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Apple releases 3 TB Time Capsule, slashes price on new 2 TB model
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Wireless / WiFi,
Aside from today's release of Final Cut Pro X, Apple has also finally upgraded their Time Capsule backup routers. New Time Capsules have been expected for a couple of weeks now, as supplies in stores started to dwindle. There is now a new 3 TB model, which Apple is selling for $499, which is the price that the 2 TB model was selling for. The updated 2 TB Time Capsule now sells for $299, which is a great deal to have the kind of peace of mind that a device like this can offer. You can get them now at the Apple Store online.
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| Time Capsule product page
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Apple set to launch Sandy Bridge Mac Pro and Mac mini this fall
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Rumors,
It wouldn't be a weekend without a brand-new Apple rumor to feast upon. And today's no exception: According to Cnet's Brian Tong, unidentified sources have told him that Apple's going to launch an upgraded Mac Pro and Mac mini this fall.
Details on the configurations are scant, save for the two obvious upgrades that Apple would want to put in a refreshed system line: Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs and Thunderbolt connections. The timeline for the systems is a little nebulous as well—the systems could appear in late July or early August, though Tong claims that an August launch is the more likely scenario. Expect the refreshed systems to feature Mac's latest operating system iteration, OS X Lion.
Tong's source is allegedly the same individual that correctly predicted an early May refresh of Apple's iMac line—lo and behold, new iMacs sporting Intel's quad-core Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt support hit stores on May 3.
Click to continue reading Apple set to launch Sandy Bridge Mac Pro and Mac mini this fall
AMD’s Llano APU processors set to ship this quarter
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, PC / Laptop,
Advanced Micro Devices has unveiled unloaded a bevy of product roadmap details for its upcoming Fusion processors—though; much of the information had already been leaked last month.
AMD's Fusion chips are the culmination of the chip maker's blending of x86 central processor technology with the GPU instruction set it acquired when it bought ATI Technologies in 2006. By putting both key computing functions on a single processor die, the company thinks it has a more compelling processor package for makers of mobile computers and light-footprint desktops than rivals Intel and Nvidia.
AMD calls these chips "accelerated processing units" or APUs. The company's A-Series APUs, formerly codenamed Llano, are currently shipping to computer makers and are expected to appear in more than 150 desktops and notebooks set to hit retail shelves throughout the second quarter of this year, AMD said.
The company isn't shy about talking up the advantages of its A-series processors, which combine up to four x86 CPU cores with up to 400 Radeon GPU cores with DirectX11 support, and dedicated HD video processing on a single chip of silicon.
Click to continue reading AMD’s Llano APU processors set to ship this quarter
What does the Samsung Chromebook cost to produce?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, PC / Laptop,
How much does that Samsung Chromebook really cost? According to an iSuppli teardown, the device's bill of materials comes to $322.12.
With the manufacturing cost throw in, the Chromebook costs $334.32 to produce. Despite Google's emphasis on the software, meanwhile, iSuppli finds that it's the hardware that really makes the Chromebook sing.
"As much as Google would like to de-emphasize the role of user hardware, it is the hardware, in fact, that defines the Chromebook and will determine the success of the platform," Wayne Lam, a senior analyst at IHS, said in a statement.
The Chromebook includes "some advanced hardware features not typically found in low-cost notebooks," iSuppli said.
The motherboard is the most expensive part of Samsung's Chromebook, at $86.37, or 26 percent of the total bill of materials. The motherboard includes a 2GB Double Data Rate 3 (DDR) SDRAM, as well as a dual-core Intel Atom N570 processor and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for computing security from Infineon Technologies, which is most commonly found on enterprise-level computers, iSuppli said.
Click to continue reading What does the Samsung Chromebook cost to produce?
Here’s what the Wii U console looks like
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: E3, Hardware, Nintendo, Wii U,
While Nintendo focused their E3 2011 Wii U efforts on the tablet-style controller for the new platform, many gamers wondered why they were to quiet about the console itself. In fact, many wondered if the Wii U controller was the console, and if it was just a new accessory for the current Wii system. Nintendo cleared it up later during E3, but all the press photos they released focused on the exciting controller. We're guessing they simply thought that the controller was the big deal (which it is,) and that no one would care about the actual console when it's over a year away from launching (although they were wrong there.) Above is an image of the Wii U console. Not much to see, but at least we can see that it is certainly not a Wii. Oh, and yes, it does 1080p.
AMD looking to enter tablet game with their Densa chip
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds,
Is Advanced Micro Devices finally making a major push into the tablet market? That's the signal sent by leaked product roadmap slides showing plans for an AMD tablet chip codenamed Desna that surfaced on NGOHQ.com last week.
The slides don't offer any specs for AMD's Z-Series accelerated processing unit, or APU, nor do they name a release date other than the heading "2011 AMD HD Tablet Platform Overview."
Here's what we do know. AMD thinks Desna is well-suited for both consumer media tablets and devices built for business use. The chip maker is playing up its graphics prowess with promises of "smooth streaming HD video," AdobeFlash 10.2 acceleration, Microsoft Office 10 visual enhancements, and support for DirectX 11 and Windows 7 Effects.
Desna also runs accelerated HTML 5 and Internet Explorer 9, while "leveraging the Microsoft Windows application base," which sounds a bit like AMD saying, "we don't actually have an app store for this chip."
The Z-Series platform's commercial play seems to be summed up with promises of "full integration and support in IT environments," "unparalleled versatility and security," and "enhanced productivity."
Click to continue reading AMD looking to enter tablet game with their Densa chip
Nintendo confirms Wii successor to be shown at E3 in June
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: E3, Hardware, Nintendo, Rumors,
Time to start your wrist exercises: IGN has gotten its hands on new details about Nintendo's upcoming Wii 2 console, codenamed "Project Café," and the system's specs look pretty beefy on paper. But we should preface this all by saying that Wii 2 is just a nickname for Nintendo's Wii successor. According to IGN, Nintendo is floating around alternate names for the platform, including "Stream." This morning Nintendo confirmed that they'd be showing the console at E3 this June:
Nintendo Co., Ltd. has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii, which the company has sold 86.01 million units on a consolidated shipment basis between its launch in 2006 and the end of March 2011.We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.Sales of this new system have not been included in the financial forecasts announced today for the fiscal term ending March 2012.
That name is itself interesting, as the Wii successor will finally have the power to be able to output high-definition video–1080p content–but it's still not expected to have a physical way to read HD content like Blu-ray discs.
The 1080p compatibility will be partially thanks to the custom-built tri-core IBM PowerPC chipset that'll serve as the Wii 2's brains. It's going to be the same kind of setup that you'll find on Microsoft's Xbox 360 console. Only, Nintendo will allegedly up the clock speeds to beat out the three 64-bit, 3.2-Ghz cores of Microsoft's competing device, among other enhancements.
Click to continue reading Nintendo confirms Wii successor to be shown at E3 in June
AMD releases $150 Radeon HD 6790 video card
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop,
AMD announced today that it has released the new Radeon HD 6790 video card, priced at $149 and thus in direct competition with Nvidia's recently released (and same-priced) GeForce GTX 550 Ti.
The Radeon HD 6790 is positioned between the upper-end-mainstream Radeon HD 6770 and the lower-end-enthusiast Radeon HD 6850, intended for users running at midrange resolutions (such as 1,680-by-1,050) and detail settings. The card offers 1.34 teraflops of compute power; has a core clock speed of 840 MHz, 800 stream processors, 40 texture units, and 16 ROPs; and is loaded with 1GB of GDDR5 frame buffer, operating at 4.2 Gbps on a 256-bit memory path.
AMD's press materials for the 6790 identify the 6790's TDP as about 150 watts—more than the 6850, and approximately in the same league as the card above that one, the Radeon HD 6870 (151 watts). AMD's reference spec for the card suggests it will require two six-pin connectors from a power supply, though the company says that some models will be available using only one.
Click to continue reading AMD releases $150 Radeon HD 6790 video card
Zune Death: Why no word from Microsoft?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Microsoft, Portable Audio / Video,
Dear Microsoft: Manage your message or someone will do it for you. Case in point: the recent, none-too-surprising news that the lovely Zune HD will meet a timely death. Within minutes of the news breaking, stories and tweets flooded the Internet declaring, "The Zune is Dead." This was followed by people asking if everything "Zune" was gone or just the hardware. I assured people that the obvious answer was the hardware only, but is it that obvious? And why wasn't Microsoft out in front of this information?
Yes, the fact that Microsoft is giving up on music player hardware is bad news for Microsoft and good news for Apple, but it's up to Microsoft to stand up and explain its decision and strategy. In the absence of clear information from Microsoft, everyone else can and will shape the message. So now, even though most within the industry are quite sure that the Zune software and service, which lives on in phones and PCs, is in no danger, average consumers are no longer certain. They could at this very minute be making plans to switch to Apple, iPods and iTunes.
If I were Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, I would have stepped forward and explained the shift away from music-only hardware (leaving aside the fact that most music players do a whole lot more). Then, while wiping away one single tear, I would have quickly shifted gears to a clear strategy, which isn't even new: "For mobile devices, we're focusing our attention on Windows Phone, which already has Zune and Xbox Live functionality." Then I'd add, "This, friends, is not a loss. Lessons we learned from Zune hardware's five-year life have given us invaluable insight and made it possible for use to deliver the Windows Phone platform and some truly stellar partner-driven hardware to wrap around it."
Click to continue reading Zune Death: Why no word from Microsoft?
$699 Radeon HD 6990 graphics card announced by AMD
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop,
For gamers and enthusiasts who aren't willing to settle for just an ordinary video card—you know, the kind with only one GPU—the Radeon HD 6990, which AMD is releasing today, could be the next must-have product.
As the 6000-series replacement for 2009's ATI Radeon HD 5970, the 6990 boasts a pair of powerful graphics processing units (GPUs), and some of the speediest specs on the market: compute power of 5.1 teraflops, a core clock speed of 830 MHz, 3,072 stream processors, 192 texture units, 64 ROPs, and 4GB of GDDR5 frame buffer running a long a 5-Gbps, 256-bit memory path. For adventurous users who want even faster frame rates, a switch on the card itself can automatically overclock the card to still-higher levels of performance.
Click to continue reading $699 Radeon HD 6990 graphics card announced by AMD
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