Thin is in for Freecom USB 3.0 Mobile Drive Mg
Freecom just unveiled Mobile Drive Mg, a USB 3.0 portable drive designed for the Mac market; in fact, the snowy white storage with magnesium enclosure is said to be an ideal match for the MacBook. An interesting question arises: did Freecom have a dream that the next MacBook will mysteriously come with a pair of USB 3.0 jacks? If not, then Apple fanboys will likely find the Freecom Mobile Mg not particularly compelling when there's no indiction that Macs will soon have new SuperSpeed interface. There's however another reason to pick up the Mobile Drive Mg; and that's because the USB 3.0 mobile will house a single-platter 7mm 2.5" SATA drive - the thinnest of its kind. Even with the enclosure, the Mobile Drive Mg has a height of just 10mm. So the aforementioned magnesium chassis accounts for the 3mm thickness. Coupled with USB 3.0, the Mobile Drive Mg also hits a speedy 130MB/s (presumably the read transfer rate). The line actually includes three models: 320GB USB 3.0 slimline (10mm thick); 750GB USB 3.0 (15mm thick); and 750GB USB 3.0/FireWire 800 (also 15mm thick). Expect to see this drive on the other side of the Atlantic as the prices are all in Euro and GBP.
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i.Sound USB Portable Power Max battery Can Recharge Your iPhone 4 10+ Times
At nearly one and a half pounds, it's not exactly dainty. The i.Sound Portable Power Max isn't about petite, it's about power. Fully charged it's about to fill up an average MP3 player more than 20 times. You can keep all that power to yourself for marathon trips with your Nintendo DS or PSP or you can share it with your friends and family. There are 5 total USB ports on the Power Max for charging 5 devices at once. They even include a combo mini+micro USB cable to keep you from having to carry both. i.Sound also claims that their Portable Power can charge an iPad twice holding 16000 mAh of charge. While this is fantastic news if true, the current required to charge an iPad or other high drain devices is very high. 1000mA is about the minimum for getting an iPad or Galaxy Tab to take a charge with 2000 mA being the optimal current. There are quite a few battery chargers that claim to be able to charge the iPad but many of them can't push the current required. Suspiciously, i.Sound hasn't listed the current ratings of either of their Power Max products so 'Buyer Beware'. On the upside, if the Power Max is actually able to charge any 5 devices at once, then it should be able to charge a single device with gusto. We really hope they update their specifications soon as this enticing battery can be found for as low as $84. Bookmark their site and check often to find out if this is actually the great deal that it appears to be.
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MS Arc Touch Mouse Review
The original Microsoft Arc mouse certainly was innovative and ground breaking; but the downside to making such a great portable "laptop" mouse is what do you do for an encore? Well it seems MS what not satisfied with just making a minor tweak to the design and calling it an "Arc 2.0"; rather Microsoft pulled out all the stops and has created a new portable mouse that is just as innovative as the original! The new Arc Touch is not only ultra portable, like the original, but is also has a touch sensitive "wheel"! Does this new Arc Touch have what it takes to be the successor to the original Arc? Read on to find out in my full review.
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J5Create's USB 3.0 KVM Doubles as 4.8Gbps Direct Connect Network
The all new J5Create Wormhole Station certainly is an interesting product, as it combines most of the functionality of a KVM switch with the power and flexibility only a USB 3.0 hub can provide. Heck, it even adds a 3-port card reader (SD/MMC, mini SD and Memory stick cards) in for icing! Now to be honest, the J5Create Wormhole Station is not a true "Keyboard / Video / Mouse" switch. In your typical KVM, you can use one mouse, one monitor and one keyboard to control numerous systems but each of these systems are separate and do not interact. Tthe J5Create Wormhole Station however cannot do the "video" aspect of your typical KVM; rather it can control a keyboard and mouse across two systems. Helping make for this minor loss is unlike a KVM, you can use the USB 3.0 bus of the Wormhole Station to quickly transfer files from one system to another so the loss of video abilities is not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. To use this svelte tub looking device all you need do is plug in one of the systems (looking at the styling this most likely will be a laptop) to one system and then simply plug in a second USB 3.0 cable to the other system. Presto-changeo and you can then start controlling the second system using only the one mouse! This does sound perfect for anyone who not only uses two PCs a lot during the day but wants to quickly and easily swap large chunks of data between the two systems. The J5Create Wormhole Station certainly is not going to be for everyone, but it looks like for people who fall within its narrow market niche may just out and out love this odd little duck! No word on pricing or availability.
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DisplayLink 22.5" USB 3.0-powered Monitor Now a Reality (on CES Show floor)
DisplayLink USB-based monitors certainly are handy little devices, but the operative word is "small". While the video technology can do a lot, when it is hobbled by an ancient interface, certain limitations just could not be overcome. These limitations are of course solely the fault of USB 2.0 as the aging interface just cannot provide the bandwidth for a big monitor, nor the power those big brutes need. Thanks to the advent of USB 3.0, both of these limiting factors has been removed and USB monitors are about to get up-sized! It appears that 22.5" monitors (with full 1080p resolutions) are about to hit and boy we can not wait! The idea of simply plugging in a second monitor to a free USB port and not having to worry about video cards and all that jazz really is enticing to say the least! Even better, is the with such a wide bus at its disposal there should be very little data compression happening; but if your USB 3.0 bus is being heavily used, it will simply compress the data more and not make a pig of itself. 2011 really is shaping up to be one heck of a year on the technology front! Check out the video for the DisplayLink USB 3.0 monitor demo at the CES 2011 show floor after the jump.
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NZXT Bunker USB Locking Device Deters Gadget Thieves
As anyone who has ever gone to a LAN party knows, you need to watch your stuff or else something is just as likely to go missing! It really is a sad state of affairs, but the truth of the matter is you don't bring any expensive peripherals to a LAN party unless you are willing to keep them on your person at ALL times. Well, it seems NZXT engineers must have had their favorite gaming mice or USB headphones "five finger discounted" on them as they have just released the NZXT Bunker. This bad boy basically turns a free 5.25 bay into a sophisticated USB peripheral ant-theft device. What it is, is a four port USB expander that you plug your USB goodies into, flip down the lid over the ports (with just enough of a gap at the bottom for cables) and lock the lid in place via the integrated lock! Simply stick the key in your pocket and then when you are not around you need not worry about your USB gear as no one will be able to unplug it without first cutting the USB cable. With an asking price of $24.99, this really is one of those "must have" items for any serious LAN party enthusiast!
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Sony Bloggie Duo HD Pocketcam is True to its Name with Two LCD Viewfinders
When everyone thought one LCD viewfinder is adequate on digital imaging devices, Samsung put two in its pocketcam and Dualview still camera. Now Sony has borrowed a page from Samsung and installed two screens on its latest Bloggie Duo HD Camera. True to its name, the dual-screen handheld camcorder has a 2.7" 230k-dot LCD viewfinder on the back as well as a smaller front-facing 2" screen under the lens for self-recording. Compared to the Bloggie Touch shipping just a few months ago, gone are the big 3" touchscreen and the slimmer profile. The new Bloggie Duo is a tad larger and heavier, but not by much. Most people probably won't miss the touch interface as you intend to shake the camcorder a bit when you tap on the screen. While there's auto-focus, you won't find optical image stabilization nor optical zoom on the Bloggie Duo, but at least you get a handy LED light for shooting in low-light situations. Like all Duo's predecessors and siblings, the camcorder has a mini-HDMI and a flip-out USB arm for video uploading and re-charging. You can shoot up to 1080p30 or 720p60/30. Interestingly, there's no standard def. video mode. If you are into video blogging yourself, the $169.99 Bloggie Duo HD maybe something to look forward to.
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