Samsung to use Microsoft PlayReady tech on phones, TVs
Samsung and Microsoft have revealed today that they have signed an agreement which will see Samsung utilize the PlayReady technology on a wide range of consumer electronics, including mobile phones, TVs and digital video players. Microsoft's PlayReady is a content access and protection solution that enables the availability of digital entertainment services across various devices and applications.
By adopting Microsoft's technology Samsung wants to "make it easier for consumers to have flexible access and to experience and move protected digital content throughout the home and on the go."
"Consumers are increasingly interested in accessing the content they love where they want and when they want," said Dr. W. P. Hong, executive vice president of the Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. "PlayReady is an integral technology component that will help us to deliver on our vision for connected entertainment and bring to life the kinds of seamless entertainment experiences that take full advantage of the digital medium."
According to the South Korean company (Samsung), its first products to feature PlayReady will become available latest this year, the grand plan being to migrate from Windows Media Digital Rights Management to PlayReady across its communications and entertainment products worldwide by 2012.
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Apple's MacBook Pro line embraces the Intel Calpella platform
The awaited update of Apple's laptop family has started today with the release of 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models that are based on the Intel Calpella mobile platform and make use of Nvidia GeForce 300M series graphics. Unfortunately, the 13-inch laptops are still powered by the older Core 2 Duo chips but they too have adopted the new Nvidia GPUs.
As their predecessors, the updated MacBooks feature aluminum unibody enclosures, LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass, and have built-in batteries, the rating provided by Apple being of up to 10 hours of operation per charge.
"The new MacBook Pro is as advanced on the inside as it is stunning on the outside," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With faster processors, amazing graphics and up to three more hours of battery life, the new MacBook Pro delivers both performance and efficiency."
Now, without further delay, here are the 2010 MacBook Pro base models:
13-inch MacBook Pro @ $1,199
- 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB
- Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics
- 250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor
- slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive
- Mini DisplayPort
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- iSight video camera
- two USB 2.0 ports
- one FireWire 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible)
- SD card slot
- glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard
- 63.5WHr lithium polymer battery
13-inch MacBook Pro @ $1,499
- 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display
- 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB
- Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics
- 320GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor
- slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive
- Mini DisplayPort
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- iSight video camera
- two USB 2.0 ports
- one FireWire 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible)
- SD card slot
- glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard
- 63.5WHr lithium polymer battery
15-inch MacBook Pro @ $1,799
- 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 with 3MB shared L3 cache
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB
- integrated Intel HD Graphics + Nvidia GeForce GT 330M discrete graphics with 256MB of VRAM
- 320GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor
- slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive
- Mini DisplayPort
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- iSight video camera
- two USB 2.0 ports
- one FireWire 800 port
- SD card slot
- glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard
- 77.5WHr lithium polymer battery
15-inch MacBook Pro @ $1,999
- 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display
- 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5 with 3MB shared L3 cache
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB
- integrated Intel HD Graphics + Nvidia GeForce GT 330M discrete graphics with 256MB of VRAM
- 500GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor
- slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive
- Mini DisplayPort
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- iSight video camera
- two USB 2.0 ports
- one FireWire 800 port
- SD card slot
- glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard
- 77.5WHr lithium polymer battery
15-inch MacBook Pro @ $2,199
- 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display
- 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 with 4MB shared L3 cache
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB
- integrated Intel HD Graphics + Nvidia GeForce GT 330M discrete graphics with 512MB of VRAM
- 500GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor
- slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive
- Mini DisplayPort
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- iSight video camera
- two USB 2.0 ports
- one FireWire 800 port
- SD card slot
- glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard
- 77.5WHr lithium polymer battery
17-inch MacBook Pro @ $2,299
- 17-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1920 x 1200, glossy display
- 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5 with 3MB shared L3 cache
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB
- integrated Intel HD Graphics + Nvidia GeForce GT 330M discrete graphics with 512MB of VRAM
- 500GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor
- slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive
- Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately)
- AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- iSight video camera
- three USB 2.0 ports
- one FireWire 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible)
- ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot
- glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard
- 95WHr lithium polymer battery
For more info and/or a purchase see Apple's website.
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TDK WR700 and EB900 headphones reach North America
Imation's own TDK Life on Record has today announced the North American release of two new high-fidelity products, the WR700 wireless headphones and EB900 (wired) earphones. Introduced in Japan last month, the WR700 make use of the Kleer lossless audio technology that delivers 16-bit, 44KHz-digital audio at CD quality, has 34mm drivers, a sound pressure sensitivity of 108 dB/mW, an impedance of 32 Ohms, a frequency response of 20 ~ 20,000 Hz, and requires four AAA batteries enabling up to 40 hours of audio play. The headphones are bundled with a wireless transmitter that connects via a 3.5mm port.
The EB900 in-ear headphones come with a 1.2 meter-long braided cable, with Comply foam tips that can block most ambient noise, and feature 8.5mm micro-drivers, a frequency response of 20 to 20,000 Hz, a sensitivity (at 1 KHz) of 101.5 dB, and a gold-plated 3.5mm jack.
"Audio enthusiasts worldwide have long recognized the TDK brand as a leader in sound fidelity," said Stephanie Juaire, global brand director for TDK Life on Record. "Drawing on our brand's long audio heritage, our newest TDK Life on Record headphones deliver not only superior sound but also an updated, contemporary design. These premium wireless and in-ear headphones have been designed for high fidelity, accurate audio reproduction and a compelling listening experience."
The WR700 and EB900 headphones have recommended price tags of $249.99 and $89.99, respectively.
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AOC's V27m monitor TV coming out next month
AOC Europe has revealed that the latest addition to its LCD monitor TV line-up, the 27-inch V27m model, will be shipping around mid-May. Pictured just below, the upcoming display has a glossy piano black coating, a slim profile of just 28mm, a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a response time of 5ms, a dynamic contrast ratio of 60,000:1, and two 2W speakers.
The V27m includes a HDMI input and the usual cable connector but does not yet have an official price tag. But we'll find that out in the next few weeks.
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GeForce 197.45 WHQL driver released
Nvidia has today rolled out a new WHQL driver for all its 'usual' desktop graphics cards except the newly-introduced GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470. The GeForce 197.45 includes the PhysX v9.10.0129 software, supports the GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, and 300 series cards and ION GPUs, and includes the following highlights:
- Recommended for the best performance with the new GPU-accelerated features in Adobe CS5.
- Adds support for the new version of MotionDSP's video enhancement software, vReveal, which adds support for HD output.
As always, follow the black brick links below to download Nvidia's driver:
- GeForce 197.45 WHQL (Windows XP 32bit)
- GeForce 197.45 WHQL (Windows XP 64bit)
- GeForce 197.45 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 32bit)
- GeForce 197.45 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 64bit)
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Nokia counters KIN phones with three messaging-ready handhelds
Not leaving the KIN sparkles settle, Nokia has today unveiled a trio of lower-cost phones that aim to deliver social networking and easy, QWERTY keyboard-enhanced messaging to a wider audience.
"Our messaging device range is very successful," said Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's Head of Markets. "Services that provide easy access to the world's consumer and corporate email and instant messaging are really popular on our QWERTY smartphones such as the Nokia E71 and Nokia E63. People want the best messaging and social networking experience on an affordable device, whether it's sending a simple text or instant message, an email, or a direct message from their Twitter account. The Nokia C3, Nokia C6 and Nokia E5 are made for just that."
The cheapest of the lot, the Nokia C3 is a Series 40 quad-band GSM candybar measuring 115.5 x 58.1 x 13.6 mm that packs a 2.4-inch (320x240) 262K color screen, a 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, 55MB of internal memory, a microSD slot, an FM radio, and 802.11 b/g, plus Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity. The C3 will be pre-loaded with Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat, and will debut later this quarter in three colors - Slate Grey, Golden White and Hot Pink, at around 90 Euro (price without taxes and subsidies).
The Nokia C6 is 113.4 by 53 by 16.8 mm and runs Symbian S60 5.0, has quad-band GSM and HSDPA/WCDMA support, and features a slide-out keyboard, a 3.2-inch (640x360) display, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, a secondary camera for video calling, an FM radio, 200MB of built-in storage backed by a microSD slot, GPS, USB, WLAN, and Bluetooth 2.0. The C6 will also be released in Q2 but will cost 220 Euro.
As for the Nokia E6, this one is a more business-oriented model which runs S60 3rd Edition with Feature Pack 2, and includes quad-band GSM and WCDMA, a 2.4-inch (320x240) screen, a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, 250MB of internal memory, a microSD slot, GPS, a microUSB connector, Bluetooth 2.0 and WLAN. Nokia plans to release the E6 in Q3 at 180 Euro.
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Twitter kicks off advertising plan with Promoted Tweets
You've got to hand it to the Twitter team, it held its ground quite well regarding advertising but since all businesses are about making money, the resistance, or delay, is coming to an end. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone today announced the first move in the company's advertising scheme, which implies the introduction of so-called 'Promoted Tweets'.
As you've probably guessed Promoted Tweets are tweets made by a company with the specific aim of advertising a product or a service. Now, these can already be seen on Twitter but the change is that advertisers will pay to have the Promoted Tweets highlighted so they can reach a wider audience. Promoted Tweets will be seen at the top of some Twitter.com search results pages (only one PT per page) and they will be clearly marked so you'll know someone paid to have it up there. The advertised tweets will have all the functionality of regular tweets so you'll still be able to reply to them, retweet and favorite the ones you find interesting.
The first wave of partners that signed up for Promoted Tweets includes Best Buy, Bravo, Red Bull, Sony Pictures, Starbucks, and Virgin America .
"While we are excited about the platform in general, there are several specific aspects of the launch that we are delighted to highlight," say the Twitter team in the PT Q&A. "Since all Promoted Tweets are organic Tweets, there is not a single “ad†in our Promoted Tweets platform that isn’t already an organic part of Twitter. This is distinct from both traditional search advertising and more recent social advertising. Promoted Tweets will also be timely. Like any other Tweet, the connection between you and a Promoted Tweet in real-time provides a powerful means of delivering information relevant to you at the moment."
Further down the line, after Promoted Tweets pick up pace, they will be available via Twitter clients and other ecosystem partners but for now, Twitter is taking baby steps.
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Gigabyte's GA-X58A-UD9 is a black and white beauty
If you need something to heat up these spring days then feat your eyes on the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9 motherboard in the black/white picture below and be careful not to drool on the keyboard. The upcoming uber-end Intel X58-powered board features two 8-pin power connectors providing the CPU for extra watts needed for overclocking, a 2oz copper PCB, and has a large cooling system that includes a waterblock for the northbridge, six DDR3 memory slots, plus nothing, and we do mean nothing but PCI-Express x16 slots - 7 of them in total, for CrossFireX or n-way SLI setups.
The GA-X58A-UD9 also includes ten SATA ports, four of which are probably 6.0 Gbps, 7.1 channel audio, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 connectors, DualBIOS, and a debuLED. Currently the board is lacking color, a price tag and a release date so we should be hearing more about it in the near future. You can start saving up for one.
Picture courtesy of Expreview.
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Sony rolls out two new DVD writers
Sony Optiarc America has this week begun shipping two new DVD writers, the slim, external DRX-S77U and the half-height, internal AD-7260S. Coming in black, white, pink and gold, the DRX-S77U measures 136.5 x 19 x 146.5 mm and features an USB 2.0 interface, 2MB of buffer memory, a bundle containing Nero 9, and maximum writing speeds of 8x for DVD+R/-R and DVD+RW, 6x for DVD-RW and DVD+R/-R DL, 5x for DVD-RAM, and 24x for CD-R and CD-RW.
The AD-7260S model is available with black and beige bezels and with or without support for LightScribe technology, boasts a SATA interface, 2MB of buffer, and offers burning speeds of up to 24x for DVD+R/-R, 12x for DVD+R/-R DL and DVD-RAM, 8x for DVD+RW, 6x for DVD-RW, 48x for CD-R, and 32x for CD-RW.
Both the DRX-S77U and AD-7260S should already be hitting US stores.
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Elpida countersues Infineon, goes after Best Buy too
Early this month Elpida Memory called Infineon's ITC complaint with a patent lawsuit filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia through which it accuses Infineon Technologies North America and Best Buy of violating several of its patents related to semiconductor integrated circuits.
Elpida claims are that the defendants mentioned are engaged in infringing activities by manufacturing, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing Infineon's microcontrollers used in mobile devices. And because this didn't seem enough, Elpida filed another suit in the same court in which it says Infineon's microcontrollers used in automobiles infringe on its patents too.
With the two lawsuits Elpida wants to get a permanent injunction to prevent further infringement. And, of course, it would also like some damages for the harm already done.
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