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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