Today, we are looking at ASUS' G51Vx Gaming Notebook. This notebook supports 3D gaming surround audio in the form of EAX Advanced 4.0 audio technology. The G51Vx is also powered by an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M graphics card that features 1GB GDDR3 VRAM, which is not wasted, as ASUS created the G51Vx with a 15.6″ full HD display screen that has a 16:9 ratio and 1920×1080 resolution! Read on to see what else this gaming notebook has to offer!
The new ARCHOS 5 Android-powered Internet Tablet (the first non-phone Android device released) is now available for purchase in the United States at Amazon.com. The tablet is available in three variations: 500GB and 160GB drive-based models and a 32GB flash-based model.
The ARCHOS 5 is one of the first non-smartphone devices to firmly grab our attention in some time. This is largely due to device’s rich media features. The ARCHOS 5 has a 5” 800×480 touchscreen and an extensive codec library; this not only means that video will look great, but also that you won’t have to worry about the rigid transcoding requirements of other mobile video devices (cough… iPhone… cough). Popular image and audio formats are compatible with the ARCHOS 5 as well.
Other features include the ability to playback 720p HD video (including MKV, MPEG-2, H.264, WMV HD files/formats), Android application support, an 800MHz ARM CPU, 802.11n Wi-Fi, an HDMI Mini Dock (optional), a DVR Station for recording TV (optional), a web browser, integrated GPS (navigation is a paid feature), a microSDHC memory slot (flash models), social networking software and more.
We hope to get one of these devices in for review soon. If you have an Archos 5 Android tablet, let us know what you think of it!
The Dow Chemical Company is flexing its green arm by making plans to release a solar panel designed to replace typical roofing shingles. Their goal? Make installing solar panel rooftops easier and cheaper while keeping aesthetics as streamlined as possible.
Yesterday, Dow Chemical Company unveiled its new line of DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle. The Solar Shingle was designed to be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials. Dow expects the shingle systems to be available in limited quantities by mid-2010 and more widely available in 2011.
Wondering why your computer just crashed again? Its memory might be to blame, according to real-world Google research that finds error rates higher than what earlier work showed. With hundreds of thousands of computers in its data centers, Google can collect an abundance of real-world data about how those machines actually work. That's exactly what the company did for a research paper that found error rates are surprisingly high.
“We found the incidence of memory errors and the range of error rates across different DIMMs (dual in-line memory modules) to be much higher than previously reported,” according the paper jointly written by Bianca Schroeder, a professor at the University of Toronto, and Google's Eduardo Pinheiro and Wolf-Dietrich Weber. “Memory errors are not rare events.” How many errors? On average, about one in three Google servers experienced a correctable memory error each year and one in a hundred an uncorrectable error, an event that typically causes a crash.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said the agency was looking for ways to make more airwaves available for next-generation wireless networks, underscoring the expanding need sparked by the growing use of iPhones and similar devices. Mr. Genachowski's recently announced plan to impose open Internet rules — which would prevent carriers from deliberately slowing or blocking some traffic in their efforts to manage their networks — on wireless networks and devices. The FCC has proposed that any Internet provider — whether wireless, cable or DSL — be barred from blocking or slowing access to Internet services such as video or phone.
“I believe firmly in the need for the FCC to preserve Internet openness, whether a person accesses the Internet from a desktop computer or a wireless laptop or netbook,” Mr. Genachowski said.
Dell Inc. said Wednesday it will close a desktop computer manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem, N.C., by the end of January. The computer maker said 905 people will be laid off, with around 600 to be let go next month. The plant was opened in 2005. The plant closure is part of a plan to save $4 billion a year at Dell by 2011.
Dell was promised more than $300 million in state and local incentives to open the plant. But it was required to invest $100 million, create 1,700 jobs by September 2010 and maintain those jobs for 10 more years. If those terms weren't met, the company would forfeit the incentive package. Dell said it would comply with the terms of the incentive agreement.
In September, Intel showed off Light Peak as if it were the latest the latest hot idea out of the labs. But the fiber-optic communication technology could well be coming to near you next year rather than in some distant sci-fi future. A Taiwanese optical networking company, Foci Fiber Optic Communication, is well along the path of selling Light Peak cables and other fiber-optic components.
Light Peak technology is designed to be a universal connector for computers and other devices, linking not just what USB does today but also monitors and networks. A chip from Intel juggles among the different types of data being sent over the line, ensuring for example that high-priority traffic such as high-definition video gets priority.
Dell Inc plans to launch a smartphone with Google's Android mobile software on carrier AT&T's network, a source said, marking the PC maker's first foray into a cut-throat U.S. cellphone arena. Dell will become the latest tech manufacturer to try and establish a footprint in a fast-growing market dominated by Apple and Research in Motion. Its planned phone would also give a boost to Google's fledgling mobile platform, which vies with Apple's and Microsoft's platforms.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters Dell plans to introduce a U.S. version of its “oPhone” for China — which runs on Android — and that the device had been certified by AT&T for its domestic network. The Wall Street Journal, which broke the news on Wednesday, cited people briefed on the matter as saying Dell's phone could be launched as soon as early 2010.
Taiwan-based Asustek Computer and IBM have announced they have agreed on mutual licensing of their patents to enhance cooperation. IBM filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission saying certain Asustek computer products and components of infringed three IBM patents. Asustek responded in April 2008 charging IBM with infringing patents of its own. The cross licensing agreement will end the disputes.
In addition to IBM, Asustek currently still has several ongoing patent infringement cases, including concerning technologies featured in DVD drives, notebooks, handsets, wireless modules and DVD burning software. In order to limit the impact from any future lawsuits, Asustek has already started to organize its patents and develop its own technologies.
nMediaPC 6000B HTPC Computer Case @ Benchmark Reviews and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
More and more consumers these days seem to have some sort of home theater set up in which they incorporate a computer. Many people use a PC in their living room to watch slideshows of their photos, browse the web on their large HDTV displays, or use their pc as a fully functional Home Theater PC for movies, games, music, and etc. Along with this growing trend, the concept of using a HTPC style case for your living room computer is becoming more popular. People don't want some big ugly tower sitting in the middle of their living room, but would rather have a stylish looking case that can match the decor of their other home theater components, and offer many additional features useful to HTPC setups. Benchmark Reviews has the pleasure of checking out one of the HTPC cases offered by nMedia. This stylish and functional desktop ATX-style case boasts many features one would find useful in a HTPC setting such as a front LCD readout and front ports for! things such as USB, Media Cards, Audio, eSATA, and Firewire, all in an attractive package that can easily match your other theater components.