During the CES 2012 trade-show, Hewlett-Packard introduced its new thin-and-light notebook that belongs to ultra-premium segment. The HP Envy 14 Spectre laptop is made of aluminum and glass and features a number of HP’s technologies that are exclusively available only on it.
HP Envy 14 Spectre is powered by the latest Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, DDR3 memory, up to 256GB SSD or two mSATA solid-state drives. The HP Spectre also comes loaded with HP exclusives, such as HP CoolSense technology, which automatically adjusts performance and internal fan settings for a noticeably cooler PC. In addition, the HP ImagePad provides precise multifinger touch navigation and the HP TrueVision HD webcam provides brighter.
The HP Envy Spectre uses lightweight, scratch-resistant glass on the lid, display, palmrest and HP ImagePad – an industry first. Although the system uses 13.3” chasses, it packs 14” HP Radiance display with higher resolution than on typical 13.3” screens. An HP Radiance backlit keyboard provides illumination using individual LEDs dedicated to each keycap. The keyboard works with an advanced proximity sensor to intelligently sense a user’s presence, lighting up when a user approaches and dimming down after he or she leaves.
“Sleek, midnight black glass on the outside and stark contrast silver glass on the inside make Spectre extraordinary, defying conventional notebook design,” said Eric Keshin, senior vice president, Strategy and Marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP. “We chose the Spectre name to evoke mystery, and we packed it with the best in entertainment technology to satisfy those who expect the unexpected.”
HP Envy 14 Spectre is 20mm thick and weighs “less than four pounds” (1.8 kilograms) while providing up to 9 hours of battery life.
The HP Envy 14 Spectre notebook PC is expected to be available in the United States on Feb. 8 with a starting price of $1,399.99. The HP Spectre also is planned to be available in early March in additional countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Intel Unveils First Ever Smartphone Featuring x86 Microprocessors
At the Consumer Electronics Show 2012, Intel Corp. introduced the world's first smartphone based on the company's Atom Z2460 platform formerly code-named Medfield. The new Lenovo K800 handset will be available in Q2 2012 in China and will be the first smartphone ever to use an x86 microprocessor.
Liu Jun, Lenovo senior vice president and president of mobile Internet and digital home, joined Paul Otellini, chief exec of Intel onstage to debut the Lenovo K800 smartphone based on Intel Z2460 and running the Google Android operating system with Lenovo LeOS user interface for a localized experience in China. Liu Jun said the K800 smartphone will be available in China in the second quarter and will run on China Unicom’s 21Mb/s network. The smartphone features support for HSPA+ with the Intel XMM 6260 platform.
No precise specifications of the Lenovo K800 are available at the moment, but what is known is that the device sports 4.5" screen (with up to 1280*1024 resolution) and has Hyper-Threading technology activated, which points to the fact that the K800 belongs to high-end (so-called "superphones") breed of products.
During the CES 2012, the world's largest maker of chips also disclosed peculiarities of Atom Z2460/Medfield system-on-chip, which will be Intel's third attempt to enter the market of smartphones.
Intel Medfield is powered by Atom architecture 1.60GHz x86 core with Hyper-Threading technology, enhanced Intel Deeper Sleep, C6E estate, S0i1/S0i3 power reduction features and 512KB of cache. The SoC also includes Intel GMA graphics core (OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenGL 2.1, OpenVG 1.1, 400MHz) with hardware accelerated high-definition 1080p video playback, 32-bit LPDDR2 memory controller, Intel's new image signal processor and various improvements to speed up various multimedia or security demands. The Atom Z2460 SoC can dynamically scale its clock-speeds and also supports the new Smart Idle technology (SIT) which enables it to switch off while the operating systems remains in the "on" state (S0); the technique takes full advantage of clock and distributed power gating across power islands and can instantly resume from idle states thanks to L2 cache peculiarities. The new chip is in production now using 32nm process technology.
Liu Jun, Lenovo senior vice president and president of mobile Internet and digital home, joined Paul Otellini, chief exec of Intel onstage to debut the Lenovo K800 smartphone based on Intel Z2460 and running the Google Android operating system with Lenovo LeOS user interface for a localized experience in China. Liu Jun said the K800 smartphone will be available in China in the second quarter and will run on China Unicom’s 21Mb/s network. The smartphone features support for HSPA+ with the Intel XMM 6260 platform.
No precise specifications of the Lenovo K800 are available at the moment, but what is known is that the device sports 4.5" screen (with up to 1280*1024 resolution) and has Hyper-Threading technology activated, which points to the fact that the K800 belongs to high-end (so-called "superphones") breed of products.
During the CES 2012, the world's largest maker of chips also disclosed peculiarities of Atom Z2460/Medfield system-on-chip, which will be Intel's third attempt to enter the market of smartphones.
Intel Medfield is powered by Atom architecture 1.60GHz x86 core with Hyper-Threading technology, enhanced Intel Deeper Sleep, C6E estate, S0i1/S0i3 power reduction features and 512KB of cache. The SoC also includes Intel GMA graphics core (OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenGL 2.1, OpenVG 1.1, 400MHz) with hardware accelerated high-definition 1080p video playback, 32-bit LPDDR2 memory controller, Intel's new image signal processor and various improvements to speed up various multimedia or security demands. The Atom Z2460 SoC can dynamically scale its clock-speeds and also supports the new Smart Idle technology (SIT) which enables it to switch off while the operating systems remains in the "on" state (S0); the technique takes full advantage of clock and distributed power gating across power islands and can instantly resume from idle states thanks to L2 cache peculiarities. The new chip is in production now using 32nm process technology.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
OLPC and Marvell Introduce XO 3.0 Tablet for Education Purposes
One Laptop per Child, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help every child in the world gain access to a modern education, and chip designer Marvell, have demonstrated a fully functional version of the much-anticipated XO 3.0 – a low-cost, low-power, rugged tablet computer designed for classrooms around the globe – at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012.
The XO 3.0 tablet is based on Marvell Armada PXA618 system-on-chip, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of NAND flash storage and Avastar Wi-Fi SoC. The device will come with standard 8" LCD or Pixel Qi sunlight-readable displays with 1024*768 resolution. Just like predecessors, the XO 3.0 can be charged directly by solar panels, hand cranks and other alternative power sources. OLPC XO 3.0 will support Android and Linux operating systems.
OLPC XO 3.0, image by The Verge web-site
“We’re proud to introduce the XO 3.0 tablet, showcasing the design, durability and performance features that make it a natural successor for our current laptops, which have been distributed to more than 2.4 million children in 42 countries and in 25 languages. The XO 3.0 builds on many of the technology breakthroughs we made with the XO 1.75, including the use of the Marvell Armada PXA618 processor, resulting in a significant decrease in power consumption—a critical issue for students in the developing world,” said Edward McNierney, chief technology officer of One Laptop per Child.
OLPC XO 3.0 is projected to be released in 2012 for the price of around $100. When does the company start the deliveries is unknown since all OLPC hardware is built to order.
“Marvell is committed to improving education--and the human condition—around the world through innovative technology for Smartphones, tablets and a myriad of new cloud-delivered services. Partnering with One Laptop Per Child is one way we can deliver a revolution where it matters most - to benefit children in some of the poorest places on the planet,” said Tom Hayes, vice president of corporate marketing at Marvell Semiconductor.
Marvell and One Laptop per Child also announced today that the XO 1.75 laptop will begin shipping to customers in March 2012. Over 75 000 units of the XO 1.75 have already been ordered by OLPC projects in Uruguay and Nicaragua. The XO 1.75 uses the Marvell ARM-based Armada PXA618 SoC, which compared to the earlier XO 1.5, maintains performance while using only half the power. The XO 1.75 features a sunlight-readable screen and all the other features and design characteristics of the two previous versions of the XO laptop.
The XO 3.0 tablet is based on Marvell Armada PXA618 system-on-chip, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of NAND flash storage and Avastar Wi-Fi SoC. The device will come with standard 8" LCD or Pixel Qi sunlight-readable displays with 1024*768 resolution. Just like predecessors, the XO 3.0 can be charged directly by solar panels, hand cranks and other alternative power sources. OLPC XO 3.0 will support Android and Linux operating systems.
OLPC XO 3.0, image by The Verge web-site
“We’re proud to introduce the XO 3.0 tablet, showcasing the design, durability and performance features that make it a natural successor for our current laptops, which have been distributed to more than 2.4 million children in 42 countries and in 25 languages. The XO 3.0 builds on many of the technology breakthroughs we made with the XO 1.75, including the use of the Marvell Armada PXA618 processor, resulting in a significant decrease in power consumption—a critical issue for students in the developing world,” said Edward McNierney, chief technology officer of One Laptop per Child.
OLPC XO 3.0 is projected to be released in 2012 for the price of around $100. When does the company start the deliveries is unknown since all OLPC hardware is built to order.
“Marvell is committed to improving education--and the human condition—around the world through innovative technology for Smartphones, tablets and a myriad of new cloud-delivered services. Partnering with One Laptop Per Child is one way we can deliver a revolution where it matters most - to benefit children in some of the poorest places on the planet,” said Tom Hayes, vice president of corporate marketing at Marvell Semiconductor.
Marvell and One Laptop per Child also announced today that the XO 1.75 laptop will begin shipping to customers in March 2012. Over 75 000 units of the XO 1.75 have already been ordered by OLPC projects in Uruguay and Nicaragua. The XO 1.75 uses the Marvell ARM-based Armada PXA618 SoC, which compared to the earlier XO 1.5, maintains performance while using only half the power. The XO 1.75 features a sunlight-readable screen and all the other features and design characteristics of the two previous versions of the XO laptop.
IDC Expects SSD Shipments to Set Records in 2012
Technology advancements, changing dynamics in the PC industry, new enterprise server and storage architectures, and near-term hard disk drive (HDD) shortages are all combining to propel the worldwide solid state storage (SSD) market higher from 2011 through 2015.
"2011 was a record year for the worldwide SSD market, with revenue more than doubling year over year due to strong SSD shipment growth in the enterprise and client segments," said Jeff Janukowicz, research director, solid state storage and hard disk drive components at IDC.
According to new research from International Data Corp. (IDC), the worldwide solid state storage industry revenue reached $5 billion in 2011, a 105% increase from the $2.4 billion in 2010 and IDC expects the market will expand further in 2012 and beyond. IDC expects worldwide SSD shipments to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51.5% from 2010 to 2015.
Pricing remains a key metric for SSD adoption in both the client and enterprise markets. IDC expects client SSD prices will fall below $1 per gigabyte in the second half of 2012, which will boost adoption in the PC market.
"The increasing use of flash in enterprise solutions, explosive growth of mobile client devices, and lower SSD pricing is creating a perfect storm for increased SSD shipments and revenue over our forecast," added Mr. Janukowicz.
There are a number of dynamics influencing the PC market, from the growth in media tablets and Ultrabooks to the upcoming introduction of Windows 8 and increased use of caching solutions such as dual drives (systems containing both an SSD and an HDD). IDC believes the net effect of these dynamics supports increased SSD shipments.
The flood in Thailand is disrupting the PC supply chain and the HDD industry's ability to supply the market near term. OEMs will certainly face unavoidable HDD shortages and higher HDD prices in 1H 2012. These shortages will present a significant short term opportunity for SSD vendors as OEM customers look to SSD vendors to fill HDD supply gaps.
The adoption of solid state storage as a complementary solution to HDD storage for enterprise applications is also driving SSD market growth.
"2011 was a record year for the worldwide SSD market, with revenue more than doubling year over year due to strong SSD shipment growth in the enterprise and client segments," said Jeff Janukowicz, research director, solid state storage and hard disk drive components at IDC.
According to new research from International Data Corp. (IDC), the worldwide solid state storage industry revenue reached $5 billion in 2011, a 105% increase from the $2.4 billion in 2010 and IDC expects the market will expand further in 2012 and beyond. IDC expects worldwide SSD shipments to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51.5% from 2010 to 2015.
Pricing remains a key metric for SSD adoption in both the client and enterprise markets. IDC expects client SSD prices will fall below $1 per gigabyte in the second half of 2012, which will boost adoption in the PC market.
"The increasing use of flash in enterprise solutions, explosive growth of mobile client devices, and lower SSD pricing is creating a perfect storm for increased SSD shipments and revenue over our forecast," added Mr. Janukowicz.
There are a number of dynamics influencing the PC market, from the growth in media tablets and Ultrabooks to the upcoming introduction of Windows 8 and increased use of caching solutions such as dual drives (systems containing both an SSD and an HDD). IDC believes the net effect of these dynamics supports increased SSD shipments.
The flood in Thailand is disrupting the PC supply chain and the HDD industry's ability to supply the market near term. OEMs will certainly face unavoidable HDD shortages and higher HDD prices in 1H 2012. These shortages will present a significant short term opportunity for SSD vendors as OEM customers look to SSD vendors to fill HDD supply gaps.
The adoption of solid state storage as a complementary solution to HDD storage for enterprise applications is also driving SSD market growth.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Nintendo Stamped in the Past - Analyst
Although Nintendo Wii was extremely successful early in its lifecycle, it is becoming aggressively irrelevant now among the core auditory. An industry analyst claims that Nintendo has to make a step closer towards game developers and start using the latest technologies to continue to be successful.
"Nintendo has to simply stop living in the past in 2012. They had a great deal of success since 1985 by making proprietary hardware and supporting it with proprietary software. They attracted third party support based upon the large installed base they generated for their hardware. They appear to me to be confident that 'if they build it, third parties will support it', but I don't think that is the case for Wii U," said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, in an interview with Industry Gamers.
Nintendo Wii U combines motion-sensing game play with the ability to support full HD graphics and generally performance demanding games that can run on consoles like Microsoft Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3. The system itself is based on a custom IBM Power microprocessor as well as a modern ATI Radeon HD graphics chip with high-definition graphics and video support. But the main feature of the code-named Cafe game console is its unique controller with 6.2" touch-screen that also features an accelerometer and a gyroscope, a rumble feature, an inward-facing camera, a microphone and speakers that can be used to play both classic Gamecube/Wii games as well as specially designed titles that take advantage of the screen. Each Wii U console will be partnered with a new controller and can also use up to four additional Wii Remote or Wii Remote Plus controllers. The system is also backward compatible and can play all Wii games and use all Wii accessories. Nintendo Wii U will cost more than $249.
"By trying to be 'different' with the tablet controller, they have complicated game design for developers, who can't figure out if the Wii U will ultimately support only one or multiple controllers," added Mr. Pachter.
A snapshot from Nintendo Wii U demo
The problem is that the forthcoming game console of Nintendo does not only belong to the previous-generation consoles in terms of hardware capabilities, but is ideologically similar with them as well. Nintendo significantly needs changes and there are no signs of their incoming, unfortunately.
"They should stop relying upon the strategy that got them here, as it appears to no longer be working. I think their resolution should be to look outside of Nintendo for leadership in the areas of digital downloads, a user-friendly online interface and multiplayer gaming," the analyst said.
"Nintendo has to simply stop living in the past in 2012. They had a great deal of success since 1985 by making proprietary hardware and supporting it with proprietary software. They attracted third party support based upon the large installed base they generated for their hardware. They appear to me to be confident that 'if they build it, third parties will support it', but I don't think that is the case for Wii U," said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, in an interview with Industry Gamers.
Nintendo Wii U combines motion-sensing game play with the ability to support full HD graphics and generally performance demanding games that can run on consoles like Microsoft Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3. The system itself is based on a custom IBM Power microprocessor as well as a modern ATI Radeon HD graphics chip with high-definition graphics and video support. But the main feature of the code-named Cafe game console is its unique controller with 6.2" touch-screen that also features an accelerometer and a gyroscope, a rumble feature, an inward-facing camera, a microphone and speakers that can be used to play both classic Gamecube/Wii games as well as specially designed titles that take advantage of the screen. Each Wii U console will be partnered with a new controller and can also use up to four additional Wii Remote or Wii Remote Plus controllers. The system is also backward compatible and can play all Wii games and use all Wii accessories. Nintendo Wii U will cost more than $249.
"By trying to be 'different' with the tablet controller, they have complicated game design for developers, who can't figure out if the Wii U will ultimately support only one or multiple controllers," added Mr. Pachter.
A snapshot from Nintendo Wii U demo
The problem is that the forthcoming game console of Nintendo does not only belong to the previous-generation consoles in terms of hardware capabilities, but is ideologically similar with them as well. Nintendo significantly needs changes and there are no signs of their incoming, unfortunately.
"They should stop relying upon the strategy that got them here, as it appears to no longer be working. I think their resolution should be to look outside of Nintendo for leadership in the areas of digital downloads, a user-friendly online interface and multiplayer gaming," the analyst said.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
OCZ and Marvell Debut Kilimanjaro Platform for Enterprise PCIe SSDs
OCZ Technology Group and Marvell on Friday unveiled the industry's fastest and most versatile PCI Express storage system, the Z-Drive R5, which is powered by the jointly-developed Kilimanjaro platform. The increased performance, reliability, and endurance of the Z-Drive R5 is designed to take PCIe-based solid state storage to the next level for enterprise environments.
The native PCIe Z-Drive R5 offers an intelligent, hardware-meets-software managed solution designed to accelerate database, enterprise, and virtualization applications. Combining high-performance architecture with OCZ managed software, the Z-Drive R5 provides second-to-none performance, flexibility, durability, and enhanced reliability features, allowing datacenters to rely on a PCIe-based SSD as their primary Tier 0/1 storage solution and a viable end-to-end SAN replacement.
"We are continually pushing the envelope to deliver innovative PCIe SSDs to address challenges that our clients face when processing and managing ever growing amounts of complex data sets. The Z-Drive R5, leverages the powerful Kilimanjaro platform to deliver superior performance, greater capacity, and an enhanced hardware and software feature-set that is unmatched in the industry. This best-of-breed next generation native solution enables clients to eliminate I/O bottlenecks for even the most data intensive server and enterprise storage applications," said Ryan Petersen, chief executive of OCZ Technology.
The Z-Drive R5 features a jointly developed "Kilimanjaro" OCZ and Marvell native PCIe to NAND flash controller platform, allowing for completely scalable performance and redundancy while eliminating the need for a separate storage controller, thus reducing the cost to deploy high performance solid state storage systems in the data center.
OCZ Z-Drive R5 will be available later this year and will be largely custom-made for particular orders due to very high-cost of solid-state storage solutions. Among other things, the Z-Drive R4 will offer up to 12TB of storage, next-generation OCZ virtualized controller architecture 3.0 software functions, support for all enterprise data types with both compressible and non-compressible files as well as large data sets, complete power fail protection option for maximum data integrity, MLC, eMLC, and SLC NAND flash memory options as well as support for VMware ESXi and ESX, Linux, Windows Server 2008, Apple OS X, etc.
"Marvell is excited to work with OCZ on this native PCIe to NAND flash controller platform, based on our 88NV9145 silicon. We believe the PCIe SSD market will rapidly shift to a native PCIe to NAND architecture, and the Kilimanjaro platform represents OCZ and Marvell's strong collaboration in bringing this highly scalable architecture to market," said Alan Armstrong, vice president of marketing for the storage business group at Marvell Semiconductor.
The Z-Drive R5 will debut at Storage Visions 2012 and at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
The native PCIe Z-Drive R5 offers an intelligent, hardware-meets-software managed solution designed to accelerate database, enterprise, and virtualization applications. Combining high-performance architecture with OCZ managed software, the Z-Drive R5 provides second-to-none performance, flexibility, durability, and enhanced reliability features, allowing datacenters to rely on a PCIe-based SSD as their primary Tier 0/1 storage solution and a viable end-to-end SAN replacement.
"We are continually pushing the envelope to deliver innovative PCIe SSDs to address challenges that our clients face when processing and managing ever growing amounts of complex data sets. The Z-Drive R5, leverages the powerful Kilimanjaro platform to deliver superior performance, greater capacity, and an enhanced hardware and software feature-set that is unmatched in the industry. This best-of-breed next generation native solution enables clients to eliminate I/O bottlenecks for even the most data intensive server and enterprise storage applications," said Ryan Petersen, chief executive of OCZ Technology.
The Z-Drive R5 features a jointly developed "Kilimanjaro" OCZ and Marvell native PCIe to NAND flash controller platform, allowing for completely scalable performance and redundancy while eliminating the need for a separate storage controller, thus reducing the cost to deploy high performance solid state storage systems in the data center.
OCZ Z-Drive R5 will be available later this year and will be largely custom-made for particular orders due to very high-cost of solid-state storage solutions. Among other things, the Z-Drive R4 will offer up to 12TB of storage, next-generation OCZ virtualized controller architecture 3.0 software functions, support for all enterprise data types with both compressible and non-compressible files as well as large data sets, complete power fail protection option for maximum data integrity, MLC, eMLC, and SLC NAND flash memory options as well as support for VMware ESXi and ESX, Linux, Windows Server 2008, Apple OS X, etc.
"Marvell is excited to work with OCZ on this native PCIe to NAND flash controller platform, based on our 88NV9145 silicon. We believe the PCIe SSD market will rapidly shift to a native PCIe to NAND architecture, and the Kilimanjaro platform represents OCZ and Marvell's strong collaboration in bringing this highly scalable architecture to market," said Alan Armstrong, vice president of marketing for the storage business group at Marvell Semiconductor.
The Z-Drive R5 will debut at Storage Visions 2012 and at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Friday, January 6, 2012
Market Uncertainties Help Seagate to Boost Revenue amid Lower Shipments
Seagate Technology has updated its own financial outlook for the Q3 of FY2012 (calendar Q4 2011). Thanks to improved manufacturing capabilities, the company managed to beat both its revenue and shipments forecasts, partly due to acquisition of Samsung Electronics' hard drive business late in calendar 2011. Moreover, despite of lower unit shipments, Seagate will report higher revenue than for the same period a year ago.
“The better than expected results for the December quarter are attributed to the company’s outstanding operational performance and overall strong execution,” said Steve Luczo, Seagate chief exec and chairman.
The company shipped approximately 47 million disk drives, which included approximately 700 thousand Samsung disk drives, and expects to report revenue for its fiscal second quarter fiscal 2012 of $3.1 - $3.2 billion. Back in November, 2011, Seagate expected unit shipments of approximately 43 million units and revenue of approximately $2.8 billion.
Seagate's component and disk drive factories in Thailand have not been directly affected by the flood in the country in October; however, the company’s ability to manufacture hard disk drives has been impacted due to external component supply constraints. Nonetheless, the company demonstrated moderate drop in Q4 2011's hard drive shipments compared to Q4 2010 - only 3.1% in terms of units - amid major growth of revenue. Back in Q2 of its FY2011, it shipped 48.9 million disk drives and on a GAAP basis reported revenue of $2.7 billion. Market uncertainties allowed Seagate to enjoy $500 million in additional revenue during the quarter.
“Due to our best-in-class operations, diversified supply-chain and differentiated manufacturing footprint, we continuously optimized our builds for customers during the quarter. This is best evidenced by our company’s ability to increase the average capacity per drive shipped quarter-over-quarter to a record 653 gigabytes, despite the significant supply chain disruption. These results also reflect the hard work and resiliency of the Seagate teams and our strategic suppliers who are working to help the industry recover from the massive disruption caused by the flooding in Thailand,” added Mr. Luczo.
“The better than expected results for the December quarter are attributed to the company’s outstanding operational performance and overall strong execution,” said Steve Luczo, Seagate chief exec and chairman.
The company shipped approximately 47 million disk drives, which included approximately 700 thousand Samsung disk drives, and expects to report revenue for its fiscal second quarter fiscal 2012 of $3.1 - $3.2 billion. Back in November, 2011, Seagate expected unit shipments of approximately 43 million units and revenue of approximately $2.8 billion.
Seagate's component and disk drive factories in Thailand have not been directly affected by the flood in the country in October; however, the company’s ability to manufacture hard disk drives has been impacted due to external component supply constraints. Nonetheless, the company demonstrated moderate drop in Q4 2011's hard drive shipments compared to Q4 2010 - only 3.1% in terms of units - amid major growth of revenue. Back in Q2 of its FY2011, it shipped 48.9 million disk drives and on a GAAP basis reported revenue of $2.7 billion. Market uncertainties allowed Seagate to enjoy $500 million in additional revenue during the quarter.
“Due to our best-in-class operations, diversified supply-chain and differentiated manufacturing footprint, we continuously optimized our builds for customers during the quarter. This is best evidenced by our company’s ability to increase the average capacity per drive shipped quarter-over-quarter to a record 653 gigabytes, despite the significant supply chain disruption. These results also reflect the hard work and resiliency of the Seagate teams and our strategic suppliers who are working to help the industry recover from the massive disruption caused by the flooding in Thailand,” added Mr. Luczo.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Ivy Bridge faces yield issues
Several sources close to the motherboard and notebook industries are telling us that Ivy Bridge was delayed for a few months due to yield issues. It was evident that Ivy Bridge would launch later than Sandy Bridge by roughly a quarter and now we know why.
Our sources claim that yields at 22nm are not as great as Intel had hoped for and this is the main reason behind the delay. Sandy Bridge, Intel’s 32nm second generation Core architecture launched at CES 2011 in January 2011, but most parts started shipping in early February.
This time around the launch is expected in the second week of April, and the current launch date, that is not carved in stone is April 8th, a whole quarter behind the last launch. It looks like 22nm transition and 3D transistors are not easy as Intel wanted us to believe. It’s been a while since Intel had any manufacturing issues but in the last few years tick-tock delayed Intel’s product introduction from traditional Q4 launches to Q2 of next year, extending its launch cycle.
Our sources claim that the usual practice would be to see the announcement in January around CES and start selling systems and motherboards early next month. Z77 and a mobile version of a chipset including QS77, QM77 and three versions of HM7x chipsets are reportedly already ready to ship.
Since for the most part Ivy Bridge will compete with Intel’s own with its second generation Core parts, it’s not a big deal for the company, but this slight delay will give AMD more breathing room and help its recovery.
Our sources claim that yields at 22nm are not as great as Intel had hoped for and this is the main reason behind the delay. Sandy Bridge, Intel’s 32nm second generation Core architecture launched at CES 2011 in January 2011, but most parts started shipping in early February.
This time around the launch is expected in the second week of April, and the current launch date, that is not carved in stone is April 8th, a whole quarter behind the last launch. It looks like 22nm transition and 3D transistors are not easy as Intel wanted us to believe. It’s been a while since Intel had any manufacturing issues but in the last few years tick-tock delayed Intel’s product introduction from traditional Q4 launches to Q2 of next year, extending its launch cycle.
Our sources claim that the usual practice would be to see the announcement in January around CES and start selling systems and motherboards early next month. Z77 and a mobile version of a chipset including QS77, QM77 and three versions of HM7x chipsets are reportedly already ready to ship.
Since for the most part Ivy Bridge will compete with Intel’s own with its second generation Core parts, it’s not a big deal for the company, but this slight delay will give AMD more breathing room and help its recovery.
Quanta Sues AMD for Allegedly Faulty Graphics Processors
Quanta, a well-known contract maker of notebooks and other electronics, has sued Advanced Micro Devices for allegedly faulty ATI Radeon graphics processors that AMD no longer supplies. Quanta claims that defective graphics chips significantly impacted its profitability and demands compensation from AMD.
“Quanta has suffered significant injury to prospective revenue and profits,” the company said in the complaint. Quanta is seeking a jury trial and damages, according to court papers, reports Bloomberg news-agency.
AMD itself declines that the ATI Radeon graphics adapters, which Quanta used inside notebooks for NEC. According to AMD, the very same chips were used by Quanta and other manufacturers inside many different PC platforms without problems.
“AMD disputes the allegations in Quanta’s complaint and believes they are without merit. AMD is aware of no other customer reports of the alleged issues with the AMD chip that Quanta used, which AMD no longer sells. In fact, Quanta has itself acknowledged to AMD that it used the identical chip in large volumes in a different computer platform that it manufactured for NEC without such issues," said Michael Silvermanm, a corporate spokesman for AMD.
Back in 2008 it transpired to issues with high-lead chip packaging could fail due to heat issues with. At the time, Nvidia Corp. had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to its partners who face failures and had to repair notebooks. ATI, AMD' graphics division, did not suffer from the same problem.
“Quanta has suffered significant injury to prospective revenue and profits,” the company said in the complaint. Quanta is seeking a jury trial and damages, according to court papers, reports Bloomberg news-agency.
AMD itself declines that the ATI Radeon graphics adapters, which Quanta used inside notebooks for NEC. According to AMD, the very same chips were used by Quanta and other manufacturers inside many different PC platforms without problems.
“AMD disputes the allegations in Quanta’s complaint and believes they are without merit. AMD is aware of no other customer reports of the alleged issues with the AMD chip that Quanta used, which AMD no longer sells. In fact, Quanta has itself acknowledged to AMD that it used the identical chip in large volumes in a different computer platform that it manufactured for NEC without such issues," said Michael Silvermanm, a corporate spokesman for AMD.
Back in 2008 it transpired to issues with high-lead chip packaging could fail due to heat issues with. At the time, Nvidia Corp. had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to its partners who face failures and had to repair notebooks. ATI, AMD' graphics division, did not suffer from the same problem.
Intel Certifies OCZ's mSATA Solid-State Drives for Ultrabooks
OCZ Technology Group on Wednesday said that its Deneva solid-state drives in mSATA form-factor have been certified by Intel Corp. to power ultrabooks, thin-and-lightweight notebooks with maximum responsiveness and performance amid reduced power consumption. OCZ's Deneva 2 are among the first non-Intel SSDs to get such certification.
OCZ Deneva 2 30GB and 60GB mSATA SSDs have been tested with Intel Smart Response technology and have passed the performance benchmarks for the ‘While Using’ portion of the responsiveness requirements in the 2012 ultrabook definition. OCZ Deneva 2 mSATA solutions are significantly slimmer than traditional 2.5" storage devices, enabling the ultrabook to support low-profile dimensions less than 21mm thick without compromising on storage capacity, speed, or battery life. OCZ also ships 120GB version of Deneva 2.
OCZ Deneva 2 SSDs are based on SandForce 2141/2181 controller and utilize multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory produced using a 20nm-class process technology. The manufacturer declares [for 120GB model] maximum read speed of 280MB/s and maximum 11500 IOPS read operations as well as maximum write speed of up to 260MB/s along with 32000 IOPS write operations. The solid-state drives weigh 6 grams and consume up to 1.7W.
"We are pleased with the results that Intel has achieved with our Deneva 2 mSATA products. The Deneva 2 SSDs have a very small footprint making them ideal for the slim and stylish Ultrabook designs, and also deliver exceptionally fast bootup and data transfer speeds for a superior instant-on and overall more responsive computing experience," said Tobias Brinkmann, vice president of partner relations at OCZ Technology.
OCZ Deneva 2 30GB and 60GB mSATA SSDs have been tested with Intel Smart Response technology and have passed the performance benchmarks for the ‘While Using’ portion of the responsiveness requirements in the 2012 ultrabook definition. OCZ Deneva 2 mSATA solutions are significantly slimmer than traditional 2.5" storage devices, enabling the ultrabook to support low-profile dimensions less than 21mm thick without compromising on storage capacity, speed, or battery life. OCZ also ships 120GB version of Deneva 2.
OCZ Deneva 2 SSDs are based on SandForce 2141/2181 controller and utilize multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory produced using a 20nm-class process technology. The manufacturer declares [for 120GB model] maximum read speed of 280MB/s and maximum 11500 IOPS read operations as well as maximum write speed of up to 260MB/s along with 32000 IOPS write operations. The solid-state drives weigh 6 grams and consume up to 1.7W.
"We are pleased with the results that Intel has achieved with our Deneva 2 mSATA products. The Deneva 2 SSDs have a very small footprint making them ideal for the slim and stylish Ultrabook designs, and also deliver exceptionally fast bootup and data transfer speeds for a superior instant-on and overall more responsive computing experience," said Tobias Brinkmann, vice president of partner relations at OCZ Technology.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Samsung reports increase in profits
Thanks to smartphones
Samsung is set to report a robust quarterly profit rise on Friday, starting the year on an upbeat note aided by sales of smartphones. Samsung is now the world's top smartphone maker in the third quarter, is continuing to give Apple a good kicking with sleek designs and a rich product line-up.
Its handset division is now Samsung's biggest earnings generator, raking in record profits. The company appears to be dealing with a profit squeeze from its memory chips with new revenue sources such as mobile processing chips and high-end OLED displays.
The world's biggest technology firm by revenue is likely to report $4.1 billion in October-December analyts think. That would be its best profit since the third quarter of 2010, and up 57 percent from a year ago and 11 percent from the preceding quarter.
In 2012, Samsung is likely to report a 28 percent rise in operating profit with a 12 percent gain in revenue, according to analysts.
Samsung is set to report a robust quarterly profit rise on Friday, starting the year on an upbeat note aided by sales of smartphones. Samsung is now the world's top smartphone maker in the third quarter, is continuing to give Apple a good kicking with sleek designs and a rich product line-up.
Its handset division is now Samsung's biggest earnings generator, raking in record profits. The company appears to be dealing with a profit squeeze from its memory chips with new revenue sources such as mobile processing chips and high-end OLED displays.
The world's biggest technology firm by revenue is likely to report $4.1 billion in October-December analyts think. That would be its best profit since the third quarter of 2010, and up 57 percent from a year ago and 11 percent from the preceding quarter.
In 2012, Samsung is likely to report a 28 percent rise in operating profit with a 12 percent gain in revenue, according to analysts.
Intel Formally Introduces Next-Generation Atom Microprocessors
Intel Corp. on Wednesday formally introduced its new family of microprocessors aimed at low-cost netbooks and similar affordable personal computers. Although media tablets are slowly, but surely ousting netbooks from the market, the world’s largest maker of chips believes that the new Atom processors will be able to successfully address more advanced PCs thanks to improved multimedia capabilities.
Intel Atom 2000-series “Cedarview” system-on-chip with two new Atom cores features integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3600/3650 DirectX 10.1-capable graphics engine that also supports integrated high-definition video decoder (in order to enable Blu-ray disc playback on all Atom-based systems), improved DDR3 memory controller, digital interfaces for displays along with other improvements. The SoC is made using 32nm fabrication process. The new Intel Atom processors provide a lower thermal design power (TDP) and power management features such as Intel Deeper Sleep and Intel SpeedStep Technology that enable lower power designs.
The dual-core Intel Atom processor N2600 and Intel Atom processor N2800 are paired with the Intel NM10 chipset and feature a small form factor package size that saves system board real estate and enables thinner netbook designs. In addition to the mobile processors, Intel offers the Intel Atom processor D2500 and D2700 for entry-level desktop and all-in-one designs, as well as intelligent system solutions.
Intel incorporated several new features into the platform, such as Intel Wireless Display and Intel Wireless Music, which allow sharing videos or photos wirelessly from netbooks to specially-designed televisions, or stream music through their home stereo speakers.
Intel claims that the new Atom chips provide improved system responsiveness and an improvement in graphics performance up to two times compared to the previous generation platform.
Systems based on the new Intel Atom processors may have up to 10 hours of battery life and weeks of standby, allowing for all-day use between charges. Additionally, Intel increased processor and overall system performance while reducing power consumption up to 20% compared to the previous platform.
Netbooks and ultra-portable netbooks powered by Intel Atom 2000-series microprocessors will be available in early 2012 from major OEMs including: Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Toshiba.
The platform supports a range of operating systems including: Windows, MeeGo, Tizen and a range of embedded OSs.
Intel Atom 2000-series “Cedarview” system-on-chip with two new Atom cores features integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3600/3650 DirectX 10.1-capable graphics engine that also supports integrated high-definition video decoder (in order to enable Blu-ray disc playback on all Atom-based systems), improved DDR3 memory controller, digital interfaces for displays along with other improvements. The SoC is made using 32nm fabrication process. The new Intel Atom processors provide a lower thermal design power (TDP) and power management features such as Intel Deeper Sleep and Intel SpeedStep Technology that enable lower power designs.
The dual-core Intel Atom processor N2600 and Intel Atom processor N2800 are paired with the Intel NM10 chipset and feature a small form factor package size that saves system board real estate and enables thinner netbook designs. In addition to the mobile processors, Intel offers the Intel Atom processor D2500 and D2700 for entry-level desktop and all-in-one designs, as well as intelligent system solutions.
Intel claims that the new Atom chips provide improved system responsiveness and an improvement in graphics performance up to two times compared to the previous generation platform.
Systems based on the new Intel Atom processors may have up to 10 hours of battery life and weeks of standby, allowing for all-day use between charges. Additionally, Intel increased processor and overall system performance while reducing power consumption up to 20% compared to the previous platform.
Netbooks and ultra-portable netbooks powered by Intel Atom 2000-series microprocessors will be available in early 2012 from major OEMs including: Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Toshiba.
The platform supports a range of operating systems including: Windows, MeeGo, Tizen and a range of embedded OSs.
LG Electronics Unveils World's First Commercial Ultra High-Definition Stereo-3D TV
LG Electronics plans to unveil the world’s largest 3D ultra high-definition (UHD) TV at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The 84" screen will be the first stereo-3D (S3D) TV-set to support 3840x2160 (4K) resolution. Unfortunately, there will be no commercial S3D 4K content for a while.
“LG is pushing the limits of home entertainment innovation with this 3D UD TV. We are bringing together all our Smart TV and 3D knowledge in the 3D UD TV in order to demonstrate to the CES audience that LG is committed to being the world’s leading brand for immersive home entertainment in 2012 and beyond," said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company
LG’s 3D UD TV boasts superb picture quality with 8 million pixels, four times the resolution clarity (3840x2160) of existing full HD/1080p (1920*1080) TV panels. In addition, the new UHDTV supports stereo-3D technology with proprietary 3D Depth Control that allows users to customize their viewing experience by controlling the stereo-3D effect while 3D Sound Zooming provides users with 3D sound that rivals the output of all but the best home theater systems, according to LG.
Users can access LG’s Smart TV ecosystem, which comprises over 1,200 apps and gives users access to a growing range of premium content services such as the 3D Zone where viewers can select from a wealth of 3D movies. The imbedded 2D to 3D conversion engine expands the availability of 3D content to limitless levels. Users can easily browse and navigate the Smart TV ecosystem using LG’s new, ergonomically-designed Magic Remote which now recognizes four different types of command input: Voice Recognition, Wheel, Magic Gesture and Point.
When the new TV be available and how much LG plans to charge for it remains unknown.
“LG is pushing the limits of home entertainment innovation with this 3D UD TV. We are bringing together all our Smart TV and 3D knowledge in the 3D UD TV in order to demonstrate to the CES audience that LG is committed to being the world’s leading brand for immersive home entertainment in 2012 and beyond," said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company
LG’s 3D UD TV boasts superb picture quality with 8 million pixels, four times the resolution clarity (3840x2160) of existing full HD/1080p (1920*1080) TV panels. In addition, the new UHDTV supports stereo-3D technology with proprietary 3D Depth Control that allows users to customize their viewing experience by controlling the stereo-3D effect while 3D Sound Zooming provides users with 3D sound that rivals the output of all but the best home theater systems, according to LG.
When the new TV be available and how much LG plans to charge for it remains unknown.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
DRAM Pricing Stabilizes at $16.5 per 4GB Module.
Reduction of manufacturing of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) in late 2011 stabilized memory price in the second half of December despite of seasonally low demand.
According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, while the market has entered the traditionally weak PC shipment season, compared with the first half of December, in the second half of December contract price showed a flat price trend. DDR3 4GB and DDR3 2GB average selling price was $16.5 and $9.25, respectively.
Average 2Gb chip price stayed at the $0.88 level. From the market perspective, although there has been no concrete evidence showing that demand will recover significantly in Q1 2012, the decrease in shipment volume caused by several DRAM makers’ previous capacity cuts will undoubtedly benefit demand recovery; some PC OEMs have increased their DRAM purchase volume in order to avoid possible supply insufficiency in the near future.
As Chinese New Year is around the corner, January transaction volume is expected to be affected slightly by the decrease in the number of work days. Luckily, the effects of the prior capacity cuts will gradually be seen, and as concerns of the HDD supply shortage slowly dissipate as well, it is likely that DRAM contract price will see a stable price trend in the near future.
According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, while the market has entered the traditionally weak PC shipment season, compared with the first half of December, in the second half of December contract price showed a flat price trend. DDR3 4GB and DDR3 2GB average selling price was $16.5 and $9.25, respectively.
Average 2Gb chip price stayed at the $0.88 level. From the market perspective, although there has been no concrete evidence showing that demand will recover significantly in Q1 2012, the decrease in shipment volume caused by several DRAM makers’ previous capacity cuts will undoubtedly benefit demand recovery; some PC OEMs have increased their DRAM purchase volume in order to avoid possible supply insufficiency in the near future.
As Chinese New Year is around the corner, January transaction volume is expected to be affected slightly by the decrease in the number of work days. Luckily, the effects of the prior capacity cuts will gradually be seen, and as concerns of the HDD supply shortage slowly dissipate as well, it is likely that DRAM contract price will see a stable price trend in the near future.
Apple's Jonathan Ive Becomes UK's Knight.
The designer behind Apple iPhone, iPad and various Macs - Jonathan Ive - has just got Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE) title from the Queen. Mr. Ive has been working at Apple for over fifteen years.
"I am keenly aware that I benefit from a wonderful tradition in the UK of designing and making. I discovered at an early age that all I've ever wanted to do is design," said Jonathan Ive, the head of design at Apple, in an interview with BBC.
London-born designer Jonathan Ive is the senior vice president of industrial design at Apple. Since 1996, he has been responsible for leading a design team widely regarded as one of the world’s best. Mr. Ive holds a Bachelor of Arts and an honorary doctorate from Newcastle Polytechnic. In 2003, he was named designer of the year by the design museum London and awarded the title Royal Designer for Industry by The Royal Society of Arts.
Steve Jobs, a co-founder of Apple, described Mr Ive as his "spiritual partner" in his biography written by Walter Isaacson. However, some say that Mr. Ive was "hurt" by Mr. Jobs taking credit for innovations that came from the design team, according to BBC.
"I am keenly aware that I benefit from a wonderful tradition in the UK of designing and making. I discovered at an early age that all I've ever wanted to do is design," said Jonathan Ive, the head of design at Apple, in an interview with BBC.
London-born designer Jonathan Ive is the senior vice president of industrial design at Apple. Since 1996, he has been responsible for leading a design team widely regarded as one of the world’s best. Mr. Ive holds a Bachelor of Arts and an honorary doctorate from Newcastle Polytechnic. In 2003, he was named designer of the year by the design museum London and awarded the title Royal Designer for Industry by The Royal Society of Arts.
Steve Jobs, a co-founder of Apple, described Mr Ive as his "spiritual partner" in his biography written by Walter Isaacson. However, some say that Mr. Ive was "hurt" by Mr. Jobs taking credit for innovations that came from the design team, according to BBC.
AMD Readies “Sea Islands” Family of Graphics Processors.
The recent firings from Advanced Micro Devices apparently reduced not only marketing and PR personnel, but also engineers. Fired in November, 2011, a hardware designer from AMD has disclosed the code-name of the company’s next-generation of graphics processors – Sea Islands – over at his profile in LinkedIn social network.
Alexander Shternshain, a former MTS design engineer at AMD, who is looking for a new job now, has unveiled the name of AMD’s future graphics processors: Sea Islands. The new family will likely emerge in 2012 or in 2013 and will be most probably be made using 28nm fabrication process at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. According to VR-Zone web-site, Sea Islands name “directly refers to the chain of islands on the USA's Atlantic coast”.
Based on his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Shternshain was involved in design of the latest AMD families of graphic processors starting with Evergreen and Northern Islands (Radeon HD) GPU families, Fusion APUs (Ontario, Llano, Krishna), and the Southern Islands and Sea Islands GPU families.
Actual specifications or peculiarities of the Sea Islands product family remain unknown. What is natural to expect is further development of GCN [graphics core next] architecture with the addition of multimedia-related features, gneral purpose computing and graphics performance improvements. The Sea Islands lineup will likely continue to belong to DirectX 11.1 generation of GPUs.
AMD did not comment on the news-story.
Alexander Shternshain, a former MTS design engineer at AMD, who is looking for a new job now, has unveiled the name of AMD’s future graphics processors: Sea Islands. The new family will likely emerge in 2012 or in 2013 and will be most probably be made using 28nm fabrication process at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. According to VR-Zone web-site, Sea Islands name “directly refers to the chain of islands on the USA's Atlantic coast”.
Based on his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Shternshain was involved in design of the latest AMD families of graphic processors starting with Evergreen and Northern Islands (Radeon HD) GPU families, Fusion APUs (Ontario, Llano, Krishna), and the Southern Islands and Sea Islands GPU families.
Actual specifications or peculiarities of the Sea Islands product family remain unknown. What is natural to expect is further development of GCN [graphics core next] architecture with the addition of multimedia-related features, gneral purpose computing and graphics performance improvements. The Sea Islands lineup will likely continue to belong to DirectX 11.1 generation of GPUs.
AMD did not comment on the news-story.
Gingerbread, Froyo still dominant Android versions
According to Android developers, the vast majority of Android devices are currently running various Gingerbread variants, with no ICS update in sight.
Overall, Gingerbread 2.3.x is happily running on 55.5 percent of all Android devices out there, but Froyo is still going strong, with 30.4, while 8.5 percent of users are, for lack of a better word, stuck with Éclair.
Only 0.6 percent of Android devices run Ice Cream Sandwich versions, which is hardly surprising given the fact that only one phone ships with the new OS and updates are rolling out at the pace of a tired snail returning home from a funeral.
Android tablet sales in 2011 were not too impressive, and the tablet-centric Honeycomb is used on 3.3 percent of all Android devices. This is actually a good score, as Honeycomb’s share was under 1 percent just a few months ago.
Overall, Gingerbread 2.3.x is happily running on 55.5 percent of all Android devices out there, but Froyo is still going strong, with 30.4, while 8.5 percent of users are, for lack of a better word, stuck with Éclair.
Only 0.6 percent of Android devices run Ice Cream Sandwich versions, which is hardly surprising given the fact that only one phone ships with the new OS and updates are rolling out at the pace of a tired snail returning home from a funeral.
Android tablet sales in 2011 were not too impressive, and the tablet-centric Honeycomb is used on 3.3 percent of all Android devices. This is actually a good score, as Honeycomb’s share was under 1 percent just a few months ago.
Xbox Live Indie guidelines revised
Larger titles and removal of pricing restrictions
Microsoft has announced some changes today for its Xbox Live Indie Game development program. The road has been difficult for Indie game developers with a less than ideal situation when competing head to head with the commercial offerings; and Microsoft has listened to Indie Game developers and made some changes to its guidelines.
The biggest change is that Microsoft has raised the size limit for a project from 150MB to 500MB, which will give Indie developers significantly more room to work with to create new projects. The next change is that Microsoft has removed the restriction that all games greater than 50MB had to be priced at $3 or $5, which made many titles a more difficult sell when compared against the other offerings. In addition, the minimum price has been lowered to just $1, or 80 Microsoft Points, which should also help Indie developers be more competitive.
Beyond these changes, Microsoft also finally raised the cap on the number games a developer is allowed to host on the Indie Game service. It has now doubled to 20 total titles, which should allow some developers more room to move.
Microsoft is hoping that these changes will be well received and will help the Indie development community continue to create even better games. We think that these moves are good and address the needs of Indie developers. If Microsoft could only find a way to call more attention to their offerings from within the dashboard, then we think Indie developers would be even happier.
Microsoft has announced some changes today for its Xbox Live Indie Game development program. The road has been difficult for Indie game developers with a less than ideal situation when competing head to head with the commercial offerings; and Microsoft has listened to Indie Game developers and made some changes to its guidelines.
The biggest change is that Microsoft has raised the size limit for a project from 150MB to 500MB, which will give Indie developers significantly more room to work with to create new projects. The next change is that Microsoft has removed the restriction that all games greater than 50MB had to be priced at $3 or $5, which made many titles a more difficult sell when compared against the other offerings. In addition, the minimum price has been lowered to just $1, or 80 Microsoft Points, which should also help Indie developers be more competitive.
Beyond these changes, Microsoft also finally raised the cap on the number games a developer is allowed to host on the Indie Game service. It has now doubled to 20 total titles, which should allow some developers more room to move.
Microsoft is hoping that these changes will be well received and will help the Indie development community continue to create even better games. We think that these moves are good and address the needs of Indie developers. If Microsoft could only find a way to call more attention to their offerings from within the dashboard, then we think Indie developers would be even happier.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Lenovo unveils all-new ThinkPad X1 Hybrid
Lenovo is gearing up for the Consumer Electronics Show just like every other PC hardware manufacturer on the planet. But rather than waiting four more days to unveil its products to the public, the company has decided to give the press and its prospective consumers a sneak peek of what to expect on the show floors this year.
Back in November 2011, rumors abounded of a new ThinkPad X1 Hybrid that would essentially be “2 notebooks in 1” – a full-fledged notebook running Windows 7 (or Windows 8), and a low-power mode called “Instant Media Mode” (think netbook) running a custom Linux based OS. The rumors turned out to be true, and the device unveiled by the company today is essentially a flagship rehash of the current ThinkPad X1.
Lenovo's new ThinkPad X1 Hybrid, however, takes dual-booting to the next level by switching between operating system environments at the click of an icon, with no rebooting required, and by running Linux on its own dual-core Qualcomm processor.
In terms of hardware, the notebook features a 13.3-inch display coated with Gorilla Glass, the same material used on the iPhone. It comes with your choice of a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor as the main CPU, additional dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor, 1GB DDR3 RAM, 16GB of internal storage to power the secondary “Instant Media Mode” based on the custom Linux OS, a spill-resistant backlit keyboard, USB 3.0 and an optional SSD.
Lenovo claims that the new ThinkPad X1 Hybrid can run with up to 5 hours battery life on the Intel Core processor and up to 10 hours battery life on the Snapdragon APQ8060. Additionally, the notebook features “Rapid Charge” technology which allows it to hit an 80-percent charge in just 30 minutes. If these battery life numbers are tested and confirmed to be true, we may see Lenovo gain the upper hand in competition with the likes of Apple’s MacBook Air and several other Intel-based ultrabooks debuting over the next few months.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Hybrid will start at $1,599 USD and is targeted at home users, students and professional business users. It will be available for purchase sometime in Q2 2012.
Back in November 2011, rumors abounded of a new ThinkPad X1 Hybrid that would essentially be “2 notebooks in 1” – a full-fledged notebook running Windows 7 (or Windows 8), and a low-power mode called “Instant Media Mode” (think netbook) running a custom Linux based OS. The rumors turned out to be true, and the device unveiled by the company today is essentially a flagship rehash of the current ThinkPad X1.
Lenovo's new ThinkPad X1 Hybrid, however, takes dual-booting to the next level by switching between operating system environments at the click of an icon, with no rebooting required, and by running Linux on its own dual-core Qualcomm processor.
In terms of hardware, the notebook features a 13.3-inch display coated with Gorilla Glass, the same material used on the iPhone. It comes with your choice of a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor as the main CPU, additional dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor, 1GB DDR3 RAM, 16GB of internal storage to power the secondary “Instant Media Mode” based on the custom Linux OS, a spill-resistant backlit keyboard, USB 3.0 and an optional SSD.
Lenovo claims that the new ThinkPad X1 Hybrid can run with up to 5 hours battery life on the Intel Core processor and up to 10 hours battery life on the Snapdragon APQ8060. Additionally, the notebook features “Rapid Charge” technology which allows it to hit an 80-percent charge in just 30 minutes. If these battery life numbers are tested and confirmed to be true, we may see Lenovo gain the upper hand in competition with the likes of Apple’s MacBook Air and several other Intel-based ultrabooks debuting over the next few months.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Hybrid will start at $1,599 USD and is targeted at home users, students and professional business users. It will be available for purchase sometime in Q2 2012.
Intel to discontinue 25 desktop CPUs in 1H 2012
Suppliers prepare for 22nm Ivy Bridge in April
According to industry sources in Taiwan, Intel has notified its hardware partners that it will cease production of 25 desktop CPU models in order to pave the way for its upcoming 22nm Ivy Bridge desktop CPUs, which are expected to launch in April 2012.
The report states that Intel will cease production and then terminate production of these CPUs in two major segments over the first half of 2012. Between January 2011 and March 2011 (Q1 2012), Core i7 875K, Core i7 860S, Core i5 760, Core i5 750S, Core i5 655K, Celeron 450 and Celeron 430 production will be terminated. During the same timeframe, Core i5 661, Core i5 660, Core i3 530, Pentium E5700 and Celeron E3500 production will all be suspended, and production will be terminated in Q2 2012.
Between April and June (Q2 2012), Core i7 960, Core i7 950, Core i7 930, Core i7 870 and Pentium G960 production will all be suspended and terminated. During the same timeframe, Core i7 880S, Core i7 870S, Core Duo E7500, Core Duo E7600, Pentium E6600, Pentium E550 and Celeron E3300 production will be terminated.
According to industry sources in Taiwan, Intel has notified its hardware partners that it will cease production of 25 desktop CPU models in order to pave the way for its upcoming 22nm Ivy Bridge desktop CPUs, which are expected to launch in April 2012.
The report states that Intel will cease production and then terminate production of these CPUs in two major segments over the first half of 2012. Between January 2011 and March 2011 (Q1 2012), Core i7 875K, Core i7 860S, Core i5 760, Core i5 750S, Core i5 655K, Celeron 450 and Celeron 430 production will be terminated. During the same timeframe, Core i5 661, Core i5 660, Core i3 530, Pentium E5700 and Celeron E3500 production will all be suspended, and production will be terminated in Q2 2012.
Between April and June (Q2 2012), Core i7 960, Core i7 950, Core i7 930, Core i7 870 and Pentium G960 production will all be suspended and terminated. During the same timeframe, Core i7 880S, Core i7 870S, Core Duo E7500, Core Duo E7600, Pentium E6600, Pentium E550 and Celeron E3300 production will be terminated.
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