Techconnect Review Round-up 29/7/09
CPU & Motherboard
- AMD Phenom II X2 550 and Athlon II X2 250 @ iXBT Labs
- GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM3 Motherboard @ Hardware Canucks
- ASUS Maximus II GENE (Intel P45) mATX Motherboard @ OC3D
Memory
- OCZ Blade 1066 and Blade 1200 @ InsideHW
Storage
- QNAP TS-219P NAS @ Ninjalane
- OCZ Vertex 32GB Solid State Drive @ ThinkComputers
- Crucial M225 256GB Solid State Disk @ TweakTown
Enclosures & PSUs
- Antec True Power 750 Power Supply @ HiTech Legion
- Thermaltake Element T case @ Neoseeker
- Maxcube Amoris 6010 Gaming Tower @ ProClockers
- Cooler Master HAF 922 PC chassis @ Hexus
- In Win Ammo 2.5-inch external HDD enclosure @ Bjorn3d
Displays
- Asus VH242H, BenQ E2200HD and HP W2448HC @ TechRadar
- Philips 42PFL8404 42in LCD TV @ TrustedReviews
Cooling and modding
- Xigmatek HDT-S1283 HSF CPU cooler @ Rage3D
- GELID Solutions GC-2 Thermal Compound @ techPowerUp
- Choiix Air Through Stash Notebook USB Cooling Pad @ Everything USB
- Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Water Cooling Kit
@ Legit Reviews
@ bit-tech
PCs
- A Tale of Seven 10-inch Netbooks @ HardwareZone
- MSI Wind Top AE1900 All-in-one PC @ Fudzilla
- Novatech X80GTX Pro Laptop @ DriverHeaven
- HP ProBook 4710s @ TechRadar
- Asus Eee 1008HA Seashell @ Digital Trends
- Wired2Fire HellSpawn ALC Gaming PC @ TrustedReviews
Sound
- Eagle Arion ET-AR504LR-BK 2.1 Soundstage @ Overclockers Club
Other
- Motorola ROKR E8 Cell Phone @ Techware Labs
- LG GD900 Crystal @ TechRadar
- Samsung Yepp YP-P3JCB 8GB Portable Media / MP3 Player @ PC STATS
- Cowon D2+ DAB portable media player @ RegHardware
- O2 XDA Guide Smartphone @ TrustedReviews
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BenQ readies the MK2442 LCD TV for August debut
BenQ has just announced a an upcoming addition to its display offer, the MK2442 23.6-inch LCD TV. Able to double up as a regular monitor, the TV has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 5ms response time, a brightness of 300 cd/2, a 1000:1 contrast ratio (10000:1 ACE), and a built-in TV tuner.
The MK2442 also features the Senseye Human Vision Technology to enhance the color, clarity and contrast of video content, two 5W speakers, plus headphone, D-Sub, S-Video, SCART, Composite, Component and HDMI 1.3 connectors.
According to BenQ, this new LCD TV will start hitting stores in Germany, Spain, Italy, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and Russia on August 20. Apparently, the UK will get it sooner at just over أ‚آ£221 / 258 Euro.
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LG bringing VUDU movie streaming to select HDTVs
Samsung rival and neighbor LG Electronics has partnered up with VUDU and will bring the latter's on-demand movie streaming service to its LH50 LCD and PS80 Plasma HDTVs. Through this move, which will start taking effect next month, owners of mentioned TVs will be able to use the NetCast Entertainment Access feature to instantly buy or rent from VUDU's extensive library of movies and TV titles which includes over 2,000 high-definition movies.
"Our alliance with VUDU further demonstrates LG's commitment to delivering the ultimate HD viewing experience, by providing instant access to more 1080p movie content than ever before," said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing and strategy, LG Electronics USA. "VUDU highlights the superb video quality of our 'Full HD' sets with NetCast Entertainment Access, while providing consumers with access to thousands of HD movies with the touch of a button."
According to LG, in addition to boasting VUDU support, the NetCast Entertainment Access-equipped TVs provide users the ability to get content from Netflix, Yahoo! Widgets, YouTube and more.
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Eye-Fi Geo 2GB SD memory card revealed
Eye-Fi has now introduced a new WiFi-enabled SecureDigital memory card into its offer, the Eye-Fi Geo. Boasting 2GB of storage space, the card comes with lifetime geotagging, which means the photos on it, before being wirelessly uploaded to a PC, Mac, or online service, will be tagged with information about the location where it was captured.
The Eye-Fi Geo has full support for Apple products and applications like iPhoto '09 and '08, the iPhone and MobileMe and is exclusively at Apple stores and Apple.com for $59.99.
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Microsoft and Yahoo announce search/ad deal
After months and months of on/off negotiations Microsoft and Yahoo have finally announced that they have reached an agreement on a major search and advertising partnership. Planned to last 10 years, the collaboration will see Microsoft get a license for Yahoo's core search technologies and the ability to use them for its platform, with Bing set to become the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo! sites.
As for Yahoo, it will be the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers. Self-serve advertising for both companies will be fulfilled by Microsoft's AdCenter platform, with each expected to maintain its own separate display advertising business and sales force.
"Through this agreement with Yahoo!, we will create more innovation in search, better value for advertisers, and real consumer choice in a market currently dominated by a single company," said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO. "Success in search requires both innovation and scale. With our new Bing search platform, weأ¢آ€آ™ve created breakthrough innovation and features. This agreement with Yahoo! will provide the scale we need to deliver even more rapid advances in relevancy and usefulness. Microsoft and Yahoo! know there's so much more that search could be. This agreement gives us the scale and resources to create the future of search."
Through this deal, which, please note doesn't cover email or instant messaging, Microsoft will have to pay Yahoo through a revenue sharing agreement on traffic generated on Yahoo's network of both owned and operated (O&O) and affiliate sites.
If all goes well and anti-trust sentinels approve, the agreement between Microsoft and Yahoo will take effect as soon as early 2010.
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Corsair officially intros its first Dominator GT dual channel kit
Cvasi-announced with the return of the Dominator GT line-up, the first dual channel DDR3 kit to bear the 'GT' tag has now been introduced for those using an AM3 Phenom II processor. Codenamed CMG4GX3M2A1600C6, the new 4GB (2GBx2) Dominator GT kit works at 1600 MHz with 6-6-6-18 latencies when powered at 1.65V, and features support for AMD's Black Edition Memory Profiles (B.E.M.P), which allows for the aggressive latency settings to be automatically configured in Windows using the AMD OverDrive software utility.
"Corsair's Dominator line has long been the memory of choice for PC enthusiasts and gamers," said Jim Carlton, VP of Marketing at Corsair. "The new Dominator GT family for platforms with AM3-based AMD Phenom II processors delivers even greater levels of performance, as well as enhanced cooling options, making it the perfect memory for anyone looking for the fastest possible performance from their AM3 AMD Phenom II processor-based system."
Backed by a lifetime warranty, the 4GB DDR3-1600 Dominator GT kit can only be purchased via Corsair's online store. The product is currently listed with a price tag of $349.99 but is not in stock.
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Western Digital reports another profitable quarter
While its main rival, Seagate, is trying to get back to making a profit, Western Digital has announced that in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009, it made a nice profit of $196 million, almost four times that reported in Q3. The quarter ended July 3rd also saw the hard and solid state drive manufacturer make a $1.9 billion revenue, up sequentially but down by $100 million of the same period of 2008, and shipped no less than 40 million drives, almost 5 million more on-year and almost as many as Seagate (40.6 million).
"In a challenging time for the worldwide economy and the hard drive industry, WD maintained profitability and stayed cash flow positive throughout the fiscal year," said John Coyne, president and chief executive officer. "Our fiscal 2009 and June quarter results demonstrate customers' ongoing preference for WD products based on their exceptional quality, reliability and availability, as well as the continued effectiveness of the WD business model and the passion, nimbleness and capabilities of the WD team. In the June quarter, we responded promptly to capitalize on unexpected market upside in each of our served markets to produce financial results that significantly exceeded expectations, and included a return to our targeted gross margin and operating expense model parameters."
For the current quarter Western Digital expects a revenue between $1.9 billion and $2 billion.
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Google adds short links to Gmail for mobile
The no longer new but still improved Gmail for iPhone and Android devices has now been updated to include a feature called Smart Links. Now, tiny URLs may have gotten a lot of attention due to the rise of Twitter but they are also very useful when viewing links on a small screen, like that of a smartphones, and so Gmail for mobile has begun to automatically convert raw links into named links, which are more compact and easier to read and access.
Currently Smart Links works only in plaintext emails and is able to shorten Google Maps address queries, Google Maps directional queries (with one destination), Google Sites webpages and YouTube video links, with support for more link types coming in the future.
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Logitech unveils seven new webcams
Embracing the saying "When it rains, it pours;" Logitech has today went webcam crazy and announced no less than seven new such peripherals - the Webcam Pro 9000, Portable Webcam C905, Webcam C600, Webcam C500, Webcam C300, Webcam C300, Webcam C250 and the Webcam C200.
Priced at $30, the lowest-end offer, the Webcam C200 features a VGA (640x480) sensor and can take pictures at up to 1.3 megapixels thanks to software enhancements, the same going for the C250 which costs $40 and, in addition, includes the Logitech Video Effects Fun Filters.
The $50 Webcam C300 has a 5-megapixel photo capture (software enhanced) feature and also comes with the Fun Filters, while the identically-priced C500 can brag with its glass lens, 1.3-megapixel sensor, the RightLight technology which automatically adjusts the image based on ambient light, and the Video Effects.
The C600 cost $80 and has a 2-megapixel sensor and glass lens, delivers 720p video and 8-megapixel snapshots (software enhanced), and also makes us of the RightLight tech.
Reaching the top we see the $100 Webcam Pro 9000 which features Carl Zeiss optics with autofocus, a 2MP sensor, and pretty much the same capabilities as the C600 (720p video, 8MP shots). As for the Portable Webcam C905, it also cost $100, and is basically the 'on the go' version of the Pro 9000.
Bundled with the Vid video calling applications, the seven Logitech webcams are set to become available in the US and Europe in August.
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Movie studios sue the Pirate Bay, again
Still going strong three months after an initial verdict sentenced four of its 'supporters' to one year in jail and the paying of a 2.7 million Euro fine, the Pirate Bay is once again sued by movie studios in an effort to have it taken offline.
Yesterday, 10 studios filed a complaint in the Stockholm District Court claiming that the Pirate Bay continues to provide people with the means to illegally download copyrighted content. In addition to targeting the torrent tracker, the movie studios are also going after Black Internet AB, the company that provides it with much-needed bandwidth.
This new lawsuit comes very close to the potential sale of the Pirate Bay to Global Gaming Factory X, a company which aims to turn the site around and make it a legitimate download service which would pay both content owners and file sharers. Interestingly-enough, the acquisition is now being put into question as apparently GGF isn't able to raise the money required. The twisted TPB story continues so stay tuned for updates.
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