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EMC Announces General Availability of New Symmetrix DMX-3

Creative Expands Portable Speakers Family With TravelSound and TravelDock Products

Panasonic Introduces 3CCD SD Camcorder

Philips Simplifies Development Of Digital Radio Mondiale Coprocessor

VIA Announces P4M800 Pro Chipset

Hitachi Presents "Mikey" and "Slim" Hard Drives

A Photo Of Intel's New Processor

LabelFlash Technology to Challenge Lightscribe



EMC Announces General Availability of New Symmetrix DMX-3

EMC Corporation announced general availability of its new flagship high-end storage system, the EMC Symmetrix DMX-3, which was announced on July 25. The first system ordered by a customer, a fully loaded, 960-drive Symmetrix DMX-3 array, was shipped on August 31.

The Symmetrix DMX-3 system complements and builds on the success of the Symmetrix DMX-2 Series of systems. The DMX-3 exceeds previous capabilities through a design that features increased processing power and internal bandwidth, new memory technology and support for lower-cost disk drives. The Symmetrix DMX-3 supports up to 960 disk drives today, and will be qualified to support up to 1,920 disk drives in the first half of 2006 and more than 2,000 by the end of next year.

Source: EMC

Creative Expands Portable Speakers Family With TravelSound and TravelDock Products

Creative Technology introduced new additions to its lightweight portable speakers family. The four superior TravelSound and TravelDock portable speaker systems feature NeoTitanium micro drivers.

Creative TravelDock Zen Micro designed to form a complete music system with the Creative Zen Micro MP3 player. The sleek cover acts as a stand and protects the speakers when travelling. The multifunctional speaker enables users to charge their Zen Micro player while listening to music. It also allows user to upload and download music and data via an integrated USB connection, and allows additional audio devices to be connected to it via the Auxiliary Input. It also features headphone and subwoofer connectors and a FM antenna. Equipped with a digital amplifier, it delivers up to 25 hours music playback on four AA batteries. The 8 Watts total RMS speaker comes with an infra-red remote control that allows users to control the power and volume of the speaker, as well as Zen Micro player functions such as Play/Pause, Next/Previous track. Users can also use it to switch between FM radio and MP3 modes.

Creative TravelDock 900 has a built-in docking stereo audio plug for instant connection to an MP3 player, including Apple iPod Shuffle. Its glossy white enclosure in a clamshell design incorporates two NeoTitanium micro drivers that deliver 4 Watts total RMS music playback. With the built-in digital amplifier, it gives up to 32 hours of music on four AAA batteries. When hooked up to a power adapter, the Creative TravelDock 900 has the ability to charge the Apple iPod Shuffle. This novelty features Wide Stereo Effect and Auto-power off when closed.


Creative TravelDock 900

The Creative TravelSound 400 portable speaker system has 180-degree swivel design and can be rotated out of the way for speaker protection and automatic power-off. It delivers 4 Watts total RMS power, the Wide Stereo Effect and has NeoTitanium micro drivers. With an advanced digital amplifier, it gives up to 35 hours music, powered by four AAA batteries.


Creative TravelSound 400

Creative TravelSound 250 makes it convenient and easy to pack away for travel. Powered by four AAA batteries to give 25 hours music playback, it has NeoTitanium micro drivers rated at 3 Watts total RMS, and supports the Wide Stereo Effect.


Creative TravelSound 250

Pricing and availability:

  • Creative TravelDock Zen Micro has an estimated retail price of S$249.00
  • Creative TravelDock 900 has an estimated retail price of S$169.00
  • Creative TravelSound 400 has an estimated retail price of S$129.00
  • Creative TravelSound 250 has an estimated retail price of S$89.00

The four products are available for September shipment in Asia through all Creative's retail outlets.

Source: Creative Technology

Panasonic Introduces 3CCD SD Camcorder

Panasonic today announced a first 3CCD SD camcorder. The lightweight, portable SDR-S100 records MPEG2 video onto SD Memory Cards, and features Leica Dicomar lens, 10X optical zoom and Optical Image Stabilization.

The SDR-S100 features high-performance image processing technology and a newly developed MPEG2 Engine designed to precisely detect and process fast movements.

The novelty records in the 16:9 aspect ratio and also features a wide, 2.8" LCD, making it easy to frame shots in the 16:9 format. Shots can also be framed for viewing on a conventional 4:3 TV as well.

The camcorder can also capture a 3.1-megapixel (2048x1512) still images and features MEGA O.I.S. for image stability.

The SDR-S100 includes a rechargeable battery pack and a 2GB SD Memory Card.

The Panasonic SDR-S100 SD camcorder is slated for introduction in October, with a targeted manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $1199.95.

Source: Panasonic

Philips Simplifies Development Of Digital Radio Mondiale Coprocessor

Royal Philips Electronics is bringing Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) to the Connected Consumer with a dedicated coprocessor for decoding DRM signals in car entertainment systems. DRM is a digital AM radio system that delivers FM quality audio to the consumer while also having the capacity to deliver integrated data and text which can be displayed on compatible receivers to enhance the listening experience.

Philips has designed its DRM coprocessor to offer manufacturers a simple upgrade path from existing AM/FM radio designs to a DRM enabled set. The single chip coprocessor works with Philips' SAF7730 automotive software radio DSP and TEF6730 Digital IF car radio front-end to provide manufacturers with a total system solution that supports DRM as well as HD radio reception.

Philips dedicated coprocessor for DRM decoding is based on Philips’ Nexperia connected media processing technology and designed for use in the automotive industry.

Evaluation models of the Digital Radio Mondiale coprocessor are currently available.

Royal Philips Electronics

VIA Announces P4M800 Pro Chipset

VIA Technologies announced the VIA P4M800 Pro chipset for the mainstream and entry-level PC markets.

Designed to support a full range of Intel Pentium 4 and Intel Celeron processors with an FSB of up to 800MHz, the VIA P4M800 Pro also supports a choice of DDR2-533/400 memory modules as well as DDR-400/333/266 SDRAM. The chipset´s multimedia features include the integrated S3 Graphics UniChrome Pro IGP core with outputs to CRT, LCD and standard definition TV, and support for 1080p HDTV with a compatible TV-Out or DVI encoder.

Combined with the VIA VT8237R South Bridge, the VIA P4M800 Pro offers native Serial ATA and V-RAID support (RAID 0, 1, 0+1), VIA Vinyl Audio, and Gigabit Ethernet with the VIA Velocity controller.

The VIA P4M800 Pro is currently shipping worldwide, so motherboards featuring the chipset are expected to be available soon.

Specifications:

  • Support for the latest Intel Pentium 4 Processors
  • Supports 800/533MHz FSB
  • Supports up to 16GB DDR2 or DDR Memory
  • V-Link 533MB/sec North/South Bridge interconnect
  • AGP 8X/4X
  • Integrated S3 Graphics UniChrome Pro
  • Optimized Unified Memory Architecture (UMA)
  • 200MHz Graphics Engine Clock with separated 128-bit data paths
  • 128-bit 2D and 3D Graphics Engine
  • Chromotion CE Video Display Engine
    • MPEG-2 Decoder
    • Video Deblocking
    • Adaptive De-Interlace
    • Full HDTV support up to 1080p
  • Two 8-bit Video Capture Ports
  • Three 12-bit Digital Video Ports for connection to TV out, Video Capture In, and external TMDS transmitter
  • Support for Microsoft DirectX 7.0, 8.0, 9.0 and Open GL support
  • Support for VIA Vinyl Audio
  • Serial ATA support for up to 4 devices
  • Integrated V-RAID with RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, and JBOD (SATA) support
  • Parallel ATA133/100/66 support for up to 4 devices
  • Support for up to 8 USB 2.0/USB 1.1 ports
  • Support for VIA Velocity Gigabit Ethernet companion controller & Integrated 10/100 Fast Ethernet
  • Advanced System Power Management Support

Source: VIA Technologies

Hitachi Presents "Mikey" and "Slim" Hard Drives

HGST today presented new 1" and 1.8" hard drives introduced in concept earlier this year under the monikers "Mikey" and "Slim".

Hitachi expects these two hard drives to be used in high-capacity smart phones, multi-function audio/video players and other handheld consumer devices. CE manufacturers across these segments have already designed Mikey and Slim into prototype consumer devices, the earliest of which are expected out this year.

The new drives feature higher capacity on smaller footprints, easier integration with a ZIF connector, industry-first CE-ATA interface, lower power consumption and shock protection through a number of technologies, including a new drop sensor.

Mikey, which is officially called the Hitachi Microdrive 3K8, will be available with 6GB and 8GB of storage capacity and, is said to be nearly 20% smaller and consumes 40% less power than its predecessor. The 3K8 is also the first hard drive to offer the CE-ATA interface, which is designed to support the specific relationship between small-form-factor hard drives and the handheld consumer electronic devices in which they are embedded.

Hitachi is also deploying a drop-sensor technology on the new Microdrive, which protects against data loss in the event of a drop. Hitachi’s Extra Sensory Protection technology works by immediately parking the read-write head safely away from the surface of the disk when it detects a fall, preventing head/disk contact which may cause data loss. ESP is activated during a drop of as little as four inches (10 cm) and allows the operating-shock tolerance to mimic non-operating-shock tolerance, which in the 3K8 equates to 2000 Gs.

Another novelty, Hitachi’s newest 1.8" Travelstar C4K60 Slim, is 30% thinner than its predecessor, measuring 5mm on the one-disk model. Slim offers an upper capacity of 30GB and 60GB of storage on the one- and two-disk model, respectively. Slim, like Mikey, features a ZIF connector for ease of integration in consumer electronic devices. Both drives are using femto slider technology for improved shock performance and power consumption.

The new CE-ATA interface, along with parallel ATA, will be available on all capacities of the Microdrive 3K8. Hitachi is also making the 3K8 available in the ATA on MMC interface. In addition, Hitachi plans future support for CE-ATA on its 1.8-inch Travelstar product line.

The 6GB and 8GB versions of the Microdrive 3K8 are now shipping in limited quantities, with volume shipment planned for October. Hitachi’s ESP technology and support for the CE-ATA and ATA-on-MMC interfaces will be available starting in December.

The Travelstar C4K60 Slim will begin volume shipment of the 30GB version at the end of this month. The 2-disk, 60GB Slim model will ship in the first quarter of 2006.

Microdrive 3K8 "Mikey":

  • 6/8 GB (PATA/CE-ATA/ATA on MMC)
  • 5 mm in height
  • 13 grams maximum weight
  • 3600 rpm
  • 8.33 ms average latency
  • 105 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density
  • 1 glass disk platter
  • 2 GMR recording heads
  • 2000 G/1ms non-operating shock
  • 400 G/2ms operating shock
  • 12 ms average seek time
  • 190 mA current read/write for +3.3VDC
  • 20 mA current standby for +3.3VDC
  • MB/sec maximum interface transfer rate 33 Ultra DMA mode-2
  • 1.8 Bels typical idle acoustics
  • 1.8 Bels typical operating acoustics

Travelstar C4K60 "Slim":

  • 20, 30, 40, 60 GB
  • 5/5/8/8 mm in height
  • 46/46/57/57 grams maximum weight
  • 4200 rpm
  • 7.1ms average latency
  • 101 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density
  • 1/1/2/2glass disk platter(s)
  • 2/2/4/4 GMR recording head(s)
  • 1500 G/1ms non-operating shock
  • 600 G/2ms operating shock
  • 15 ms average seek time
  • 1.0 W active read/write
  • 0.4 W active idle
  • 0.08 W standby
  • MB/sec maximum interface transfer rate 100 Ultra DMA mode-5
  • 1.6/1.6/1.8/1.8 Bels typical idle acoustics
  • 2.2/2.2/2.4/2.4 Bels typical operating acoustics

Source: HGST

A Photo Of Intel's New Processor

As you remember, at the IDF 2005 Intel paid much attention to transition to the 65nm process and power consumption reduction. It seems this is already being realized in silicon.

HKEPC posted a photograph, in which, according to its author, is a new Pentium 4 processor (to the right). According to Intel's ratings, it should be named "643". Judging by the specs of its closest brother Pentium 4 640 (to the left), we can assume the novelty has 3.2GHz core clock, 800MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache, and supports Hyper-Threading.

The key difference is that it's based on the Presler core and is made using 65nm process (vs. the 90nm Prescott). Note that the Presler core corresponds to Intel's roadmap of desktop dual-core solutions and is to be replaced by Conroe in the future. And single-core Pentium 4 processors will be based on Cedar Mill.

Source: HKEPC

LabelFlash Technology to Challenge Lightscribe

At the IFA, NEC exhibited a wide range of new drives which not only support DVD+R(W) and DVD-R(W) but also, for the first time, DVD-RAM.

Initially introduced by Yamaha Corp, LabelFlash is an alternative technology to Lightscribe. LabelFlash technology was introduced by Yamaha back in 2002 with the name "Disc T@2", and is able to burn (laser) custom motifs, lettering or images onto the top side of DVD blanks. LabelFlash technology simplifies the labeling of self-burned DVDs – e.g. for archiving – and also enables creative DVD design. It eliminates the need for complex adhesive labeling systems and considerably enhances the durability of the media because, especially in the case of DVD blanks, the label can make the medium unreadable.

LabelFlash delivers high image quality because it enables 256 brightness shades. The labeling process takes around five minutes to produce excellent quality results. One special feature is that both the top side and the data side of the blank can be labeled – provided that there is enough available memory. LabelFlash can be used for any blanks with a writable top surface. On these media, the labeled top surface is covered by a 0.6 millimeter-thick protect layer which ensures that even labels that are exposed to light are extremely durable.

Competitive technology Lightscribe currently does not offer multi-color disc labeling and also the image burning process takes 30min. The updated Lightscribe technology is expected in the following months and will also come with specific enhancements in labeling quality.

At the IFA, NEC exhibits a wide range of new drives which not only support DVD+R(W) and DVD-R(W) but also, for the first time, DVD-RAM.

NEC's ND-4551A burner is a genuine multi-talent: DVD minus and DVD plus media are written at up to 16x DVD speed, while rewritable (DVD+RW) and double-layer DVDs (DVD +R9) are written at up to 8x DVD speed. DVD-RW and DVD-R DL are processed at 6x speed. 5x speed applies for DVD RAMs. As a read drive, the burner delivers 16x DVD and 48x CD speed. NEC will also be marketing a lower cost model without LabelFlash, the ND-4550A, which has the same write and read speeds as the ND-4551A.

It is also launching two Slim SuperMulti DVD burners, optionally with or without LabelFlash, under the names of ND-7551A and ND-7550A. The ND-7550A slimline burner writes all DVD formats at 8x speed (DVD-R DL at 6x) and it can write DVD-RAMs at up to 5x speed.

The two new DVD burners ND-3551A (with LabelFlash) and ND-3550A (without LabelFlash) are also available in two further versions which do not support DVD-RAM. The two PC drives and the slimline drive for notebooks will be available from October onwards.

Source: NEC

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