USB 3.0 To Boost Peripherals to Multi-Gigabit Speeds

The "SuperSpeed" USB Promotions Group was announced Tuesday at the Intel Developer Forum. The promotions group will get together with contributors over the next year to finalize a USB 3.0 spec that will, they hope, take care of our wired peripheral and syncing needs for another five years or more.

USB 3.0 is built upon, and is backwards-compatible with, the USB 2.0 "High Speed" spec. It would be generous to even call the specifications "early" at this stage, but the group still had lots of information about how USB 3.0 will work and what features it will provide. The spec should be finalized sometime in the middle of 2008, with initial devices available in '09, and broad deployment by 2010.
The main two goals of SuperSpeed USB are to provide a 10X boost in transfer rate (from 480-Mbits/s in USB 2.0 to 4.8 Gbits/s in USB 3.0), while dramatically lowering power consumption. One example of their speed goals is to transfer a 27GB HD movie to a portable device in 70 seconds. The same thing would take 15 minutes or more with HighSpeed USB (2.0). The SuperSpeed devices will use the same connectors and the same programming and device models as existing devices.
Consider that it takes maybe one or two tenths of a second to transfer a typical 4 Mbyte song to a portable music player with today's USB 2.0. That's "fast enough" for some users, but just try to fill up that 80-Gbyte iPod and you might as well walk away and cook dinner while you wait: 3,000 songs would take perhaps 400 to 600 seconds – up to 10 minutes.

Nobody wants to sit at their computer for that long, but if you could get it to under a minute, you're on to something. That's the performance aim of USB 3.0. There will be dedicated "in" and "out" lanes for data instead of the multiplexed solution common to USB today. That means devices can send and receive data simultaneously without bogging down.
The host schedules all transactions, but there is no continuous polling of devices. A new device is asked only once if it has new data to send. If not, it is never asked again; the device informs the host when it has new data. This alone should dramatically reduce power consumption of USB 3.0 devices, especially when "idle." Consider a USB mouse attached to a notebook. It's not constantly in motion, but the USB port polls it for info over and over anyway, draining battery life. That situation should be much improved with SuperSpeed USB. Other features, like per-link power management, will further reduce power consumption.
Device virtualization will be an important part of the new USB spec as well. The Promotions Group wants to make sure that virtual machines can access USB 3.0 devices without software intervention. A final concern is over Mass Storage Device drivers. Currently, MSD drivers for USB 2.0 devices have enough overhead to limit performance to around 32 Mbytes/sec. The overhead in this driver model would just kill the great potential for SuperSpeed USB hard drives and flash storage performance, so a new, more efficient driver model is needed. This is out of the purview of the USB spec itself, but the teams involved want to work hand in hand with the driver specifications groups to make sure USB 3.0 Mass Storage Devices can live up to their potential.
So SuperSpeed USB (aka USB 3.0) still has a long way to go, but the development pace seems pretty rapid. The spec will probably be done, or nearly so, by the time Intel Development Forum rolls around next year, with initial device development underway. In two years' time, we might even have the first USB 3.0 devices on the market.

Wi-Fi Detector T-Shirt

Now we have a Wi-Fi detector shirt that displays the current Wi-Fi signal strength
The glowing bars on the front of the shirt dynamically change as the surrounding wi-fi signal strength fluctuates.

Product Features

* Glowing animated shirt dynamically displays the current wi-fi signal strength.
* Shows signal strength for 802.11b or 802.11g* Black 100% Cotton T-Shirt
* Animated Decal is Removable (with hook and loop fasteners) for Easy Washing
* Battery Pack is Concealed in a Small Pocket Sewn Inside the Shirt
* Runs for hours off three AAA Batteries (not included)

Washing Instructions

1. Carefully peel animated decal from front of T-Shirt
2. Unplug ribbon connector behind decal and remove decal
3. Unplug battery pack and remove it
4. You can leave the ribbon cable inside the shirt
5. Machine wash gentle cycle on cold
6. Hang to dryPlease Note: If you plug the connector into the battery pack backwards the shirt will not animate properly. It will not damage the shirt. Simply reverse the connector.

The Touch Music PMP

The new Touch Music PMP from Bmorn has a design that seems to be clearly inspired by the LG Chocolate. This Chinese PMP has a 2.8 inch QVGA screen with a 320 x 240 pixel resolution and 260K colors, and it features touch-sensitive keys. The Touch Music PMP can handle your Xvid, AVI, MP3, WMA, TXT and JPEG files.
You can record up to 35 hours in the WMV format, and save your files in a MicroSD card (128MB to 1GB). There’s also support for APE and FLAC Lossless-music files.
With the Touch Music you can read your e-books, and even play games, and there’s also an FM radio tuner with 20 presets. And it even comes with a Dictaphone function so you can record voice notes on the road.
This slim PMP is 3.75 X 2.32 X 0,39 inches. The price has not been informed by the company, but it’s probably going to cost under US$ 200 in China.

The Touchscreen Door Lock

The Korean company Seoul Commtech presents a different kind of door lock, which looks more like a cell phone at first sight, with a thickness of only 21.5 mm! The EZon Home Network System SHS-1110 has a touchscreen and is made of aluminum alloy and tempered glass.
The SHS-1110 comes in two colors, black and silver, and it measures 2.70 inches (W) x 6.89 inches (H) x 0.84 inches (D). The price tag is 170.000 Won or about US$ 180. More details were lost at translation, but I’ll update this post as soon as I can gather more information about this cool touchscreen lock.

Sony to take on Apple…yet again

Looks like Sony isn’t about to give up anytime soon when it comes to the portable media player market - perhaps it still holds deep, unhealed grudges against Apple for taking making the iPod the Walkman of the 21st century. Still, it is great to see such fighting spirit from Sony as the Japanese electronics giant releases a trio of new Walkman digital media players - namely the NWZ-A810, NWZ-S610, and NWZ-S510. All three are said to support “an open platform” as well as “support for Windows Media technology”.
Users will be able to plug any of the three players to a computer directly, featuring support for “security-enhanced” WMA in addition to “non-secure” AAC and MP3 music formats. JPEG image files are also not left out, as with AVC (H.246/AVC) Baseline Profile and MPEG-4 video codecs. This new series of players also enable users to download from a hefty selection of media portals - just make sure that these downloaded videos are compressed in the appropriate codec, resolution, and size beforehand.
According to Jeffry van Ede, VP of Sony Audio Marketing Europe, “This announcement to support Windows Media technology is great news for consumers. By introducing an open standard Sony is increasing the consumer’s choice of content and enhancing the versatility of its products. Ultimately, consumers can now decide how they want to purchase and manage content and benefit from the superior sound and video technology on offer in their new Walkman devices.”
Other features that will come with all three A and S series of Walkman players include a large QVGA LCD display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, the ability to play video at 30fps, an impressive 33 hours of playback time before the battery gives up, and a respectable amount of continuous video playback. Storage options range from 2GB to 4GB and 8GB, depending on your needs. The Sony A810 and S610/S510 Walkman portable media players will be available for sale in Europe from October onwards at a yet undisclosed price.

Sony Launches New Models from its “Walkman S Series”

Sony updates its “Walkman S Series” with the launch of two new models, NW-S610 and NW-S710. They are both equipped with a noise cancelling function and with the Clear Audio technology from Sony. The 1.8 inch LCD screen has a high quality to watch video and see pictures. The new Walkmans can handle MP3, WMA, ATRAC and AAC audio files, and MPEG4 and H.264 video files.
They look very similar to the NWZ-S610 Walkman player we shown last week, and the main difference between the two models is that the new walkman players don’t have an FM radio tuner. The NW-S710F comes in three flavors, with 2 GB, 4 GB and 8 GB, and the NW-S610 has 2 GB or 4 GB options.
The new Walkman players will connect to your computer using the USB port, but there’s a direct encoding function that can transfer files without the need of a PC, if you have a CD player or MD player at hand, that is. The battery life is good for 33 hours of audio and an impressive 9.5 hours of video.

Darth Vader says your time is up

When the Dark Lord of the Sith comes a-knocking on your door, you know that nothing but trouble is waiting for you. This Darth Vader Alarm Clock is one for Star Wars fans, as it projects the current time onto your ceiling, making it visible to all and sundry no matter what time of the day it is. The all-important snooze button has a double function - it functions as a night light, illuminating your room throughout the night along with Vader’s glowing lightsaber. I could almost swear I got gripped by a Force Choke in the mornings as I realized that I had not met my office deadlines. The Darth Vader Alarm Clock retails for $29.99 each.

Flexible Illuminated Full Sized Keyboard

Gadget mavens Brando are at it again, and this time with the Flexible Illuminated Full Sized Keyboard.

Flexible Illuminated Full Sized Keyboard is strong, silent and indestructible. It is made of a high quality silicone material. Flexible keyboard is storable and portable so that users can bring it everywhere. The illuminated design makes it more cyber and useful, you can use it in a low-light environment. Its ultra-slim and lightweight design can be used for travel, school, or any other working environment. And, it is water resistant and dustproof that users can clean it easily. Its flat design also offers an easy typing that prevent your wrists getting stress.
Would you be willing to part with $27 for this piece of bendy keyboard that lights up?

Sony NW-A910 TV Walkman

The Japanese have moved onward with the Walkman brand, and they have the NW-A910 series of TV Walkman to keep them entertained on-the-go. This device features an internal 1Seg TV tuner that caters for those who need their digital TV fix no matter where they are, 16GB of internal memory for you to record up to 16 hours of programmes, and Electronic Programming Guide for easy recording. Unfortunately, the 2.4″ display won’t be easy on your eyes, which means you’ll probably end up with a temporary squint after a spending a short while with this. The Sony NW-A910 will come in 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB capacities when they’re released in this November 3rd in Japan, retailing for $260, $305, and $390 respectively.

Toshiba presents new Satellite notebooks: M200 and 205 series

Good news for the Toshiba fans, today the company launched 3 new laptops in their Satellite category, more specifically the M200 and M205 series. There are two notebooks from the M200 series, and only one in the M205, which by coincidence is the less expensive with a price of $950.
The latest Toshiba Satellite M205 model comes with an Intel Pentium T2080 dual-core processor running at 1.73Ghz, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB SATA hard-drive, and an integrated (943GML chipset) Graphics Media Accelerator 950.
On the M200 series there are two models: ST2001 and ST2002, costing $1,000 and $1,179 respectively. The main difference between each is the processor, the hard drive, and the graphics card.While the first (ST2001) sports an Intel Core 2 Duo T5300 processor running at 1.73GHz, the second (ST2002) has an Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 processor, that gives a “speed” of 1.8GHz.
The storage capacity difference is considerably large - 40GB - which means that while one has 160GB, the other comes with 200GB - both SATA hard-drives that have different rpms, 5,400 for the smaller drive, and 4,200 for the bigger one. The last notable difference is on the graphics section like I previously mentioned, one has the X3100 GMA, while the other features a GMA 950.
As for other specifications like the screen and extra features, all models have a 14.1” widescreen with a built-in webcam, 4 USB ports, and a 5-in-1 card reader. Additionally, the M200 series have a fingerprint reader.

The Meade MySky: exploring strange new worlds is the “aim”

It may look like a phaser (well, only vaguely), but it’s the coolest stargazing aid to come out this year. The Meade MySky allows you to explore the heavens simply with a point and shoot. It’s database comes with 30,000 objects in the night sky and also can show cool multimedia astronomy presentations. And thanks to its 12-channel GPS receiver, there’s no complicated alignment either. It’s all automatic, which is something previous attempts at a handheld observatories have been woefully lacking at.

Samsung shows off new handsets

Samsung has gone on from strength to strength where cellphones are concerned, and this time their new line up will cater specifically for music lovers while attempting to offer an alternative to Sony Ericsson’s line of Walkman cellphones. This trio of handsets will place more weight on music compared to other phones from Samsung’s stable, and hopes to strike a balance between a cellphone and a music player. The three phones in question are the Samsung SGH-i450, the Samsung SGH-F330 and the Samsung SGH-F210. For more details on each individual handset, kindly head on after the jump.

Axxen unveils Pleigo X3 MP4 player

Looking for a new MP4 player? Axxen has recently released one, namely the Pleigo X3 at KES 2007. This MP4 player does not come with any USB connector cap since it slides out using a mechanism, ensuring you won’t have to worry about losing that cap whenever you transfer files to and from it. Features include a 65k color OLED display, a 5-band equalizer, a lithium polymer battery that lasts up to 8 hours of playback, and compatibility with MPEG 1,2,3, ASF, JPEG, AVI, and WMA formats. the Pleigo X3 measures 77mm x 25mm x 9.8mm and weighs 25 grams. It will be available in capacities of 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB. Pricing details have yet to be determined.

Nokia announces N810

The Internet tablet idea was pretty groovy when it was introduced in the form of Nokia’s 770 Internet tablet a couple of years ago - after all, having a device that surfs the Web wirelessly while supporting email, Internet radio, an RSS news reader, an image viewer and media playback capability certainly sounds like a dream. Fast forward a couple of years later, you would probably think that such a device is actually a cellphone, hence doing away with the need for something like the Nokia 770. Or is it? Apparently Nokia thinks otherwise, releasing the N810 Internet tablet that essentially does the same thing as before, save for updated hardware to keep up with the times. It seems that the target market are casual Internet users who want to browse the Web while commercials are being shown, or for those who need to check their email without having to lug around a laptop wherever they go. More on the Nokia N810 after the jump.

Moo power to run laptops

We all know how the One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) is supposed to make computing accessible to everyone, regardless of their race, creed, religion, or economic status. While the majority of us take electric power for granted, take note that there are still places on this earth that do not have electric power yet, hence having to rely on more natural sources to keep themselves warm during the night. Looks like the One Laptop Per Child Project is currently considering a novel source of biological power for its extremely cheap XO laptops - cows.

U Rock Mini Guitar MP3 Player & Amp

Now isn’t this the sweetest looking MP3 player ever? Truly meant for those who want a hard edge to their portable music.
…this testament to guitar thrashing rock is (obviously a bit daft) in actuality, an iconic 1GB MP3 Player, complete with its own mini guitar amp speaker. It’ll hold about 250 of your favorite tracks, and scrolls through them sequentially. There’s no LCD display, or glowing little buttons, this MP3 Player is all guitar. It comes with a mini stand, so you can sit it on your desk, a plectrum as well as headphones and a lanyard for hanging it round your neck. So next time you feel the urge for a damn good thrash, grab the U Rock MP3 player and play air-guitar until you pass out. It looks super cool, and after all, that’s mostly what rock is all about.
This nifty and hard-rockin’ MP3 player retails for £49.99 a pop.

Drive Erazer gets rid of your data for good

I’ve done a lot of computer repair in my day, which means clients begging me to recover lost data on their hard drives. In many cases I was able to get at least a portion of their precious data, however, there were times that called for fancy equipment that I did not possess. But what if you have such sensitive data that you don’t want anyone to ever recover it? The Drive Erazer promises to permanently destroy all information, never to be seen again.

Mini Phone Based Ghetto Blaster

Now ain’t this a hoot - a built-in MP3 playing boombox that comes in the form factor of a mini slider cellphone. You can even opt to pop in your SIM card into the back of the Mini Boombox Cell Phone, whereby any incoming calls will result in it ringing, with the option for the phone to read aloud the numbers of incoming calls using voice synthesis.
Features of the Mini Boombox GSM Cell Phone are as follows:

• 
  Mini cell phone features a sliding keypad and built in boombox for playing MP3 music files
• 
  Quad-band unlocked GSM Phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), GPRS Speed for Data
• 
  Powerful Amplified Speakers
• 
  Sends SMS and MMS messages. Supports SMS group sending
• 
  Can play back MP3 music files and display Movie Files
• 
  Supports MP3 or MIDI based ringtones
• 
  WAP Browser
• 
  Built-In Speakerphone
• 
  Optionally reads the numbers of incoming calls with voice synthesis
• 
  Built in 256MB Memory expandable up to 4GB
• 
  Transfer files via USB

Folding keyboard makes typing easier while on the road

If you do a lot of traveling, you get used to typing on a small keyboard. Those who choose to carry around ultraportable laptops have it the worst. No matter how good the design might be, you just can’t get the feel of a full-size keyboard on such a tiny machine. Thankfully there is a keyboard that is big enough to give you the comfort of a regular keyboard, yet small enough to slip into your laptop bag.

TwinMOS proves that people love shiny objects

I’ve carried many USB drives over the last few years. My first was a very boring 128MB Memorex stick. They didn’t really make them fancy back then, it was cool enough to be carrying one at all. Like the rest of my flash drives, it was likely lost or broken. Needless to say, I’ve seen a lot of them. I’m not really sure why, but Mobile Disk P1 from TwinMOS really caught my eye.

Hybrid gaming keyboard gives you all the keys you need, but you still can’t type (well) on it

I’m something of a gamer, so I actually use a gaming keyboard and mouse for all of my work. While I prefer peripherals that can be used for everyday computing in addition to having the extra gaming functions, there are more hardcore players out there that want something more. That’s why products such as the WolfKing Warrior Xxtreme exist.

Gigabyte M704 UMPC looking good

Now this UMPC from Gigabyte, known as the Gigabyte M704 is certainly a thing of beauty. Thankfully, it comes with ample brains as well, including a VIA C7-M ULV 1.2GHz processor running all proceedings. Features include the following :-
400/800MHz
128KB/128KB L2
VIA VX-700 UniChrome Pro Core
DDR2 533 768MB
WVGA 1024×768 TFT LCD monitor, 7 inches featuring LED Backlight
1.8 inches HDD of 40 or 60GB
CMOS sensor (13000px)
WiFi connectivity
No idea on how much it costs though.

Oregon Scientific weather monitoring smart clock

Most folks would probably dismiss a weather monitor with built-in clock function as a “meh” device, but this one from Oregon Scientific aims to impress you with more than just its functions. It boasts a projection clock that will react constantly to forecasted weather from 12 to 24 hours in advance, changing its display color accordingly (red, light blue, blue, orange and green), depending on the upcoming weather condition. Dubbed the BAR339P, this device helps you plan your day ahead with a range of outdoor conditions including sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy, rainy and snowing using a remote sensor with a range of up to 100 feet (30m).

TechnoHouse exhibits Litefast LED display unit

So you think that your newfangled 30″ LCD monitor that you just purchased as a present to yourself this Christmas is the baddest thing on earth right now? Surely when you lay your eyes on what TechnoHouse has to offer, your perspective will change. The company has just finished exhibiting its transparent 360° LED display unit known as “Litefast” at Inter BEE 2007, that took place from November 20th to 22nd, 2007 in Japan. Manufactured by Kinoton GMBH of Germany, Litefast is a technological marvel. In essence, it is a cylindrical transparent display unit that can contain commercial goods or other items for display.

Battery Free Mouse completely misses the point

Wireless mice are great. They help get rid of one of the most annoying things in every computer setup: cables. It’s only a small dent in the amount of cords dangling behind your PC, but every little bit certainly helps. Of course, with the good comes the bad. In this case you have to worry about keeping fresh batteries on hand at all times. Sure, rechargeable batteries are great, but what if you could get rid of those too? That’s exactly what A4Tech promises with their new wireless mouse.
The new Battery Free Wireless Mouse and Magic Pad set eliminates the need for batteries in your cordless mouse by transferring power using “electromagnetic induction technology.” A wireless mouse that doesn’t need batteries? Surely it must be too good to be true! Don’t worry, it is.

Plasma Bulb Night Light

The Plasma Bulb Night Light is something worth considering instead of a standard bedside table lamp, as it is definitely more than mesmerizing when compared to counting sheep.
The Plasma Bulb Night Light fits lovingly into your 110v US power outlet, and will last for years. It generates light with only a teensy bit of heat, so don’t worry about the kids or your drapes. Just bask in the glow, and sleep easy.
You can pick up this cool looking bedroom addition for $9.99.

SolarRoll keeps you charged in the great outdoors

In case you hadn’t noticed, Summer is long gone. However, when it’s sunny and warm out, I like to take my laptop outside and try to do my work in the outdoors. It’s a great change of pace from sitting in my office every day. The only problem is that when my laptop is feeding off of the WiFi access, my battery tends to run down a little faster than I’d like, and park benches never seem to have power outlets. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get your juice from the sun’s rays?

Eye Power promises better eyesight in just 10 minutes

I’ve been blessed with 20/20 vision, and thus have never been forced to either wear glasses or contacts. Knowing my knack for misplacing common items, I would likely never survive with the need for glasses. My best bet would be to save up the cash for Lasik eye surgery, or purchase Eye Power.

Hydrogen Generating Car

The Hydrogen Generating Car is definitely one interesting toy to have around this Christmas, and makes a great gift for whoever is interested in science.
This is the hydrogen-powered car that uses an on-board reversible Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell to conduct the entire hydrogen-generating and electrolytic process. Considered to be the future of hydrogen power, PEM fuel cells require minimal warm-up time, produce virtually no heat, and have a high power-to-weight ratio, ensuring efficient use and less wear on system components. The car’s reversible fuel cell uses distilled water and an electrical charge from the included solar panel to perform a 10-minute electrolytic process. It measures 6″ x 3″ x 2″.
Now if only them scientists and engineers are able to come up with something like this in a more drivable size. The Hydrogen Generating Car retails for $99.95.

Samsung SPH-P9200 UMPC details

Samsung already has some cool UMPCs (that is Ultra Mobile Personal Computers for the non-geeky personas), like the Q1 that was launched in 2006, and its big-brother Q2, but the latest news are about the SPH-P9200 - a beauty in terms of design and features - that was presented earlier this year at the 4G Forum 2007 that took place in Korea.
Like you can see on the image, the keyboard on this UMPC can be unfolded for all the occasions when you actually want to use a QWERTY styled keyboard. And when you want to make it smaller + compact, just fold the keyboard and you’re good to go - your choice.
In terms of technical specifications, the Samsung SPH-P9200 which is also known as Deluxe MIT, comes with a small 5-inch touchscreen display that provides a “normal” 800×480 resolution. Not too shabby, but not brilliant either, I guess it is good enough for its size. The processor is powered by a VIA C7-M that runs at 1GHz, and the RAM memory includes 512MB, while on the hard-drive there is space for 30GB.

First Tests: AMD's New Phenom CPU Won't Scare Intel

After months of anticipation, AMD is launching its Phenom desktop processor and "Spider" platform for desktop PCs. Its new Phenom chips feature a native quad-core design, a 65-nanometer manfufacturing process, and enhanced power management technology.
But will Phenom and the new motherboards, chip sets, and graphics boards that make up the rest of the Spider platform be enough to put a dent in Intel's recent dominance? We ran a Spider-based system through our PC WorldBench 6 beta 2 benchmark at an AMD event in Lake Tahoe, and came away convinced that AMD still has a lot of work to do.
Tough Times
All things considered, 2007 probably hasn't been AMD's favorite year. In fact, things haven't been exactly sunshine and roses for the company since the middle of 2006 when Intel introduced its Core 2 Duo CPUs. After a good three years as the performance champ, AMD was suddenly getting its clock cleaned by its rival--literally; when running at the same clock speed Core 2 Duo chips were anywhere from 10 to nearly 20 percent faster than comparable Athlon 64 X2s.
Not only that, but AMD's $5.4 billion dollar acquisition of GPU and chip set vendor ATI was followed almost immediately by its new purchase sliding well back in its performance race with nVidia. The purchase gave AMD expertise in GPUs and chip sets plus independence from nVidia--a longtime ally who had started supporting Intel the year before--but it added to the perception of the company as firmly in second place. Losing money for several quarters straight hasn't helped, either.
2007 also saw AMD fall increasingly behind in the race for better process technology. Intel's new Penryn chips are manufactured using a 45-nanometer process, which allows the company to pack in more transistors per square millimeter than the 65nm process AMD is introducing with its Phenom chips. That can translate to more chips per slab of silicon for cheaper production, giving Intel yet another advantage. AMD's latest 65nm Opterons with their parsimonious power usage are competing well in the server market, but that does nothing for the mainstream.
Which brings us to the rollout of Phenom, a quad-core desktop CPU that AMD's own benchmarks place at 32 percent faster than a dual-core Athlon 64 X2 running at the same clock speed. The company hopes Phenom will keep it within shouting distance, performance-wise, of Intel's desktop products.
Whither the Chips?
Unfortunately, there were few (as in no) Phenom parts to be had for independent testing or purchase by the time of this writing. When asked about this, AMD's Simon Solotko said plenty of the 2.2-GHz Phenom 9500 and 2.3-GHz Phenom 9600 parts would be in the channel by the Monday launch. He also said the scarcity of review units was due to the complexity of a rollout that also involves the new 790FX Spider chip set and ATI 3800 series graphics cards, not because of any problem fabricating the new chips.
According to AMD, the 2.2-GHz Phenom 9500 will sell for $251 (in quantities of 1000) and the 2.3-GHz Phenom 9600 will go for $283. An unlocked, overclockable Black Edition 2.3-GHz Phenom will also be available later this year. The 2.6-GHz Phenom 9900 that AMD made available at its benchmarking event won't be available until the first quarter of 2008, and should cost below $350 when it's released. A sub-$300 2.4-Ghz 9700 parts is scheduled to ship in the same timeframe.
The Phenom-based sysftem we tested featured two of ATI's recently-released Radeon HD 3850 graphics cards, an MSI motherboard using AMD's 790FX chip set, and 2GB of DDR2-1066 RAM.

HP Pavilion Slimline s3200t

The HP Pavilion Slimline s3200t is a one-stop entertainment center designed for watching videos, playing music, and viewing pictures. Weighing barely 20 pounds and not much bigger than a large metropolitan phone book, the s3200t's trim and well-engineered case would easily fit in a den, kitchen, bedroom, or other small space. Best of all, even a fully loaded s3200t system, such as the one we tested, costs less than what you'd pay for most desktop computers.
Priced at $1600 (as of November 2, 2007) including a top-notch 22-inch wide-screen LCD, our test s3200t comes packed with just about everything you can fit into its small confines. Beyond its 2.2-GHz Core 2 Duo E4500 and 2GB of DDR2 memory, the s3200t includes both a Blu-ray/HD DVD reader and a dual-layer DVD/CD combo writer, plus one 500GB, 7200-rpm Seagate hard drive for storing a sizeable multimedia collection or TV programs recorded to the PC using its built-in NTSC TV tuner.
HP's site lets you configure various Slimline models with a few different parts, but other than the optional HP Pocket Media Drive bay--which accepts HP's 120GB and 160GB USB Personal Media Drives--there's little room in our s3200t system for expansion.
After opening the s3200t's well-ventilated case (requiring tools), I found the interior packed to the gills. Two of the system's drive bays (one external, one internal) are already filled, leaving only one bay for the Pocket Media Drive. The small motherboard has only two DIMM memory slots, both occupied. (To access these slots, you must slide out the optical drive, as the slots are buried beneath it.)
The system's two card slots--one PCI Express x16, and one PCI--hold the TV tuner and the graphics board. That leaves just the outside connections for system expansion. These connectivity options include five USB slots, one FireWire port, one 10/100 network adapter, and audio ports for the s3200t's integrated (Realtek ALC888) sound.
Some may find that the s3200t's performance leaves a bit to be desired. In our WorldBench 6 Beta 2 test suite running the s3200t's 32-bit Vista Home Premium, the s3200t earned a modest 88, but that's adequate for a home entertainment PC used primarily for light-duty multimedia tasks. Its scores in the Media Encoder, Videowave, and multitasking tests were the slowest of all the systems we recently tested. The s3200t was also about 20 percent slower than the other media center system we concurrently tested, the Gateway GM5632E, which earned a WorldBench score of 108; but that model is also larger and more expensive.
Not surprisingly, the s3200t also had difficulty in achieving smooth frames-per-second rates in our graphics tests. Using a single 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8500GT graphics card on HP's proprietary motherboard, the s3200t's highest score was 89 fps for running Far Cry at 1024 by 768 resolution--only about half the fps speed of the faster power PCs we tested (but these systems use speedier graphics boards). Obviously, this isn't a high-adrenaline machine designed for first-person shooters, but it could be used by kids playing slower-paced games.
The bundled HP w2207 LCD monitor was a stellar performer, delivering handsome image quality (in both moving and still images) and uniformly sharp text at all sizes. It's also one of the better-designed 22-inch displays I've used. Its dual-hinged neck permits height adjustment, and it can rotate for portrait-mode viewing--two great features that distinguish this LCD from the pack.
For a small put-it-in-the-corner system like the s3200t, you want a keyboard and mouse that aren't tethered to the PC, and HP accommodates by including its multimedia cordless keyboard and mouse combination. Although they lack the extra keys and buttons provided by fancier combos, they were both easy enough to use and a good fit for this system.
The trim s3200t offers the conveniences of a media center system that's only about one-third the size of a traditional PC. But its so-so performance makes it better suited for light-duty media users than for heavy-duty gaming aficionados.

HP IQ770 "Crossfire" 19-inch touchscreen Vista PC revealed!

Looks like AMD has a sweet new rig they're readying for January launch, and word on the street is Bill Gates wants to launch it personally. It's the IQ770 "Crossfire," the first mass market touchscreen desktop PC we've seen, surely good for taking advantage of Vista's integrated tablet functionality. The Vista Premium system, set to launch alongside Windows on January 30th, features a massive load of options including: 19-inch touchscreen, AMD Turion 64 X2 dual core TL-52 processor, 2GB SDRAM, 320GB drive, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, integrated FM and ATSC HDTV tuners, a DVD±RW / DVD-RAM burner with LightScribe, Pocket Media Drive bay, wireless keyboard, mouse, stylus, front media reader, and a crazy amount of ports (Ethernet, two FireWire, six USB 2.0, one with HP printer power Y-cable connector, 5.1 + digital audio out, IR out, mini-VGA, and inputs: FM coax, TV coax, ATSC, and two S-Video). It also features some new widget-like dashboard interface, featuring HP new SmartCalendar, which serves as a central point for virtual fridge notes and shared family calendars; as well as Photosmart Touch, a new image editing and printing interface. Expect to pony up $1799 - $1899 for this iMac killer in a couple months. Tons more photos after the break!