computex2008
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MSI Wind desktops to hit Europe and Asia in September
It looks like MSI's taking another page from ASUS's Eee playbook -- the Wind netbook is getting a desktop sibling. MSI was actually showing off the Atom-based minitower at Computex last month, and while final specs and pricing aren't official, it sounds like the machine will include Windows XP, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB drive, DVD drive, and WiFi for somewhere between $200 and $300 when it goes on sale sometime in September -- but you'll have to be in Europe or Asia to snag one, as MSI says they won't make it to the US. That's a shame, as the power-sipping machine is pretty intriguing: the 1.6GHz system at Computex was able to play back 720p video using just 30 watts of power -- compared to 242 watts for a normal PC. (MSI says the Wind desktop isn't quite capable of 1080p playback yet, but it hinted that future versions will get there.) Hopefully MSI will have a change of heart between now and September.Read - Hands-on with the MSI Wind desktopRead - Infoworld article with estimated specs and pricing
Foursome of AMD Puma-based laptops shown at Computex
Sure, checking out the benchmarks on the Puma-based Satellite A305 is all fine and dandy, but we just know you're craving more. Right? Good. Here we have a solid foursome of AMD Puma-packed notebooks, each one from a different walk of life. As expected, details were pretty limited at the kiosk, but at least it gives us hope that these machines (or something similar) should be hitting store shelves in the not-too-terribly-distant future. Go on down to the read link to check out the spruced up HP 6535us, unnamed Toshiba, Acer TravelMate 5530 and one other shy guy that managed to keep hidden.
AMD's netbook really a next-gen Raon Digital Everun
Here's an interesting one. That AMD netbook we spotted hanging around at Computex isn't a bona fide AMD product after all. According to the unit's device manager, it's actually an Everun, although the only Everun we know of looks drastically different that the thing pictured above. In all likelihood, that moniker is simply a placeholder, and AMD spokesman Phil Hughes even confirmed that "it [was] a Raon Digital product." Reportedly, the unit will hit production at the end of July, and while a ship date wasn't mentioned, both a Sempron- and Turion-based version should be available. Early reports even suggest that WiBro / HSDPA could be found on select variations, but we'll give Raon Digital a chance to come clean before we dig deep into even wilder speculation.[Via Pocketables]Read - Device Manager photographRead - AMD spokesman comments
Medion's Akoya Mini laptop gets pictured at Computex
The last time we saw this downsized Atom-based laptop, it was looking staid and proper in a press shot. Finally someone has gotten their hands on this thing, and we've got to say -- it looks pretty handsome (even if it is a rebadged, recolored MSI Wind, and a dead ringer for the Mini-Note). Specs seem unchanged, with a 10-inch 1024 x 800 display, 80GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, and a 1.3-megapixel webcam, and the price appears to be holding at €399 (or about $630) as well. Still no word on when or if this is going to hit the states, but we've got our fingers crossed.
Acer introduces 24-inch P244W 1080p LCD monitor
Acer's really, really proud of its P224W. So proud, in fact, that it's touting the unit as the "world's first 24-inch Full HD / 16:9 ratio LCD monitor." Never mind the fact that Gateway slung out a 24-incher with a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution way back in 2006 -- we'll let it think it's special for awhile, anyway. Onto more specs, you'll find a 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, touch-sensitive on-screen display and a 2-millisecond gray-to-gray response time. Regrettably, the outfit didn't bother handing down a release date or price, but it's not like those tidbits are really critical in the grand scheme of things, right?[Via Computer Monger]
Toshiba's SpursEngine chip dominates in transcoding demonstration
Toshiba has let us know just how incredible its SpursEngine SE1000 chip really is, but all that talk has never amounted to much -- until now. Packed away in a dusty corner of Computex 2008 was Corel's demonstration booth, which just so happened to have a few rigs set up with a Cell-optimized version of its DVD MovieFactory application. One station utilized the SE1000, while the other relied solely on a 3GHz Intel Core 2 Quad CPU to transcode 1080p H.264 video to 480p. According to onlookers, the SpursEngine-based machine completed the task nearly twice as fast as the hamstrung opponent, proving that maybe Toshiba does have something worth waiting for on that PCI-Express card. Too bad there's still no mention of a price.
ASUS shows off G50V / G71V gaming laptops
Wait a second -- you mean ASUS actually had something other than subnotes at Computex? Tucked away in some surely obscure corner were these two gems: the 15.6-inch G50V and 17-inch G71V. The first of the two rigs was packing a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT graphics card, a WXGA "3D display," Intel's Centrino 2 platform, support for 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a pair of 320GB SATA drives and a sturdy keyboard built for gamers. The larger sibling was said to posses the same GPU and platform, though it was sporting twin 500GB drives and support for DDR3 memory / CPU overclocking. Beyond that, we're left to wonder what on Earth could be hiding behind those somewhat unsightly shells, but hopefully ASUS won't keep us wondering for long.[Thanks, David]
Thecus unveils the massive N7700 eight-bay NAS
The last time we checked in with Thecus, they'd broken off a five-bay NAS called the N5200. Well, it appears the company upped the ante just a touch at this year's Computex with its new array -- an eight-bay monster known as the N7700. The massive storage appliance doesn't seem to deviate from the previous model much, utilizing a Celeron CPU to control the system, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and a wide variety of RAID options (0, 1, 5, 6, 10 and JBOD). We don't have word on pricing or availability just yet, but hopefully the archiving of your of "films" and "music purchases" can wait.
Corel's WinDVD nabs BD-R 1.1 and BD-RE 2.1 playback certification
Corel's not satisfied with simply snagging DTS-HD Master Audio certification for WinDVD 8; it's also trumpeting the ability of WinDVD to fully support BD-R 1.1 and BD-RE 2.1 recordable / re-recordable media. Reportedly, this certification proves that said application "has passed the stringent standards and guidelines set by the Blu-ray Disc Association to ensure the best possible user experience," but it's not like that spill really means anything to you. You can, however, now rest assured that WinDVD will be all BFF like with discs that use H.264 and VC-1 for encoding. Availability? OEMs can get it now, retail consumers will see it in early 2009.
Aiptek joins the fold with PocketCinema V10 mini-projector
If there are two things Aiptek knows, it's cheap and small. Along with Foxconn and Honlai, Aiptek is introducing a pocket-sized projector over in Taipei, and it's being eloquently dubbed the PocketCinema V10. Reportedly, the device taps 3M's miniature projection technology to shoot up a 50-inch image, and if you don't have a bona fide source laying around, it can still entertain guests by reading from the 1GB of internal memory or 3-in-1 multicard reader. Furthermore, it packs a built-in battery and stereo speakers, but unfortunately, we can't tell you where or when you'll be able to purchase one of these unpriced wonders.[Via AboutProjectors]
Thermalright's computer case is all cooling, all the time
We've seen a few heatsinks in our day, but Thermalright is taking things to the inevitable extreme with the new case it was showing off at Computex. The whole unit is pretty much one big radiator, with a bunch of internal heatsinks and heatpipes worked in for good measure -- the only fan is the one on the power supply. Apparently one side of the case if for the processor, while the other side cools the graphics card, with a nice 150 watts of heat dissipation per side. What with this, and that Xbox 360 heatsink they were showing off at this show, it looks like Thermalright is quickly carving out a niche for itself when it comes to cooling overkill. No word on price, but this thing can't be cheap.
Clarion to introduce GPS-equipped MiND, acronym guidebook lands another
Really, Clarion? You couldn't find it in your heart to just settle on UMPC or MID? Instead, what we've got is yet another combination of letters that really means nothing at all -- the MiND (Mobile internet and Navigation Device) is little more than a rather awkwardly-shaped UMPC with built-in GPS, which by our estimation, doesn't deem it worthy of its own moniker. All angst aside, the Linux-based machine will reportedly roll out in America later this year (and Europe the next), and while the standard version will come equipped with Bluetooth and WiFi, a premium iteration should be available with WWAN. Word from the Computex floor pegs the starting price at around $700.[Via SlashGear]
Intel's Nehalem benchmarked: 2.66GHz faster than 3.2GHz Penryn
Intel's got some Nehalem chips floating around Computex, and the crew from Anandtech managed to snag a couple and run some benchmarks. As you'd expect, Intel's latest and greatest put up pretty solid numbers, performing most operations faster than a 3.2GHz Penryn chip -- while only clocked at 2.66GHz. When the Penryn chip was clocked at 2.66GHz, Nehalem ran 20 to 44 percent faster, mostly due to insanely fast memory access speeds and Hyper Threading. Sadly, due to a wonky test mobo, Anandtech wasn't able to test performance when paired with a GPU, and there were some memory latency issues -- which hopefully means Nehalem will be even faster when it's out for real. Your move, AMD.[Via AeroXperience]
Corel's WinDVD 8 lands DTS-HD Master Audio certification
Sure, WinDVD 9 supported those fancy audio codecs right out of the shrink-wrap, but up until now, WinDVD 8 users have been shut out solid. Thankfully, Corel finally saw fit to pass down a little love to its loyal end users still rockin' the ocho, as said software picked up DTS-HD Master Audio certification over at Computex. As you very well know, this now enables the application to play back Blu-ray Discs with 7.1 discrete channels of lossless audio, which surely makes the audiophiles in attendance remarkably jovial.
ASUS 42-inch Eee TV spotted at Computex
As ASUS continues to rapidly dilute its Eee brand like it's going out of style, we still find the 42-inch Eee TV somewhat intriguing. It seems that the set was bolted up with a PlayStation 3 'round back, which was obviously used to pipe the Blu-ray version of Cars on-screen for onlookers to fawn over. Check out a few more snaps of the sides at Engadget Chinese.
QNAP adds new BitTorrent engine to NAS family, launches TS-409U
We're still struggling to see if this is just a PR push or if QNAP is really introducing something new here, but whatever the case, it's using Computex to announce a "new" P2P download engine in cooperation with BitTorrent. Said engine will be embedded within its TS-109 II, TS-209 II, and TS-409, and it should enhance download performance as well as add support for DHT / TCP / UDP tracker protocols. Beyond all that, the firm is kicking out an all new Turbo NAS: the 1U rack-mountable US-409U. The unit is based on a Linux-embedded system and includes a 500MHz SoC CPU, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, four hot-swappable bays, online RAID capacity expansion and RAID 0/1/5/6/5+spare disk redundancy support. Regrettably, QNAP didn't pass along any information in regard to pricing / availability.Read - QNAP TS-409U Turbo NASRead - QNAP launches BitTorrent certified NAS family
ASUS intros HDMI-equipped Xonar HDAV1.3 sound card
Worried about getting lossless digital audio from your BD-playin' HTPC via HDMI, are you? Fret no longer, as ASUS has just introduced your solution at Computex. Hailed as the "world's first HDMI 1.3a compliant audio / video enhancement combo card," the Xonar HDAV1.3 is both Protected Audio Playback Systems (PAPS) and Advanced Access Content System (AACS) certified, enabling it to pipe out bitstreamed multi-channel HD audio from Blu-ray Discs through a single cable. Yep, with some help of a special version of ArcSoft's TotalMedia Theater, it's also fully capable of decoding BD titles and taking full advantage of Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio -- not limited to 16bit like previous solutions -- and taking full advantage of Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio, and just so you know, the firm is also offering up a Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe (shown after the cut) which allows users to get 7.1-channels of audio the analog way. Pricing? Pssh -- this is ASUS we're talking about here.[Via DailyTech]
Foxconn showcases tiny PD-W1001 DLP projector
Although Computex has largely delivered a slew of netbooks to digest, a handful of new pico projectors have also managed to get a little face time. The latest is Foxconn's PD-W1001, which features a 0.3-inch Texas Instruments DLP chip, WVGA (854 x 480) resolution and 25 Lm -- all within a 55- x 46- x 26-millimeter package that weighs just 65-grams. In its current form, we can't see this being much more than a novel concept, but when these critters start inching closer to 1080p, you can color us very much interested.[Via AboutProjectors]
Puma-based Toshiba Satellite A305 benchmarked and photographed
Well, would you look at this? Toshiba's Puma-equipped Satellite A305 hasn't even left the floor of Computex and it has already been benchmarked. Kudos to NotebookReview for snagging some quality hands-on / testing time with the 15.4-incher, which came stocked with a 2.1GHz CPU, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, dual-layer DVD writer, 1.3-megapixel camera and Windows Vista Home Premium. You know you can't wait for all the dirty details and pics to boot, so head on down to the read link and save yourself a trip to Taipei.[Thanks, Kevin]
Thermalright Xbox 360 heatsink spotted at Computex?
When everything looks like a netbook, anything out of the ordinary sticks out like a festering wound at Computex. One such sore thumb came from the Thermalright display, which saw a number of new cooling devices basking in the glory and just waiting for photographers. While most items at the booth were generally uninteresting, this particular image shows off one TR-360 -- something we can only assume is a replacement heatsink for the Xbox 360. All we've got right now is the picture above along with one other in the read link, but here's to hoping Thermalright gets around to sharing more information soon.[Via Xbox-Scene, thanks Xant]