Google Chrome Hits 15.5 Percent Market Share

On the eve of the web browser’s third birthday, industry-monitoring group Net Applications announced that Chrome has captured 15.5 percent of the browser market.
These numbers shouldn’t surprise anyone, as doing the past few years as Firefox has lost both market share and critical support while Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9, though vastly super to its predecessors, has failed to make any significant market share gains.
Outside of the United States, Chrome’s ability to capture market share has been even more impressive. According to Statcounter, Chrome currently has a 20.7 percent global market share. Within South America, as a whole, it is the number two-web browser, commanding 33.2% of the market. In Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay it is the number one web browser, usurping that title from Internet Explorer.
In celebration of Chrome’s birthday, and this important market-share milestone, Google has put together an interactive info graphic using HTML5 that tracks the growth of Chrome, and highlights the evolution of web browsers.

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Samsung CEO: We Will ‘Never’ Buy webOS

Earlier this week, Hardware Canucks reported on the rumors that Samsung was interested in purchasing orphaned mobile operating system webOS. As Samsung is also apparently interested in purchasing HP’s PC division, buying their mobile operating system property also made sense. We weren’t the only ones to think so, as many industry analysts also shared our sentiment.
Now it turns out that we were wrong.
Choi Gee Sung, Samsung’s Chief Executive Officer, told reporters at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin that the company would “never” pursue such a deal as they are simply not interested.
“It’s not right that acquiring an operating system is becoming a fashion,” Choi told reporters.
Samsung is instead ramping up development on their own operating system, Bada, a process which Choi says is “harder than people outside think”.
Other potential suitors for webOS include HTC, though the company declines to comment on any queries.

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Samsung Unveils Slim Portable Blu-ray Writer Drive for Mobile PC Market

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, announced today its new slim portable Blu-ray Writer, the SE-506AB optical disk drive (ODD). SE-506AB features a slim and sleek design with a hi-glossy anti-scratch surface. It is 12 percent smaller than Samsung’s conventional Blu-ray drive to accommodate today’s hectic mobile lifestyle. The slim form factor is also supported with a USB power interface that eliminates the need for a separate electrical outlet.
The SE-506AB drive is compatible with all major operating systems, including Win7 and Mac OS. In addition, the drive features Buffer Under Run technology to prevent errors that may result from writing speeds that exceed data transfer speeds, while also enabling PC multitasking.
Samsung ODD’s exclusive AV connectivity technology is featured on the new SE-506AB allowing users to easily connect and play content via AV connectivity function on multimedia TVs with an available USB port.
The drive also improves upon previous ODD models, which only recognize the first sub-directory and 1000 files. The new SE-506AB model now recognizes and allows access to the fifth sub-directory and more than 3000 files.
The external drive provides a variety of speeds across different data media types featuring BD Quadruple layering. Specific speeds include: 6X BD-ROM, 24X CD-ROM, 24X CD-RW reading and 6X BD-R, 6X BD-R Dual layer, 4X BD-R Quad layer, 8X DVD±R, 5X DVD-RAM, 6X DVD+R Dual layer, 6X DVD-R Dual layer, 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW recording.
As an eco-friendly product, the drive offers low-power consumption and lead-free soldering technology, a design that complies with international environmental regulations that limit the use of hazardous materials.

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Toshiba Extends USB 3.0 HDD Range with STOR.E CANVIO and BASICS

Toshiba Europe Storage Peripherals Division, today announced a new series of USB 3.0 external hard disk drives (HDDs) that meet the high capacity, fast access storage demands of the data-hungry digital generation. The new STOR.E HDD series offers two products, the STOR.E BASICS and the STOR.E CANVIO, with (500GB, 750GB, 1TB) capacities to provide users with flexibility according to their digital needs. Along with high capacities, the USB 3.0 interface delivers fast transfer rates of up to 5 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps), ensuring the quickest access times to your data. Both HDDs come fully equipped with an Internal Shock Sensor and Ramp Loading Alert, which are essential features to protect data against accidental knocks whilst carried around in bags or pockets. The drives come in a range of exciting STOR.E CANVIO colour options, including black, red, green, and blue.
In today’s IT/CE environment, data is being produced at a frenetic rate, with 1.8 zettabytes expected3 to be created this year alone, so it’s essential that irreplaceable photos, videos and music are backed up and easy to access.
The STOR.E BASICS HDD can accommodate even the biggest digital libraries and is ultra simple to use, with no need to install any STOR.E BASICS software. Weighing just 150 grams (500GB and 750GB model) and 180 grams (1TB model) respectively, its sleek post-card size with plugand play functionality and a simple user interface make it perfectly suited to the digital media needs of users on the go. For users with more demanding storage requirements, the STOR.E CANVIO enables the transfer of large media files at blazing fast speeds, whilst providing peace of mind with full system backup and recovery, offering a practical way to keep large amounts of precious data safe. Sleek and compact, like the STOR.E BASICS, the STOR.E CANVIO HDD is ultra-portable. Its unique pre-loaded software available on STOR.E CANVIO enables data to be backed up seamlessly, so provides additional peace of mind. The pre-installed NTI Backup Now EZ software scans your computer and recommends the best storage options. You then decide between backing up your files to the STOR.E CANVIO HDD, or to online storage in cloud, or choose both for the most comprehensive coverage.
The 1 Terabyte (TB) HDD is an ideal storage solution for media hoarders. It’s capable of storing up to 285,000 digital photos4, 263,000 digital music files5, or 820 downloaded digital movies6. The STOR.E CANVIO’s Drive Space Alert monitors the drive and indicates when it’s getting close-to-full. Arnaud Bonvarlet, Director EMEA, Storage Peripherals Division, said: “The new STOR.E HDD range provides an easy storage solution for backing up valuable data and freeing up storage space on overloaded laptops, PCs or games consoles. The extension of our 3.0 USB external HDD range demonstrates our commitment to delivering cutting-edge storage solutions. Toshiba’s new STOR.E 3.0 portable hard drive range makes backup fast and simple, with a digital safety net against system failure.” The HDD range will be available in Europe from early forth quarter 2011 and comes with a two year warranty. A demonstration of the
STOR.E CANVIO HDD series can be seen at this year’s IFA in Berlin, Germany, 2-7 September 2011, the global trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances.

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NEC Display Solutions Adds 20-inch EX201W to Ultra-Slim MultiSync EX Series

NEC Display Solutions of America, a leading provider of commercial LCD display and projector solutions, announced today the addition of the 20-inch widescreen MultiSync EX201W to the award-winning MultiSync EX Series.
Joining the 23-inch MultiSync EX231W with TN panel and MultiSync EX231Wp with premium-grade PVA panel, the EX201W ultra-thin (16.4mm bezel depth) desktop monitor offers extensive viewing angles (176°H/170°V) and contrast ratio (25,000:1 dynamic, 1000:1 typical). The ultra-slim design and lightweight portability (4.9 lbs. without stand) make the EX201W ideal for business users on-the-go and small-to-medium-sized business client meetings and presentations. The LED backlighting allows a low power consumption of 21W, which helps customers looking to lower their total cost of ownership.
Two new accessories are now available for use with the MultiSync EX Series products that are especially beneficial to traveling business users. After using the quick-release button to detach the display from the regular stand, customers can easily attach the portable, foldable stand (ST-EX2023-BK) to prop the display. Its 10° fixed tilt with rubber feet provides stabilization for the monitor during meetings. The stand and display easily fit into an available carrying bag (SC-EX20 and SC-EX23), which boasts a compact design for exclusive use with the MultiSync EX Series. Its soft inner lining and Velcro straps provide protection during travel, while the adjustable shoulder strap and padded handle offer comfort to the user. Large-sized pockets store your peripheral cables, power cords and other accessories with a zipper-secured lid. Both accessories are compatible with the EX201W, EX231W and EX231Wp.
“The success of the MultiSync EX Series has been phenomenal, and we’re excited to introduce a new size category into this series with the 20-inch, widescreen MultiSync EX201W,” said Lynn Gu, Product Manager for NEC Display Solutions. “Most customers are finding the minimalist design and LED-backlight power efficiency to be beneficial. Smart technologies like the human sensor and ambient light sensor automatically detect human absence and ambient light intensity and brightness to save a significant amount of power for corporations with large rollouts.”
The MultiSync EX201W includes the following features:

• Ultra-slim, 20-inch, widescreen (16:9), LED-backlit monitor
• 1600 x 900 resolution
• 25,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
• Advanced connectivity with DisplayPort and DVI-I inputs
• USB port for easy webcam or thumb drive access
• Quick-release stand
• Ergonomic stand with 110mm height-adjust, tilt, swivel and pivot
• Touch-sensitive On Screen Display (OSD) controls
• Ambient light sensor and human sensor
• ECO Mode, carbon footprint meter and cost meter
• Dynamic Visual Mode enhances video and images with real-time optimization of brightness, color and contrast (standard, text, movie, game, photo and dynamic)
• External power supply via mini AC adaptor
• 21-watt power consumption (typical)
• ENERGY STAR 5.1 and TCO 5.2 compliance
• EPEAT Gold compliance
• Optional accessories include portable stand kit and carrying bag

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Details Leak on Acer’s Ultrabook S3

Intel, and its industry partners, are hoping that their new class of portable computers known as Ultrabooks will win back some of the market share that has been lost to tablet-culture and the Macbook Air.
Earlier today Notebook Italia posted the first concrete details about the Ultrabook class of notebooks when they discovered that a Italian computer retailer, MonClick, had published a product page listing one – the Acer Ultrabook S3 – a bit too early.
MonClick lists the Acer Ultrabook S3 as having a Intel Core i5-2467M, 4GB RAM, a 320GB hard drive and a 20GB SSD.
The listed price that MonClick has is $786 Euros, which works out to about $1,100 canuck-bucks. However things tend to have a higher retail price in Europe than they do in North America, so this will likely be in the sub-$1000 price range when it hits shelves in Canada.
What do you think? Is this the Macbook Air killer than Intel purports it is?

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