May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks!VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publicationcovering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Sony Ericsson announces theXperia mini and mini proSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-ericsson-announces-the-xperia-

mini-and-mini-pro/12077.html

May 5th, 2011

Rumours about an Xperia X10 mini pro2 have been circulatingfor a while and today Sony Ericsson announced no less thantwo new mini handsets, the Xperia mini and the Xperia minipro, of which the latter ended up being rumoured handset inquestion. However, the rumours turned out to be not quitespot on this time around, which is a good thing as it happensas Sony Ericsson’s new handsets have more on offer than therumours suggested.

Rumours about an Xperia X10 mini pro2 have been circulatingfor a while and today Sony Ericsson announced no less thantwo new mini handsets, the Xperia mini and the Xperia minipro, of which the latter ended up being rumoured handset inquestion. However, the rumours turned out to be not quitespot on this time around, which is a good thing as it happensas Sony Ericsson’s new handsets have more on offer than therumours suggested.

Let’s start with the main difference between the two handsets,the Xperia mini pro has a slide-out QWERTY keyboards, theXperia mini doesn’t. With that bit over, we can carry on tothe rest of the details. Both handsets have a 3in display witha resolution of 480x320 pixels with capacitive multi-touchand scratch-resistant mineral glass. This might seem a bit onthe small side, but it’s an upgrade over the Xperia X10 mini/pro, both of which only had a 2.55in screen with 320x240resolution.

But where things really counts is in the internals and hereSony Ericsson has pulled out all the stops, at least as far asthe CPU is concerned and we’re looking at a 1GHz QualcommSnapdragon CPU here, although we’re not sure which specificmodel, as Sony Ericsson doesn’t tend to mention this in itspress releases. We’re also looking at 512MB of RAM this time,although you only get a paltry 320MB of storage memory. Thatsaid, Sony Ericsson throws in a 2GB micro SD card in the boxwhich is better than nothing.

Other features of note include the rear 5 Megapixel camerawith 720p video recording, an f2.6 lens and of course autofocus, an LED flash/video light and a ton of software featureslike touch to focus. There’s also a front facing VGA camerafor video calls for those that care about it. Then there’s ofcourse Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, aGPS, FM radio, USB connectivity,DLNA support and a 3.5mm audio jack. Nothing really out ofthe ordinary there, but everything you’d expected to find on amodern smartphone is accounted for.

Sony Ericsson has kitted out both handsets with Android 2.3,although it has a custom UI which will be familiar to users of

May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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Sony Ericsson’s previous mini phones with four icons in thecorners of the screen. Both models are fully HSDPA/HSUPAcompatible, although once again no details as to which speedsare supported were provided. Sony Ericsson claims a talk timeof up to 5h 40min on 2G and 5h 25min on 3G for the Xperiamini pro and 4h 30min on 2G and 3G for the Xperia mini,although oddly enough both models have the same 1200mAhbattery which makes this seem odd.

The Xperia mini pro measures 92x53x18mm (HxWxD)and weighs in at 136g while the Xperia mini measures88x52x16mm (HxWxD) and weighs in at 94g. Both models willcome with a wired headset, a 2GB micro SD card, a micro USBcable and a charger. The Xperia mini will be available in black,white, blue and pink, while the Xperia mini pro will come inblack, white, pink and turquoise. Sony Ericsson is hoping tohave both models out in retail sometime in Q3.

Samsung and RADIOactiveintroduced SONAR radiostreaming Android AppSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-and-radioactive-introduced-

sonar-radio-streaming-android-app/12075.html

May 5th, 2011

This evening, Samsung and RADIOactive Pte Ltd announcedthe new mobile radio streaming app, SONAR. SONAR will bepreloaded on all new Samsung mobile devices and available onthe Android market.

"What is Samsung doing with SONAR? Samsung Mobile hasalways been known as a hardware company; we make greatphones. But nowadays, the competition isn't about phonesanymore. It's about the stuff that goes into phones, theapplications, content and services that these phones can helpyou in your daily life. SONAR is an Internet radio stationand ash a lot of cool things inside," said Winston Goh, productmarketing at Samsung Asia .

"Radio is the oldest broadcast media, over hundred years,and it still connects in ways that other media don't. Samsunghas been an incredible friend along this journey and this isjust the beginning. This is version 1.0. RADIOactive providesproprietary stream the lowest possible quality bitrate withthe highest possible quality sound. We also built in a lot ofsocial features (including Facebook etc)." remarked AndrewCrother, founder and managing director of RADIOactive PteLtd.

The SONAR app is preloaded on the latest Samsung mobiledevices and available on both Android and BADA platform.Aside from playing from the Internet radio, you can also sharethe songs on Facebook, Twitter and even via email.Listenerscan also receive regular updates on lifestyle news on music,fashion and events, and even vote for their favorite songs.

On the Samsung Wave Bada phone, the SONAR has the sameuser interface as the Android version. SONAR is available fordownlaod from facebook.sonar.sg for all Android and Badamobile devices.

May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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Here are some more pics of the Samsung ladies:-

The Daily VR-Zone NewsSummary - 5 May 2011Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-daily-vr-zone-news-summary--5-

may-2011/12076.html

May 5th, 2011

In today's news roundup: Techspot draws up a list of what ithas identified as the "best budget and mainstream processors"which casual enthusiasts should look out for when assembingtheir own DIY PC; USB 3.0 may soon be given a huge boostin market adoption, thanks to the introduction of a newstandard which will see the interface being used as an internal

connection to provide "a standardized way of connecting chipsinside a smartphone or computer"; Rumour has it that RIMis working on a 10-inch variant of its PlayBook tablet; LGhas reportedly declined an invitation to join an independentlicensing and patent group for Blu Ray technology due to itsintentions of pursuing litigation on the matter; Nintendo hasconfirmed that the Wii will indeed be given a price cut whichwill take effect later this month on May 15, and EA claims thatthe Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG should be readyfor an official launch any time between July and December thisyear.

Hardware news

The Best Budget & Mainstream ProcessorsDescription: Choosing a CPU platform is usually the first thingyou do when building your own computer. If you've beenfollowing our reviews and always-fresh desktop PC buyingguide you probably already have a good idea of the currentlandscape: Intel introduced their Sandy Bridge processors atthe beginning of the year, bringing unparalleled performanceand improved power consumption, while AMD has little tocompete with above the $125 mark -- though that mightchange soon.

OCZ Technology Vertex 3 120GB Retail Solid State DriveReviewDescription: We plan to see a huge number of SandForce2000 Series SSDs this year. SandForce has added even morepartners in 2011, Intel being one of them. Even though Big Bluewill take a shot at fame with a SandForce 2000 Series product,the Vertex 3 will still be the benchmark in which all others arecompared. OCZ has dominated the consumer SSD market forthe last several years and transitioned from a company makingseveral products into a company whose primary role is solidstate drives.

AMD Radeon HD 6770/6750 Rebranding @ Rage3D.comDescription: April 28 saw the Retail launch of the AMDRadeon HD 6770 and 6750, using the Juniper GPU corefrom the HD 5770 and 5750. Yep, it is a 'technology update'using rebranded cards for that ever-so important Blu-ray3D compatibility. We have some thoughts on the why's andwherefore's on such a move, and try to find a ray of light in thisdark, foreboding move.

Xigmatek Pantheon Mid Tower Chassis ReviewDescription: The history of the continual burning and damageto the building play into this review in an odd way, so I willcontinue on the path that the Pantheon name might still beguarded by these Roman gods. The package I received fromXigmatek looks like it had the wrath of something inflicted onit during shipping; I can only hope at this point that the chassisinside is in fair enough condition to show you what the chassisoffers...

Crucial Ballistix Sport PC3-12800 8GB Kit ReviewDescription: We've got a few kits we'll be looking at over thecoming weeks, but the first one comes from Crucial today andis part of the much loved Ballistix series. This one's a littledifferent, though. Within the Ballistix series we've seen otherseries start up like the Tracer one. Today we're looking at thenew Ballistix Sport series and it will be interesting to see whatexactly is on offer from the kit here today.

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USB 3.0 to Debut as Chip InterconnectDescription: USB, which is the most popular standard forconnecting peripherals to PCs is now also going inside the box.A brand new specification, still under development, will, by theend of the year, allow USB 3.0 to be used a a standardized wayof connecting chips inside a smartphone or computer.

ADATA Launches New BN Series Energy Efficient PowerSupplyDescription: ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturerof high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flashapplication products, today announced the launch of its latestseries of power supply for personal computers. The BN Seriesis targeted towards consumer and professional users who arelooking for economical solutions in energy efficient power.

Corsair Updates its Builder Series Power SuppliesDescription: Corsair, a worldwide designer and supplier ofhigh-performance components to the PC gaming hardwaremarket, today announced it has updated the Builder Serieswith new CX V2 models.

Consumer Electronics and Software news

RIM Working on a 10-Inch Version of PlayBook Tablet[RUMOR]Description: RIM plans to release a 10-inch version ofits BlackBerry PlayBook tablet at the end of 2011, BoyGenius Report claims quoting multiple anonymous sources.No further details are known about the upcoming tablet,except for the increased screen size compared to the originalPlayBook’s screen, which measures 7 inches.

Creative Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Sigma Gaming HeadsetReviewDescription: It was really only a matter of time before Creative,the creators of the legendary Sound Blaster line of soundcards,designed and manufactured a THX certified gaming headsetcapable of competing with units far surpassing its price tag.

Ultimate Ears 100 In-Ear Headphones Review @ Tweak.dkDescription: Ultimate Ears specializes exclusively inproducing headphones. They have in their chosen everythingfrom cheap headphones for 30 dollars, and almost luxuriousversions in price ranges up to and even above 800 dollars.Today we look at one of their cheap versions and see howmuch sound you can get out of a set of in-ear headphonesfor under 60 dollars. In-ear does as its name says that youhave the headphones inside the ear like earplugs. Series calledUltimate Ears 100, where Logitech has been involved in overand develop. It is also possible to buy Ultimate Ears 100 onLogitech's website, but much more on this later. Now let'sjump into it and look at these little headphones.

LG dodges Blu Ray patent group because it still wants tolitigateDescription: It seems LG is dodging joining an independentlicensing company for patents essential to Blu-ray Discproducts because it wants to keep litigating. Cyberlinkannounced that it had joined forces with Hitachi, Panasonic,Philips, Samsung and LG arch-rival Sony to form One-Blue,LLC. The idea of the consortium is to help companies inthe industry with a patent licensing service. Under the "one-stop shop" banner, potential licensees won't have to handleproblems or approach respective patent owners individually.

That is, unless they want to work with LG, which is noticeablyabsent from the gang.

Plantronics Gamecom X95 Xbox Review - XSReviewsDescription: Plantronics are perhaps known for their moreprofessional line of audio equipment, bluetooth headsets andother business orientated gadgets that make the suits feel likethey’re anything but the uncool people that they are. However,recently Plantronics have decided to do away with this imageand branch out into the gaming sector. We saw their firstouting in our recent review of the x40 headset which did verywell indeed.

F-Browser brings Flash to iOSDescription: Right now, if you want to watch Flash videoson your iOS device, you look for an alternative website thatcontains iOS-friendly video, you use an alternative browsersuch as Skyfire, or you jailbreak your iPhone and install appsthat let it happen. Retina Software has just announced thelaunch of their new web browser – called F-Browser (weassume the F in its name is supposed to mean Flash).

Acer 7-inch Iconia A100, A101 to arrive May 14Description: Acer’s 7-inch Iconia A100 and A101 Android 3.0(Honeycomb) tablets are set to arrive May 14. The devices,which are already up for pre-order in the UK, come with eithera 3G + Wi-Fi (A101) or Wi-Fi-only (A100) configurations.Both devices run the Tegra 250 dual-core Cortex A9 processorclocked at 1GHz matched with 512MB of RAM and incorporate8GB of memory expandable with microSDs.

Gaming news

Nintendo Will Slash Wii Price to $150 This MonthDescription: Nintendo will officially drop the price of its Wiigame console from $199.99 to $149.99, effective May 15.Details of the price drop — including the effective date —leaked online last month and retailers like Amazon, Best Buyand Toys R Us lowered the price on the console to $169.99 twoweeks ago.

Section 8: Prejudice review by PC Game ExaminerDescription: TimeGate Studios’ Section 8: Prejudice (releasedMay 4th) is an outstanding follow up to the original game andwell worth a spot on your roster of favorite multiplayer FPS(first person shooter) games. Best of all, it's only $15.

Star Wars: The Old Republic should launch this year - EADescription: BioWare's sci-fi MMORPG should launchbetween July and December, says EA Games president; EACFO says there's an "outside" chance for further delay.

Heisei To Show AndroidPowered Media Players atCOMPUTEXSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/heisei-to-show-android-powered-

media-players-at-computex/12074.html

May 5th, 2011

At computex 2011, HEISEI will show entire solution series.All-in-one touch POS terminals with Intel® technology are

May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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designed for universal applications and long-term operation;Full-functioned IPC series equipped with different assemblyfor all kinds of usage; Self service photo KIOSK, FT-8000 iswith the thoughtful accessories built in, particularly supportedUSB 3.0. The latest media player HMH-701SK with androidsystems, not only plays High-definition media files, but alsosupports multitudes of Android apps.

After experienced successful showcase at CES and Cebit 2011,HEISEI expected to further displayed at Computex to sharebrilliant concepts and innovative technology. Just feel free tojoin us.

Complete Solutions Offered

At computex 2011, HEISEI will show entire solution series.All-in-one touch POS terminals with Intel® technology aredesigned for universal applications and long-term operation;Full-functioned IPC series equipped with different assemblyfor all kinds of usage; Self service photo KIOSK, FT-8000 iswith the thoughtful accessories built in, particularly supportedUSB 3.0.

Furthermore, HEISEI could also offer the most satisfying andflexible ODM/OEM solutions. Our engineering and technicalknowledge in-house enhance products from design throughproduction. What you want is what we make, let HEISEI beyour best partner!

Plentiful Computer Peripheral with USB 3.0 technology

HEISEI have made great progress in USB 3.0 field. We couldoffer all kinds of devices for your needs: Card Reader, HDDEnclosure, Host Add-on Card, Hub and Bridge. The mostdesirable products as HUU-304V3, 3 ports USB 3.0 internalhub to expand your ports and make you experience superspeeddata transfer rate. External card reader HRU-306RT withcharming checkout support five slots can accept up to 30types of media. Moreover, HPU-343VL/ HPU-344VL 4 PortsUSB 3.0 PCI Express Adapter with high-performance let usersconnect to computers well. At computex, we will show moreflexible choices for you!

Entertainment Innovation in Media Player

A technology breakthrough in media player has been achieved.The latest media player HMH-701SK with android systems,not only plays High-definition media files, but also supportsmultitudes of Android apps. Likewise, you can make onlineentertainments for you requirements with best sound andimage effects on browser. Just Androidlize your TV and enjoyit anytime, anywhere!

GIGABYTE To UnveilNotebooks, Booktops andSlate at COMPUTEX 2011Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-to-unveil-notebooks-

booktops-and-slate-at-computex-2011/12073.html

May 5th, 2011

GIGABYTE is thrilled to introduce a fantastic lineup ofinnovative notebook computers at COMPUTEX 2011. Excitingproducts to be showcased include the P2532 3D and FullHD multimedia notebooks, the S1080 slate pc, the Booktop™T1125P, the Booktop™ M2432, as well as several otheroutstanding models.

GIGABYTE is thrilled to introduce a fantastic lineup ofinnovative notebook computers at COMPUTEX 2011. Excitingproducts to be showcased include the P2532 3D and FullHD multimedia notebooks, the S1080 slate pc, the Booktop™T1125P, the Booktop™ M2432, as well as several otheroutstanding models.

P2532

The P2532 is the first 15.6" multimedia notebook designedby GIGABYTE’s R&D team. Featuring a powerful quad-core 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0-2.9GHzprocessor with Intel® Turbo Boost, the P2532 delivers blazingfast performance. The notebook is equipped with numerouscutting-edge features to make it an extraordinary choice formultimedia enjoyment. The NVIDIA® GeForce® GT550Mwith 2GB VRAM provides an outstanding graphics experienceand has Optimus™ technology that optimizes performance forlonger lasting battery life. The P2532V features NVIDIA’s 3DVision™, which provides an extraordinary visual experiencethat is perfect for consuming 3D media. The P2532N sports

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a Full HD 1920x1080 LED backlight screen that producesbrilliant and vivid images. For audio enjoyment, there are fourterrific dual-channel stereo speakers and a woofer speaker thatcombined with THX TruStudio Pro™ technology produce amagnificent acoustic experience. The notebook also has otherhigh-end features, including a 7200rpm 500GB/750GB HDD,4/8GB of RAM, an ultra-thin 9.5mm DVD burner, two USB3.0 ports and HDMI.

S1080

The S1080 is an exciting 10.1” capacitive multi-touch slatePC that is designed for business and professional users whoneed a high-performing multi-tasking slate that offers thefull productivity of Windows® 7. The slate is powered by anIntel® Atom™ N570 dual core processor and has an incredible320GB of built-in storage. Weighing under 0.90kg and comingequipped with a 3.5G antenna built-in, the slate is great fortraveling and the perfect mobile device to satisfy consumers’demanding business needs. The S1080 also includes a mouse-like navigation button that lets users conveniently move thecursor around the screen to easily edit documents and accessprograms. The slate also includes USB 3.0, Bluetooth 3.0and a 1.3mp webcam. An attractive portfolio carrying case isincluded with the slate, which can also be conveniently used asa stand. There is also an optional docking station, which comeswith an ODD, dual speakers, and a keyboard. An optionalextended battery can also be used and is great for mobility.

Booktop™ T1125P

GIGABYTE proudly presents the world’s first 3-in-1 computer,the Booktop™ T1125P. The T1125P is a sleek and high-performing computer with an 11.6” capacitive multi-touchdisplay that can instantly change from a laptop to a tablet toa desktop with GIGABYTE’s innovative docking station. The

docking station also includes useful features, including USB3.0, HDMI, and a Super-multi DVD (with USB cable). TheT1125P is powered by an Intel® Core™ i5/i3 ULV (ultra-lowvoltage) processor to provide powerful processing power in alightweight design. For multimedia, the NVIDIA® Geforce®410M GPU with 1GB VRAM gives users a superb viewingexperience and comes with Optimus™ technology that helpsextend battery life. For audio, there are two high-qualitydual-channel stereo speakers and two woofer speakers thatcombined with THX TruStudio Pro™ technology create anexceptional audio performance. The notebook also comes witha 3.5G antenna built-in, USB 3.0 and HDMI.

Booktop™ M2432

The Booktop™ M2432 is the successor to the innovativeBooktop™ M1405. Featuring a thin and stylish design, theBooktop™ M2432 is powered by a powerful second generationIntel® Core™ i5/i3 processor. The M2432 is a fantasticchoice for users who want to combine the mobility of a light-weight notebook with the power of a desktop. The M2432accomplishes the combination of notebook and desktop by itspowerful docking station, which features a built-in NVIDIA®GT 440 GPU that delivers desktop like graphics performancethat is great for visual entertainment. Another exciting featureis that the optical disk drive can easily be exchanged for anoptional extended battery, great for those times when extrabattery life is needed.

Q2432 and Q2532

The 14” Q2432 and the 15.6" Q2532 are the perfect choicesto provide exceptional everyday mobile computing. Thenotebooks are equipped with a 2nd generation Intel® Core™i7/i5/i3 series processor to provide outstanding performance.The Q2432A and Q2532N models have discrete graphics cardsthat deliver an excellent visual experience. Other excitingfeatures include two USB 3.0 ports and HDMI. The notebooksare fashionably designed with an attractive rippling pattern tomake them a stylish choice for mobile computing.

T1005M

Following the trend of the highly successful T1000P, theT1005M is a superb 10.1” convertible tablet computer thatfeatures a capacitive multi-touch screen with an excellentresolution of 1366x768. The computer is powered by an Intel®Atom™ N570 dual core processor. The T1005M comes with a3.5G antenna built-in, USB 3.0, a 6-cell battery for long-lastingbattery life, and many other exciting features to make it theperfect choice for tablet computing.

Booktop™ M1005

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The M1005 features an Intel® Atom™ N570 dual coreprocessor and is a premier choice for netbook computing.The M1005 comes with GIGABYTE’s unique docking station,which allows the netbook to be placed vertically on a desksaving space and providing a useful desktop experience withthree additional usb ports and a VGA port. The dockingstation also includes other excellent features, including apower button and a dedicated button that lets users check thebattery status without undocking the computer.

Creative introduces eight newproducts for the month of MaySource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/creative-introduces-eight-new-

products-for-the-month-of-may/12071.html

May 5th, 2011

Four wireless Bluetooth speakers, an MP3 player sporting aZEN-like design, and three sets of Bluetooth headsets. Andjust in case you are wondering; no, we have not lost ourmarbles and gone off rambling about random audio-relatedhardware for the consumers. Rather, these are new productswhich Creative will be introducing for the local market. Readon to find out more.

Creative Redefines Home Audio with ZiiSound Dx Series ofPure Wireless Modular Bluetooth Speakers

Introduces a Paradigm Shift in the Home Audio ListeningExperience

SINGAPORE – 5 May 2011 – Creative Technology Ltd todayannounced the launch of a brand new category of wirelessspeakers, the ZiiSound Dx series of pure wireless modularspeakers. The ZiiSound Dx series consists of the ZiiSound D5xwireless one-piece speaker, ZiiSound D3x wireless one-piecespeaker and ZiiSound DSx wireless subwoofer.

Flexible Configuration

The ZiiSound Dx series revolutionises the home audio system.In this revolutionary new system, wireless speakers connectindependently to stereo Bluetooth devices such as the iPhone,Blackberry, Android phone, iPad or Creative ZiiO tablet,and can also be configured so more speakers are connectedwirelessly to form a multi-channel home audio system. TheZiiSound Dx series also features renowned apt-X audiotechnology for outstanding sound quality.

Unlike with traditional speaker systems, users will no longerneed to purchase a fixed speaker configuration for a specificuse in the home. Creative’s one-piece pure wireless modularspeakers let users upgrade from a single speaker to a largerconfiguration by simply adding more speakers wirelessly.

Flexible Placement

The built-in flexibility to add or subtract speakers means thesame system can have many uses. Users will now be able tocreate different speakers systems – ideal for music, movies andgames – for different rooms throughout the home. Examplesinclude a one-piece speaker for bedside music listening, a 2.1speaker system for bedroom or study room for games or musiclistening, and a 3.1 speaker system for living room music,movies and game audio entertainment

Key Features of the ZiiSound Dx Series of Pure WirelessModular Speakers:

ZiiSound D5x (Flagship modular wireless speaker system)

• Works with all smart devices and mobile phones that arestereo Bluetooth compatible*

• Easily upgradable for more compelling audio - allowswireless linking to additional ZiiSound D5x wirelessspeaker modules and ZiiSound DSx wireless subwoofers

• High quality wireless audio with apt-X codec

• Precision volume control when used with the includedBT-D5 Bluetooth transmitter

• Efficient digital amplifiers and world class tuning deliverstriking accuracy and detail like no other

• Allows link to ZiiSound DSx wireless subwoofer for deepbass capability or more ZiiSound D5x speakers for stereoor surround applications

• Charges the iPhone or iPod while playing**

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• One-piece construction to minimise vibrations for thepurest audio experience

• Integrated AUX-In for other audio devices

*Bluetooth A2DP compliant devices**Via BT-D5 Bluetooth Transmitter

ZiiSound D3x

• Affordable one-piece wireless modular speaker systemmade for smaller rooms

• Works with all smart devices and mobile phones that arestereo Bluetooth compatible*

• Easily upgradable for more compelling audio - allowswireless linking to additional ZiiSound D3x wirelessspeaker modules and ZiiSound DSx wireless subwoofers

• High quality wireless audio with apt-X codec

• Efficient digital amplifiers and world class tuning deliverstriking accuracy and detail like no other

• Allows link to ZiiSound DSx wireless subwoofer for deepbass capability or more ZiiSound D3x speakers for stereoor surround applications

• One-piece construction to minimise vibrations for thepurest audio experience

• Integrated AUX-In for other audio devices

*Bluetooth A2DP compliant devices

ZiiSound DSx

• Modular wireless subwoofer that works with theZiiSound D5x and ZiiSound D3x

• Works with ZiiSound D5x or ZiiSound D3x forextended deep bass capability Incorporates Creative’sSymmetrically Loaded Acoustic Module (SLAM) for thatsignature deep, tight and fast bass

• Robust wireless technology allows limitless flexibility insubwoofer placement

Pricing and Availability

The ZiiSound D5x and the ZiiSound DSx will be availableat the online store at sg.store.creative.com from end June2011 onwards, and at The CREATIVE Stores at InternationalBusiness Park and Marina Square, and authorised dealersin Singapore from mid July 2011 onwards at the followingsuggested retail prices:

Creative ZiiSound D5x wireless modular speaker: S$399.00

Creative ZiiSound DSx wireless modular subwoofer: S$199.00

The ZiiSound D3x will be available at the online store atsg.store.creative.com from August 2011 onwards, and at theCREATIVE Stores at International Business Park and MarinaSquare, and authorised dealers in Singapore from end August2011 onwards at the following suggested retail price:

Creative ZiiSound D3x wireless modular speaker: S$199.00

Gigabyte G1. Assassin winsCOMPUTEX Taipei Design andInnovation AwardSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-g1.-assassin-wins-computex-

taipei-design-and-innovation-award/12072.html

May 5th, 2011

GIGABYTE today announced that the G1. Assassinmotherboard has received the ‘Design and Innovation’ awardfrom TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade and DevelopmentCouncil), the organizers of Computex 2011, in cooperationwith iF International Forum Design. The GIGABYTEG1.Assassin motherboard is the first ever motherboardproduct to be awarded the coveted ‘Design and Innovation’award, and was selected as the best example of uniquecomponent design, addressing the needs of elite gamers, agrowing niche within the PC gaming market.

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Taipei, Taiwan, May 4th 2011 – GIGABYTE INC., a leadingmanufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, todayannounced that the G1. Assassin motherboard has receivedthe ‘Design and Innovation’ award from TAITRA (TaiwanExternal Trade and Development Council), the organizers ofComputex 2011, in cooperation with iF International ForumDesign. The GIGABYTE G1.Assassin motherboard is the firstever motherboard product to be awarded the coveted ‘Designand Innovation’ award, and was selected as the best exampleof unique component design, addressing the needs of elitegamers, a growing niche within the PC gaming market.

“At GIGABYTE we are both excited and proud to acceptthis award as recognition from our peers in the industryfor the work we have done in developing the uniqueG1.Assassin motherboard,” commented Richard Chen, VP ofWorldwide Sales and Marketing at GIGABYTE. “This accoladeunderlines our commitment to offering elite gamers andsystem builders the absolute best PC gaming experiencepossible, delivering unique features you simply cannot find onany other motherboard product.”

Samsung introduces newSENS-240 navigational tabletin KoreaSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-introduces-new-sens-240-

navigational-tablet-in-korea/12069.html

May 5th, 2011

To date, we have got tablets on the market that are capable ofperforming all kinds of tasks, such as making calls, performinggeneral computing tasks, playing games and even serving assoftware equalizers for audio-related purposes. But to releasea tablet that is specially designed for navigational purposes?That is exactly what Samsung has done with its new SENS-240navigational tablet that has just been launched in Korea.

Everybody knows the drill: if you want the convenience ofbeing able to perform general purpose computing tasks whileon the move, you go for a device such as a smartphone or atablet. On the other hand, if you only want a device to performa very specific task, you get a specialized gadget that does itsdesignated task properly. However, leave it to Samsung to dowhat no other OEM has done: to release a tablet device that,instead of being the general purpose device it is intended to be,is designed to serve only one purpose: navigation. Such is thenature of Samsung's new SENS-240 navigational tablet, whichwas reportedly launched in Korea today.

According to a report published by Akihabara News, theSENS-240 is more of a hybrid tablet than a full-fledgednavigational device in that it is designed to be operatedalongside Samsung's Android-powered smartphones andtablets. Apparently, when paired together via Bluetooth, theSENS-240 is reportedly capable of serving as an externaldisplay for the paired smartphone or tablet, in addition to itstill fulfilling its primary role as a navigational tool.

In addition, Akihabara News also claims that the SENS-240is powered by a powerful 1.43GHz CPU (manufactured bySamsung, no less) that is capable of displaying 3D Maps as wellas handling playback of media files. Furthermore, the devicefeatures a seven-inch display which sports a native resolutionof 800×480, 256MB of RAM, a USB 2.0 Host and an SD Cardslot. Last but definitely not least, Samsung claims that theSENS-240 can be remotely controlled by its Android-poweredsmartphones and tablets, although we really should point outthat drivers would be better off keeping their hands on thesteering wheel and not on their digital toys when driving onthe roads.

Chrome Canary: now singingits way to Mac OS XSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/chrome-canary-now-singing-its-way-

to-mac-os-x/12068.html

May 5th, 2011

Remember Chrome Canary for Windows? You know, thathighly experimental and unstable browser which Google wasinviting Windows users to play around with, but only if theywere ready to deal with the frequent issues that are boundto occur while using it? Well, it seems that Google is keenon attracting more guinea....I mean, more adventurous, IT-savvy users to help test out its unstable browser builds, andhas even roped in OS X users to join the party. Yes, you arereading it correctly: Chrome Canary is now available for theMac platform.

May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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Ever since Chrome Canary for Windows was released,adventurous Mac users had to look on in jealousy whiletheir Windows-using counterparts were able to downloadand install pre-development builds of the Google Chromebrowser. And their frustration is understandable; unlike theopen-source development channel known as Chromium, usersof Chrome Canary had the luxury of having various extraspresent in the stable Chrome releases baked into their Canarybuilds, such as the built-in Flash plugin. In addition, Canaryalso has the distinction of being the only bleeding edge versionof Chrome that is officially recognized by Google, a status notgranted to the open-source Chromium development builds.

Fortunately, it seems that Mac users will no longer have to feelleft out when it comes to enjoying the latest, most bleeding-edge version of the Chrome browser Google has to offer, forGoogle has officially open up a Mac tree for its Canary browserbuilds. Indeed, a quick look at the documentation in Chrome'sEarly Access Release Channels indicate that OS X is now asupported platform.

That being said, the same restriction found in the Windowsversions of Canary apply to the OS X ports: this means thatCanary cannot be designated as a default browser, and forobvious reasons. After all, this build is designed to be used onlyby a very specific group of people that are keen on living on thebleeding edge of technology and do not mind having to dealwith various major or minor issues that may crop up duringthe course of usage. Also, one should remember that Appletakes issues with software that could potentially cause Macsto crash; surely you will not want to see Chrome banned fromfuture versions of the Mac OS X operating system, no?

14-inch 'Macbook Air' showsup in ChinaSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/14-inch-macbook-air-shows-up-in-

china/12067.html

May 5th, 2011

The Macbook Air may be one of the better looking notebooksavailable on the market today, but consumers who crave anApple-branded, ultrathin notebook that features a screen sizewhich is neither 11 inches or 13 inches are essentially out ofluck. However, it would seem that such consumers will have alittle more choice if they head down to China: in addition to the10-inch 'Macbook Air' that was unveiled last week, the countryis also getting another unofficial addition to its 'Macbook Air'family with the release of a 14-inch version of the ultrathinnotebook.

You really got to love China, especially in times like this. Everyso often, an established OEM will unveil new notebooks thatare aimed at eliciting the "Ooos" and "Ahhs" from design-conscious consumers, but the fever dies down the momentthey realize that the beautiful notebooks sitting in front ofthem does not come with the right specifications needed forthe job. Which, for the most part, seems to describe Apple'sMacbook Air notebooks perfectly, considering that they areonly available in screen sizes of 11 inches and 13 inches. Andthis is where China comes in to offer a solution for users whocrave the design of a Macbook Air but desire a machine witha larger display; by introducing its own version of a 14-inch'Macbook Air'.

Like most of the Chinese clones we have covered here onVR-Zone, the 14-inch Macbook Air knockoff utilizes an IntelAtom N455 processor clocked at 1.66GHz, so suffice to sayperformance is definitely not going to be the notebook's sellingpoint. However, what you do get is a machine which bears avery close resemblance to the real Macbook Air (save for thecolour scheme, of course), sports 1GB of DDR2 memory, aHDMI-out port, a built-in card reader, a 250GB mechanicalhard disk and a 3000mAh battery pack. What, you thought theChinese manufacturers would be nice enough to throw in anSSD for you? Sorry, but that is just not going to happen.

May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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That being said, it seems that the 14-inch 'Macbook Air'does come with a little extra toy thrown in by the vendor,and it comes in the form of a small remote control thatcan be used for various media-related tasks, such as volumeadjustment and shutting down the notebook. No informationabout pricing has been revealed but hey, this is China we aretalking about; just how expensive can it get?

The Clash of the Titans- Gigabyte G1.AssassinReviewedSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-clash-of-the-titans--gigabyte-

g1.assassin-reviewed/11945.html

May 5th, 2011

Targetted at gamers, the G1.Assassin Motherboard is anextremely popular product in the market. Today, theG1.Assassin Motherboard is put side by side with one of theircompetitors and we will find out just which of the two is better.Get ready for some cold-blooded action from the G1.Assassinas he shows us how it's done.

Introduction

The G1 Killer, as the name suggests, is Gigabyte's first seriesof motherboard aimed solely at professional gamers. The G1Killer comes in 3 flavours, namely the Assassin, Sniper andGuerrilla. +1 to Gigabyte for renaming the motherboards intosomething much cooler and easier to remember since genericnaming styles such as "GA-H67MA-UD2H-B3" are a pain tosay out.

Fighting through the late game, the G1.Assassin will be onetough guy to handle. With a large market tending towardsthe newer P67 platform, is there still space in the market forany new X58 motherboards? We all know that the X79 willbe arriving in the 4th Quarter this year. Would you go forthe newer and more efficient sandy bridge architecture or thecurrent high end nahalem architecture? If you already have anaffection towards the Sandy Bridge platform, the Assassin andother G1.Killer motherboards may change your mind.

May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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The G1.Assassin is one huge motherboard in terms of size.It has a XL-ATX form factor which may not fit into mostmid tower cases. So do make sure that your case fits themotherboard of size 345mm x 262mm before purchasing thisproduct.

Specifications

CPU Support Intel® Core™ i7 ProcessorsCPU Socket LGA1366QPI/FSB 4.8GT/s, 6.4GT/sChipset X58+ICH10RGraphics Interface 4*PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot (2x16,

2x8)Memory Type 4*PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot (2x16,

2x8) 3 Channel DDR32200/1600/1333MHz

Memory DIMM 4*PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot (2x16,2x8) 3 Channel DDR32200/1600/1333MHz6*DDR3 (Max 24 GB)

Expansion Slots 2*PCI-Ex1+ 1*PCIATA connector 2* SATA 6Gb/s+6* SATA

3Gb/s+ 1*Power eSATA(front bezel)

SATA RAID RAID 0,1,5,10, JBODUSB 3.0 8 (4 front, 4 rear)USB 2.0 8 (4 front, 4 rear)Audio Creative HW audio 20K2Front audio headphoneamplifierNichicon MUSE capacitorLAN Bigfoot Killer™ 2100HW OC botton Yes (front bezel)Features & Software 16 power phase, Dual

Power, 3 way SLI™, 4way CrossFire™ X, DriverMOSFET, X-Fi, EAX, Dolby,DTS, 3TB+ HDD,On/Offcharge, USB 3.0,USB 3xpower, Smart6, UD3,DES2

After looking at its specifications, you'll understand why it'sno ordinary motherboard. For the first time, a high endAudio chipset, the Creative 20K2 is used and built into the

motherboard itself. A total of 8 USB 3.0 ports are just overkillbut you wont find anyone complaining. Bigfoot Killer E2100Network Processing Unit sure explains to you why gamershave to get their hands on this state of the art equipment. Toread up more about the features, view pages 4 and 5.

Screens that can be crumpledSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/screens-that-can-be-

crumpled/12066.html

May 5th, 2011

E-ink technology is featured in Amazon's kindle and manyother reading devices. Its claim to fame is that contentdisplayed on such screens are highly readable in a wide array oflighting conditions, just like ordinary paper. The company hasmanaged to bring their technology one step closer to becomingtruly paper-like. Read On.

Up till now, E-ink's technology is mainly found only in readingdevices. But that is set to change, E-ink has come up with aproduct that can be crumpled like real paper. This new screenhas the same display qualities as the original E-ink technology.

Possible applications for this screen which can be crumpledincludes re-usable envelopes, clothing and even banners. Itsflexibility allows it to be used in much more applications thanbefore.

E-ink displays are said to use 60% less energy than traditionaldisplays. Apart from saving energy, being almost identicalto paper makes it more likely for consumers to consider e-ink as a viable alternative to paper products. Reducing ourdependency on wood derived products reduces our impact onthe environment.

Intel announces world'sfirst 3D Tri-Gate transistorstechnology for processorsSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-announces-world-s-first-3d-tri-

gate-transistors-technology-for-processors/12064.html

May 5th, 2011

When Intel said that they had a major, groundbreakingannouncement to make on Wednesday, we were betting onthe assumption that the chip giant had magically come upwith new processor designs that will eventually translateto better performance for enthusiasts. As it turns out, wewere not entirely wrong after all; Intel's 'groundbreakingannouncement' did in fact center around silicon transistortechnology. Apparently, the chip giant has managed to finda way to produce 3D transistors for its processors, and IvyBridge will be the first set of chips to make use of the new 3DTri-Gate transistors.

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Not too long ago, Intel promised to deliver a "most significanttechnology announcement of the year" during a press eventthat was to be held on Wednesday (yesterday). Needless tosay, this has gotten many speculating about what the "mostsignificant technology announcement" would be, althoughmany were betting on Intel releasing details about someunprecedented breakthrough in its development of Ivy Bridge.

As it turns out, they were not exactly wrong either. Indeed,Intel's announcement was indeed directly related to IvyBridge, although it was on a much lower level than what mostwould have expected it to be. Apparently, Intel has successfullymanaged to perfect its 3D transistor technology known as Tri-Gate for high-volume production, and this technology will beincorporated into Ivy Bridge, as well as future versions of theAtom processor.

According to Intel's press release, Tri-Gate "represent(s)a fundamental departure from the two-dimensional planartransistor structure" as most processors were fabricated with2D transistors prior to Intel's perfection of Tri-Gate. Byutilizing a 3D transistor design for its processors, Intel claimsthat the company is now in the position to extend Moore'sLaw for the forseeable future, as the laws of physics wouldhave made any development on the 22nm die shrink of SandyBridge impossible without a complete redesign due to physicallimitations.

In addition to allowing Intel to proceed with its developmenton the 22nm process, the chip giant is also claiming thatthe 3D Tri-Gate transistors will allow its chips to achieve"unprecedented power savings and performance gains". Thisis reportedly due to the transistors' design allowing foroperating at "lower voltage(s) with lower leakage". By Intel'sown estimations, Tri-Gate transistors provide up to 37% moreperformance than the conventional transistor designs used inits 32nm process, but consume less than half the power.

ASUS expected to launchTegra 3-powered tablets thisyearSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-expected-to-launch-tegra-3-

powered-tablets-this-year/12063.html

May 5th, 2011

NVIDIA's Tegra system-on-a-chips (SoCs) may have only juststarted to see the light of the day in consumer devices suchas smartphones and tablets, but it would appear that moreOEMs are now turning to the graphics semiconductor giant fortheir chip supply due to Tegra's impressive performance. Andapparently, ASUS is not about to stop at NVIDIA's Tegra 2 SoCfor its tablets; word has it that the Taiwanese OEM will be oneof the first few companies to make use of NVIDIA's upcomingTegra 3 SoC for its future offerings.

It is only recently that mobile communication devices suchas smartphone and tablets have started adopting the use ofNVIDIA's Tegra 2 SoC for their processing needs, but eventhen, it would appear that some OEMs may have alreadygotten a head start over their competitors where futureversions of the Tegra SoC may be concerned.

Apparently, word has it that ASUS is currently well on itsway in developing at least three more tablet PCs this year.According to a report posted by DIGITIMES, the TaiwaneseOEM has plans for a 10-inch Eee Pad Slider EP102 and seven-inch Eee Pad MeMo EP71 in the next three months, but it is thethird and unnamed tablet that has gotten our attention. Thisis because the report claims that the unnamed tablet will bemaking use of NVIDIA's Tegra 3 SoC, which has been toutedas the world's first SoC to posses a quad-core CPU.

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As most people probably know by now, the Tegra 3 SoC, whenreleased, will probably be the most powerful SoC to grace theinsides of a tablet or smartphone. However, the SoC is slatedonly for a 'Fall 2011' release, whereas ASUS is gearing up fora May-July launch for its tablets. If we take into considerationthat the Tegra 3-powered version will probably be released acouple of months later in order to give the EP102 and EP71some shelf time on the market, an August or September launchfor a Tegra 3 tablet puts it right in sync with NVIDIA's officialrelease date, which suggests that ASUS may have securedlaunch partner rights for Tegra 3's release.

No pricing about either tablet has been revealed, althoughDIGITIMES claims that the EP102 will be powered by anNvidia Tegra 2 processor, while the EP71 will use a QualcommCPU.

Rumour: HTC working onAndroid-powered smartphonefor the ladies?Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/rumour-htc-working-on-android-

powered-smartphone-for-the-ladies-/12061.html

May 5th, 2011

With almost every single smartphone out on the market todaybeing designed in such a way that would appeal more tothe ladies than the tough, macho-looking guys, talking about

a smartphone catered exclusively for the fairer sex may beone of odder developments to take place in the smartphonemarket And yet, here we are today with news about a supposedladies-centric smartphone, made by none other than HTC, andpowered by Google's Android operating system. Wonderful; sowhen will the guys be able to get their hands on a real men'ssmartphone?

With almost every single smartphone on the market todaysporting various design elements that are clearly intended toscore points with the female crowd, some might be underthe impression that the smartphone market is starting toexperience a shift in target audience. After all, most ladies'immediate priority when choosing a smartphone often hassomething to do with looking refined and sophisticated infront of their colleagues and peers. At least, that is untilthey start fiddling with their smartphones to find out how toperform the most basic of functions, since the instructionalmanual is always unceremoniously tossed out within the firstsix hours of the purchase.

Still, it would seem odd that any OEM will attempt to put itsrevenues on the line by designing a smartphone that is meantto be used only the ladies, if only because the smartphonemarket is still fairly gender neutral at this point. However,HTC looks set to tip that status quo soon: rumour has itthat the Taiwanese smartphone OEM is designing a specialsmartphone for Verizon that is almost designed entirelyaround a lady's needs and desires. And the name of thissmartphone? The HTC Bliss.

According to a report published by a website known as This IsMy Next..., ?HTC has been holding focus groups with womenbetween the ages of 20 and 30 in order to find out more aboutwhat makes a smartphone tick for the ladies. As a result, itshould be of no surprise that the HTC Bliss features variousdesign elements that are designed solely for their comfort,among many other things. This Is My Next...? claims that theBliss's design could essentially be described as the result "ifthe Desire S and the Desire Z were to mate"; with the Blissbeing about half a centimeter thinner than the Desire Z, butwithout the dedicated keyboard. In addition, the back of the

May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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Bliss's body will have a rubber pad built into it to allow for easygripping.

On the software side, This Is My Next... ?is claiming that theBliss will come preloaded with various software vital for aladies physical and mental well-being. And by that, we meanthat the Bliss will be preloaded with apps that reportedlycompare shopping prices among different malls, along withthe all-important calorie counter. Which is perfectly fine: weall know that the fine ladies are devout supporters of retailtherapy and fine figures. Furthermore, HTC is reportedlybundling in a different set of 'calming' wallpapers into theBliss, whatever that means.

Lastly, word has it that the HTC Bliss will also have its ownset of ladies-centric accessories up for grabs. First up the listis apparently an intelligent wireless charging dock with built-in speakers that automatically switches the Bliss into alarmmode when docked, with the second accessory being a "square-shaped" in-car speaker system that supports voice recognition.However, the last accessory is by far the most interestingone, and it comes in the form of a cube-shaped strap-onaccessory that automatically glows when calls or messages arereceived by the Bliss. In many ways, this little 'companioncube' resembles some of the 'radiowave stickers' that startflashing in a variety of colours when it detects the presence ofradio waves transmitted by cell phones.

As we have mentioned before, news about the HTC Bliss'sexistance is still a rumour at this point of time, and it is verypossible that this information about the Bliss could end upas nothing more than an elaborate hoax. But until the officialconfirmation (or denial) comes, one cannot help but wonder ifthe HTC Bliss will spawn with it a new wave of smartphonesspecially tailored for the sophisticated uptown lady. As forus...well...we will hang on to the hope that macho-lookingsmartphones for the guys will start appearing on the marketsoon.

The Daily VR-Zone NewsSummary - 4 May 2011Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-daily-vr-zone-news-summary--4-

may-2011/12055.html

May 5th, 2011

In today's news roundup: A budget gaming PC built to a costof US$599 gets built and tested to see if it has the juice neededto perform as one; ASUS's mATX motherboard, the P8H67-MEvo, which is said to offer an attractive price-to-performanceratio, gets reviewed; A recently-discovered patent dating backto 2009 has ignited suspicions that Steve Jobs may be lyingabout Apple's policy with regards to collecting location datafrom iPhone users; Xobni for Outlook, an inbox plugin offeringsocial intelligence and relationship management inside emailmessages, is opening an app store to users and developers;Steam is currently having an 'EA Week' promotion whereselected EA titles will be put up for grabs at heavily discountedprices for each day of the week, and Rumour has it that theWii's successor will be using yet another proprietary opticaldisc format capable of storing up to 25GB of data, utilize SDcards as its main media for data storage due to the consolelacking a built-in HDD, and feature a resolution cap of up to1080i.

Hardware news

$599 Gaming PC Built and TestedDescription: When NVIDIA launched the GTX 550 Ti, it wasinteresting to see in their slides that they made mention ofhow it was the perfect model to build a $599 US gaming PC.As someone who has more power than I need in video andjust about every other component of my system, I really foundmyself wondering, could we build a $599 US PC?

Xigmatek Pantheon Case Review on Technic3D (German)Description: (Machine translation) The Xigmatek Pantheon isthe next PC-Case in the Technic3D Editorship. The PantheonTower supports ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards and haveplace for eight Cooling-Fans and a Watercooling Kit. We willcheck this and many more in the following Review.

Patriot 32GB Supersonic USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @MadshrimpsDescription: The latest high performance Supersonic USB3.0 Flash Drive from Patriot Memory features Quad ChannelTechnology and has exceeded our expectations in terms ofwrite speeds, managing to beat all other previously tested USB3.0 similar products.

ASUS P8H67-M Evo Review @ ocaholicDescription: With the P8H67-M EVO ASUS has an mATXmotherboard in its portfolio which tries to win customershearts with an attractive price performance ratio. Wether thisboard is able to convince or not that's what we will show onthe following pages.

Xigmatek Elysium Super Tower Review @ TweaknewsDescription: So, you're unsatisfied with your current full-tower case? Not enough room? Too plain? Well, Xigmatekmay have the answer. Their new Elysium is one of the largestchassis' on the market and will even support the huge SR-2(HPTX) platform. With room for two power supplies anda whopping ten expansion bays, the hardware choices arevirtually limitless and the front drive bays will support eight

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hard drives and up to five ODDs at the same time withoutmodification.

Antec One Hundred Computer Case @ Benchmark ReviewsDescription: The Antec One Hundred computer case is toutedas "the gaming case that delivers high-end features at a pricethat won't break the bank." Many gamers (and non-gamers)will purchase cases with sexy exteriors, only to find that thefunctionality and performance of the case are significantlyhindered. For experienced users, a gaming case brings certainexpectations, such as the need for good cooling, ease of use forinstall and re-installation of components, proper placementof USB ports and audio jacks, as well as several other factors.Benchmark Reviews will take the Antec One Hundred for aspin and you can decide if it meets your criteria for a goodeconomy gaming case.

AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Processor Review @HiTech LegionDescription: With the new Phenom II X4 980 Black EditionCPU, AMD has upped the speed for their existing AM2+/AM3platform. The Phenom II X4 980BE clocks in with a stockspeed of 3.7Ghz, making it the fastest out of the box clockspeed AMD currently offers. With an unlocked multiplier, thePhenom II X4 980BE also invites you to explore overclockingand see just how much more speed you can get. The PhenomII 980BE also sports a full 2MB L2 cache and 6MB L3 cache.In the AM3 platform, the onboard memory controller is ableto take full advantage of DDR3 memory up to PC3 10600.

HIS Radeon 6870 IceQX Review - XSReviewsDescription: Just to keep things fresh and prevent you all fromgetting bored with all the headset reviews we’ve been puttingout recently, here’s something a bit more internal,a GPU fromHIS. This is the IceQX variant of their HD 6870 Graphics cardfrom AMD.

Consumer Electronics and Software news

Apple patent application indicates Jobs may have liedDescription: The ongoing kerfuffle over Apple devicesallegedly tracking their users' locations has taken yet anotherturn. It all started on April 20th, when tech bloggers AlasdairAllan and Pete Warden reported their discovery that iPhonesand 3G iPads running iOS4 were supposedly maintaininga stealth file of locations that the devices had traveled to– with their users. Apple responded on April 27th, statingthat the devices were simply anonymously contributing to adatabase of local Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers, that helped totriangulate the phones' location faster than GPS alone. Now,however, a just-discovered patent application filed by Apple in2009 has some people doubting that claim.

Xobni Opens App Store for OutlookDescription: Xobni for Outlook, an inbox plugin offeringsocial intelligence and relationship management inside emailmessages, is opening an app store to users and developersTuesday. The Xobni Gadget Store allows users to pickand choose from nearly 20 free and paid applicationsto add to their Outlook experience. At launch, the storeincludes gadgets from notable productivity, CRM, social mediaand collaborative-focused companies including Dropbox,Evernote, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Salesforce CRM,Chatter and Yammer.

Logitech Ultimate Ears 100 Noise Isolating Earphones ReviewDescription: Logitech are super veterans of the PC industryand have basically covered every type of audio product andPC peripheral known to man. And it's initially here that wemust plead ignorance to the success Logitech have been havingall over the world with their Ultimate Ears product range.Because put simply, we had never heard of Ultimate Ears untilthe '100' series were delivered to us.

16GB Zune HD drops to $169, edging closer to EOL?Description: With Windows Phone 7 offering full Zunefunctionality and then some, the new mobile OS has clearlycreated a surplus of lower-capacity Zune HD devices, causingMicrosoft to respond with a rather significant price drop.Typically, a discount would indicate an imminent refresh, butwe doubt that's the case here. The 16GB Zune HD has shavedoff $30, to $169.99, and you can now grab the 32GB versionfor $199.99 -- the same price you would have paid for the 16gig before the drop, and nearly $100 less than the $299 you'llspend on a 32GB iPod touch. The 64GB model is holding fastat $349.99, but with a $70 plunge on the mid-capacity model,you might have just enough cash left over for that tattoo you'vealways dreamed of.

iPhone 5 will miss June and July, says AT&T representativeDescription: The next iPhone will indeed miss the standardJune-July release schedule, an AT&T customer representativeclaims. The statement was made after one customer noticedthat his eligibility for a subsidized upgrade had been delayedby over five months, and contacted AT&T for an explanation."Apple has informed us that they do not plan to release theiPhone in the June to July timeframe, though there will bea newer version in the future," part of the representative'sresponse reads.

Gaming news

Pilotwings Resort Nintendo 3DS ReviewDescription: Pilotwings as a series is an interesting one. Firstlaunched on the Super Nintendo system, the game is eitherderided or loved by each gamer with a Nintendo console. Thefact is that the older games were hard, incredibly hard in fact;so difficult that you could get stuck for hours on end withnothing to do just trying to beat one challenge. However, formany gamers that is what made the game so appealing andwhen we heard that it was coming to 3DS with 3D graphicswe were excited. However, we also had a worry that giventhe casual market that Nintendo now targets, it would betoned down and unfortunately this is only the beginning of itsproblems.

It is a EA Week On SteamDescription: It is a EA week on Steam as a variety of selectedgames from the publisher will be going on crazy sale. Today isa Need for Speed sale, you can get Need for Speed: Undercoverfor just $2.50! If you want to lay out a bit more (but stillnot very much), Need for: Speed Shift and Hot Pursuit areavailable for $6.80 and $14.99, respectively. (prices are all inUSD)

Wii Successor Lacks a Hard Drive, Includes 8GB InternalStorage - ReportDescription: Nintendo will officially detail its successor to theWii in just over a month's time at E3. In the meantime we have

May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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to continue parsing through rumors about every aspect of thesystem. The latest such report from Kotaku suggests Nintendowill again eschew hard drives with its new console and insteadoffer 8GB of internal, flash-based storage.

MSI's Z68MA-ED55 poked andprodded on Chinese siteSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-s-z68ma-ed55-poked-and-

prodded-on-chinese-site/12060.html

May 5th, 2011

We almost missed this one, but it turns out that MSI'supcoming mATX Z68MA-ED55 has made a well-documentedappearance on a Chinese website with no less than four pagesworth of pictures of it. This is also one of the first mATX Z68boards we've seen, in fact; it's the only other board apart fromASRock's Z68 Pro3-M.

We almost missed this one, but it turns out that MSI'supcoming mATX Z68MA-ED55 has made a well-documentedappearance on a Chinese website with no less than four pagesworth of pictures of it. This is also one of the first mATX Z68boards we've seen, in fact; it's the only other board apart fromASRock's Z68 Pro3-M.

MSI's Z68MA-ED55 appears to be a higher-end mATX boardcompared to ASRock's Z68 Pro3-M, least not based on the factthe MSI's board has a pair of x16 slots. That said; you'd needa case with at least five expansion slots if you'd want to takeadvantage of both slots while using dual-slot graphics cards.The board also has two PCI Express x1 slots, but as this is amATX this is where the expansion slots end.

The Z68MA-ED55 has been designed with overclockers inmind and MSI has added features like it's OC Genie andreadout points for various board Voltages, a feature usuallyonly seen on higher-end ATX boards from MSI. As things area little bit cramped on a mATX board we have to make dowith the standard four SATA 3Gbps and two SATA 6Gbps portsthat the chipset provides. Other on-board features include fourUSB 2.0 headers for a total of eight ports, a FireWire header

and MSI has even managed to squeeze in a reset and a powerbutton.

Around the back we have a PS/2 port, four USB 2.0 ports,a FireWire port, two USB 3.0 ports, 7.1-channel audiowith optical S/PDIF out, a Gigabit Ethernet port and mostimportantly to some, as this is a Z68 board, a D-sub, DVI andHDMI port. For such a tiny board we're quite impressed bythe fact that MSI has somehow managed to squeeze in whatappears to be a 10-phase PWM design and this board is alsousing tantalum capacitors all around the CPU socket.

We have a feeling that the Z68MA-ED55 is going to be anexpensive mATX board, but it's packed to the brim withfeatures, although we would've liked to have seen a pin headerfor a pair for front USB 3.0 ports as well, but beggars can't bechoosers as they say. The board has already been listed on aEuropean price comparison engine, but sadly no-one seems tobe supplying any kind of pricing as of yet.

First picture of Asus' M5A99XEVO motherboardSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-picture-of-asus-m5a99x-evo-

motherboard/12059.html

May 5th, 2011

As far as leaks goes, AMD has managed to keep thingssecret about its upcoming AM3+ platform pretty quiet, butwe're finally starting to see a few leaks here and therefrom its partners ahead of Computex. The first picture ofAsus' upcoming M5A99X EVO board has just made anappearance and it looks like we're in for a treat if this is whata mid-range AM3+ board looks like.

As far as leaks goes, AMD has managed to keep thingssecret about its upcoming AM3+ platform pretty quiet, butwe're finally starting to see a few leaks here and there fromits partners ahead of Computex. The first picture of Asus'upcoming M5A99X EVO board has just made an appearanceand it looks like we're in for a treat if this is what a mid-rangeAM3+ board looks like.

In all fairness, the picture is from and odd angle and we can'treally see what I/O ports the board has which is a bit of a

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shame. Even so, we can make out a lot of the details of theboard and form a good opinion about what's on offer. Dueto the slightly odd placement of the 990X chipset the firstexpansion slot is missing which isn't exactly a fantastic start,but at least it only gets better from here.

The slots consists of three x16 slots, with the primary andsecondary slots sharing bandwidth in a dual x8 mode whenboth are in use due to chipset limitations and the third slotmost likely being a x4 slot. There are also two x1 PCI Expressslots and a single PCI slot. AMD's chipsets still support PCI, sothere's no need for a bridge chip that takes up a PCI Expresslane on AM3+ boards.

Interestingly Asus has gone with the new, more compact CPUcooler retention mechanism ASRock was showing off back atCeBIT. As with all motherboards with AMD's SB950 we'relooking at six native SATA 6Gbps ports, although Asus hasadded another two ports via a third party controller whichlooks like it's from ASMedia, but it could very well be a Marvellchip, as the angle of the picture doesn't reveal the text on thechip.

Other on-board features include a front USB 3.0 headercourtesy of an ASMedia host controller, three headers for anadditional six USB 2.0 ports, a header for a FireWire port froma PCI based VIA FireWire controller and a serial port header.It's also clear that the board has an audio and Gigabit Ethernetcontroller from Realtek, although as to what exact models, wedon't know.

As for the rear ports it's pretty safe to say that we're looking at7.1-channel audio, at least a pair of USB 3.0 ports, a FireWireport, a selection of USB 2.0 ports, maybe a PS/2 port, anEthernet port, a CMOS reset button, most likely some form ofS/PDIF outputs and maybe an eSATA port as well. Of course,most of these are standard features today, but some of themare at least given judging by the chips on the board.

The 8-phase PWM design seems to take up a fair bit of spaceon the board thanks to its straight layout and this also appearsto be one of the reasons that the chipset is located so far downon the board. We're not sold on the heatsink designs either, butmore specifically the MOSFET heatsink appears to be takingup a lot of space and might block larger CPU coolers. Otherwisethe board has pretty much all of the standard Asus featuresyou'd expect, such as EPU, TPU and MemOK. We'll have towait a bit longer for pricing and the full details of the board, but

there's a good possibility that this board will hit retail beforethe new AM3+ CPUs are available.

Asus kicks off DigitonMotherboard City competitionSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-kicks-off-digiton-motherboard-

city-competition/12058.html

May 5th, 2011

If you think you have what it takes to figure out how to buildyour own virtual city based on Asus motherboard technology,then make sure you swing by Asus' Digiton Motherboard Citygame for a chance to win one of 20 Sandy Bridge motherboardsover the next two months. If you think it's going to a breezeto enter this competition, than think again, as it's a lot morechallenging than it sounds.

If you think you have what it takes to figure out how to buildyour own virtual city based on Asus motherboard technology,then make sure you swing by Asus' Digiton Motherboard Citygame for a chance to win one of 20 Sandy Bridge motherboardsover the next two months. If you think it's going to a breezeto enter this competition, than think again, as it's a lot morechallenging than it sounds.

Let's start with the prizes. From now until the second of Juneyou have the chance to win one of two P8Z68-V Pro boards,one of three P8P67 Pro boards or one of five P8P67 LE boards.The from the third of June until the first of July you can winone of two P8Z68 Deluxe boards, one of three P8P67 Proboards or one of five P8P67 LE boards. However, to be eligibleto enter the prize draw you need to score an overall score of36,000 points in the Digiton Motherboard City game.

From first onset the game looks like a simple affair, there areeight different Asus motherboard technologies represented atthe bottom of the screen and clicking them will make little stickfigures appear that start doing various things, mostly involvingconstructing buildings. However, as simple as this may sound,you need to combine the various motherboard technologiesthe right way to hit the high score which is required to enter

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the competition. The screen shot below shows what the finalcity should look like.

The different technologies also interacts with each other as youbuild them, so to be able to hit a score of 36,000 you need tomake sure all of the upgrades are done in the right order, oryou'll end up with some that aren't upgraded enough for thehigh score to be reached. It might not be a game of skill as such,but you'd be surprised by the un-logical logic behind the gameand taking into consideration that we've tried pretty hard tobeat the game already, but failed miserable, we can only wishyou the best of luck.

Apple's new iMac's usesIntel's Z68 chipsetSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-s-new-imac-s-uses-intel-s-z68-

chipset/12057.html

May 5th, 2011

You got to love iFixit, it's barely a day since Apple announcedits Sandy Bridge based iMac's and we already have a fullteardown of the 21.5-inch iMac. Although much of the bitsinside didn't hold any real surprises, we almost choked onour dinner when we read “Intel BD82Z68 Platform ControllerHub”. Yes, the new iMac's sports Intel's yet to launch Z68chipset, something we really didn't expect to find in an iMac.

You got to love iFixit, it's barely a day since Apple announcedits Sandy Bridge based iMac's and we already have a fullteardown of the 21.5-inch iMac. Although much of the bitsinside didn't hold any real surprises, we almost choked onour dinner when we read “Intel BD82Z68 Platform ControllerHub”. Yes, the new iMac's sports Intel's yet to launch Z68chipset, something we really didn't expect to find in an iMac.

Of course, specs like chipset and CPU models used is one ofthose things that Apple doesn't share with the general public,but unless iFixit messed up and wrote down the wrong chipsetmodel, this is interesting in more than one way. For starters,Apple could add support for SSD caching via a future softwareupdate and there are iMac models on sale with both an SSDand a hard drive, although in this case we're talking a huge

256GB SSD, not a tiny 20GB like Intel's upcoming LarsenCreek SSD.

Beyond SSD caching we might also be seeing support forswitchable graphics, although so far Apple hasn't hinted atany kind of support for Intel's Quick Sync technology, but it'spossible that this is also one of the reasons why Apple wentwith the Z68 chipset. From a cost perspective, the Z68 chipsetisn't much more expensive than the H67 or P67, but unlessApple is considering taking advantage of the SSD cachingfunctionality, the company could just as well have gone withthe H67 chipset.

Also seen in the pictures is Intel's Thunderbolt chip and this isa rather large chip, about the size of a CR2032 battery. We'recurious though; does the 27-inch iMac feature two of thesechips, or only one that's shared between the two ports? It'salso surprising to see that Apple is using WD Caviar Blue harddrives in the iMac, as these are budget hard drives and we'd atleast expect the Caviar Green considering the cost of an iMac.Oh and if you were thinking of doing some DIY upgrading ofyour iMac, forget about it unless you don't mind voiding yourwarranty, as you have to pop the display panel off to get to thebits inside.

Sandy Bridge-EP CPU hitsEbay, can be yoursSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sandy-bridge-ep-cpu-hits-ebay-can-be-

yours/12056.html

May 5th, 2011

We're still at least four to five months from Intel's launch ofthe Sandy Bridg-EP Xeon series of processors, but if you haveenough cash to spare, you can own one today. The CPU waslisted on Ebay earlier today and judging by the pictures anddetails posted by the seller; this is the real genuine deal.

We're still at least four to five months from Intel's launch ofthe Sandy Bridge-EP Xeon series of processors, but if you haveenough cash to spare, you can own one today. The CPU waslisted on Ebay earlier today and judging by the pictures anddetails posted by the seller; this is the real genuine deal.

May 5th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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The CPU is of course an Engineering Sample or ES CPU asthey're also known as and it's not intended for general usage.That said, what we appear to be looking at here is a XeonE5-4600 or E5-2600 series CPU. Why? Well, simply becauseit's an LGA-2011 part and these CPUs will end up in one or theother Xeon family depending on how many sockets the CPUsupports (4600 series for quad socket, 2600 series for dualsocket). The seller on the other hand seems to think he's got aCore i7 Extreme Edition CPU for the X79 chipset, but this isn'tlikely to be case here.

The CPU is labelled Q19D ES 1.60GHz which is again speakingvolumes for this being a Xeon CPU rather than a high-endconsumer desktop part. The information provided by the sellerclaims that this is an 8 core 16 thread part and the sameseller has offered a similar model, Q19J which is also a 1.6GHzpart, but presumably with 6 cores and 12 threads. The Q19Jpart is said to have 15MB L3 cache which sounds about right,although we're not sure if these CPUs are for dual or quadsocket systems.

The 8 core CPU is listed for US$1,359.99 (S$1,675) while oddlyenough the 6 core CPU was listed for US$1,699.99 (S$2,093),a steep price indeed for both of them. Either CPU will of coursealso need a motherboard based on the C600 series chipset(also known as Patsburg) to work properly, something thatwe're not likely to see until Computex at the end of this month.

AMD FX-Series / A-SeriesVantage Benchmarks LeakedSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-fx-series-a-series-vantage-

benchmarks-leaked/12054.html

May 5th, 2011

DonanimHaber has leaked a series of information regardingAMD's upcoming FX (Bulldozer) and A (Llano) processors.AMD's next-gen line-up is almost identical to the leaksin March, both for FX-Series and A-Series. Performancebenchmarks aren't a novelty either - with previous leakspegging FX 8 Core CPUs as 50% faster than current genPhenom II X6 1100T.

The new benchmarks are PCMark Vantage and 3DMarkVantage. In PCMark Vantage, the FX 8-Core CPU matchesimproves by ~30% over the Phenom II X6 1100T and matchesthe Core i7 2600K. We have in the past seen the PCMarkVantage to be less multi-threaded oriented, with the i7 2600Kregularly edging out Gulftown 6-core CPUs. The same affectsthe A-Series quad core APUs which simply can't keep up withIntel's dual core i3-2100 CPU.

As expected, the Llano APUs are very strong in 3D MarkVantage, offering performance several times that of Core i32100, and even the i7 2600K. The entry level A4 APU is able todouble the performance of the HD 2000 graphics integratedin i3 2100.

Unusually, AMD have decided to add HD 6670s to the PhenomII X6 and FX 8-core configs, but not the competing i7 2600Kplatform, so the 3D Mark Vantage benchmarks proves to bea little meaningless for Bulldozer. Of course, consumers willhope that this means the FX 8100 will be priced lower thanCore i7 2600K.

In regards to the previous leaks showing ~50% improvementover the 1100T, so why is the FX 8 core CPU not appearingas strong in these latest benchmarks? It is simply because PCMark Vantage has never been known to be a heavily threadedbenchmarks. We can expect the FX 8100 to offer incredibleperformance in multi-threaded applications, while it maylag behind the Core i7 2600 in less threaded applications.Unfortunately for AMD, a great many applications still don'tfully utilize 8 threads. The same goes for the Fusion APUs -GPGPU acceleration hasn't caught up as much as AMD wouldhave hoped, for daily applications.

FX-Series and A-Series are both set to release in the June-Julytimeframe, with official announcements in June.

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Microsoft rolls out "7392"update for Windows Phone 7Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-rolls-out-7392-update-for-

windows-phone-7/12053.html

May 5th, 2011

Microsoft may have been in the spotlight for the wrong reasonsrecently with regards to the rate software updates were beingdelivered for its Windows Phone 7 platform, but it wouldappear that the Redmond giant is doing its best to put all ofthat behind it as soon as possible. And what better way to doso than to release yet another software update that fixes a fewsecurity flaws, as well as delivering a little bonus at the sametime?

Here is a tip from us: if you have a smartphone that utilizesMicrosoft's Windows Phone 7 operating system, today willbe a good day to dive into the Settings menu in the OS andfire up a search for any downloadable updates that may beavailable for the device. Apparently, word has it that theRedmond giant has already started rolling out a new WindowsPhone 7 update for consumers. However, unlike the previous"No Do" updates which were centred around adding newfunctionality to the OS's limited feature set, the new update,which is currently known as "7392", is aimed at patching aknown security vulnerability with certain " fraudulent third-party digital certificates".

Interestingly, it would seem that Microsoft is also using the"7392" update as a means of delivering the previous "NoDo" updates that were reportedly never delivered to manyconsumers over various "carrier testing" issues. Indeed, the"7392" update's description does mention that applying thepatch will also result in the device gaining access to variousother features that may have been missed in previous updates.This has also been backed up by Microsoft, which claimsthat all Windows Phone 7 updates are cumulative by nature,and that the update packages will usually come bundled withprevious updates as well.

That being said, it would appear that not all Windows Phone7-powered handsets will be getting some "7392" love fromMicrosoft, for MobileTechWorld is claiming that the update isonly available for download on HTC, LG and Samsung Focussmartphones, at least for the time being. Well, you cannotexpect Microsoft to please everyone, no?

Kinneir Dufort shows offconcept smartphone withupgradeable hardwareSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/kinneir-dufort-shows-off-concept-

smartphone-with-upgradeable-hardware/12050.html

May 5th, 2011

The idea of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix/change it' may soundgreat for users who do not take very kindly to the idea ofjunking away working electronic devices just because they areobsolete by today's standards, especially when one takes intoconsideration the amount of electronic waste produced today.And with smartphones being discarded like trash as soon as anew model is released, it is only prudent that someone wouldeventually step in to do something about it. Which is exactly

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what a design company has done with its concept designfor a smartphone that features...wait for it...user-upgradeablehardware. Yep, you read that right.

We all love smartphones for their extensive capabilitiesand extremely mobile physical packages, but for most DIYenthusiasts, they can also be a source of endless frustration.After all, most users often find themselves trashing theirworking smartphones in favor of new models as soon as theyare released. Needless to say this results in unnecessarywastage, especially when of some of the newer smartphonesout there are usually nothing more than juiced up versions oftheir predecessors.

Fortunately, it seems that a design firm has taken notice of thecurrent state of affairs and has moved to introduce its solutionto the problem. Unlike most smartphones that are limited toonly firmware updates, Kinneir Dufort looks set to buck thattrend with its new concept smartphone, the Revive, whichallows for easy upgrading of the smartphone's hardware. Youknow, just like what we always do on our PCs.

And by hardware upgrades, we are not referring to the actof swapping out the smartphone's battery pack or microSDcard and slotting in a new one. Instead, Kinneir Dufort hasconfirmed that almost every aspect of the Revive's hardware,such as the processor and even the internal memory, are fairgame for upgrades, and the video below tells it all. Well, maybeexcept for the display; apparently, that is the one componentwhich does not get the same treatment.

Unprintable Content (Video, Flash, etc.)

As stated, the Revive is still in the concept stage ofdevelopment, so whether this device will ever see the lightof day out of Kinneir Dufort's offices remains a mystery.That being said, if the Revive does ever become a reality,we can foresee lines of DIY enthusiasts queueing up for it.After all, nothing beats being able to have your own uniqueand futureproof smartphone customized right down to thehardware level, no?

NEC introduces new M seriesshort throw projectorsSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nec-introduces-new-m-series-short-

throw-projectors/12051.html

May 5th, 2011

NEC Asia Pacific has introduced two new additions to theM series of short throw projectors, namely M300XS andM300WS. Both projectors offer 3000 lumens brightness andclaim to deliver crisp images to screens and whiteboards.

Singapore, May 5, 2011 – NEC Asia Pacific has announcedits M series digital short throw projectors with the 3000-lumen M300XS and M300WS. Accommodating standard andwidescreen needs, the M series projectors deliver strongimages to screens and whiteboards (includinginteractive)from less than 1.1 metres away.

Ideal for standard-sized classrooms and corporate conferencerooms with limited AV space, the M300XS and M300WSshort throw models are portable projectors that offer uniquefeatures like a virtually maintenance-free filter and 0.47:1throw ratio for easier installation on a wall above the screen orwhiteboard. Replacing the NP610S and NP510WS projectors,the eco features in the M Short Throw Series include ECOmode technology for extended lamp life, quick start (3 to4 seconds), autopower on via the RGB input connector anddirect power-off with no coolingrequired after shutdown.

The M300XS and M300WS include the following features:

- Short throw distance of 0.55 to 1.1 metres- 3,000 lumens in XGA and WXGA native resolutions,respectively

- Lamp life up to 5,000 hours

- HDMI, dual computer, S video, video and USB inputs

- USB Viewer allows users to present without the use of acomputer by displaying images stored as .jpg from an optionalUSB memory

- Virtual Remote Tools (DDC/CI) allows users to controlthe projector directly from a computer without the need foradditional control cables

- Variable audio-out to connect the projector to an externalspeaker and control the volume with the projector’s remotecontrol

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- Wireless transmission of an image to the projector withoutthe need for external components is achieved using ImageExpress Lite

- 10-watt speaker

- Windows Vista and Windows 7 compatibility

- ECO mode allows for multiple settings dependent uponthe brightness required in the application and power savingsdesired by the user

- Carbon savings meter calculates the positive effects ofoperating the projector in ECO Mode, which is encouraged byan optional message at startup

Pricing

M300XSProjector - S$1,999M300WSProjector - S$1,999

RIM collaborates withMicrosoft to bring Bing onBlackBerry devicesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/rim-collaborates-with-microsoft-to-

bring-bing-on-blackberry-devices/12047.html

May 5th, 2011

Don't be surprised if your newly purchased BlackBerry devicesare loaded with Microsoft Bing as the default search engine.Well, that is only because Research in Motion and Microsofthave recently announced the collaboration to bring the searchengine to the BlackBerry platform.

Research in Motion had a special guest speaker at theBlackBerry World, and it was Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.Ballmer was there to announce the partnership with RIM andto have Bing as the default search engine on BlackBerry mobiledevices. No doubt, this would surely benefit Microsoft, thoughit is not known what RIM is going to get out of this.

Microsoft has been aggressively promoting their Bing searchengine on various platforms such as Yahoo!, games like AngryBirds and also bringing Bing Streetside to other parts of theworld. It was speculated that Apple may use Bing as the defaultfor iPhone, but that didn't happen.

With BlackBerry devices being rolled out with Bing as defaultsearch engine, and Nokia coming up with their WindowsPhone 7 smartphones (naturally with the Microsoft's search

engine), it looks like the software giant may gain a larger shareof the mobile search pie in the near future.

Osama lives! Well...in the formof online malware...Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/osama-lives-well...in-the-form-of-

online-malware.../12048.html

May 5th, 2011

Even in death, the name of one of the world's most infamousterrorist still continues to haunt the world. This time, itappears that Osama bin Laden is back to wreck havoc on thelives of millions of people worldwide...by attempting to trickless tech-savvy Internet users into visiting websites designedto exploit security flaws in various online technologies, oreven downloading malware packages disguised as 'must-have'information about the terrorist. And just when you thoughtyou have seen the last of Osama bin Laden, too...

So you rejoiced upon hearing the breaking news broadcastthat the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden,had finally met his maker after a joint US-Pakistani strikeforce laid waste to the compound he was taking refuge at.However, it may seem that the celebrations may have takenplace a little soon, for Osama's shadow has remained behind tohaunt millions of users from all over the world...in the form ofmalware that is rapidly being disseminated through the depthsof cyberspace.

According to various security analysts, Osama's death hasbecome a hot topic in online searches, a fact which has ledmany malware authors to take advantage of the resultingpublic curiosity in various ways. To date, at least threeknown methods of 'tricking' users into downloading malwaredisguised as media content of Osama's dead body havesurfaced. The first method is by far the oldest but most popularmethod, and it involves sending malware packages throughemail for unsuspecting users to download and infect their PCswith. The second method is a little more social in nature, asit takes advantage of people's need to social network onlineby putting up links of malware-infested sites on the popularonline social networking tool known as Facebook and 'inviting'readers to visit the links.

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The third known method in the wild is a little moresophisticated but subtle; it involves compromising reputablemedia sources and putting links to various exploit kits toredirect unsuspecting users into getting themselves infected.This method is by far the most insidious of the three, as mostpeople wil not be expecting a malware infection from visitingan established source of information online.

And lest you start thinking along the lines of 'oh-i-don't-use-Windows-so-I'm-safe', we should probably point out that well-known anti-malware software vendor Kaspersky has revealedthat some of the 'Osama malware' used to infect PCs have beenspecifically crafted for the OS X operating system. Of course,the quality of the scare tactics used by the Mac-centric malwareleave a lot to be desired, but it does not change the fact thatmalware authors have started taking note of OS X as a viableplatform to carry out attacks on. Either way, the golden ruleregarding online content applies, regardless of a user's choiceof operating system: if in doubt, junk it.

JPR: Graphics shipments up,NVIDIA market share down inQ1 '11Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/jpr-graphics-shipments-up-nvidia-

market-share-down-in-q1-11/12049.html

May 5th, 2011

Despite a 5% decline in overall PC shipments in Q1 2011, theGPU industry saw a healthy 10.3% boost in Q1 2011. Intelgained more ground, aided by Sandy Bridge, with a marketshare of 54.4%. AMD came in second at 24.8% while NVIDIAsaw a sharp drop in market share to 20.0%. In addition,while AMD and Intel posted 14.2% and 13.3% growth overQ4 2010, NVIDIA saw a decline of 1.7%. Of course, AMDand Intel have started shipping Fusion / EPG products withintegrated graphics while NVIDIA's main stronghold is stilldiscrete graphics.

In terms of year-to-year, NVIDIA has experienced negativegrowth of 28.4%, while AMD has sharply gained 15.4%. Thisresults in a market share drop of 28% to 20% since Q1 2010while a gain of 21.5% to 24.8% for AMD, overtaking NVIDIA

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during 2010. Intel has experienced a steady 9.7% growth aswell, once again at the expense of NVIDIA.

Interestingly, the average of GPUs per PC has grown from115% in 2001 to 145% today - and many computers have twoGPUs today, an integrated and a discrete.

The GPU industry's results have been surprisingly positive,given the doom-and-gloom surrounding overall PC shipments.With Q2 and Q3 finally bringing mainstream Fusion APUs,AMD is likely to see further growth, building upon theirimpressive results in the last one year.