Fujitsu PC unveils LifeBook T3000

Renesas introduces two series of 16Mbit superSRAM

Intel announces Manitoba E — "Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution" (EDGE)

AMD officially announces Opteron 846 and Opteron 146

Apple releases two iMacs supporting USB2.0

Fujitsu PC adds T3000/3000D to its LifeBook tablet PC series

Elpida Memory’s chips passed Kingston´s DDR2 DIMM verification testin

Fujitsu PC unveils LifeBook T3000

Fujitsu PC unveiled a new LifeBook — T3000 – based on 1.4GHz Intel Pentium M. It features 12" XGA LCD, 256Mb to 2Gb memory.

The basic configuration also includes 40 or 60Gb HDD. The notebook features 2 x PC Card Type II slots or 1 x Type III slot, modem, Ethernet, 2 x USB2.0 ports, IrDA, D-Sub, optional WLAN 802.11b/g. Higher-capacity batteries provide about 4.5 hours of operation.

Sized 292.1x236.2x27.9-35.5 mm, T3000 weighs about 1.9 kg. Those who don´t need WLAN support can purchase T3000D without this feature.

Renesas introduces two series of 16Mbit superSRAM

Renesas Technology introduced new SRAM chips with lower energy consumption – superSRAM – designed for portable devices.

First produced is the 16Mbit R1LA1616R series (1.8V) and R1LV1616R (3V). Crystal sized is 32 mm² that´s minimum provided by 0.15µm process.

Chips are encased into 52-pin µTSOP (10.79x10.49mm; the left one on the photo) and 48-pin FBGA (7.5x8.5). In the future these will be offered in MCP as well. On the second superSRAM stage Renesas plans to release 32Mbit chips in 52-pin µTSOP.

Small size was achieved mainly with the help of new memory cells that combines SRAM and DRAM: p-channel thin film transistor and n-channel MOSFET typical for SRAM on one side and stacked capacitor typical for DRAM on the other side. This enabled to halve the memory cell size comparing to 6-transistor CMOS SRAM (with similar process stechnology, of course.)

Intel announces Manitoba E — "Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution" (EDGE)

Intel announced its new PXA800EF comm processor codenamed "Manitoba E" and designed for Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) standards.

Similar to the previous PXA800F, the new chip bases on XScale RISC architecture that enables it to operate in GSM and EDGE networks.

EDGE provides data throughput of 150-180Kbps, but it might settle down only in USA, as most European and Asian countries are to proceed from GPRS directly to 3G.

PXA800EF doesn´t differ much from PXA800F. It just has EDGE support, its DSP chip with MSA architecture has 156MHz clock speed instead of 104MHz. Besides, some software changes have been implemented. PXA800EF has 312MHz clock speed, 4Mb flash memory and 512Kb SRAM.

PXA800EF is already sampling, with volume shipments scheduled to Q1 2004 and first handsets expected late in 2004. For over 10,000-unit quantities chip is priced $40.

AMD officially announces Opteron 846 and Opteron 146

Today AMD officially announced two new AMD Opteron processors: 846 and 146. The former, AMD Opteron 846 (2.0GHz) is designed for 4- and 8-way systems, while AMD Opteron 146 (2.0GHz as well) is designed for entry-level 1-way servers and workstations.

Priced $3199 wholesale AMD Opteron 846 are now shipped to Northern America´s system builders (this clearly indicates their insufficient quantities); AMD Opteron 146 ($669 wholesale) is shipped throughout the world, according to the press release.

Apple releases two iMacs supporting USB2.0

New models differ from their predecessors by raised PowerPC G4 clock speed that is 1.25GHz for 17" iMac and 1.0GHz for 15" model. In both cases FSB is 167MHz and basic configurations include 256Mb DDR333 (up to 1Gb) and 80Gb HDD.

Also both models feature 2 x FireWire 400 ports, 3 x USB2.0 ports (and 2 x USB1.1 ports on keyboard), VGA, S-video/composite, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and 56K V.92 modem, Mac OS X with installed Software Mail, iChat, Safari, Sherlock, Address Book, QuickTime, iLife (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD), iSync, iCal, DVD Player, AppleWorks, Mac OS X Chess, and Classic environment; Microsoft Internet Explorer, EarthLink, AOL, Quicken 2003 Deluxe,World Book 2003 Edition, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, Deimos Rising, Sound Studio, and Acrobat Reader; Apple Hardware Test.

Besides, the higher-end iMac feature 64Mb NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics and SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW); the lower-end system has 32Mb NVIDIA GeForce4 MX and DVD/CD-RW combo.

Fujitsu PC adds T3000/3000D to its LifeBook tablet PC series

Fujitsu PC introduced another addition to its Tablet PC product line, the LifeBook T3000. Featuring Intel Centrino mobile technology, the system is powered by an Intel Pentium M processor operating at 1.4 GHz and comes with the Intel 855GM chipset and Intel PRO/Wireless Network Connection 802.11b.

LifeBook T3000 Tablet PC Specifications

• Processor: Intel Pentium M Processor 1.4 GHz
• Display: 12.1" XGA display with active digitizer
• Memory: 256 MB minimum; two DIMM slots; 2 GB maximum
• Hard Drive: 60 GB or 40 GB
• Communications: Ethernet, modem and Intel PRO/Wireless Network Connection 802.11b
• PC Card Slots: Two Type II or one Type III PC card slots
• Battery: Lithium ion; up to 4.5 hours with high-capacity main battery; bridge battery for warm swapping of primary battery
• Ports: Two USB 2.0, Modem (RJ-11), Ethernet (RJ-45), VGA-out, Infrared port (IrDA 1.1-compatible, 4Mbps), headphone, microphone and docking port
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
• Dimensions/Weight: 11.5" (W) x 9.3" (D) x 1.1-1.4" (H); approximately 4.18 lbs.

For those who consider WLAN support to be redundant feature, here comes another version, T3000D, which has the same specifications as given/

Elpida Memory’s chips passed Kingston´s DDR2 DIMM verification testin

Elpida Memory and Kingston Technology announced that Elpida’s 512 Megabit DDR2 SDRAM devices have passed Kingston Technology´s verification testing.

As part of its DDR2 dual in-line memory module (DIMM) verification testing, Kingston built 512 Megabyte unbuffered DIMMs using Elpida’s DDR2 components. Kingston’s modules were then tested to ensure compliance with JEDEC´s DDR2 specification. DDR2 unbuffered DIMMs are considered a key element in next-generation high-performance desktop computers in 2004.

Kingston’s DDR2 DIMMs offer a peak data transfer rate of 4.3 Gigabytes per second (PC2-4300), or up to 8.6 Gigabytes per second in dual-channel configurations. Elpida’s DDR2 components realize a 50% power reduction over DDR1 components. In addition, Elpida’s advanced 0.11 micron process technology allows for high yields on DDR2 products.

Kingston expects to start sampling DDR2 development memory modules to leading chipset and motherboard manufacturers by the end of 2003.

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