AT&T announces expanded availability of 3G MicroCell
It may not be the news that folks in some particularly problematic areas have been waiting for, but AT&T has now announced that it’s finally expanded availability of its 3G MicroCell beyond its initial testbed cities like Raleigh and Charlotte. The new markets apparently include some additional areas of North Carolina, along with new parts of South Carolina, Georgia, and San Diego, plus the addition of Las Vegas – the only entirely-new market of the bunch. Hit up the link below to punch in your zipcode for exact availability, and all the necessary details to get “five bars in your own home.” And if you’re curious about exactly what this whole femtocell thing is about, be sure to check out our impressions of the device.
Sony launches its first 3D-capable A/V receiver for $500
So you’ve already planned on buying your 3D HDTV and your 3D Blu-ray player. What else do you need? (Besides some 3D glasses and actual 3D content.) If you have a home theater system in place and you want to hear those 3D discs in surround sound, you’ll want a receiver to which you can connect your Blu-ray player and then send the audio and video straight to your HDTV. Enter Sony’s STR-DN1010 A/V, its first receiver to be 3D compatible, passing both the 3D video and multi-channel audio through HDMI to your set. In addition to its 3D capabilities, the 7.1-channel STR-DN1010 offers the usual assortment of features found on today’s A/V receivers, including support for Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio surround sound codecs, upscaling to 1080p for non-HD source material, 110 watts per channel, and four HDMI and three component-video connections. At $500, it costs $100 more than its non-3D equivalent, the STR-DH810, but doesn’t totally break the bank. Sony says the STR-DN1010 will be available in June.
Transcend Releases 4GB, 8GB DDR3 RDIMMs For Cloud Computing and Server Applications
Transcend Information announced 8GB DDR3-1066 Registered DIMM (RDIMM) and 4GB DDR3-1333 VLP (Very Low Profile) RDIMM modules. Featuring enhanced capacity, support for triple-channel memory configurations, and an onboard thermal sensor, these new high-density RDIMMs provide for higher data frequencies and significantly increase memory space. -P/N: TS1GKR72V1N, 8GB, 1066MHz DDR3 REG DIMM (Quad Rank, x8) with thermal sensor. -P/N: TS512MKR72V3NL, 4GB, 1333MHz DDR3 VLP REG DIMM (Dual Rank, x8) with thermal sensor. As Transcend’s highest density DDR3 module, the 8GB DDR3-1066 RDIMM is constructed with a ten-layer PCB that offers stable performance and durability, and also includes a high thermal efficiency aluminum heatsink. Offering memory bandwidth up to 8.5GB/s and the flexibility to expand maximum capacity to 48GB (per processor), the 8GB DDR3-1066 RDIMM module allows administrators to create a robust infrastructure that runs memory-intensive applications such as virtualization and cloud computing with ease. Transcend’s 4GB DDR3-1333 VLP RDIMM is 0.74-inch high – compact enough to fit into space-restricted cases, 1U height rack systems or blade servers. When used with the triple-channel architecture built into Intel’s newest Nehalem-based Xeon server platforms, Transcend’s DDR3-1333 VLP RDIMMs enable system administrators to maximize memory bandwidth, providing up to 10.6GB/s throughput. All of Transcend’s DDR3-1333/1066 RDIMMs fully comply with JEDEC standards and are made of 256Mx8 high-quality DDR3 FBGA chips. The modules are backed by Transcend’s lifetime warranty.
S3 Dual-GPU Card Competes with ATI Eyefinity
VIA Technologies plans to offer an alternative to AMD’s ATI Eyefinity technology VIA Technologies said that it’s sporting a few products at the Digital Signage Expo 2010 trade show held next week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. One of the products mentioned is the company’s upcoming S3 Graphics Chrome 5400E x2, a dual-GPU graphics card aimed to take on AMD’s ATI Eyefinity technology. “The S3 Graphics 5400E x2 is a highly integrated and flexible video card that features dual graphics and multimedia processors,” the company said. “Boasting extreme hardware acceleration of the latest HD video codecs, the S3 Graphics 5400E x2 uses S3 Graphics’ PanoChrome technology to provide up to four independent HD video streams at resolutions of 1080p on up to eight displays, employing a variety of display modes and configurations.” The company’s press release provided a few more details, indicating that the card provides built-in Genlock support for synchronized source timing, and support for Span, Extended, and Clone view configurations. The hardware-accelerated HD video codecs include H.264, VC-1 and WMV-HD. Unfortunately, there’s no real hardware-based info such as its core clock speed and on-board memory amount. VIA said that it will offer a taste of the dual-GPU graphics card during the show, and will eventually provide samples to ODM customers in the USA sometime Q2 2010 or later.
MWC 2010: World’s first Feature Phone with Air Sync from LG
New contest: Win a new 32GB iPod Touch! MWC 2010: World’s first Feature Phone with Air Sync from LG Take a look at the world’s first feature phone with support for 3-Way Sync Service. LG Electronics has put on display the LG GD880, popularly known as LG Mini at the MWC 2010 being held at Barcelona. The new LG Mini is the first of its kind to support the LG Air Sync functionality. Air Sync is the name of company’s 3-Way Sync Service, which was only available on Smartphones till date. Harnessing the Air Sync service, a user can easily synchronize data on their mobile with data stored on PCs wirelessly. It is a form of cloud computing allowing convenient upkeep and updating of phone books, audio and other data. LG Air Sync integrates three functions to maintain the information flow and provide superior data management. The phone browser keeps track of the 100 recently viewed pages on the PC using the History Sync function. The Personal Information Manager (PIM) Sync helps to transfer contact details and daily schedules to user’s PC. The R-Click function allows for convenient pictures and information flow between the computer and the mobile. Personal Data is always under uncertainty of being damaged and lost. The LG Air Sync prevents user’s vital information from being misplaced and keeps it safely. The LG Mini measures only 10.6mm in depth and weighs just about 100g. It integrates a 3.2 – inch touchscreen, 5.0 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, FM radio and 7.2 Mbps HDSPA in its small framework. The LG GD880 Feature Phone will be available in European markets by March this year. [via Newswire ]
Video: Hands on with new Windows 7 Phone Series
New contest: Win a new 32GB iPod Touch! Video: Hands on with new Windows 7 Phone Series Just released yesterday, CNET got a chance to get hands on with the new Microsoft flagship phone and of course the new OS – Windows 7 Phone Series. Is it an iPhone killer or an Android competitor?
From the creators of Genji comes a new action RPG: Folklore
New contest: Win a new 32GB iPod Touch! From the creators of Genji comes a new action RPG: Folklore If you adore the slightly melancholic, but richly imaginative, works of creators like Tim Burton, Neil Gaimon, or Jean-Prerre Jeunet, then Folklore id for you. The story begins in the decrepit village of Doolin, the gateway to the afterworld. Two strangers are beckoned to the island – one an orphan lured by a letter from her long dead mother and the other a jaded reporter for an occultist magazine who receives a mysterious phone call. They arrive in time to witness a murder. Solving it requires journeying into the Netherworld to interrogate the dead and facing truths that hit closer to home and have bigger impacts than they could ever suspect. As gorgeous as the story telling is only the patient need apply. The game is unusually quiet, favoring text over voices, and the pacing is more akin to a novel than a movie. In fact, watching cutscenes is a lot like reading a comic book. In exchange, however, you will be treated to beautiful environments, a rich ambient soundtracks, and a uniquely approach. We think it’s a worthwhile trade-off; gamers wanting Folklore to play like an action game may not. Actually, the combat is one element that makes Folklore stand out from the action-RPG crowd. When you journey into the Netherworld, you gain the ability to absorb Folks, the creatures that populate the realms; you can use them in battle. Even with over a hundred Folks, their abilities don’t became overly repetitive a plant spewing toxic bubbles. Overall, it’s an amazing, oddball game that emphasizes story as heavily as combat. Yes, it’s slightly different from the myriad cookie-cutter titles on the market. [via Metacritic ]
Intel plans i5 540UM in Q3
i5’s 520UM successor Intel plans to refresh its ultra low voltage Arrandale generation. In Q1 2010 it plans to launch i5 520UM, a 1.06GHz clocked dual-core that can overclock with turbo all the way to 1.86GHz. If this is not enough for you, you better wait for Q3 2010 when Intel plans to launch a faster Core i5 called 540UM. This CPU will rock at 1.2GHz will stay at 18W TDP and with overclocking it will reach 2.0GHz. This is not bad for more affordable processor with graphics that will run between 166GHz and 500MHz when overclocked. You have to love the 18W TDP as this will allow some great performance and battery life with these machines. Arrandale tends to change the game in the mobile market and bring much better mobile computing. Sandy Bridge will just continue this path.
SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 released, in bed with Symbian and Android
SPB Software have a new version up for grabs of their popular SPB Mobile Shell UI. And you know what, they must’ve realized monogamy sucks. It used to be Windows Mobile ONLY. The 5.0 update now lands on Symbian and Android, comes with better graphics, performance and functionality. The improvement list includes a brand new 3D engine, 3D dynamic widgets (weather, media player, and gallery) and tight social network integration. The new Natural Interaction Engine brings full-fledged accelerometer support and multi-touch gestures along with visual and haptic feedback. SPB Mobile Shell 5.0 has already launched but not available to purchase off the official website just yet. I suppose we’ll also see it prebundled on some upcoming smartphones this year.
Motorola Milestone now available on Telus, AT&T
Two days earlier than expected, Motorola’s Milestone has become available to the public via Telus Mobility. For Canadians, that means that you can wrap your palms around one of the sexiest Android devices out for as low as $199.99 on a 3-year contract, while it’ll set you back $499.99 with a 2-year deal, $549.99 with a 1-year agreement or $599.99 outright. Americans – you should pay close attention that to last figure. A half dozen Benjamins (not including losses in currency conversion and the trip to go get one) will land you what’s essentially a 3G-enabled Droid for AT&T’s network. You know you need an excuse to go see the Yanks take the ice against the Canucks on Sunday, so you might as well snap up your dream phone before heading back from Vancouver. *AT&T support hinges on one’s ability to procure a Milestone from Canada, get it back across the border, unlock it and slide an activated AT&T 3G SIM card into it. Godspeed.
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