16 slots, with the black slots sharing bandwidth with the blue slots whereas the white slots are limited to four lanes or something similar. The board supports four-way SLI and CrossFireX according to the box, so we're guessing we're close to the actual slot configuration.

The board has the standard two SATA 6Gbps ports and four SATA 3Gbps ports provided by the chipset, as well as a pair of additional SATA 6Gbps ports courtesy of a Marvell chip. There's also a pin header for two front USB 3.0 ports as well as two pin headers for four front USB 2.0 ports and one pin header each for a FireWire and serial port. The top right corner appears to have a Molex connector for additional power and there's also a POST 80 debug LED display and a power and reset button on the board. As we mentioned, the heatsinks are quite different, with a fairly peculiar design where the chipset heatsink is connected to a smaller heatsink fitted to what appears to be the power regulation for the memory by a heatpipe and this heatsink is then in turn connected via a second heatpipe to the MOSFET heatsink. Around the back we're looking at a pair of PS/2 ports, eight USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a FireWire port, a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports of which at least one is connected to an Intel chip, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Easy BIOS Flashbackâ&#x20AC;? button that judging by the box allows you to flash your BIOS from a USB dongle connected to the white USB port at the back of the board. No word on pricing, but at least we only have to wait until Monday to find out. Source: Sweclockers (in Swedish)

VIA releases VE-900 Mini-ITX mainboard for DIY enthusiasts

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VIA Technologies on Friday released the VIA VE-900 MiniITX, a Mini-ITX Mainboard that the company says provides an ideal platform for DIY enthusiasts keen on building their own Mini-ITX home desktop and media center PCs.

In a prepared statement, Richard Brown, Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc said: "November 6th marked the 10 year anniversary of the Mini-ITX form factor which spurred a revolution in the modding community." Brown observed that "the VIA VE-900 delivers an affordable, high performance Mini-ITX mainboard that will spur a new wave of inspiration and innovation in the next generation of enthusiasts." The VIA VE-900 Mainboard features a high-performance VIA Nano X2 dual core processor clocked at 1.4GHz and an onboard VIA VX900 unified all-in-one media system processor. The latter provides hardware acceleration for VC1, H.264 and WMV9 HD video for the system to output video at resolutions of up to 1080p via without incurring a heavy processor loading. The system's Mini-ITX format means the entire board measures just 17cm x 17cm, with two DIMM sockets for support of up to 8GB of DDR3 system memory. Video output ports are VGA and HDMI, while the VIA VT1708S chip provides 5.1 Channel high definition sound at 24-bit stereo with up to 192 kHz sample rates. On the rear panel I/O are standard PS/2 ports with a Gigabit LAN port and four USB 2.0 ports. Audio jacks for microphone, line-in and line-out rounds off the complement. Up to two hard disk drives are supported via the integrated SATA 3.0 Gb/s host controller, while a 32-bit PCI slot allows for a limited amount expansion. There are internal headers for four more USB 2.0 ports. The VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX Mainboard is currently shipping, though pricing information was not available at press time. More information about the VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX board can be found here.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/via-releases-ve-900-mini-itxmainboard-for-diy-enthusiasts/13945.html November 13th, 2011

HTC embraces ICS with Ville Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/htc-embraces-ics-withville/13944.html

November 13th, 2011 November 13th, 2011

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A lot of media outlets posted stories based on mythical business strategy that was supposed to be revealed on November 9th, 2011. We have seen rumors about ARM processors, "the new AMD" etc. The truth is a bit different and you might already know it.

It seems that HTC has ironed out their position with Andriod's new Ice Cream Sandwich mobile platform with this recent leak of a new phone they are working on, codenamed "Ville". This new addition to the HTC family gives a double dose of goodness by including the HTC Sense UI 4.0 as well, an update to the well received OS skin.

The base for all of these stories is a letter to surviving employees from Rory P. Read, AMD's CEO. The quote is as follows: "transformation work we have underway, like Project WIN, will help drive operational improvements, increase efficiencies and lower our operating costs," followed by "I will share more insights into our strategy and path forward in my upcoming Worldcast on November 9th.

HTC is reported to be preparing for an announcement of a new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone, which will also be the first ever to feature the HTC Sense 4.0. The official announcement of the new phone, codenamed HTC Ville, will occur at the Mobile World Congress next year in Barcelona, accompanied by the HTC Edge, which is a recently rumored Quad-core phone. The Ville sports a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED screen with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon Series 4 processor running under the hood. An 8-megapixel backside-illuminated camera with 1080 pixel HD video capture support will grace both the Ville and the Edge. It is said that the new smartphone will be missing the NFC feature as a result of its metal chassis, but on the other hand, it gives a sexy profile of just 8mm thick. The rest of its features include HSPA+ and Beats audio technology, all powered by a 1,650 mAh battery.

AMD's Project WIN Strategy Revealed... Sort of Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-s-project-win-strategy-revealed...sort-of/13938.html November 13th, 2011

The question is, what Project WIN actually is. Is it "AMD ditching X86 for ARM", is it "AMD preparing to sell the company"... while it may be all of that, the reason why you haven't heard a thing on November 9th was the sad fact there was nothing to announce. According to our sources, since Rory fired practically the whole PR and Media team, and there was no person in command that could talk to the press and financial analysts about the announced Worldcast. Project WIN is actually an accounting review of the company. WIN was always about laying off the 1400 employees i.e. 12% of the company. During the planning stage, people involved pitched it as 10%, same percentage was what Intel did back in 2006. In fact, 12% was always planned and those extra 2% represented an additional 20% to the overall layoff figure. Some of the people involved in the revision were laid off as well, a testament to how good they did their job. The purpose of the layoffs was the removal of bureaucracy that slowed down the innovation process inside the company, also known as "the AMD sludge" (we heard that particular term coming out of employees at Markham, Sunnyvale, closed Santa Clara office and Austin). AMD's CEO wants that the company becomes a whole lot faster and efficient. Our sources told us that the problem for this alleged strategy is that while the laying off two thirds of marketing was "an ok move", but the company got rid of large number of engineers as well, with more GPU engineers than CPU staying with the company. Sunnyvale and Markham are now GPU and Chipset centers, while Austin's CPU teams got seriously cut. One of problems ahead is the fact that a certain upcoming chip got cancelled as well, but not because it underperformed, but rather because the chief architect moved to a certain semiconductor vendor that is entangled in a patent battle 5

November 13th, 2011

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with Apple. He was joined by fellow engineers and there was nobody left to head the program.

and a 11.6-inch screen of 1366 by 768 pixels resolution, and could be the reference setup for future products.

At current point in time, a lot of information coming out of former and current employees sounds like doom and gloom. Business-wise, outlook is a bit different. All we can say at this point is that AMD is making same executive changes as much bigger companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Boeing, General Motors and many more. Ultimately, they all came out stronger in the end.

Samsung will likely target corporate clients first, in a bid to fend off Apple’s efforts in that segment, as well as other Android tablet manufacturers.

What Rory needs is a new spark in the engineering department. Will that spark happen? Your guess is as good as ours.

Samsung to bring in Windows 8 tablet and notebook next year Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-to-bring-in-windows-8tablet-and-notebook-next-year/13942.html

The priority of the tech giant lies with updating the Series 7 with Windows 8 when the OS is released, so corporate customers and consumers who own them can be assured of Samsung’s commitments.

Porsche Design unveils P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry in Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/porsche-design-unveils-p-9981smartphone-from-blackberry-in-singapore/13941.html November 13th, 2011

November 13th, 2011

Samsung will be releasing new Windows 8 mobile computers which target working professionals next year. The products will spearhead the change of various devices that rely on Windows as their platform instead of Android.

Yesterday evening at the Porsche Design store in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, the company unveiled the luxurious P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry that features stainless steel frame, leather back cover, QWERTY keyboard, and crystal clear touchscreen display. The Porsche Design P'9981 is scheduled to retail in January 2012 with limited quantity.

Samsung revealed in an interview that they will soon unveil a few products which will integrate Windows 8 as its primary platform. The first amongst them will be released in the later half of 2012, in time with Microsoft’s release of the OS itself. This adds to an already exciting series of launches for Windows-powered devices by various manufacturers, marking a new wave of adoption for an alternative platform to Google’s Android. This comes as no surprise since Samsung had already showed off a Series 7 Slate with a functional version of Windows 8 at the BUILD conference. The hardware displayed at the conference included the Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM

November 13th, 2011

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Toshiba Singapore launches PORTEGE Z830 Ultrabook, Qosmio DX730 AIO and REGZA tablets Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/toshiba-singapore-launches-portegez830-ultrabook-qosmio-dx730-aio-and-regza-tablets/13933.html November 13th, 2011

Designed by Porsche Design, in collaboration with RIM, the P'9981 smartphone from BlackBerry sports a forged stainless steel frame, hand-wrapped leather back cover, sculpted QWERTY keyboard, and crystal clear touchscreen display. Running the latest BlackBerry 7 operating system, the phone comes with exclusive Porsche Design user interface (UI) and a bespoke Wikitude World Browser augmented reality app experience. It also includes premium, exclusive PINs that help easily identify another P’9981 smartphone user.

Toshiba Singapore has launched their new PORTEGE Z830 Ultrabook, which claims to be the world’s lightest and thinnest 13.3-Inch Ultrabook that weighs a mere 1.12kg. In addition to the slim ultra-portable notebook, the company also unveiled their new Qosmio DX730 All-in-One and REGZA AT100 and AT1S0 Android tablets. Toshiba PORTÉGÉ Z830

The P'9981 is powered by 1.2 GHz processor and features high definition video recording, 24-bit high resolution graphics, and advanced sensors for new augmented reality applications. It also comes with 8GB of onboard memory and is expandable to 40GB with a micro SD card. According to the store manager of Porsche Design Singapore, there were already over 90 preorders for the P'9981 smartphone and counting. However, for such a luxurious, premium phone, it would not be surprising that the company is only bringing in very limited quantity. The local pricing is not available yet, though news reports state that the P'9981 will retail at around US$1,700 (with GST) and will reach Singapore in January 2012.

November 13th, 2011

Toshiba has unveiled their PORTÉGÉ Z830 Ultrabook series that boasts a mere 1.12kg and measures only 15.9mm thin. It claims to be about 20 percent lighter and 40 percent thinner than their award-winning ultraportable PORTÉGÉ R830 series. The PORTÉGÉ Z830 series are powered by second generation Intel Core processors (Core i5 and Core i7 variants) with DDR3 memory, which provide the performance necessary for work and entertainment, as well as having improved power management for long battery life. Despite having such slim form factor, the PORTÉGÉ Z830 does not compromise on connectivity; it features Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity plus a selection of full-size ports including VGA, HDMI and USB ports, one of which is a USB 3.0 port. The Toshiba PORTÉGÉ Z830 will retail from 24 November, which is also the start of SITEX Show 2011, at S$1,999 for the Intel Core i5 model and S$2,599 for the Intel Core i7 model. Toshiba REGZA AT1S0 and REGZA AT100

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Toshiba Singapore Digital Products and Services Group has launched the company’s first Android-powered tablets, REGZA AT1S0 and REGZA AT100. The AT100 (above pic) offers a 10.1-inch diagonal LED display while the AT1S0 offers a 7-inch diagonal display, though both support 1280x800 pixel resolution in 16:10 aspect ratio. Preloaded with Android 3.1 Honeycomb, the AT100 is powered by Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and comes with 1GB DDR2 RAM and internal memory of up to 32GB. It has a 5-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front cameras, USB2.0, mini USB, HDMI out, SD card reader and a docking port. Other features include Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth, HSPA+ (3.5G), GPS, 3D Accelerometer, gyrometer, electronics compass and ambient light sensor. The AT1S0 runs Android 3.2 Honeycomb and incorporates similar features of its AT100 sibling - Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM, internal memory of up to 16GB, 5-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front cameras, mini-USB, micro-HDMI, micro-SD and docking port. The 7-inch AT1S0 will come with a price tag of S$799, while for those who prefer a larger display can opt for the AT100 which will retail at S$699. Yes, the 10.1-inch tablet is S$100 cheaper than the 7-inch. And both REGZA tablets should be available at the SITEX Show 2011. Toshiba Qosmio DX730

November 13th, 2011

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& CEO Jen-Hsun Huang reported strong demand by gamers and the professional market. As expected, the mobile business also accelerated significantly with strong demand for Optimus enabled GPUs tied to weak Sandy Bridge graphics. Looking forward to Q4 FY 2012, or the period from Nov 1st 2011 to Jan 31st 2012, NVIDIA expects revenue and gross margins to be flat. This quarter will, of course, see the release of Tegra 3 and the first GeForce 600 family GPUs. More information available at NVIDIA Press Room.

New BBX phone to be RIM's saving grace? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/new-bbx-phone-to-be-rim-s-savinggrace-/13925.html November 13th, 2011

< The Toshiba Qosmio DX730 is an all-in-one desktop PC that boasts premium audio, video and computing performance. Available in Precious Black or Luxe White variations, the allin-one PC features a large 23-inch Full high definition multitouch display and comes with matching wireless keyboard with 10-key numeric keypad and matching wireless mouse. With the HDMI-in port, users can connect to a game console and enjoy the latest games on the PC via its bright and responsive display.

A new phone from Research In Motion (RIM) sporting the new BBX platform will emerge soon, and the company claims that it will have functionalities which are similar to the PlayBook. This remains to be seen as the phone is said to only be released in the first half of 2012

The Qosmio DX730 is equipped with second generation Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor, up to 16GB DDR3 memory, up to 2TB hard drive, one USB 3.0 port with USB Sleep and Charge, one USB 3.0 port and four USB 2.0 ports. The all-inone PC also includes a built-in DVD SuperMulti or Blu-Ray ROM drive. Scheduled to retail at the SITEX Show 2011, the Toshiba Qosmio DX730 is an all-in-one desktop PC will have a price tag of S$1,549 for the Intel Core i5 (black only) model and S$1,999 for the Intel Core i7 (white only) model.

NVIDIA reports strong Q3 results Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-reports-strong-q3results/13939.html November 13th, 2011

NVIDIA has reported financial results for their Q3 FY2012, for the period Aug 1st 2011 to Oct 31st 2011. Compared to the previous quarter, revenue increased by 5% to $1.07 billion, with net income up by 17% to $178.3 million. That is also more than double net income compared to Q3 FY2011. NVIDIA has reported financial results for their Q3 FY2012, for the period Aug 1st 2011 to Oct 31st 2011. Compared to the previous quarter, r evenue increased by 5% to $1.07 billion, with net income up by 17% to $178.3 million. That is also more than double net income compared to Q3 FY2011. Gross margins were up to 52.2%, from 46.5% in the same period last year. In addition to some major Tegra 2 design wins - particularly in the Android tablet market - President

Determined not to be left behind despite recent setbacks, Research In Motion (RIM) has announced that its next generation superphone will be due early next year. The new phone will retain the resolution of 1024 by 600 at 16:9 aspect ratio from PlayBook, all housed into neat pocket-sized package. "Look, if you build [an app] for the PlayBook, then it will run on BBX. We have maintained aspect ratios, BBX also has the ability to upload multiple dimension graphics … [and the standard resolutions] are the same as PlayBook," Alec Saunders, VP of developer relations and ecosystem development, RIM, said. The statement may imply that alternative screen sizes and resolutions are in the works as well, and that there are plans for future BBX phones to see the well recognized screen and keyboard design making its return shortly. Rumoured to be a 4-inch 'mini-tablet' codenamed “Colt” earlier this year, Saunders mentioned that there will be BES support, as with previous phones. This puts away previous rumours stating otherwise. "I think you're seeing an evolution 9

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of a platform â&#x20AC;Ś you should not expect [BBX] to be behind the PlayBook". While it is able to match the abilities of the PlayBook with its native email support, it may not be released before the PlayBook 2.0, which is expected to launch in February 2012. The brand new OS will represent every device from BlackBerry henceforth, while bringing 2D and 3D gaming onboard. It also promises to support the new Cascades UI Framework and Android apps.

Adobe Flash for mobile comes to a grinding halt Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/adobe-flash-for-mobile-comes-to-agrinding-halt/13924.html November 13th, 2011

Adobe's long stand for Flash's viability comes to a conclusion when they announced the end of their efforts for developing Flash for mobile devices. Apple iOS supporters get their victory following the fulfilment of Steve's opinion in April 2010, but is this victory just for Apple fans?

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This seems to come at a time when Adobe mentioned its cut on their workforce by 750 employees in both Europe and US, following the layoffs already made during 2008 and 2009. What was once a dominant Internet support platform was proven otherwise when Cupertino devices processed and delivered content to users satisfactorily, and that the overwhelming successes of these mobile products actually led many content providers to reconsider and use other open platforms such as HTML5 and H.264 video instead. Speculations also suggest that a major factor in Adobeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision was that Microsoft and its products, namely Window Phone and Windows 8, clearly did not support Flash. It is easy to infer that in view of an inevitably shrinking slice of pie, Adobe decided this is the best way to cut back losses. Adobe held their stand for Flash for four years thus far, and while they were denied existence on iOS for that duration, support was growing steadily on Android devices, so much so that many hardware manufacturers market Flash as a feature for their products. At a time when hardware advancements have enough processing power which made Flash more viable in terms of performance, this announcement disappoints its supporters. On the other hand, however, mobile Flash coming to an end may be a sign for a step towards a more open mobile Internet with a better standardization of platforms, as hardware and software developers are no longer leashed to a restrictions placed by Adobe. Perhaps in the near future the utilization of HTML5 and other open platforms may indeed inspire more innovation which is truly by everyone, for everyone.

Apple iOS 5.0.1 released with battery bug fix, security updates Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-ios-5.0.1-released-with-batterybug-fix-security-updates/13932.html November 13th, 2011

Adobe states that Flash will henceforth be withdrawn from all mobile platforms, and that further updates to any patches and security issues will be limited after the release of version 11.1, for both Android and BlackBerry Playbook. License holders who possess the source code may develop independently, but Adobe commented that they will no longer support newer mobile platform, web software or hardware. Adobe will instead put their effort into enabling developers to utilize Adobe Air 3 for integrating Flash with native apps. It will also tackle its mobile development arm with HTML5, which the late Steve Jobs had previously predicted to be more viable.

The iOS update expected to resolve problems in the battery consumption observed on devices such as the newly launched iPhone 4S was released last night. iOS 5.0.1 arrives slightly earlier than expected; when Apple admitted earlier this month to "a few bugs" affecting battery life, the company had pegged the timeframe for a fix at "a few weeks."

November 13th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone November 13th, 2011

The iOS 5.0.1 update can be installed over-the-air, a new capability found only in iOS 5. To initiate it, just go to the Settings App, ‘General' à ‘Software Update'. The update process worked seamlessly for me, completing in about five minutes. The software update will automatically reboot your iOS device when done.

The new Nokia Lumia Windows 7.5 phones were unveiled at the Nokia World two weeks ago, and yesterday, the local media were treated to a showcase of the new phones. For those of you who are wondering when the Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 are going to be available, well, the company mentioned that the phones will retail before end of year.

Unfortunately, the battery issue does not appear to be fixed for some. Already, a number of disgruntled users have logged on at the Apple Support Communities to complain that their battery is draining at the same rate. On other hand, reports from other users say the improvement in the battery life of their iPhone has been significant. Reader Donald Kuntzman - who had an early preview of iOS 5.0.1, told Wired that: "Frankly, the difference is nothing short of amazing... To go almost an entire day without a change in the meter reading seems unbelievable. Where before I could almost watch the battery drain, now it doesn't move at all." Battery fix aside, the update also patched five security vulnerabilities, including one revealed by prominent security researcher Charlie Miller earlier in the week. Miller had released an app onto the App Store which exploited an undisclosed flaw to ‘sideload' arbitrary and unauthorized code from external sites. Such a vulnerability would have far-reaching ramifications to the walled-garden security of the App Store, allowing hackers to circumvent Apple's strict approval process with Trojan apps. As it is, Miller's stunt swiftly earned him the ire of Apple, and the company has since banned Miller from its developer's program. Other improvements in iOS 5.0.1 include multitasking gestures added to the first-gen iPad, improved voice recognition for Australian users using dictation, and tweaks to resolve "some issues with Documents in the Cloud."

Nokia showcases Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 Windows Phone 7.5 in Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-showcases-lumia-800-andlumia-710-windows-phone-7.5-in-singapore/13927.html

November 13th, 2011

The Nokia Lumia 800 resembles the N9 Meego-based phone at first glance, and the main differences are the preinstalled Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, the standard touch buttons (back, Start and search) below the display, and an additional camera mode/shutter button on the right which is absent on the N9. At the top holds the 3.5mm audio jack, as well as microUSB and microSIM card slots. Navigating the Windows Phone is fast, despite being powered by a 1.4 Ghz single core MSM8255 processor. Nokia claims the battery life can last up to a day or more before the need to recharge, depending on usage. Other features include a 3.7 inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display, 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with Carl Zeiss optics and LED flash, high definition video playback, 16GB internal user memory and 25GB of free SkyDrive storage for storing images and music. Nokia has also included their own apps such as Nokia Drive, a free, turn-by-turn navigation app for drivers; Nokia Music that allows users to listen and purchase their favorite songs. The Nokia Lumia 800 will be available in cyan, magenta and black. Local pricing details have not been confirmed, though at Nokia World, the phone was reported to have a retail price of â&#x201A;Ź420 (approximately S$740), excluding taxes and subsidies.

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physical back, Start and search buttons below the 3.7-inch touchscreen display. Local pricing for the Nokia Lumia 710 isn't available yet, but it was reported to have a retail price of â&#x201A;Ź270 (approximately S$475), excluding taxes and subsidies. Both the Nokia Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 are scheduled to be in retail stores before end of this year.

Corsair launches Marvell based Performance Pro line of SSDs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/corsair-launches-marvell-basedperformance-pro-line-of-ssds/13931.html November 13th, 2011

We're not sure how many different SSD configurations we need, but Corsair has announced its Performance Pro series based on Marvell's controller. Despite the name, the Performance Pro series won't be competing with the SandForce based Force series of SSDs from Corsair when it comes to raw benchmark numbers, but with all the SandForce related firmware issues, some users are looking for alternatives and this is where the Performance Pro series seem to fit in. We're not sure how many different SSD configurations we need, but Corsair has announced its Performance Pro series based on Marvell's controller. Despite the name, the Performance Pro series won't be competing with the SandForce based Force series of SSDs from Corsair when it comes to raw benchmark numbers, but with all the SandForce related firmware issues, some users are looking for alternatives and this is where the Performance Pro series seem to fit in. Corsair is currently only offering a 128 and a 256GB version of the Performance Pro series and sadly the performance isn't what we'd call mind blowing with the 128GB SKU being rated at 500MB/s for sequential reads and 340MB/s for sequential writes. The 256GB SKU betters these numbers with sequential read speeds of up to 515MB/s and write speeds of up to 440MB/s, but the write performance still falls short of the 500MB/s+ we're seeing from SandForce based SSDs. This is despite the fact that Corsair is using what it calls "Supercharged Synchronous NAND" in both drives.

The Nokia Lumia 710 is designed for the trendy users in mind as it allows personalization with its exchangeable colored back covers; it is available in black and white with black, white, cyan, fuchsia and yellow back covers. Like its Lumia 800 sibling, this one also incorporates 1.4GHz processor though the rear camera is a 5-megapixel instead. The phone also comes with 12

November 13th, 2011

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It's somewhat amusing when you consider how far ahead of actual product availability that ARM announces upcoming solutions, although as an IP only company ARM might not have a lot of direct competitors when it comes to its CPU cores, but today's upcoming GPU announcement is an entirely different kettle of fish. As ARM allows its partners to use whatever components and building blocks they want, ARM is competing with several companies when it comes the GPU cores in ARM based SoC's and as such the company needs to try and stay ahead of the competition. Its latest GPU related announcement is of a product that we're not likely to see in products until 2013, as ARM has another GPU core that will arrive ahead of the Mali-T658 called the Mali-T604 which is the replacement of the current Mali-400. The Mali-T604 is likely to end up in the first quad core Cortex-A9 SoC's built on 32 and 28nm and is based on a new architecture that ARM calls Midgard (based on Nordic mythology) whereas the Mali-400 was part of the Utgard architecture. What's worse is that the Performance Pro series is expensive with a list price of US$279.99 (S$365) for the 128GB model and an eye watering US$529.99 (S$685) for the 256GB model. This should be compared to a list price of US$264.99 for the 120GB Force Series GT and US$539.99 for the 240GB version, both of which offer vastly superior performance, at least on paper. We're scratching our heads here a little bit, especially as Crucial's m4 SSDs can be had for US$209.99 for 128GB and US$410.99 for 256GB, both of which should offer comparable performance, yet somehow ends up being a lot cheaper. We really can't follow Corsair's pricing on the Performance Pro series, as both models seem quite overpriced if we're simply looking at the specifications, but we'd have to put a drive through its paces before we'd draw any final judgement.

ARM announces the Mali-T658 GPU core Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/arm-announces-the-mali-t658-gpucore/13930.html November 13th, 2011

ARM claims that the Mali-T658 will offer up to 10 times the graphics performance compared to "mainstream Mali-400 MP implementations" although the company doesn't go into any greater explanation as to which kind of implementation it's referring to. The problem here is that the Mali-400 comes in single, dual and quad "core" configurations and if the MaliT658 is 10 times as fast as what we're seeing in something like Samsung's implementation of the Mali-400 MP in its Exynos then we're looking at an incredibly powerful GPU, but if it's compared to a simpler implementation, then it won't be quite as impressive. Furthermore, ARM is claiming four times the GPU compute performance compared to the Mali-T604 which is said to offer 68GFLOPS of compute performance in what's presumed to be a four core design at high clock speeds. That said, the MaliT658 will be scalable to up to eight cores which looks pretty impressive right now, but we shouldn't forget the competition. Imagination Technologies PowerVR Series5XT GPU which is already available can scale to 16 cores, it's just a matter of someone implementing into an ARM based SoC.

November 13th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

One of many reasons why touch screens aren't taking off on larger screen devices is the cost and part of that cost is because a special touch screen controller with its own interface is needed. Now IDT has come up with a solution that might help to reduce the overall cost of touch screens, by taking advantage of the AUX channel in the DisplayPort interface.

As far as software support is concerned, ARM is claiming that the Mali-T658 will support DirectX 11, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, OpenCL, DirectCompute and Renderscript. That's most of the major API's and as far as software developers are concerned the good news here is that the Mali-T604 and Mali-T658 will use common drivers of which the end result should be better software compatibility and a quicker and easier transition to the new GPU core. ARM has listed Fujitsu, LG, Nufront and Samsung as its launch partners, although others are likely to follow once we get closer to actual products. In related news, Samsung has announced that it has licensed Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX MP core technology. As to what this means in the long term will be interesting to see, but it suggests that Samsung is trying to make sure it can offer the best GPU core possible with whatever next generation ARM based SoC the company is working on. There's no doubt that the ARM space is where it's happening at the moment and with Windows 8 expected to end up on quite a few ARM powered devices, it looks like we're got quite an interesting future ahead of us when it comes to low power mobile computing.

IDT unveils touch screen controller that uses DisplayPort AUX channel Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/idt-unveils-touch-screen-controllerthat-uses-displayport-aux-channel/13929.html November 13th, 2011

DisplayPort comes in two different shapes, the external connector that used to connect a PC or a notebook to a screen and eDP or embedded DisplayPort which is set to replace LVDS signalling in notebooks and tablets among other things. All DisplayPort standards have an AUX channel which in DisplayPort 1.2 got boosted to 720Mbps, up from a paltry 1Mbps in version 1.0 and 1.1. This has allowed IDT to run all the touch interface signals through the AUX channel with its latest touch new touch-over-AUX Embedded DisplayPort 1.3 (eDPâ&#x201E;˘)-based timing controller (TCON) as the company likes to call it.

The TCON is an all-in-one solution in as much as it's both a touch screen controller and a timing controller for the display itself, reducing overall component count which results in overall lower cost. Another cost saving feature by using the AUX channel of the eDP interface is that there's no longer any need to run an additional USB interface to the display to act as the touch screen interface with the system and this also helps to simplify the overall system design. IDT is currently working with partners to get its new solution into products that should hopefully appear on the market next year. The only downside we can see at the moment is the unwillingness of the display panel makers to move away from LVDS to eDP, as this is preventing a move towards a simpler and more user friendly display interface from actually taking place.

Hands on with the Fujitsu Lifebook SH771 One of many reasons why touch screens aren't taking off on larger screen devices is the cost and part of that cost is because a special touch screen controller with its own interface is needed. Now IDT has come up with a solution that might help to reduce the overall cost of touch screens, by taking advantage of the AUX channel in the DisplayPort interface.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hands-on-with-the-fujitsu-lifebooksh771/13928.html

November 13th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

November 13th, 2011

Although the Lifebook SH771 from Fujitsu was officially announced about a week ago, we've now got a quick hands on with the new Ultrabook competitor from Fujitsu. You might wonder why we're not calling it an Ultrabook, as although most of the specifications and even the weight puts it in the Ultrabook category, Fujitsu has kitted out its Lifebook SH771 with standard Voltage mobile CPUs, something you won't be seeing in the Ultrabooks. Although the Lifebook SH771 from Fujitsu was officially announced about a week ago, we've now got a quick hands on with the new Ultrabook competitor from Fujitsu. You might wonder why we're not calling it an Ultrabook, as although most of the specifications and even the weight puts it in the Ultrabook category, Fujitsu has kitted out its Lifebook SH771 with standard Voltage mobile CPUs, something you won't be seeing in the Ultrabooks.

The Lifebook SH771 is offered with two different CPU options â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both dual core â&#x20AC;&#x201C; namely the Core i5-2520M and the Core i7-2640M and all models rely on the Intel HD 3000 GPU for graphics. After that you're looking at either 4 or 8GB of RAM and for all but the top SKU, a 750GB 7,200rpm hard drive, whereas the top SKU has a 128GB SSD with encryption. All models have the same 13.3-inch screen with 1,366x768 resolution which is really the only feature that needs to get a major overhaul, especially as we're finally starting to see a move towards higher resolution displays in the thin and light market segment. We have to say that we were concerned about the extremely thin display though, but Fujitsu has made sure it'll last and we tried pushing the back of the screen with no apparent changes to the LCD unlike what you can see in many cheaper notebooks.

Moving on we have the hot-swappable drive bay, a feature that ought to be standard on notebooks these days. The standard options here include either a DVD burner or a Bluray burner depending on the SKU and you also get a weight saver thrown in which really is just a small piece of plastic that covers the opening. Cost options include a secondary battery and strangely enough an LCOS based projector, although we weren't given any specifics of the projector. Fujitsu hasn't skimped on the connectivity options either with two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, Gigabit Ethernet, a D-sub and HDMI port, a pair of audio jacks, an SD card reader, Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 ABGN Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0. You'll of course also find a webcam and as this is model is targeting the corporate market, a biometric fingerprint scanner and unusually these days, an Express Card 34 slot.

The keyboard is of the chiclet type and Fujitsu was making a big deal about its "bowl shaped" keys, although we can't say that we felt much difference during our brief time with the notebook. An unusual feature is the two-tone coloured keys though, which looks interesting but makes no actual difference in terms of usage. What we're not at all keen on is the trackpad, as not only is it much wider than its tall, but on the right hand side is Fujitsu's peculiar scroll area which is a small circle that otherwise works just like a regular track pad. On top of all 15

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that, the buttons are quite stiff and very clicky, as well as being in a rather uncomfortable position, as they're somewhat sunk into the notebook. This is the one major feature that spoils the overall impression of the SH771.

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NT$79,800 (S$3,399). All models come with Windows 7 Professional, but that's hardly making them worth the asking price when you can have Toshiba's Portege R830 for far less and get near identical specifications.

GeForce 600M launching December 6th Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/geforce-600m-launchingdecember-6th/13926.html November 13th, 2011

In terms of build quality the SH771 feels very robust and it's housed in a magnesium alloy chassis. One interesting feature that is worth mentioning is that Fujitsu kits out its notebooks with a dust filter, a feature that could potentially help extend the fan life and in turn the overall life of the notebook. So why are we calling this an Ultrabook contender? Well, with the weight saver fitted, the SSD equipped model weighs in at a mere 1.22kg, although the hard drive adds another 110g or so to this and the optical drive a further 110g or so, so with the optical drive and the hard drive we're hitting 1.44kg which is still very light for a notebook with a 35W TDP mobile CPU. The SH771 measures 316x223x16.6-23.2mm (WxDxH).

NVIDIA is preparing to debut the GeForce 600 generation on 6th December, with mainstream mobile GeForce 600M GPUs. First in line will be GeForce 610M, GeForce GT 630M and GeForce GT 635M. If these names sound familiar, it is because they were leaked in a beta driver last month. However, these "new" chips are most likely to be rebrands. GeForce 610M will be the entry-level product, succeeding GeForce 410M and GeForce GT 520M. The 610M is expected to feature 48 cores with 64-bit memory. Codenamed N13MGE1/3/5, the 610M could be based on GF119. One of the most popular cards in the GeForce 500M family was the GeForce GT 555M. The GT 555M, in another case of nomenclature chaos, shipped in no less than 4 different variants, ranging from 96 SP to 144 SP, GF106 to GF108, 128bit-192bit and clock speeds between 590 MHz and 753 MHz. Some of the variants of the GT 555M are set to be spinned off as GT 630M and GT 635M. Like the GT 555M, both GT 630M and GT 635M are expected to be based on the GF106 chip. The GT 630M, codenamed N12E-GE2, is expected to feature 144 SP with 128-bit memory, much like the variant of GT 555M present in MSI's GX780 notebooks. GT 635M might feature the same 144 SP, but with higher clocks and perhaps a 192-bit memory. However, we are not out of the nomenclature woods yet as 610M, GT 635M and GT 630M will have multiple variants beyond the above mentioned.

Apart from our gripe with the touch pad, the cost puts the Lifebook SH771 out of most people's reach, as the base model will set you back NT$55,800 (S$2,375), while moving up to the Core i7 increases the price to NT$62,800 (S$2,675), while the Core i7 model with 8GB of RAM and a Blu-ray drive is NT$69,800 (S$2,975) and finally swapping the mechanical drive for a solid state model puts the price at an eye wetting

At this stage, the true nature of these first GeForce 600M SKUs remain unknown. While they seem much like Fermi rebrands, previous rumours of 28nm Fermi shrinks must also be accounted for. Regardless, 610M, GT 630M and GT 635M are most likely to be somehow based on the Fermi architecture rather than true next-gen Kepler. The first Kepler GPU, GK107, will also release under the GeForce 600M family later in 2012. These first GeForce 600M GPUs will be announced on 6th December, presumably shipping to OEMs. It remains to be 16

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seen when notebooks powered by GeForce 600M will hit retail shelves - most likely in early Q1 2012.

Sony Singapore introduces VPL-VW1000ES world's first 4K home theatre projector

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For a 4K home theatre like this one, you can expect it to have a hefty price tag. Yes, the Sony VPL-VW1000ES 4K home theatre projector has an SRP of S$31,999 (before GST), and will be available in Singapore in March 2012.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-singapore-introduces-vplvw1000es-world-s-first-4k-home-theatre-projector/13918.html November 13th, 2011

For those of us who want to enjoy 4K movie screening, we could go to cinemas like Golden Village Vivocity that are showing that. Well, it looks like Sony Electronics Asia Pacific is bringing the experience to homes when the company unveiled the world's first 4K home theatre projector in Singapore today. The VPL-VW1000ES is not only 3D-capable but is also capable of displaying stunning images.

"Sony has delivered professional 4K digital projector globally to cinemas. Our overall shipping quantity for 4K digital cinema projectors have reached 10,000 units. We are the only company to offer a full range of 4K products and end-toend solutions for 4K," said Tsuyoshi Nagata, general manager of Presentation Display, Professional Solutions Company (PSAP), Sony Electronics Asia Pacific.

Hard drive supplies to run dry while Thailand stays wet Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hard-drive-supplies-to-run-dry-whilethailand-stays-wet/13916.html November 13th, 2011

The VPL-VW1000ES is Sony's flagship home theatre projector that incorporates the new SXRD 4K panel, which can produce outstanding contrast and 2,000 ANSI-lumens brightness. It boasts an incredible 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast when combined with Sony's Iris3 technology, and can produce screen sizes of up to 200-inches (diagonally) for superb cinematic viewing in the comforts of the home.

The flood in Thailand caught manufacturers off guard, but damages and losses are more than initially analysed. The outlook of the hard disk supplies are grimly forecasted to run out at the end of the year, leading to backlash in the first quarter of 2012.

On top of that, the VPL-VW1000ES features Sony’s exclusive Super Resolution 4K upscaler “Reality Creation” that enhances all content – standard definition or high definition, 2D or 3D – to higher definition true 4K (DCI Format: 4096 x 2160p) picture signals. This means that even if you are playing Blu-ray content at 1080p, you can choose to upscale the resolution to 4K without significant loss in details. It also comes with a built-in IR transmitter for Full 4K 3D that drives the projector’s TDG-PJ1 USB-chargeable active shutter 3D glasses for an immersive 3D experience.

November 13th, 2011

It is no surprise that hard drive prices are increasing to the tune of 10 to 60 percent as a result of the flood which crippled factories of hardware manufacturers for weeks. Now a report shows that the supply of storage devices may run out. Analyst Gus Richard of Piper Jaffray Investment Bank commented that this shortage of hard drives may occur at the end of November, and that tech industrial leaders aren’t proactive enough to take stock of the situation. Just a few months ago, the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan became the earliest reminder this year of the weakness that the global supply chain possesses, decapacitating car component factories and inducing a major loss. "Nobody seems to be really paying attention. Everyone overreacted to the disaster in Japan. And now I think they're underreacting," he mentions. While current analysis shows PC manufacturers are already 60 million hard drives behind the demand of 180 million units, the shortage situation will become more dire in Q1 2012. In a note by Piper Jaffray, they mention "While it is difficult to calculate, we would estimate that limited drive availability will reduce PCs sales by 10-20M units over the next couple of quarters with 2.5M to 7.5M in demand destruction and 7.5M to 12.5M in deferred purchases."

GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Core specifications leaked Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/geforce-gtx-560-ti-448-corespecifications-leaked/13917.html November 13th, 2011

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Performance and pricing are both expected to be right in between GTX 560 Ti and GTX 570. This could mean pricing in the ~$280 region, essentially competing with overclocked Radeon HD 6950 2GB variants. However, our sources suggest the GTX 560 Ti 448 Core will be a very limited edition with less than ten thousand units available worldwide. AICs are free to use non-reference designs and we can also hope they can do something to adequately differentiate the 448 cores' nomenclature from the six other GTX 560 cards, while stocks last.

Smartphone and tablets expected to drive global increase in Wi-Fi hotspots Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/smartphone-and-tablets-expected-todrive-global-increase-in-wi-fi-hotspots/13915.html November 13th, 2011

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has published a report on the state of the global public Wi-Fi hotspot market. The WBA is an industry association with a focus on driving next-gen Wi-Fi experience and consists of leading technology companies and mobile operators such as Google, Cisco, AT&T and StarHub. With a comprehensive survey of more than 250 service providers and Wi-Fi vendors included in the report, it concluded that there will be a 350% increase in the number of global public Wi-Fi hotspots by 2015. Some of the key points mentioned in the report: • Wi-Fi hotspot numbers are set to grow from 1.3 million this year to 5.8 million by 2015

• Smartphone connections to Wi-Fi hotspots are expected to overtake laptops. On a global basis, laptops currently account for 48% of connections to hotspots, while smartphones and tablets stand at 36% and 10% respectively. • Mobile data growth is a key factor to the rapid buildout of Wi-Fi hotspots. Its impact is mitigated primarily through new pricing strategies and Wi-Fi-based offload.

Last month, we first broke news of the GTX 560 Ti 448 Core. Sweclockers have now leaked detailed specifications for the upcoming GTX 560 Ti 448 Core. As revealed before, the GTX 560 448 is indeed a crippled GTX 570. However, surprisingly, it features identical clocks to the GTX 570, and reportedly a slightly higher clocked memory despite featuring the same 320-bit memory interface. That means the GTX 560 Ti features 730 MHz core, 1460 MHz shaders. Like the vanilla GTX 570, the 560 Ti 448 features 1280 MB memory, albeit mated to 3.8 GHz GDDR5 as opposed to 3.6 GHz for the GTX 570. Disabling one SM saves the GTX 560 Ti 448 9W for a "max power consumption" of 210W - a full 40W higher than the original GTX 560 Ti. 18

November 13th, 2011

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It is obvious that one primary driver of Wi-Fi hotspot growth is mobile operators keen to offload the tsunami of data generated by increasingly ubiquitous smartphones and tablet devices. Indeed, these devices are set to eclipse Wi-Fi consumption by laptops on a per connection basis. Cumbersome authentication was identified as one of the barriers towards greater adoption and use of public WiFi hotspots. However, this is expected to be overcome by Next Generation Hotspots (NGH) currently trialed around the world. NGH allows users to roam between cellular and Wi-Fi networks seamlessly, using their handset's SIM authentication, and looks set to be the driving force behind public Wi-Fi hotspot deployments. "The findings show we are about to enter the golden age of public Wi-Fi with hotspot deployments set to soar. Fixed operators are extending broadband services beyond the home and office, and Wi-Fi is supporting busy mobile broadband networks," says Chris Bruce, Chair of the WBA and CEO, BT Openzone in a prepared statement. "Next Generation Hotspot trials are making inroads in the remaining barriers and by cracking the code of a simple, secure user experience hotspot use will continue to soar." The full report "Global Developments in Public Wi-Fi WBA Industry Report, 2011" can be downloaded here(pdf).

November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Epson SITEX Promotions Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/epson-sitex-promotions/13984.html November 16th, 2011

Here are some promotions from Epson for the upcoming SITEX Show, giving a boost of productivity to your home or office printing needs. Check out the products at C2O Corporation (booth 5D41) and Harvey Norman (booth 6B30). Epson AcuLaser-MX14 (Monochrome 3 in 1)

The Epson CX17NF caters to home and small business users with its colour scan, copy, fax and print abilities. Besides its manual duplex printing and multiple-up printing functions, it can also to improve productivity by handling multiple queued jobs courtesy of the printer’s high memory capacity, producing high quality outputs every time. Retail Price: S$545 SITEX Show Price: TBA Epson ME Office 535

The Epson AcuLaser-MX14 monochrome 3-in-1 printer is targeted at home and small business users, and provides costefficient high-quality prints, touting a print speed of up to 24 pages per minute. It also features manual duplex and multipleup printing functions in addition to your scanning and copying needs. Retail Price: S$218 SITEX Show Price: TBA Epson AcuLaser-CX17NF (Colour 4 in 1)

The Epson ME Office 535 is the world’s smallest all-in-one printer, measuring just 30cm by 39cm by 14.5 cm, which helps to conserve valuable work space and staying out of the way while performing its duties flawlessly. Thanks to the Micro Piezo printer head and the Epson 141 INKdividual catridges, running costs are kept as low as S$0.50 per page (monochrome) and quality is maintained despite the printer’s remarkable size. It even has a 1.44-inch LCD screen to accommodate direct photo printing needs. Retail Price: S$148 1

November 16th, 2011

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SITEX Show Price: TBA Epson ME Office 900WD

Enjoy more than just your favorite TV programs in a smart way. Featuring a full High Definition (HD) 1080P resolution, the Samsung 40" SMART LED TV provides endless entertainment with Internet@TV, LED light dimming to adjust brightness to the comfort of your home, USB support (JPEG, MOVIE), Anynet+ support for universal remote control, and DLNA compatible, all packed in a slim and elegant design of a 40â&#x20AC;? screen. The Epson ME Office 900WD features maximum cost savings as it uses Epson 143 INKdividual Cartridges that allows separate replacement of depleted cartridges, optimizing ink usage and replacement. Built-in duplex and all-in-one function maximises the cost-effectiveness of the printer, coupled with WiFi/Ethernet accessibility for easy multipleuser usage.

Retail Price: S$1,999 SITEX Special Price: TBA Samsung 46" 3D SMART LED TV

Retail Price: S$298 SITEX Show Price: TBA *Offers avaliable at C2O Corporation (booth 5D41) and Harvey Norman (booth 6B30)

AudioHouse SITEX Special Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/audiohouse-sitex-special/13980.html November 16th, 2011

Visit AudioHouse booth (no. 5B20) and check out the fantastic deals for some of the beautiful screens to put in your living room at this year's SITEX show. Be amazed by the clarity and exciting 3D representations on some of these sexy and well designed televisions.

Similar to its smaller brother, this 46" TV features full HD 1080P resolution, Internet@TV, 3D HyperReal engine which redefines your cinematic experience in three dimensional view, Extended PVR to record shows, energy saving capabilities , Skype video call capability, Wide Colour Enhancer Plus which extends the color range and prevent white wash-out, DLNA support, and USB support(JPEG, MOVIE). Retail Price: S$3,999 SITEX Special Price: TBA

Samsung 40" SMART LED TV Samsung 46" FULL HD LED TV 2

November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

SITEX Special Price: TBA

Iomega launches eGo Mac edition portable hard drive Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/iomega-launches-ego-mac-editionportable-hard-drive/13982.html November 16th, 2011

Action movie addicts will love the 100Mhz Motion Plus feature which smoothens the motion picture and reduces blur; Auto-adjusting LED Backlight; iDTV which is an integrated digital system that comes with MPEG4 AVC decoder and digital tuner; as well as Content Library which is preloaded informative programs and games. Instead of booting up your PC to assess basic information on the Internet, the televisionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s InfoLive allows you to view news, weather and stock information quickly, all at a key press. WISELINK Pro gives access to your media devices such as video cameras, laptops and digital cameras for output on screen. It also comes with DLNA support, DNIe Pro and Anynet+ support.

Iomega has recently launched their eGo Mac edition portable hard disk which not only looks stylish, but it also packs plenty of storage space. Like its Helium portable hard drive and the Iomega Mac companion hard drive siblings, the eGo Mac edition is also formatted in HFS+ for compatibility with Maccomputers, making it a perfect complement to Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notebooks and desktops.

Retail Price: S$1,999 SITEX Special Price: TBA Samsung C9000 3D SMART LED TV Iomega has recently announced the completion of its new Mac-oriented hard drive line with the launch of the new eGo Mac Edition portable hard drive, a mobile stylish drive with huge storage that can withstand drops and still easy to bring along in a briefcase. Combined with the recent launches of the Iomega Helium portable hard drive and the Iomega Mac Companion hard drive, the company now has a complete new line of portable and desktop hard drives for Mac users. All three new drives are formatted HFS+ for compatibility with Mac computers.

Meet the best of them all. The Samsung C9000 3D SMART LED TV is equipped with full HD 1080P resolution, Internet@TV, 3D HyperReal engine, 800 Clear Motion Rate for smooth performance at all times, Extended PVR Feature, DLNA support, USB support (JPEG, MOVIE), SRS Theater Sound for a complete cinematic audio experience, all packed into a irresistibly slim and sexy design. Retail Price: S$12,888

Available in 500GB and 1TB capacities, the new black Iomega eGo Mac Edition has two FireWire 800 ports and one USB 2.0 connector for fast performance and versatile connections. It also comes with a Drop Guard Case to help protect the drive from drops of up to two metres. The eGo Mac Edition portable hard drive requires no external power supply and comes complete with three cables - USB 2.0, FireWire 800, and FireWire 800-FireWire400 adaptor cables. The new Iomega Helium portable hard drive is available in 500GB and 1TB capacities, and has one USB 2.0 port and a durable aluminum case, giving mobile users and others peace-of-mind when traveling. The Helium portable hard drive requires no external power supply, and comes complete with one USB 2.0 cable. Comes in 2TB and 3TB capacities, the new Iomega Mac Companion hard drive utilizes a fast 7200rpm 3.5-inch hard 3

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drive in a space-saving design that fits perfectly on the base of the Apple iMac or Apple monitor. The stylish silver and black drive includes two FireWire 800 ports, one USB 2.0 port and a two port integrated USB2.0 hub that lets you connect multiple devices such as a printer or other external storage device. It also comes complete with one FireWire 800, one conversion FireWire 400-800, and one USB 2.0 cable. The Mac Companion features the first-of-its-kind high powered USB charging port for the Apple iPad, iPhone or iPod, and the charging port is a high-powered 2.1 amp hookup that makes it easy and convenient to charge your Apple devices. Pricing and Availability The new Iomega eGo Mac Edition is available worldwide in 500GB model at S$229 and 1TB model at S$290. The new Iomega Helium portable hard drive is available worldwide in a 500GB model at S$165 and 1TB model at S$253. The new Iomega Mac Companion hard drive is available worldwide in a 2TB model at S$369 and a 3TB model at S$533. All three products will be retailing in Apple Stores by mid-November and include a three-year warranty with registration.

Feecha for iPhone lets you see what is happening in your vicinity Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/feecha-for-iphone-lets-you-see-whatis-happening-in-your-vicinity/13981.html November 16th, 2011

With this feecha iPhone app, you can share or view interesting activities or events that are happening in the area. The feecha will appear on the map once it has been posted and the higher the popularity of the news, the feecha will become more alive.

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vicinity. Users will be able to post interesting activities or events in their location for others nearby to see what they see, or even check it out in person. To create a feecha on the map, you just need to take a video or photo of the activity, upload it to the app and share it with a short comment. Once shared, a feecha will appear on the map; the more popular the story is on the app, the bigger and more alive the feecha becomes. Feechas feed on attention to grow and breed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is "survival of the most interesting". They grow and change colour depending on the number of views, comments and shares they receive. However, feechas that stop attracting attention will slowly shrink and fade away, clearing space for the better and stronger. The potential uses for the app are varied and wide â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from unsigned bands promoting their gigs; teenager organizing a casual game of footie with his neighbours; a foodie sharing her favourite restaurant's new dish; to alerting others nearby that something is on sale. Feecha is free to download for all iPhone users with iOS running at 4.2 and above. Users can download it on the Apple App Store, iTunes or via www.feecha.com. The Ching Chong Group plans to roll out the Android version of feecha soon.

HP unveils Folio13 Ultrabook, Pavilion dm4 and ENVY15 notebook PCs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hp-unveils-folio13-ultrabook-paviliondm4-and-envy15-notebook-pcs/13961.html November 16th, 2011

With various laptop manufacturers coming up with their Ultrabooks, HP has also introduced theirs, which comes in the form of Folio13, designed for prosumers. The company also announced the new HP Pavilion dm4 and dm4 Beats Edition, as well as the ENVY15 laptops. Earlier this week, HP Singapore treated the local media to a special preview of the Folio13 Ultrabook, Pavilion dm4 and ENVY15 laptops. Please note that the images are of preproduction units and not the final retail versions, and that the laptops that are shown here that have matte display, the retail units should come with glossy HP BrightView screens instead. HP Folio13

Creative-technology studio developing mobile applications and games, Ching Chong Group, has announced the launch of feecha, a mobile tool that allows users to locate interesting happenings in the vicinity. Conceived and programmed entirely in Singapore, feecha brings the local and social networking scene to the next level by allowing users to share noteworthy information and broadcast it to users in the 4

November 16th, 2011

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HP ENVY15

HP has also jumped into the Ultrabook wagon and unveiled the Folio13, which is the company's first Ultrabook. However, it isn't the lightest one we have seen, weighing 1.5kg, and measuring 0.75-inch thin. The Ultrabook is designed for prosumers, which mean business professionals and consumers, and features a sleek metallic chassis, 13.3-inch high definition (HD) BrightView display and backlit keyboard. The HP Folio13 will come with either Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processor flavors, Intel Rapid Start technology for fast system resume while having long battery life, and 128GB SSD for storage. According to HP, the Ultrabook will also come with optional Trusted Platform Module (TPM), though that will be at a later date. The HPFolio13 is scheduled to be available in Singapore from December with a starting price tag of US $1,099.

The HP ENVY15 is designed from the ground up, with an allmetal chassis and round edges in black and silver finish. The company has also included subtle red details (from the red LED surrounding the keyboard) to reflect the signature Beats Audio collaboration. Featuring 15.6-inch full high definition display, the ENVY15 boasts 9.25 hours of battery life on SSD (and 8 hours of battery life on the hard disk variant). It also offers optional 3x3 wireless technology for superior wireless performance, advanced proximity sensor technology, and fast boot-up in 21 seconds, turn on sleep mode in three seconds and resume work in one second. Incorporating Beats Audio technology, the ENVY15 comes with six speakers and two

November 16th, 2011

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HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofers. The HP ENVY15 will be available from December at a starting price of US$1,499.

Asus readying Rampage IV Formula for LGA-2011 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-readying-rampage-iv-formula-forlga-2011/13978.html November 16th, 2011

It appears that Asus has more motherboard coming based on Intel's X79 chipset and its next model will be the Rampage IV Formula, a more affordable sibling to the Rampage IV Extreme. This move makes sense considering the price tag of the Rampage IV Extreme and in all fairness; the two boards have slightly different target markets as the Rampage IV Formula is more of a gamer's board than its more expensive sibling. It appears that Asus has more motherboard coming based on Intel's X79 chipset and its next model will be the Rampage IV Formula, a more affordable sibling to the Rampage IV Extreme. This move makes sense considering the price tag of the Rampage IV Extreme and in all fairness; the two boards have slightly different target markets as the Rampage IV Formula is more of a gamer's board than its more expensive sibling. Sadly we don't have a top-down view of the board, so it's not entirely clear what has been changed. However, the Rampage IV Formula has some features that you won't find on the Rampage IV Extreme, such as a new audio design which has a small part of the PCB isolated to reduce EMI interference. Asus took the opportunity to add a rather pointless but interesting looking backlight to the PCB to highlight the separate audio area. Asus has also added a massive 1,500uF capacitor to the audio circuitry which the company claims will somehow improve the audio quality thanks to reduced ripple.

Most of the other features are cost savings, such as a pair of PCI Express x1 slots instead of that fifth x16 slot and a x1 slot, four DIMM slots, a simpler cooler design which we're happy to say is using a passive heatsink and a few cuts when it comes to connectivity options such as only two front USB 3.0 ports. The rear I/O is fairly similar, but the Bluetooth dongle is gone, but you still get a PS/2 port, six USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, two eSATA ports, Intel Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and a clear CMOS and ROG connect button. The rumour also has it that Asus is working on a Rampage IV Gene, i.e. a mATX LGA-2011 R.O.G. motherboard, although neither model has a firm launch date at the moment. This brings Asus' total board count for the LGA-2011 platform up to eight boards, that's a few too many in our opinion as the platform isn't likely to gain a major uptake among consumers until at least the more affordable quad core Core i7-3820 which we're hearing has been pushed even further back now and is not expected to launch in January. Check out the source for a slide deck detailing a few more of the features of the Rampage IV Formula.

Fuji's interchangeable lens camera leaked Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/fuji-s-interchangeable-lens-cameraleaked/13977.html

November 16th, 2011 November 16th, 2011

There's no doubt that every camera manufacturer wants a slice of the new interchangeable lens market and most recently Nikon entered it with its 1-series of cameras that uses a small sensor and a CX mount. Around the same time, Fuji announced it was working on its own interchangeable lens camera, although not much has been known about it, well, that was until now as several pictures of a not quite finished camera and a couple of lenses has made its way onto the web.

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The camera which might end up being known as the LX looks quite large, as in one of the pictures it's being held by a person and the size of the camera compared to the hand makes it look a fair bit larger than the most recent generation of m4/3 cameras from Olympus and NEX cameras from Sony. That said, this is likely to be a Lecia competitor looking at all the manual control dials fitted to it and the sort of classic rangefinder look. The rumour mill also suggest that we can expect an 18mm f/2 pancake lens, a 35mm f/1.4 lens, a 60mm lens and some kind of zoom lens. It's highly unlikely that the Fuji LX will end up in a price range that most of us can casually go and buy one, but it will be interesting to see if Fuji can carve out a niche for itself in the high-end interchangeable lens camera market.

AMD refreshes FM1 Athlon, tweaks prices Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-refreshes-fm1-athlon-tweaksprices/13976.html November 16th, 2011

So far the only camera maker that hasn't joined the fray is Canon, although the company is rumoured to have something up its sleeve. Fuji has gone around things in quite a different way from Nikon and the company has officially said it will be launching a high-end interchangeable lens camera that offers better image quality than anything else in its class. The leaked pictures do give away the fact that this is something quite different and builds on Fuji's FinePix X100 in as much as the body design appears to be similar and most importantly, it has what appears to be a hybrid viewfinder.

AMD has quietly released a new Athlon CPU for Socket FM1 Athlon II X4 651. As the branding suggests, it is a significant update to the previous Athlon II X4 631, featuring a clock speed of 3.0 GHz. The 651 is expected to match the AM3+ socket Athlon II X4 650, outperforming it in cache bound applications. In addition to the new release, AMD has adjusted prices for A-Series and FX-Series products. AMD has quietly released a new Athlon CPU for Socket FM1 Athlon II X4 651. As the branding suggests, it is a significant update to the previous Athlon II X4 631, featuring a clock speed of 3.0 GHz. The 651 is expected to match the AM3+ socket Athlon II X4 650, outperforming it in cache bound applications. In addition to the new release, AMD has adjusted prices for A-Series and FX-Series products. The Athlon 651 features a TDP of 100W and is basically Llano with its GPU disabled. Interestingly, it is the highest clocked Llano CPU yet. Priced at $92, it will slightly outperform the $139 A8-3850 in terms of CPU performance. Of coures, the A8-3850 does include a 400SP GPU within the same TDP. The A4-3300 and A4-3400 received insignificant $2 cuts, down to $64 and $69 respectively. The A6-3500, the only tri7

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core Llano APU, is down to $85 from $89. The last SKU to get a price cut is the FX-6100, down to $155.

Report: AMD Wichita/Krishna APUs canceled Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-amd-wichitakrishna-apuscanceled/13975.html November 16th, 2011

The successor to AMD's Brazos platform - Deccan - has been reportedly canceled. Codenamed Wichita and Krishna APUs were set to succeed Zacate (E-Series) and Ontario (C-Series) respectively. Last month, news about the Brazos 2.0 refresh was leaked fueling doubts regarding the future of Wichita and Krishna, so this move was not entirely unexpected. The successor to AMD's Brazos platform - Deccan - has been reportedly canceled. Codenamed Wichita and Krishna APUs were set to succeed Zacate (E-Series) and Ontario (C-Series) respectively. Last month, news about the Wichita and Krishna were set to be fabbed at 28nm. SemiAccurate suggests the cancelation is due to the delay of Globalfoundries' 28nm process. However, previous rumours suggested these APUs might be fabbed at TSMC, just like Brazos platform APUs, and they would be ready with 28nm Bulk before Globalfoundries. Whatever the reason, Brazos 2.0 will now have to hold ground till the Kerala platform - or an evolution of it - arrives, previously expected in 2013. Hopefully, with Deccan platform out of the way, AMD will be able to pull in Kerala - which includes Kabini APUs - to meet closer to the much anticipated Windows 8 release. No doubt the Kerala platform will power a wide range of ultraportable devices from tablets to low affordable ultrabooks (or high end netbooks). It is clear that AMD's new CEO Rory Read is serious about mobile devices, and the successor to Brazos 2.0 will be crucial to AMD's future plans.

Sony Ericsson gets official on Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades

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announce that its entire line-up of handsets from the past year will be upgraded and we have a feeling that not many of their competitors will follow suit. If you happen to own one of Sony Ericsson's Xperia handsets that was launched this year, then we have some good news for you, the company has decided to upgrade its entire 2011 range of Xperia handsets as well as the Live with Walkman model to Ice Cream Sandwich. Sony Ericsson is the first company to announce that its entire line-up of handsets from the past year will be upgraded and we have a feeling that not many of their competitors will follow suit. In reality the upgrade shouldn't be overly complex, that is unless the handset maker has done a lot of customizations to the OS. Even so, Sony Ericsson has its own UI modification called Timescape which should be making an appearance in Android 4.0 as well, so it's not as if you're just getting a bog standard release of the OS. One of the reasons many Android handset makers don't release updates for their phones when a new OS version comes is that they don't have the software engineering resources to put aside, with the other more likely reason set to be that they want to sell new handsets. Even so, as a consumer you feel kind of cheated if you end up getting a new handset just ahead of a new major release of Android and your handset maker doesn't offer any kind of upgrade scheme. The models from Sony Ericsson that are getting the upgrade treatment are the Xperia arc and arc S, Xperia PLAY, Xperia neo and neo V, Xperia mini and mini pro, Xperia pro, Xperia active, Xperia ray and the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman. The only model not getting upgraded that was released this year is the W8 Walkman phone, but this came with an older version of Android and different hardware to start with, so we can cut Sony Ericsson some slack here. The announcement didn't include any specific dates, just that the company will get cracking on getting Android 4.0 up and running on these models as quickly as possible once its released by Google.

Dell Singapore unleashes XPS 14z, a laptop with great design and performance Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/dell-singapore-unleashes-xps-14z-alaptop-with-great-design-and-performance/13972.html November 16th, 2011

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-ericsson-gets-official-on-icecream-sandwich-upgrades/13973.html November 16th, 2011

If you happen to own one of Sony Ericsson's Xperia handsets that was launched this year, then we have some good news for you, the company has decided to upgrade its entire 2011 range of Xperia handsets as well as the Live with Walkman model to Ice Cream Sandwich. Sony Ericsson is the first company to

This Dell XPS 14z may not be the company's first Ultrabook, but it claims to be one of the thinnest full-featured 14-inch laptops that comes with an internal optical drive. It measures less than an inch thin, with a 14-inch display in a 13-inch form factor, and is designed for business professionals.

November 16th, 2011

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models. It will also be available at next week's SITEX Show 2011.

Lenovo Singapore unveils IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lenovo-singapore-unveils-ideapadu300s-ultrabook/13971.html November 16th, 2011

Lenovo Singapore has announced the launch of their IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook, designed for fashionistas who are looking for a slim and stylish laptop with superb system performance. The U300s Ultrabook will retail starting today, and at next week's SITEX Show.

From its model number, the Dell XPS 14z laptop is 14inch laptop with a slim form factor and features an internal optical drive and discrete graphics option. Incorporating a stylish design, it claims to deliver superior performance that can last business professionals through the day, as well as providing the leisure for watching movies and videos on its high definition (HD) display. Available with second-generation Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processors, the XPS 14z sports a 14-inch HD WLED screen that fits into a 13-inch laptop form factor and boasts more than six hours of battery life. The laptop also come with slot-load optical drive and NVIDIA graphics option. The Dell XPS 14z laptop is available today through www.Dell.com.sg, and select retail stores at starting prices of S$1,449 for the Core i5 version, and S$1,749 for the Core i7

November 16th, 2011

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Building Better Wi-Fi for your Business Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/building-better-wi-fi-for-yourbusiness/13970.html November 16th, 2011

The Lenovo U300s Ultrabook measures 14.9mm thin and weighs a mere 1.28kg. It has a 13.3-inch ultra-slim 16:9 widescreen HD display, 4GB DDR3 memory and 128GB SSD storage, and comes equipped with second generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processor variants. The U300s also boasts 10 seconds boot up time with Enhanced Experience 2.0 RapidDrive SSD technology, and Intel Advanced Cooling technology that allows air to flow in through the keyboard and out from the sides and rear hinge. The company also claims that with Lenovo Long Life Battery, the U300s can offer up to eight hours of use, or 30 days standby, and Lenovo RapidCharge which allows the battery to be charged up to 50% in just 30 minutes. Other features of the Ultrabook include Bluetooth, 802.11n Wi-Fi, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 connectors and integrated 1.3megapixel (720p high definition) webcam. Unlike the Toshiba Ultrabook we have seen earlier, this one does not have the full-size Ethernet port. According to Lenovo, the U300s will also come with wireless mouse, USB-to-VGA cable, external hard disk and external optical drive as accessories, though these will probably be available early next year. Available in Graphite Gray and limited edition Clementine Orage (which is the trademark Ideapad color), the Lenovo U300s will retail from today with a starting price of S$1,899.

Wi-Fi usage around the world is literally exploding, as can be evidenced in recent reports of how smartphones and tablets are driving global increase in Wi-Fi hotspots. As these very devices head into corporate networks to jostle with laptops and wireless-enabled desktops, businesses are finding themselves having to support the heavier network load.

To understand more about Wi-Fi use in business, I arranged a meeting with executives from the Ruckus Wireless, a vendor that specializes in Wi-Fi access points and wireless LAN (WLAN) management systems. I first came across Ruckus Wireless in a review published on Tom's Hardware that benchmarked an Access Point (AP) from Ruckus with those from Cisco and Aruba. At that time, the Ruckus AP was the only device capable of exceeding 100Mbps actual throughput, and was heads and shoulders faster in the tests that were conducted. It was no surprise hence that the Sunnyvale, California-based company was tagged by Gartner in the "Visionaries" quadrant of the 2011 Magic Quadrant for Wireless LAN infrastructure. Another interesting fact is how the company provides the devices to hook up the IPTV residential gateways for SingTel's mio TV service. I spoke with Asia Pacific (APAC) vice president Louis Au, director of APAC marketing Christ Yip and Vasudevan Venkatakrishnan, who is the head of pre-sales in APAC. Deploying Wi-Fi in business To start off our conversation, Au offered a couple of pointers to help businesses roll out a successful wireless deployment. According to him, the two most important factors would be to first define the intended usage of a Wi-Fi network, followed by the implementation of a planning phase. The former entails working out the number of users and determining whether users will be light or heavy users. This 10

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can sometimes be derived from the physical location for wireless access; a school auditorium and a public location for example, can expect to see far heavier usage than that of a small meeting room. The planning phase should also include the removal of old Wi-Fi points. Clearly, it is not the case of "the more the better" here, given how too many overlapping APs can cause interference issues to arise. Not all APs are created equal Given the sheer number of wireless vendors out there, I was naturally curious about what differentiates one AP from another. Venkatakrishnan replied that the company's products can deliver more consistent and reliable throughput than specified by the standards. He told me, "We implement technology on top of the standard to deliver the speeds. We are able to excel compared to the consumer products, and compared to other vendors even in the enterprise and business space." Yip added that the company had "a lot of feedback" from businesses that start off with "SOHO grade" hardware, implying that businesses may find themselves stuck with wireless equipment that lack the features and capacity that they require. Au pointed out that the cost of buying the wrong AP is very high, in certain organizations such as a school, for example. Without specifying brands, Au also added that there are APs "out there" which will lower the speed once they hit a certain number of users. According to Au, other important considerations when choosing a wireless AP would be its reliability, ability to deal with interference and maintain a good throughput. And unlike many other enterprise vendors, Ruckus maintains a shared feature set across its range of products. This means that new capabilities found in firmware upgrades are bestowed across all Ruckus-branded APs. The only difference resides in the onboard hardware capabilities of an AP - such as whether it is an indoor or outdoor unit, RF performance, and whether it has single-band or dual-band support. The misconception about interference Interference is a topic one can expect to have to deal with when it comes to wireless technologies. Unfortunately, misconceptions on this front are common. Au asserted to me that: "In a room that is devoid of interference, every vendor will do a good job." The most common misconception about interference, elaborated Yip, is that a strong signal yields strong throughput. This line of thought completely ignores interference from neighboring networks however, which could decrease performance substantially.

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concluded that measuring the actual wireless throughput is "more important." Gigabit Wireless With faster wireless technology just round the corner, a number of CIOs and business owners are probably debating on the merits of investing in current-gen 802.11n wireless today. For those who are not aware, the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) has already published the initial specifications for gigabit wireless in the unlicensed 60GHz spectrum in May this year. On this front, all three were unanimous that gigabit wireless should not be any deterrence towards companies rolling out their Wi-Fi infrastructures. The overall consensus is that 802.11n, "will stay for another four to five years," and will probably also coexist for a little while with gigabit wireless networks. Au illustrated his point by pointing out that mobile operators will hardly give up on 3G networks immediately even with the introduction of 4G. He did admit however, that it is still too early to talk about a migration path. As a final reason why businesses should not hold back from Wi-Fi deployments today, Venkatakrishnan says there is a possibility that gigabit wireless could be used as a complementary technology that is used in tandem with 2.5 GHz and 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi. Businesses interested in products from Ruckus Wireless can contact Ruckus Singapore via email SEAsiaSales@ruckuswireless.com or phone at +65 68292319.

SanDisk's Christmas Offer Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sandisk-s-christmas-offer/13969.html November 16th, 2011

SanDisk has a great offer to give away free camera wraps for purchase of their SanDisk Extreme or SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-I cards (while stocks last). Take a look at what its all about.

"You increase the power, you increase noise; the objective is to reduce noise," quipped Venkatakrishnan. Given that neighboring APs are not manageable by you, a better-placed question that IT managers should ask themselves is: "How do I deliver a quality signal with minimum power required, without creating interference and managing interference." Putting paid to the concept of that AP range is all-important; Au says that an AP with an extended range is not always useful, especially when paired with low-power client devices such as a Wi-Fi enabled smartphone. With this in mind, Au 11

November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

The good people at SanDisk are presenting a great piece of Christmas news for professional and enthusiast photographers alike. With purchase of the 16GB or higher SanDisk Extreme and SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-I cards will come with a protective camera wrap, just for this festive season from now till December 31st. These memory cards pack a punch, especially the Pro series, which sports a 90MB per second write speed which enables a continuous string of RAW images shot in burst-mode to be recorded quickly, while the UHS Speed Class 1 rating allows for flawless recording of full High Definition video. Its 95MB per second read speed means less time taken to transfer photos from card to computer and more time to do what needs to be done instead.

Philips has released a trio of speaker docks in Android flavour, a first ever. It is timely too, as Android platforms already own a big market segment for quite some time now, and yet the amount of accessories and docks designed for these devices are meager compared to the army of gadgets that cater to Apple's devices. Capitalizing on this realization, Philips takes the first strike with its flagship AS851 Fidelio using the patented â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Flexidockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; micro USB connection which slides laterally to accommodate to the wide array of shapes and port configurations on Android devices, while charging the mounted gadget.

All these goodness get better with the free camera wrap that comes with it. Made of flannelet and Dacron, these wraps will protect any part of the camera from body to lens by conforming to the various shape and be self-secured by four in-built Velcro tabs. So what are you waiting for? Grab it while stocks last.

Philips unveils speaker docks for Android Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/philips-unveils-speaker-docks-forandroid/13968.html November 16th, 2011

Android devices finally receive not one but three speaker docks designed for the platform, courtesy of Philips. A repackaged version of its iPod-oriented cousin the DS8500, this new kid in the block seems like a hit from early reports.

Upon docking, both devices will pair with Bluetooth via the free Fidelio app and stream music for output through the speakers. It is also possible to continue to play music while the Android handset is off the dock, and even represent every sound made by the Android platform when paired, such as message notifications. The AS851 is akin to the DS8500, which works for Apple devices, and shares the same chassis. Its Philips Digital sound processor and rated 30 Watts output ensures that music is distortion-free and well-heard. All of these features will be under the command of a remote control, which makes switching music back and forth a breeze. The two other accompanying docks on release include the midrange AS351 featuring a 10 Watt output and Dynamic Bass Boost, while the AS111 is a bedside dock sporting an all-round speaker.

November 16th, 2011

Sony has something for everyone this festive season Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-has-something-for-everyone-thisfestive-season/13967.html November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

in a chic and pleasing â&#x20AC;&#x153;folding designâ&#x20AC;?, which makes typing on a flat surface easy and holding it in one hand for reading even easier. It shares content to be displayed on your home entertainment devices and even doubles as a universal remote control. Nothing feels like empowering the home with a Sony Tablet S this Christmas.

This seaons's line-up from Sony proves to be a exciting mix in the bag, with something for everyone. Read on to find out! Sony Christmas Gift Guide Selections

Sony NEX-5N E-mount Camera will capture the spirit of this festive season on the faces of your loved ones with complete clarity using its 16.1-megapixel Exmor APS HD sensor and its responsive touch screen interface for quick adjustments. Its ultra-lightweight build and interchangeable lenses ensures that you will shoot what you want in the way you want it.

Let the W262 MP3 Walkman bring party music to you in its waterproof and hip design. Powered by an integrated player that lets you roam freely without dangling wires, and playing 2GB worth of favourites from your collection of music. It is also the perfect companion for the more athletic ones, or those who think they should shed some weight amidst the holiday feasting that is coming soon.

The Sony DPF-C700 Photo Frame is a beautiful way of keeping and displaying memories of your family and friends from this holiday season through its 7-inch WVGA Clear Photo LCD. Swarovski Crystals grace the frame and you can be sure it will stay a conversation piece all year round too. Prices The Sony Tablet S will do just about everything a child to a senior citizen would want it to. Be it reading, gaming, playing music, surfing the Internet, to even video conferencing; all

W262 MP3 Walkman: S$129 Sony Tablet S: S$798 13

November 16th, 2011

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Sony NEX-5N E-mount Camera: S$1299 Sony DPF-C700 Photo Frame: S$149

Belkin Christmas Promotion Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/belkin-christmaspromotion/13966.html November 16th, 2011

Boost your connectivity with friends and family in a stylish way (without the lag) this festive season with Belkin Christmas Promotions. Seamless Gaming, Video And Voice Conferencing, All At The Same Time

The N300 Wireless N Router will be a great Christmas gift for any family looking to improve their home connectivity in the most cost effective and productive manner with its special coverage pattern that will reach across the household better, a distinct difference from traditional donut-shaped flat coverage pattern of other routers.

Light And Mobile Connectivity

This Belkin N750 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router will let your family members speak to loved ones overseas with their favourite video conferencing program, stream music, and play the latest online multiplayer games all at the same time with the smooth performance. Experience lag-free connectivity of up to 300Mbps at 2.4Ghz or 450Mbps at 5Ghz.

Cost Effective Connectivity

Share your connectivity with others with the N150 and the N600 Wireless USB Adapter this season. Enjoy up to 150Mbps with the N150 or dual-band speed of 300Mbps on the N600 on your favourite devices.

Prices N750 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router: S$229 N300 Wireless N Router: S$59 N150 Wireless USB Adapter: S$27 N600 Wireless USB Adapter: S$54

November 16th, 2011

SingTel announces skoob, Singapore's first e-book service Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/singtel-announces-skoob-singapore-sfirst-e-book-service/13965.html November 16th, 2011

SingTel has announced the launch of skoob, which claims to be Singapore’s first e-book service that not only offer international best sellers, but also works of local writers, study guides and educational books for local primary and secondary school students.

SingTel has launched skoob, Singapore’s first e-book service that to offer the works by local writers and local school study guides and books. At launch, skoob offers more than 39,000 local and international bestsellers for smartphones, tablets and PCs. It also claims to be the first e-book service to accept payments in Singapore dollars. For example, fans of John Grisham can enjoy his novel, "The Confession", at S$9 instead of S$17.07 at a bookshop. Neil Humphreys’ acclaimed "Complete Notes" from Singapore is available at S$13.90 instead of S$29.90. Skoob also offers a range of classics for free download, such as Arthur Conan Doyle’s "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and Charles Dickens’ "A Tale of Two Cities". The skoob e-book service is available on Apple and Android tablets and smartphones as a free app. It is also available on PCs and Macs using standard browsers. Users have the flexibility to download books on up to five devices and payments can be made via Singapore credit cards. For SingTel customers, they can choose to have the purchases conveniently charged to their monthly bills. For more information on skoob, and to download the app, please visit www.skoob.com.sg.

Intel's Patsburg chipset continues to encounter delays Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-s-patsburg-chipset-continues-toencounter-delays/13964.html

Published by: VR-Zone November 16th, 2011

Now that we finally have gotten past the official launch of Intel's new platform, we thought we'd talk a little bit about the details of Intel's Patsburg chipset, of which the X79 is the first product to arrive in the market. As many of you already knows, Intel's X79 chipset isn't exactly what the company had in mind initially and Intel had to cut back on the feature count not once, but twice. However, the resulting product is little more than a glorified P67 chipset and it doesn't look set to change. Now that we finally have gotten past the official launch of Intel's new platform, we thought we'd talk a little bit about the details of Intel's Patsburg chipset, of which the X79 is the first product to arrive in the market. As many of you already knows, Intel's X79 chipset isn't exactly what the company had in mind initially and Intel had to cut back on the feature count not once, but twice. However, the resulting product is little more than a glorified P67 chipset and it doesn't look set to change. For starters the X79 is a power hog; it has a max TDP of 7.8W which should be compared to 6.1W for the 6-series chipsets. However, Intel's server version which should be the C600 series of chipsets peak at 6.7W. The only reason that we can see for this is some additional features such as extra USB 2.0 ports, a couple of extra PCI Express x1 lanes, native PCI support, a built in Gigabit Ethernet MAC and audio, but these don't seem to account for the extra power draw. What we do know is that the disabled SCU is still part of the chipset and it's using power even though it doesn't offer any functionality. Some reviewers have criticized Intel for the X79 and its lack of features, although it seems that very few were aware of the much higher price Intel is charging the motherboard makers for what is not only a feature castrated chipset, but also for a revision that won't be around for long. As we've reported previously, Intel is working on a new stepping of the chipset, initially for its Xeon platform, but at some stage this revision will make an appearance for the desktop platform. The only problem here is that Intel was meant to have its new chipset revision done and dusted by now, but the company has run into further problems with the SAS interface. As such, Intel has an interim solution here called Patsburg-J, otherwise known as X79. Patsburg-J might be for Intel's Xeon platform, but as far as we can tell, it's identical to the X79 chipset, bar the features mentioned above that Intel didn't bother with for its server platform. Thanks to this move, Intel can still announce its new LGA-2011 and LGA-1356 Xeon parts sometime in Q1 next year, rather than having to delay the platform further. We're actually quite surprised that Intel has launched such a half finished product, but the story doesn't end here, as things get even more complicated. With the new revision of the X79 chipset which at the moment we don't know when it'll arrive, Intel will allow the motherboard makers to enable the SCU, although only functionality for four SATA 6Gbps ports. However, there's a but coming here and it's a bold but with 15

November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

exclamation marks and warning signs, Intel isn't guaranteeing the performance, reliability or data integrity of these ports. In other words, if the motherboard makers want to chance it, they can enable the additional four ports and if they end up with major support issues, then it's on their head. We're really starting to wonder what's going on at Intel, as something isn't right at the company. Minor errata's aren't unusual in this business, but for Intel all of 2011 has been a year of SATA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and in the case of Patsburg SAS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; related problems that have caused severe problems to the company. It's also worth remembering that the Sandy Bridge-E CPU's are far from the final revision, with at least one more stepping coming before the Xeon branded Sandy Bridge-EP models launch and most likely another revision or two later this year to try and bring down the power usage of these huge processors.

Mad Catz Cyborg M.M.O.7 unveiled

The M.M.O.7 has no less than 13 programmable buttons, as well a three position switch and a two position shift button for a total of 78 user definable commands. Let's not forget the two scroll wheels (one is for your thumb) and the new "5D" button which is a mini joystick that's thumb controlled and can move in four directions as well as being pressed inwards. Mad Catz has also added adjustable backlight to the M.M.O.7 which apparently can display any of 16 million different RGB colours.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/mad-catz-cyborg-m.m.o.7unveiled/13963.html November 16th, 2011

Over the past couple of years we've seen a handful of mice designed for MMO's and now Mad Catz has joined the fray with its Cyborg M.M.O.7 which builds upon is adjustable R.A.T series of mice. However, the M.M.O.7 has been given more buttons than the previous models to apparently make it more suitable for MMO's. Over the past couple of years we've seen a handful of mice designed for MMO's and now Mad Catz has joined the fray with its Cyborg M.M.O.7 which builds upon is adjustable R.A.T series of mice. However, the M.M.O.7 has been given more buttons than the previous models to apparently make it more suitable for MMO's. At first glance the most noticeable difference is the new black and chromed orange colour scheme which makes this a visually more "in your face" product. That said, it's been quite tastefully done and it doesn't look garish. As with the other R.A.T mice from Mad Catz the M.M.O.7 is fully adjustable to allow for a good fit in your hand. It comes with three different palm and pinkie grips, as well as a set of weights.

Another interesting feature is something Mad Catz call ActionLock which allows the left and right mouse buttons to be auto clicked until unlocked. The M.M.O.7 sports what Mad Catz call a "Twin-Eye" laser sensor that offers 25 to 6400dpi sensitivity and six meters per second tracking with four user definable dpi settings. For fans of World of Warcraft, Mad Catz has even created a special plug-in that gives you quick and easy access to the button configuration. No word on pricing as yet, as the Cyborg M.M.O.7 isn't expected to arrive until January next year, so no, you can't have one from Santa no matter how good you've been.

Logitech's Christmas Special Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/logitech-s-christmasspecial/13960.html November 16th, 2011

Logitech has prepared some Christmas specials for everyone this year and it is bound to make both the style-conscious and avid gamers happy. Let's take a look. Gamers For The Win

November 16th, 2011

Defeat your opponents with the Logitech Gaming Keyboard G510 this holiday season. Sporting a game panel LCD to keep your game statistics updated as you fire away, its customizable backlighting keeps you sharp even in the dark, while its 18 Programmable G-keys let you configure your macro key combination beforehand or on-the-fly. Full-speed USB Multi-Key input executes your every key command with no hesitation. At your disposal with a recommended retail price tag of S$139.

Logitech Gaming Mouse G400 lets you go trigger happy as it blazes away at 3600 dpi with consistent response ratio, which maps your exact hand movement to produce the same amount of cursor travel. Eight programmable buttons give you many options to execute your opponents, while the durable build ensures that it lasts long with you in battle to the tune of 10 million clicks and 500km of travel tested. Surprise your enemies by changing from accurate movements to fast response with In-Game Sensitivity Switching. You can own this weapon at just S$49. On The Move With Style

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The Logitech Keyboard Case sets you aside from other tablet users with its keyboard seamlessly designed within the case. The precision-cut, aircraft-grade aluminum along with its high-density padding keeps your iPad 2 scratch-free and protected in a stylish way. Bluetooth pairing sets you up for some smooth typing action in seconds, while its in-built stand props your iPad up for good visibility in one of two orientations. This smart and sexy combination is yours at S $139.

Amaze yourself with the Ultimate Ears 700 Noise-Isolating Earphones as it changes the way your music collection sounds with its remarkable clarity and excitingly realistic audio representation, powered by its dual-armature layout. Experience the audio revelation in isolation away from noise by up to 26 dBs with its comfortable and interchangeable silicone ear-cushions. Stylish and sturdy case included. You can now pamper your ears with this S$189 Ultimate Ears 700.

3DMark for Windows 8 to Benchmark Everything: Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops, Desktops Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/3dmark-for-windows-8-to-benchmarkeverything-smartphones-tablets-laptops-desktops/13958.html

November 16th, 2011 November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone November 16th, 2011

Futuremark just announced that the company is developing a unified benchmark suite for Windows 8 operating system. Available in 2012, the benchmark currently known as "3DMark for Windows 8" is targeting all Windows 8 platforms, from rare high-end smartphones to commonplace tablets, ultrabooks and desktops.

Lenovo introduces AndroidWindows hybrid to battle battery life issues The new benchmark is the first to support multiple iterations of DirectX - 9 and 11. This decision was made in order to support the variety of devices, which as we all know will range from high-end smartphones and tablets to ultrabooks, notebooks and desktop PCs. Given the diversity of the platforms, we had our doubts in complexity of the test scenes. However, Oliver Baltuch, President of Futuremark Corporation quickly addressed our doubts. 3DMark for Windows 8 will enable apples-to-apples comparison between ARM and X86 powered devices. It's going to be quite interesting to compare contemporary ARM products such as Nvidia Tegra or Qualcomm Snapdragon versus AMD Fusion and Intel Atom/Core processors.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lenovo-introduces-android-windowshybrid-to-battle-battery-life-issues/13959.html November 16th, 2011

The disappointing battery life of the ThinkPad X1 calls for a solution, and Android is Lenovo's response. By segmenting the function of a notebook with two platforms, the company hopes to improve battery life with Android-based "Instant Media Mode" when less power is needed.

3DMark will continue to feature "Entry", "Performance" and "Extreme" levels of detail, albeit the difference in detail will be larger, as previous "Entry" mode was simply too complicated for Intel's embedded graphics. One of potential scenarios in 3DMark for Windows 8 would be that a tablet user sees all of the test scenes, while a graphics processor in let's say Intel's earlier Core i3/i5 processors (Arrandale/Clarkdale) fails to do so. Naturally, the reverse role applies as well, with AMD Fusion processors rendering what for instance, Qualcomm Snapdragon, NVIDIA Tegra or TI OMAP4 cannot. The benchmark is scheduled to debut alongside Microsoft Windows 8 operating system, probably sometime during 2012.

Share & Win - ASUS ROG Rampage IV Extreme (X79) Motherboard Giveaway! Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/share--win--asus-rog-rampage-ivextreme-x79-motherboard-giveaway-/13962.html

A Lenovo Live Update (which has been removed from the company's website) showed a new ThinkPad X1 Hybrid which seeks to address the poor battery life that its predecessor had, by adding a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Instant Media Modeâ&#x20AC;? which is essentially an Android platform resembling that of the IdeaPad K1. The "instant-on" mode can switch to Windows 7 when performance and productivity is necessary, but otherwise, it boasts 10 hours of web browsing or 8 hours of multimedia experience. Plans to introduce the 13- and 14-inch 18

November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Ultrabooks mid next year were also revealed, priced at US $1,300 and US$800 respectively.

Nabi Tablet: Toy? Tablet? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nabi-tablet-toy-tablet-/13955.html November 16th, 2011

The rising technological dominance of tablets and toys converge as Toys R Us released a tablet to add to their arsenal of children's fare. Well thought-out with content control for the child, a durable design and dedicated app store to keep kids busy, will the Nabi tablet cause a stir in Santa Claus' sack?

Toys R Us has released their latest toy, a tablet for kids. Considering the ever growing penetration of the tablet in many market segments and its accessibility to all age groups, it hardly comes as a surprise that child-oriented products will start to surface in popularity. The renowned toy manufacturer hired Chinese/American Web 2.0 properties and app developer FUHU to create the Nabi tablet aimed at educating with fun, and perhaps most importantly, a form of sustainable distraction to free moms from their children for a moment. From first impressions, a very smart choice of reinforcing the corners of the tablet with seemingly soft material implies it can take some hard hitting from playful or careless children.

While the specs won’t excite any tech geeks, the tablet will engage kids with its 7-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, 4GB of storage, and a 533 MHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor. It will also connect with Wi-Fi and shoot with its 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

The key edge that the Nabi tablet has against competing family tablets come from its software, which is completely designed for children. This includes a child-accessible interface which displays big colourful icons leading to a “kiddified” web experience, and a whole host of apps like Fooz kids University which teaches mathematics, design and art oriented apps that allow for creative exploration, 30 e-Books to encourage reading, and not forgetting support for popular games, all preloaded. The Nabi app store powers the tablet with 500 other apps for families who have the appetite for more. Mommies will not be left out, of course, as the tablet features a “Mommy mode” which unleashes the full Android experience without any kind of restriction. The Nabi will satisfy both mother and child as it ships on December 1st. Pre-orders can be made at Toy R Us for US $199.99

ASUS ROG Rampage IV Extreme (X79) Review Air Overclocking with Core i7-3960X Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-rog-rampage-iv-extreme-x79review--air-overclocking-with-core-i7-3960x/13950.html

November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

November 16th, 2011

If you are a serious overclocker or a power user looking to maximize the potential of your new Sandy Bridge-E processor, then the ASUS Republic of Gamers Rampage IV Extreme (X79) is the definitive choice for you when it hits the shelves. We put the board together with the debuting Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition CPU through the tests and overclocked it on air cooling to see how much millege the typical intermediate user might get. Later this month, we will also attempt highend liquid and LN2 cooling with this setup. Introduction We had already covered the ASUS Republic of Gamers Rampage IV Extreme in a exclusive preview last month, so we will spend the first section of the review talking about the new LGA 2011 based Sandy Bridge-E processor and the X79 Patsburg chipset.

The SNB-E is the last of the 32nm desktop chips from Intel since Westmere. Next year, we will see the 22nm Ivy Bridge platform, which should bring significant power savings and higher operating frequencies.

Top of the line Core i7-3960X - 6 Core/12 Threads, 15MB Cache, Quad Channel IMC, AVX/AES/SSE4.2/SSE 4.2 support and a whopping 40 PCI-E lanes

The new SNB-E die is a lot bigger than Intel's previous desktop offerings - no surprise as there are 2.27 billion transistors on die and six real processor cores (rather than pseudo integer/FP units). We also note with interest the 2 disabled cores - which will appear in the server Sandy Bridge-EP variants.

Launching today is the six core i7-3960X (3.3GHz, 15MB cache) and the much cheaper i7-3930K (3.2GHz, 12MB cache). The TDP for the new chips are rated at 130W and they are poised to replace the aging Westmere based LGA1366 processors.

November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Intel Sandy Bridge-E Overclocking - Safe Voltage Ranges, Quad Channel Kits, Thermal Solutions and LN2 Temperatures Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-sandy-bridge-e-overclocking-safe-voltage-ranges-quad-channel-kits-thermal-solutions-and-ln2temperatures/13951.html November 16th, 2011

X79 Patsburg Chipset Block Diagram. The 40 lane PCI-E design allows for flexible multi-GPU slot configurations.

With the release of Sandy Bridge-E today, budding overclockers will once again need to familiarize themselves with a new architecture and platform - starting with official safe operating voltages to run the chips, Quad Channel XMP 1.3 memory kits, bundled air/water thermal solutions for the new LGA 2011 socket and optimum LN2 temperatures clocking potential. Processor Operating Voltages (from Intel Datasheet)

Separately available Intel Liquid Cooler (Asetek OEM)

SB-E Technical

Memory overclockers will rejoice that the operating voltage for DDR3 memory have now been raised to a maximum of 1.85v (up from the miserable 1.65v since the days of Nehalem), which should help attain high bandwidth 2400+Mhz on tight memory timings, without causing long term CPU degradation. The Vcore voltage listed is rather conservative (we dare go 1.5V+ with good cooling), but from prior experience Intel have always revised their ratings upwards with new document revisions and core steppings.

Quad Channel XMP 1.3 Memory Kits

November 16th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

particularly liked the color scheme and plastic carton box that the motherboard came in.

Officially, Intel claims support for 1600MHz DDR3 memory only, and usually the AUTO setting on most motherboards will default to that. Thankfully with the new base clock ratios and vastly improved quad channel memory controller on the CPU, we have seen memory frequencies scale as high as 2800MHz+, fueling the need for specially hand-picked and certified kits to achieve such levels with stability. The new Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP) 1.3 standard extends the SPD profiles to support more extreme settings, and we see vendors like Corsair, GSkill, Kingston and Patroit offering new memory SKUs to sell to demanding enthusiasts.

First Looks: Intel DX79SI Extreme Series X79 Motherboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-looks-intel-dx79si-extreme-seriesx79-motherboard/13849.html November 16th, 2011

Today we can preview another X79 motherboard that we have in our labs - the dashing Intel DX79SI (Siler) Extreme Series Motherboard which is part of the Sandy Bridge-E reviewer's kit, and one of the better inexpensive choices when it hits the retail shelves. The DX79SI (Siler) continues Intel's line of skull themed enthusiast motherboards since the D975XBX (Badaxe). We

Only passive cooling heatpipes on this board, which is acceptable as the IOH only has a TDP of <10W. We wonder - If Intel themselves can provide 8 slots (Quad Channel) for memory expansion on their own boards, why do most of the other 3rd party motherboard vendors then just make do with 4 (or god forbid, 6)? 22

November 16th, 2011

The I/O Panel. Besides the glaring lack of PS/2 connectors (Intel boards have been that way since X38 I think) for the OCD overclockers, we see a CMOS reset switch on the left, a stingy 2 USB 3.0 connectors (provided by a Super Speed capable NEC D720200AF1), 2 Intel Gigabit RJ45 Ports (82579L and 82574L), 6 USB 2.0 ports from the X79 chipset and a vanilla Realtek ALC892 for 8 channel audio.

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A quick hands-on video of Gigabyte's X79 motherboards and features Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-quick-hands-on-video-of-gigabyte-sx79-motherboards-and-features/13956.html November 16th, 2011

On Friday we spent some quality time with Gigabyte's new X79 motherboards and we shoot a short video showing off some of the new features like 3D Power and 3D BIOS (UEFI). Due to Intel's NDA that just expired we weren't able to share this video until today, so click on through for a quick walk through of the new features and new motherboards. On Friday we spent some quality time with Gigabyte's new X79 motherboards and we shoot a short video showing off some of the new features like 3D Power and 3D BIOS (UEFI). Due 23

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to Intel's NDA that just expired we weren't able to share this video until today, so click on through for a quick walk through of the new features and new motherboards. There's very little else to say really, although for those concerned about the 3D BIOS, it actually looks much better in person than it does on video and the text is actually very legible, even if it looks quite small on the video. We should also point out that Gigabyte is listening to customer feedback and if you have any ideas of improvements that the company could do, send off an email to their support and they might very well implement it in a future update to their UEFI.

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example, the alarm clock app appears when you dock your XOOM in the bedroom. The update for all Motorola XOOM users will be available soon.

Order your flowers and gifts with this SG Florist iPhone and iPad app Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/order-your-flowers-and-gifts-with-thissg-florist-iphone-and-ipad-app/13943.html November 16th, 2011

Android 3.2 update comes to Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi in Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/android-3.2-update-comes-tomotorola-xoom-wi-fi-in-singapore/13954.html November 16th, 2011

Ordering flowers and gifts have never been as easy as just a few touches. Powered by Paypal and developed by , the SG Florist iPhone and iPad app is designed for users who want to send flowers or gifts to friends and family, or to please their wives or girlfriends.

Motorola Singapore has recently announced that for XOOM Wi-Fi tablet owners, the software update over-the-air has been rolled out since end October last month, and that the update will be available for all users.

SG Florist claims to be Singapore’s first mobile flower and gift delivery app, by FarEastFlora.com. It contains the exact same range of flowers & gifts as on www.FarEastFlora.com and is updated throughout the day to make stock availability and promotional price changes seamless and easy for users. According to Motorola Singapore, owners of the Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi have started receiving a software update over-the-air on their device from 31 October 2011. The update includes an upgrade to the latest version of Android 3.2 (Honeycomb), and lets users print QuickOffice documents, notes, calendar appointments and emails over Wi-Fi to printers at home or work via the MOTOPRINT app quickly and easily. You can also able to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents for free in QuickOffice. The Android 3.2 Honeycomb update offers improved enterprise management and security functionality associated with 3LM. On top of that, users can program the docking station so that relevant apps appear in specific locations. For

Simply tap and swipe though a wide selection of over 1,000 gift options ranging from flower bouquets, plant arrangements, gift hampers, gourmet baskets and even perfumes. After that, select your gift, add to your shopping cart, and check-out with PayPal. As the app offers ‘Pay with PayPal’, you don’t even need to enter in your 16 digit credit card number; just log in to your PayPal account and confirm the purchase. The flowers and gifts get delivered the same day you placed your order. If you remembered only at the final minute or had a really busy day, you can even order flowers for that special someone at 4pm and have the items delivered to them between 7pm to 10pm the same day. You can also set a reminder in the app to deliver flowers on special occasions. The SG Florist app is free to download from the Apple App Store for both 24

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Published by: VR-Zone

iPhone and iPad, as well as Nokia Ovi Store for compatible Nokia devices. Some features about the SG Florist app: - Reminders and Wishlist: You can pre-select your favourite gift items under ‘Wishlist’ and set reminders for special occasions like birthdays, anniversary and Mother’s Day. - Sync addresses from phone contacts: You can sync recipients’ addresses and details from your phone contacts. Saves the hassle of typing in addresses. - Surprise: Tap the ‘Surprise’ tab, shake your phone – if you’re lucky you might get a discount exclusive to SG Florist app users.

November 21st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

First USB 3.0 enabled DisplayLink adapter arrives Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-usb-3.0-enabled-displaylinkadapter-arrives/14023.html November 21st, 2011

It's taken nearly a year longer than DisplayLink envisaged, but now the first display adapters featuring its new DL-3100 USB 3.0 chips are starting to arrive and first out are Japanese I-O Data. We were expecting a lot of new features from DisplayLink, but it seems like at least the first devices have little new to offer. It's taken nearly a year longer than DisplayLink envisaged, but now the first display adapters featuring its new DL-3100 USB 3.0 chips are starting to arrive and first out are Japanese I-O Data. We were expecting a lot of new features from DisplayLink, but it seems like at least the first devices have little new to offer. Despite the tenfold increase in bandwidth, the highest screen resolution that I-O Data's USB-RGB3/D adapter supports is 2048x1152, although it's entirely possible that this is a limitation because of the use of a single-link DVI port. This seems to defeat the purpose of having all that extra bandwidth available, although we'll wait and see if there will be versions with dual-link DVI or DisplayPort connectivity that will offer higher resolution support in the future.

The joint press release from the two companies doesn't really speak of much else in terms of features, but the device itself sports a micro USB 3.0 port rather than a full size connector. There were also some claims in the press release about higher performance, full-screen HD videos, 3D games and multichannel audio, although we're not sure exactly how these are applicable, especially the audio part as there's no mention of any kind of audio connectivity. At US$137 (S$179) a pop, this is also a very costly upgrade option over getting a USB 2.0 based adapter, which further makes us wonder what the point of this product really is.

Intel RST 11 to bring TRIM support to RAID 0 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-rst-11-to-bring-trim-support-toraid-0/14022.html November 21st, 2011

It's been a very long wait, but it looks like Intel is finally ready to bring TRIM support for SSD's in a RAID 0 configuration according to details appearing on Storage Review. That said, the details posted were very slim and VR-Zone is here to fill in the gaps with some exclusive details as to what to expect from Intel's upcoming Rapid Storage technology drivers. It's been a very long wait, but it looks like Intel is finally ready to bring TRIM support for SSD's in a RAID 0 configuration according to details appearing on Storage Review. That said, the details posted were very slim and VR-Zone is here to fill in 1

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the gaps with some exclusive details as to what to expect from Intel's upcoming Rapid Storage technology drivers. According to the details posted over at Storage Review the current alpha release of RST 11.5 doesn't come with support for TRIM when using RAID 0, but it mentions that it should be added in the next release of the alpha driver which should be available before the end of the year. Well, as things turn out, we'll actually see TRIM support for RAID 0 as early as in the RST 11.0 drivers, a driver that should arrive sometime in January if all goes according to plan. What's interesting here is that we'll also see support for it on the mobile chipsets that have RAID support, so we might end up with some very interesting mobile configurations in the near future.

Published by: VR-Zone November 21st, 2011

LG brings you the ultimate promotion for 3D experience ranging across televisions, monitors, Blu-ray players and even mobile phones. Visit SITEX 2011 Show and check out the ways you can enhance your lifestyle in 3D, as well as other promotions for selected products. Available at Best Dengki (booth 5E20) and Harvey Norman (booth 5F10). LG LW6500 CINEMA 3D LED PLUS FHD (55”/47”/42”)

We'll also be seeing wider Smart Response support, although this is likely to be part of Intel's 7-series chipsets rather than the current 6-series as this is Intel's first RST driver with support for the new chipsets, but sadly the information we have at hand doesn't make that entirely clear. On the subject of Smart Response, Intel has made a push to get its partners to start using Smart Response technology in more of their systems by providing an evaluation guide. We're not entirely sure about the content of this guide, but it's meant to have comparisons between various SSDs that Intel deem suitable for caching. So what about RST 11.5 then? Well, it won't arrive until sometime in Q2 2012 and it will offer Windows 8 support as you'd expect. However, there's also some bad news here for users of older operating systems, as Intel is dropping support for Windows XP, Vista and Windows Server 2003 with the release of RST 11.5, no matter if you use the 32-bit or 64-bit version.

Bring the 3D cinematic experience home with the LG LW6500. Incorporating the company’s CINEMA 3D technology, it features a flicker-free full High Definition (HD) 1920 by 1080 resolution LED Plus 3D screen. It also comes with the Magic Motion Remote Control that gives command to the TV with a wave of the arm, as well as access to premium content through Smart TV. The LW6500 comes with Wi-Fi and DLNA support for instant streaming of content from suitable storage and mobile devices while the Smart Engergy Saving Plus technology ensures that you can enjoy everything that the LW6500 has to offer without breaking your bank over your electricity bills. Usual Price: S$3,999 (55”), S$2,799 (47”) and S$1,399 (42”) LG CINEMA 3D Monitor D2342P

In related news Intel is having some problems with 4TB hard drive support and RAID 5 support in its older RST drivers and if you're planning on using either you should update to the 10.8 drivers which are currently available on Intel's website. In both cases the issues can cause data loss, so this is a highly recommended driver update to install.

LG SITEX Promotions Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-sitex-promotions/14019.html

November 21st, 2011

If you are shopping for a cost-effective viewing solution for your desktop PC, you may want to check out the LG D2342P. It turns any 2D images into a full HD 3D viewing experience in a 23-inch screen. A suite of technologies ensures that the system is free from crosstalk, electon waves, and flicker and give comfortable prolonged viewing sessions. Usual Price: S$599

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The Optimus 3D takes the smartphone experience into a new dimension with its Tri-Dual configuration featuring dual-core, dual-channel and dual-memory which allow for improved performance when multi-tasking, viewing websites, enjoying a movie or playing graphics-intensive games. It also takes a step into bringing 3D capabilities closer to everyday life by allowing the user to record and immediately enjoy content in 3D without the need for special glasses. Usual Price: S$938 (before telco subsidies)

Norwegian Cotton Candy Sends Your Pocket to Cloud 9 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/norwegian-cotton-candy-sends-yourpocket-to-cloud-9/14020.html November 21st, 2011

The new LG Smart 3D Blu-ray player represents your favorite selection of 3D Blu-ray movie disc in its full glory, as well as playback from external hard disk drives or Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) file sharing. Netcast technology provides even more content from online media sources such as YouTube and Netflix. The LG BD660 brings the idea of unlimited content viewing on the big screen to reality. Usual Price: S$199

New Norwegian startup FXI wants to make its mark with what it calls 'Cotton Candy'. This 21 gram device the size of a flash drive can convert any display or TV with HDMI port to a cloudclient. You can even boot your PC or notebook with it, and get on to the cloud. New Norwegian startup FXI wants to make its mark with what it calls 'Cotton Candy'. This 21 gram device the size of a flash drive can convert any display or TV with HDMI port to a cloudclient. You can even boot your PC or notebook with it, and get on to the cloud.

LG Optimus 3D

November 21st, 2011

Cotton Candy is a compact embedded computer powered by ARM Cortex-A9 1.20 GHz dual-core processor, with ARM Mali-400MP quad-core GPU, 1 GB of RAM, micro-SDHC card slot for add-on storage, and connectivity options that include WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth EDR. That's some serious hardware for a device this small, comparable with high-end smartphones.

Published by: VR-Zone November 21st, 2011

Visit SanDisk (booth 5J60) at SITEX 2011 and check out their range of storage solution promotions which cater to long-term priority data storage and solid state drive upgrades for your PC. SanDisk Memory Vault

The possibilities are endless. Plug the Cotton Candy to your TV, connect a wireless keyboard and mouse that use Bluetooth or WiFi, and your cloud client is ready to go. An Androidpowered smartphone can also be used as an input device. Cotton Candy runs Android by default, but it can also be configured to come with Ubuntu (Linux) pre-loaded.

The SanDisk Memory Vault is a photo album that claims to be able to store images for up to 100 years with their exclusive Chronolock technology, all in one reliable location. This product is a first in the new category of devices from SanDisk that is built for long-term data preservation. With the Memory Vault, users can now get a peace of mind that their precious photos and videos will be safe for generations to come. Retail Price: S$135 (16GB) SITEX Show Special: TBA

The device can also be plugged into a desktop or notebook PC. Simply make your PC boot from it like you'd boot from a USB flash drive. The installed operating system will quickly configure itself to your PC and get you onto the cloud.

SanDisk Solid State Drive

Measuring about 8 x 2.5 x 1 cm (L x W x H), and weighing as low as 21 grams, the FXI Cotton Candy is slared for Q2 2012. It is expected to be priced under US $200.

SanDisk SITEX 2011 Promotions Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sandisk-sitex-2011promotions/14018.html

November 21st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

The SanDisk Ultra SSD is a cost-effective and convenient plug-and-play solution for technology enthusiasts looking to upgrade their PCs for enhanced user experience. It features boot up and shut down speeds twice as fast as conventional hard drive, and this includes a write speed of up to 270MB per second, or a read speed of 280MB per second. Some 80 terabytes of data can be written onto the Ultra SSD 120GB model across its lifespan, a proof of the driveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remarkable durability. Retail Price: S$268 (120GB) SITEX Show Special: TBA

Veho SITEX 2011 Offer Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/veho-sitex-2011-offer/14016.html November 21st, 2011

If you are looking for a new Bluetooth car kit or a mobile battery solution, we have good news for you. Veho is having promotions for these products at the upcoming SITEX 2011 Show. Visit them and check out the innovative edge that Veho can give to your mobile devices.

The Veho SAEM Bluetooth Handsfree car kit reveals its innovative edge when it powers up via motion detection as you step into your car, and switches off when you leave. It allows 32 hours of talk time, 66 days of standby time, and two years of standby in sleep mode. With its capacity to pair with eight devices, and two devices in use simultaneously, the Veho SEAM offers a ten meter pairing radius and automatic volume control that keeps calls clear while eliminating wind noise and echo. Retail Price: S$99

Veho Pebble Smartstick

Ivy Bridge and Windows 8: The early 2012 next generation multi-display PC Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ivy-bridge-and-windows-8-theearly-2012-next-generation-multi-display-pc/14017.html November 21st, 2011

The Veho Pebble Smartstick with its rated 2200mAh capacity will power your mobile phone for a full charge while you are on-the-move. Its array of connection ports make sure that it works with most popular phones, while its compact stick form means it can stay in your pockets comfortably and takes up less space in bags. Retail Price: S$59

Ivy Bridge and Windows 8 will likely share the same launch window... and it seems their graphics capabilities will match too - from Stereo 3-D to multi-display support and an updated DirectX! While there were complaints that the integrated graphics in the Sandy Bridge mainstream processor family didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t match up to its powerful CPU cores, Intel is, as it was shown at their IDF presentations in September, committed to radically improve the situation with the Ivy Bridge family this coming spring.

Veho SAEM Bluetooth Handsfree Car Kit

November 21st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

With Ivy Bridge likely enabling playable 3-D games with medium settings even up to FullHD resolution – not in all games, mind you, but many nevertheless – the entry level discrete GPU market will really feel great extinction pressure, unless the GPU vendors find a way to further double or triple the performance of the cards in the $50-$100 range at the same time. That, of course, depends on the success of the impending 28 nm GPU rollout by both AMD and Nvidia.

Lexmark SITEX Special Offers Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lexmark-sitex-specialoffers/14013.html November 21st, 2011

As we covered before exclusively before anyone else, the Ivy Bridge GPU core will not just be over twice the performance of the Sandy Bridge one, but also support many other new features, like 4K display resolution and native triple-display resolution – the kind of capabilities that only higher end of the discrete GPU range would support until now. Now, Microsoft’s Windows 8, with its “love it or hate it” Metro GUI – I personally stick with the ‘mildly dislike’ followed by ‘switch back to the old one’ – will also bring some improvements into its graphics capabilities, like DirectX 11.1 update, Stereo 3D native support and further DirectCompute enhancements for greater GPU use in more apps.

Windows 8 and Ivy Bridge announcement dates are expected to be very close to one another, so we checked with our sources how’s the Intel driver support for those new Windows 8 capabilities at launch. And, guess what, all the new stuff is supported right away, as you can see: This includes more things, like OpenGL 3.1 and OpenCL 1.1 for the non Microsoft user base, and even 3 protected HDCP streams for invididual HD video displays across 3 independent monitors that the Ivy Bridge platform will support. Overall, the impact of these step by step improvements is that Intel’s graphics capabilities are going up one notch further compared to the discrete GPU makers, and essentially making it really ‘good enough’ for an even larger portion of the mainstream user community not to bother with adding discrete GPUs.

Lexmark will be having some promotions for the upcoming SITEX 2011 Show, located at Singapore Expo Hall 4B, Booth 4A01. Visit them and find out how you can empower your office's printing needs. Lexmark Prevail Pro 708

The Lexmark Prevail Pro 708 is a wireless 4-in-1 printer which is environmental-friendly and cost effective, offering to users three years LexExpress Warranty. It produces the industry’s lowest black and white printing cost of around S$7.90 for 510 pages, and is equipped with business card scanning features. The Prevail Pro 708 connects using Wireless-N capabilities for long range and reliable signal to produce faster file transfer rates. Usual Price: S$399 SITEX Show Price: TBA Lexmark Genesis S815

November 21st, 2011

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SITEX Show Price: TBA

Antec Eleven Hundred hands on preview Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/antec-eleven-hundred-hands-onpreview/14015.html November 21st, 2011

This printer is the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first web-connected A4 all-in-one inkjet printer with the revolutionary Flash Scan technology which scans documents for conversion to its digital form in as fast as three seconds. It includes a bright, user friendly 4.3-inch touch screen designed with the ability to customize, install and use the one-touch SmartSolutions. It also gives instant previews of documents loaded for scanning. The Wireless N technology empowers the printer with three times the coverage and faster transfer speeds. The Genesis is serviced with a three-year LexExpress Warranty, giving users peace of mind. Usual Price: S$499 SITEX Show Price: TBA

By now you've most likely already seen our hands on preview of the new Antec P280, but for those of you that aren't so concerned about noise and that are looking for something with a bit better cooling performance and maybe something with a see through side panel, we give you the Antec Eleven Hundred preview. Although the two chassis are quite similar, there are also some major differences that we'll take a quick look at here. By now you've most likely already seen our hands on preview of the new Antec P280, but for those of you that aren't so concerned about noise and that are looking for something with a bit better cooling performance and maybe something with a see through side panel, we give you the Antec Eleven Hundred preview. Although the two chassis are quite similar, there are also some major differences that we'll take a quick look at here.

Lexmark X5650

The Lexmark X5650 is a wireless all-in-one printer with Quick Connect laptop port for easy connectivity and set-up. It delivers print speeds of up to 25 ppm in black and white, or 18 ppm color using its 25-page automatic document feeder. The X5650 has multi card slots which allow for quick and convenient direct printing from cameras and memory cards. Usual Price: S$149 7

November 21st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Popping the side of the chassis you can see that the two are nearly identical inside, but as you'll see from the video, the hard drive mounting trays have been replaced with a pair of simpler brackets and although they don't reduce vibrations as efficiently, they're easier to attach to the drives. This does of course also mean that if you intended to kit out your system with eight SSD's you're going to need to have to get adapters for six of those SSD's. As you can see, the front of the two chassis is similar, yet very different. Gone is the door of the P280 and in its place we have a clean looking mesh fascia. The location of the front ports and the buttons are the same though, although the top 120mm fans are now replaced by a single 200mm fan. The only slight downside of this is that Antec hasn't allowed for any space for a watercooler kit to be fitted internally.

As far as we can tell, everything else has remained the same internally and as with the P280, the Eleven Hundred has a front and bottom fitted dust filter. As you might notice in the pictures, the Eleven Hundred is using a single fan controller for all the pre-installed fans, rather than a separate 8

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Published by: VR-Zone

fan controller for each of the fans. The advantage of this is that you can easily control up to four fans and they all draw power from a single Molex power connector, although the downside is less optimization as all the fans will have their speed reduced or increased by the same amount.

Akasa Venom Toxic Case Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/akasa-venom-toxic-casereview/14014.html November 21st, 2011

We missed to snap a shot of the side panel of the Eleven Hundred, but you'll see it clearly in the video below. Instead of having the extra lamination fitted to reduce noise, the left side panel has a Perspex window with place for two 120mm fans and the right hand panel has space for one 120mm fan to go behind the motherboard, although this means that you'd have to route your cables around the fan. The Eleven Hundred has an MSRP price of US$129.95 (S$169) and might just hit retail in time for the holiday season.

It has been over two and a half years ever since the release of the Infinity Zor case which was fairly popular among enthusiasts. Two and a half years later Akasa came to release a new massive gaming tower case, the Venom Toxic. As the productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name suggests, the new case is designed to match both the theme and performance of their Venom enthusiastlevel series, such as the Venom Voodoo cooler which we reviewed a few months ago, all of which are aiming towards hardcore enthusiasts. In this review we will examine what this massive new case can offer to enthusiasts. It has been over two and a half years ever since the release of the Infinity Zor case which was fairly popular among enthusiasts. Two and a half years later Akasa came to release a new massive gaming tower case, the Venom Toxic. As the productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name suggests, the new case is designed to match both the theme and performance of their Venom enthusiastlevel series, such as the Venom Voodoo cooler which we reviewed a few months ago, all of which are aiming towards hardcore enthusiasts. In this review we will examine what this massive new case can offer to enthusiasts. Colour Material Compatible motherboard types 5.25" external bays

Smooth black with killer yellow SECC 0.8 / 1.0mm Micro ATX / ATX / E-ATX / XL-ATX 6 9

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3.5" external bays 1 3.5" internal bays (2.5" HDD/ 6 SSD supported) Cooling system Front: 1 x 23cm fan with white LED (included) Top: 1 x 23cm fan (included) or 1 x 240mm radiator (optional) or 2 x 12cm fan (optional) or

November 21st, 2011

2 x 14cm fan (optional) Back: 1 x 14cm fan (included) or 1 x 12cm fan (optional) Side: 4 x 12cm fan (optional) or 1 x 18-23cm fan (optional) Bottom: 1 x 12cm (optional) or Fan specifications

Fan controller

PSU (not included)

I/O Ports

Expansion slots Dimensions Weight Product Code

1 x 14cm fan (optional) Top panel : 1 x 23cm exhaust fan Front panel : 1 x 23cm input fan with white LED Back panel : 1 x 14cm exhaust fan Controls 6 fans simultaneously with 40W combined maximum wattage Supports ATX and EPS power supplies Base mounted, dual positioning Dust filter supplied 1 x USB 3.0 , 3 x USB 2.0 , 1 x eSATA , HD audio in / out (ACâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;97 compatible) 10 620 x 555 x 232mm (H x D x W) 13.1 kg AK-TOX-01BK

It's only been a few days since the launch of Intel's long awaited, if not knee trembling exciting Sandy Bridge-E platform. Already there are a plethora of X79 motherboards competing for the attention and the cash of PC enthusiasts. Today we take a look at the MSI X79A-GD65, a mid range board targeting the budget conscious users. Before we dive into the MSI board, it's well worth taking a look at our articles here and here covering the platform itself. Like all other Sandy Bridge-E boards, the X79A-GD65 uses the X79 'Patsburg' chipset, supporting second generation Core i7 processors for the LGA2011 socket. The model we'll be reviewing is the four dimm version. MSI also has an eight dimm version of the GD65 available. Below is a general overview of the X79 platform. The increased number of PCIe lanes and quad channel memory support are the major distinguishing features over the mainstream P67/ Z68 platforms.

MSI X79A-GD65 Motherboard Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-x79a-gd65-motherboardreview/13996.html

November 21st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

• SATAIII controller integrated in ASMedia® ASM 1061 chipset - Up to 6Gb/s transfer speed. - Supports two SATAIII ports (SATA7~8) • RAID - SATA• The mainboard BIOS provides "Plug & Play" BIOS which detects the peripheral devices and expansion cards of the board automatically.

Specifications of the MSI X79A-GD65 CPU Support

Chipset Memory

Expansion Slots

Supports 2nd Generation Intel® Core i7 processors in LGA2011 package Intel® X79 Chipset - Supports four unbuffered DIMM of 1.5 Volt DDR3 1066/1333/1600/1800*/2133*/2400* (OC) DRAM, 64GB Max - Supports Quad channel mode • 3 PCI Express gen3 x16 slots USB 3.0 - PCI_E1 & PCI_E4 support up to PCIE x16 speed - PCI_E6 supports up to PCIE x8 speed

Audio

• 2 PCI Express gen2 x16 slots - PCI_E2 & PCI_E5 support up to PCIE x1 speed

On-Board SATA

• 1 PCIE x1 slot • SATAII controller integrated in Intel® X79 chipset - Up to 3Gb/s transfer speed. - Supports four SATAII ports (SATA3~6) by X79

- SATA3~6 ports support Intel Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (AHCI / RAID 0/1/5/10) by Intel X79 • 1 USB 3.0 internal connector by NEC® D720200 • 2 USB 3.0 rear I/O ports by NEC® D720200 • Chipset integrated by Realtek® ALC892 - Flexible 8-channel audio with jack sensing - Compliant with Azalia 1.0 Spec

LAN

IEEE1394 / FireWire

• SATAIII controller integrated in Intel® X79 chipset - Up to 6Gb/s transfer speed. - Supports two SATAIII ports (SATA1~2) by X79

• The mainboard provides a Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function which records your mainboard specifications.1~2 ports support Intel Rapid Storage Technology enterprise (AHCI / RAID 0/1) by Intel X79

Internal I/O Connectors

- Meet Microsoft Vista Premium spec • Supports one PCI Express LAN 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet by Realtek 8111E. • VIA® VT6315N chipset - Supports up to two 1394 ports. (Rear panel x1, pinheader x1) - Transfer rate is up to 400Mbps. - ATX 24-Pin power connector - 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 11

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Published by: VR-Zone

- CPU x 1 / System x 4 FAN connectors - Front panel audio connector - Front panel connector - 1 x chasis intrusion connector - 2 x USB 2.0 connectors - 1 x USB 3.0 connectors - 4 x Serial ATAII connectors - 4 x Serial ATAIII connectors

Dimensions

devices and expansion cards of the board automatically. • The mainboard provides a Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function which records your mainboard specifications. • 30.5cm(L) x 24.4cm(W) ATX Form Factor

USB 3.0 to be used as chip to chip interconnect Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/usb-3.0-to-be-used-as-chip-to-chipinterconnect/14012.html November 21st, 2011

- 1 x IEEE1394 connector - 1 x Clear CMOS jumper - 1 x TPM module connector - 1 x Power button - 1 x OC Genie button - 2 x Direct OC buttons - 1 x Multi BIOS switch - 1 x Voice Genie connector - 1 x MultiConnect Panel connector

Back Panel I/O Ports

- 1 x Voltage Checkpoint connector - 1 x PS/2 Mouse/ Keyboard port - 1 x Clear CMOS button - 1 x Coaxial SPDIF port - 1 x Optical SPDIF port - 1 x IEEE1394 port - 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack - 8 x USB 2.0 ports - 2 x USB 3.0 ports

BIOS

- 1 x 6 in 1 audio jack • The mainboard BIOS provides "Plug & Play" BIOS which detects the peripheral

One of the problems with low power devices such as smartphones and tablets is that you have limited options when it comes to the bus that the various chips use to communicate with each other. Most devices use fairly slow interfaces such as GPIO, HSIC or various MIPI interfaces rather than something like PCI Express that you'd find a PC. Now it looks like the USB-IF wants to replace these chipset interconnects with USB 3.0. One of the problems with low power devices such as smartphones and tablets is that you have limited options when it comes to the bus that the various chips use to communicate with each other. Most devices use fairly slow interfaces such as GPIO, HSIC or various MIPI interfaces rather than something like PCI Express that you'd find a PC. Now it looks like the USB-IF wants to replace these chipset interconnects with USB 3.0. Beyond GPIO and the MIPI interfaces, the good old USB interface is of course also widely implemented as well as SDIO, but even these interfaces are relatively slow as a chip to chip interconnect. As such, something faster is needed and although it might sound like a crazy idea at first to move the USB 3.0, the USB-IF is working together with the MIPI alliance to make this a reality and is even relying on the M-PHY physical layer developed by the MIPI alliance. Furthermore the HSIC interface was based on USB 2.0 so it's logical to build on that standard and as such the USB 3.0 interface will be known as SSIC or Super Speed Inter-Chip. For your average consumer this might not seem like a big deal to start with, but when you consider that a lot of the peripheral chipsets in your average smartphone and tablet are starting to be limited by the chip interconnects, then you quickly realise that something needs to be done. The implementation of USB 3.0 in this case is for very short PCB traces and it's quite different to what is used in PCs, but on the other hand it's also 12

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much more power efficient and should be easier to implement in the type of devices it will be going into than say PCI Express. Interestingly there will be several different configurations on offer and the USB-IF is using the same terms as the PCI-SIG calling it x1, x2 and x4 lanes, although we don't know how much bandwidth will be available per lane at this point in time, but an educated guess is 5Gbps for four lanes, 2.5Gbps for two lanes and 1.25Gbps for one lane based on the theoretical maximum speed of USB 3.0. The SSIC standard is still being developed and isn't likely to reach a final stage until sometime next year and after that it's likely to take some time before it gets implemented in the various chips that goes into mobile devices. That said, by then there will be an actual need for the faster interface if not before.

Hands on with the Antec P280 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hands-on-with-the-antecp280/14010.html November 21st, 2011

We went on a little trip to Antec's offices in Taipei to have a look at their new P280 chassis which is set to replace the P180 series over time. The new chassis follows the classical design of the P180 series but adds some much needed new features. We went on a little trip to Antec's offices in Taipei to have a look at their new P280 chassis which is set to replace the P180 series over time. The new chassis follows the classical design of the P180 series but adds some much needed new features.

Although at first glance there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between the P280 and the most recent model in the P180 series, the P183 V3, it's clear that things have changed. For starters, the ports have been moved from the side to the top of the chassis and the air vents on the door are gone. The power and reset buttons can now be found on the top of the chassis instead of behind the door. You also get two USB 3.0 ports as well as a pair of USB 2.0 ports and audio jacks. The top is now home to two rather than one 120mm fan.

November 21st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Popping off the side panel reveals a completely re-designed interior which makes better use of the space. Gone is also the divider which was something of a love/hate thing. We should also mention that Antec has sadly gone from aluminium to steel side panels, although these are quite thick at 0.8mm and on top of that the company has added a sheet of polycarbonate to help reduce noise.

As you can see the interior is now black to keep with the latest trends in cases. The hard drive trays are now much easier to access as well and are angled 90 degrees. Some may be upset with the move from metal to plastic trays, but the new trays have a much better design and are fitted with vibration absorbing silicon grommets. There are six 3.5-inch drive bays and although all the trays can be fitted with 2.5-inch drives, Antec also added a pair of dedicated drive bays for a pair of 2.5-inch drives. The chassis also has space for three 5.25-inch drives in screwless bays.

Around the back you'll find no less than 9 expansion slots, a 120mm fan, two holes for tubing for watercooling and three separate fan controllers for the pre-fitted fans. Antec also pointed out that the chassis has washable dust filters fitted to 14

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both the front (behind the door) and the bottom of the chassis. There's also plenty of holes for cable routing, something that was far from ideal in the older models. A massive cut-out in the motherboard tray should also make it easy to access the rear of the motherboard when you want to change your CPU cooler, no matter where it's located on the motherboard.

The Plantronics Savor employs three precision microphones to produce unsurpassed audio performance and delivering exceptional audio experience for conversations, audio streaming, and much more. The integrated AudioIQ3 preserves the acoustics of natural voice so your calls wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sound robotic or tinny. In addition, the WindSmart technology helps to reduce noise from the wind when taking calls in the car or on a busy street. Overall the Antec P280 is a huge step forward for the series and with an estimated retail price of US$139.95 (S$182) which seems pretty fair for what's on offer here. We should hopefully be getting a unit for a closer look, but in the meantime, check out our video below for a more in-depth look over at Antec's offices. For more detailed specifications, hit up the Antec P280 product page.

Retail Price: S$199 SITEX SPECIAL: TBA Plantronics

Voyager PRO+: Performance with a Plus

Plantronics SITEX 2011 Offers Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/plantronics-sitex-2011offers/14009.html November 21st, 2011

Plantronics' special offers for SITEX 2011 are up. Read on to see how you can maximize your savings for your mobile lifestyle needs. Plantronics Savor M1100

The Plantronics Voyager PRO+ is a new version of the awardwinning Voyager PRO Bluetooth headset, which is a proven performer in delivering premium sound quality and comfort. The Voyager PRO+ brings to the user a new level of hands-free convenience, featuring A2DP technology for streaming music and podcasts, as well as GPS navigation voice instructions. For iPhone users, the on-screen headset battery meter allows users to monitor battery life. The Voyager PRO+ also includes convenient voice alerts for the remaining talk time, volume, phone connection, off-range notification and more. Retail Price: S$169 SITEX Special: TBA 15

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Plantronics

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M50

The M50 offers days of use before recharging while accomodating to streaming of music and podcast, as well as preventing wind and noise from interfering with the call. A battery meter will appear on your iPhone when in use to indicate battery life. One of its outstanding features is the ability to take calls from one of two paired phones, providing multiple-phone owners with a cost effective solution. Retail Price: S$89 SITEX Special: TBA

Epson Singapore introduces new projectors for education, business and homes Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/epson-singapore-introduces-newprojectors-for-education-business-and-homes/14008.html November 21st, 2011

The Epson MG-850HD is the company's first high definition projector for Apple devices, and comes with a convenient dock that fits the iPhone, iPad and iPod. You don't need any special applications installed; simply dock the Apple device and use the remote control provided to navigate and play your photos, songs or movies. The MG-850HD also comes with a set of two 10W high quality stereo speakers for your enjoyment. It is available this month at S$1,299. Epson EH-TW8000

This morning, Epson Singapore has announced new projectors for education, business and homes which include Epson EBS/X/W, EB-1800, EB-400 series, EH-TW8000, EH-TW6000 and MG-850HD; a total of 13 models. Epson MG-850HD

November 21st, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone November 21st, 2011

This year's SITEX Show will feature some promotions from Motorola. Take a look at how their phones and tablets can change your lifestyle. Motorola Razr

The Epson EH-TW8000 high definition home theatre projector claims to offer the brightest 3D images in the world. It provides 480Hz frame refresh rate which is said to be twice as fast as other 3D projectors and minimises "blackout time" between 3D frames. On top of that, the EH-TW8000 features 2D to 3D conversion, Super Resolution and Frame Interpolcation technologies for improved image quality. It also has lens shift and pixel alignment correction capabilities that lets users shift image easily while the projector remains in its installed place. The Epson EH-TW8000 is available this month with a price tag of S$4,299 and comes with a pair of 3D active shutter glasses. If you need to purchase more, the 3D active shutter glasses are retailing at S$120 each. For those who want a more affordable home theatre projector can check out the the Epson EH-TW6000 that is priced at S $2,999. It shares the same image engine as the EH-TW8000 with 480Hz refresh rate and is equipped with a Horizontal Keystone Adjuster and C2Fine technology to achieve lustrous, high quality images. However, it does not have 2D to 3D conversion and has no 3D active shutter glasses bundled with the unit.

The Motorola Razr is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s slimmest smartphone, measuring 7.1mm thick featuring a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display graced by Corning Gorilla Glass and surrounded by diamond-cut aluminum accents with KEVLAR fibre coated back cover. Looking good isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t all it is good at, as its 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 8-megapixel camera will prove. It features the proprietary MotoCast system that allows your phone to be synchronized to your files from your PC via the Internet. Smart and sexy indeed. Retail Price:S$888 (Without contract) M1 - S$118 (U.P S$418) with Extreme Surf Plan Singtel - S$278 on 3G Flexi Lite Plan w 12GB for internet surfing StarHub - S$98 on 2-year 3G mobile voice and data plan Motorola ATRIX

Motorola SITEX 2011 Deals Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/motorola-sitex-2011-deals/14003.html

November 21st, 2011

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Kingston launches its first HyperX USB 3.0 flash drive Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/kingston-launches-its-first-hyperxusb-3.0-flash-drive/14007.html November 21st, 2011

The Motorola ATRIX is designed to be a primary digital hub which allows users to enjoy media and content, and to create or edit documents. A proprietary Lapdock transforms the ATRIX into a Webtop, releasing the full potential, channeling to a bigger and more comfortable screen while supporting full programs such as Mozilla Firefox browser and Adobe Flash Player. Retail Price: S$1,288 (bundled Lapdock); S$988(bundled HD Multimedia Dock) Motorola Xoom

The Motorola Xoom redefines tablet experience out of the box with Adobe Flash support and has a 10.1-inch High Definition screen. It is also the first to feature Google Mobile services including Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction and Google Talk with video and voice chat. The Xoom processes all these with its 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB RAM. Retail Price: S$888 (WiFi); S$988 (3G)

There's no shortage of USB 3.0 flash drives by now, but disappointingly many of them offer the same kind of write performance as USB 2.0 drives, something that makes them a fairly uninteresting purchase despite the faster read speeds. Kingston has alleviated that issues with its DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 flash drive which is offering some really fast speeds, but at a cost. There's no shortage of USB 3.0 flash drives by now, but disappointingly many of them offer the same kind of write performance as USB 2.0 drives, something that makes them a fairly uninteresting purchase despite the faster read speeds. Kingston has alleviated that issues with its DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 flash drive which is offering some really fast speeds, but at a cost. USB flash drives have become ubiquitous these days and smaller capacity drives are anything but a splurge. Sadly performance hasn't kept up as fast flash memory and fast controllers add cost and most companies have seemingly decided to keep things on the cheap rather than trying to offer faster performing devices. USB 3.0 was set to change this, but sadly the improvements have been fairly minor in most cases with high-end USB 2.0 drives offering similar write speeds to most USB 3.0 drives.

That said, products like Kingston's new DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 makes it all a bit more worthwhile, as the company is claiming read speeds of SSD level 225MB/s and write speeds of up to 135MB/s when the drive is attached over USB 3.0 whereas over USB 2.0 we should expect to see read/write speeds of 30MB/s. The drive comes in a metal enclosure wrapped in rubber and it has a for the product category impressive five year warranty. However, there's one caveat, cost. Part of the reason for this is that the DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 starts at 64GB a model that is listed at a whopping US$193 (S$250). Moving up in capacity we have a 128GB going for an eye watering US$377 (S$489) and finally there will be a 256GB model which has as yet to get a price, but we'd expect it to be priced way outside of what most people would be willing to spend on a USB 3.0 drive. In fact, you could get one of Kingston's own 120GB HyperX SATA 6Gbps SSD's for a mere US$273 directly from Kingston 18

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and it would be cheaper to get a USB 3.0 enclosure for this than getting one of the new flash drives. So in as much as Kingston has managed to produce some really fast flash drives, if you can live with something a little bit larger, it would actually be more affordable to go down the external SSD route.

Intel Ivy Bridge-E Slated For Q4 2012, Compatible with Sandy Bridge-E

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Orico Unveils Plans for Thunderbolt-Enabled Enclosures Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/orico-unveils-plans-for-thunderboltenabled-enclosures/14005.html November 21st, 2011

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-ivy-bridge-e-slated-for-q4-2012compatible-with-sandy-bridge-e/14006.html November 21st, 2011

Even as Intel and its ecosystem partners (motherboard, memory and cooler vendors) are catching a breath after the smooth and trouble-free launch of Core i7 "Sandy BridgeE" HEDT (high end desktop) family, there is news emerging about its successor. We won't play Captain Obvious in stating that the successor of Sandy Bridge-E is about an year away, but what interests us more are bits and pieces of information concerning platform longevity. Even as Intel and its ecosystem partners (motherboard, memory and cooler vendors) are catching a breath after the smooth and trouble-free launch of Core i7 "Sandy BridgeE" HEDT (high end desktop) family, there is news emerging about its successor. We won't play Captain Obvious in stating that the successor of Sandy Bridge-E is about an year away, but what interests us more is bits of information about platform longevity.

Although launched with much pomp and fervor, with patronage by no less than Apple, the propagation of Intel’s Thunderbolt interconnect is rather limited. Notwithstanding the fact that very few portable devices need 10 Gbps of bandwidth, the ecosystem of the more compatible USB 3.0 interface is growing. Yet some like China’s Orico see a potential in the interface, and being one of the first with devices that use it. The company is out with a spanking new lineup of desktop 3.5-inch SATA hard drive enclosures that support Thunderbolt, and more. Although launched with much pomp and fervor, with patronage by no less than Apple, the propagation of Intel’s Thunderbolt interconnect is rather limited. Notwithstanding the fact that very few portable devices need 10 Gbps of bandwidth, the ecosystem of the more compatible USB 3.0 interface is growing. Yet some like China’s Orico see a potential in the interface, and being one of the first with devices that use it. The company readying a spanking new lineup of desktop 3.5-inch SATA hard drive enclosures that support Thunderbolt, and more.

A slide scored by a reliable source on Taiwanese tech site XFastest reveals some important bits of information about the successor of Sandy Bridge-E, Ivy Bridge-E. First and most important, Ivy Bridge-E will use the same LGA2011 socket and Intel X79 Express chipset as today's Core i7 "Sandy BridgeE". Most commentators had a hunch it would turn out this way, because Ivy Bridge (standard) shares the LGA1155 socket with today's Sandy Bridge processors, even if they will use a new line of chipsets and compatibility between today's 6-series chipset motherboards and tomorrow's Ivy Bridge LGA1155 processors will be subject to some conditions (such as UEFI with ME8L update). Next up, Ivy Bridge-E will take advantage of the new 22 nanometer silicon fabrication process at Intel, allowing its makers to cram in more components (such as cores, cache, uncore components, etc.). The other parts of the slide are less relevant to us. They talk about current enthusiast products from Intel such as the Desktop Board DX79SI and SSD 510. Intel's SSD lineup is due for a complete overhaul in 2012 (more on that here). The source also mentioned that Ivy Bridge-E is slated for the fourth quarter of 2012, while Ivy Bridge LGA1155 is on course for a launch over Q1 and Q2 2012.

For now, shown to those of us interested only as CGI renders, Orico's Thunderbolt disk boxes will be available in four variants: single drive, two drives, four drives, and five drives. Among these, the single drive variant only has one Thunderbolt port, so either it can be a lone device connected to your machine, or at the end of your Thunderbolt daisychain. The other variants feature two Thunderbolt connectors, so they can be arranged as internodes in your Thunderbolt 19

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daisy-chain. This is where the zesty 10 Gbps bandwidth comes to play. Need a bookshelf full of hard drives? No problem arrange a few of these enclosures in a chain, and end up with zero bottlenecks when accessing any of your hard drives, or even when accessing multiple drives at once.

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Jipaban, Singapore's "Amazon" site, gets revamped look; offers better shopping experience Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/jipaban-singapore-s-amazon-site-getsrevamped-look-offers-better-shopping-experience/14004.html November 21st, 2011

You can hot-plug each individual drives without disturbing other drives in operation. Each drive bay has its own pop-out cradle that pulls a hot drive out the right way. The enclosures use external power bricks (similar to notebook power bricks), and have a hard power switch on the back. On the front, each disk has its own soft-blue power-activity LED. When a disk is present and powered, its LED stays on. When there's activity, the LED blinks - just like single-LED Ethernet power/act status. The enclosures' bogies are made of sheets of aluminum that give them a classy feel.

With a new revamped look, Singapore's online mall with social networking elements - Jipaban - claims to offer improved shopping experience with more products, loyalty programme and the addition of next day delivery service. For those who have yet to check out the site, it is located at http:// www.jipaban.com.

The recently revamped Jipaban, Singapore’s very own ‘Amazon’ site, makes a comeback to provide Singaporeans improved experience to online shopping, with promises of more products, rewards and convenience.

Orico did not give out a time-frame on when its new enclosures will be ready for market. In all likelihood, the company will start off with east Asian markets and their growing Mac userbases, and proceed westwards. Source and images courtesy: Expreview

With the new and vibrant interface, Jipaban shoppers can browse through over 5000 new products on the site with categories including Women, Men, Gifts & Lifestyle, Books and DVDs & Blu Rays – suitable for the fashionconscious youths to busy professionals who like the convenience and efficiency of shopping online. Shoppers who shop from Jipaban will also be rewarded with the ‘Shopper Rewards’ programme to earn their ‘Lolly Points’. These ‘Lolly Points’ can be used to redeem from more than 1300 products such as stationeries, collectibles, gadgets and even holiday trips. One of the additions Jipaban is introducing is the ‘Next Day Delivery’ system. Other than opting for the regular or registered postage services offered by Singapore Post, Jipaban shoppers can now enjoy the luxury of getting their purchases the next day right after they make payment online. At a costfriendly price of only S$4.90 for the next day delivery option, 20

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it is perfect for that last minute gift or a new outfit for the party the next day.

Google Reaches 200 Million Android Devices, Daily Activation Rate Passes 650,000

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Lenovo SITEX Show 2011 offers Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lenovo-sitex-show-2011offers/14001.html November 21st, 2011

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/google-reaches-200-million-androiddevices-daily-activation-rate-passes-650-000/13987.html November 21st, 2011

Levono will feature its selection of laptops on promotion this coming SITEX Show, with a variety of function and theme oriented systems that will cater to everyone's needs, all at a special price. Read on to find out what's in stall. During the Google Music launch event, Jamie Rosenberg, Director of Digital Content for Android introduced an impressive statistic. We have all heard the figure of 550.000 activated devices daily, but did you knew that in only five months, 100 million people activated their Android devices?

The Lenovo IdeaPad A1 comes with a 7-inch screen, which is capable of capacitive multitouch for improved interactive experience. Web-optimizations with Android 2.3 and full Adobe Flash support bring with it a complete web experience. SITEX SHOW PRICE: TBA Lenovo IdeaPad U400 The numbers are clear: at the end of May 2011, Google Android operating system was used by 100 million people, and the number of daily activations grew from 100,000 in May 2010 to 550,000 in May 2011. By the end of this day, over 650,000 people will activate their brand new smartphone or a tablet and see the animated Android. Still, there is a long way to go - Nokia holds the number one spot with over 450 million Symbian phones, but there is no way to record which of these devices are active or not. For comparison, Nokia achieved the 100 million phones mark exactly five years ago, on November 16, 2006. 200 millionth device shipped in February 2009, while the number now stands at over 500 million Symbian devices. At the current pace, we could see one million daily Android activations during 2012, resulting in Google Android taking over Nokia's Symbian by the end of 2012 or in early 2013, setting another unprecedented growth in the mobile industry. Furthermore, we are approaching the one billion smartphones mark (during 2012) and there is no turning back.

Serious entertainment is the theme for IdeaPad U400, as it packs full high definition graphics support, HDMI output, and integrated SRS Premium Surround Sound for an immersive audio experience. Display outputs to the big screen are made possible by Intel Wireless Display, adding to cinematic viability.The U400 can last for seven hours on battery. Other 21

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specification include a second generation Intel Core processor, ATI Radeon HD6470M discrete graphics with 1GB VRAM, and a beautifully integrated slot-loading DVD-RW drive, all packaged in a one-piece aluminum shell in Graphite Gray. Usual Price:S$1,499 SITEX SHOW PRICE: TBA Lenovo ThinkPad E420

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normal to theatre mode on the fly. Security and access is easily achieved with the VeriFace system, which records your face as the key to unlock the laptop. Usual Price: S$1,299 SITEX SHOW PRICE: TBA

Brother announces new colour inkjet multi-function centres Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/brother-announces-new-colour-inkjetmulti-function-centres/13998.html November 21st, 2011

The ThinkPad E420 is a business-oriented laptop sporting the ThinkVantage Technology which takes care of many basic administrative needs and providing security to important files. A spill resistant keyboard ensures that your coffee doesn’t ruin your day’s work, while interface devices such as Multitouch Touchpad and TrackPoint keep the navigation and presentation as smooth as ever. The E420 comes with second generation Intel Core processor, low-light sensitivity Web Camera, eco-friendly design and packaging, and runs for 7.8 hours.

Brother International Singapore has recently launched four new colour inkjet MFCs - DCPJ725DW, MFCJ430W, MFC-J625DW and MFC-J825DW - that are designed with compact form factor, have great functionalities, as well as cost effective.

Usual Price: S$1,499 SITEX SHOW PRICE: TBA Lenovo IdeaPad Z470 Brother International Singapore has introduced four new models to its line of colour inkjet multifunction centres (MFCs), namely the DCPJ725DW, MFC-J430W, MFCJ625DW and MFC-J825DW. The new MFCs sport trendy design, and offers comprehensive print, scan, fax and copy functions. They also offer automatic double-sided printing, and the convenience of connecting, printing and sharing information on popular internet and social networking sites via the latest Cloud Printing function.

The Z470 is a trendy laptop with a 14-inch screen, and fills the role of a casual entertainment center that holds its own with SRS Premium Sound and OneKey Theatre that switches from

The new “Web Connect” function, available currently on the MFC-J825DW model allows users to connect to various online storage services like Picasa and Flickr for direct printing. Users can also scan and share photos or documents directly on Facebook, Dropbox and Evernote, as well as print documents or photos from Brother’s machines with their Apple or Android mobile devices via Brother’s very own iPrint&Scan application. The Brother machines are also efficient with high ISO printing speed of up to 12ppm (pages per minute) in black and 10ppm in colour, so users will not be kept waiting for their documents to be printed. 22

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Brother also claims to be the first printing company to launch a 3D mobile Augmented Reality application for iPhone, iPad and Android users (Android version will be launched at the end of 2012). Users can explore the key features of each model in 3D animation on their mobile devices.The new series will come with two options of ink cartridges â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a standard-yield or highyield cartridge to meet different consumer printing needs. To reduce printing costs, consumers can choose to use the highyield ink cartridges which can deliver up to 600 pages of black and 600 pages of colour prints.

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just by holding down the shutter button and previewing the entire scene. It comes with 3D HDTV support for output on big screens. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SITEX promotion will also feature three Limited Edition Celebrity Skin designs (AudioHouse exclusive) to spice things up this Christmas. Retail Price: S$499 SITEX PROMOTION: TBA Samsung Series 9, 900X3A, 13.3" Notebook

Pricing Brother DCP-J725DW - S$238 Brother MFC-J430W - S$198 Brother MFC-J625DW - S$258 Brother MFC-J825DW - S$318 The Brother colour inkjet multifunction centres come with 3year carry-in warranty.

Samsung SITEX Special Promotions Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-sitex-specialpromotions/13997.html November 21st, 2011

Samsung will be offering promotions on a wide range of electronics catering to everyone, ranging from laptops to mobile phones. Check out some of the really good deals at the SITEX Show 2011. Samsung MV800

The Samsung Series 9 sports a very durable and stylish Duralumin chassis housing a 13.3-inch screen. Weighing in at 1.31 kg, it carries some really powerful hardware including Intel Core i7 or i5 Processor options and a choice of 128 or 256GB solid state drive, a combination which imparts a twelve second boot up speed, some 60% faster than traditional PC with hard disk drive. The subnotebook will run for 6.5 hours, thanks to its Lithium-Polymer battery. Retail Price: S$2,488 SITEX PROMOTION: TBA Samsung Galaxy Note

The Samsung MultiView MV800 is the first premium compact camera model to feature a 3-inch Wide Flip-out Touch Display which gives flexibility to framing a shot, and processed by its 16.1-megapixel sensor through the 26mm 5x optical zoom wide angle lens. An innovative Panorama function enables easy photography of a large group of people or wide scenery 23

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Retail Price: TBC SITEX PROMOTION: TBA SITEX Show 2011 Booth information Samsung TV and BD Players - 5B20, 5F30, 5C30 Samsung Cameras - 5G10, 5C30 Samsung Laptops and Monitors - 6D20

First Looks: ASRock X79 Extreme4 Motherboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-looks-asrock-x79-extreme4motherboard/13985.html November 21st, 2011

The all new Galaxy Note flaunts its 5.3-inch screen as the first and largest High Definition Super Active-Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) display ever. Coupled with the S Pen, a newly designed advance pen-input technology, the Galaxy Note introduces a new user-experience with a precise interface that allows for a variety of creativity to happen, including sketching and photo editing. Exclusive Galaxy Note apps such as S Memo and S Planner take advantage of the S penâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abilities and large screen. Everything is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and HSPA+ mobile connection to keep things fast and smooth. Retail Price: S$998 (16GB, without line contract) SITEX PROMOTION: TBA

As the dust settles from the slightly underwhelming Sandy Bridge-E launch earlier this week, we take a look at another X79 motherboard - ASRock's X79 Extreme4. With 3-way SLi/ Crossfire support, 9 onboard SATA ports and a Broadcom Gigabit NIC, this black and gold themed board has more high end features at its entry level price point than most of the competition. The Box (Front and Back View)

Samsung WB750

The Samsung WB750 boasts the latest 12.5-megapixel Back Side Illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor developed in-house for consistent professional images, and a 24mm 18x Optical Zoom wide angle lens, the furthest of its class. This combination results in clear photographic reproductions free of noise and distortion, even in low-light conditions, while a shooting speed of 10 frames per second ensures that you will not miss a shot. The WB750 also accommodates full High Definition video capture. 24

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ASRock X79 Extreme4 - ATX Form Factor, 4 DDR3 DIMM slots, 3 PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots (16+16+8 electrically), 2 PCI-E x1 slots and 2 regular PCI slots.

Sony Tablet S Review: A sleek, smooth and speedy tablet Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-tablet-s-review-a-sleek-smoothand-speedy-tablet/13993.html November 21st, 2011

I/O Panel (from left): PS/2 ports, Clear CMOS Button, 2 USB 3.0 ports provided by ASMedia ASM1042, 6 USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet from a rarely seen Broadcom BCM7781 controller, 1 Firewire Port from VIA VT6315N, 1 eSATA port serviced by ASMedia ASM1061 and Audio by yet another 7.1 channel capable Realtek ALC898 codec.

The tablet market is definitely heating up, as we see more companies hopping onto the bandwagon and producing their tablet devices based on Google Android platform. Sony Electronics Asia Pacific has recently launched their new Sony Tablet S, and we managed to get one in for this review.

November 21st, 2011

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- Battery Type : Li-Ion 5000mAh + Battery Life when browsing web with Wi-Fi- 6.2 hours + Battery charge time- 5.0 hours - Dimensions: 241.3 x 174.5 x 20.8mm - Weight: 586g

HP SITEX Special Promotion Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hp-sitex-special-promotion/13995.html November 21st, 2011

What Sony is renowned for - technology packaged in squeaky clean lines and eye-pleasing aesthetic details; and the Japanese firm reaffirms this in their latest Sony Tablet S. Sony is finally catching up to the tablet market, and it may not be such a bad thing after all. Some say the company took its time to study the tablet’s predecessors to ensure the Sony brand of gadgets remain intact, while at the same time delivering the high-powered efficiency and multi-platform function that today’s tablet devices strive to offer not just the gadget gurus, but to the everyday consumer.

HP will be having a special promotion on selected items just for SITEX Show. Check them out at Booth 6B01, and read on to see what they have to offer. HP ENVY 110 e-All-in-One Printer

Tablets, in essence, have undoubtedly changed the world of computing altogether, combining high functionality with mobile intuition. The real question at hand is, “Who does it best?”. There is, of course, the reigning leader who first created and introduced the tablet and its wizardry to the world - ever since Apple shook the world with the first iPad in April 2010, every other player wanted a market share - a piece of the action, a finger in the deep-dish pie of consumer technology. We managed to get the Sony Tablet S in for this review, so here's the specifications: Hardware Features - TruBlack 1280 x 800 9.4-inch screen - Nvidia Tegra 2 mobile processor - 1GB RAM, up to 32GB storage - Google Android 3.2 Honeycomb - Camera : Front – 0.3 Megapixel Rear – 5.0 Megapixel - Bluetooth version 2.1 + - Wi-Fi : IEEE802.11b/g/n - Full-size SD Card slot - Internal, Monaural microphone - Internal, Stereo speakers - Universal IR remote/transmitter

The HP ENVY110 lets you experience great convenience and quality output, all in a sleek and minimalist package. Lab-quality photos are produced under the command of a high-resolution integrated touch display, while its lownoise acoustic keeps the printer working silently. It allows connection via HP AirPrint to task documents to it wirelessly from the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, or through mobile devices that command it from anywhere in the world using the HP ePrint technology. Enjoy daily scheduled prints on news feed such as Yahoo! Daily Digest and business information from Manager Tools, served to you in a stylish way. SITEX SPECIAL PROMOTION: TBA HP Photosmart 7510 e-All-in-One 26

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SITEX SPECIAL PROMOTION: TBA HP LaserJet Pro 100 Color MFP M175nw

This family-oriented printer copies and scans with its large colour touchscreen which accomodates gesturing, allowing unattended operation with its automatic document feeder and duplexer. It also shares the same convenient HP ePrint, HP Auto Wireless Connect, and AirPrint technology with the ENVY110, which makes this printer so easy to task from anywhere on a wide array of devices. The HP Photosmart 7510 comes with a range of memory card slots for easy access to various storage devices for direct printing. Scheduled printing makes your daily routine of news reading easy by automatically producing feeds from apps of your favorite websites.

The LaserJet Pro 100 is HPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smallest colour laser multifunction printer (MFP) that offers professional quality colour documents with automatic copy optimization, while making a single document out of double sided copies easily. HP ImageREt 2400, original HP cartridges and HP ColorSphere toner technology give a great combination to produce outstanding colour. HP ePrint caters to your mobile printing needs, and connectivity to wireless networks or Ethernet ports allow for tasking by multiple devices. The LaserJet Pro 100 performs all these while saving up to 50% power, further boosting its cost-effectiveness.

SITEX SPECIAL PROMOTION: TBA

HP Officejet Pro 8500A Plus e-All-in-One Printer

Panasonic Singapore announces DMC-GX1 interchangeable lens system camera Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/panasonic-singapore-announces-dmcgx1-interchangeable-lens-system-camera/13990.html November 21st, 2011

Receive professional quality colour output from the Officejet Pro 8500A at half the price per page of laser printers. High capacity ink cartridges ensure great savings, producing fade and water resistant prints. Powered by the HP ePrint, it allows you to send emails of your documents to print, from your mobile device. The Officejet also empowers small businesses by being able to access Google Docs and Box.net directly to assign files for printing, while HP Direct Digital Filing enables versatile document management capabilities for scanning directly to network folders.

Panasonic Singapore has announced their new interchangeable lens system camera, the DMC-GX1, of the LUMIX G Micro System range. The GX1 features a 16megapixel Live MOS sensor and boasts to capture clear and sharp images, even under low-lighting situations.

November 21st, 2011

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it easier to connect DLNA enabled Wi-Fi devices for media streaming. Currently Wi-Fi Direct can be somewhat convoluted to use depending on your devices, but hopefully this will help simplify things when it comes to media streaming. The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced new interoperability guidelines for Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA which should make it easier to connect DLNA enabled Wi-Fi devices for media streaming. Currently Wi-Fi Direct can be somewhat convoluted to use depending on your devices, but hopefully this will help simplify things when it comes to media streaming.

Panasonic has announced a new addition to its range of interchangeable lens system cameras from the LUMIX G Micro System range - the DMC-GX1. The DMC-GX1 sports a 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor and Venus Engine that can capture clear and sharp image with superb details and excellent colors, even in low-light settings. Comes with a Precision Contrast AF (Auto Focus) system that has a 0.09 second Light Speed AF, it can capture fast moving subjects easily with consecutive shooting at 4.2 frames per second. The GX1 also includes a newly added focus mode, AFF (AF Flexible) that locks on the subject when the shutter button is half-pressed, and the focus will reset if the subject moves again, to achieve better results. The camera has a hot shoe at the top that lets you attach an optional tilt-shift Live View Finder (DMW-LVF2), and neat layout of control buttons and the mode dial, turn-and-press dial and dedicated function buttons. It also comes with Level Gauge that lets the camera detect the horizontal/vertical angle of view with its internal level working with the acceleration sensor. Photos shot in portrait mode will be automatically displayed vertically. The GX1 can also do video recording in 1920x1080 full high definition with stereo sound in AVCHD format. On top of that, users can also enhance their photos with creative filters such as: Expressive, Retro, High Key, Sepia, High Dynamic, Miniature Effect and newly added Low Key and Toy Effect mode.

Wi-Fi Direct to play nice with DLNA Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/wi-fi-direct-to-play-nice-withdlna/13992.html November 21st, 2011

Wi-Fi Direct has as yet to take off as a standard, but we're starting to see more and more devices that support it. The neat thing with Wi-Fi direct is that two Wi-Fi devices can communicate directly with each other without the need of an access point or a router. With some DLNA support thrown into the mix it should become simpler to stream media directly from your smartphone or notebook onto any DLNA enabled set top box, media player Hi-Fi or TV with built-in Wi-Fi. In theory it should also mean better quality video, at least in larger places where the distance between the router and the DLNA devices may sometimes be quite long and as such you end up with reduced bandwidth speeds. Wi-Fi Direct would circumvent this problem and as only one device needs to support Wi-Fi Direct, this seems like a pretty good alternative to cables and other more complex wireless video streaming options. That said, Wi-Fi isn't exactly built for streaming Bluray quality video, even though it is possible up to a certain bandwidth and by not sharing the wireless connection with other devices, this might very well be the way forward, at least if cost is a concern. As to which devices will support DLNA over Wi-Fi Direct, well, we'll just have to wait and see, but as we mentioned, any current Wi-Fi and DLNA enabled playback device should be able to connect with a suitable Wi-Fi Direct host. For laptops we'd suggest you check for a driver update, as your notebook might already support Wi-Fi Direct. For smartphones the Motorola Droid 3 and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active are apparently supporting both standards and we'd expect other Xperia models to do the same, but we'd suggest you check with your device maker to see if it'll work.

RAMBUS, Silicon Valley's Patent Troll Looses Anti-trust Lawsuit and 60% of its Market Value Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/rambus-silicon-valley-s-patent-trolllooses-anti-trust-lawsuit-and-60-of-its-market-value/13986.html November 21st, 2011

The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced new interoperability guidelines for Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA which should make 28

November 21st, 2011

As we all know, Rambus Inc. is more known for their litigation practices than their products. However, those litigious practices tend to tie the value of the company with the legal department rather than the engineering and sales ones. When you lose "the big one", markets will certainly punish you. We have seen that with Intel in the days of Bruce Sewell running the show (currently at Apple, running all those lawsuits we write about), and we have certainly witnessed it today. San Francisco jury rejected the Rambus antitrust lawsuit against Micron Technology and Hynix Semiconductor. By ruling 9-3 in favor of the defendants, the court ruled that the sued companies did not form a pact to block Rambus from entering the DRAM market. Rambus RDRAM had its 15 minutes of fame when Intel briefly used it with the Pentium III and 820 chipset, as well as with the single Pentium 4 chipset. If you recall, the decision to use RDRAM backfired spectacularly with the infamous "Caminogate" scandal that saw Intel losing over a billion dollars in a product recall. Caminogate also erased 70 billion dollars of Intel's market value during one hot summer day in 2000. Today, Rambus XDR memory is mostly found in PlayStation consoles... and that's about it. At the end of the day, it is Hynix and Micron who ultimately decide what type of memory will they manufacture, not the other way around.

Published by: VR-Zone November 21st, 2011

The long awaited Xeon E5 family, where the full potential of Socket 2011 is realised, is now expected only some weeks after the Chinese New Year. Creating a feature-loaded 8-core die aimed at a very wide range of performance and power options was a challenge, even in Intel's highly tuned 32 nm process. As their desktop brethren are being unveiled this week, here we update you with the situation on the dual socket front. When the first specs rumours of Socket 2011 CPUs appeared well over a year ago, they left everyone in the industry in awe: here you had THE ULTIMATE 32 nm process CPU. A total of 8 capable Sandy Bridge generation cores, coupled with a generous 20 MB cache are fed by four channels of DDR3 memory and two QPI channels completely free for inter-CPU communication - since 40 PCIe v3 lanes plus DMI2 directly attached on-chip take care of the general purpose I/O. Wow! Now, you may say, so what - Westmere-EX Xeon E7 parts pack 10 cores and 30 MB cache, 4 memory and 4 QPI links together in that same process for over half a year now in shipping systems. However, that CPU design is tuned for specific power and frequency band, and one specific usage in MP servers, full stop. On the other hand, the E5 design has to cover everything from low-power blades to 4-socket servers to ultrafast workstations with TDP of more than 150W per socket and, yes, their high-end desktop brethren under the Core i7 moniker. And, Sandy Bridge core takes a little bit more logic space than the Westmere one.

Rambus claimed that Hynix and Micron damaged the company to the tune of four billion dollars and expected that the jury would increase that by the factor of three or four. However, nine members of the jury voted against and the case is dismissed, prompting a quick reaction on Wall Street. RMBS stock lost 60% of its market value and now Rambus Inc. is worth less than one billion U.S. dollars. 781.82 million dollars, to be more precise. We will monitor this situation closely.

Sandy Bridge Xeons: Dual Socket 2011 designs coming in 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sandy-bridge-xeons-dual-socket-2011designs-coming-in-2012/13989.html

Anyway, Intel also didn't have that much competitive pressure in the X86 space to really feel rush to get the new generation out of the door till now, however the product is done and needs to be brought to the market. So, what's the situation right now, and what Intel could do further to improve the vast potential that Socket 2011 brings along? Let's see what the sources say: 29

November 21st, 2011

First, Intel did have issues with both the CPU and the Patsburg chipset, the virtualisation engine and SAS port ones being the most widely publicised around the Net. With the C-2 CPU stepping to be out around year end, and the 'good enough' chipset version out there, the mid-February rollout looks on schedule now. The greater issue to solve is the device's power. Yes, all these cores and caches and I/O channels of all kinds do demand a lot of juice, leading to one of the reasons why only 6 out of 8 cores are enabled on the desktop version, for instance. On the high end proper Xeon E5, the high end workstation version might start at only reach just above 3 GHz, even with a very generous 150W TDP headroom, when using all 8 cores and 20 MB L3 cache. Within the standard 95W TDP bracket, most of these CPU are not expected to run above 2.5 GHz in the initial round, compared to nearly 3 GHz for the Westmere ones. Of course, each of the new cores is faster per-clock than the older ones, and the memory & I/O improvements more than make up for the clock speed loss. But, frequency still matters, and there will be expectations of improvements here soon. Enter the D-stepping sometime in Q2 next year, the one that always brings the good news on the performance front - remember both Nehalem and Westmere in the recent past. Now, if the combination of device and process tune ups for that stepping gives us, say, an extra 10% power-performance gains, we could see a few good things emerging. First, the high end workstation part would, likely at 3.3 GHz, finally match the clock frequency of its Westmere predecessor while providing a third more core count, while the same would then also apply to the desktop, finally enabling a true 8-core Core i7, very likely priced at a huge premium. Second, the generic bread-and-butter 95W server parts would come closer to the 2.8 GHz or so, becoming more attractive as a Nehalem replacement of the similar clocked 4-core processor platforms from 3 years ago. The frequency does matter in marketspeak here, as it is much easier to do a sale then, rather than trying to replace 2.93 GHz processors with 2.5 GHz ones, no matter how much better. So, the D-stepping of the CPU, together with the final revision of Patsburg chipset and, hopefully, the resolve of the PCIe v3 compatibility doubts, would mark the maturing of the ultimate 2011 high end X86 workstation and server platform. Next then would come the Ivy Bridge-EP generation of the Xeon E5, likely a year later in early 2013 - although, personally, I would like to see them at the end of 2012 rather. According to our sources, Ivy Bridge-EP generation will basically cram more cores, 10 of them, and 25 MB of L3 cache, keeping the same 2.5 MB L3 per core proportion, yet likely faster DDR3 memory speeds too, beyond DDR3-1866. Now, knowing the target markets and certain taper-offs of performance returns, I would have hoped for an 8-core die with 32 MB L3 cache instead, offering better cache hit rates for

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the demanding AVX vector codes and computing apps. Now, of course, the balance has to be struck, and Intel has many markets to address with this die too. One thing is certain if the 22 nm tri-gate process brings on its promises, you will likely have a powerful 10-core desktop and workstation parts running at well, well above 3 GHz, all in the same Socket 2011 as what the upcoming Core i7 and Xeon E5 processors bring over this and next quarter.

Qualcomm unveils new Snapdragon processors Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/qualcomm-unveils-new-snapdragonprocessors/13988.html November 21st, 2011

We've already written about some of Qualcomm's upcoming products and now the company has officially announced at least some of those products. The company is readying a range of Snapdragon S4 and S1 processors for next year with the S4 models being based on its new Krait CPU core. VR-Zone has collected some specifications of the newly announced models alongside details of some not yet announced models to give you a better idea of what Qualcomm is working on. We've already written about some of Qualcomm's upcoming products and now the company has officially announced at least some of those products. The company is readying a range of Snapdragon S4 and S1 processors for next year with the S4 models being based on its new Krait CPU core. VR-Zone has collected some specifications of the newly announced models alongside details of some not yet announced models to give you a better idea of what Qualcomm is working on. The new S4 models the Qualcomm unveiled are the MSM8660A, MSM8260A, MSM8630, MSM8230, MSM8627, MSM8227, APQ8060A and APQ8030 with the new entry and budget S1 models being the MSM7225A, MSM7625A, MSM7227A and MSM7627A. We've already covered the MSM8660A and the MSM8260A in quite some detail already which you can read here, as well as some other high-end solutions from Qualcomm. As for the other models, well, Qualcomm didn't exactly provide a lot of detail, so we'll try and fill in the blanks. Let's start with the MSM8630 and MSM8230, a pair of very similar chips to the already announced MSM8930. These are all 28nm parts with the MSM8630 being a CDMA chip with support for 21Mbps HSPA+ as well as EV-DO whereas the MSM8230 supports DC-HSPA+ and TD-SCDMA of which the latter is for the Chinese market. All three models are clocked at 1.2GHz, sports a pair of cores, 1MB L2 cache and supports single channel LPDDR2 memory at speeds of up to 533MHz. Other features include support for 1080p video recording at 30fps and 3D stills at up to 12Megapixels. The GPU core will be the Adreno 305 and we can expect to see these SoC's towards the second half of 2012. We should also point out that

November 21st, 2011

Qualcomm classifies these models as mid-range by the time they launch. Moving down a tier we or two we find the MSM7225A at the bottom which is a 800MHz part at the most based on a 45nm Cortex A5 core paired up with 256KB of L2 cache and an Adreno 200 GPU. It supports 200MHz LPDDR memory, HSUPA connectivity and is limited to HVGA displays. This is a direct replacement for the MSM7225 which is based on the older ARM11 architecture. It sibling for the EV-DO market is the MSM7625A which offers identical spec bar the EV-DO connectivity. Stepping up one tier we find the MSM7227A the replacement for the very popular MSM7227 and once again we're finding a 45nm ARM Cortex A5 core here although this time with clock speeds of up to 1GHz. There's also support for slightly higher resolutions here with FWVGA (854x480) support. Again there's an EV-DO sibling called the MSM7625A which once again sports near identical spec. All the Cortex A5 models should be available to Qualcomm's partners forthwith.

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based processors clocked at 1GHz, but theMSM8928 gets support for 800MHz LPDDR3, LTE category 3, DC-HSPA+, TD-SCDMA and 1080p video recording. The GPU is also the slightly faster Adreno 310. Finally we have another APQ model, namely the APQ8074 which is a mainstream quad core Krait based chip with clock speeds of between 2-2.5GHz. It supports dual channel LPDDR3, 2MB L2 cache, dual 1080p video streams at 60fps for 3D video and finally an Adreno 330 GPU. All three models should arrive sometime in 2013. We should also note that it appears the Qualcomm thinks the feature phone market is dead, as the company is only planning a single new part for next year as far as we can tell. We're not surprised though, as the only really valid change here would really be to do a die shrink if anything, as it's not as if the feature phone marking is moving forward in leaps and bounds.

This brings us to the MSM8227 which appears to the first Snapdragon based entry budget model from Qualcomm. This is an interesting part in as much as it's signalling a move away from single core processors even in fairly affordable devices as it sports a 28nm dual core 1GHz Krait based processor with 512MB L2 cache. It supports 400MHz LPDDR2 memory, 21Mbps HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, 720p video recording and it sports an Adreno 305 GPU. Its EV-DO sibling is the MSM8267 which once again carries near identical specs. These two models aren't set to appear until the second half of next year. The APQ models, otherwise known as the modem-less models are fairly similar in terms of spec with the higher-end APQ8060A being a direct replacement for the APQ8060. Here we're looking at yet another dual core 28nm Krait based chip with clock speeds of between 1.5 and 1.7GHz paired up with 1MB L2 cache. This model supports 500MHz LPDDR2 memory, 1080p video recording but sadly sports the current Adreno 225 GPU. That said, this model should be available as of right now to Qualcomm's partners, so the older GPU is excused. The more affordable option here is the APQ8030 which is also a 28nm dual core Krait part although this time around with a 1GHz core speed and we don't know the actual cache on this model but we'd guess it's 512KB. Otherwise we're looking at support for 533MHz LPDDR2 memory, 1080p video recording and an Adreno 305 GPU. This models as with so many of the other chips announced isn't expected until the second half of next year. We can also give you an insight on a few models that Qualcomm didn't announce that falls in the lower-end of the market. By 2013 Qualcomm is planning on releasing the MSM8226 which will replace the MSM7225A and this will be Qualcomm's first dual core 28nm Cortex A5 implementation. We're looking at clock speeds of 1GHz, 512KB L2 cache, support for 533MHz LPDDR2, 21Mbps HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, 720p video recording and an Adreno 305 GPU. It's EV-DO sibling is the MSM8626. Moving up one tier we find the MSM8928 which is fairly similar to the MSM8227 as both are 28nm dual core Krait 31

November 24th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Exceleram Lowers The Bar With 8GB DDR3 Module Pricing Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/exceleram-lowers-the-bar-with-8gbddr3-module-pricing/14056.html November 24th, 2011

Exceleram works on its availability a bit, and braces itself for the flood of orders that's coming its way!

PROLiNK SITEX 2011 Promotions Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/prolink-sitex-2011promotions/14055.html November 24th, 2011

German memory maker Exceleram set a new standard for pricing of 8GB DDR3 memory modules. It is offering a new "no-frills" module for as low as US $49.99 a piece, and we're talking MSRP here.

If you feel the need for a mobile router or a network security camera, you are in luck. PROLiNK is having promotions at the SITEX SHOW 2011. Visit them at booth 6E40 to check out their special offers.

German memory maker Exceleram set a new standard for pricing of 8GB DDR3 memory modules. It is offering a new "no-frills" module for as low as US $49.99 a piece, and we're talking MSRP here.

PROLiNK WNR1011 4G Wireless-N Mobile Router

Called the Exceleram E30200A (pictured above), the module offers 8GB of density at DDR3-1333 MHz (PC3-10700) speeds, with CAS latency of 9T, needing a module voltage of 1.5 volts. It looks pretty lean, with no heatspreaders or fancy PCB color. The price of US $49.99 per module Exceleram is asking for, is particularly interesting, because most 8GB DDR3 modules start at nearly double that price. So, setting up 16 GB of total memory using two of these modules will be significantly cheaper, at just a notch under 100 bucks. You can max out your Sandy Bridge rig's capacity (32 GB) at under $199.

The PROLiNK WNR1011 is a portable router powered by Lithium-ion battery that can last for up to six hours of use. Its wide array of connectivity support includes 3G and 4G mobile data networks via USB connection, cable and xDSL modem platforms, and Wide Area Network protocols. With its data speed of up to 150mbps, it can serve 20 WiFi users, and can even be used as a power bank for recharging small mobile devices via USB.

Sure, one can't expect this module to provide too much of headroom to tweak its performnce, but even for a DDR3-1333 stable 8GB module at its price, the Exceleram E30200A has done enough to get everyone's attention. Now if only

Regular Price: S$109 SITEX Show Price: S$89 PROLiNK Wireless IP Camera PIC1005WN

November 24th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

The Xbox 360 250GB with Kinect holiday bundle brings a completely new gaming experience with its body motion sensors, making it a perfect addition to entertain the whole family for this coming holiday. The bundle includes additional wireless controllers, a free game, and three months of Xbox LIVE Gold membership. Usual Price: S$860 SITEX Special: S$649(Free game â&#x20AC;&#x153;Child Of Edenâ&#x20AC;?, Sure-Win Instant Jackpot) Microsoft Touch Mouse

This camera is fully plug-and-play, and sheds any need for complicated router settings. It accommodates to automatic day and night modes with the use of a 10m range infrared LED and its Intelligent ICR Night Mode Control. The PROLiNK PIC1005WN allows remote monitoring via 3G mobile devices, and also supports recording via NAS and Micro SD card, with options for scheduled activation or motion detection. The system can accept up to 36 cameras and serve 20 viewers simultaneously. Regular Price: S$259 SITEX Show Price: S$209

Microsoft SITEX 2011 Special Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-sitex-2011special/14054.html November 24th, 2011

The Microsoft Touch Mouse has a multitouch platform that allows users to perform click, scroll and swipe actions to interact with their computer. The inclusion of natural gestureoriented inputs alongside the successful interface of a mouse certainly ensure intuitive and seamless navigation of the system. Together with BlueTrack technology, you can carry the abilities of the Touch Mouse on any surface. Usual Price: S$99 SITEX Special: Additional Free limited edition pouch, SureWin Instant Jackpot

Microsoft has various attractive promotions at the SITEX Show 2011. They can be located at booth 5F01, and do check out the wide array of products they have on offer.

Microsoft Arc Keyboard

Microsoft Xbox 360 250GB With Kinect Holiday Bundle

The Arc Keyboard features a similar design to the best-selling Arc Mouse. It leverages on curve forms for better ergonomics and irresistible looks. Its lightweight built contributes to 2

November 24th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

the convenience of family-sharing while surfing the Internet together on a big screen. A wireless connection range of up to nine meters ensures that you won’t have problems in even the largest of living rooms. Usual Price: S$89 SITEX Special: S$65(Sure-Win Instant Jackpot) Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse

PRADA and LG collaboration started in 2006 and the companies introduced two premium mobile phones in 2007 and 2008 that focus on key elements, including software, user interface down to its design and packaging. The PRADA phone by LG 1.0 claims to be the world’s first touchscreen mobile phone, while the 2.0 provided innovative mobile experience through its unique watch with Link technology, which offers easy access to caller ID, SMS text messages, call history, call block and two-way alarm notification. This Arc Touch mouse comes with BlueTrack technology and works better than other optical solutions. Its touch sensor scrolling-strip will outlast any conventional scroll wheels, and its innovative arc form can be flattened to allow easy storage. Usual Price: S$89 SITEX Special: S$79 (Free Limited Edition Pouch, Sure-Win Instant Jackpot)

PRADA renews collaboration with LG; teaser image of PRADA phone by LG 3.0 released

Today, the two companies are renewing their exclusive mobile phone partnership and that LG will be PRADA’s exclusive mobile phone partner. PRADA and LG will also develop the third PRADA phone by LG 3.0 which is scheduled for launch early next year 2012. According to online sources, the PRADA phone by LG 3.0 (or LG Prada K2) could sport a 4.3inch TFT touchscreen display with NOVA display technology that offers over 1000 nits brightness. It is likely to be powered by a dual-core processor, supports HSPA+ connectivity, and features an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash that is also capable of 1080p full high definition video recording. And while the actual product photo is not available, a teaser picture has been released.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/prada-renews-collaboration-with-lgteaser-image-of-prada-phone-by-lg-3.0-released/14053.html November 24th, 2011

Today, PRADA and LG have announced the renewal of their exclusive mobile phone collaboration at a signing ceremony in Seoul, Korea. Both companies will develop the PRADA phone by LG 3.0 which is scheduled for launch early next year 2012. Apparently, a teaser image of the new phone has been released.

Sony SITEX 2011 Special Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-sitex-2011-special/14052.html

November 24th, 2011 November 24th, 2011

Sony has some exciting offers at the SITEX Show 2011 which covers a large range of electronics from tablets to televisions. If you are shopping for Christmas gifts, you may want to visit them at booth 4B10 and 5B10.

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of which are based on a new light-emitting material. It offers ample performance for everyday use with its Intel Core i7 or i5 processor options, 500GB hard disk drive and a high resolution 14-inch screen. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX7

Sony Tablet S

The Sony Tablet S delivers the perfect combination of hardware for you to experience seamless networking and content streaming. The tablet utilizes Nvidia Tegra 2 mobile processor with Android Honeycomb 3.2 operating system for fast and smooth response. It also features Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) support which allows you to control DLNA compliant home entertainment systems and stream content to them. Its 9.4-inch LED-backlit In-Plane Switching screen and TruBlack technology greatly reduce glare and reflections. These are all packed into the asymmetric "Folding Design" that makes the tablet feel lighter than it should and allows you to hold the tablet comfortably.

The Cyber-shot DSC-WX7 is beautifully styled, compact and very easy to use. You can experience superb performance with high detail levels on your images and panoramic shots, thanks to its 16.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor and the 25mm wide angle Carl Zeiss Vario-Tesser lens. The DSC-WX7 completes the package with Advanced Video Coding High Definition movie recording and a 2.8-inch Clear Photo LCD Plus display. Sony BRAVIA HX925 Series

Sony VAIO C Series Notebook

The Sony VAIO C Series brightens up your life with a premium design in slew of vivid colours to choose from, all

Sonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new BRAVIA KDL-HX925 features the MotionFlow XR 800 with precise backlight control that synchronizes with the liquid crystal movements, creating clear and sharp moving images. The integrated IEEE 802.11n wireless connectivity draws content from the Internet, providing limitless enjoyment. The BRAVIA HX925â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Monolithic design concept encases this suite of technologies in one minimalistic and graceful form that will suit any living space.

November 24th, 2011

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ASUS SITEX Special Promotions Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-sitex-specialpromotions/14045.html November 24th, 2011

You will be pleased to know that ASUS have some promotions available at the upcoming SITEX 2011 Show, which include gaming, portable computing and home entertainment solutions. Visit them at booth 5B40 to check out these great offers. ASUS ROG Tytan

The O!Play Mini Plus delivers a variety of content from online entertainment portals such as YouTube, Acetrax and Dailymotion. It also streams from Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compliant devices, empowering older home entertainment systems. The O!Play Mini Plus allows you to experience your favorite movies in full High Definition (HD) 1080p resolution with gorgeous details on your TV. It supports Dolby TrueHD and fully reproduces Blu-ray sound with 100% lossless high quality sound processing. Usual Price: S$199 SITEX Special: TBA ASUS N43SL Jay Chou Edition

ASUSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; new top-of-the-line gaming rig features a one-touch overclocking system which gives the option of three different modes and makes the most of its Intel Core i7 2600K processor. Its Nvidia GeForce GTX560Ti graphics card with 1GB DDR5 memory immerses gamers into the virtual environment by supporting more than three displays in 3D mode. Other key specifications include 8GB DDR3 memory, hard disk drive capacity of two terabytes, built-in IEEE 802.11n wireless adapter, six USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports. Usual Price: S$2,999 SITEX Special: TBA ASUS O!Play Mini Plus

The ASUS N43SL is co-designed by famous celebrity Jay Chou and is positioned as an irresistible addition to celebrity collectibles for his fans. It has an impressive performance to match its image, powered by Intel Core i5-2410M processor and Nvidia GeForce GT540M graphics card with 2GB DDR3 memory. The ASUS N43SL utilizes Nvidia Optimus Technology which automatically switches between its dedicated and integrated graphics card to conserve power when performance is not needed. It comes preloaded with music albums and decked out in beautiful touches of details, all works of the artiste himself. This is a sure combination to please many. Usual Price: S$1,498 5

November 24th, 2011

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (3G)

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As we've already reported, Intel is having some issues with the graphics driver and has dropped both 64-bit support and DirectX 10 support. Even so, the company doesn't seem to have much luck passing Microsoft's WHQL certification and this means that Intel and its partners can't launch products, as they won't have a final Microsoft approved driver. This means that Intel has now pushed back the launch date to the very end of December with its partners not being allowed to start selling products until mid-January next year. That said, the netbook market isn't what it used to be, but at least the Atom N2600 and N2800 is the best Atom processors so far, at least on paper. Intel may not be able to compete with AMD on performance in this market segment, but at least Intel finally has a platform that will do what most consumers is expecting even an entry level notebook to do.

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is one of the best tablets available on the market. It is able to connect to a keyboard dock accessory and function much like a notebook, which makes heavy word processing possible for this tablet. With up to eight hours of battery life when connected to the dock, the ASUS Transformer can hold its own for a professional's typical work day. Its 10.1-inch WXGA 1280 by 800 screen and Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual Core ARM Cortex A9 processor forms a powerful combination for quick and responsive operation. The Eee Pad Transformer also utilizes Android Honeycomb 3.2 interface, and will be upgradable to Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 in the not-so-distant future. Usual Price: S$949

Intel's Cedar Trail mobile Atom pushed back, again Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-s-cedar-trail-mobile-atompushed-back-again/14051.html November 24th, 2011

It's surprising how much trouble Intel seems to have with its Atom graphics drivers for the mobile Cedar Trail Atom N2600 and N2800 processors, as the company has been forced to push back the launch a second time. If you were hoping for a new Cedar Trail powered netbook for Christmas, we're sorry to disappoint, but it's not going to happen. It's surprising how much trouble Intel seems to have with its Atom graphics drivers for the mobile Cedar Trail Atom N2600 and N2800 processors, as the company has been forced to push back the launch a second time. If you were hoping for a new Cedar Trail powered netbook for Christmas, we're sorry to disappoint, but it's not going to happen.

ST Ericsson's NovaThor U8500 shown off running Ice Cream Sandwich Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/st-ericsson-s-novathor-u8500-shownoff-running-ice-cream-sandwich/14050.html November 24th, 2011

Despite its expertise in the radio components that goes into smartphones, ST Ericsson hasn't had any real wins when it comes to its ARM processors that go hand in hand with its baseband components. That looks set to change soon as apparently Sony Ericsson is planning on building at least one handset based on the NovaThor U8500 and the good news is that ST Ericsson has already got Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich if you prefer, up and running on its platform. Despite its expertise in the radio components that goes into smartphones, ST Ericsson hasn't had any real wins when it comes to its ARM processors that go hand in hand with its baseband components. That looks set to change soon as apparently Sony Ericsson is planning on building at least one handset based on the NovaThor U8500 and the good news is that ST Ericsson has already got Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich if you prefer, up and running on its platform. The NovaThor U8500 consists of the DB8500 dual core ARM Cortex-A9 SoC with Mali-400MP graphics and a built in HSPA modem, as well as a few peripheral chips like the AB8500 which handles things like audio, USB, power and the SIM card. Sadly we don't know what clock speeds to expect, but we're guessing around the 1GHz mark, as its bigger brother the A9500 is clocked at 1.2GHz. According to the Xperia blog, the NovaThor U8500 is destined for a new handset from Sony Ericsson currently codenamed Nypon (rosehip in Swedish) or LT22i which should be is best described as an entry-level high-end model by the time it launches if the leaked specs prove to be right. The handset is said to have a qHD (960x540 pixels) resolution display and of course the ST Ericsson NovaThor U8500 SoC. This would 6

November 24th, 2011

make it the first Android handset from Sony Ericsson that isn't based on a Qualcomm chip. Co-incidentally, ST Ericsson happened to post no less than four videos of its development platform running Android 4.0 on the NovaThor U8500 paired with 512MB of RAM. It should be pointed out that not a lot of optimization was done here and Sony Ericsson is likely to be tweaking the OS anyhow. Take this as a proof of concept that the software and hardware works together and as a sign of things to come. If nothing else it's also bringing further proof that dual core is the way forward in the smartphone market space. We'll have to wait until next year to see what actually comes out of Sony Ericsson, which by then will have lost the Ericsson part of its name.

Higher resolution Ultrabook displays expected next year Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/higher-resolution-ultrabook-displaysexpected-next-year/14049.html November 24th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

are harder to read, something Apple's iPhone should already have proven alongside with several other high-resolution smartphones. That said, it looks like weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to wait for those retina quality panels a while longer stillâ&#x20AC;Ś

Lenovo launches Atom D2500 powered Ideacentre Q180 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lenovo-launches-atom-d2500powered-ideacentre-q180/14048.html November 24th, 2011

It's nearly two months since Intel made its new desktop Atom processors available and we haven't seen much in terms of support from PC makers or motherboard partners, well, that was until now, as Lenovo is first out with its Ideacentre Q180. It's built around the lower-end Atom D2500, but it has a few interesting tricks up its sleeve.

Talk about a backwards world, back in the days of 4:3 screens there was rarely a problem to get a higher resolution upgrade option on notebooks, but in the age of 16:9 widescreen displays, anything below 15.6-inches is stuck at 1366x768 with a few exceptions. Now it looks like the Ultrabooks will be pushing up resolutions of smaller screens, but the reasoning behind it doesn't really make sense.

As you may know, the Atom D2500 is a 1.86GHz dual core chip with 1MB of L2 cache and integrated graphics running at 400MHz. However, Lenovo decided to go down an interesting path here and kit outs its Ideacentre QQ180 with an AMD Radeon HD 6450A GPU with 512MB of graphics memory. We're not entirely sure what the A in the GPU model name stands for, but this is AMD's entry level GPU. Even so, it should be a few times better than the PowerVR based GPU inside the Atom processor.

Digitimes is reporting that Acer and Asus are working with Taiwanese panel makers AU Optronics and Chimei Innolux to have them create 1920x1080 screens for next year's Ultrabooks. This in itself isn't a bad thing, as modern operating systems offers good enough font scaling for this to be a non-issue for those concerned that everything on the screens will be unreadable at this resolution. In fact, Asus' 13.3-nch Zenbook UX31 already took a step in the right direction with a 1600x900 resolution panel. However, the argument for higher resolution screens is not because users wants or need it, but rather because Apple is rumoured to be moving its next gen iPad to a 2048x1536 screen. That is still an unconfirmed rumour though and it would be funny if Apple settles for something less. That said, if this can motivate notebook makers to offer higher resolution screens, then we'll have to send a thank you card to Apple, as it's time that the industry moves forward when it comes to screen resolution, as more pixels is generally a good thing and it doesn't have to automatically mean that things 7

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The rest of the system is fairly average with support for up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, up to 750GB of hard drive space, although Lenovo is also listing a 128GB SSD option, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 connectivity, a built in card reader, 7.1-channel audio (over optical S/PDIF) and an HDMI port. You also get 802.11n Wi-Fi which is always nice and for those that rather use wired Ethernet, there's the Gigabit kind on offer.

The entire system measures a mere 155x192x22mm (WxHxD) which makes it one of the slimmest PC's out there. In fact, it reminds of a system that ViewSonic launched back in the Atom 330 days and even more so considering that Lenovo is offering an external optical drive â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DVD or Blu-ray available â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that attaches to the system. A vertical stand appears to be part of the package and you also get a keyboard and a mouse.

Published by: VR-Zone November 24th, 2011

Memory maker Team Group rolled out a revised version of the X101, a mid-range USB 3.0 flash drive. The X101 was first launched in May 2010, but back then despite its lower transfer rates, it was deemed a high-end offering. The new, redesigned X101 is available in capacities of 32 GB and 64 GB. It offers transfer rates of up to 120 MB/s (read) and up to 70 MB/s (write), which makes is roughly as fast as a 7,200 RPM internal hard drive, only a lot more responsive due to much lower access times. Memory maker Team Group rolled out a revised version of the X101, a mid-range USB 3.0 flash drive. The X101 was first launched in May 2010, but back then despite its lower transfer rates, it was deemed a high-end offering. The new X101 is available in capacities of 32 GB and 64 GB. It offers transfer rates of up to 120 MB/s (read) and up to 70 MB/s (write), which makes is roughly as fast as a 7,200 RPM internal hard drive, only a lot more responsive due to much lower access times.

The new X101 doesn't fare badly in the design department, either. Measuring 72.07 x 19.11 x 8.53 mm, the X101 sports a typical capped form-factor, with a satin-purple aluminumalloy body. Its body lacks activity/power LEDs, but there's provision for attaching a lanyard. The X101 doesn't come with any notable bundled software, but the manufacturer mentions that it supports a power-saving mode. As with most USB 3.0 flash drives, the X101 is backwards-compatible with USB 2.0. In the US the Ideacentre Q180 starts at an affordable US$369 (S$485), although for some reason the customization page on Lenovo's website seems to suggest you get an Atom D2700 (2.13GHz) for that kind of money. The base model comes with a 500GB hard drive and 2GB of RAM, whereas US$429 will get you 4GB of RAM and a DVD drive on top of the base spec.

Team Group Intros X101 MidRange USB 3.0 Flash Drive Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/team-group-intros-x101-mid-rangeusb-3.0-flash-drive/14047.html

November 24th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone November 24th, 2011

Logitech has announced the Webcam C170 and C110 that are easy to install and use, and feature one-touch upload to social networking and sharing sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Both incorporate Logitech Fluid Crystal technology that provides smooth video, sharp pictures with rich colours and clear audio.

Backed by a lifetime warranty, the X101 is rated by its manufacturer to hold data up to 10 years. Unfortunately we don't have a price at hand.

SITEX 2011 Price Lists, Brochures & Flyers now available @ http://vr-zone.com/ sitex/pricelists Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sitex-2011-price-lists-brochures-flyers-now-available--http-vr-zone.comsitexpricelists/14046.html November 24th, 2011

Designed with a sleek universal clip to easily fit any laptop or desktop computer, the new Logitech webcams C170 and C110 make it easy to get connected online. Both feature builtin automatic noise-reduction that helps minimize background noise, as well as Logitech Fluid Crystal technology for smooth and sharp video and images. The webcams offer high-quality video call with a frame rate of up to 30 per second and allows you to video capture at 1024 x768 (XVGA) resolution. Logitech Webcam C170

Heading to Singapore EXPO tomorrow for the IT show? Don't leave home without doing price research first! SITEX 2011 Pricelists are now available at http://vr-zone.com/sitex/ pricelists.

The Logitech Webcam C170 is designed to minimize choppiness and background noise with improved performance in low light situations to deliver a clear connection whatever you are. The webcam also snaps software-enhanced, 5megapixel pictures and offers a quicker way to keep in touch when you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have time for a video call. The Logitech Webcam C170 is available in Singapore now for a suggested retail price of S$29. Logitech Webcam C110 The Logitech Webcam C110 is easy to operate and is capable of capturing basic but high-quality video, as well as clear 1.3megapixel photos. It is expected to be available in Singapore in mid-December and has a suggested retail price of S$23.

Logitech introduces Webcam C170 and Webcam C110 for easy video calls Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/logitech-introduces-webcam-c170-andwebcam-c110-for-easy-video-calls/14044.html

Philips SITEX 2011 Promotions Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/philips-sitex-2011promotions/14043.html November 24th, 2011

November 24th, 2011

Philips is having some great promotions for the upcoming SITEX Show 2011. This is good news for those of you who want to upgrade your home entertainment systems to enjoy 3D cinematic experience. Offers are available with Harvey Norman at booth 5H12. Philips 55/46/40PFL6606H/12 LED Television

Published by: VR-Zone

through the rated 400W (RMS) system, while the curved SoundBar design gives wider sound dispersion across your room. You can enjoy your movies without worrying about dust build-up in the speakers as its special mesh design protects the drivers. The Philips HTS5131 plays Blu-ray discs, DVDs, VCDs and CDs, as well as content from USB devices. You can enjoy all these in one single stylish package without cluttering your room with multiple speakers. Usual Price: S$699 Philips HTS9140 SoundBar Home Theater

The Philips PFL6606H with its Pixel Plus High Definition (HD) gives unparalleled detail and clarity, and its 400 Hz Perfect Motion Rate (PMR) provides superb sharpness for even the most dynamic movements on screen. You can experience authentic and clear audio representations with the Philips PFL6606â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Clear Sound technology and the AmbiwOOx sound enhancements. The Smart TV features include Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) support, Net TV, and USB support for peripherals such as mouse and keyboard. These contribute to a seamless online lifestyle that allows you to receive more content without the need for a PC. Usual Price: S$3,599 (55-inch), S$1,999 (46-inch), S$1,399 (40-inch) Philips HTS5131 SoundBar Home Theater

The Philips HTS9140 utilizes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD for high fidelity audio representations. You can also enjoy the ultimate audio experience with Ambisound technology that produces virtual surround sound similar to a full 5.1 surround sound speaker array. The high quality brushed aluminum coupled a slim and premium design will enhance your living space aesthetics and present itself as a conversation piece. This home theater system also plays full HD 3D Blu-ray DVD for a truly immersive movie experience. It comes installed with Philips Net TV with Wi-Fi connectivity for online services on your TV and DLNA Network Link to enjoy music and videos from your PC. Usual Price: S$1,399

AMD's 28nm Brazos successor to be manufactured at TSMC Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-s-28nm-brazos-successor-to-bemanufactured-at-tsmc/14042.html November 24th, 2011

With this Philips HTS5131, you can experience wide surround sound and realistic cinematic experience with four woofers and two tweeters. The system is equipped with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD which produce high fidelity audio outputs

With the Krishna/Wichita APUs now canceled, ExtremeTech has shed some light into AMD's strategy. The Deccan platform APUs were indeed planned for fabrication at GlobalFoundries, unlike Brazos which is manufactured by TSMC. Anticipating problems with the move to gate-first with GlobalFoundries, 10

November 24th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

AMD canceled the Krishna and Wichita APUs and the entire Deccan platform. The short term solution is Brazos 2.0 nothing but a minor tweak of Brazos. Long term, AMD is planning to move back to TSMC for its power efficient APUs. With the Krishna/Wichita APUs now canceled , ExtremeTech has shed some light into AMD's strategy. The Deccan platform APUs were indeed planned for fabrication at GlobalFoundries, unlike Brazos which is manufactured by TSMC. Anticipating problems with the move to gate-first with GlobalFoundries, AMD canceled the Krishna and Wichita APUs and the entire Deccan platform. The short term solution is Brazos 2.0 nothing but a minor tweak of Brazos. Long term, AMD is planning to move back to TSMC for its power efficient APUs. Brazos 2.0 will have to hold fort till a direct 28nm shrink of Brazos is now expected some time in 2012 - well after the release of Intel's 32nm Atom and 28nm ARM SoCs. The true successor to Brazos 2.0 - presumably an enhanced version of Krishna and Wichita featuring upto 4 cores, if not Kabini/Samara - is at least 18 months away, according to ExtremeTech. In the mainstream APU segment, the successor to Trinity Kaveri - is scheduled for 2013 on GloFo's 28nm.

Report: AMD Radeon HD 7000M to launch in December Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-amd-radeon-hd-7000m-tolaunch-in-december/14041.html November 24th, 2011

The long rumoured AMD London series is finally set to make its debut as the Radeon HD 7000M series product for notebooks in December, following NVIDIA's GeForce 600M launch. While an exact release date or architecture information is missing, Computerbase.de has listed a number of SKUs, covering entry-level HD 7430M all the way to highend HD 7900M. The long rumoured AMD London series is finally set to make its debut as the Radeon HD 7000M series product for notebooks in December, following NVIDIA's GeForce 600M launch. While an exact release date or architecture information is missing, Computerbase.de has listed a number of SKUs, covering entry-level HD 7430M all the way to highend HD 7900M. Codename

Branding

Wimbledon HD 7900M XT

Clock

Memory

700-750

256-bit 2-4GB GDDR5 256bit 2GB GDDR5

Wimbledon HD 7900M 650-700 Pro

Memory clocks TBD

TBD

Codename

Branding

Heathrow HD 7800M XT

Clock 650-750

Memory

Memory clocks TBD

128bit 2GB GDDR5 Heathrow HD 7800M 550-650 128TBD Pro bit 2GB GDDR5 Chelsea XT HD 7700M 600-700 128TBD bit 2GB GDDR5 Chelsea Pro HD 7700M 450-550 128TBD bit 2GB GDDR5 Thames XT HD 7690M 600 128-bit 1GB 800 GDDR5 Thames XT HD 7670M 600 128-bit 900 1GB DDR3 Thames HD 7590M 600 128-bit 1GB 800 Pro GDDR5 Thames HD 7570M 600 128-bit 900 Pro 1GB DDR3 Thames LP HD 7650M 450 128-bit 1GB 800 GDDR5 Thames LP HD 7630M 450 128-bit 900 1GB DDR3 Thames LP HD 7550M 450 64-bit 1GB 800 GDDR5 Thames LP HD 7530M 450 64-bit 1GB 800 DDR3 Thames LE HD 7610M 450 128-bit 800 1GB DDR3 Thames LE HD 7510M 450 64-bit 1GB 800 DDR3 Seymour HD 7490M 800 64-bit 1GB 800 XTX DDR3 Seymour HD 7470M 800 64-bit 900 XTX DDR3 Seymour HD 7470M 740 64-bit 800 XT GDDR5 Seymour HD 7450M 750 64-bit 900 XT DDR3 Seymour HD 7450M 600 64-bit 900 Pro DDR3 Seymour HD 7430M 600 64-bit 900 Pro DDR3 With the onslaught of APUs/Procesor Graphics, many expected the entry-level discrete GPU to die with 40nm. That is partially true - while AMD will continue to offer entry-level discrete GPUs for notebooks, they will be nothing buy souped up rebrands of the HD 6400M series, covering the HD 7400M series. The entire mainstream will be covered by the Thames GPU, covering HD 7500M and HD 7600M series. There are some significant inconsistencies with the branding reported by Computerbase, however, e.g. Thames LE clocked at 450 MHz with DDR3 featuring a higher branding (HD 7610M) than 11

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Published by: VR-Zone

Thames Pro clocked at 600 MHz (HD 7590M) with GDDR5 so we must take this preliminary information with a grain of salt. Curiously, the Thames line-up is so choc-a-bloc it leaves no room for Trinity APUs. Moving up the chain, we have the Chelsea GPU, to be branded HD 7700M, followed by the high-end Heathrow, HD 7800M and the entusiast Wimbledown, featuring a 256-bit memory interface, the HD 7900M series. Except Seymour, all the other HD 7000M GPUs are expected to be 28nm fabbed. However, details such as the architecture used remain unknown. Following a similar timeline to the GeForce 600M series, a launch in December means notebooks based on the HD 7000M series (and GeForce 600M) will be expected to hit retail in Q1 2012 with some design wins surely exhibited at CES 2012.

Asus' Eee Pad Transformer Prime goes up on pre-order Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-goesup-on-pre-order/14039.html November 24th, 2011

If you're eager to get your hands on Asus' new Tegra 3 powered Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet and live somewhere in North America, then we have good news for you, it's now available for pre-order. Asus hasn't confirmed an actual launch date as yet, but we'd expect the Transformer Prime to arrive in time for the holidays. If you're eager to get your hands on Asus' new Tegra 3 powered Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet and live somewhere in North America, then we have good news for you, it's now available for pre-order. Asus hasn't confirmed an actual launch date as yet, but we'd expect the Transformer Prime to arrive in time for the holidays. The Transformer Prime will be available in one of two colours that Asus calls amethyst grey and champagne gold, although the grey one still looks purple to us in the pictures. You also have the choice of 32 or 64GB of internal eMMC flash memory. Whichever model you pick you'll get a Tegra 3 SoC which Asus has as yet to reveal the clock speed for, 1GB of DDR2 memory, a 10.1-inch IPS+ screen with 1280x800 resolution, a battery good for up to 12h of usage and there's of course the optional keyboard dock which adds another 6h of battery life.

Price wise you're looking at US$499.99 for the 32GB models and US$599.99 for the 64GB models, slightly more than the original Eee Pad Transformer, but not a massive price hike. No word on pricing for the keyboard dock as yet. Asus US has put up a special tablet site which contains links to the pre-order partners which you'll find at the bottom of this article. As far as the OS is concerned, the Transformer Prime will ship with Android 3.2, but Asus is already promising that it'll be upgradeable to 4.0. In fact, Nvidia has already posted a video on YouTube showing off an early build of Android 4.0 running on the Transformer Prim as a demo showing off its Tegra 3 chip. This suggests that the wait for the upgrade shouldn't be too long, which is good news for those that are planning on getting a Transformer Prime.

Next generation Ultrabooks expected to be on display at CES Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/next-generation-ultrabooks-expectedto-be-on-display-at-ces/14038.html November 24th, 2011

On the subject of Ultrabooks, it looks like Intel's partners are getting ready to show off the first Ivy Bridge based models at CES which takes places on the 10th to the 13th of January next year. It also looks like some of the so far missing major notebook players will launch their first Ultrabooks around that time as well. On the subject of Ultrabooks, it looks like Intel's partners are getting ready to show off the first Ivy Bridge based models at CES which takes places on the 10th to the 13th of January next year. It also looks like some of the so far missing major notebook players will launch their first Ultrabooks around that time as well. 12

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Published by: VR-Zone

Digitimes is reporting that there should be some 30 to 50 Ultrabooks on display at CES, although this sounds like a very high number considering that so far there are only a handful of models that can really be considered Ultrabooks in the market. What will be interesting to see is what HP, Samsung and Dell has to bring to the table, as technically Samsung doesn't have an Ultrabook as yet even if its Series 9 notebooks are very close, with HP and Dell being rumoured to be working on their own versions of an Ultrabook.

connector, at least if the company can sell its plans to the notebook manufacturers.

Most of the next generation Ultrabooks are expected to sport SSDs, not only to keep the weight down and improve the overall responsiveness of the systems, but also in part due to the short supply of hard drives at the moment. This is the single most exciting feature of Ultrabooks, as although the CPU performance is most likely good enough for most consumers, the battery life of the models launched so far has been disappointing, especially when compared to Apple's MacBook Air.

With its move towards docking solutions we have a feeling that Intel is eyeing the corporate market space where performance quite often is second to many other features that are required. We're somewhat disappointed with Intel's approach here though as the company had a chance to standardize things, but instead chose not to. There's nothing worse than having to buy custom made accessories, especially notebook docking solutions or port replicators, as most of them are almost guaranteed to not work with your next notebook as then technology has progressed too far.

Digitimes goes on to report that Intel is expecting Ultrabooks to take up to 40 percent of the total notebook market for next year, a figure that sounds way too high in our opinion, although some more sober figures of 20-30 percent have been suggested by â&#x20AC;&#x153;market watchersâ&#x20AC;? and Acer's president Jim Wong is apparently hoping for 25-30 percent of the companies notebook to be Ultrabooks. Acer is going to have to try a lot harder than its first incarnation to reach this goal, as the Aspire S3 is anything but a product that we'd aspire to buy if we were in the market for an Ultrabook.

The current crop of Ultrabooks are in our opinion fairly uninspiring with most models targeting poorly educated consumers. Not only do they offer worse performance than your average notebook, but on average the battery life is as bad as or worse than a similar notebook with a 35W CPU. Sure, you get a slim and lightweight notebook, but that's really it and it's not as if most Ultrabooks are cheap at that.

Intel is planning docking solution for next year's Ultrabooks using Thunderbolt Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-is-planning-docking-solution-fornext-year-s-ultrabooks-using-thunderbolt/14037.html November 24th, 2011

According to information that has reached VR-Zone, Intel has big plans when it comes to Ultrabooks and the first major step forward from the fairly unimpressive machines we've seen so far is the addition of support for docking stations. This being Intel doing things the Intel way the company will rely on its Thunderbolt technology as well as an additional dock connector, at least if the company can sell its plans to the notebook manufacturers.

In simple terms, Intel is suggesting that the notebook makers should fit a rather large dock connector plus a mini DisplayPort connector side by side to make it easy to attach a dock or a port replicator via either a cable or a side mounted latch mechanism of some kind. It doesn't exactly look like a user friendly connector and considering that Intel expects to run several different interfaces down the same cable, it looks like a serious design problem waiting to happen.

Due to Intel's own inflexible technology, the on board Ethernet controller has to have direct access to the Ethernet port on the dock as otherwise technologies such as Intel's vPro and Microsoft's Connected Standby won't work. Then you have to deliver power through the same cable to power the notebook through the dock and let's not forget the Thunderbolt data. Intel is even suggesting that notebook makers can pipe things like audio and just about anything else they want through the 13

November 24th, 2011

dock connector to save cost, although this is apparently not the ideal solution.

Published by: VR-Zone

third party solutions of which some are already in the market, but we'd expect the cost difference to make up for just about all of the benefits that a Thunderbolt dock can offer.

AMD Saves Apple's Bacon in the HTC's Patent Complaint Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-saves-apple-s-bacon-in-the-htc-spatent-complaint/14035.html November 24th, 2011

In the dispute between HTC Corporation and Apple Inc., the US International Trade Commission (US ITC) ruled in the favor of Apple, which is a reversal of the original decision. It turns out that Apple received a secret helper in the form of Advanced Micro Devices.

As Thunderbolt is a combination of PCI Express signalling and DisplayPort, Intel has some suggestions as to what kind of ports the dock should feature, but this is pretty much open to the notebook manufacturer. Some suggestions include a mini DisplayPort connector, HDMI via DP++, a D-sub connector via USB, a built in USB controller that will connect to USB ports and audio, eSATA via a PCI Express based SATA controller and just about anything else you can think of that needs PCI Express connectivity. Intel is also suggestion that daisy chaining Thunderbolt devices onto the dock could be a possibility, but this does a we know depend on which Thunderbolt chip is being used and will likely increase the cost of the dock by a fair margin. This solution is meant to be the quickest and simplest way to create a Thunderbolt dock according to Intel as it uses a certified port for Thunderbolt. However, the company isn't dismissing the idea of custom dock connectors, sort of what we've already seen from Sony, although optical connectivity doesn't seem to be part of Intel's suggested route to achieve this. This kind of solution would require certification to make sure the Thunderbolt signalling remains within spec, so it's not the most likely solution. So what about USB 3.0 docks? Well, it really seems like Intel has given USB 3.0 the thumbs down, as at least according to the details we've seen, Intel is calling USB 3.0 a poor option for docking stations when it comes to adding features such as display interfaces and for tunnelling certain protocols through it. Considering the already much wider update of USB 3.0, we can't but wonder what Intel was thinking, but then again, the company is most likely trying to sell its expensive Thunderbolt chips rather than having third parties have a slice of the action. It's fair to say that USB 3.0 has some limitations compared to Thunderbolt, but it's likely to be a much more affordable route to go down and we can see this being the far more popular option for docking stations as not only will you be able to buy

Back in May 2010, S3 Graphics Inc. filed a complaint against Apple for infringing on four patents in relation to the graphics operation. On July 1, 2011 ITC announced a verdict ruling in favor of S3 Graphics as HTC purchased S3 Graphics from VIA. On November 21, 2011 - the favorable verdict was overruled and the case was dismissed. What happened? It turns out that the reversal did not happen thanks to vested interests of the U.S. companies who often use ITC for sales pressure, or by Apple's legal strength. As you might know, Apple employed a lot of refugees from Advanced Micro Devices and exactly those refugees reversed the ITC decision. According to the verdict, on September 15, 2011 Advanced Micro Devices and its subsidiaries ATI Technologies ULC and ATI Technologies SRL entered the case as non-parties. AMD claimed they own the patents in question and that the company refuses to "assert them in this investigation." Subsequently, on September 19th Apple filed its own motion to "terminate the case based on AMD's patent ownership claims." Finally, Commission denied AMD and Apple requests to publicly disclose the details of the patents in question - so

November 24th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

that the public would not find out what patents were used to attack S3 Graphics IP portfolio.

SITEX Show pricing: TBA

If you are wondering what "thanks" Apple gave AMD for this neat intervention and a save from an injunction order for all Apple devices, the answer is - cancelation of AMD Llano powered MacBook and losing the contracts for nextgeneration MacBook Air/Pro/iMac, which are all going to be powered by NVIDIA Quadro. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Fujitsu LIFEBOOK LH531

If you thought this was over and HTC lost, there is another twist to the story. Last week, ITC accepted another investigation against Apple in regards to S3 Graphics and additional four patents. All in all, legal wheel keeps on spinning.

Fujitsu SITEX Special Promotion Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/fujitsu-sitex-specialpromotion/14034.html November 24th, 2011

This laptop features Anytime USB Charge capability which allows other devices to connect and recharge even if the laptop is turned off. It offers enhanced visuals with the Nvidia Geforce 410M graphics card, while the Nvidia Optimus Technology automatically switches to an integrated graphics card when performance is not a priority, thus prolonging battery life. Users can enjoy up to six and a half hours of battery life through its battery saving technology.

If you are looking for a improved mobile computing experience, you have found it with Fujitsu. They will be featuring promotions at the upcoming SITEX 2011 Show, at booth 6B10.

SITEX Show pricing: TBA Fujitsu LIFEBOOK BH531

Fujitsu LIFEBOOK SH771

The Lifebook SH771 is an ultra-light business-oriented laptop weighing just 1.22kg when configured with a weight saver and solid state drive. Its ultra-thin profile of just 23.2mm contributes to its mobility, which is suitable for travelling professionals. The laptop features a fingerprint sensor for security, and is equipped with USB 3.0 to provide one of the fastest hardware interfacing speed. The Lifebook SH771 also comes with a hot-swappable modular drive bay which can be replaced with batteries or different types of optical drives to accommodate to your needs.

The BH531 LifeBook shares similar hardware with the LH531, but comes with a compact 13.3-inch screen instead. It is affordable and yet powerful, which positions it as a very costefficient solution. This laptop is a suitable choice for students which greatly require the biggest bang-for-bucks. SITEX Show pricing: TBA

November 24th, 2011

Research in Motion announces BlackBerry Bold 9790 and Curve 9380 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/research-in-motion-announcesblackberry-bold-9790-and-curve-9380/14033.html November 24th, 2011

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Battery Life - GSM Talk Time: TBD ; GSM Standby Time: TBD; UMTS Talk Time: TBD; UMTS Standby Time: TBD; Audio Playback: TBD; Video Playback: TBD Camera - 5-megapixel camera, flash, continuous auto focus, face detection, image stabilization, scene modes, 2x digital zoom, VGA video recording (640 x 480), GPS - Assisted, standalone and simultaneous GPS Wi-Fi - 2.4 GHz b/g/n, 5 GHz a/n

Research in Motion has added two new smartphones to their portfolio, the Bold 9790 (left pic) and Curve 9380, both are based on the latest BlackBerry 7 operating system. The smartphones claim to offer users fast performance, brilliant touch displays and compact designs altogether.

Network UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1,2,5/6); 2100/1700/900 MHz (Bands 1,4,8); GSM: 1900/1800/900/850 MHz Data: HSDPA (7.2 Mbps); HSUPA (5.76 Mbps) BlackBerry Curve 9380 specifications Size (L x W x D) - 109mm x 60mm x 11.2mm Display - 3.2” HVGA+ touch screen 480 X 360 pixel resolution at 188ppi Software - BlackBerry 7 OS Battery Life - GSM Talk Time: up to 5.5 hours; GSM Standby Time: up to 15 days; UMTS Talk Time: up to 5.8 hours; UMTS Standby Time: up to 15 days; Audio Playback: up to 30 hours; Video Playback: up to 5.5 hours Memory - 512 MB on-board memory, expandable up to 32 GB via microSD card NFC - Operating Frequency: 13.56 MHz; Operating Modes: reader/writer; card emulation

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 have recently been announced that are based on the BlackBerry 7 operating system. The smartphones sport slim and stylish designs with enhanced communications, multimedia, productivity and social connectivity features. The Bold 9790 is powerful and compact and offers fast performance with high resolution touchscreen and tactile keyboard. The BlackBerry Curve 9380 boasts to be the company's first BlackBerry Curve smartphone with a large touch display, and offers powerful social experiences and ease-of-use in a compact form factor. Pricing and availability for Singapore have yet to be released at press time. BlackBerry Bold 9790 specifications Size (L x W x D) - 110mm x 60mm x 11.4mm Display - 2.45" touch screen 480 x 360 pixel resolution at 246ppi Software - BlackBerry 7 OS Memory - 8GB onboard, expandable up to 40GB via microSD card

Augmented Reality - Powered by Accelerometer and Magnetometer Camera - 5-megapixel camera with flash, image stabilization, 4x digital zoom, scene modes, VGA video recording (640 X 480) GPS - Integrated GPS with A-GPS Wi-Fi - 2.4 GHz – 802.11 b/g/n enabled Network - Quad-Band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; GSM/ GPRS networks; Tri-Band UMTS networks: Variant A: (800/850)/1900/2100 MHz; UMTS networks Variant B: 900/1700/2100 MHz UMTS networks

Genius Rolls Out Battery-Free Wireless Mouse Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/genius-rolls-out-battery-free-wirelessmouse/14032.html

November 24th, 2011 November 24th, 2011

Finally, freedom from wires, and bulky wireless mice. If there's one thing repulsive about wireless mice, it's probably the pair of AA or AAA size batteries running in them. Some higher-end mice use a lighter lithium ion battery, but that considerably steps up costs. Genius worked its way around the weight and price issues with a light capacitor taking the place of a battery. This capacitor needs charging every week, but it gets charged in 3 minutes flat. Genius implemented the capacitor-powered wireless mouse design in the DX Eco.

Published by: VR-Zone November 24th, 2011

TomTom will be showcasing the recently launched TomTom Via and Go series at the upcoming SITEX Show 2011, which feature added convenience and better functionality. Be sure to check them out and make your driving experience a safer one. TomTom GO

Finally, freedom from wires, and bulky wireless mice. If there's one thing repulsive about wireless mice, it's probably the pair of AA or AAA size batteries running in them. Some higherend mice use a lighter lithium ion battery, but even that isn't light enough. Genius worked its way around the weight issue with a light capacitor taking the place of a battery. This capacitor needs charging every week, but it gets charged in 3 minutes flat. Genius implemented the capacitor-powered wireless mouse design in the DX Eco. It weighs just 95 grams.

The new TomTom GO series includes the TomTom GO 2050 and TomTom GO 2050 World, both of which feature a large 5-inch Fluid Touch screen that allows users to pinch-andzoom maps quickly or navigate the interface with the their finger. Equipped with an in-built speaker, the device provides outstanding audio output delivering crisp and clear voice instructions. The TomTom Go starts your journey quickly with the unique Easy Click magnetic mount which makes docking and undocking a simple one-hand operation. The TomTom GO 2050 World allows seamless navigation across 66 countries with maps of the entire South-East Asia, as well as Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, South Africa and North America. TomTom Via

Measuring 110x 73 x 35 mm, this right-hand oriented wireless mouse uses 2.4 GHz wireless band for communicating with its compact USB reciever. A proprietary technology prevents radio interference. It uses a 1,600 DPI optical sensor, which can be tuned down to 800 DPI to conserve power and reduce sensitivity. Apart from its three main buttons, there are four more buttons, and a 2-way scroll wheel. The top side of the mouse is rubberized to enhance grip.

The TomTom Via range features the best of TomTomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s navigation heritage which includes the latest maps, preinstalled safety cameras, IQ Routes and also voice control for Via 260 and 280 models. The TomTom Via range delivers a brand new software package with a user-friendly interface coupled with Bluetooth hands free calling. The TomTom Via 220 and Via 260 come with a 4.3-inch touch screen, while the TomTom Via 280 displays with its 5-inch touch screen. Retail Prices: TomTom Via 220 - S$199

TomTom SITEX 2011 Specials Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/tomtom-sitex-2011specials/14031.html

TomTom Via 260 - S$239 TomTom Via 280 - S$279 TomTom GO 2050 - S$399 17

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TomTom GO 2050 World - S$479

Nokia N9 Review: Nokia's first (and perhaps last) MeeGo device Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-n9-review-nokia-s-first-andperhaps-last-meego-device/14011.html November 24th, 2011

CPU Memory Screen Display Resolution Storage Camera Connectivity

Talk time Intel and Nokia have jointly announced the MeeGo platform at Mobile World Congress in 2010, but it was not until last month that we see the first (and perhaps last) MeeGo device from the Finnish manufacturer. But how good is the Nokia N9. Find out inside this review.

Battery Platform Dimensions Weight

1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 1GB SDRAM 3.9-inch Super AMOLED 480x854(FWVGA) 16GB interal; up to 64GB (black only) 8-megapixel auto-focus Carl Zeiss w/ 2x LED flash NFC, USB, Bluetooth, Micro USB, Nokia AV 3.5mm, Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, USB 2.0 High-Speed, Bluetooth Stereo Audio Up to 11 hours (2G), 7 hours (3G) 1450 mAh Li-Ion battery MeeGo (Linux) 116.4 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm 135g

Dell SITEX Promotion Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/dell-sitex-promotion/14030.html November 24th, 2011

Thinking of upgrading your computing experience with a new laptop? Dell has some good news for you with their promotions at this SITEX Show 2011, and it is bound to please gamers and style-concious users alike. Dell Alienware M14x Operating on Meego, a joint project between Nokia and Intel in 2010, the Nokia N9 is full of praises from early critics for its sleek design and hardy built, as well as its intelligent interface and stunning graphics. However, like a lustfully teenage boy with his eye on another, Nokia has cut Meego off with the CEO, Stephen Elop, saying in an interview with Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat that even if the N9 is a hit, there will be no returning to Meego. Nokia Singapore has promised that software updates, care and services will be supported till 2015 (in fact it has just released an update recently with Swype keyboard and Twitter photo upload support among other tweaks). But in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world of marketable apps, there might be a shortage of developers willing to program for an operating system with limited user base. Nokia, instead is concentrating on its relationship with Microsoft and hopes to launch its foray into the world of smartphones with Windows 7.All that said, the Nokia N9 is a heck of smartphone. Here's a quick look at its hardware specifications. Nokia N9

The Alienware M14x is designed specifically for hardcore gamers seeking for a mobile High Definition (HD) gaming experience with a balance between performance and mobility. Weighing less than 3kg, it features second generation Intel 18

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Core i5 or i7 processor options and NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M with up to 3GB of graphics memory. The 14-inch WLED HD display with a selection between 1366 by 768 or 1600 by 900 resolution options completes M14x as the weapon of choice for any gamers who want the edge over their competition.

details and vibrant colours with deeper black and brighter white. The Energy Star and EPEAT Silver compliant monitor is designed to be environmental-friendly by using halogen-free laminates in its circuit boards, while its LED panel is free of arsenic and mercury.

Usual Price: Starting from S$2,299 SITEX Promotion: TBA

Price: TBA Dell XPS 15z

Dell Inspiron R

Stylish and trendy people will love the Inspiron R, which has both brain and beauty. Dell makes it easy for anyone to go online and choose the perfect top lid that will best express their individuality. Just snap it on to customize your laptop. Under the hood, the second generation Intel Core i3 to i7 processor options ensures that it runs as snappy as it is sexy. Your laptop becomes an entertainment power house with SRS Premium Audio and High Definition Video performance at your command. Usual Price: Starting from S$899 SITEX Promotion: TBA Dell S2330MX 23-inch Ultra-slim Monitor

Less mass more appeal. The XPS 15z certainly seems so with its 0.97-inch thickness, placing it as one of the thinnest 15inch screen sized laptops around. Looks do not compromise performance, however, as it sports second generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processor options and a 15.6-inch screen with full High Definition 1080p display. Equipped with the NVidia GeForce GT 525M graphics card with 1GB or 2GB memory options, the XPS 15z will also satisfy gamers as well. Together with its slot load DVD reader, the XPS 15z presents a stylish and formidable all-round workhorse for power users. Price: TBA

Unlocking the Sandy Bridge Xeon: The 2012 super high end platform Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/unlocking-the-sandy-bridge-xeonthe-2012-super-high-end-platform/14028.html November 24th, 2011

The S2330MX Ultra-slim monitor exudes elegance and grace to your viewing experience. With its full HD 1920 by 1080 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio, the S2330MX monitor produces sharp and clear cinematic-quality pictures, amazing

Xeon E5 is a little late, but still expected to be the dominant high end workstation platform for 2012. What about the enthusiasts wanting to push these lovely 8-core dual-socket CPUs to the limits? We have the answers. Before EVGA showed off their famous W555 SR2 board some 20 months ago, there was little hope to unlock the vast overclocking potential of the dual-socket Westmere EP 6 core 19

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Xeon 5600 chips, the close cousins of the Core i7 980X and later 990X high end desktop processors. Even though these workstation & server chips pass very tough screening and, by nature, should handle overclocking on everyday basis even better, there was no such board to support it, and Intel didn’t unlock the multipliers either. Anyway, the flexible BCLK on the Tylersburg platform enabled EVGA to create the ultimate board that allowed them to reach near 6 GHz on 12 cores with LN2 in 2010, and of course, also enabled production 4 – 4.5 GHz 12 core Xeons with huge amounts of 6-channel DDR-1600+ memory, including ultra low latency desktop kits besides the usual high capacity server kits. This would be the base of ultimate quadGPU gaming machines, but also engineering workstation, specialized HPC visualization cluster kits, and, guess what… rapid high frequency trading machines for the machination masters of Wall Street and such places. Why? Well, for an ubergamer, having the fastest machine around may lead to the ego boost from highest FPS or whatever. But, to an engineer rushing to complete and invoice a job, finishing the whole calculation 20% faster as the system is brought from 3.33 GHz DDR3-1333 to 4.3 GHz DDR3-2000+ means winning the job, and getting the money more and/or earlier. And, for a nasty competitive bunch of high frequency stock exchange traders, a lower latency machine with higher throughput too, means beating the competitors for million dollar trades every minute. Even if the machine dies within 3 months, who cares? It’d have made its money hundreds of times over – and these guys pay top dollar for top SKUs, then extra for reliable OC, no questions asked. Just ask SGI, how they used this board. Now we come to the upcoming, 8 core, feature-rich, power hungry Xeon E5. The TDP issues we mentioned before did have a role to play in the somewhat lower initial frequencies that this part will have compared to the Westmere EP, as well as limiting its brand new desktop twin, the Core i7 3960X to just 6 cores at start. Those 8 cores, 20 MB L3 cache and 4 DDR3-1600 memory channels, combined with dual 8 GT/s QPI channels and 40 PCIe v3 8 GT/s channels – notice how QPI and PCIe now get kinda in sync – really push the 32 nm process to the limit without even any OC to consider. After all, according to our OEM sources at IDF, just confirmed in Taiwan, the highest speed initial part in the E5-2600 series, aimed at dual socket workstations and HPC, is expected to only top 3.1 GHz before Turbo, yet it asks for a 150W TDP. That is of course, still by far the fastest X86 part to be in the market at the time, but what if we want more?

Well, the rumours say that, encouraged by the unexpected success of the Westmere Xeon 5600 in the OC space, Intel is quite ready to go ahead with unlocked versions of the high end Xeon E5 too. After all, the users of the upcoming EVGA SRX dual Socket 2011 mainboard, or its likely competitors from Gigabyte or Asus, wouldn’t mind even 250W TDP per socket to get to well above 4 GHz with dual 8-core Xeon E5, backed by 8 memory channels. Such a board, based on the current experiences with the Core i7-3960X and its cooling, could easily run a say 4.5 GHz dual 8-core setup, with 8 channels total of DDR3-2133 memory – although low latency DDR3-1600 CL6 should be just enough as well. With near half teraflop of peak FP double precision power if using AVX coding, and well over 100 GB/s main memory bandwidth, the monster desktop could feed up to 8 GPUs easily over its 80 PCIe v3 lanes. For those who can’t afford the big dualie, but still want more than just 6 cores of the 3960X, well look forward some of single socket 8-core Xeon E5 Socket 2011 parts – they are expected to work in the current X79 desktop boards too! Of course, you have to pay more than the usual $999 limit Intel puts on its high end desktop SKUs then. Look here for more info as the things move forward.

HTC said to focus on quad core devices in 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/htc-said-to-focus-on-quad-coredevices-in-2012/14027.html November 24th, 2011

November 24th, 2011

By now it's pretty obvious that 2012 will be the year of the quad core mobile devices, be it smartphones or tablets, although most appear to be running Android so far, but we'd expect a fair few tablets to be part of the Windows 8 crowd later next year. Rumours are now suggesting that HTC is going to stick quad core chips in all of its high-end devices with one of the first being its rumoured Quattro tablet. We're not quite sure how much of this is true, as Digitimes has at least some information that we know is wrong, as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;leakedâ&#x20AC;? Zeta phone from HTC was simply a mock-up and not a device that will ever go into production and as such the specifications that went along with it are obviously not the real deal. That said, the Quattro tablet or whatever its retail name will be should at least be arriving in Q1 next year unless HTC changes its mind. The tablet should be powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 chip and this falls in line with what we've heard. It's also said to feature Beats audio, something that should become a standard feature on high-end devices from HTC, as well as support for HTC Scribe and HTC's cloud storage service powered by Dropbox. The Edge should be HTC's first quad core smartphone, it too powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 chip, although we're not sure if the specs are reliable again, as there are far too many rumours going around when it comes to this handset. We should hopefully see the actual device line-up from HTC and the Mobile World Congress in February which should help to clarify things. HTC has been more or less forced to use Nvidia's chips in its first quad core devices as Qualcomm isn't ready to provide HTC with the amount of quad core processors that the company demands and judging by the Qualcomm roadmaps that we've posted about here before, its first quad core part with be an APQ rather than an MSM model which means it won't have integrated baseband support. This would be fine for a tablet, but not so much for a smartphone. Even so, going down the Nvidia route has the same limitations, so the only issue here is that Qualcomm isn't ready to supply large quantities of chips as yet. That said, the APQ8064 should be quite a powerful chip and we'd expect it to be used in many of the Windows 8 tablets, least not thanks to its support for both SATA and PCI Express.

Samsung going quad-core with the Exynos 4412 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-going-quad-core-with-theexynos-4412/14026.html November 24th, 2011

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Some very early details of Samsung's next generation Exynos SoC has made an appearance online and it suggests that the upcoming Exynos 4412 is a quad core processor. It will still be an ARM Cortex-A9 based chip, but it's said to sport improved graphics and higher clock speeds. The details appeared on a Kernel Git page which is a Linux kernel archive and consist of files that add kernel support for the Exynos 4412 quad core SoC. Several files mentions the fact that the Exynos 4412 is a quad core ARM Cortex-A9 chip and most of it appears to be supplied by a Samsung employee some six weeks ago. Clock speeds of the new chip are expected to be around 1.5GHz. Apparently the Exynos 4412 shares most of its features with the dual core Exynos 4212 and both chips are expected to be 32nm HKMG parts. It's also believed that the Exynos 4412 will feature updated graphics in the shape of ARM's Mali-604T GPU core with up to eight "cores", although at this point in time this is purely speculation and it's very possible that we might see a PowerVR based graphics core here, since as we know, Samsung has licenced both companies graphics technology. We'll just have to wait and see what Samsung comes up with, but it's clear that 2012 is going to be the year of quad core ARM processors.

Cheaper tablets coming next year? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/cheaper-tablets-coming-nextyear-/14025.html November 24th, 2011

It looks like there has been some over production of tablets, more specifically Android powered tablets which just aren't selling, well, at least not unless we're talking about Amazon's Kindle Fire or Barnes & Noble's new Nook. This has led to excess inventory levels of most other Android tablets, something that isn't expected to change much over the holiday season either. It looks like there has been some over production of tablets, more specifically Android powered tablets which just aren't selling, well, at least not unless we're talking about Amazon's Kindle Fire or Barnes & Noble's new Nook. This has led to excess inventory levels of most other Android tablets, something that isn't expected to change much over the holiday season either. According to Digitimes, there are somewhere between 3-4 million tablets sitting in warehouses and on store shelves if estimations by IDC are proven to be correct. That's a lot of unsold tablets, although this is among all of the tablet makers which makes it a more reasonable share per company. Still, it goes to show that tablets aren't going down all that well with 21

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consumers at their current price points, something that isn't entirely unexpected when consumers are already spending money on smartphones and notebooks. As such it looks like we can expect a price drop on many of the current tablets come next year as the companies are trying to clear out their inventories for either Android 4.0 tablets with better, faster and shinier hardware, or as Digitimes seems to think, Windows 8 tablets which it claims some PC vendors have decided to already start designing ahead of Microsoft's launch of its new OS that will apparently arrive sometime in Q3 next year.

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of these handsets are considered end-of-life by the handset manufacturers and as such, they're not bothering putting any more resources into the models that they've already sold and move away from. Even so, most of the Android handset makers have a lag time of six months or more before they deliver updates to their handsets and according to Bit9, Samsung is the worst when it comes to providing timely updates. Another problem mentioned is the fact that many new handsets ship with an already out dated version of Android, something that far too many consumers have experienced and been disappointed by.

Lack of Android updates leads to unsecure handsets according to report Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lack-of-android-updates-leads-tounsecure-handsets-according-to-report/14024.html November 24th, 2011

A company called Bit9 that creates server side security software has had a play with some of the more commonly available Android phones in the market and has found that the manufacturers lack of updates for its older handsets are leading to unsecure devices. The company has compiled a list that it calls the "Dirty Dozen" which consists of what the company considers the worst offers that have reached significant market penetration. A company called Bit9 that creates server side security software has had a play with some of the more commonly available Android phones in the market and has found that the manufacturers lack of updates for its older handsets are leading to unsecure devices. The company has compiled a list that it calls the "Dirty Dozen" which consists of what the company considers the worst offers that have reached significant market penetration. We'd say that this report should be taken with a grain of salt or maybe even a teaspoon or two depending on how you use your phone, but the company is suggesting that any Android phone running a version of Android older than 2.3.3 is vulnerable to various threats. There are some interesting statistics to take on board here though, such as the fact that the 12 phones picked make up close to 33 percent of the market share of Android phones currently in use, although this data only seems to apply to the US market. The top three offenders are the Samsung Galaxy Mini, the HTC Desire and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and you can check out the other nine models in the chart below. Apparently Android holds 52 percent of the US handset market of smartphones and of that 52 percent 56 percent are running a version of Android older than 2.3.3. Many

That said, even Apple's iPhone gets a mention and has ended up on a 13th place in the list as Apple's older devices that aren't eligible for software updates suffer a similar fate to old Android devices. What the report doesn't state is what kind of threats there are, although it talks loosely about things like hackers being able to access to information on smartphones such as business email, rather than suggesting that there's a wide range of viruses that might be picked up by your smartphone. Bit9 doesn't give any clear solutions to the problem at hand either, but is suggestion that Google should be more involved when it comes to enforcing updates for its OS that would be able to bypass the device makers and the network service providers. They're also suggesting that large companies limit access to apps or provide a secure app store which only has certified apps in it. Another approach is to put more pressure on the device makers to get more timely releases of updates 22

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to the OS out to all of their devices and we have to say that this one sounds like the best option to us, as it's a win-win situation for everyone except possibly the device makers who would be forced to hire more software developers. Head over to the source for the full report.

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Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Report: AMD Radeon HD 7000 presentation on December 5th Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-amd-radeon-hd-7000presentation-on-december-5th/14091.html November 29th, 2011

AMD is reportedly preparing a media event next Monday, December 5th, to present their next-gen 28nm GPUs - to be branded Radeon HD 7000 series. While this is not going to be a release day, more information about the much anticipated HD 7000 is expected to finally be presented to the media. AMD is reportedly preparing a media event next Monday, December 5th, to present their next-gen 28nm GPUs - to be branded Radeon HD 7000 series. While this is not going to be a release day, more information about the much anticipated HD 7000 is expected to finally be presented to the media. The event is being held at London - curiously also the codename for the Radeon HD 7000M notebook - rumoured to be announced in December. Surely, that is not a coincidence, and we could see the Radeon HD 7000M series being announced on December 5th, with notebooks featuring HD 7000M GPUs shipping in Q1 2012. Of course, it is standard procedure to announce mobile GPUs well before notebooks hit the market. As for the desktop market, several reports and sources suggest the first HD 7000 GPUs will release around CES 2012 time, i.e. second week of January. Till then, we can look forward to some concrete information following the December 5th London event.

PCI Express 4.0 announced, twice the bandwidth of 3.0

We haven't even reached a stage where you can buy a single PCI Express 3.0 add-in card, yet the PCI-SIG isn't resting on its laurels as the company has just announced version 4.0 of the PCI Express specification. As you might expect PCI Express 4.0 is bringing twice the bandwidth compared to PCI Express 3.0, but it's not going to arrive any time soon. We haven't even reached a stage where you can buy a single PCI Express 3.0 add-in card, yet the PCI-SIG isn't resting on its laurels as the company has just announced version 4.0 of the PCI Express specification. As you might expect PCI Express 4.0 is bringing twice the bandwidth compared to PCI Express 3.0, but it's not going to arrive any time soon. With only Intel's recently announced Sandy Bridge-E processors and X79 based motherboards having the potential of offering PCI Express 3.0 support, that is if Intel ever condones it officially, we're currently at a stage where PCI Express 3.0 doesn't matter all that much. That said, come next year we should see a wider availability of PCI Express 3.0. With twice the bandwidth of PCI Express 2.0, a standard that is hardly being utilized to the max, one has to wonder what we can look forward to that will use up the bandwidth of PCI Express 4.0. With some 16GT/s (that's gigatransfers) we're looking at a lot of bandwidth here and the good news is that the PCI-SIG is expecting this to be feasible with little to no changes to the physical PCI Express 3.0 board and slot layout, much in the same way as the move from PCI Express 2.0 to 3.0. That said, the PCI-SIG isn't expecting to have the finer details of PCI Express 4.0 done until sometime in 2014 or 2015 and by then, there might be something that needs all that extra bandwidth. Keeping with the good news, PCI Express 4.0 is expected to be fully backwards compatible, cost no more to make than current PCI Express implementations and we might be seeing some more power efficient implementations developed by the time the standard is finalized.

The future of peripherals, in a glass pane Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-future-of-peripherals-in-a-glasspane/14085.html November 29th, 2011

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/pci-express-4.0-announced-twice-thebandwidth-of-3.0/14090.html November 29th, 2011

Writers and movie-makers have gotten us to dream about this for years: a sexy transparent glass panel which we can type 1

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

or doodle around to interact with a computer system. This is not too far away from us, now that a Kickstarter project is underway to bring this to fruition.

A sci-fi-esque keyboard or trackpad made solely out of a pane of glass may be coming to you soon. Engineer, inventor and entrepreneur Jason Giddings brings this technology to reality with his Kickstarter project titled Multi-Touch Keyboard and Mouse. Using the existing technology called Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR), light from mounted LEDs on one edge of the keyboard panel will bounce internally in a zig-zag path against the two large surfaces of the glass at its rest state. When typing begins, contact is made between the glass panel and the finger, breaking the internal reflection and thus directing the light downwards into a camera. This is then processed to determine which keys are ‘pressed’. Similar mechanism is deployed to register gestures as well.

This project can be seen as part of a step towards further minimizing the appearance and presence of hardware from a mobile device, which is a different level from making thinner smartphones. This brings us closer to many concept renders depicting the day when handsets and computer may appear no more than just be a pane of glass.

Visit the Kickstarter website to see how you can contribute to materializing this amazing concept.

'Sleek' to be the name of Samsung's new superphone? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/-sleek-to-be-the-name-of-samsung-snew-superphone-/14084.html November 29th, 2011

The Korean electronics giant Samsung is on the move again. With their latest GALAXY Nexus in line for release just a few weeks from now, the company has filed yet another trademark application for the name “Samsung GALAXY Sleek” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The range of goods and service which comes under the trademark apparently includes smartphones and tablet devices. While the selected family of device is not surprising, it also seems to indicate that Samsung is taking good measures not to reveal anything about the intended device that will bear that name. The GALAXY series is reputed for high quality products with refined aesthetic in a complete package, thus the use of the word ‘sleek’ feels like it may be another milestone product. Nonetheless, only time will tell as we wait for the 2

November 29th, 2011

next big thing from Samsung. Meanwhile, we can all enjoy the upcoming GALAXY Nexus which boasts to be the first phone with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

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be a tool that accomodates to the removal of the back piece, suggesting that batteries may be replaceble.

Droid 4 carries latest specs in QWERTY flavour Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/droid-4-carries-latest-specs-in-qwertyflavour/14075.html November 29th, 2011

The Motorola Droid 4 has been churning the rumour mill recently, but now some tangible numbers and more pictures have emerged. The most powerful QWERTY phone to date is nigh.

While there is no indication of which Android version it will run, the supposed launch from Verizon alongside the Galaxy Nexus may imply that it will come with the new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. But, right now, its anybody's guess.

Toyota Fun-Vii concept car with customizable exterior display Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/toyota-fun-vii-concept-car-withcustomizable-exterior-display/14083.html November 29th, 2011

The impending arrival of Motorola's Droid 4 becomes more and more apparent as new images surface along with a tip that it may be released on 8 December by Verizon. While the fast release cycle surprises many people, given that the Motorola Razr was just unleashed, it still makes delighting news for people who must have a physical keyboard on a smartphone.

What's better than a car that has a stylish and futuristic design? How about one whereby the entire exterior is an external display? Japanese car maker Toyota has recently unveiled their Fun-Vii concept car whose exterior is also an external display.

The D4 will be powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4-inch touch screen, a full five row illuminated QWERTY keyboard, front camera, a 8-megapixel shooter at the rear side, and topped off with support for 4G Long Term Evolution Network. It looks very similar to the newly released Razr, sans the well-marketed Kevlar rear cover, which is not surprising at all. Unlike the Razr, however, there seems to 3

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Toyota has recently showcased their Fun-Vii concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward, whose exterior can be used as external display, and the interior can also be adjusted to fit the driver's mood. According to the company's executives, the design was influenced by modern smartphones whereby the handheld can be personalized, from the skin, home page etc. The three-seater concept car's external display can be adjusted to modify the car's color, while the interior of the Fun-Vii can be configured and with adjustable colors and tints for various portions of the car. But when powered off, the exterior is jet black (as above pic). Being a concept car, there is no word as to whether the Toyota Fun-Vii will ever be produced.

the SKU. For most, this is likely to have little to no difference. Do keep in mind that the max dynamic clock speed may never be achieved, especially if you're overclocking the CPU, as the CPU and GPU are sharing the same max TDP, so good cooling is key here.

Even more Ivy Bridge details leak

Intel still appears to be removing features like hardware virtualization on its K-models for whatever reason, as well as support for it trusted execution technology. It's funny how we end up paying more for less when it comes to Intel's high-end, overclockable CPUs.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/even-more-ivy-bridge-detailsleak/14082.html November 29th, 2011

By now you've most likely already ready the Ivy Bridge lineup details via Russia, although now more details have come to light via China. A lot of details were missing in the initial leak and we can now fill in the blanks, especially with regards to the graphics and how the upcoming Ivy Bridge processor fit into Intel's echo system compared to the current Sandy Bridge processors. By now you've most likely already ready the Ivy Bridge lineup details via Russia, although now more details have come to light via China. A lot of details were missing in the initial leak and we can now fill in the blanks, especially with regards to the graphics and how the upcoming Ivy Bridge processor fit into Intel's echo system compared to the current Sandy Bridge processors. Starting with the graphics, we have two graphics options in the desktop parts, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and Intel HD Graphics 2500. The main difference here beyond clock speeds is that we're expecting the execution units to be at least 1/3 greater in the HD 4000 parts compared to the HD 2500 parts, unless Intel has changed something last minute. The Core i7-3770K, Core i7-3770, Core i7-3770S, Core i7-3770T, Core i5-3570K as well as the oddly named Core i5-3475S will be the only ones with HD 4000 graphics, the rest get to make do with HD 2500 graphics.

As for the product positioning, well, the Core i7-3770K are placed below the upcoming Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E CPU and it will be very interesting to see how the two compare in real world situations, especially with a mere 100MHz base clock speed difference between the two. Oddly enough the Core i7-3770 is clocked 100MHz slower than its K suffix counterpart this time around, something that wasn't the case with the current Sandy Bridge processors and something that isn't the case for the Core i5-3570's.

We were quite surprised by the fact that Intel placed the Core i5-3570, 3550 and 3450 (the 3470 wasn't in the product positioning list) ahead of the current Core i5-2500K, especially as the Core i5-3450 is 200MHz slower and Ivy Bridge wasn't expect to bring that much extra performance when it comes to the CPU core itself. Once again, it'll be interesting to see how things play out when it comes to real world performance, as this is where it counts. The original post on Chinese website Corescn.com requires you to log in, so instead we've included a link to German Computerbase who has some additional details on the subject. Do take this with a pinch of salt, as although it does look legit and lines up nicely with the details from Overclockers.ru, there's a chance that things will still change before the launch.

The base clock speed for all Ivy Bridge desktop processors will start at 650MHz, although we'll see a max dynamic clock speed of anything between 1050 and 1150MHz depending on 4

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Kinect 2 rumoured to be able to read your lips

Is Apple working on a 15-inch MacBook Air?

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/kinect-2-rumoured-to-be-able-to-readyour-lips/14081.html November 29th, 2011

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/is-apple-working-on-a-15-inchmacbook-air-/14080.html November 29th, 2011

Microsoft's Kinect for the Xbox 360 has without a doubt been a huge success for the company and it looks as if Microsoft is working on a new, much more advanced version of Kinect to go with its next gen console which is expected to be announced sometime next year. Sadly the rumour mill doesn't offer a lot of details, but we're apparently looking at something quite a bit more advanced than the current Kinect. Microsoft's Kinect for the Xbox 360 has without a doubt been a huge success for the company and it looks as if Microsoft is working on a new, much more advanced version of Kinect to go with its next gen console which is expected to be announced sometime next year. Sadly the rumour mill doesn't offer a lot of details, but we're apparently looking at something quite a bit more advanced than the current Kinect. Eurogamer has scored some exclusive information suggestion that the next generation of Kinect will offer a much higher resolution camera which won't be hard as the current Kinect model has a resolution of a mere 320x240 pixels, something that is apparently to do with the data limitation that Microsoft put on the USB interface as to not interfere too much with the performance of other attached USB devices. As such Kinect is only allowed 15-16MB/s of the total available bandwidth, a restriction the next generation hardware won't suffer from. In fact, it's meant to have a camera capable of reading your lips, for improved voice and motion recognition. If we were to hazard a guess here, we might see USB 3.0 support in the next gen console from Microsoft, as this would remove all the potential bottlenecks for quite some time. The quoted source also seems to suggest something similar "It can be cabled straight through on any number of technologies that just take phenomenally high res data straight to the main processor and straight to the main RAM and ask, what do you want to do with it?" This is also suggesting that we'll see a lot more RAM in the next gen console from Microsoft and hopefully some of this will be dedicated to providing enough space to store higher resolution textures, a problem that both Microsoft's and Sony's current consoles are suffering from compared to modern graphics cards in a PC. If you're an Xbox follower, then it seems like you have a lot to look forward to next year, although none of this is expected to make an appearance until E3 in June.

According to recent rumours, Apple will not only offer Ivy Bridge powered 11.6 and 13.3-inch versions of its MacBook Air come the new year, but the company is apparently planning a 15-inch model as well. The question is if the market demand is there, as at least traditionally, Apple's larger notebooks have been quite powerful machines and a slimmed down version won't be able to compete in terms of performance. According to recent rumours, Apple will not only offer Ivy Bridge powered 11.6 and 13.3-inch versions of its MacBook Air come the new year, but the company is apparently planning a 15-inch model as well. The question is if the market demand is there, as at least traditionally, Apple's larger notebooks have been quite powerful machines and a slimmed down version won't be able to compete in terms of performance. The details are slim as always when it comes to this type of rumour, but Digitimes appears to be fairly certain that Apple will be offering a 15-inch SKU and it's said to be offered as a competitor to the yet-to-launch large screen Ultrabooks. That said, we might just end up with a slimmed-down version of the MacBook Pro, as the details are anything but clear and are coming from the supply chain that doesn't always have the full picture. Interestingly pilot production of the 11.6 and 13.3-inch models has apparently already started which means that Intel is more or less ready with its ULV models of Ivy Bridge, something we'll bring you more details on shortly. As for the 15-inch version, well, it's not in pilot production, but it's expected to get to that stage shortly and we'll just have to wait and see if it'll be a new Air or a slimmed down Pro.

Gigabyte updates its Booktops with the T1132, gives you a chance to win one Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-updates-its-booktops-withthe-t1132-gives-you-a-chance-to-win-one/14079.html November 29th, 2011

November 29th, 2011

With Intel's ULV processors mostly ending up in Ultrabooks these days, it's refreshing to see something a bit different and Gigabyte has overahauled its Booktop series of convertible notebooks with a shiny new Sandy Bridge ULV CPU. The original Booktop, the T1125 was looking a bit tired specification wise by now, so this refresh is welcome. With Intel's ULV processors mostly ending up in Ultrabooks these days, it's refreshing to see something a bit different and Gigabyte has overahauled its Booktop series of convertible notebooks with a shiny new Sandy Bridge ULV CPU. The original Booktop, the T1125 was looking a bit tired specification wise by now, so this refresh is welcome.

Published by: VR-Zone

Other new features include a chipset update to the HM65 chipset and slightly better graphics with a move to an Nvidia GeForce GT520M which should offer a small performance boost over the GeForce 410M found in the T1125. It should be mentioned that the T1132 supports switchable graphics for when you're running on battery. The rest remains close to the same , with a 1366x768 resolution 11.6-inch display with capacitive multi-touch, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, a choice of hard drive options from 320 to 750GB, a USB 3.0 port, an eSATA/USB combo port (eSATAp), an HDMI port, a D-sub connector, a memory card reader, a pair of audio jacks, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and a spare slot for a 3G mini PCI Express card. Let's not forget the optional docking station as well that also houses the optical drive.

The pricing for the T1132 hasn't been announced as yet and we double checked with Gigabyte who informed us that we should expect a retail price close to that of the T1125, in other words somewhere in the region of US$1300 (S$1690). That said, Gigabyte is currently giving one away, as well as a few other prizes as long as you're willing to give them your first born fill in a survey which you can find on their Facebook page.

The CPU of choice in this case is the Core i5-2467M which arrived all the way back in June, so in other words it has taken Gigabyte a while to get this 1.6GHz chip (with Turbo to 2.3GHz) into its Booktop. The new model is called the T1132 and the specific SKU with the Core i5 chip carries the N suffix and is currently the only new model, although we'd expect more SKUs to follow. Finally Gigabyte has also included Bluetooth 3.0 + HS, although this is a standard that has as yet to really take off.

Xebec Tech htpc keyboard review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/xebec-tech-htpc-keyboardreview/14078.html November 29th, 2011

Xebec Tech is a newly founded company which originates from the UK and today has offices in the UK, China and Taiwan. The company currently focuses mostly on high end peripherals. A few weeks ago we had a look on their itouchpad diamond keyboard, a versatile product designed to mimic a laptop-sized keyboard and touchpad. Today we are going to have a look at a different piece of equipment which Xebec Tech baptized simply “htpc”, a multi functional controller for media center PCs, gaming consoles and other devices. Xebec Tech is a newly founded company which originates from the UK and today has offices in the UK, China and Taiwan. The company currently focuses mostly on high end peripherals. A few weeks ago we had a look on their itouchpad diamond keyboard, a versatile product designed to mimic a laptop-sized keyboard and touchpad. Today we are going to have a look at a different piece of equipment which Xebec Tech baptized simply “htpc”, a multi functional controller for media center PCs, gaming consoles and other devices. •

10-15m wireless range due to a 2.4GHz nano receiver 6

November 29th, 2011

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2.4GHz nano receiver fits into USB port of your computer

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Plug n Play installation- a specific driver is not required

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Published by: VR-Zone

Power saving On/off switch

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73 keys- 13 hotkeys (including 11 media hotkeys) and 11 further enhanced function keys

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11 media hotkeys are: www, e-mail, back, forward, previous track, next track, play/pause, stop, volume up, volume down and mute

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11 further enhanced function keys activated via the "fn" key.

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6 MCE hot keys: My music, my video, my picture, my TV, my radio and DVD

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Gestures on the touchpad include 2 finger scrolling

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Built in and ergonomically placed rear positioned left and right click buttons

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Weight: 170g

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Dimensions: 163 x 121 x 28 mm

Kingston Buying Up Large Volumes of Elpida, Toshiba DRAM Chips Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/kingston-buying-up-large-volumes-ofelpida-toshiba-dram-chips/14077.html November 29th, 2011

The DDR3 memory industry is suffering with indigestion. Quite literally. Upstream component manufacturers, as well as vendors have jointly overproduced, and hence we're seeing unreal memory prices. DRAM chip vendors Elpida and Toshiba are two of those companies suffering with inventory digestion problem, and they could be the worst hit, given that they're both Japanese, and are part of an environment with lower room for cost-cutting (since labor costs, as well as product quality factor in higher). Kingston Technology has a pill. The DDR3 memory industry is suffering with indigestion. Quite literally. Upstream component manufacturers, as well as vendors have jointly overproduced, and hence we're seeing unreal memory prices. DRAM chip vendors Elpida and Toshiba are two of those companies suffering with inventory digestion problem, and they could be the worst hit, given that they're both Japanese, and are part of an environment with lower room for cost-cutting (since labor costs, as well as product quality factor in higher). Taiwan's Kingston Technology has a pill.

According to a DigiTimes report, Kingston is buying large volumes of DRAM chips from Elpida and Toshiba, in an effort to help the two digest inventories by the end of financial year 2011. This has been a disaster year for memory chip manufacturers. They have overproduced, and coupled with lower PC sales, it has rendered many manufacturers cashstrapped and looking for funding to survive. In the retail and channel markets, we are getting to see some unreal prices, with 8 GB DDR3 modules going for as low as US $49.99, and 2x 4 GB dual-channel DDR3 memory kits well within reach of the masses. The move to buy up large stocks of chips from Elpida and Toshiba has a few implications to PC enthusiasts, because chips made by the two go into making high-end DDR3 modules. It could give Kingston a chance to come up with high-performing DDR3 modules at attractive price points, and help raise the brand up the ranks of others that PC enthusiasts look out for. Korea's Hynix Semiconductor is also among Kingston's DRAM chip suppliers, and it is reported that Kingston could also buy stocks of DRAM chips from it. Simply put, this is the best time to buy memory. Planning to gift your special someone something fluffy or shiny this Christmas? Try a memory upgrade instead!

Preliminary Desktop Ivy Bridge Line-up leaked Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/preliminary-desktop-ivy-bridge-lineup-leaked/14076.html November 29th, 2011

A preliminary line-up of Ivy Bridge SKUs has leaked at Chinese forums CoreSCN featuring quad-core Ivy Bridge CPUs, covering the Core i5 and Core i7 branding. As previously rumoured, the focus for Ivy Bridge is clearly power efficiency and graphics, rather than CPU performance. A preliminary line-up of Ivy Bridge SKUs at Chinese forums CoreSCN. The table consists of quad-core Ivy Bridge CPUs, covering the Core i5 and Core i7 branding. As previously rumoured, the focus for Ivy Bridge is clearly power efficiency and graphics, rather than performance. 7

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

AMD Radeon Memory Goes Beyond Enthusiasts Memory, Brings OverDrive Support Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-radeon-memory-goes-beyondenthusiasts-memory-brings-overdrive-support/14072.html November 29th, 2011

Table credit: Overclockers.ru At first glance, the product segmentation is very similar to Sandy Bridge - quad-core with HT and 2MB L3 cache disabled as Core i5, the fully enabled chip as Core i7. What is notable is that the Core i5 brand has been extended to feature a greater range of clocks, and presumably a wider price range. As with Sandy Bridge, K suffix indicates unlocked multiplier, S power efficient, and T low power. The most notable change is the max TDP for all Ivy Bridge products is down to 77W, from 95W which has been the standard for this segment for several years.

In early August, AMD introduced Radeon-branded memory modules in selected markets. When we spoke with AMD, we were told that the company is "trialing the market" and is "running a test in Japan". The results of that test were obviously successful, since the company is coming with the whole product line. While AMD is in the news for all the wrong reasons such as the Bulldozer launch and a 12% layoff, AMD is making an entrance into the completely new market: memory.

The Core i5 brand covers Core i5 3330 to Core i5 3570K, clocking from 3 GHz to 3.4 GHz for the 77W parts. The 33xx CPUs feature limited turbo of 2 bins compared to the 34xx and 35xx brands, which feature 4 bins - like Sandy Bridge. It is worth noticing that the clock speed of the Core i5 3570K is only 100 MHz higher than Core i5 2500K. This trend is carried onto the Core i7 3770K, which tops out at 3.5 GHz - exactly the same as Core i7 2700K. It is clear that CPU performance will be essentially similar to equivalent Sandy Bridge products - albeit the performance delivered at a lower power floor, with superior graphics performance. In addition to lowering TDP across the board, Intel arguably also has to protect its high-end Sandy Bridge-E series. A 95W Ivy Bridge would clearly outrun Sandy Bridge-E in all tasks that utilize 4 cores or less. In line with the focus on power efficiency, Ivy Bridge also feature impressive power efficient S and T options. The S suffixed CPUs have a 65W TDP and aren't far off their standard 77W counterparts. They also offer the same turbo, which means single-threaded performance is essentially the same. The T suffixed CPUs operate under only 45W, with the top Core i7 3770T clocking up to 2.5 GHz and 3.7 GHz with turbo. Core i5 2390T, the only dual-core Core i5 part in the Sandy Bridge line-up, will be replaced by a similar dual-core Ivy Bridge CPU - Core i5 3470T, clocked at 2.9 GHz with a 35W TDP. These Core i5 and Core i7 Ivy Bridge products are expected to release in April 2012, with dual-core Core i3 CPUs expected later in Q2 2012. The power efficiency improvements will bring forward more significant improvements in the notebook market with configurable TDPs - particularly for ultrabooks. In the desktop arena, Sandy Bridge owners will find limited incentive to upgrade to Ivy Bridge.

AMD partnered with Patriot Memory to bring this type of products to the global market, while VisionTek is selected to be the North American retail partner. AMD will offer three lines of system memory, all in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities: "Entertainment Edition", "Performance Edition" and "Radeon Edition". The line is fairly standard - DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600 and DDR3-1866. DDR3L is making an appearance inside the "Performance Edition" with modules operating at 1.35V, while "Radeon Edition" operates at 1.5-1.65V at 1866MHz and supports overclocking via AMD Overdrive software.

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

new patch addresses some issues including a tendency for lockscreen freezes, minor bugs and security loopholes, as well as upgrades such as a new camera interaction layout, increased HSPA transfer speed, a faster boot-up sequence and a string of other performance improvements. The update was initially reported from Mexico and it should be served through Samsung KIES, the company's proprietary bundled software to interface the phone with the computer. It is believed that the unlocked version of the phone will receive its upgrades first, while carrier-bounded handsets would require approval before receiving the patch. Well, hopefully the update would reach Singaporeans by Decemeber or early next year. Fellow owners can check their update status via the "settings" menu on their phones in hopes of receiving the good news. While Patriot is the manufacturer of memory modules, those modules feature AMD branded memory chips and the company did not disclose who the manufacturer of those memory chips is. System DIMM memory is not the only thing AMD silently launched. The company also launched its own brand of graphics memory, and it won't be long before we see a vendor from Mainland China pairing an NVIDIA GPU with AMD GDDR3 or GDDR5 memory.

Android Gingerbread 2.3.6 coming to your Samsung Galaxy S II Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/android-gingerbread-2.3.6-coming-toyour-samsung-galaxy-s-ii/14074.html November 29th, 2011

Canon PowerShot S100 slated for 8 December release Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-powershot-s100-slated-for-8december-release/14073.html November 29th, 2011

The Canon PowerShot S100 was showcased at Canon Singapore's event in September, and the company has said that the successor to the popular PowerShot S95 would be launched in early November. Unfortunately, we have not seen the compact digital camera in stores yet. According to online sources, the PowerShot S100 is slated for 8 December release instead.

The new Google Android 2.3.6 updates for the Samsung Galaxy S II is on the horizon. Read on to find out how much better this super-phone can become.

Samsung has unleashed a new firmware for its ever-popular Galaxy S II super-phone, merely a week after the version 2.3.5 update for its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S.The

The Canon PowerShot S100 was originally scheduled to be available in early November, but now, it looks like the successor to the popular PowerShot S95 is now slated for early December release; the official release date has been determined to be on 8 December. Available in silver and black, the PowerShot S100 features a high-sensitive 12.1-Megapixel 1/1.7-type CMOS image sensor, enhanced HS system and new DIGIC 5 image processor, wide angle zoom lens and new builtin GPS to record location information to the picture's EXIF data. The estimated retail price is approximately 짜55,000 (or US$708).

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Win a Apple iPad 2! - Signup and attend tomorrow's Next Generation Computing Experience Forum 2011 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/win-a-apple-ipad-2--signupand-attend-tomorrow-s-next-generation-computing-experienceforum-2011/14070.html November 29th, 2011

Together with the AMD 16-core Interlagos server platform launch, VR Media (parent company of VR-Zone) is coorganising a technical forum together with A-STAR A*CRC on the next generation high performance computing... tomorrow. This event is suitable for academics, scientists, high performance computing enthusiasts and IT decision makers. Signup now and attend the event tomorrow for a chance to win a Apple iPad 2! In the first of a series of our technical events with A*CRC, we focus on the technology updates in the high performance computing field, including the architecture of large machines used in supercomputing. The new processors, system designs and interconnects integrating thousands of small modules into large combinations are one area. The other one is heterogeneous computing, where combining CPUs, GPUs and other accelerators together creates new challenges in software, especially parallel programming, to squeeze the most out of the underlying hardware potential. Top speakers from A*CRC, AMD, HP will be on hand to unveil new strategies, platforms and products, and your favourite VR-Zone team will be there to cover. The event is held at Biopolis, Matrix Building, Exploration theatre, from 9 am to 4 pm.

Signup and attend for a chance to win a Apple iPad 2!

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Gigabyte Taiwan Product Development Manager, Mr. Hunter Lee giving a product briefing before the overclocking session.

To qualify for the lucky draw, you must signup and attend the event through the whole proceedings (9am to 3pm). This technical event is suitable for academics, scientists, high performance computing enthusiasts and IT decision makers. Signup Link: http://ngcef2011.eventbrite.com/

Report: Gigabyte X79 PlugFest OC Event @ KL, Malaysia

Gigabyte's X79 motherboard lineup catered to the different types of users

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-gigabyte-x79-plug-fest-ocevent--kl-malaysia/14069.html November 29th, 2011

Last weekend, tech media outlets like VR-Zone and other ASEAN-based overclockers were invited to attend the Gigabyte X79 Plug-Fest OC event which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Besides introducing their latest range of Gigabyte X79 motherboards for the new Socket 2011 chips, Liquid Nitrogen was provided for those in attendance to push the limits of the latest Intel Sandy Bridge-E processors at subzero temperatures. Gigabyte X79 Plug-Fest - Various tech journalists and expert overclockers from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines

For their X79 boards, Gigabyte have finally opted to switch to a fully digital VRM implementation for more precise power control and regulation which should help component stability during overclocking.

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

One exclusive feature on the higher end Gigabyte X79 boards is the inclusion of a "Bluetooth 4.0 + Wifi" PCIe x1 expansion card for faster syncing with your new fangled handheld devices.

Also making its debut on Gigabyte X79 boards is their "Patent Pending" UEFI Bios to give end users a more modern and verbose interface to tune and adjust traditional BIOS options. Gigabyte also showed off their mobile apps which will we should see in the Apple iOS App store soon.

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

· C6 & Hybrid ready! - Maximum compatibility with C6 & hybrid states of current and future CPU & GPU generations by ZERO LOAD design. · DXXI ready! - 100% 6+2P (8P) PCI-E connector to support new generation DXXI graphic cards. · Future ready! - 12P modular design for possibly upcoming new CPU and GPU 10P and/or 12P connectors. · SERVER ready! - SSI PSDG support for latest Intel® Core™ Extreme/i7/i5/i3, Xeon™ and AMD® Opteron™ and SLI® or CrossFireX™ and downward compatible with EPS12V v2.92, v2.8. · World ready! - 100-240VAC in with automatic adjustment and active PFC for global usage. · 24/7 @ 50°C ready! - Non-Stop industrial class performance at 50°C ambient.

Enermax Platimax 850W PSU Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/enermax-platimax-850w-psureview/14068.html November 29th, 2011

· EMC ready! - Full-scale electromagnetic filtering protects your system against radiation interferences. · CordGuard - Fixing the AC cord tightly to avoid accidental shutdowns of your PC. · HeatGuard - Keeping PSU fan running for 30-60 seconds after shut down to dissipate the remaining system heat and prolonging system lifetime. · SafeGuard - Industry-leading multiple protection circuitry of OCP, OVP, DC UVP, OPP, OTP, SCP & SIP.

Ever since the home computer market began to grow, Enermax has always been one of the top power supply manufacturers in every enthusiast’s list. The company is one of the oldest in the field and has been supplying high performance power supplies to demanding users for 20 years. A company with such a reputation always has one line of top performance products for the most demanding of users. In this review we are going to test and review the Enermax Platimax 850W power supply, a product promising unequaled performance and bearing an 80Plus Platinum certification. Ever since the home computer market began to grow, Enermax has always been one of the top power supply manufacturers in every enthusiast’s list. The company is one of the oldest in the field and has been supplying high performance power supplies to demanding users for 20 years. A company with such a reputation always has one line of top performance products for the most demanding of users. In this review we are going to test and review the Enermax Platimax 850W power supply, a product promising unequaled performance and bearing an 80Plus Platinum certification. Manufacturer’s features and specifications · 89PLUS ready! - World’s leading modular cable PSU series with 89-94% efficiency @ 20-100% load. Compliant with 80PLUS® PLATINUM efficiency requirement.

· SpeedGuard - Advanced fuzzy logic fan speed control for optimal cooling and minimum noise. (Patented) . · Twister fan inside! - 13.9cm Twister-bearing fan with low noise and long lifetime. (100,000 hours MTBF, Patented) · 100% 105? Japanese electrolytic capacitors - Highest components standards for maximum durability and stability. · Dynamic Hybrid Transformer Topology - Technological breakthrough topology using a staged dynamic transformer array for extremely high efficiency with the most durable and stable output at any load. AC 100-240VAC, Input50-60Hz, Voltage Active PFC AC 11 Input5A Current DC Rated3.3V 5V 12V1 12V212V312V412V512V6-12V 5Vsb output 0-24A 0-24A 0-30A 0-30A 0-30A 0-30A 0-30A 0-30A 0-0.5A 0-3A Combined 120W1344W(112A) 6W 15W TotalPower 850W PeakPower 935W

· ErP Lot 6 ready! - Help system to meet ErP Lot 6 2010 (<1W at standby mode) with high efficiency +5Vsb circuitry. 13

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Report: NVIDIA 28nm Desktop GPU Roadmap Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-nvidia-28nm-desktop-gpuroadmap/14067.html November 29th, 2011

Japanese website 4Gamer has revealed a detailed roadmap for NVIDIA's upcoming 28nm Kepler GPU line-up for desktops. As previously rumoured, the Kepler roll out will indeed be bottom-to-top, starting with the mainstream GK107 chip in Q2 2012 to the high-end GK110/2 parts later in the year. All Kepler GPUs are manufacted at TSMC's 28nm, use GDDR5 memory and feature DirectX 11.1 support, ready for Windows 8.

Kingston states the obvious, lower NAND price will lead to cheaper SSDs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/kingston-states-the-obvious-lowernand-price-will-lead-to-cheaper-ssds/14066.html November 29th, 2011

First to release will be GK107, a budget mainstream GPU. There's unlikely to be a Kepler based entry-level GPU. GK107 features 128-bit memory, and is first expected in notebooks, the desktop release being sometime in Q2 2012. Unlike the other GK chips (which support PCI Express gen 3), GK107 only features PCI-Express 2. GK106 will be the mainstream performance part, replacing the GeForce GTX 560, featuring 256-bit memory. According to the roadmap, it is expected to release in late Q2 2012, not long after the GK107 release. In 2012, NVIDIA is expected to embrace AMD's sweet-spot strategy, with no massive die. Instead, the top single GPU part will be GK104, featuring 384-bit 1.5 GB GDDR5 memory. GK104 is said to push out 2 TFLOPS, 30% higher than GTX 580. However, despite the smaller die, 4Gamer claims it consumes over 250W power. GK104 will release bang in the middle of 2012, perhaps during Computex time. Following right after GK104 will be GK110 - a dual GK104 flagship, thus completing NVIDIA's line-up for most of 2012 - remarkably similar to AMD's sweet spot strategy. However, not for long, as late in 2012 / early 2013, NVIDIA plans to return back to a massive die with GK112, featuring 512-bit memory.

Sometimes technology companies really states the obvious and Kingston has now gone on record to say that it expects SSD drive adoption to take off significantly towards the second half of next year. The reason why you ask? Well, by then NAND flash is expected to have come down in cost to about US$1 per 1GB, in other words, SSDs will be cheaper than they are now which will lead to a bigger consumer uptake. Maybe we're being a little bit harsh here, but it doesn't take a genius to figure this out. Nathan Su, Kingston's flash memory sale director is the person in question that's been talking to Digitimes about the future of Kingston's SSD products and the fact that the company is expecting a large uptake of SSDs next year. The current hard drive situation with the flooding in Thailand was also mentioned, but by the second half of 2012 we're hoping that problem will have been solved. One of the reasons for the lower cost NAND flash is a move to sub 20nm manufacturing processes which are expected to happen next year. What isn't mentioned though is that some manufacturers are switching to TLC NAND flash and combined with the sub 20nm manufacturing process this will lead to shorter NAND flash life. Even so, it's expected that TLC NAND flash should last about 5 years or so, even with fairly large amounts of data being written to it on a daily basis. No details of upcoming SSD products were revealed, but Kingston is apparently focusing on entry-level products as well as it midrange products for next year, hopefully products that will be better than its current entry-level which aren't exactly cost competitive as we mentioned a little while ago.

Details about Kepler remain sketchy, and such reports must be considered as preliminary estimates, at best. Meanwhile, AMD is rumoured to be preparing Southern Islands / HD 7000 for a Q1 2012 release, well before high performance Kepler GPUs reportedly hit the desktop market. 14

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Is the Atom N2100 Intel's single core off-roadmap Cedar Trail-M? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/is-the-atom-n2100-intel-s-single-coreoff-roadmap-cedar-trail-m-/14065.html November 29th, 2011

Details of yet another unannounced Atom N2x00 series processor have made an appearance online courtesy of various online retailers and Samsung, who will be fitting the new CPU in some of its upcoming netbooks. Currently no detailed specs are known, but according to information VR-Zone has seen, Intel is working on an off-roadmap single core Atom processors currently only known as the Cedar Trail-M which we have a feeling will be known as the Atom N2100. Details of yet another unannounced Atom N2x00 series processor have made an appearance online courtesy of various online retailers and Samsung, who will be fitting the new CPU in some of its upcoming netbooks. Currently no detailed specs are known, but according to information VR-Zone has seen, Intel is working on an off-roadmap single core Atom processors currently only known as the Cedar Trail-M which we have a feeling will be known as the Atom N2100. It's not the first time Intel has created an off-roadmap CPU, the Atom N280 was the first such Atom processor to our knowledge and the company has a habit of creating various SKUs that it didn't originally plan on due to high demand from its partners. In this case we're looking at a cost sensitive option, as odd as it might seem with Intel already having reduced the pricing of the Cedarview and Cedar Trail processor by a pretty fair amount compared to the previous generation of Atom processors. As this is a single core CPU we'd expect half the cache, i.e. 512KB compared to the dual core models. Apart from that we're not sure about any specifics, but if history is anything to go by, we'd expect the single core model to have higher clock speeds than the dual core models or it'll be at least as fast as the N2800 at 1.86GHz. What we do know is that Samsung is planning an upgrade of its N102S netbook with the CPU set to replace the Atom N435 currently found in the N102S which is a fairly unimpressive 1.33GHz model. The potential here is that the Atom N2100 will actually be a slower clocked part, but we don't really see a reason for this, but it really comes down to how Intel is trying to sell these chips. UK pricing for the Samsung N102S with the N2100, 1GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive is £240 (S$489) including VAT, not exactly super cheap for what is a rehashed model. In related news, Samsung is apparently getting ready to dump its range of netbooks after Q1 next year and focus on ultraportable notebooks instead with screen sizes between 11.6 and 12-inches. This would also help explain why Samsung is

Published by: VR-Zone

just rehashing old netbook models with new hardware in the case of the N102S.

"Siri, start the car." Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/-siri-start-the-car.-/14064.html November 29th, 2011

Apple's iPhone 4S Siri has more tricks up her virtual sleeve than one expects. Now she can start your car for you, and even open the boot compartment. Read on to find out how it is done. Apple iPhone 4S' Siri represents an advancement of voice activated functionality with a human touch. With a bit of tweaking, however, it can do more than just reschedule your meetings and send text. A recent video footage reveals that it is possible to request Siri to process basic automobile functions such as unlocking the car, starting the engine, and opening the trunk after some major modification on the iPhone 4S. A short quotation from the developer’s blog follows: “The “Siri Proxy” plugin I wrote handles interaction with a PHP script that runs on my web server. The PHP script, which I developed months ago for personal use, allows me to send commands to my car which has a Viper SmartStart module installed … Current commands accepted are: “Vehicle Arm”, “Vehicle Disarm”, “Vehicle Start”, “Vehicle Stop”, “Vehicle Pop Trunk”, and “Vehicle Panic”.” Evidence such as this simply shows that the remarkable envisioned potentials of Siri are already within reach, and it is merely a choice for Apple to officially implement them. However, those who are familiar with the ways of the Cupertino company may expect the typical reaction of closing the security gap that allows for such modifications instead. For those who need to see to believe, here’s the video:

VR-Zone Christmas Gift Guide - Notebook PCs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/vr-zone-christmas-gift-guide-notebook-pcs/13983.html November 29th, 2011

With Christmas about a month away, many of us would be shopping for presents for our loved ones. So for the technology geeks, we hope this feature could give some ideas on what you may have in mind. This three-part VR-Zone Christmas 15

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

Gift Guide starts with the notebook PCs this week, followed by tablets devices and mobile phones in subsequent weeks. ASUS ROG G74Sx

If you are looking for a powerful and portable gaming machine, check out this latest brainchild from ASUS's Republic of Gamers (ROG) series. Powered by second generation Intel Core i7-2670QM processor (2.2GHz) with 8GB DDR3 memory, NVIDIA GeForce GTX560M discrete graphics with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM and 1TB hybrid hard disk, the ASUS ROG G74Sx offers users immersive gaming as well as multimedia entertainment experience. Its exterior design is inspired by US Navyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sea Shadow stealth ship and modern day aircraft carriers, and the gaming laptop comes with a 5-degree incline keyboard for better ergonomic angle, and comfortable rubber-like palm rests for long hours of usage. The ASUS ROG G74Sx sports a 17-inch full high definition (1920x1080) 16:9 display and Blu-ray writer to play your Blu-ray movies or backup your data on Blu-ray writeable discs. Price: S$3,298 Where to buy - AAAs Com Solution, IT Harvest, Microware, Newstead Technologies, @notebook.com, MC2, Digital Asia, Microware, South Asia, Matrix IT Gallery, Netpro, Best Denki, Challenger, Courts, Harvey Norman, Carrefour, Gain City

The ZENBOOK UX31 is one of the latest Ultrabooks from ASUS that features an ultra-slim form factor - measuring 2.8mm at the thinnest point ; with silver exterior panel and unique concentric circle design that gives a stylish appeal. It offers an instant-on feature that can resume the system in approximately two seconds, and also standby times of up to two weeks. The ZENBOOK UX31 is equipped with the latest Intel second generation Core processors (optimized for mobile use), SSD storage, Bluetooth V4.0 and USB 3.0. The Ultrabook also utilizes ASUSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; patented Super Hybrid Engine II technology that can conserve battery life intelligently, and ASUS SonicMaster technology to provide superb audio experience. Price: S$1,498 (w/GST) for Intel Core i5-2557M processor with 4GB DDR3 memory and 128GB SSD; S$1,998 (w/GST) for Intel Core i7-2667M with 4GB DDR3 memory and 256GB SSD Where to buy - AAAs Com Solution, IT Harvest, Microware, Newstead Technologies, @notebook.com, MC2, Digital Asia, Microware, South Asia, Matrix IT Gallery, Netpro, Best Denki, Challenger, Courts, Harvey Norman, Carrefour, Gain City

Next Generation Computing Experience Forum comes to Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/next-generation-computingexperience-forum-comes-to-singapore/14063.html November 29th, 2011

ASUS ZENBOOK UX31

Together with the AMD 16-core Interlagos server platform launch, VR Media (parent company of VR-Zone) is coorganising a technical forum together with A-STAR A*CRC on the next generation high performance computing this coming Tuesday, as well as an enthusiast dinner gathering focused on the new product offerings. Here are the highlights... 16

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

In the first of a series of our technical events with A*CRC, we focus on the technology updates in the high performance computing field, including the architecture of large machines used in supercomputing. The new processors, system designs and interconnects integrating thousands of small modules into large combinations are one area. The other one is heterogeneous computing, where combining CPUs, GPUs and other accelerators together creates new challenges in software, especially parallel programming, to squeeze the most out of the underlying hardware potential. Top speakers from A*CRC, AMD, HP will be on hand to unveil new strategies, platforms and products, and your favourite VR-Zone team will be there to cover. The event is held at Biopolis, Matrix Building, Exploration theatre, from 9 am to 4 pm.

Sony PlayStation 4 inbound amidst difficulties Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-playstation-4-inbound-amidstdifficulties/14062.html November 29th, 2011

A Playstation 3 successor is on the horizons, but not after PS3 has served every last bit of its lifespan. Financial troubles have plagued Sony recently, but will it cripple them and repeat the late release against Microsoft Xbox yet again?

Sony has made the statement that they will unleash the PlayStation 4 (PS4) as close to their competitors’ releases as possible, adding that it would be “undesirable” for PS4 to be too far behind. This is reference to a one-year difference between the Sony PS3 and the Microsoft Xbox. Impending pressure comes from both Microsoft and Nintendo as the 17

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Published by: VR-Zone

new Xbox is hinted to launch in late 2013, based on reports from insiders of the gaming industries, and the Wii U is slated for 2012. Despite the awareness that is displayed by the electronics giant, squeezing every bit of sales from the PS3 is still their priority.

battery drained very fast, and is now at 47% when he only used it for just an hour. The Finnish company has announced that it is planning for two updates which will improve the Nokia Lumia 800′s power experience, though that would come only in January next year.

Jim Ryan, president and CEO Of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, says: “If you look at PlayStation 2, now in excess of 150m units installed globally, a huge majority of that was done at price points of £120 or lower. We've only just hit £199 in the UK (with PS3), so clearly there's a considerable untapped part of the market there."

This is the official reply from company in the Nokia Support Discussion:-

Sony’s questionable finances recently may impede their work on the PS4 as resources such as the research and development department might become limited. Nonetheless, advancements towards PS4 are already underway as a report suggests that a first-party Sony studio has stopped their involvements with PS3 to move on to developing graphics technology for the upcoming console.

Nokia announces upcoming updates to improve battery life of Nokia Lumia 800 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-announces-upcoming-updatesto-improve-battery-life-of-nokia-lumia-800/14060.html November 29th, 2011

Nokia has bet on their new Windows Phone Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 to keep the company alive. And it seems that the Lumia 800 has faced some complaints when it was launched in UK recently - the phone's poor battery life. Well, the Finnish company has announced that updates will be released for improve the Nokia Lumia 800's battery life.

"We understand that some people have expressed concerns about battery life on the Nokia Lumia 800. Early investigations show that most people are enjoying the full Nokia Lumia experience without any problems and we have not been able to identify a single root cause that would lead to erratic battery behavior at this stage. A software update in early December will make some improvements to power efficiency, while a second update in early January introduces high voltage charging, increasing the Nokia Lumia 800’s battery power from 1300mAh to 1450mAh. These are scheduled improvements and will enhance the overall experience, but are not designed to address any issues that may be occurring with individual products. We recommend that anyone who has concerns contact local Nokia care representatives at their earliest convenience."

Samsung collaborates with Singapore celebrities to create limited edition body stickers for Samsung MultiView MV800 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-collaborates-with-singaporecelebrities-to-create-limited-edition-body-stickers-for-samsung-multiviewmv800/14059.html November 29th, 2011

The recently launched Samsung MultiView MV800 claims to be the first premium compact model to feature a 3.0-inch wide flip-out touch display. But if you don't like the three colors offered - black, red and white - there are some limited edition body stickers you can put on your MV800. And they are designed by local celebrities.

The new Nokia Lumia 800 Windows phone was launched in UK a few days ago and boasts to bring a new exciting experience to users; their advertising campaign's tagline is "The Amazing Everyday". Most users did experience an "amazing" experience, though that is the need to charge the phone every now and then. To be fair, every smartphones are limited by the battery technology, though the Nokia Lumia 800 has a slightly more serious case. One user in the Nokia support forum states that his usage isn't very high, but the

This Christmas, Samsung Singapore has announced that it has worked with local celebrities to present three limited edition body stickers for their Samsung MultiView MV800. Consumers can choose one of the three body stickers presented in a Christmas gift pack which contains two batteries, 8GB memory card and a premium leather case. A perfect gift for your loved one this Christmas to capture memories with the Samsung MultiView MV800. The 16.1-megapixels Samsung MultiView MV800 features a 3.0-inch wide flip-out touch Display that allows user to take angled shots over large crowd to capture a concert or performance, and even self-portrait easily. The camera also

November 29th, 2011

Published by: VR-Zone

comes with 26mm wide-angle lens with 5x optical zoom lens that can capture superb pictures. The Samsung MultiView MV800 in limited edition body stickers is available from 24 November in White at S$499 at Harvey Norman (Millenia Walk and Funan), Courts (Big Box, Jurong Point and Orchard) as well as Audio House while stocks last. POP

PROFILE Dawn Yeoh is a sweet princess who loves all things pink and cute. Her debut breakout role was in the MediaCorp drama series, Shining Star. INSPIRATION Stay sweet and positive by viewing life in different colors.

PROFILE Soh Ee Shaun, a contemporary artist and illustrator in Singapore, is hugely influenced by '50s to '60s modernist art and pop culture. His designs, colorful and playful, are set against endless geometric, biomorphic forms. INSPIRATION Designed to tempt you to smile for pictures.

How Games Challenge Hollywood: Call of Duty, Battlefield earned more money than Twilight Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/how-games-challenge-hollywood-callof-duty-battlefield-earned-more-money-than-twilight/14058.html November 29th, 2011

ROMANCE

Several years ago, Microsoft's Halo was the first game to reach the 100 million US dollar sale on the opening weekend. Today, the video games are challenging and beating blockbuster movies on their opening days. Case in point - Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I. While there is a difference in how the movie industry counts their revenue compared to the video games industry, we can draw some interesting comparisons. PROFILE Jack & Rai are musicians and song-writers in Singapore. With their easy-going and engaging personalities, they have made guest appearances on TV and radio. They still continue to perform regularly at gigs. INSPIRATION Continue to spread more love and music. HAPPINESS

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I is the second most watched movie launch of 2011, earning 291 million dollars in the first weekend globally out of which 139.5 million came from USA. This is the fifth-best opening in the USA of all times, and 10th on a global scale. Best opening of all times was recorded by Batman: The Dark Knight with 483 million on the opening weekend out of which 158 million came out of US. Yet, these majestic openings pale in comparison to popular video games. While the mainstream media was drooling over Twilight, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 shipped 10 million units for the launch and sold seven million units during the first weekend sale - earning more than 775 million US dollars. 19

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Battlefield 3 sold five million copies on the first weekend of sales, and 10 million copies in just 10 days, earning 300 million dollars on the opening weekend and over 610 million dollars in those first 10 days.

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With the announcement of the new Core i7-3960X by Intel, the current performance throne holder (i7-990X) was replaced, not surprisingly, by yet another Intel CPU. We took some time to compile a detailed comparison of all major current top desktop X86 CPUs by both Intel and AMD, to show you the real performance gains when moving from the old to the brand new. Introduction We often compare cutting-edge new CPUs to their brethren from the previous generation. After that, we rarely go back to the old models, simply because it doesn’t have too much of a practical value, but also because the new models are better than the old ones as a rule.

The mind-numbing numbers don't stop. Bethesda Softworks announced that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim sold in 3.5 million copies on the opening weekend, and that 7.5 million units were shipped in the first week of sales. Those 3.5 million units brought home 210 million dollars, while the overall launch revenue is worth just a bit below half a billion dollars ($460M). Bear in mind that Bethesda increased the launch volume by 50%, as Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas shipped in five million copies each. Next year, we expect to see Bethesda shipping 10 million units at launch and becoming the heavy lifter as Activision and EA. In terms of media exposure versus revenue , video games are the business to be - no hundred-million dollar marketing commitment is needed, and yet the sales exceed the most anticipated movie titles of the year. It is just a matter of time before gaming related companies start publishing revenue figures in a business way with dollar figures, instead of mentioning "millions of units". Activision Blizzard, EA and ZeniMax Media (owner of Bethesda) are all laughing their way to the bank, especially when the marketing budgets for The Dark Knight or Twilight are compared to Call of Duty Battlefield or The Elder Scrolls Series. Did we mention World of Warcraft franchise is the first video game franchise to pass the four billion dollar mark and is bound to pass the five billion dollar mark by the end of this year? Not bad for a title which is available on only one platform and that's the PC.

Intel Sandy Bridge-E Core i7-3960X Review: High End CPU roundup

Furthermore, as far as CPUs are concerned, we often talk about various abstract subjects such as bottlenecks – a term we often encounter when testing the strongest graphics cards, for instance. It’s occurred to us recently that we often don’t compare the old and new in a sufficient number of tests, perhaps because of our desire to dive into the new technology as much as possible, which may leave out some of the much needed objectivity. This might cause some confusion amongst PC users and a wrongful logic when assembling a new PC or upgrading the old one. Are new CPU generations really all that better than the old ones? Do they bring all the marketed increases in performance, or are those just percentages occurring in particular programs under particular conditions? Ultimately, is it all about presenting you what you want to see rather than what it is? During conversations with reputed hardware manufacturers, for instance, we’ve encountered the general attitude that Sandy Bridge CPUs are around 30% faster than Nehalem/ Westmere-based ones. Many articles on the net confirm the same allegations. However, as time went by, we’ve established that this sort of prejudice is just wrong in many ways, as the situations where that percentage is reached come in a very limited number. In regard with that situation, this review is meant to give an overlook of the strongest CPUs made by AMD and Intel so far. Test Setup For the needs of this test, we obtained highest end CPU's for each generation, both from AMD and Intel. Intel was represented with Westmere Core i7 CPU (Core i7 990x) and Sandy Bridge - Core i7 2700K and Core i7 3960x. AMD was represented with their strongest CPUs: AMD FX-8150 (Bulldozer) and AMD Phenom II X6 1100T (Thuban).

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-sandy-bridge-e-core-i7-3960xreview-high-end-cpu-roundup/14040.html November 29th, 2011

November 29th, 2011

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For all the test for round up we used Kingston HyperX 1600 CL9 4 x 4GB kit, and just for special, latency test we used Kingston HyperX T1 2133CL9 4x2GB kit. Having in mind both performance and capacity two Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD were used. Trusty and more then capable, PSU Cooler Master UCP 900W was used to power up all these monsters. We used two different cooling solutions; primarily it was Cooler Master V10 for all the sockets beside socket LGA 2011. For that one we used Intel liquid cooling solution (RTS 2011LC) that came together with Core i7 3960x CPU. Only logical choice for VGA was ASUS GTX580 as a most powerful single GPU graphic card.

After obtaining a total of five CPUs (three from Intel and two from AMD), we had to decide on the motherboards to be used. The negative aspect of Intel’s policy to change the socket with each new CPU generation came to full effect yet again – three motherboards and three OS installations were required just for their part of the test.

Tests were split into two categories: typical benchmarks of the CPU, memory and system in general on one hand, and various games on the other. All in all, over 300 tests were done in total, and there was a lot to deduce as well.

In order to do the test we obtained following motherboards for Intel processors: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme (X79 chipset), ASUS Sabertooth X58 (X58 chipset) and ASUS P8P67 WS Revolution (P67 chipset). AMD only required a single 990FX motherboard for both CPU's- ASUS Crosshair V Formula (990FX chipset). These five systems were tested in two scenarios. The first entailed the CPU set to its default clock, while the second one was with all CPUs set to exactly 4.5 GHz, thereby measuring clock-for-clock performance. The only exception to this was Phenom II X6 1100T, which had a lower OC margin, so it had to be excluded from the second round. In order to make testing more realistic, we overclocked through changing the multiplier exclusively, while the FSB remained locked at its default value. Furthermore, the RAM clock was constantly at 1600 MHz with 9-9-9-24 1T latencies. All these precautions isolated the CPU as much as possible. The chipset factor is something you just can’t avoid in this sort of test, but we’re fairly certain that its impact on overall CPU performance is irrelevant. As the number of RAM channels has a lot to do with the architecture of each CPU, we used the best available settings each time, ranging from dual- to quad-channel memory, the latter being used by Sandy Bridge E models. 21