ASUS W5Fe - The First SideShow Notebook

ASUS Introduces XG Station - Upgradeable Graphics For Notebook Computers

Hitachi Unveils First Terabyte Hard Drive

Toshiba Delivers New SDHC And microSDHC Cards

Toshiba Brings HD DVD Burner To Desktop PCs

ASUS W5Fe - The First SideShow Notebook

ASUSTeK Computer also introduced the new W5Fe - the compact 12" wide notebook with SideShow, external auxiliary display on the LCD cover.

The W5Fe, based on the W5 series design, is a two-spindle system packed with a high-resolution swivel webcam, card reader slot and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR/

SideShow is an independent operating system that it can be switched on without booting up the whole system. With imbedded flash memory, users can save selected data to SideShow, in forms of text, image and audio, for later review. The external system is well synchronized with the main operating system that users can set for automatic Outlook (emails, calendar and meeting appointments) update when the main system is powered on for swift refresh to ensure data consistency.

The W5Fe's auxiliary display is a short cut to viewing a wide range of information, including meeting schedules, phone numbers, addresses, and recent e-mail messages. On the entertainment front, the outer display can be used to view photos, play music and games such as Solitaire. In addition, SideShow can even act as the mobile navigation device and guide the way with map display.

Specifications:

• Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology: Intel Core 2 Duo Processors T7600/T7400/T7200/T5600/T5500; Mobile Intel 945GM Express Chipset; Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
• DDR2 533/667 MHz, up to 1536 MB
• 12.1" WXGA Color Shine & Crystal Shine LCD, ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology
• SATA 80/120/160 GB
• 1.3M pixel web-camera
• 802.11a/b/g, BluetoothV2.0+EDR
• 3x USB, 1x TV-Out, 1x Card-Reader, 1x Express Card, 1x VGA
• 30.5 x 22 x 3.1cm, 1.7kg (3-cell battery pack)
• SideShow: 2.8" QVGA Auxiliary TFT LCD; 1G NAND Flash

Source: ASUSTeK Computer

ASUS Introduces XG Station - Upgradeable Graphics For Notebook Computers

ASUSTeK Computer launched the XG Station as the industry’s first public demonstration of the world’s first external graphics card station for notebook computers that is equipped with Express Card interface, USB 2.0 and Dolby headphones.

When on the go, compact notebook makes work efficient without adding extra pounds, while at home, large LCD monitor is preferred for enhanced visual enjoyment. ASUS XG Station brings the power of a dedicated 3D graphics engine, providing users with the best of both worlds. Simply plug in the XG Station to the LCD monitor and connect the notebook via an Express Card connector.

The XG Station is the world’s first docking station to provide a standard PCI Express slot for additional graphics computing power on notebook computers with Express Card slot, delivering VISTA Premium performance. The device also conveniently accommodates future graphics technology such as, HDCP and HDMI upgrades possibility. According to the press release, lab experiments on a notebook based on Intel 945GM graphics connected to the XG station with a ASUS EN7900GS graphics card showed the 9 times faster acceleration.

XG Station also features Dolby Headphone technology for any headphone to deliver 5.1-channel surround sound. Real-time Overclocking is easily controlled with the ergonomic knob design for simple GPU clock speed adjustments.

XG Station features a large LED screen that displas critical system status statistics including the following:

• System master volume
• GPU clock speed
• Current GPU temperature
• Dolby Headphone feature status
• Current actual Frames Per Second (FPS) information
• GPU fan speed Indicator

The XG Station also has a dedicated control panel to let users control the settings through the GUI based interface and easily switch modes between the notebook screen and the external LCD monitor.

The XG Station is currently scheduled to be released at the beginning of Q2 2007. A full package will include the XG Station graphics docking station, one ASUS EN7900GS graphics card and assorted accessories.

Hitachi Unveils First Terabyte Hard Drive

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies announced the industry's first terabyte hard drive. Hitachi's Deskstar 7K1000 will begin shipping to retail customers in the first quarter of 2007 at a suggested retail price of $399 (USD).

Along with the Deskstar 7K1000 for the retail market, Hitachi also announced a CinemaStar version 1TB hard drive, which provides optimized capabilities specifically designed for digital video recording (DVR) applications. The CinemaStar 1TB hard drive will be available in the second quarter.

The 3.5-inch, 7200 RPM Parallel-ATA/Serial-ATA hard drives are built on the perpendicular magnetic recording technology, first established with Hitachi's Travelstar 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch product lines.

Finally, an enterprise version of the TB drive designed for lower duty-cycle, high-capacity enterprise environments is currently under evaluation at major OEM customers and is expected to be available in the second quarter.

Specifications:

• 1000/750 GB – SATA
• 148 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density
• 1070 Mb/s max. media data rate
• 8.7 ms average seek time (with command overhead)
• 7,200 RPM, 4.17 ms average latency
• Serial-ATA 3.0Gb/s
• 32 MB data buffer – SATA
• 26.1 mm in height (max)
• 700g in weight (max)
• 5/4 platters, 10/8 recording heads – SATA
• 300 G/1 ms pulse non-operating shock
• 9.0 (5 disk)/8.1 (4 disk) watt idle power – SATA
• 2.9 Bels typical idle acoustics
• 5-60 degrees C operating temperature

Source: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Toshiba Delivers New SDHC And microSDHC Cards

Toshiba also announced the latest enhancement to its extensive line-up of SD Memory Cards: a 4GB Class 6 SDHC Card; a 4GB Class 4 miniSDHC Card; and a 2GB microSD Card. The new SDHC and miniSDHC Cards will be available worldwide from March next year, and the microSD will be launched worldwide next April.

Toshiba's new 4GB Class 6 SDHC delivers a guaranteed sustained write speed of 6MB/s; Toshiba has measured sustained performance at a maximum of 20MB/s.

The new 4GB miniSDHC Card is capable of sustained write speeds of 4MB/s.

Specifications:

The expanded new card series will also be featured at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 8 to 11.

Source: Toshiba

Toshiba Brings HD DVD Burner To Desktop PCs

Toshiba brought the capabilities of HD DVD to desktop PCs with the announcement of a standard height HD DVD drive able to read and write to HD DVD and to standard DVD and CD discs. Sample shipments of the new drive, SD-H903A, are scheduled to start this month.

The new SD-H903A integrates a blue-violet laser diode that can read and write to HD DVD-R discs and that offers support for high-density HD DVD-ROM discs, including high definition movie and video images. The drive also offers all the functionality of a super multi-drive, with high performance, high-speed read and write to all flavors of standard DVD and CD discs.

The new drive takes full advantage of the shared physical structure of HD DVD discs and standard DVD discs, which allows it to read and write to HD DVD-R discs, to read the line-up of discs in the HD DVD-ROM disc family, including twin format disc and combination discs, and to read and write to standard DVD and CD discs, using an optical pick-up head with only a single objective lens.

The new drive is also fully compliant with the EU's RoHS directive, which came into force in July 2006.

Specifications:

Toshiba will feature the new drive at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 8 to 11.

Source: Toshiba

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