Samsung Starts Flame-War With Apple

Already fighting a war over patents with Apple, Samsung has decided to open a second front with a TV commercial mocking Apple’s often-zealous fanboys.
The commercial begins with an image iconic to the Steve Jobs era of Apple: the Apple store lineup.
“Guys, I’m so amped I could stay here for three weeks!” excitedly states a character in the first scene of the commercial. However, the enthusiasm of his companions – all clothed in chique hipster attire – wanes when they begin to read the early reviews of the new iDevice: poor battery life, and lack of 4G support.
The fans in queue then spot someone walking down the street, who is dressed as a working professional, and the person’s phone catches their eye. When they ask to see the phone the user brags that that is has all the features their eagerly anticipated iDevice lacks: 4G support, a magnificent screen, an HD camera, and apparently a better battery.
“It’s a Samsung,” explains the phone’s owner.
“Samsung?”, someone in line responds. “I could never get a Samsung, I’m creative”.
“Dude, you’re a Barista,” his companion responds.

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SteelSeries Introduces Limited Edition Fnatic Headset and Mouse

As Dreamhack Winter, the world’s largest digital festival and LAN party kicks off, SteelSeries and one of the most recognized and accomplish gaming teams, Team Fnatic, introduce the SteelSeries 7H Fnatic Limited Edition headset and SteelSeries Sensei Fnatic Limited Edition mouse. Available now on SteelSeries Web Shop, the Limited Edition 7H headset features 50mm dynamic driver units with new, sound isolating SNDBlock ear cushions; while the Limited Edition Sensei features award-winning technology like its 32 bit ARM processor that powers SteelSeries’ ExactTech settings and customization abilities, all of which are housed in an ambidextrous, black, orange and white Fnatic color design and illuminated Fnatic team logo.
“We sponsor and work with a number of incredibly talented professional players and are proud to say that the Fnatic team is part of that family,” said Kim Rom, SteelSeries CMO. “We have been supporters and collaborators with, as well as fans of, the talent that makes up the Fnatic squad for a long time now. We felt that it was the perfect time to introduce co-branded peripherals – that their players helped us design, regularly use and win with – to their immense and passionate fan following.”
“Our players have tough competition; they need everything to work to become champions, from their raw aim or APM right up to the equipment. Because of this, we work closely with SteelSeries to collaborate on the design and functionality of SteelSeries’ professional gaming peripherals. We are so proud of what has been accomplished that we thought it was about time to put our mark -visibly – on those products” said Sam Mathews, Fnatic’s owner. “Enter the Fnatic Limited Edition peripherals, on the best headphones and mouse we’ve ever used, 7H and Sensei – now with more style.”
Limited Edition Fnatic 7H
The SteelSeries 7H Fnatic Limited Edition headset features 50 mm dynamic driver units that deliver an exceptionally rich and detailed soundscape, from mood setting music to critical 3D positional sounds and alerts. The closed-type headset reduces ambient noise, while the unique, SNDBlock, hybrid ear cushions made of both cloth and leather, provide sound isolation from an inner leather layer and comfort from the outer cloth layer. The headset can also be dismantled into 4 separate pieces, which allows for compact and easy transportation. The Limited Edition Fnatic headset is $139.99 / €114.99 MSRP.

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Lenovo Unleashes the World’s Smallest Fully-Functional Desktop PC

Lenovo, today announced the IdeaCentre Q180 – a consumer desktop PC no larger than a paperback book, yet powerful enough to turn a digital TV into a multimedia hub for enjoying music, videos, games, web browsing and more.
“With the IdeaCentre Q180, we upped our game in the compact PC category,” said Nick Reynolds, executive director, Product Group Marketing, Lenovo. “Featuring the latest HD Graphics and Blu-ray 3D playback, the Q180 enables consumers to change the way they enjoy multimedia and the Web in their living room at an affordable price point.”
Compact Size, Complete Entertainment
Light weight and similar in size to a paperback novel — just 22 mm thick – the world’s smallest production PC still packs a punch and comes with the latest technology. Along with an Intel Atom dual core processor, up to 4GB DDR3 memory, 750GB HDD storage or 128GB SSD storage and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, the Q180 also comes equipped with a VESA Mount that allows flexible fitting anywhere in the home including the back of most HDTVs and monitors.
Home Movie and Theatre Companion
Featuring great multi-media support, the Q180 comes with Full HD 1080p output, including a Blu-ray drive1, 7.1 channel surround sound, Blu-ray 3D and DirectX11 support to help create an authentic movie ambiance and state-of-the-art home-theater experience right in the living room. It also features fast USB 3.0 file transfer support, VGA and HDMI out ports, and S/PDIF connectivity for your HDTV and sound system.
Compact Wireless Keyboard
The IdeaCentre Q180 also comes with a latest generation Lenovo wireless backlit handheld keyboard1, which can fit snuggly in the palm of your hand. From the comfort of a sofa, users can do just about anything via this multimedia control wirelessly, including adjusting surround sound settings, selecting HD movies or simply surfing the Web on the Q180.
Pricing and Availability
The IdeaCentre Q180 will be available November 22 on Lenovo.com starting at $349. For more information, visit this page.

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Amazon Phone in Development?

Weeks after Amazon launched the Kindle Fire to lukewarm results, rumors are circulating that the bookseller giant is planning a smartphone launch.
The rumor’s genesis comes from a market intelligence report by Citigroup’s Mark Mahaney that states, “based on our supply chain channel checks in Asia led by Kevin Chang, Citi’s Taipei-based hardware research analyst, we believe an Amazon Smartphone will be launched in 4Q12. Based on our supply chain check, we believe FIH is now jointly developing the phone with Amazon.”
Mr. Mahaney noted that the device will likely be powered by Texas Instrument’s OMAP 4 processor, and will likely run Google’s Android OS. In addition, Amazon will give Microsoft an “OS royalty”; this tithe is for patents that Microsoft claims Android uses.
The report speculates that the device will cost Amazon $150 to $170 to manufacture, and the company will likely sell it at cost to give it a competitive edge in the ever-crowded smartphone market. In comparison, Amazon currently sells that Kindle Fire at a los of $2.70 per unit.
“With the clear success of the Kindle e-Reader over the past 3 years, and Kindle Fire possibly succeeding in the low-priced Tablet market, we view this as the next logical step for Amazon,” Mr. Mahaney concludes.

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BitFenix Announces Spectre Pro Fan Series

With the release of the venerable Spectre Silent Fan Series in August 2010, enthusiast hardware designer BitFenix proved its engineering prowess in the case cooling space. Today, BitFenix ups the ante with the Spectre Pro Performance Fan Series. By combining innovative features and a fresh new design aesthetic, the Spectre Pro Performance Fan Series represents the new gold standard in case cooling fans. “After we released the Spectre Series last year, users looking primarily for a silent build were floored at just how good silent fans can be,” says BitFenix Product Manager David Jarlestedt. “Now with the many unique features and design elements that we’ve implemented into Spectre Pro, I believe that the performance crowd is going to be even more impressed.” Enthusiasts who need to keep their systems as cool as possible know that they need fans that can deliver not only high airflow, but also high pressure when watercooling radiators are involved. Spectre Pro was engineered with this thinking in mind, able to push large amounts of air and maintain high air pressure in the process. Spectre Pro’s special curved fan blade and cage design directs airflow into a focused column, minimizing diffusion and allowing cool air to move past obstacles and reach the system’s critical components. After all, what good is airflow if it can’t reach your system’s hotspots? By offering high airflow and pressure in a focused manner, Spectre Pro delivers excellent cooling when the action heats up. But Spectre Pro is a lot more than just numbers on a spec sheet. Created in the BitFenix Design Lab, Spectre Pro features a number of novel touches that not only look great, but help further improve performance. The dual frame construction, besides the aggressive styling it offers, also has vibration dampening properties that can help reduce overall noise during operation. The inner frame is also color matched to the LED color on Spectre Pro LED, making them perfect for case modders and users with windowed chassis. High rotation speeds can actually warp fan blades while in motion, increasing both turbulence and noise. To counteract this, Spectre Pro is equipped with reinforced fan blades to reduce warping while creating an attractive circular pattern while spinning. And on the inside, Spectre Pro uses the same fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) technology found in Spectre fans for silent operation and long operating life. Borrowing the same on-the-fly light switching technology from our original Spectre Series, Spectre Pro LED users can turn the LED lights on and off with push-button convenience when used in conjunction with compatible BitFenix chassis and accessories. Spectre Pro also comes in 120, 140, 200, and 230mm sizes, and also LED (red, blue and white) and non-LED versions to match virtually any build. What’s more, each Spectre Pro fan comes with a number of vibration absorbing rubber screws and grommets to help users keep noise levels in check, as well as a 7V low voltage adapter for users who require even lower noise levels.

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KFA2 Launches GeForce GTX 570 MDT X4 Graphics Card

The KFA2 GeForce 570 MDT X4 is designed to play the latest DirectX 11 games in full 1080p. Whilst the KFA2 GeForce 570 supports up to 4 monitors its main feature includes ‘Virtual single monitor mode’ which shares one desktop across 3 screens, producing surround HD game play.
The card features 4 DVI ports to support digital PC displays natively, and also has one Mini-HDMI port with digital audio for use with HDTVs. Like the GTX 560 Ti MDT X5, the GTX 570 MDT X4 also allows you to connect an additional display for the Windows desktop to use for chats, playlists, video, supporting all the latest features such as DirectX11 and PhysX.
Another new KFA2-exclusive technology featured in the GTX 570 MDT X4 is the KFA2 HT-Engine, the 1st KFA2 in-house designed chipset to manage, monitor and over-clock your graphics card. The HT-Engine includes the Power Meter to view the entire card’s status and monitor consumption, Voltage Setting for extreme over-clocking enthusiasts, and Dual Bios which acts as a fail-safe backup for Bios customization and updating.
In addition, KFA2 will be bundling the new, custom KFA2 developed EZY Display Setting Management software to make configuring and managing multiple displays and the application windows, with ease of a single click of the mouse. More info can be found here.
KFA2 continues to lead the way in the world of performance graphics cards with new innovations in cutting edge hardware and software.
“One GTX 570 – four monitors, 1080p surround gaming, Extreme over-clocked edition with a black PCB and a black matt finished quad heat-pipe cooler – say no more” said Graham Brown, European Marketing Manager.

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G.Skill launches its new RipjawsZ Quad-Channel DDR3 Memory

G.Skill has announced the development of its brand new RipjawsZ series quad-channel memory modules, designed specifically for Intel LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E processors and X79 systems.
A World First in Super-Sized & Super-Speed, the new RipjawsZ builds on a history of Ripjaws world first performance boundaries and award-winning quality, by including extreme performance kits such as, DDR3 2,500MHz 16GB (4GBx4) 1.65V kit, and super size kits including DDR3 64GB (8GBx8) 2133MHz at only 1.5V, and the fastest ever 8GB DIMMs in the DDR3 2,400MHz 32GB(8GBx4) kit. The following screens show two RipjawsZ 2,400MHz 32GB(8GBx4) kits running together at 2400MHz 64GB and booting at breath-taking 2600MHz 64GB with ASUS Rampage IV Extreme motherboard.
XMP 1.3 Ready
Working closely with Intel and leading motherboard manufacturers, all high-end RipjawsZ memory kits (1866MHz and above) come with the latest Intel XMP 1.3 standard developed for the X79 platform. It provides PC enthusiasts an entirely trouble free overclocking experience to boost their X79 systems to extreme levels of performance, while retaining system stability.
Hand-tested in real-world PC setups
The G.Skill engineering team has closely worked with leading motherboard manufacturers, to qualify compatibility and performance reliability under these extreme conditions. It continues to strive to develop the best quad channel memory kits for Intel X79 platforms. All RipjawsZ memory kits are hand tested in a range of X79 motherboards according to G.Skill’s rigorous qualification procedure to ensure the maximum quality product.

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GIGABYTE Launches X79 Series Motherboards

GIGABYTE TECHNOLGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced the launch of their latest X79 series enthusiast motherboard range. Supporting the latest 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 processor family for high-end desktops, these new X79 Express Chipset motherboards unite unrivalled desktop PC performance with a new level of hardware flexibility and control. GIGABYTE 3D Power and its all new 3-way Digital Power Engine offers ultimate control of your PC’s power delivery, while GIGABYTE 3D BIOS provides a wholly more intuitive and graphical UEFI BIOS environment.
“This new GIGABYTE X79 series range of boards are all about giving enthusiasts and professionals unprecedented control over their PC’s hardware,” commented Tim Handley, Deputy Director of Motherboard Marketing at GIGABYTE. “GIGABYTE 3D Power and 3D BIOS give hardcore gamers, extreme overclockers and cutting-edge content creators absolute mastery over every aspect of their PC.”
GIGABYTE 3D Power
GIGABYTE X79 series motherboards take advantage of the new and exclusive GIGABYTE 3D Power, based on a 3-way Digital Power Engine for both the PWM and memory that delivers unprecedented power delivery control. Utilizing a brand new Digital PWM controller,GIGABYTE’s 3D Power features three digital memory controllers for not only the memory, but VTT and VSA, for real-time adjustment and control. The GIGABYTE 3D Power application provides a range of controls via a graphical user interface, allowing adjustment of load line calibration, over voltage protection control and real-time adjustment of CPU, VTT, IMC and four-channel memory frequencies.
GIGABYTE 3D BIOS with Dual-UEFI
Based on our new UEFI DualBIOS technology, GIGABYTE 3D BIOS re-imagines the traditional BIOS environment to make it more accessible for novice users than ever before. GIGABYTE 3D BIOS provides a full featured advanced mode for veteran BIOS users, alongside a graphical 3D Mode which offers a far more intuitive BIOS experience that makes it easier to understand how BIOS settings affect their PC’s hardware performance.
Intel X79 Platform Highlights
All GIGABYTE X79 series motherboards are designed to get the absolute best performance from the latest 2nd generation Intel Core i7 processors, bringing a number of new enthusiast-class features to Intel’s latest extreme platform. Featuring the new LGA 2011 socket and based on the latest updated micro-architecture, these new processors feature up to six cores with up to 15MB L3 cache and four-channel DDR3 memory. With an unprecedented 40 PCI Express lanes, enthusiast gamers can also enjoy the absolute maximum GPU performance in Multi-GPU SLI and CrossFireX configurations.
GIGABYTE G1.Assassin 2
Designed as the base for the ultimate in gaming PC builds, the GIGABYTE G1.Assassin 2 motherboard combines the unrivalled performance of this new X79 platform with our award-winning G1.Killer design philosophy: onboard discrete-class audio is offered courtesy of the Creative Digital Audio processor (20K2) which offers X-Fi Xtreme Fideility and EAX Advanced HD Audio 5.0 technologies, while the Killer E2100 Game Networking Platform offers advanced network optimization and management for the very best online gaming experience. 3-way SLI and CrossFireX capability means users can really push the boundaries of 3D gaming to new heights.
GIGABYTE X79-UD7
The GIGABYTE X79-UD7 motherboard is designed to provide CPU performance worthy of champions, with specific built-in technologies for extreme overclocking configurations. The X79-UD7 features an all digital PWM, four full length PCIe slots for 4-way GPU configurations plus a range of features that mean overclockers will never tire of tweaking the latest 2nd generation Intel Core i7 processors. With GIGABYTE’s exclusive OC-VRM, you’ll find POScaps that ensure easy insulation, while OC-Touch lets users tweak in real-time using onboard buttons to change multiplier frequencies. OC-DualBIOS is complimented with a BIOS Switcher button that offers fast back-panel access to two distinct BIOS configurations. A Clear CMOS button is also included along with an OC button for instant OC profile loading. OC-PEG offers additional discrete graphics array power via the SATA rail with two SATA ports, guaranteeing all the power needed for extreme 4-way SLI and CrossfireX configurations.
GIGABYTE X79-UD5
The GIGABYTE X79-UD5 motherboard provides the ultimate media processing workstation. Design and Engineering professionals that employ the latest CAD and multimedia creation software will be impressed with eight DDR3 memory slots combined with GIGABYTE’s unique 3D Power design to offer the ultimate platform for memory and CPU intensive workloads. We’ve also included back panel access overclocking via a simple OC button so that you can get an instant boost in performance when needed.
Exclusive GIGABYTE Bluetooth 4.0 / Wi-Fi Expansion Card
GIGABYTE X79 series motherboards will also include an exclusive PCIe expansion card that offers support for the latest Bluetooth 4.0 and IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity. The new Bluetooth 4.0 standard includes Smart Ready technology that is debuting on mobile devices including the new Apple iPhone 4S. This means that transferring important content from your smart phone or tablet is easier and faster than ever.
For more information, visit the product pages of:

• G1.Assassin 2
• X79 UD7
• X79 UD5
• X79 UD3

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ASRock Gives a Preview of X79 Motherboards

ASRock sent over these preview pictures of their new line of X79 motherboards. While the company was scant on details, the pictures they enclosed tell a pretty detailed story of what the company will be offering shortly.

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OCZ Announces Indilinx Everest-powered Octane SATA SSD Family

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs), today launched the Indilinx Everest-based Octane SATA 3.0 and SATA 2.0 SSD series, striking the ideal balance between capacity, physical size, and speed. In addition to being the world’s first SSD to achieve up to a 1TB capacity in a compact 2.5 inch format, OCZ’s Octane SSD series combines high-speed data transfer rates with record-breaking access times to provide a superior user experience and improved application performance.
“OCZ has reached an important milestone in the development of its own controller technology,” said James E. Bagley, Senior Analyst with Storage Strategies NOW. “The high sustained performance, even with compressed files, the rapid boot feature and high access speeds using SATA 3.0 protocol puts their controller technology in the major league.”
“Until now SSDs have been tailored for specific applications, forcing users into a product which maximizes performance for a narrow band of applications, but is significantly lacking in others,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology. “The Octane Series solves this problem by providing the highest level of performance across varied workloads including mixed file sizes and mixed compressible and uncompressible data, all while nearly doubling NAND flash endurance.”
The Octane series leverages the cutting-edge Indilinx Everest platform to deliver up to 560MB/s of bandwidth and 45,000 IOPS and is optimized for the complete spectrum of file types and sizes. In particular, the Octane’s proprietary page mapping algorithms allow for steady mixed-workload performance, mirroring real world conditions across a wide range of applications. The Octane series also includes a number of advanced features unique to Indilinx, including innovative latency reduction technology, enabling both read and write access times as low as 0.06ms and 0.09ms respectively, the lowest of any commercially available SSD. This enhances application responsiveness and enables features such as “fast boot” in consumer applications.
Octane SSDs also come equipped with Indilinx’s proprietary NDurance technology, increasing the lifespan of the NAND flash memory, ensuring the most consistent and reliable performance as well as minimizing performance degradation even after the drive’s storage capacity is highly utilized. In addition, Octane series drives support AES and automatic encryption to secure critical data.
Octane Product Features:

• Dual Core CPU
• Up to 512MB DRAM cache
• 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB models
• High sequential speeds:
o Octane (SATA 6 Gbps) Read: 560MB/s; Write: 400MB/s

o Octane-S2 (SATA 2.0) Read: 275MB/s; Write: 265MB/s

• High transactional performance – Optimized for 4K to 16K compressed files
o Octane (SATA 6 Gbps) 45,000 random read 4K IOPS

o Octane-S2 (SATA 3 Gbps) 30,000 random read 4K IOPS

• Industry-low latency:
o Read: 0.06ms; Write: 0.09ms

• Strong performance at low queue depths (QD 1 – 3)
• Up to 8 channels with up to 16-way Interleaving
• Advanced BCH ECC engine enabling more than 70 bits correction capability per 1KB of data
• Proprietary NDurance Technology: increases NAND life up to 2X of the rated P/E cycles
• Efficient NAND Flash management: Dynamic and static wear-leveling, and background garbage collection
• Boot time reduction optimizations
• NCQ support up to 32 queue depth
• End-to-end data protection
• TRIM support
• Industry standard SMART reporting

• Strong performance at low queue depths (QD 1 – 3)
• Up to 8 channels with up to 16-way Interleaving
• Advanced BCH ECC engine enabling more than 70 bits correction capability per 1KB of data
• Proprietary NDurance Technology: increases NAND life up to 2X of the rated P/E cycles
• Efficient NAND Flash management: Dynamic and static wear-leveling, and background garbage collection
• Boot time reduction optimizations
• NCQ support up to 32 queue depth
• End-to-end data protection
• TRIM support
• Industry standard SMART reporting 

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Google Introduces ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’

A day after RIM introduced their new ‘BBX’ operating system to only mild enthusiasm,  Google unveiled their new ‘Ice Cream Sandwhich’ Android operating system at a joint event with Samsung in Hong Kong.
The latest Android OS promises dozens of new features in addition to enhanced security measures and a complete visual re-write.
“We want to go beyond smart,” said Andy Rubin, Google’s Senior Vice President of Mobile, to a crowd gathered at a Wednesday morning press conference. “We took all of the innovation that’s available at Google, and put it into developing this phone.”
The biggest change with Google’s new Android OS is that it will finally unify Android tablets and smartphones. Currently, the Android world is split into two distinct factions: Honeycomb, which powers tablets, and Gingerbread, which powers smartphones. This divide meant that Android tablet users are left with a limited selection of apps that were written natively for the tablet, or are forced to run the app at an up scaled resolution – something that has less than visually appealing results.
Crowds at the event were most impressed with the major improvements Google has made to Android’s photo software that allows users to take panoramic images, the upgraded Chrome browser, which will sync with your desktop, and the new Android ‘Beam’ feature that utilizes Near Field Communications (NFC) to allow users to send any type of info from one device to another with a simple tap.
The major security improvement Google has made to Ice Cream Sandwich is a feature called face unlock. If enabled this would replace, or supplement (Google was unclear), a screen lock PIN with facial recognition so that if a thief managed to steal your phone and find out your pin the potential interloper’s would be rendered moot by a lack of positive facial recognition.

As the event was co-hosted by Samsung, the first phone to debut with the new Ice Cream Sandwich OS will be the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The Galaxy Nexus will sport a 1.2GHz dual-core processor backed by 1GB of RAM, and coupled with 16GB of on-board storage. It will have a 4.65-inch, 1280×720 super AMOLED screen as well as front and rear facing cameras that take snaps at 1.3 and 5 MP, respectively. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich are expected to launch in November. A press release says that the phone and OS will be launching in Canada on approximately the same date as in the U.S, but it was not specific on which carriers would be supporting the device. When asked for comment by Hardware Canucks, a representative from Rogers said they “are not able to comment on this device at this time.”

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