IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (HotHardware) 18/08/2010

Panasonic Debuts VIERA GT25 Line Of 3D Plasma HDTVs
3D has conquered the cinema, it's on the way to conquering 3D gaming on the PC, and after that, it's planning on taking over your living room. But what if you have no real interest in watching 3D content? If you're a gamer, there's still a chance to hook you, and that's Panasonic's plans with their newest 3D HDTVs. The company, at CES 2010, introduced a number of large-screen 3D televisions, but none were small and cheap enough to be impulse buys. We can't say that either of these two sets are cheap enough either,
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MSI's 10.1" WindPad 100 Tablet Appears With Docking Station
It's a foregone conclusion that just about every notebook and PC maker will be at least thinking of making a tablet over the next year. Apple's iPad has sold well over 3 million units in only a few months, so it has become clear to everyone else that the market exists. Now, it's time for them to capitalize. MSI is mostly know for their all-in-one desktops and notebooks, but if this product proves to look this good on shelves, it may soon be a frontrunner in the tablet category. The 10" MSI WindPad 100 has been
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NVIDIA And Rambus Move On With Patent License Agreement
NVIDIA has a history of picking bones with companies. They've created quite a riff between themselves and Intel, for example, and their CEO is one of the least reserved in the entire tech industry. If he feels like saying something, he'll say it. We like the bravado, but it has put the company into awkward spots before. One long standing disagreement that eventually went to the courtroom is one between NVIDIA and Rambus. This week though, the companies have agreed to put their differences aside in an effort
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NVIDIA And 2K Games Host Mafia II Parties, Invite You As VIP
Excited for Mafia II? Really excited? Really, really excited? Excited enough to take a little time off and join a party to celebrate the launch of Mafia II? 2K Games and NVIDIA are holding a joint Mafia II line of launch events (called "Community Events") over the next few weekends, with Chicago, Miami and New York City as the cities to party down in. Best of all, these two companies are hoping to see you there, and if you visit the Facebook page listed at the bottom of this post, you can reply in order to RSVP
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Is Apple Working On A Contactless iPhone Payment System?
After Apple recently hired an expert in near field communication (NFC) technology, there is speculation that Apple could be working on a contactless payment system for its iPhone. Benjamin Vigier has been working with near field communication technology since 2004. Vigier is now the new product manager for mobile commerce at Apple. Most recently, Vigier was the product manager for mobile wallet, payment and NFC at mFoundry. At mFoundry, Vigier conceived and managed the PayPal Mobile service and Starbucks' barcode-based
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MSI Big Bang XPower Review: X58, Military Style
The MSI XPower series of motherboards is clearly designed to curry favor with overclocking enthusiasts and the high-end gamers Asus has targeted with its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. The XPower packs full support for all the latest buzzwords and capabilities, but MSI is also claiming to offer certain unique features that other manufacturers can't match currently. We're always interested in new innovations and ideas when it comes to motherboard design; let's take a look at the oomph behind MSI's Big Bang...
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Eurocom Cracks The 3TB Barrier In Notebooks
Thanks to Seagate hard drives which have reduced in size from 12.5 mm to 9.5 mm, Eurocom has been able to crack the 3TB 7200rpm barrier in its Mobile Servers and Mobile Workstations. With these smaller drives, Eurocom has been able to put up to four hard drives in its D900F Panther, X8100 Leopard, and the upcoming EUROCOM X7200 Panther 2.0. By putting these drives in these notebooks, Eurocom has increased the processing power, speed, and storage of its products. To achieve the maximum performance and storage
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Voice Actions For Android Enables Spoken Command Support
Voice commands are a feature on phones, cars and other devices that frequently get under-utilized. Most people say that these services don't recognize their voice well enough, and it just seems too complicated to mess with when all you're trying to do can also be accomplished by mashing a button or two. Android has supported spoken commands for a while, but they've been limited to dialing a contact in your address book. But now, Google is taking voice actions for Android to a new level. The newly announced feature,
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MSI Big Bang XPower Review: X58, Military Style

MSI's Big Bang XPower: X58, Military Style

The MSI XPower series of motherboards is clearly designed to curry favor with overclocking enthusiasts and the high-end gamers Asus has targeted with its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. The XPower packs full support for all the latest buzzwords and capabilities, but MSI is also claiming to offer certain unique features that other manufacturers can't match currently. We're always interested in new innovations and ideas when it comes to motherboard design; let's take a look at the oomph behind MSI's Big Bang...

MSI Big Bang XPower Review: X58, Military Style

NVIDIA And Rambus Move On With Patent License Agreement

NVIDIA has a history of picking bones with companies. They've created quite a riff between themselves and Intel, for example, and their CEO is one of the least reserved in the entire tech industry. If he feels like saying something, he'll say it. We like the bravado, but it has put the company into awkward spots before.

One long standing disagreement that eventually went to the courtroom is one between NVIDIA and Rambus. This week though, the companies have agreed to put their differences aside in an effort to move on and move forward. They have agreed to sign a patent license agreement related to certain memory controllers, and under those agreements Rambus has granted NVIDIA a patent license for certain memory controllers at a 1 percent royalty rate for SDR memory controllers and a 2 percent royalty rate for other memory controllers, including DDR, DDR2, DDR3, LPDDR, LPDDR2, GDDR2, GDDR3, GDDR4, and portions of GDDR5 memory controllers. It's worth noting that NVIDIA has granted no licenses to Rambus. The full release is below.

Â Rambus and NVIDIA Sign Patent License Agreement

Agreement Covers Memory Controllers for Certain DRAM

LOS ALTOS, Calif. & SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS), one of the worldâ€™s premier technology licensing companies, and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), the worldwide leader in visual computing, today announced they have signed a patent license agreement related to certain memory controllers.

Under the agreement, Rambus has granted NVIDIA a patent license for certain memory controllers at a 1 percent royalty rate for SDR memory controllers and a 2 percent royalty rate for other memory controllers, including DDR, DDR2, DDR3, LPDDR, LPDDR2, GDDR2, GDDR3, GDDR4, and portions of GDDR5 memory controllers. NVIDIA has granted no licenses to Rambus.

The signed patent license agreement went into effect on August 12, 2010. The parties have not signed any releases of liability, nor dismissed any outstanding litigation between them.

The terms of the license are per the agreement that Rambus offers as part of its commitment with the European Commission. A sample of the Memory Controller License Agreement is available at www.rambus.com/licensing.Â

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Ford's Next Hybrids Will Communicate With Electric Grid, Charge Smartly

We were pretty moved by DOW Chemical's recent "Human Element" campaign, and we're delighted to see yet another major American corporation going above and beyond the call of duty in order to better our planet. Ford, along with its utility partners, have announced that they are testing out one of the industry's first vehicle-to-electric grid communications and control systems, which enables electric vehicles to interface with the grid for optimal recharging.

Put simply, this new approach enables the vehicle operator to program when to recharge the vehicle, for how long and at what utility rate. In other words, an operator could choose to charge only during off-peak hours when electricity is cheaper, or when the grid is using renewable energy. Pretty sweet concept, no? Bill Ford, Ford's executive chairman, had this to say about the development:

"Electric vehicles are an important element of our strategy for improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions. This vehicle-to-grid communication technology is an important step in the journey toward the widespread commercialization of electric vehicles."

And if you thought this was all just some pipe dream, think again. All 21 of Ford's fleet of plug-in hybrid Escapes eventually will be equipped with the vehicle-to-grid communications technology, with the first of the specially equipped plug-in hybrids being delivered to American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio. We're also told that the automaker's other utility partners' vehicles will also be equipped with the communications technology. When plugged in, the battery systems of these specially equipped plug-in hybrids can communicate directly with the electrical grid via smart meters provided by utility companies through wireless networking. The owner uses the vehicle's touch screen navigation interface and Ford Work Solutions in-dash computer to choose when the vehicle should recharge, for how long and at what utility rate.

Granted, we'd love to see more hybrids on the road before getting too far ahead of ourselves, but we guess any progress is good progress in this area. Greg Frenette, manager of Ford's Battery Electric Vehicle Applications, chimed in with the following:

"We are designing what plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles will be capable of in the future. Direct communication between vehicles and the grid can only be accomplished through collaboration between automakers and utility companies, which Ford and its partners are demonstrating with this technology."

The development has certainly been helped by you and yours, with Ford admitting that a $30 million grant and a $62.7 million DOE grant will help fund collaboration with utility partners across the nation with an expansion of a vehicle demonstration and grid integration program. Now, if only we could figure out that whole teleportation thing, we'd be good to go!

Apple Caught Field Testing Fourth-Gen iPhone

This news shouldn't surprise anyone, certainly not in terms of location. Apple has begun field-testing the 4th generation iPhone in the San Francisco Bay Area. Developers of the iPhone app iBART, which is used to help commuters around the Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART), Pandav, have reported the finding via the Pinch Media analytics used in their applications.

The Cupertino-based company probably has engineers and testers using BART throughout the Bay Area.

Pinch Media's analytics breaks down customer usage by specific devices as referenced by the internal device ID numbers assigned by Apple. The original iPhone is iPhone1,1; the iPhone 3G is iPhone1,2, and the iPhone 3GS is iPhone2.1 This new device ID is iPhone3,1, which was first seen in beta versions of iPhone OS 3.0 way back in March, but wasn't seen "live" until now.

Apple similarly began testing the iPhone 3GS way back in October 2008 and Pinch Media saw the new device ID string for quite some time in their numbers before reporting it.

Typical of new iPhones, there is very little information about the device, at least yet. The biggest rumor is that AT&T may lose exclusivity for the hot app phone, with Verizon getting the device (and probably tons of defectors, if that happens) at the time of the next iPhone refresh in mid-2010.

NVIDIA And 2K Games Host Mafia II Parties, Invite You As VIP

Excited for Mafia II? Really excited? Really, really excited? Excited enough to take a little time off and join a party to celebrate the launch of Mafia II? 2K Games and NVIDIA are holding a joint Mafia II line of launch events (called "Community Events") over the next few weekends, with Chicago, Miami and New York City as the cities to party down in.

Best of all, these two companies are hoping to see you there, and if you visit the Facebook page listed at the bottom of this post, you can reply in order to RSVP and skip the hassle. If you don't have Facebook access, just respond in our comment section with your desired city to attend and we'll pass the note on directly to NVIDIA. Make sure you get your requests in before August 18 at 3PM PST, and then you'll be added to the VIP guest list.

There's no cover charge for any of the events, but you need to be at least 18 years old to party and 21 to drink. Mafia II will be out in full force with 3D Vision and 3D Vision Surround. So, who's down?

Lost Planet 2 DX11 Benchmark
Although its a huge file (955MB), the new Lost Planet 2 benchmark offers two tests and both DX9 and DX11 options. It puts a serious load on your system. I was getting single digit frame rates with max settings so I need to turn it down and run it again.
Check it out and post your results!
http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/20788/Lost+Planet+2+Benchmark+Test

Eurocom Cracks The 3TB Barrier In Notebooks

Thanks to Seagate hard drives which have reduced in size from 12.5 mm to 9.5 mm, Eurocom has been able to crack the 3TB 7200rpmÂ barrier in its Mobile Servers and Mobile Workstations. With these smaller drives, Eurocom has been able to put up to four hard drives in its D900F Panther, X8100 Leopard, and the upcoming EUROCOM X7200 Panther 2.0.
By putting these drives in these notebooks, Eurocom has increased the processing power, speed, and storage of its products. To achieve the maximum performance and storage capacity, Eurocom can fit up to four physical hard drives in its high performance mobile workstations. Using the large storage capacity of Seagate's Momentus 3Gb/s 750GB hard drives, Eurocom achieves a total storage capacity of up to 3TB.
By using multiple hard drives, Eurocom also is able to utilize RAID 0/1/5/10 which enables data redundancy and increased disk performance. Eurocom claims it is the only notebook manufacturer to offer a mobile product with 3TB of hard drive storage.

Eurocom offers 3TB of storage on the following models:

EUROCOM D900F Panther Workstation with Intel i7-980X Extreme processor and NVIDIA GTX 480M or Quadro FX 3800M http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/specselectnew.cfm?model_id=202
EUROCOM D900F Panther-- Mobile Server based on Intel XEON 5600 series and RAID 0/1/5/10 http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/specselectnew.cfm?model_id=207
EUROCOM X8100 Leopard-- 18.4" model with ATI Crossfire support and NVIDIA GTX 480M or Quadro FX3800 http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/specselectnew.cfm?model_id=212
EUROCOM X7200 Panther 2.0-- World's first notebook with Crossfire and SLI support, with NVIDIA GTX 480M and Quadro FX 3800M and Intel i7-980X Extreme or Xeon 5600 series http://www.eurocom.com/products/showroom/specselectnew.cfm?model_id=214

In addition to these performance mobile workstations, Eurocom offers performance desktop replacement notebooks with 2.25TB such as the W870CU Cheetah and W880CU Cheetah 2.0. For users on a slightly smaller budget, Eurocom also has 1.5TB notebook offerings with their line of lightweight notebooks.

Is Apple Working On A Contactless iPhone Payment System?

After Apple recently hired an expert in near field communication (NFC) technology, there is speculation that Apple could be working on a contactless payment system for its iPhone. Benjamin Vigier has been working with near field communication technology since 2004. Vigier is now the new product manager for mobile commerce at Apple.
Most recently, Vigier was the product manager for mobile wallet, payment and NFC at mFoundry. At mFoundry, Vigier conceived and managed the PayPal Mobile service and Starbucks' barcode-based mobile payments service. He also has worked on developing mobile wallet applications for two top US mobile network operators as well as a NFC wallet application for a top three US bank. In addition to these experiences, Vigier has been responsible for NFC activities at French mobile network operator Bouygues Telecom and flash memory manufacturer SanDisk.
Apple has filed a handful of NFC-related patent applications over the last few months including patents for iPay, iBuy, and iCoupons, a mobile commerce and mobile marketing business that deals with a NFC-enabled iPhone. A few more NFC-related patents include:

A NFC-based mobile payment service that would enable customers to pay merchants and other customers using a credit or debit card, bank account, or iTunes credit.
An airline ticketing and boarding pass application that would enable travelers to process themselves through security clearance and check themselves in at a boarding gate.
A Grab & Go patent that would make it easy to transfer files between devices.
A NFC-enabled iPod, game controller, TV, and iPhone.

It's unknown what mobile commerce products Vigier will be working on, but based on the fact that Apple hired Vigier, we have to think the company is interested in taking some of these patent applications and turning them into reality.

Instant Action Goes Live With Instant Jam, Embeddable Gaming Commences

The GamesCom conference has begun this week in Germany, and so the gaming news is obviously flowing from Europe. Instant Action is a U.S.-based startup that got their initial services underway in one form or another earlier this year, but now their first actual software is going live. It's a big moment for the company, but it may just be an even bigger moment for the industry as a whole.

Gaming hasn't changed too much over the past few years, but the thought of free, embed-friendly gaming that's as easy to use and access as YouTube could seriously change the way people look at casual gaming. Instant Jam is a Rock Band-like title that's launching today in beta, with signed-up users able to visit the company's website and play. They'll be opening it to the public in the coming weeks, where it will be embeddable anywhere online, and playable along with thousands of songs consumers own in their music libraries.

If this goes over well, we expect many other titles to be released in this fashion. And with more and more people on the go, that's definitely a good thing.

InstantAction Debuts Instant Jam
Â
First-ever console-quality, online music-rhythm game can be played with your music collection and is embeddable anywhere on the Web

LAS VEGAS and COLOGNE, Germany, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Browser-based gaming innovator InstantActionÂ®, an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI), today unveiled Instant Jamâ„¢, the world's first console-quality, online music-rhythm game that is free to play, embeddable anywhere online, and playable along with thousands of songs consumers own in their music libraries. Instant Jam is currently available in a Facebook Beta Program and is being shown this week at gamescom. The Instant Jam Beta Program will be open to the public in subsequent weeks through the game's site (www.instantjam.com) and embedded versions throughout the web.

The first original game from InstantAction's Vegas-based games studio, Instant Jam delivers a core game experience with high quality 3D graphics through the browser and popular features of social games. InstantAction's embeddable platform enables Instant Jam to be played anytime, anywhere â€“ including on Facebook, www.instantjam.com, editorial sites, blogs and more. All that's required is an Internet connection.

Untethered from any console, players can jam along to their music library with support for thousands of the world's most popular songs by tapping their computer keyboards or playing with their favorite USB guitar controllers. Players can challenge their friends, earn or purchase virtual goods that enhance their game play, gift items, and even share the game online as easily as they would a YouTube video.

"We created Instant Jam because we believe people should be able to play along to any song from any band or genre they like, rather than be confined to a handful of pre-set songs chosen for the game they're playing," said Louis Castle, CEO of InstantAction. "We also strongly believe that games â€“ like other forms of entertainment media â€“ should be easier for consumers to discover, try, enjoy and share. Instant Jam embodies all of this and provides music lovers with a powerful new way to interact while experiencing their music."

Instant Jam launches with thousands of note charts supporting the world's most popular songs â€“ more than all other console music-rhythm game franchises combined â€“ with support for dozens of songs being added each week. Each note chart is designed by an experienced game design team to provide an immersive gaming experience that really makes you feel like you are playing a guitar; Instant Jam does not simply track song beats as some algorithmically generated programs do.

"The best part of working on a AAA game that lives online is that, unlike a boxed product, we're not done when the game goes live; we're just getting started," said Amir Rahimi, Executive Producer of Instant Jam. "Currently, Instant Jam has all of the game play people have come to expect from premium rhythm games on consoles. We'll be continually adding support for new songs, major features such as fully customizable avatars, and more social elements based on feedback from our community."

At launch, Instant Jam will include the following key features:

Â Â Â * Your Music. Instant Jam automatically checks your music library to match your songs to suggested note charts so you can play right away with your music â€“ be it a legendary rock classic or an emerging indie band. Or you can play your songs with any note chart you wish.
Â Â Â * More Music. If you see something on the playlist you don't own, simply purchase new songs from Amazon or iTunes through the game and get in-game value in excess of the cost of the song. Purchased songs are added to your music library and yours to use anywhere you play your music.
Â Â Â * Your Game. Instant Jam is free to play via social features as you earn fans, plays and new virtual items for bragging rights. Level up and earn new items, or quickly purchase them with micro-transactions to enhance game play.
Â Â Â * Console-Quality Game play. With game play consistent with the best music games on the market, Instant Jam is playable from within any browser without long, annoying download wait times.
Â Â Â * Share with Friends. Instant Jam can be embedded anywhere on the Web. Simply copy and paste the embed URL into your blog or website. Share the game with your social network and challenge friends to see who jams best.
Â Â Â * Universal Play. Instant Jam is launching with thousands of note charts supporting the world's most popular songs â€“ more than all other console rhythm-music games combined. Support for dozens of new songs in a variety of genres from around the globe will be added each week. The possibilities are endless!
Â Â Â * Your Style. You can play Instant Jam with standard USB guitar controllers already in the market or tap away on your keyboard.
Â Â Â * Coming Soon. The Instant Jam team will be adding new items and features on an ongoing basis based on community feedback.

"Instant Jam gives consumers a powerful new way to engage with the artists and bands they love; it actually encourages and rewards them for purchasing music they can then play anywhere," said Jed Weitzman, Head of Business Development for InstantAction. "Instant Jam is more than a game â€“ it's an open platform for discovering and experiencing music with friends through the power of social media. It has incredible potential to help artists showcase and sell their music by engaging fans in a genuine and impactful way."

The creators of Instant Jam are a star-studded cast of game industry veterans behind best-selling original franchises such as Steven Spielberg's BOOM BLOX, Command & Conquer, Lands of Lore and Eye of the Beholder, as well as blockbuster licensed original products including The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth I & II, Disney's The Lion King, Blade Runner and Monopoly.

Instant Jam will be available initially on the PC, with Macintosh and Flash versions to follow shortly.

For more information about Instant Jam, or for an opportunity to access the Beta Program, please visit www.instantjam.com.

OmniVision's High-End Webcam Chip Sees In Ultra-Low Light

Some areas of technology improve rather rapidly. There is intense competition in the CPU and GPU space, so those products generally improve many times over the course of a year. But some lesser things, like webcams, don't improve nearly as quickly. Particularly webcams that are built into the bezels of notebooks. But that means that some companies are out to change the tide, like OmniVision.

The company has just introduced the OV7727, which is a high-end VGA sensor for the ultra-thin notebook market. It's the first VGA sensor to be built with OmniBSI backside illumination technology, which greatly improves image quality in low light. And oftentimes, notebook webcams are used in boardrooms, etc. where low light is the norm.

The OV7727 comes with a full array of high end image processing functions, including automatic exposure control, gamma correction, automatic white balance control, and defect pixel correction, which are all programmable through the serial camera control bus interface. It's available to laptop makers now, and should enter mass production in September. Now, when can we expect full HD webcams to come standard on netbooks?

OmniVision Launches High-End VGA Camera for Next Generation Ultra-Thin Notebooks
Â
World's First VGA Sensor to Implement BSI Technology

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OVTI), a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, today introduced the OV7727, a top-of-the-line VGA sensor for the high-end ultra-thin notebook market. The 1/13-inch OV7727 is the first VGA sensor built with OmniBSIâ„¢ backside illumination technology. It combines extremely strong performance and sensitivity with an ultra-compact form factor, enabling camera integration with sub-2 mm liquid crystal displays (LCDs) for next generation notebooks, netbooks and tablet computers.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/SF49615)

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100816/SF49615)

Using a 1.75-micron OmniBSI pixel, the OV7727 delivers video conference-quality low-light performance of 1300 mV/lux-sec, while also enabling complete camera modules with Z-height as low as 2.2 mm, ideal for tomorrow's ultra-thin portable devices.

"VGA sensors are generally considered low-end and low-cost, but the OV7727 is quite the opposite in terms of performance. It is a very high-end VGA product, and currently the only sensor on the market that can meet the size, cost and performance requirements of the next generation high-end notebook market," said Nicholas Nam, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision. "We listened to our customers and realized there was real demand for thinner yet better performing notebook cameras to facilitate the continued design shrink in the notebook market. To fill that need we used our most advanced pixel technologies to develop a product that underscores OmniVision's leadership in the digital imaging industry."

The OV7727 offers complete user control over image quality, resolution and output data format. It provides full frame, sub-sampled, windowed or scaled 8-bit/10-bit images in RAW RGB format over a parallel DVP interface or serial MIPI port, offering a versatile platform for use in single and multi-camera applications. A new feature on the OV7727 is a serial peripheral interface, which supports multiple cameras using a single controller, while also offering support to touch screen applications.

The OV7727 comes with a full array of high end image processing functions, including automatic exposure control, gamma correction, automatic white balance control, and defect pixel correction, which are all programmable through the serial camera control bus interface.

The OV7727 is now available for sampling and is expected to enter mass production in September 2010.Â

Texas Instruments Debuts New DaVinci DM37x Video Processors For Future Handhelds

CPUs and GPUs get a lot of attention in the desktop and notebook worlds, but a lot fewer people give the same consideration to CPUs and GPUs in mobile devices. Texas Instruments makes this their business, though, and with tablets, navigation devices, media players and smartphones becoming so much more important these days, TI may have a much easier time getting the Average Public to pay attention. After all, who wants a sluggish smartphone or navigation system? No one.

TI is this week introducing some new silicon, namely the DaVinci DM37x video processors. Both the DM3730 and DM3725 with their ARM Cortex-A8 and C64x+ DSP core, imaging and video accelerator (IVA), 3D graphics processor (DM3730 only) and high-performance peripherals (USB 2.0, SD/MMC) integrated on a single system-on-chip (SoC), are suitable for applications requiring HD video processing or a large amount of data processing.Â These applications include navigation systems, media players, medical patient monitoring devices, industrial test and measurement devices, industrial vision and portable communications.

The chips themselves may never make a consumer debut, and you'll have a tough time buying these from a Best Buy. But they may start popping up in consumer handheld devices soon, offering more 3D capabilities for gaming and faster processing for things like viewing Flash sites on the go. Oh, the places we'll go.

New DaVinciâ„¢ DM37x video processors from Texas Instruments combine 1 GHz ARMÂ® Cortexâ„¢-A8Â® and 800MHz C64x+â„¢ DSP, enabling 720p HD video for media-rich applications
Â
Hardware offers 50 percent increase in ARM performance, 40 percent increase in DSP performance, double the graphics performance with 40 percent less power consumption over OMAP3530 device

DALLAS, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Software and hardware engineers can easily design more media-rich, portable applications utilizing the new DaVinciâ„¢ DM37x video processors from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN). The DM3730 and DM3725 with their ARMÂ® Cortexâ„¢-A8 and C64x+â„¢ DSP core, imaging and video accelerator (IVA), 3D graphics processor (DM3730 only) and high-performance peripherals (USB 2.0, SD/MMC) integrated on a single system-on-chip (SoC), are suitable for applications requiring HD video processing or a large amount of data processing.Â These applications include navigation systems, media players, medical patient monitoring devices, industrial test and measurement devices, industrial vision and portable communications. Â

DM37x processors are software compatible with the OMAP35x generation of processors and pin-to-pin compatible with Sitaraâ„¢ AM37x devices allowing for an easy product migration strategy to higher performing options. The differentiation between the DM3730 and DM3725 is that the DM3725 does not have a 3D graphics accelerator.Â Customers moving to the DM3730 from the OMAP3530 can look forward to a 50 percent increase in ARM performance, a 40 percent increase in DSP performance, double the graphics performance and uses approximately 40 percent less power.

The 800MHz C64x+â„¢ DSP and hardware video accelerator enable audio and HD 720p video decoding and encoding (audio and video codecs included) independent of the ARM processor.Â This allows additional expansion on the ARM processor to run more high-level applications and a rich, responsive 2D or 3D graphical user interface, for applications such as an industrial personal digital assistant (PDA).

The DSP engine is programmable, allowing multiple general signal processing tasks such as digital filtering, math functions and image processing and analysis.Â For example, in a camera-enabled industrial application, the DSP can run an edge-detection algorithm on the video coming from a camera to detect the presence or absence of people or objects.

Minimizing development costs and accelerating time to market, TI offers a complete software development kit (SDK) containing everything developers need to evaluate the device and begin development on the DM3730 evaluation module (EVM) in minutes.Â To learn more, visit http://www.ti.com/dm3730-prpf.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

IT News HeadLines (HotHardware) 18/08/2010

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