logging in or signing up VR-Zone Tech News for the Geeks Sep 2011 Issue 3 technology_news Download Post to : URL : Related Presentations : Share Add to Flag Embed Email Send to Blogs and Networks Add to Channel Uploaded from authorPOINT lite Insert YouTube videos in PowerPont slides with aS Desktop Copy embed code: (To copy code, click on the text box) Embed: URL: Thumbnail: WordPress Embed Customize Embed The presentation is successfully added In Your Favorites. Views: 85 Category: Science & Tech.. License: All Rights Reserved Like it (0) Dislike it (0) Added: January 09, 2012 This Presentation is Public Favorites: 0 Presentation Description A monthly roundup of VR-Zone.com Technology News covering facebook, google, apple, baidu, social media, PC, gadget, geek, technology, intel, microsoft, AMD, NVIDIA, ARM, iphone, android, internet Comments Posting comment... Premium member Presentation Transcript PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone bottom-half of the PCB. On the sample we saw at Computex, expansion slots were arranged (from top to bottom) as PCIe x4,PCIex16(electricalx16/x8),PCIex16(electricalx8),legacy PCI, PCIe x16 (electrical x16/x8), and PCIe x16 (electrical x8). With the new version, they're arranged as PCIe x16 (electrical x16/x8), PCIe x4, PCIe x16 (electrical x8), PCIe x16 (electical x16/x8), legacy PCI, and PCIe x16 (electrical x8). The new expansion slot layout is a notch better, as it makes room for three graphics cards that are two slots thick, to be installed. Moving on, Foxconn didn't have the PCH (X79 chipset) heatsink design in mind when designing the older iteration. The new one makes room for the heatsink, pushing aside most tall components. For example, the three EEPROM chips that were arranged in a file are now pushed to the bottom-right corner, along with the two tall capacitors. This change doesn't take away anything from the older iteration, just relocates it. There's now a small speaker for beep diagnostics that wasn't found on the older board, the numerical diagnostic- LED display is still there. The rest are cosmetic changes, such as certain chips being moved around. With the final revision, it is expected that the SAS (serial-attached SCSI) ports will be removed, leaving behind around 8 SATA ports. The Quantum Force X79 is positioned to be a high-end socket LGA2011 motherboard. The processor is powered by a 14-phase VRM that makes use of DirectFET MOSFETs, which when backed by a good I2C-capable VRM controller have known to provide smooth voltage control. Such FETs have been used on older Quantum Force motherboards and BIOSTAR's TPower series models. Other overclocker-friendly features include redundant firmware (BIOS), consolidated voltage measurement points, and OC hard-tuning buttons apart from power and reset buttons. Google urges Gmail users in Iran to change their passwords Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/google-urges-gmail-users-in-iran-to- change-their-passwords/13544.html September 14th, 2011 To begin with, Foxconn did some rearrangement in the You may have read about the digital break-in at Dutch certificate authority DigiNotar, and the subsequent revelation that an Iranian hacker who goes by the name of "Comodohacker" having made away with fraudulent digital certificatesforhundredsofpopularInternetdestinations.This ranges from websites such as Google, Yahoo, Mozilla and Skype; social networks such as Facebook, Twitter; and even domains belonging to the CIA and Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service. It is still unclear if Comodohacker is doing it for glory or personalprofit-suchasbyresellingtheillicitlyobtainedemail communications to the Iranian government, for example. According to Google, the perpetrator behind the attack on DigiNotar appeared to be interested in intercepting the communications of Gmail users and customers residing in Iran. With this in mind, Google has taken the offensive and is nowadvisingitsIranianuserstochangetheiremailpasswords to protect themselves from online attacks. In a blog post last week, Eric Grosse, the VP Security Engineer at Google, wrote: "We learned last week that the compromise of a Dutch company involved with verifying the authenticity of websitescouldhaveputtheInternetcommunicationsofmany Iranians at risk, including their Gmail." Emphasizing that the internal systems of the search giant itself have not been compromised, Grosse urged all users in Iran to take "concrete steps" to secure their accounts. As expected, this includes the changing of their passwords, which will prevent harvested passwords from being used for furtherunauthorizedaccess.Moreover,Grossealsoencourage users to preempt future problems by verifying and updating their account recovery options. As in the case of any hacked email account, the changing of a password does nothing to protect old email messages that may already have been pilferedbyamaliciousparty.Intheeventofasuspectedbreak- in, however, changing one's password would at least be useful to foil ongoing snooping. 17PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Intel SSD 520 Cherryville The Faster, Tougher Successor of SSD 510 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-ssd-520-cherryville-the-faster- tougher-successor-of-ssd-510/13542.html September 14th, 2011 Asanestablishedplayerinthesolidstatedrive(SSD)industry, Intel has at its disposal a market which it can address with the same breakneck product-cycle as its much larger x86 processor product lines. The most recent roadmap slide and accompanying information we scored suggests that a successorisalreadyaroundthecornerforIntel'swell-received SSD 510 series high-performance client SSDs that use the SATA 6 Gbps interface. Asanestablishedplayerinthesolidstatedrive(SSD)industry, Intel has at its disposal a market which it can address with the same breakneck product-cycle as its much larger x86 processor product lines. The most recent roadmap slide and accompanying information we scored suggests that a Published by: VR-Zone reads and 490 MB/s writes; and just one set of random access throughput, up to 40,000 IOPS read and 45,000 IOPS write. Thesefiguresareknowntovarybetweenthedifferentvariants, and so we'll have to wait for the final specifications that are specific to variants. Available in the 2.5-inch SATA form-factor, the drives will makeuseof25nmmulti-levelcell(MLC)NANDflashmemory made by Intel. Its controller will be compliant will the latest in client SSD technologies. To begin with, there are bare essentials such as SMART, that reports if the drive is failing, TRIM,thatworkstominimizewriteperformancedegradation, and NCQ, which queues commands on the drive's cache. The drive supports native 256-bit AES data encryption, and end- to-end data protection. Its physical durability is characterized by 1.2 million hours MTBF (mean time before failure) rating, an operating temperature range of 0 to 70 o C, and 2.7 G (rms) vibration tolerance. Intel is expected to begin production of the SSD 520 series in the fourth quarter of 2011. ASUS ROG Maximus IV GENE- Z Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-rog-maximus-iv-gene-z- review/13491.html September 14th, 2011 successorisalreadyaroundthecornerforIntel'swell-received SSD 510 series high-performance client SSDs that use the SATA 6 Gbps interface. Probably one of the most anticipated ROG boards ever, the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z has hit the market right in time to bring users all the benefits the Z68 chipset has to offer, as well as a plethora of overclocking features and connectivity in a micro-ATX form factor. Today we take a look at one of the best priced Sandy Bridge boardstodate,theASUSROGMaximusIVGene-Z,apowerful overclocking board in a tiny package. To begin we would like to show you a block diagram provided by Intel, of how the Z68 PCH(platform controller hub) connects to the rest of the system. Codenamed "Cherryville", Intel's new high-end client SSD series is called SSD 520. Its main design goals look to be to spreadtheseriesincapacitiesbothhigherandlowerthanwhat the SSD 510 series could address. While SSD 510 is available only in 120 GB and 250 GB variants, the new SSD 520 will add a higher capacity variant, 480 GB, and a lower capacity one, 60 GB. A new 160 GB variant is added in the middle, and 250 GB is replaced by 240 GB. WithclientSSDsandclientenvironmentingeneral,sequential transfer speeds are the king, Intel gave out just one set of sequential transfer rates for the SSD 520 series, 530 MB/s 18PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Compared to the earlier P67, the Z68 chipset adds Intel HD Graphics support, as well as Intel Smart Responce Technology(SSDCaching).Intelprobablyshouldhaveskipped P67 and just come out with the Z68 PCH. We see that ASUS has taken the better route and used the more expensive Intel PHY for LAN connectivity, and avoided the cheaper Realtek chipsets we see on other boards. This motherboard also has Lucid Virtu technology which allows for switchable graphics, but only a HDMI port is used, so maximum resolution will be 1920x1080 for those of you who want to use i-Mode Virtu to save power. ASUS ROG Maximus IV GENE-Z CPU Support Intel® Socket 1155 for 2 nd Generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3 Processors Supports Intel® 32 nm CPU Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Chipset Graphics Memory * The Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 support depends on the CPU types. Intel Z68 Integrated Graphics Processor VGA output support : HDMI port - Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz 4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333 Hz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Published by: VR-Zone Dual Channel Memory Architecture Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) * Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs. * Refer to www.asus.com or user manual for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists). * Due to CPU behavior, DDR3 2200/2000/1800 MHz memory module will run at DDR3 2133/1866/1600 MHz frequency as default. Multi-GPU Support Expansion Slots Storage Supports NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology Supports AMD CrossFireX™ Technology Supports LucidLogix® Virtu™ Technology 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 Intel® Z68 chipset : 2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red 4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), gray Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 Support Intel® Smart Response Technology on 2 nd generation Intel® Core™ processor family JMicron® JMB362 LAN Audio controller : * 1 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s port(s), red Intel®, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller SupremeFX X-Fi 2 built-in 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking Audio Feature : - X-Fi® Xtreme Fidelity™ - EAX® Advanced™ HD 5.0 - THX® TruStudio PRO™ 19PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 20 - Creative ALchemy Protection - Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel USB ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller : 4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board) Intel® Z68 chipset : 12 x USB 2.0 port(s) (8 at back panel, black, 4 at mid- board) FireWire ASUS Unique Features Overclocking Features ASUS TurboV EVO : - CPU Level Up ASUS Exclusive Features : - MemOK! - Onboard Button : Power/ Reset/Clr CMOS (at back IO) ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution : - ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS EZ DIY : - ASUS Q-Shield - ASUS O.C. Profile - ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 - ASUS EZ Flash 2 - ASUS MyLogo 2 ASUS Q-Design : - ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) - ASUS Q-Slot - ASUS Q-DIMM - ASUS Q-Connector) ROG Connect Extreme Engine Digi+ : - 8 -phase CPU power design + 4 -phase iGPU power design - 2 -phase Memory power design Published by: VR-Zone Mem TweakIt ROG Extreme OC kit : - Debug LED - Blu-ray audio layer Content ProbeIt UEFI BIOS features : - ROG BIOS Print - GPU.DIMM Post GameFirst iROG Extreme Tweaker Loadline Calibration Overclocking Protection : - COP EX (Component Overheat Protection - EX) Back Panel I/O Ports Internal I/O Connectors - ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) 1 x HDMI 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 2 x USB 3.0 8 x USB 2.0 (white port can be switched to ROG Connect) 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 6 x Audio jack(s) 1 x Clear CMOS button(s) 1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) 2 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 port(s) 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connector(s) 2 x CPU Fan connector(s) 3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF out header(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x System panel(s) 6 x ProbeIt Measurement Points 1 x Power-on button(s) 1 x Reset button(s) Accessories BIOS Manageability Support Disc 1 x ROG Connect switch(es) 1 x Go Button(s) 1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s) User's manual I/O Shield 2 x SATA 3Gb/s cable(s) 1 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s) 1 x SLI bridge(s) 1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1) 1 x ROG Connect cable(s) 1 x Cable ties pack(s) 1 x ROG theme label(s) 1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s) 64Mb Flash ROM, EFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI2.0a Multi-Language BIOS WfM2.0, DMI2.0, WOL by PME, WOR by PME, PXE Support DVD: - Drivers and applications * ASUS AI Suite II * ROG CPU-Z * ROG GameFirst Utility * Sound Blaster X-Fi MB2 Utility * ROG Mem TweakIt Utility * ASUS AI Charger+ * DAEMON Tools Pro Standard Published by: VR-Zone * Kaspersky® Anti-Virus 1- year license Form Factor uATX Form Factor 9.6 inch x 9.6 inch ( 24.4 cm x 24.4 cm ) As you can obviously see the laundry list of features is longer than that of most full sized ATX boards. For a sub $200 motheboard, this has to be one of the most feature packed and value for money product in the market. Of course this only applies if you are on the Intel side of things, as AMD motherboards generally run cheaper. Sony introduces new VAIO S series notebook with larger display Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-introduces-new-vaio-s-series- notebook-with-larger-display/13541.html September 14th, 2011 With the success of their VAIO S series laptops, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific has announed their new line-up for the series with slimmer form factor, higher performance and a larger display. According to the manufacturer, the new VAIO S will be available this month. Sony has announced a new slim, power-packed 15.5-inch notebook to their VAIO S Series. The new model incorporate Intel Core i7 processor and AMD Radeon HD 6630M GPU with 1GB VRAM and claims to offer superb performance for both work and play. It features a Performance Switch that supports Dynamic Hybrid Graphic System which allows users to choose between "Speed" and "Stamina" mode for fastest performance or longer battery life respectively. The VAIO S Series 15.5-inch offers approximately five hours of battery life and with an optional Sheet Battery, that can double to 10 hours. The VAIO S has a 15.5-inch wide screen of 1920x1080 full high definition VAIO Display Plus with anti-reflective glossy finish, weighs 1.96kg, and comes with aluminium palm rest 21PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone The first AMD FX CPUs have shown up for pre-order at Shopblt.com.ThethreeSKUslistedareFX-8150,FX-8120and FX-6100pricedat$266,$222and$189respectively.Thegood news is that the pricing is lower than expected - previously rumouredtobeinthe$300to$320rangeforthetopCPU.The bad news is that such pricing suggests the FX-8150 is unlikely to beat Core i7 2600 in many situations. The first AMD FX CPUs have shown up for pre-order at Shopblt.com.ThethreeSKUslistedareFX-8150,FX-8120and FX-6100pricedat$266,$222and$189respectively.Thegood news is that the pricing is lower than expected - previously rumouredtobeinthe $300 to $320 rangeforthetopCPU.The bad news is that such pricing suggests the FX-8150 is unlikely to beat Core i7 2600 in many situations. As always, pre-order prices are normally higher than launch prices. Hence, we can expect the FX CPUs to sell for even lesser. The three CPUs are much the same as revealed by Gigabyte earlier . FX-6100 and FX-8150 have a TDP of 95W and 125W respectively. However, FX-8120 has a TDP of 125W at launch, while a future revision will drop the TDP of FX-8120 down to 95W. There's no indication of shipping dates as of now. LunaTik lets you wear your iPod Nano on your wrist Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lunatik-lets-you-wear-your-ipod-nano- on-your-wrist/13539.html September 14th, 2011 With LunaTik's creative watch-kit, you can transform your Apple iPod Nano into the world's coolest multi-touch wrist watch. Distributed by Tat Chuan Acoustic in Singapore, two models of LunaTik are available now - TikTok and LunaTik. 22 and magnesium body. It also has backlit keyboard, which makes it easier to type in dim lit rooms. The new line-up of VAIO S Series notebooks will be available in Singapore from September 2011. Pricing details to be announced closer to launch date. AMD FX-Series prices revealed - listed for pre-order Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-fx-series-prices-revealed--listed- for-pre-order/13540.html September 14th, 2011 If you are the owner of the stylish Apple iPod Nano, you would probably want this cool watch kit to make the portable media player into a watch. Launched at the recent COMEX Show in Singapore, and carried by Tat Chuan Acoustic Pte Ltd in Singapore, the LunaTik is a premium conversion kit designed for those want to convert their iPod Nano as a wristwatch. The product comes with a tool kit that lets you screw in the nano into the wristband. The LunaTik case is forged from aircraft- gradealuminiumwithgreatdurabilityandthestrapsaremade from compression moulded high-grade silicone rubber with anti-dust coating while the hardware is made from stainless steel.Availableinsilver,blackandred,theLunaTikisretailing at S$129 (with GST). The other model, which is called TikTok, has a simple snap-in design that allows the user to quickly and securely snap the iPod Nano in and out of the wrist dock. It integrates the media player and transforms it into a modern multi-function timepiece. TikTok is designed for those who want to easily transition from clip mode to watch mode. Moulded from reinforced PC/ABS, the straps are made from compression moulded high-grade silicone rubber with anti- dust coating and the hardware is stainless steel. The TikTok is available in black or white at S$69 (with GST).PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone Microsoft Comfort Mouse 6000 Review: Affordable mouse that can track on almost all surfaces Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-comfort-mouse-6000- review-affordable-mouse-that-can-track-on-almost-all-surfaces/13054.html September 14th, 2011 Microsoft has recently released a new mouse, the Comfort Mouse 6000, which features the software giant's Bluetrack sensorthatcantrackonalmostanysurface.Sohowgoodisthe Comfort Mouse 6000? Find out in the next pages. Specification: - Right-handed control - BlueTrack Technology - Five customizable buttons - Detent scroll wheel First look: Out of the box, the Microsoft Comfort Mouse 6000 looks like the Razer DeathAdder (except without the Razer logo) but in fact iti s actually designed after its Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 older sibling. The mouse features a smooth black plastic body with rubberized side grips and comes with five customizable buttons - left, right, two on the side and the scroll wheel. It feels very lightweight as though it is hollow. 23PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Inside the box, we also find a start guide, a product guide and technical specifications. Published by: VR-Zone The Comfort Mouse 6000 has two well-positioned side buttons which you can use to go back and forward through webpages and document with ease. Sharp launches AQUOS SH8298U glasses-free 3D smartphone Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sharp-launches-aquos-sh8298u- glasses-free-3d-smartphone/13538.html September 14th, 2011 Sharp has announced their new AQUOS SH8298U glasses- free 3D smartphone which looks to compete with the LG Optimus 3D and the HTC Evo 3D. The AQUOS SH8298U will soon retail in Japan though there is no word as to whether it will be available in other parts of the world. 24PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Sharp has recently launched a press conference to announce their new Android smartphones, and all eyes were on the AQUOS SH8298U which not only features glasses-free 3D technology, but it also has two rear built-in 8-megapixle cameras to capture images and videos in 3D. The AQUOS SH8298U sports a 4.2-inch qHD touchscreen display and incorporates 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 processor, 512MB RAM, 2GB storage and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. According to sources, the Sharp AQUOS SH8298U would be available in red or white and retail at approximately US$705. It should be arriving in Japan soon, though there's no word as to whether it will be available in other countries. Could the next version after Android Ice Cream Sandwich be Jellybean? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/could-the-next-version-after-android- ice-cream-sandwich-be-jellybean-/13537.html September 14th, 2011 system. And while many of us are anticipating the upcoming "Ice Cream Sandwich" which claims to offer the best of Honeycomb, the Android tablet OS, and make them useable on smartphones, it seems that the search engine giant has already started work on their new version which could be called "Jellybean". Published by: VR-Zone It started from Cupcake (1.5) and then Donut (1.6), Eclair (2.0/2.1), Froyo (2.2), Gingerbread (2.3), Honeycomb (3.0) to the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich. And yes, these are the codenames of the popular Google Android operating system and it looks like the next version could well be called "Jelly Bean". According to a reliable source from ThisIsMyNext , that would be the name of the next version and that it could be available to both smartphone and tablet. However, Google has yettofinalizethenamingconvention,althoughthechoicewith the letter "J" is limited and that Jellybean is most likely to be selected. Meantime, the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich claims to offer some"game-changing"features,thoughwewouldhavetowait till it is available to know, which could be fairly soon. And by them,MicrosoftmayhavealsolaunchedtheirWindowsPhone "Mango" and Apple, their iOS 5. Thermaltake Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard & Black Gaming Mouse review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/thermaltake-challenger-pro-gaming- keyboard--black-gaming-mouse-review/13536.html September 14th, 2011 Google is known for using sweet treats as codenames for the various versions of theiir popular Android mobile operating TteSPORTSisarelativelynewlyfoundsubsidiarycompanyof Thermaltake, aiming to develop, manufacture and ultimately provide gamers with high quality gaming peripherals. The company currently has a long list of high performance keyboards, mice, headsets and other parts. Today we are having a close look on two of their more popular products, the Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard and the Black Gaming Mouse. Tt eSPORTS is a relatively newly found subsidiary company of Thermaltake, aiming to develop, manufacture and ultimately provide gamers with high quality gaming peripherals. The company currently has a long list of high performance 25PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 keyboards, mice, headsets and other parts. Today we are having a close look on two of their more popular products, the Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard and the Black Gaming Mouse. Manufacturer features and specifications Challenger Pro Gaming keyboard • Red illumination back light • 2 x USB 2.0 ports • User Interface • Macro Keys • Multimedia Keys • 64KB On Board Memory • On Board Profile Switch • Backlight switch • Fan Device • Windows Dummy Keycaps • 8 additional removable keycaps • Tt. Breakaway Gold-Plated USB Connection Cable(2 Meters in Length) • Tt eSPORTS Dragon-Red key backlighting • 6 Easy Access Multimedia Keys • 10 Customizable Macro Keys • 10 Million Keystroke Lifespan • Body dimensions (LxWxH): 505x 195x 27mm • 6,000 RPM Tt. Breeze Hand Cooling Fan (Life Expectancy of 50,000 hours) Black Gaming mouse • Model: BLACK Gaming Mouse (MO-BLK002DT) • Dominating Gaming Laser Sensor 4000 DPI Engine (400/800/2000/4000 DPI Adjustable), with Visual Indicator. • Ideal for FPS or MMORPG Game Genres, equipped with Philips 4000 Laser Engine for Optimal Precision & Accuracy. • 1.8 meters Braided USB Cable with Gold-Plated Connector. • Teflon Material Feet as Extra Layer of Durability and High Degree of Mouse Handling. • Superb Customizable Graphical UI for Macro Keys, Advanced Performance, and Lighting-Effect Options. • Industrial Grade Rubber-Coating Finish for better Hand Grip. • On-Board 64kb Memory Storage for 18 Macro Keys in 3 Game Profiles. • Weight-In Design for Perfect Handling Mouse Movement: (5 x 4.5g, up to 22.5g max) 26 Published by: VR-Zone • Body Dimension: 120mm (length) x 70mm (width) x 40mm (height).PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone Several rumours are suggesting that Nikon is about to unveil its first mirrorless cameras on Wednesday, although so far we don’t have a complete picture of what to expect. What is clear is that the expected two new camera bodies not will feature an APS-C size sensor, instead we can expect something that ends up somewhere between compact digital cameras and the 4/3 format. Several rumours are suggesting that Nikon is about to unveil its first mirrorless cameras on Wednesday, although so far we don’t have a complete picture of what to expect. What is clear is that the expected two new camera bodies not will feature an APS-C size sensor, instead we can expect something that ends up somewhere between compact digital cameras and the 4/3 format. ThefirsttwocamerasinwhatislikelytobecalledtheNikonCX line of cameras should simply be called the V1 and J1. The new cameras are rumoured to have a crop factor of 2.6x compared to the 4/3 formats 2x crop factor. Nikon hasn’t gone crazy with the Megapixel count either, as the new cameras get to make do with 10.1 Megapixels, which is probably a good thing considering the relatively small sensor. What isn’t clear is if we’ll see a CCD or CMOS sensor, so that’s something we’re going to have to wait and find out about. VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks. Nikon to launch a new mirrorless standard this week? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nikon-to-launch-a-new-mirrorless- standard-this-week-/13591.html September 19th, 2011 Internally we should expect to see Nikon’s Expeed 3 processor capable of processing 600 Megapixels per second. Both models are said to shoot video at 1080i60, 1080p30, 720p60, as well as 640x240 at 400fps and 320x120 at a crazy 1200fps. Around the back we have a 3in LCD screen with unknown resolution and the V1 will also sport an EVF (Electronic View Finder). Neither model will support Nikon’s standard Flash hotshoe,buttheV1issaidtohavesomekindofaccessoryport, whereas the J1 will feature a built in flash. Four new lenses are said to launch alongside the new cameras system, a 10mm f/2.8 pancake lens, a 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens, a 10-110mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens and a 30-110mm VR lens. There will also be an adapter for Nikon’s F-mount lenses. Both models are said to come in several colour options, with the V1 being available in black or white and the J1 in red, pink, silver, black and white. We shouldn’t have to wait long to see how this plays out, but it’s getting a little bit annoying with all these new lens mount systems, as they’re anything but interchangeable. In as much as the m4/3 standard has its flaws, it’s at least a standard supported by more than one company and we’d really like to see the camera manufacturers worktowardsmorecommonstandards,especiallyconsidering the cost of lenses which is the only investment that’ll last you through several camera bodies. Gears of War 3 Singapore Launch Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gears-of-war-3-singapore- launch/13590.html September 19th, 2011 1PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Good news for fans of the Xbox 360 Gears of War series. This evening, at Funan DigitaLife Mall in Singapore, marked the launch of the highly anticipated third-person shooter game, which is also the last of the trilogy. So, have you ordered your copy? Xbox 360 game, Gears of War 3. Apparently, the queue began to form on 3pm Sunday, 18 September with hardcore fans waiting to be the first to get their hands on the game, which officially launched at 8pm today. On top of that, fans also get a first-look at the game, hands-on gameplay and on-stage activities including a special appearance by Marcus Fenix. Published by: VR-Zone The fans turned up in full-swing, and it was even more amazing to see the number of people who didn’t pre-order the game lining up to get it” said Ben Tan, general manager of Microsoft’s retail sales and marketing division, Asia Pacific, presenting the Epic Edition box to Ten. A look at the Gears of War 3 babes:- At the Funan DigitaLife Mall in Singapore, over 1,000 fans stood in line at the main atrium for the highly anticipated Canon PowerShot SX150 IS selling for $369 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-powershot-sx150-is-selling- for-369/13589.html September 19th, 2011 Here'savideoofthecountdownoftheGearsofWar3launch:- Canon PowerShot SX150 IS, Canon's latest addition to the family of long-zoom PowerShot cameras. The 14.1 megapixel PowerShot SX150 IS is an affordable all-rounder camera that delivershighzoomshootingwith12xopticalzoomcapabilities, HD movie recording and offers you creative freedom with Full Manual controls. The SX150 IS is priced at $369, and is currently available for retail. 22-year old William Ten was the first person in Singapore to receive the Gears of War 3 Epic Edition from Marcus Fenix andMicrosoftrepresentatives.Tenalsogetthesurvivorkit,an autographedposteranda“GearsofWar3”hoodie,worthclose to S$200. An additional 50 fans who were amongst the first in queue also walked away with an autographed poster and a “Gears of War 3” hoodie. "While Gears of War 3 was one of the most anticipated games of the year, the turnout today far surpassed all expectations. 2PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone • 12x optical zoom • 14.1 megapixels • Intelligent IS The SX150 IS is priced at $369, and is currently available for retail. More information here . LG unveils Optimus Q2 Android phone with QWERTY keyboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-unveils-optimus-q2-android-phone- with-qwerty-keyboard/13588.html 3 September 19th, 2011 Another Optimus smartphone has emerged from Korean manufacturer LG, and this time it is the Optimus Q2. The Optimus Q2 is based on Google's Android operating system and features Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Canon PowerShot SX150 IS, Canon's latest addition to the family of long-zoom PowerShot cameras. The 14.1 megapixel PowerShot SX150 IS is an affordable all-rounder camera that delivershighzoomshootingwith12xopticalzoomcapabilities, HD movie recording and offers you creative freedom with Full Manual controls. Today, LG has unveiled their latest Optimus Q2 high-end Android smartphone with a slide-out keyboard. The new member in their LG Optimus line of smartphones features 1.2GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and 4-inch IPS touchscreen display. The 4-inch IPS screen boasts 700 nits brightness which offers a clear view even under sunlight. The smartphone also incorporates a 5-megapixel rear and VGA front cameras, Wi-Fi Direct capabilities that allow Wi-Fi devicestotalktoeachotherwithouttheneedforaccesspoints. The LG Optimus Q2 is reported to launch soon in USA and carried by Sprint.PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Lode Runner X to be exclusive on Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY, and other Xperia devices Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lode-runner-x-to-be-exclusive-on-sony- ericsson-xperia-play-and-other-xperia-devices/13587.html September 19th, 2011 Lode Runner is a popular 1983 platform game which was first published by Brøderbund. It is one of the first early games to be released with a level editor which supports keyboard and joystick controls. (Tozai Games and Lode Runner are trademarksofTozai,Inc.registeredorprotectedintheUSand other countries). Sony Ericsson has announced their collaboration with Tozai Gamestobringthecriticallyacclaimedconsolehitandgaming franchise “Lode Runner” to Android devices, for the first time, and helps to build the Xperia PLAY's list of over 150 optimized titles. The Lode Runner X will be available from November 2011 and exclusive on the Xperia PLAY and other Xperia devices. The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY has recently gone Published by: VR-Zone on sale in the US on the AT&T network last week on 14th September, and the company said that the Xperia PLAY will launch in Japan with NTT DOCOMO in Autumn 2011. Canon Singapore launches PowerShot SX150 IS compact camera Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-singapore-launches-powershot- sx150-is-compact-camera/13586.html September 19th, 2011 Canon Singapore has announced the new PowerShot SX150 IS compact digital camera that features one-touch high definition(HD)moviebuttonandlong-zoomcapabilitiesatan affordable price. The PowerShot SX150 IS is available now at all Canon authorized dealers. Owners of Sony Ericsson Xperia range of Android phones would be pleased to know that the Lode Runner X game from Tozai Games will be exclusive on the smartphones. The Lode Runner X game is scheduled to be available from November this year. Canon Singapore has unveiled the PowerShot SX150 IS compact camera which claims to offer 14.1-megapixel sensor, 12x optical zoom (28-336mm), and has a dedicated Movie Button to record 720p high definition (HD) movies. With a powerful 12x zoom, 28mm wide-angle lens, it lets users shoot landscapes, building and people easily. The digital camera also incorporates electronic wind filter that can suppress wind noise that muffles or distorts sound, and built-in Intelligent IS (Image Stabilizer) for minimized camera shake. The Powershot SX150 IS comes with 32-Smart Auto Scene detection options including sunset, clear skies, and backlit that provide optimized camera settings for best results. Photographers can also enhance their images using the eight in-cameraCreativeFilterstoaddeffecttotheoriginalimages- Toy Camera, Monochrome, Miniature, Fish-eye, Super Vivid, Poster, Color Swap and Color Accent. There is also the new Photo Book function that allows users to pre-select their favoriteshotsin-cameratofacilitatetheeasycreationofphoto books. The new Canon PowerShot SX150 IS also operates 4PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 on AA batteries for added convenience and comes with the optional high power flash HF-DC2 slim and portable slave flash with enhanced sync performance and a wider flash coverage of up to 24mm (with attached wide panel). The Canon PowerShot SX150 IS is now available at all authorized Canon retail stores at the recommended retail selling price of S$369. Pricing and availability of the optional high power flash HF-DC2 will be confirmed at a later date. LG to introduce Street Fighter IV on upcoming high definition smartphones Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/post-idf-bites-ivy-bridge-gpu-to- support-4kx4k-displays-/13584.html September 19th, 2011 With all the hustle and bustle of IDF, one piece of news, gently unveiled in one of side technical sessions at the conference, mostly passed unnoticed. It was a particular detail about the Published by: VR-Zone updated graphics and multimedia processing hardware in the upcoming Ivy Bridge series of processors, expected to hit the shelves about half a year from now. It wasn't the fact that the new chip will have graphics far faster - some expect at least double, and much more in some operations - than the Sandy Bridge, or the full DirectX 11 and DirectCompute capability, with an OpenCL port to follow. Neither was it the much tighter connection to the L3 cache for more usability in graphics tasks. Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-to-introduce-street-fighter-iv-on- upcoming-high-definition-smartphones/13585.html September 19th, 2011 LG Korea has announced that it has entered into an exclusive deal with Japanese game developer Capcom to introduce their popular Street Fighter IV game on their high definition Android smartphone. Details inside. It'sthevastlyimproveddisplaycapability,andassociatedultra high resolution video processing, of the new chip - in fact, so high it stands on an equal footing with the fastest high end discrete GPUs in this particular measurement: the 4K display resolution. Take a look at their Multi Format Codec or MFX engine,capableofplayingmultiple4Kvideosatthesametime, even a wall of them, as Intel says. Today, LG Korea announced that it has entered into an exclusive deal with Japanese game developer Capcom that gives LG the exclusive rights to their popular Street Fighter IV game on their first high definition (HD) Android smartphone for three months after its launch. Debuted in 1987, the Street Fighter series is found on millions of game consoles and in arcades all over the word, though it has not been offered on the Android platform yet. Street Fighter IV will make its Android smartphone debut on LG’s global apps site ( www.lgworld.com ) in the fourth quarter this year. Post-IDF bites: Ivy Bridge GPU to support 4Kx4K displays! Not only can the MFX engine display up to 4096 x 4096 pixels on a single monitor, but it can also handle video processing for4KQuadHDvideoaswell.Rememberwhen,twoyearsago, Jen Hsun Huang at Nvidia for the first time encouraged 4K resolution - at that time 3840x2400 or as he called it XHD2, for ultra realistic gaming too, to use the extra pixels to justify 5PowerPoint Presentation: Published by: VR-Zone September 19th, 2011 thehighendcardneed?Now,whatafate,Intelismakingitreal on the - integrated graphics platform, of all. Now, can we have back those 16:10 3840x2400 or, better, 4096x2560 monitors? Akasa Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/akasa-venom-voodoo-cpu-cooler- review/13583.html September 19th, 2011 Adept PC users are rarely satisfied with the factory bundled CPU cooler, being it because of the performance, noise and/or aesthetics, creating a great demand for good aftermarket cooling solutions. Out of the many products currently available, today we are having a close look at the latest offering from Akasa, the Venom Voodoo CPU cooler, which is boasting exceptional performance and socket LGA 2011 support. Adept PC users are rarely satisfied with the factory bundled CPU cooler, being it because of the performance, noise and/ or aesthetics, creating a great demand for good aftermarket cooling solutions. Out of the many products currently available,todaywearehavingacloselookatthelatestoffering from Akasa, the Venom Voodoo CPU cooler, which is boasting exceptional performance and socket LGA 2011 support. Manufacturer features and specifications • Performance 12cm PWM fan in killer Viper yellow • 6 high capacity heatpipes with direct CPU contact • Award winning S-FLOW fan blades provide 30% more airflow • Dual 12cm viper yellow fans Socket type Cooler dimensions Heatsink material Weight Installation Fan dimension Fan speed Max airflow Max air pressure Noise level Voltage rating Bearing type Fan life expectancy Fan connector Product code Intel LGA775, LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366 & LGA2011 AMD Socket AM2, AM2+, AM3 & FM1 131 (W) x 129.5 (D) x 163.5 (H) mm High grade aluminium fins, copper heatpipes 1065g Screws and backplate (Intel & AMD) 120 x 120 x 25mm 600-1900 RPM (PWM controlled) 83.63 CFM 2.98 mm H2O 6.9 - 28.9 dB(A) 12V DC HDB (Hydro Dynamic) 50,000 hours 4pin PWM AK-CC4008HP01 Logitech G9x Gaming Mouse Review: With interchangeable grips and weight-tuning options Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/logitech-g9x-gaming-mouse-review- with-interchangeable-grips-and-weight-tuning-options/13233.html September 19th, 2011 Logitech, one of world's largest manufacturers of computer peripherals from mice to multimedia speakers, is known for their line of "G-series" gaming peripherals. What we have today is the not-so-new Logitech G9x which features interchangeable grips, weight-tuning options and more. Let's go into the details. Introduction: The gaming market is booming, and it is no wonder peripherals makers like Logitech is coming up with more gaming products for the hardcore gamers. Their G series mice are widely received and this year, the company has given their G9 an upgraded sensor and called it the G9x. The G9x claims to have sensitity of up to 5700 dots per inch (DPI). The Logitech G9x comes packed in fancy green and orange box with a large transparent area that displays the mouse and 6PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 for users to get a feel of how the mouse feels like. Opening the flap revealed an additional grip and an explanation of the difference and main features of the mouse. Features and Specification : Interchangeable grip Next-generation gaming laser Onboard memory Weight-tuning system Custom-colour LEDs On-the-fly adjustable DPI Resolution Image processing Maximum acceleration Maximum speed Polling rate Dynamic coefficient of Published by: VR-Zone 200-5700 DPI 12 Megapixels/second 30G Up to 165 inches (4.19m)/ second 1000 Hz 0.09 friction Static coefficient of friction 0.14 Tuning weight Up to 28 grams Button durability (Left/Right) 8 Million clicks Mousefeet durability 250 Kilometres Inside the packaging, there is a small tin box and an envelope containing a user's guide, a Logitech Setpoint disc, a quick guide, a USB usage and Logitech contact leaflets. 7PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone 8 ASUS ENGTS450 DirectCU Silent Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-engts450-directcu-silent- review/13157.html September 19th, 2011 Nearly all modern GPUs are designed for use with active cooling systems, in order to allow for desirable levels of performance within a reasonable form factor. To take a GPU intended for active cooling and cool it passively would entail a compromise in performance, size, or both. The passive graphics card we're looking at today is ASUS' ENGTS450 DirectCU Silent. While the GeForce GTS 450 is by no means the fastest GPU around, its relatively low TDP of 106W (for NVIDIA's reference design) makes it a good candidate for passive cooling. In the case of the ENGTS450 DirectCU Silent, ASUS has decided to sacrifice performance instead of size. The core clock on this card is ~25% slower than NVIDIA's reference speed. ASUS has also opted to use DDR3 memory, which has lower power consumption but also much lower bandwidth than GDDR5 memory. In terms of performance, the reference GTS 450 sits roughly in between AMD's HD 5770 and HD 5750 (now renamed the HD 6770 and HD 6750 respectively). Gainward GeForce GTS 450 GS GLH 930MHz 1860MHz 1000MHz (2000MHz) Core Clock Shader Clock Memory Clock (effective) Memory Bus ASUS NVIDIA ENGTS 450 GeForce DirectCU GTS 450 Silent 594MHz 783MHz 1188MHz 1566MHz 800MHz 902MHz (1600MHz) (3608MHz) 128-bit Memory Type Memory Size DDR3 GDDR5 1GB ThefullspecificationsoftheASUSENGTS450DirectCUSilent are as follows: Graphics Engine Bus Standard Video Memory Engine Clock Shader Clock Memory Clock Memory Interface Interface Software ASUS Features Dimensions Note NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 PCI Express 2.0 GDDR3 1GB 594 MHz 1189 MHz 1.6 GHz ( 800 MHz GDDR3 ) 128-bit D-Sub Output : Yes x 1 DVI Output : Yes x 1 (DVI-I) HDMI Output : Yes x 1 ASUS Utilities & Driver / AIWI software DirectCU Silent Series 5.936 " x 4.375 " Inch This card doesn't need extra power supply, it's the best choice for user to upgrade Qualcomm reveals future plans, we give you the details Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/qualcomm-reveals-future-plans-we- give-you-the-details/13581.html September 19th, 2011 Earlier this week Qualcomm hosted its Innovation Qualcomm event in Istanbul where the company unveiled details of some of its upcoming products, including a 2.5GHz next generation Snapdragon SoC. However, a lot of details were left out, but VR-Zone is here to help fill in the blanks as to what to expect from Qualcomm over the next couple of years. From the event we know that Qualcomm is getting ready to launch a 28nm SoC with clock speeds of up to 2.5GHz in single, dual and quad core versions, all with next gen Adreno dual or quad core graphics. However, the company didn't say much more and some publications made the assumption that Qualcomm would have a quad core solution for phones out by early next year. Well, sadly this isn't the case for those of you that are longing to get your hands on a quad core phone, but let'snotgetaheadofourselves,instead,let'sstartfromthetop. The current series of Snapdragon SoC's from Qualcomm are known as the S3 class, also known as Scorpion and here we're talking about chips like the current MSM8660 and MSM8260 as well as the APQ8060 which lacks baseband support. ThesePowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 SoC's can be found in a wide range of devices from HP's now defunct TouchPad to HTC's Sensation and EVO 3D. They're all 45nm dual core parts with Adreno 220 graphics and a core clock speed of between 1.2 and 1.5GHz. The next generation of Snapdragon chips will be the S4 class, as Qualcomm are keeping things simple when it comes to its naming schemes, although these chips are more commonly known as Krait. The first new Krait SoC's to arrive is the MSM8260A, MSM8660A and the MSM8960, all of which are 28nm dual core parts with a clock speed of 1.5 or 1.7GHz and 1MB of L2 cache. All three models sports support for dual channel500MHzLPDDR2,fasterAdreno225graphicssaidto be good for 125 million triangles per second. The MSM8960 should also come in a version with a faster Adreno 330 GPU capable of some 200 million triangles. The main difference between the MSM8260A and MSM8660A is that the 8260A supports dual-cell HSPA+ and TD-SCDMA,whereasthe8660AsupportsHSPA+andvarious EV-DO standards mostly used in the US. The MSM8690 sports LET in addition to the connectivity options on the other two models and will be available with either CDMA or UMTS in addition to LTE. All three models should enter mass production next quarter, although devices based on these dual core SoC's aren't expected until the second quarter of next year. As far as phones are concerned, this is as much as we get for all of 2012, but in early 2013 Qualcomm is expecting to launch its first quad core phone SoC, the MSM8974. This isn't the 2.5GHz chip the company has been talking about, but instead a slightly slower 2GHz part with 2MB L2 cache. It will support dual channel 800MHz LPDDR3 memory and comes with a faster Adreno 330 GPU core which is capable of 200 million triangles per second. It will support the latest LTE and CD- HSPA+ MIMO standards and it'll be Qualcomm's first phone SoC to sport USB 3.0 connectivity. Some of the more crazy features Qualcomm is planning to add is 4K x 2K video at 24fps, 1080p video at 120fps or 1080p 3D video at 60fps. If you're still waiting for the 2.5GHz part, then please bear with us a little bit longer, as we'll get there in just a second. Qualcomm's first quad core SoC will be the APQ8064 and as you may or may not know, the APQ models don't feature any built in baseband technology. As such, the APQ chips tend to be used in many devices that don't require internetconnectivity,ormorecommonlyasoflately,intablets 9 Published by: VR-Zone where there's room for additional chips that will handle the connectivity. The APQ8064 is similar to the MSM8960, as it's a 1.5 to 1.7GHz SoC, although with a pair of additional cores and 2MB L2 cache. It features Adreno 320 graphics, but it also offers SATA and PCI Express connectivity, something the MSM chips lack. Things brings us to the 2.5GHz monster, well, it might in fact be even faster as it's not expected to arrive until the second half of 2013. The model in question is the APQ8094 and it'll support either 800MHz dual channel LPDDR3 memory, or dual channel 1333MHz PCDDR4 memory, or in other words, standarddesktopDDR4memory.Apparentlybythen,desktop memory will be so low power that it will be just as good to use in a tablet as low power mobile memory. Here we're looking at an Adreno 420 GPU which is said to be capable of 400 million triangles per second. Beyond that we don't' have too many details about this upcoming chip, but it'll offer SATA connectivity just like its predecessor and apparently it'll do 3D video at 60fps in 1080p. We'll be following up this article with a closer look at Qualcomm's more affordable options next week, although as always when we're diving into roadmaps, things are likely goingtochangebeforemostoftheseproductsarriveandwe've already seen that some of the models covered here have had their specs changed from earlier roadmaps. That said, it looks likeQualcommhassomeinterestingproductscomingoverthe next couple of years, but the real question is, is it going to be good enough, as the company is getting more and more competitors and none of them are resting on their laurels. Image courtesy of Pocket-Lint IDF Day 3: Multi Core, Many Core and Many More Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/idf-day-3-multi-core-many-core-and- many-more/13580.html September 19th, 2011 More apps coming, according to Intel's Justin Rattner. Look at China Mobile LTE 4G base station in a multi-core PC, and Pentium-class mini PC running off a small solar cell The last day of every IDF is usually reserved for a more relaxed 'future looking' keynote, delivered as usual by Intel's CTO Justin Rattner - a happy research bloke whose cheerful disposition, enormous breadth of knowledge, and oh so slight facial similarity to the actor doing the Senator Palpatine role in early Star Wars movies, gives him regular following at IDF.PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 He covered quite a lot on the multi-core evolution at Intel ever since the 2005 Core 2 Duo CPU. Interestingly, he omitted those infamous Netburst generation dual die Pentium 4- generationPreslerprocessorsin2004,whichatleasthadsome lovely clock frequency records for a while and yes, were seen as dual core CPUs from the system point of view. The multi- core general purpose desktop, mobile and server CPUs were covered, as well as the many-core MIC add-on card approach for supercomputing, where the stated goal is to bring the MIC many core approach from the HPC niche to the mainstream. Note that AMD and Nvidia already do that in the mainstream -partially only, due toincompatible underlying instruction set and need for programming in OpenCL or CUDA, rather than in-line X86 - with their GPUs for a while already. On the other end of the spectrum, their Extreme Computing team, going beyond all this, showed experiments like very low voltage threshold transistor usage to create a Pentium-class (yes, the old P55 MMX Pentium from year 1998 or so, with matching 13 year old mainboard) processor that takes only 10 mW (miliwatts!) and runs of a single credit card sized solar cell. The thing ran Windows XP with moving dancing kitten JPG, but could go up in clock by 10X too, if allowed for the voltage to reach the normal level. This all, however, would need new system infra running at such low voltages too. Published by: VR-Zone Finally, they are pushing the generic multi-core PC CPU infrastructure into almost any app - here you see the joint effort with China Mobile to program the complete LTE 4G mobile base station software stack into a standard 4-core Sandy Bridge PC, using the SSE and AVX extensions as a kind of DSP feature, and reducing the cost of LTE deployment substantially. On the other side of the story, Intel was also rapidly updating their Sandy Bridge GPU drivers to extract maximum performance, and they recommend the users downloading the freshest version with 'substantial performance' increases. Same applies to the OpenGL professional application 3- D for apps like Pro/E or CATIA being certified for the Xeon version of Sandy Bridge, the E3-1275, providing inexpensive competition to Nvidia and ATI cards in the OpenGL workstation space, where often just lots of polygons and simple texturing, but with guaranteed error free display, wins over fancy effects of the 3-D gaming world. Overall, a good event with lots of new things, but the next major launches - the Sandy Bridge E & EP high-end processors, followed by Ivy Bridge, will be the focus over the nexttwoquarters.Intelseemshappywiththeirclearlongterm performance advantage in the mainstream and high end, and seems to devote quite a bit of their focus now to the emerging phone and tablet markets, and attempting an aggressive X86- based entry there. Canon unveils PowerShot S100 and PowerShot SX40 HS with new DIGIC 5 image processor Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-unveils-powershot-s100-and- powershot-sx40-hs-with-new-digic-5-image-processor/13579.html September 19th, 2011 Canon has recently announced two new members in their popular PowerShot series of digital cameras - the PowerShot S100 and SX40. Both cameras incorporate the latest DIGIC 5 image processor that provides enhanced resolution and fast shooting speeds to photographer enthusiasts. 10PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Canon has announced the feature-packed PowerShot S100 and PowerShot SX40 HS, which comes equipped with the new DIGIC 5 image processor for superb performance and shooting speed. Both cameras also feature HS SYSTEM, Full HD video capture, High-speed Burst HQ and Intelligent IS for clearer smoother images. The Canon PowerShot S100, successor to the hugely received PowerShot S95, has improved features such as 4-120mm wide angle lens with 5x optical zoom, GPS functionality and is capable of achieving improved low-light performance of up to ISO 6400, and comes with a 12.1-megapixel CMOS image sensor. Available in either black or silver, the estimated selling price of the Canon PowerShot S100 is US$429.99 and is scheduled to be available in early November. Some features of this camera:- -3-inchwideLCDscreenforeasyviewingofimagesandmenu options. - GPS capabilities where satellites collect data of the latitude, longitude and altitude of an image's location, which is then stored to the image's EXIF data. Map utility software is included with the camera to view the locations where images were captured. - A full range of shooting and recording modes including RAW +JPEGandacontrolringonthefrontofthecameraforquick, manual adjustment of key functions such as ISO, zoom and focus. - compatibility with the HF-DC2 High-Power Flash, which is an optional flash accessory that operates wirelessly and Published by: VR-Zone The Canon PowerShot SX40 HS is the camera you need to ensure high quality images, be it shooting at a football game or at the local zoo. Some features of the include: - 35x optical zoom range (24mm-840mm) with image stabilizer and a 12.1-megapixel CMOS image sensor; the camera can capture low-light images of enhanced image quality up to ISO 3200. - 2.7-inch wide vari-angle LCD for easy viewing of images and menus from almost any angle. - Improved Smart AUTO settings to ensure the settings are intelligently selected based upon the cameras 32 predefined shooting situations. -ZoomFramingAssistbuttonhelpstheusersteadythecamera when tracking a moving subject at extreme telephoto settings keeping it in focus. The estimated selling price of the PowerShot SX40 HS Digital camera is US$429.99 and is scheduled to be available in late September. Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler Review - Dual 140mm of Air Cooling Greatness Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/thermalright-silver-arrow-cpu-cooler- review--dual-140mm-of-air-cooling-greatness/10000.html September 19th, 2011 increases the effective flash range up to approximately 9 metres. We at VR-Zone test many combinations of motherboards and CPU platforms throughout the year, often demanding quick assembly/disassembly of heatsinks and decent air cooling performance in order to maximize overclocks in the shortest possible time. One CPU cooler (among many on our shelves) that we prefer to use in particular, is the Thermalright Silver Arrow. 11PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone Unpacking the contents of the box, we have: Introduction Quick run through of the greatest hits from Thermalright - SK-6, SLK-900, SP-94/97, Ultra-90, Ultra-120 Extreme, Venomous X, AXP-140, HR02, Archon (review coming soon). Measuring 147mm x 122.6mm x 162mm (L x B x H), the Silver Arrow takes up a huge amount of real estate. Google Nexus Prime with dual- core processor to launch end October? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/google-nexus-prime-with-dual-core- processor-to-launch-end-october-/13578.html September 19th, 2011 ItwasNexusOne,followedbytheNexusS,anditlookslikethe next official Google phone could come in the form of Google Nexus Prime. If online sources are right, we may see the new Google Nexus Prime smartphone to launch end October or early November. • the Silver Arrow heatsink, • two TY-140 fans, • a few installation leaflets, and • a sealed accessories pack which includes the mounting kit and fan clips. According to TheDroidGuy , the upcoming Google Nexus PrimesmartphonewhichismanufacturedbySamsung,would befirstcarriedbyU.StelcooperatorVerizoninlateOctoberor earlyNovember,andthentoothercarriers.AtarecentVerizon Developer’s conference in Las Vegas, a Samsung executive showcased the Nexus Prime, though he forbid attendees to haveacloserlookattheAndroidsmartphone,norallowothers to take picture of it. According to sources, the Nexus Prime is 12PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 broader and longer than the Nexus S which is likely due to the support for 4G LTE. The Google Nexus Prime will come with 4.6-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display, 5-megapixel rear and 2- megapixel front cameras, dual-core Ti OMAP processor. As Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has yet to be out, it is possible that the Nexus Prime will run Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread mobile operating system and upgradeable to the newer Android version in the near future. Digital Style multi-brand electronics concept store launched in Funan DigitaLife Mall Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/digital-style-multi-brand-electronics- concept-store-launched-in-funan-digitalife-mall/13576.html September 19th, 2011 This afternoon, @notebook.com, which is part of Newstead Technologies, has announced the launch of their first multi- brand electronics concept store, Digital Style, to provide users with comprehensive consumer-centric experience. Published by: VR-Zone Located at #03-32 in Funan DigitaLife Mall, Digital Style electronics concept store carries the complete range of consumer electronics products under six categories of Entertainment & Media, Gaming, Home Computing, Mobile Communications, Office & Professional and Ultra Mobile & Business. Experiential retail is one key component to the concept behind Digital Style. The store is specially designed to allow shoppers to easily try out products at the kiosk. Be it the latest speakers for music entertainment or new keyboards for gaming, shoppers are able to mix-and-match and plug-and- play the gadgets in-store. The Gaming zone features latest notebooks and desktops with powerful processors and superb graphics along with game controllers. The Office & Professional zone showcases various office productivity solutions while the Mobile Communications zone is packed with smart phones and cutting-edge tablets coupled with latest accessories to complete the entire experience. Across its five lifestyle categories,DigitalStylecarriesproductsfromallmajorbrands including Acer, Asus, Blackberry, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, HTC, Lenovo, Logitech, Microsoft, Motorola, Panasonic, Samsung, Toshibaetc.NewsteadTechnologiesplanstoopenanotherfive Digital Style outlets islandwide in the next three years. Sony unveils new range of Balanced Armature In-ear Headphones Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-unveils-new-range-of-balanced- armature-in-ear-headphones/13575.html September 19th, 2011 Sony has introduced a new range of Balanced Armature (BA) in-ear headphones, which includes 11 models featuring its new BA technology for high performance music enjoyment. The technological breakthrough revolves around the BA drivers,whicharemicro-sizedconstructionthatare¼thesize of conventional dynamic drivers, yet retaining the ability to achieve high resolution sound. 13PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Sony says its BA drivers are optimised for music enjoyment, and located within a sealed housing to reduce the amount of ambient noise, as well as significantly reducing the levels of sound leakage - both in and out of the ear. The result is a deeper and richer sound, allowing for high-quality playback over a broader sound range across all models of the new Sony Balanced Armature headphones. "With audiophiles and music lovers in general continually in pursuit of greater sound quality, the Sony Balanced Armature headphones offers a new holistic auditory experience," said Mr. Yosuke Aoki, General Manager, Personal Imaging & Sound Asia Pacific, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific. "These new models will forever change the way one appreciates music by catering to their individual specific needs." The 11 models of in-ear headphones are as follows: • XBA-1, XBA-2, XBA-3 and XBA-4: For high sound quality for common listening • XBA-1iP, XBA-2 iP, XBA-3 iP and XBA-4 iP: Same as the XBAbutwitharemotecontrolforusewithmusicplayers and hands-free talk for smartphones • XBA-S65: Waterproof and washable for the sporting consumer • XBA-BT75: Bluetooth wireless headset model in-ear • XBA-NC85D: The smallest and lightest headphone with digital noise cancelling XBA-1,XBA-2,XBA-3andXBA-4headphonesencompassone (full range), two (full range + woofer), three (full range + woofer + tweeter), and four (full range + woofer + tweeter + super woofer) respectively. This allows music lovers to purchase the appropriate earphone with a frequency response thatbestsuitstheirlisteningpreference. Theversionswiththe iP designation simply come with additional support for music players and hands-free talk for smartphones. Note that the XBA-S65 (Waterproof), XBA-BT75 (Bluetooth) and XBA-NC85D (Digital noise cancelling) features only a single full range BA driver for each ear. In the case of the XBA-BT75 and XBA-NC85D, the micro-size of the new BA drivers does mean that the Bluetooth transmitter and noise cancellation circuitry respectively are built right into the headphone housing; including their rechargeable batteries. Published by: VR-Zone The new Sony Balanced Armature in-ear headphones will be available from all authorised Sony dealers from November 2011. ECS X79R-AX Black Series Motherboard Pictured Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ecs-x79r-ax-black-series-motherboard- pictured/13574.html September 19th, 2011 Here are the first pictures of ECS' top-of-the-line socket LGA2011 motherboard, the X79R-AX Black Series. This standard ATX form-factor motherboard crams in a ton of connectivity and features to tick all the boxes as far as Intel's next-generation HEDT (high-end desktop) platform goes. It's got room for 4-way SLI or CrossfireX, a strong-looking VRM, and connectivity galore. Here are the first pictures of ECS' top-of-the-line socket LGA2011 motherboard, the X79R-AX Black Series. This standard ATX form-factor motherboard crams in a ton of connectivity and features to tick all the boxes as far as Intel's next-generation HEDT (high-end desktop) platform goes. It's got room for 4-way SLI or CrossfireX, a strong-looking VRM, and connectivity galore. Styled in ECS' signature black, white, and gray color-sheme, the X79R-AX belongs to the "Black Series" line of premium motherboards by the company, which helped build the its image as a premium board vendor. The LGA2011 socket takes in upcoming Core i7 "Sandy Bridge-E" processors, the socket itself is LOTES-made. The socket is powered by a 14-phase VRM, seven sets of Driver-MOSFETs and chokes on either sides of the PCB. We can imagine this to be a heavily layered PCB to keep signaling proper, when you have high-current electrical components on even the reverse-side of the PCB. 14PowerPoint Presentation: 15 September 19th, 2011 The CPU socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, two on its either sides. Each slot has its own 64-bit wide data path to the memory controller, since Sandy Bridge-E packs a hefty quad- channel (256-bit) DDR3 integrated memory controller. Up to 32 GB of DDR3-2400 MHz (via OC) memory can be installed. The memory slots are powered by a 4-phase VRM. Other expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x1. Published by: VR-Zone VIA powered Zotac ZBOX nano appear in Japan Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/via-powered-zotac-zbox-nano-appear- in-japan/13573.html September 19th, 2011 After having seen Zotac's dual core VIA Nano X2 powered ZBOX nano at Computex back in June, we were surprised when the company launched an AMD E-350 powered model insteadoftheVIAmode,butloandbehold,theVIAversionhas arrived, well, at least in Japan. We have as yet to see an official announcementfromZotac,butwe'resurethiswillcomeindue time. After having seen Zotac's dual core VIA Nano X2 powered ZBOX nano at Computex back in June, we were surprised when the company launched an AMD E-350 powered model insteadoftheVIAmode,butloandbehold,theVIAversionhas arrived, well, at least in Japan. We have as yet to see an official announcementfromZotac,butwe'resurethiswillcomeindue time. The size hasn't changed, so we're still looking at a 127x127x45mm cube, although the internals have of course changedquiteabit.Aminorcosmeticchangeincludesayellow circle, instead of a green one on the AMD powered model. Around the front, we're looking at an identical setup as well with a memory card reader, a pair of audio jacks and an IR receiver. Expansion slots include four well spaced-out PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, which depending on the way they're populated, are electrically configured (top to bottom) as x16/NC/x16/NC, or x8/x8/x8/x8, or x16/NC/x8/x8. Switching is handled by new ASMedia ASM1480 lane switches, that are PCI-Express 3.0 compliant. There doesn't appear to have been any changes made to the rear either, as here we find a DisplayPort, and HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, an eSATA port and the Wi-Fi antenna. Internally things are quite different though, as here we find VIA's Nano X2 U4025 dual core CPU which is clocked at 1.2GHz with an 18W TDP. It's been paired up with the VIA VX900H chipset, although we couldn't find any reference to this specific model, nor the CPU model on VIA's website.PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 A single SO-DIMM will accept up to 4GB of DDR3 memory and there's of course space for a 2.5-inch drive. It also sports 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 and just like with the AMD model, you get an external IR receiver, a remote control and a VESA mounting plate in the box. The VIA powered model goes under the name of ZBOX nano-VD01 and it's expected to hit retail in Japan later this month for somewhere around 10,000 Yen (S$162/US$130), although exact pricing has as yet not been confirmed. Global Foundries GTC Taiwan 2011 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/global-foundries-gtc- taiwan-2011/13572.html September 19th, 2011 Yesterday we attended Global Foundries Global Technology Conference 2011 in Hsinchu, Taiwan and although the company didn't reveal anything new in addition to what was announcedatitsconferenceininSantaClaraacoupleofweeks ago, as we didn't attend that conference, we thought we'd sum up some of the things the company is working on. As always with these kind of events, only so many details are revealed, as much of what Global Foundries does are company secrets, or it's related to its partners products and as such Global Foundries can't talk about a lot of the specifics. Yesterday we attended Global Foundries Global Technology Conference 2011 in Hsinchu, Taiwan and although the company didn't reveal anything new in addition to what was announcedatitsconferenceininSantaClaraacoupleofweeks ago, as we didn't attend that conference, we thought we'd sum up some of the things the company is working on. As always with these kind of events, only so many details are revealed, as much of what Global Foundries does are company secrets, or it's related to its partners products and as such Global Foundries can't talk about a lot of the specifics. Published by: VR-Zone It's clear that being in the foundry business is a risky thing, least not looking at the big ups and downs in the market which affects a foundry directly when customers end up with too much stock of a certain product. That said, since the early 1980's the year or year growth for the semiconductor industry has grown from US$15 billion to US$314 billion and it's expected to grow further as we're moving towards more connected devices. Jim Kupec, the SVP of sales and market at Global Foundries mentioned that today's biggest driving force for new devices are teenagers and although this might not be entirely true, a lot of the devices out there are targeting the younger end of the market. That said, Global Foundries aren't exactly slowing down their investments as the company is busy investing in all of its facilities. It's facility in New York reached its “ready for equipment” date two months early and Global Foundries should be kicking off test production here this year, although this facility isn't expected to go into full production until early next year. Fab 1 in Germany has started volume production of 32nm parts for AMD earlier this year and it's also doing some 28nm production tests and it will transition entirely to 28nm in the near future. Fab 7 in Singapore has been upgraded to produce anything between 40 and 65nm and is currently under evaluation to move to 300mm wafers in the future. It's also worth noting that Global Foundries have several additional facilities in Singapore which are all production various kinds of solutions such as MEMS and special components for the auto industry etc. 16PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone products and even start some initial 20nm production at Fab 8 in the US. Furthermore the company is expecting to ramp capacity in Fab 1, 7 and 8 as the company is expecting demand for what it calls leading edge technology (65nm and below) to increase and this is also where the company is seeing close to 70 percent of its revenues from. Global Foundries also addressed the concerns that some outside observers have had with regards to its High-k Metal Gate manufacturing process and the company has produced 2GHzARMCortex-A9testchipwithits28nm-SLPtechnology and hit 3GHz with its 28nm-HPP process. That said, AMD's Fusion processors in the A-series are also built using Global Foundries HKMG manufacturing process and despite being late,thevolumesareramping,althoughthecompanywouldn't go into any specifics here either due to non-disclosure agreements with AMD. All future processors from AMD for at least the next 12 months should be based on Global Foundries 32nm HKMG process, including the upcoming FX-series and AMD's next generation A-series APUs. AMD benchmarks FX against Intel CPUs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-benchmarks-fx-against-intel- cpus/13571.html September 19th, 2011 Right alongside the Trinity demonstration, AMD also showed off its FX CPUs - with competing Intel CPUs by the side. Two AMD FX CPUs were shown benchmarked against two Intel Core CPUs, both times the FX CPUs coming out on top. However, neither victory was comprehensive. By next year Global Foundries expects to be ramping its 28nm The first benchmark pegged a AMD FX 8-core CPU against a similarly priced Intel Core i5 in Handbrake. While the exact models weren't revealed, it is likely a Core i5 2400/2500 and FX-8100/8120 were benchmarked. A 5 minute standard definition was converted at 223 fps on the FX system against 188fps for the Core i5. The conclusion is simple - AMD has a 19% performance/price lead in Handbrake. While Handbrake isn't as aggressively multi-threaded as Cinebench or X264, it does respond to multiple threads, giving AMD's 8-cores an advantage (albeint disproportionate) over Intel's 4-core, 4- thread Core i5. The second benchmark involved Dirt 3 running at 2560x1600 with two Radeon HD 6970 cards in Crossfire. An unnamed FX CPU scored 82.8fps versus 80.9fps for the Intel Core i7 980X. At such resolutions, games are extremely CPU limited, and slight performance difference does not reveal much. The benchmarks don't reveal as much as we would have liked, buttherearesignsofstatusquo-Intelleadingonperformance and IPC while AMD winning on performance/$ and especially multithreaded performance. RIM launches BlackBerry Torch 9860 and BlackBerry Torch 9810 Smartphones in Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/rim-launches-blackberry-torch-9860- and-blackberry-torch-9810-smartphones-in-singapore/13570.html September 19th, 2011 RIM today announced the launch of two new BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones in Singapore, the BlackBerry Torch 9860 and BlackBerry Torch 9810. Pre-order for both smartphone 17PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 models start today, with expected availability in Singapore on September 22nd. The new BlackBerry 7 operating system has been touted to offer a significantly faster, and more fluid browsing experience. Built on the WebKit browser engine, RIM says its BlackBerry7smartphonesdeliver40%fasterbrowsingresults than BlackBerry 6 smartphones, as well as optimized zooming and panning for smoother web navigation The BlackBerry Torch 9810 is an evolution of the BlackBerry Torch 9800, which was RIM's first smartphone with a capacitance touch screen and a slide-out keyboard. Equipped The BlackBerry Torch 9860, on the other hand, is a touch- only BlackBerry. With a depth of just 11.5mm, the Torch 9860 comeswithanevenlarger3.7"displaywithaWVGAresolution of 800 x 480. The Torch 9860 shares the same 1.2GHz processor and has the same amount of RAM and onboard memory as the Torch 9810. Gregory Wade, Regional Managing Director, East Asia at RIM, said: "This is an exciting period for RIM and we are thrilled to introduce two new BlackBerry 7 powered smartphones in Singapore. Both of these new BlackBerry Torch smartphones offer a full touch display and feature RIM's next generation of hardware and software to deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity." Published by: VR-Zone For more information, visit http://sg.blackberry.com/ IDF Day 2: Mobile Ivy Bridge, Haswell shows up too Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/idf-day-2-mobile-ivy-bridge-haswell- shows-up-too/13569.html September 19th, 2011 The ever-popular Mooly Eden keynote show focused on Sandy/IvyBridgeultrabooksandthefirstshowingofworking Haswell system. The IDF second day is usually as exciting and news-packed as the first one, especially since other speakers' keynotes may be more 'liberal' and peppered with more juicy revelations than what the CEO shows earlier. Mooly Eden, the VP in charge of the PC Client world - meaning desktops, notebooks and such, and the man who helped create Centrino, Core and all the way up to Sandy Bridge processors, was there on stage to promote Intel's next big mobile thing, the Ultrabook. with a significantly faster 1.2 GHz processor under its hood for azippyuserexperience,theTorch9810incorporatesthesame form factor as older Torch. In addition, the Torch 9810 has a 3.2" display that sports a VGA resolution of 640 x 480, as well as a vastly expanded 768MB of RAM and 8GB of onboard memory. Now, Mooly has for some time preached a mantra that really reasonates beyond this whole processor thing: basically, with the likes of iPod and iPad, and such, the users are becoming more and more content consumers, not content creators. Then he dabbled into the left brain - right brain balance dilemma,withobviousfocusontherightbrain,whichIhaveto welcome, myself being a pure 'right brain' left hander. That's where the Ultrabook comes as the ideal device - satisfying the practical requirements of the left brain, while providing a tool to materialise the inspiration from the right brain. Youmaythinkthisdoesn'tmakeanysense,butactuallyitdoes - think carefully, ARM right now has an advantage only in the 'content viewing' devices like smartphones and tablets, while Intel rules the roost in 'content creation' devices like laptops, desktops and workstations. ARM wants to somehow go up, while Intel wants to expand downwards as well. The promise 18PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 of added creation capability on Ultrabook - a notebook that is barely larger than a tablet, but with full PC capability and no less sexy looking - appeals to that 'freedom' and 'creativity' of the right brain. After all, you don't need an 'app store' to be controlled what you install on an Ultrabook, unlike with a tablet. The technical merits of barely 1 cm thick Ultrabooks still include a decent dual core X86 CPU, preferably Ivy Bridge I guess, 13.3 inch or large screen - too bad most are in the infamous moviescreen 16:9 proportion at 1366x768, unproductive for serious work - and comfortable keyboard with touchpad for full creative operability. The prizmatic batteries are now there, instead of curvy ones, and brand new super thin displays, including the new e-DP kind that self refreshes the image for lower power use, and thin SSD drive - the HDD makes little sense here. Knowing that most of these machines will cost above S$ 1,000 in retail, SSD is to be expected. You can see the various vendors' early models here. Frankly, with the 17 W CPU TDP budget in Ultrabooks, yet the need for performance, I feel the real systems matching all the requirements will really wait for Ivy Bridge update six months from now, not to mention better displays at 1600x900 or even FullHD resolution. Mooly also ran the first fully working Haswell system here, no particular surprises, and the case was closed from the outside. The point was that Intel is basically ready, with Ivy Bridge ramp up not far away, and even Haswell prototypes seemingly Published by: VR-Zone working fine. Now, we just need more competition to spice up the race... Canon announces new LV-8320 LCD multimedia projector Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-announces-new-lv-8320-lcd- multimedia-projector/13568.html September 19th, 2011 Canon Singapore had announced their latest multimedia projector, LV-8320, designed for professionals who want to do presentations on the go. Weighing 3.4kg, the LV-8320 claims to offer accurate images even under bright conditions, and features 1280x800 WXGA resolution, 3,000 lumens brightness and 2,000:1 contrast ratio. Canon has unveiled the new LV-8320 LCD multimedia projector that features 1280x800 WXGA resolution, 3,000 lumens brightness and 2000:1 contrast ratio. Weighing only 3.4kg,itisidealforprofessionalswhoneedtodopresentations on the go. The projector can project up to 1280 x 800 (WXGA) resolution and is compatible with modern widescreen laptops without the need to adjust. At 3000 lumens, projected images are vivid even under bright environments. It also incorporates Intelligent Lamp Dimming System that adjusts the lamp’s power output to suit the brightness of the image, hence reducing power consumption by a significant 69%. The projector can also adjust the color to maintain color balance at various brightness levels. The lamp has a long lifespanofupto5,000hoursinEcomode,andanairfilterthat can last 5,500 hours. Users will be able to combine two projections within a single screen, increasing convenience for presenters and adding interest to presentations. Users can either choose ‘picture in picture’ or ‘picture by picture’. The function also allows 19PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 users to refer to, for example, a video or document, without switching out from their presentation. Theprojectorisalsopackedwithconvenientinputcapabilities including HDMI, DVI, VGA and S-video. With the Auto Input Search, the LV-8320 can automatically identify input signals without the need to manually switch source input. A built- in 10W speaker provides amplified audio where needed. The projectorcomeswithAutoKeystoneCorrectionthatcandetect the projector’s tilt and correct distorted images. The LV-8320 will be available from 16 September at authorized Canon dealers at the recommended retail price of S$1,599. AMD demonstrates Trinity Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-demonstrates-trinity/13567.html September 19th, 2011 running the next-gen Trinity APU, running Deus Ex: Human Revolution. This is not the first time AMD has showed off Trinity on a notebook, the first being at the AMD Fusion Developer Summit back in June. While that was just a video playback, running a modern DX11 game shows that Trinity is up and running in force. If all goes well, we could see Trinity releasing early in 2012, perhaps announced even as early as CES 2012 in January. Published by: VR-Zone releasing early in 2012, perhaps announced even as early as CES 2012 in January. At this point, a fair bit is known about Trinity. Trinity is the successor to Llano, and is likely to be the branded as the next A Series (likely Ax-4xxx). The CPU part of Trinity gets a major upgrade, moving from the aging Stars cores to AMD's next-gen Piledriver architecture, an enhanced version of Bulldozer. Trinity consists to 2-4 Piledriver cores or 1-2 Piledrivermodules.TheGPUpartgetsanupgradetoaRadeon HD 7000 branded GPU, rumoured to be based on the VLIW-4 architecture currently only available in Radeon HD 6900 series on the desktop. Unlike mobile Llano, which spans TDPs from 35W to 45W, mobile Trinity is rumoured to scale from 17W ULV systems all the way to 60W high-performance notebooks. While 60W may sound like a lot, it is reasonable for a quad-core with a full fledged GPU on die. You can view a video of the demo here , courtesy of Anandtech. While it doesn't give away much, it does show Trinity running Deus Ex: HR smoothly with good IQ. Not far away from IDF, AMD has demonstrated a notebook Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray Review: A sleek and elegant Android phone Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-ericsson-xperia-ray-review-a- sleek-and-elegant-android-phone/13523.html September 19th, 2011 Lastmonth,VR-ZonewasinTokyo,Japantolearnmoreabout the design concept and engineering of the new Sony Ericsson Xperia ray. We also managed to get a a unit for review. So how good is the Xperia ray with its fairly small 3.3-inch screen and how does it compare to its larger screen competitors? Read on to find out. Not far away from IDF, AMD has demonstrated a notebook running the next-gen Trinity APU, running Deus Ex: Human Revolution. This is not the first time AMD has showed off Trinity on a notebook, the first being at the AMD Fusion Developer Summit back in June. While that was just a video playback, running a modern DX11 game shows that Trinity is up and running in force. If all goes well, we could see Trinity 20PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone range of phones consisting of the Xperia ray, Xperia active and the txt. In this review, we're taking a closer look at the SonyEricssonXperiaray,butbeforeweproceed,here'saquick breakdown of the specifications:- CPU Memory Screen Graphics Display Resolution Connectivity Expansion Slot Battery life Talk time Platform Dimensions Weight Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray 1GHz Scorpion processor Internal: Up to 300MB free; RAM: 512MB 3.3-inches (WVGA) 854 x 480 8-megapixel camera w/ auto focus, LED flash 3.5mm audio, microUSB, 802.11b/g/n Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP, aGPS microSD up to 32GB 1500mAh rechargeable Lithium-ion Up to 440 hour standby time; Up to 420 min talk time Android 2.3 Gingerbread 111 x 53 x 9.4 mm 100g "Phone Story" app gets ban in Apple iTunes Store Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/-phone-story-app-gets-ban-in-apple- itunes-store/13566.html September 19th, 2011 Developing an iPhone app that criticized how Apple does business, it is no wonder such app would get the ban. Phone Story,isthelatestvictimtobeonApple'sbanlistasitcriticizes the company in the form of four games with regards to human rights violation, gadget consumerism and creating e-waste. Android is growing steadily with recent statistics showing that the Google mobile operating system has taken 40 percent of theUSsmartphonemarketcomparedto28percentforApple's iOS. This year, while we see a lot of new tablet devices, the phone makers are still churning out new smartphones which are slimmer and have large displays, and are incorporating features such as scratch-resistant glass, 3D technologies as well as high-tech LCD touchscreens for superb clarity and colors, while maintaining a low power consumption. Sony Ericsson launched their flagship Xperia arc earlier this year which measures just 8.7mm thick, has a 4.2-inch display and weighs 117g. In June, the company unveiled their new Produced by Molleindustria, Phone Story is a smartphone game that "attempts to provoke a critical reflection on its own technological platform". From the game description, it consists of four educational games whereby player symbolically complicit in coltan extraction in Congo, outsourced labor in China, e-waste in Pakistan and gadget consumerism in the West. The developer claims that Phone Story is intended to serve as a reminder for users of the impact, though indirectly accusing Apple of human rights violation via dangerous extraction of coltan, a mineral used in manufacturing of consumer electronics products, worker abuse under questionable conditions at companies such as Foxconn, and launching new products every year thus creating more e- waste. Apple has thus ban the app citing reasons including the depictionofviolenceorabuseagainstchildrenandexcessively objectionable or crude content. Razer to design the ultimate Xbox 360 arcade stick with community effort Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/razer-to-design-the-ultimate- xbox-360-arcade-stick-with-community-effort/13565.html September 19th, 2011 21PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone At this year Tokyo Game Show, peripheral maker Razer has announced co-development program with the arcade stick community to come up with the ultimate arcade stick for the Microsoft Xbox 360 game console. Beta testing of the prototype will commence soon. Razer has announced a program to co-develop the ultimate arcadestickfortheMicrosoftXbox360gameconsoletogether with the arcade stick community. The arcade stick, developed with pro-gamer feedback, is currently at the prototype stage. Up to 200+ specially selected top-seed Street Fighter IV pro-gamers, influential modders, and members of the arcade enthusiast community will each be given a Razer arcade stick totestandprovidefeedbacktofurtherimproveittoperfection, whereupon the final design will then proceed to production. Members of the arcade community worldwide interested in participating in this beta program are encouraged to contribute ideas at www.razerzone.com/bredtofight , along with a short description as to why they should be selected for prototype testing. Registrants can also nominate other people to the program. Up to 200+ successful applicants worldwide willreceiveanarcadestickprototypedelivereddirectlytotheir homes. Razer will be launchingthis non-retail arcade stick closed beta community program at Tokyo Game Show. Select pro-gamers and key modders will also be approached to begin beta testing the prototype. For more information on the arcade stick or the community program, please visit www.razerzone.com/bredtofight 22PowerPoint Presentation: Published by: VR-Zone September 23rd, 2011 VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks. Intel Remains Committed to the Atom Brand Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-remains-committed-to-the-atom- brand/13624.html September 23rd, 2011 DigiTimes today ran a story about Intel's plans to rename the AtombrandundertheupcomingCedarTrailplatformin2012, due to poor brand image of Atom CPUs. We contacted an Intel spokespersonwhorespondedbysayingthattherearenoplans to change the Atom brand and that they are on track to launch new Atom processors in Q4 and more next year. VR-Zone also had an opportunity to talk to Brian Fravel, Intel’s Director of Marketing for Brand Strategy and Management who oversees the Atom brand. Read more for the interview... DigiTimes today ran a story about Intel's plans to rename the AtombrandundertheupcomingCedarTrailplatformin2012, due to poor brand image of Atom CPUs. We contacted an Intel spokespersonwhorespondedbysayingthattherearenoplans to change the Atom brand and that they are on track to launch new Atom processors in Q4 and more next year. Currently under the Atom brand, there are currently 5 processors series; D, N, Z, E and CE where D is for performance segment, N and E is for mainstream, Z is for Battery Optimized and CE is for Consumer Electronics. VR-Zone had an opportunity to talk to Brian Fravel, Intel’s Director of Marketing for Brand Strategy and Management who oversees the Atom brand. He confirmed that Intel remains extremely committed to the Atom brand and will continue to do so for 2012 and beyond. According to Fravel, Atom is doing well in segments such as Smart TVs where Intel Atom CE 4100 (Sodaville) chips are powering Google TV and Sony Internet TV. In the mobility space, Atom will continue to make in-roads into the netbook/ entry level desktop space with 32nm Cedar Trail which is expected to launch in Q4 this year. Tablet/smartphones with 32nm Medfield SoC are slated for a H1 2012 release, and a tablet/hybrid 32nm Clover Trail succeeding Oak Trail sometime next year. TherecentpublicdemonstrationsoftheirAtomsolutionsover at Intel Developer Forum and Microsoft BUILD conference also clearly showed Intel is fully behind their Atom chips. At IDF, Intel has showed a Medfield powered smartphone and at BUILD, Microsoft has showed a tablet powered by a 32nm Atom chip which we believe is a Medfield. According to our sources, Medfield is a single-core chip supporting HyperThreading and Clover Trail is essentially a SoC version of Cedar Trail which is dual-core chip supporting HyperThreading. AU by KDDI to carry Apple iPhone 5 in Japan early 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/au-by-kddi-to-carry-apple-iphone-5-in- japan-early-2012/13623.html September 23rd, 2011 Japanese mobile phone carrier, AU by KDDi, has recently spilled the beans about the upcoming Apple iPhone 5, as reported by Nikkei Business. However, as opposed to its earlier report that AU by KDDI would be selling the phone in early November, Nikkei said that the telco operator would be selling in early 2012 instead, Nikkei Business has earlier reported that AU by KDDI will be selling the new iPhone 5 in early November. But it seems that Nikkei, the sibling entity of Nikkei Business, said that the operator would only be selling the highly anticipated Apple iPhone5inearly2012instead.Softbankhasbeentheexclusive 1PowerPoint Presentation: September 23rd, 2011 telco operator for the iPhone in the past three years, but it seems that AU by KDDI, who is the second largest mobile phone carrier to NTT DoCoMo, has managed to seal the contract tosell the iPhone 5 inJapan. Thiscould be good news to AU users, especially those who have switched to Softbank because of the iPhone. Samsung to launch Galaxy Skin with flexible AMOLED screen next year? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-to-launch-galaxy-skin-with- flexible-amoled-screen-next-year-/13622.html September 23rd, 2011 The Samsung Galaxy Skin was unveiled at CES 2011 and features a bendable and foldable display that is able to withstand hard blows. However, the phone was still in conceptual stage, though if reports are true, the Samsung Galaxy Skin could become commercial next year. Featuringabendable,foldableAMOLEDdisplay,theSamsung Galaxy Skin is probably the most flexible mobile phone to date. Well, if it goes to retail that is. This new conceptualized phonewasshowcasedatHongikUniversityinSouthKorealast June,andatCES2011.AccordingtoSamsung,theGalaxySkin incorporates flexible AMOLED displays, instead of glass, and is said to use a plastic polyimide substrate. The tests showed thatthedisplaysareabletobendaroundacylinder,measuring just an inch in diameter. In terms of specifications, the Samsung Galaxy Skin will sport a 4-inch bendable AMOLED display (800x400), 8- megapixel rear and VGA front cameras, 1.2GHz processor, 1GB memory, and supports Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11b/ g/n connectivity. The phone may not run the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich, but a new mobile operating system called Android Flexy. According to news sources, Samsung has already confirmed that the production of these flexible AMOLED displays will begin in the Q2 2012 next year, which Published by: VR-Zone means that we could see the Samsung Galaxy Skin in stores before end 2012. Source: androidpit , gadgets and gizmos Samsung open doors to new memory fab, starts churning out 2Xnm DDR3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-open-doors-to-new-memory- fab-starts-churning-out-2xnm-ddr3/13621.html September 23rd, 2011 Back in May last year Samsung started building its Line-16 memory fab and trial production kicked off back in June this year, followed by mass production in August and the company hasnowannouncedthattheFabhasgoneintofullproduction. According to Samsung this is the world's largest memory Fab and that in itself might be impressive, but what we're more interestedinisSamsungnew20nm"class"DDR3memoryand NAND flash which is being made in the Fab. 2PowerPoint Presentation: September 23rd, 2011 Back in May last year Samsung started building its Line-16 memory fab and trial production kicked off back in June this year, followed by mass production in August and the company hasnowannouncedthattheFabhasgoneintofullproduction. According to Samsung this is the world's largest memory Fab and that in itself might be impressive, but what we're more interestedinisSamsungnew20nm"class"DDR3memoryand NAND flash which is being made in the Fab. As you'd expect, the new Fab is located in Korea and is a part of Samsung's Nano City complex in Hwaseong. It has 198,000 square meters of workspace and is a 12 story building. In the Fab Samsung can manufacture over 10,000 12-inch wafers of 2Xnm NAND flash plus an unknown amount of DDR3 wafers. That's a serious amount of memory and it's easy to see why Samsung is one of the leading memory manufacturers in the world. Samsung is also expecting to move to 10nm class NAND flash production at the Fab come next year. Additionally the company will move from 2Gbit DDR3 DRAM chips to 4Gbit chips later this year, which will be used in 4, 8, 16 and 32GB DDR3 DIMMs, although apparently we'll have to wait until next year before these hit retail. Samsung is expecting to output 50 percent more memory chips by moving from 3Xnm to 2Xnm and claims that the 2Xnm chips will use up to 40 percent less power than its 3Xnm chips. Hopefully from a consumer perspective this means that we can look forward to more affordable SSDs and sustained memory prices over at least the next 12 months. Gigabyte's GA-A75N-USB3 mini-ITX motherboard pictured ahead of launch Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-s-ga-a75n-usb3-mini-itx- motherboard-pictured-ahead-of-launch/13618.html September 23rd, 2011 The GA-A75N-USB3 was announced quite some time ago, although nothing much have been heard about the product since. Now picture of an early revision of the mini-ITX motherboard has appeared over on a Japanese website and although we expect some minor cosmetic changes before launch, we can't be too far from an official unveiling. The GA-A75N-USB3 was announced quite some time ago, although nothing much have been heard about the product since. Now picture of an early revision of the mini-ITX motherboard has appeared over on a Japanese website and although we expect some minor cosmetic changes before launch, we can't be too far from an official unveiling. The A75N-USB3 is a fairly basic motherboard, but as such it should also be quite affordable. Standard features include two DIMM slots, four SATA 6Gbps ports and a x16 PCI Express slot. We can also spot a front USB 2.0 pin header, but that 3 Published by: VR-Zone appears to be pretty much it. We'd expect the chipset heatsink to change before the board goes on sale. Around the back the board has four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, an eSATA port, three analogueaudiojacks,opticalS/PDIFoutandaDVIandHDMI port. It's good to see that Gigabyte has finally given up on the D-sub connector, although we'd presume that the DVI port allows for a D-sub display to be used via an adaptor. We did find a price as well, as the board is listed for pre- order with some online retailers. In Europe the board should retail for around €100 (S$176) which about on par with the competition, although it doesn't make it a bargain, especially considering its fairly basic feature set. We'll have to wait and see what the official pricing will be once Gigabyte officially launches the board. Intel's upcoming Core i7-2700K expected to cost more than the 2600K Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-s-upcoming-core-i7-2700k- expected-to-cost-more-than-the-2600k/13616.htmlPowerPoint Presentation: September 23rd, 2011 September 23rd, 2011 Sadly we can't reveal the exact price point of the 2700K as it would get our source in a lot of trouble, but suffice to say, it'll not end up at the US$317 list price of the 2600K. We'd expect the actual retail price of the 2700K to end up somewhere close to US$340-350 at launch, not massive increase in price, but still an unusual move by Intel. It's possible that the company isn't ready to replace the 2600K, although if this is the case, then this will be the first time we see two K SKU CPUs in the same sub family of CPUs from Intel. The Core i7-2700K will have a base clock of 3.5GHz, up 100MHz from the 2600K, although it's otherwise identical to the 2600K. This also means that the highest multiplier is still stuck at 57x, but we've also heard via the grapevine that the 2700K is proving to be a better overclocker than the 2600K. Intel is apparently cherry picking the best of the best of its Sandy Bridge cores for the 2700K, which helps when it comes to the overclocking potential. We shouldn't have to wait too long to find out, as Intel is expect to launch the CPU on the 24th of October. Update: Fudzilla seemstohavefoundoutamoreaccurateprice point and claim that the Core i7-2700K should retail for US $331. The Body Shop to launch the iButterfly Asia iPhone application tomorrow Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-body-shop-to-launch-the- ibutterfly-asia-iphone-application-tomorrow/13613.html September 23rd, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone This year is The Body Shop's 35th anniversary and the cosmetic company will be launching their iButterfly Asia iPhone application in Singapore tomorrow. The iButterfly Asia iPhone app is designed to engage and reach out to potentialcustomerswithelectronicdiscountcoupons,product giveaways and useful content. For the longest of times Intel has follow a very linear pricing model with new faster models entering its price lists at the same price point as its previously fastest model. However, it seems like this is all about to change with the introduction of the Core i7-2700K which is set to launch in about a months' time, as according to information VR-Zone has been privy to, the 2700K will be pricier than the 2600K. For the longest of times Intel has follow a very linear pricing model with new faster models entering its price lists at the same price point as its previously fastest model. However, it seems like this is all about to change with the introduction of the Core i7-2700K which is set to launch in about a months' time, as according to information VR-Zone has been privy to, the 2700K will be pricier than the 2600K. Cosmetic company The Body Shop will be launching the iButterfly Asia iPhone app tomorrow, 23 September, in Singapore. This is the first time the app is coming here, following recent successes in Tokyo and Hong Kong. The campaign will be running from 23 September to 16 October,coinciding with the ethical beauty brand’s 35th birthday celebrations. The iButterfly Asia iPhone app is designed to engage, capture and reach out to potential users via a paper-less "coupon entertainment". The objective is to catch the "butterflies" with each containing a variety of discount coupons, product giveaways and beneficial content. The application can be downloaded for free at the Apple iTunes App Store, and supports iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices (with iOS4.2 and above). It works withiin 150m radius of the vicinity of any of The Body Shop stores in Singapore whereby you can catch the "butterflies". These butterflies are air tags created using augmented reality and location information elements. The smartphone‘s global positioning system (GPS) and their motion sensors are then used to "catch" the butterflies. Once users have captured their butterflies, they will be able to redeem for free prizes and great discounts off products at any The Body Shop outlet. Each butterfly is unique to The Body Shop brand. Throughout the campaign period, consumers can catch these butterfliesusingtheiriPhonesandtakeadvantageofiButterfly Asia-exclusive offers, including 10 grand prizes of S$500 worth of The Body Shop products. These special edition butterflies will make appearances throughout the campaign. The public can follow The BodyShop Singapore on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thebodyshopsingapore starting 23rd September to get instant updates and how-to information on The Body Shop iButterfly Asia campaign. 4PowerPoint Presentation: September 23rd, 2011 OCZ announces second SSD caching solution with the Synapse series Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-announces-second-ssd-caching- solution-with-the-synapse-series/13614.html September 23rd, 2011 If OCZ's RevoDrive Hybrid is outside of your budget, then its new Synapse series of SSDs might appeal to you as the new range of drives have been designed specifically for SSD caching. The good news is that you don't need chipset level supporttotakeadvantageoftheSSDcachingfeatureeither,as OCZ has integrated software from Dataplex that handles the caching part. If OCZ's RevoDrive Hybrid is outside of your budget, then its new Synapse series of SSDs might appeal to you as the new range of drives have been designed specifically for SSD caching. The good news is that you don't need chipset level supporttotakeadvantageoftheSSDcachingfeatureeither,as OCZ has integrated software from Dataplex that handles the caching part. So what makes the Synapse series of SSD's different from any other SSD? Well, OCZ are selling them as 64 and 128GB models, but you only get half of that space thanks to 50 percent overprovisioning. This means that the drive is likely to last longer than the hard drive it'll work in tandem with and OCZ claims a MTBF time of 2 million hours, which oddly enough isn't higher than OCZ's other SSD's, despite the high overprovisioning. The Synapse series features SATA 6Gbps interface and both modelshavearatedmaxreadspeedofupto550MB/swhereas 5 Name Available & Major Published by: VR-Zone the64GBmodelhasamaxwritespeedofupto490MB/swhile the128GBshouldbeslightlyfasteratupto510MB/s.Themax IOPSareslightlylowerthanforOCZ'sotherSSD'sbasedonthe SandForce SF-2281 controller which is surprising, although the difference isn't that big. OCZdoesn'tsupplymuchinformationwithregardstohowthe Dataplex caching software works, only that it takes some time for it to build up the cache, as per any other caching system. One slightly different feature is that the Dataplex software can dynamically handle which is stored on the SSD and the hard drive, which seems to suggest that frequently used software might be stored on the SSD rather than the hard drive. OCZ claims that the drives are available as of now, but we haven't found anyone listing them for sale and OCZ didn't reveal pricing. We're going to try to get a unit in for review and do a comparison with other SSD caching solutions. Nikon COOLPIX P7100, P1200pj, S6200, S8200 on sale now Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nikon-coolpix-p7100-p1200pj-s6200- s8200-on-sale-now/13612.html September 23rd, 2011 Nikon Singapore is pleased to announce that the sales date for COOLPIX P7100, P1200pj, S6200 and S8200 officially start today, 22nd September 2011, Thursday. They are going for S $799, S$629, S$349 and S$519 respectively. Nikon Singapore is pleased to announce that the sales date for COOLPIX P7100, P1200pj, S6200 and S8200 officially start today, 22nd September 2011, Thursday. Product Colors Specifications Recommended Retail Features Price P7100 COOLPIX • Black • 10.1 megapixels with 3” LCD • 7.1 optical zoom • 28mm wide-angle to 200mm telephoto lens • Faster response and lesser noise $799 You do not have the permission to view this presentation. In order to view it, please contact the author of the presentation.
VR-Zone Tech News for the Geeks Sep 2011 Issue 3 technology_news Download Post to : URL : Related Presentations : Share Add to Flag Embed Email Send to Blogs and Networks Add to Channel Uploaded from authorPOINT lite Insert YouTube videos in PowerPont slides with aS Desktop Copy embed code: (To copy code, click on the text box) Embed: URL: Thumbnail: WordPress Embed Customize Embed The presentation is successfully added In Your Favorites. Views: 85 Category: Science & Tech.. License: All Rights Reserved Like it (0) Dislike it (0) Added: January 09, 2012 This Presentation is Public Favorites: 0 Presentation Description A monthly roundup of VR-Zone.com Technology News covering facebook, google, apple, baidu, social media, PC, gadget, geek, technology, intel, microsoft, AMD, NVIDIA, ARM, iphone, android, internet Comments Posting comment... Premium member Presentation Transcript PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone bottom-half of the PCB. On the sample we saw at Computex, expansion slots were arranged (from top to bottom) as PCIe x4,PCIex16(electricalx16/x8),PCIex16(electricalx8),legacy PCI, PCIe x16 (electrical x16/x8), and PCIe x16 (electrical x8). With the new version, they're arranged as PCIe x16 (electrical x16/x8), PCIe x4, PCIe x16 (electrical x8), PCIe x16 (electical x16/x8), legacy PCI, and PCIe x16 (electrical x8). The new expansion slot layout is a notch better, as it makes room for three graphics cards that are two slots thick, to be installed. Moving on, Foxconn didn't have the PCH (X79 chipset) heatsink design in mind when designing the older iteration. The new one makes room for the heatsink, pushing aside most tall components. For example, the three EEPROM chips that were arranged in a file are now pushed to the bottom-right corner, along with the two tall capacitors. This change doesn't take away anything from the older iteration, just relocates it. There's now a small speaker for beep diagnostics that wasn't found on the older board, the numerical diagnostic- LED display is still there. The rest are cosmetic changes, such as certain chips being moved around. With the final revision, it is expected that the SAS (serial-attached SCSI) ports will be removed, leaving behind around 8 SATA ports. The Quantum Force X79 is positioned to be a high-end socket LGA2011 motherboard. The processor is powered by a 14-phase VRM that makes use of DirectFET MOSFETs, which when backed by a good I2C-capable VRM controller have known to provide smooth voltage control. Such FETs have been used on older Quantum Force motherboards and BIOSTAR's TPower series models. Other overclocker-friendly features include redundant firmware (BIOS), consolidated voltage measurement points, and OC hard-tuning buttons apart from power and reset buttons. Google urges Gmail users in Iran to change their passwords Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/google-urges-gmail-users-in-iran-to- change-their-passwords/13544.html September 14th, 2011 To begin with, Foxconn did some rearrangement in the You may have read about the digital break-in at Dutch certificate authority DigiNotar, and the subsequent revelation that an Iranian hacker who goes by the name of "Comodohacker" having made away with fraudulent digital certificatesforhundredsofpopularInternetdestinations.This ranges from websites such as Google, Yahoo, Mozilla and Skype; social networks such as Facebook, Twitter; and even domains belonging to the CIA and Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service. It is still unclear if Comodohacker is doing it for glory or personalprofit-suchasbyresellingtheillicitlyobtainedemail communications to the Iranian government, for example. According to Google, the perpetrator behind the attack on DigiNotar appeared to be interested in intercepting the communications of Gmail users and customers residing in Iran. With this in mind, Google has taken the offensive and is nowadvisingitsIranianuserstochangetheiremailpasswords to protect themselves from online attacks. In a blog post last week, Eric Grosse, the VP Security Engineer at Google, wrote: "We learned last week that the compromise of a Dutch company involved with verifying the authenticity of websitescouldhaveputtheInternetcommunicationsofmany Iranians at risk, including their Gmail." Emphasizing that the internal systems of the search giant itself have not been compromised, Grosse urged all users in Iran to take "concrete steps" to secure their accounts. As expected, this includes the changing of their passwords, which will prevent harvested passwords from being used for furtherunauthorizedaccess.Moreover,Grossealsoencourage users to preempt future problems by verifying and updating their account recovery options. As in the case of any hacked email account, the changing of a password does nothing to protect old email messages that may already have been pilferedbyamaliciousparty.Intheeventofasuspectedbreak- in, however, changing one's password would at least be useful to foil ongoing snooping. 17PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Intel SSD 520 Cherryville The Faster, Tougher Successor of SSD 510 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-ssd-520-cherryville-the-faster- tougher-successor-of-ssd-510/13542.html September 14th, 2011 Asanestablishedplayerinthesolidstatedrive(SSD)industry, Intel has at its disposal a market which it can address with the same breakneck product-cycle as its much larger x86 processor product lines. The most recent roadmap slide and accompanying information we scored suggests that a successorisalreadyaroundthecornerforIntel'swell-received SSD 510 series high-performance client SSDs that use the SATA 6 Gbps interface. Asanestablishedplayerinthesolidstatedrive(SSD)industry, Intel has at its disposal a market which it can address with the same breakneck product-cycle as its much larger x86 processor product lines. The most recent roadmap slide and accompanying information we scored suggests that a Published by: VR-Zone reads and 490 MB/s writes; and just one set of random access throughput, up to 40,000 IOPS read and 45,000 IOPS write. Thesefiguresareknowntovarybetweenthedifferentvariants, and so we'll have to wait for the final specifications that are specific to variants. Available in the 2.5-inch SATA form-factor, the drives will makeuseof25nmmulti-levelcell(MLC)NANDflashmemory made by Intel. Its controller will be compliant will the latest in client SSD technologies. To begin with, there are bare essentials such as SMART, that reports if the drive is failing, TRIM,thatworkstominimizewriteperformancedegradation, and NCQ, which queues commands on the drive's cache. The drive supports native 256-bit AES data encryption, and end- to-end data protection. Its physical durability is characterized by 1.2 million hours MTBF (mean time before failure) rating, an operating temperature range of 0 to 70 o C, and 2.7 G (rms) vibration tolerance. Intel is expected to begin production of the SSD 520 series in the fourth quarter of 2011. ASUS ROG Maximus IV GENE- Z Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-rog-maximus-iv-gene-z- review/13491.html September 14th, 2011 successorisalreadyaroundthecornerforIntel'swell-received SSD 510 series high-performance client SSDs that use the SATA 6 Gbps interface. Probably one of the most anticipated ROG boards ever, the ASUS Maximus IV GENE-Z has hit the market right in time to bring users all the benefits the Z68 chipset has to offer, as well as a plethora of overclocking features and connectivity in a micro-ATX form factor. Today we take a look at one of the best priced Sandy Bridge boardstodate,theASUSROGMaximusIVGene-Z,apowerful overclocking board in a tiny package. To begin we would like to show you a block diagram provided by Intel, of how the Z68 PCH(platform controller hub) connects to the rest of the system. Codenamed "Cherryville", Intel's new high-end client SSD series is called SSD 520. Its main design goals look to be to spreadtheseriesincapacitiesbothhigherandlowerthanwhat the SSD 510 series could address. While SSD 510 is available only in 120 GB and 250 GB variants, the new SSD 520 will add a higher capacity variant, 480 GB, and a lower capacity one, 60 GB. A new 160 GB variant is added in the middle, and 250 GB is replaced by 240 GB. WithclientSSDsandclientenvironmentingeneral,sequential transfer speeds are the king, Intel gave out just one set of sequential transfer rates for the SSD 520 series, 530 MB/s 18PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Compared to the earlier P67, the Z68 chipset adds Intel HD Graphics support, as well as Intel Smart Responce Technology(SSDCaching).Intelprobablyshouldhaveskipped P67 and just come out with the Z68 PCH. We see that ASUS has taken the better route and used the more expensive Intel PHY for LAN connectivity, and avoided the cheaper Realtek chipsets we see on other boards. This motherboard also has Lucid Virtu technology which allows for switchable graphics, but only a HDMI port is used, so maximum resolution will be 1920x1080 for those of you who want to use i-Mode Virtu to save power. ASUS ROG Maximus IV GENE-Z CPU Support Intel® Socket 1155 for 2 nd Generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3 Processors Supports Intel® 32 nm CPU Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Chipset Graphics Memory * The Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 support depends on the CPU types. Intel Z68 Integrated Graphics Processor VGA output support : HDMI port - Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz 4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333 Hz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Published by: VR-Zone Dual Channel Memory Architecture Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) * Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs. * Refer to www.asus.com or user manual for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists). * Due to CPU behavior, DDR3 2200/2000/1800 MHz memory module will run at DDR3 2133/1866/1600 MHz frequency as default. Multi-GPU Support Expansion Slots Storage Supports NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology Supports AMD CrossFireX™ Technology Supports LucidLogix® Virtu™ Technology 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 Intel® Z68 chipset : 2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red 4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), gray Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 Support Intel® Smart Response Technology on 2 nd generation Intel® Core™ processor family JMicron® JMB362 LAN Audio controller : * 1 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s port(s), red Intel®, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller SupremeFX X-Fi 2 built-in 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking Audio Feature : - X-Fi® Xtreme Fidelity™ - EAX® Advanced™ HD 5.0 - THX® TruStudio PRO™ 19PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 20 - Creative ALchemy Protection - Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel USB ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller : 4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board) Intel® Z68 chipset : 12 x USB 2.0 port(s) (8 at back panel, black, 4 at mid- board) FireWire ASUS Unique Features Overclocking Features ASUS TurboV EVO : - CPU Level Up ASUS Exclusive Features : - MemOK! - Onboard Button : Power/ Reset/Clr CMOS (at back IO) ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution : - ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS EZ DIY : - ASUS Q-Shield - ASUS O.C. Profile - ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 - ASUS EZ Flash 2 - ASUS MyLogo 2 ASUS Q-Design : - ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED) - ASUS Q-Slot - ASUS Q-DIMM - ASUS Q-Connector) ROG Connect Extreme Engine Digi+ : - 8 -phase CPU power design + 4 -phase iGPU power design - 2 -phase Memory power design Published by: VR-Zone Mem TweakIt ROG Extreme OC kit : - Debug LED - Blu-ray audio layer Content ProbeIt UEFI BIOS features : - ROG BIOS Print - GPU.DIMM Post GameFirst iROG Extreme Tweaker Loadline Calibration Overclocking Protection : - COP EX (Component Overheat Protection - EX) Back Panel I/O Ports Internal I/O Connectors - ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) 1 x HDMI 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s) 2 x USB 3.0 8 x USB 2.0 (white port can be switched to ROG Connect) 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 6 x Audio jack(s) 1 x Clear CMOS button(s) 1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) 2 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 port(s) 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connector(s) 2 x CPU Fan connector(s) 3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF out header(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x System panel(s) 6 x ProbeIt Measurement Points 1 x Power-on button(s) 1 x Reset button(s) Accessories BIOS Manageability Support Disc 1 x ROG Connect switch(es) 1 x Go Button(s) 1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s) User's manual I/O Shield 2 x SATA 3Gb/s cable(s) 1 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s) 1 x SLI bridge(s) 1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1) 1 x ROG Connect cable(s) 1 x Cable ties pack(s) 1 x ROG theme label(s) 1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s) 64Mb Flash ROM, EFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI2.0a Multi-Language BIOS WfM2.0, DMI2.0, WOL by PME, WOR by PME, PXE Support DVD: - Drivers and applications * ASUS AI Suite II * ROG CPU-Z * ROG GameFirst Utility * Sound Blaster X-Fi MB2 Utility * ROG Mem TweakIt Utility * ASUS AI Charger+ * DAEMON Tools Pro Standard Published by: VR-Zone * Kaspersky® Anti-Virus 1- year license Form Factor uATX Form Factor 9.6 inch x 9.6 inch ( 24.4 cm x 24.4 cm ) As you can obviously see the laundry list of features is longer than that of most full sized ATX boards. For a sub $200 motheboard, this has to be one of the most feature packed and value for money product in the market. Of course this only applies if you are on the Intel side of things, as AMD motherboards generally run cheaper. Sony introduces new VAIO S series notebook with larger display Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-introduces-new-vaio-s-series- notebook-with-larger-display/13541.html September 14th, 2011 With the success of their VAIO S series laptops, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific has announed their new line-up for the series with slimmer form factor, higher performance and a larger display. According to the manufacturer, the new VAIO S will be available this month. Sony has announced a new slim, power-packed 15.5-inch notebook to their VAIO S Series. The new model incorporate Intel Core i7 processor and AMD Radeon HD 6630M GPU with 1GB VRAM and claims to offer superb performance for both work and play. It features a Performance Switch that supports Dynamic Hybrid Graphic System which allows users to choose between "Speed" and "Stamina" mode for fastest performance or longer battery life respectively. The VAIO S Series 15.5-inch offers approximately five hours of battery life and with an optional Sheet Battery, that can double to 10 hours. The VAIO S has a 15.5-inch wide screen of 1920x1080 full high definition VAIO Display Plus with anti-reflective glossy finish, weighs 1.96kg, and comes with aluminium palm rest 21PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone The first AMD FX CPUs have shown up for pre-order at Shopblt.com.ThethreeSKUslistedareFX-8150,FX-8120and FX-6100pricedat$266,$222and$189respectively.Thegood news is that the pricing is lower than expected - previously rumouredtobeinthe$300to$320rangeforthetopCPU.The bad news is that such pricing suggests the FX-8150 is unlikely to beat Core i7 2600 in many situations. The first AMD FX CPUs have shown up for pre-order at Shopblt.com.ThethreeSKUslistedareFX-8150,FX-8120and FX-6100pricedat$266,$222and$189respectively.Thegood news is that the pricing is lower than expected - previously rumouredtobeinthe $300 to $320 rangeforthetopCPU.The bad news is that such pricing suggests the FX-8150 is unlikely to beat Core i7 2600 in many situations. As always, pre-order prices are normally higher than launch prices. Hence, we can expect the FX CPUs to sell for even lesser. The three CPUs are much the same as revealed by Gigabyte earlier . FX-6100 and FX-8150 have a TDP of 95W and 125W respectively. However, FX-8120 has a TDP of 125W at launch, while a future revision will drop the TDP of FX-8120 down to 95W. There's no indication of shipping dates as of now. LunaTik lets you wear your iPod Nano on your wrist Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lunatik-lets-you-wear-your-ipod-nano- on-your-wrist/13539.html September 14th, 2011 With LunaTik's creative watch-kit, you can transform your Apple iPod Nano into the world's coolest multi-touch wrist watch. Distributed by Tat Chuan Acoustic in Singapore, two models of LunaTik are available now - TikTok and LunaTik. 22 and magnesium body. It also has backlit keyboard, which makes it easier to type in dim lit rooms. The new line-up of VAIO S Series notebooks will be available in Singapore from September 2011. Pricing details to be announced closer to launch date. AMD FX-Series prices revealed - listed for pre-order Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-fx-series-prices-revealed--listed- for-pre-order/13540.html September 14th, 2011 If you are the owner of the stylish Apple iPod Nano, you would probably want this cool watch kit to make the portable media player into a watch. Launched at the recent COMEX Show in Singapore, and carried by Tat Chuan Acoustic Pte Ltd in Singapore, the LunaTik is a premium conversion kit designed for those want to convert their iPod Nano as a wristwatch. The product comes with a tool kit that lets you screw in the nano into the wristband. The LunaTik case is forged from aircraft- gradealuminiumwithgreatdurabilityandthestrapsaremade from compression moulded high-grade silicone rubber with anti-dust coating while the hardware is made from stainless steel.Availableinsilver,blackandred,theLunaTikisretailing at S$129 (with GST). The other model, which is called TikTok, has a simple snap-in design that allows the user to quickly and securely snap the iPod Nano in and out of the wrist dock. It integrates the media player and transforms it into a modern multi-function timepiece. TikTok is designed for those who want to easily transition from clip mode to watch mode. Moulded from reinforced PC/ABS, the straps are made from compression moulded high-grade silicone rubber with anti- dust coating and the hardware is stainless steel. The TikTok is available in black or white at S$69 (with GST).PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone Microsoft Comfort Mouse 6000 Review: Affordable mouse that can track on almost all surfaces Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-comfort-mouse-6000- review-affordable-mouse-that-can-track-on-almost-all-surfaces/13054.html September 14th, 2011 Microsoft has recently released a new mouse, the Comfort Mouse 6000, which features the software giant's Bluetrack sensorthatcantrackonalmostanysurface.Sohowgoodisthe Comfort Mouse 6000? Find out in the next pages. Specification: - Right-handed control - BlueTrack Technology - Five customizable buttons - Detent scroll wheel First look: Out of the box, the Microsoft Comfort Mouse 6000 looks like the Razer DeathAdder (except without the Razer logo) but in fact iti s actually designed after its Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 older sibling. The mouse features a smooth black plastic body with rubberized side grips and comes with five customizable buttons - left, right, two on the side and the scroll wheel. It feels very lightweight as though it is hollow. 23PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Inside the box, we also find a start guide, a product guide and technical specifications. Published by: VR-Zone The Comfort Mouse 6000 has two well-positioned side buttons which you can use to go back and forward through webpages and document with ease. Sharp launches AQUOS SH8298U glasses-free 3D smartphone Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sharp-launches-aquos-sh8298u- glasses-free-3d-smartphone/13538.html September 14th, 2011 Sharp has announced their new AQUOS SH8298U glasses- free 3D smartphone which looks to compete with the LG Optimus 3D and the HTC Evo 3D. The AQUOS SH8298U will soon retail in Japan though there is no word as to whether it will be available in other parts of the world. 24PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 Sharp has recently launched a press conference to announce their new Android smartphones, and all eyes were on the AQUOS SH8298U which not only features glasses-free 3D technology, but it also has two rear built-in 8-megapixle cameras to capture images and videos in 3D. The AQUOS SH8298U sports a 4.2-inch qHD touchscreen display and incorporates 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 processor, 512MB RAM, 2GB storage and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. According to sources, the Sharp AQUOS SH8298U would be available in red or white and retail at approximately US$705. It should be arriving in Japan soon, though there's no word as to whether it will be available in other countries. Could the next version after Android Ice Cream Sandwich be Jellybean? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/could-the-next-version-after-android- ice-cream-sandwich-be-jellybean-/13537.html September 14th, 2011 system. And while many of us are anticipating the upcoming "Ice Cream Sandwich" which claims to offer the best of Honeycomb, the Android tablet OS, and make them useable on smartphones, it seems that the search engine giant has already started work on their new version which could be called "Jellybean". Published by: VR-Zone It started from Cupcake (1.5) and then Donut (1.6), Eclair (2.0/2.1), Froyo (2.2), Gingerbread (2.3), Honeycomb (3.0) to the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich. And yes, these are the codenames of the popular Google Android operating system and it looks like the next version could well be called "Jelly Bean". According to a reliable source from ThisIsMyNext , that would be the name of the next version and that it could be available to both smartphone and tablet. However, Google has yettofinalizethenamingconvention,althoughthechoicewith the letter "J" is limited and that Jellybean is most likely to be selected. Meantime, the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich claims to offer some"game-changing"features,thoughwewouldhavetowait till it is available to know, which could be fairly soon. And by them,MicrosoftmayhavealsolaunchedtheirWindowsPhone "Mango" and Apple, their iOS 5. Thermaltake Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard & Black Gaming Mouse review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/thermaltake-challenger-pro-gaming- keyboard--black-gaming-mouse-review/13536.html September 14th, 2011 Google is known for using sweet treats as codenames for the various versions of theiir popular Android mobile operating TteSPORTSisarelativelynewlyfoundsubsidiarycompanyof Thermaltake, aiming to develop, manufacture and ultimately provide gamers with high quality gaming peripherals. The company currently has a long list of high performance keyboards, mice, headsets and other parts. Today we are having a close look on two of their more popular products, the Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard and the Black Gaming Mouse. Tt eSPORTS is a relatively newly found subsidiary company of Thermaltake, aiming to develop, manufacture and ultimately provide gamers with high quality gaming peripherals. The company currently has a long list of high performance 25PowerPoint Presentation: September 14th, 2011 keyboards, mice, headsets and other parts. Today we are having a close look on two of their more popular products, the Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard and the Black Gaming Mouse. Manufacturer features and specifications Challenger Pro Gaming keyboard • Red illumination back light • 2 x USB 2.0 ports • User Interface • Macro Keys • Multimedia Keys • 64KB On Board Memory • On Board Profile Switch • Backlight switch • Fan Device • Windows Dummy Keycaps • 8 additional removable keycaps • Tt. Breakaway Gold-Plated USB Connection Cable(2 Meters in Length) • Tt eSPORTS Dragon-Red key backlighting • 6 Easy Access Multimedia Keys • 10 Customizable Macro Keys • 10 Million Keystroke Lifespan • Body dimensions (LxWxH): 505x 195x 27mm • 6,000 RPM Tt. Breeze Hand Cooling Fan (Life Expectancy of 50,000 hours) Black Gaming mouse • Model: BLACK Gaming Mouse (MO-BLK002DT) • Dominating Gaming Laser Sensor 4000 DPI Engine (400/800/2000/4000 DPI Adjustable), with Visual Indicator. • Ideal for FPS or MMORPG Game Genres, equipped with Philips 4000 Laser Engine for Optimal Precision & Accuracy. • 1.8 meters Braided USB Cable with Gold-Plated Connector. • Teflon Material Feet as Extra Layer of Durability and High Degree of Mouse Handling. • Superb Customizable Graphical UI for Macro Keys, Advanced Performance, and Lighting-Effect Options. • Industrial Grade Rubber-Coating Finish for better Hand Grip. • On-Board 64kb Memory Storage for 18 Macro Keys in 3 Game Profiles. • Weight-In Design for Perfect Handling Mouse Movement: (5 x 4.5g, up to 22.5g max) 26 Published by: VR-Zone • Body Dimension: 120mm (length) x 70mm (width) x 40mm (height).PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone Several rumours are suggesting that Nikon is about to unveil its first mirrorless cameras on Wednesday, although so far we don’t have a complete picture of what to expect. What is clear is that the expected two new camera bodies not will feature an APS-C size sensor, instead we can expect something that ends up somewhere between compact digital cameras and the 4/3 format. Several rumours are suggesting that Nikon is about to unveil its first mirrorless cameras on Wednesday, although so far we don’t have a complete picture of what to expect. What is clear is that the expected two new camera bodies not will feature an APS-C size sensor, instead we can expect something that ends up somewhere between compact digital cameras and the 4/3 format. ThefirsttwocamerasinwhatislikelytobecalledtheNikonCX line of cameras should simply be called the V1 and J1. The new cameras are rumoured to have a crop factor of 2.6x compared to the 4/3 formats 2x crop factor. Nikon hasn’t gone crazy with the Megapixel count either, as the new cameras get to make do with 10.1 Megapixels, which is probably a good thing considering the relatively small sensor. What isn’t clear is if we’ll see a CCD or CMOS sensor, so that’s something we’re going to have to wait and find out about. VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks. Nikon to launch a new mirrorless standard this week? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nikon-to-launch-a-new-mirrorless- standard-this-week-/13591.html September 19th, 2011 Internally we should expect to see Nikon’s Expeed 3 processor capable of processing 600 Megapixels per second. Both models are said to shoot video at 1080i60, 1080p30, 720p60, as well as 640x240 at 400fps and 320x120 at a crazy 1200fps. Around the back we have a 3in LCD screen with unknown resolution and the V1 will also sport an EVF (Electronic View Finder). Neither model will support Nikon’s standard Flash hotshoe,buttheV1issaidtohavesomekindofaccessoryport, whereas the J1 will feature a built in flash. Four new lenses are said to launch alongside the new cameras system, a 10mm f/2.8 pancake lens, a 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens, a 10-110mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens and a 30-110mm VR lens. There will also be an adapter for Nikon’s F-mount lenses. Both models are said to come in several colour options, with the V1 being available in black or white and the J1 in red, pink, silver, black and white. We shouldn’t have to wait long to see how this plays out, but it’s getting a little bit annoying with all these new lens mount systems, as they’re anything but interchangeable. In as much as the m4/3 standard has its flaws, it’s at least a standard supported by more than one company and we’d really like to see the camera manufacturers worktowardsmorecommonstandards,especiallyconsidering the cost of lenses which is the only investment that’ll last you through several camera bodies. Gears of War 3 Singapore Launch Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gears-of-war-3-singapore- launch/13590.html September 19th, 2011 1PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Good news for fans of the Xbox 360 Gears of War series. This evening, at Funan DigitaLife Mall in Singapore, marked the launch of the highly anticipated third-person shooter game, which is also the last of the trilogy. So, have you ordered your copy? Xbox 360 game, Gears of War 3. Apparently, the queue began to form on 3pm Sunday, 18 September with hardcore fans waiting to be the first to get their hands on the game, which officially launched at 8pm today. On top of that, fans also get a first-look at the game, hands-on gameplay and on-stage activities including a special appearance by Marcus Fenix. Published by: VR-Zone The fans turned up in full-swing, and it was even more amazing to see the number of people who didn’t pre-order the game lining up to get it” said Ben Tan, general manager of Microsoft’s retail sales and marketing division, Asia Pacific, presenting the Epic Edition box to Ten. A look at the Gears of War 3 babes:- At the Funan DigitaLife Mall in Singapore, over 1,000 fans stood in line at the main atrium for the highly anticipated Canon PowerShot SX150 IS selling for $369 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-powershot-sx150-is-selling- for-369/13589.html September 19th, 2011 Here'savideoofthecountdownoftheGearsofWar3launch:- Canon PowerShot SX150 IS, Canon's latest addition to the family of long-zoom PowerShot cameras. The 14.1 megapixel PowerShot SX150 IS is an affordable all-rounder camera that delivershighzoomshootingwith12xopticalzoomcapabilities, HD movie recording and offers you creative freedom with Full Manual controls. The SX150 IS is priced at $369, and is currently available for retail. 22-year old William Ten was the first person in Singapore to receive the Gears of War 3 Epic Edition from Marcus Fenix andMicrosoftrepresentatives.Tenalsogetthesurvivorkit,an autographedposteranda“GearsofWar3”hoodie,worthclose to S$200. An additional 50 fans who were amongst the first in queue also walked away with an autographed poster and a “Gears of War 3” hoodie. "While Gears of War 3 was one of the most anticipated games of the year, the turnout today far surpassed all expectations. 2PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone • 12x optical zoom • 14.1 megapixels • Intelligent IS The SX150 IS is priced at $369, and is currently available for retail. More information here . LG unveils Optimus Q2 Android phone with QWERTY keyboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-unveils-optimus-q2-android-phone- with-qwerty-keyboard/13588.html 3 September 19th, 2011 Another Optimus smartphone has emerged from Korean manufacturer LG, and this time it is the Optimus Q2. The Optimus Q2 is based on Google's Android operating system and features Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Canon PowerShot SX150 IS, Canon's latest addition to the family of long-zoom PowerShot cameras. The 14.1 megapixel PowerShot SX150 IS is an affordable all-rounder camera that delivershighzoomshootingwith12xopticalzoomcapabilities, HD movie recording and offers you creative freedom with Full Manual controls. Today, LG has unveiled their latest Optimus Q2 high-end Android smartphone with a slide-out keyboard. The new member in their LG Optimus line of smartphones features 1.2GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and 4-inch IPS touchscreen display. The 4-inch IPS screen boasts 700 nits brightness which offers a clear view even under sunlight. The smartphone also incorporates a 5-megapixel rear and VGA front cameras, Wi-Fi Direct capabilities that allow Wi-Fi devicestotalktoeachotherwithouttheneedforaccesspoints. The LG Optimus Q2 is reported to launch soon in USA and carried by Sprint.PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Lode Runner X to be exclusive on Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY, and other Xperia devices Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lode-runner-x-to-be-exclusive-on-sony- ericsson-xperia-play-and-other-xperia-devices/13587.html September 19th, 2011 Lode Runner is a popular 1983 platform game which was first published by Brøderbund. It is one of the first early games to be released with a level editor which supports keyboard and joystick controls. (Tozai Games and Lode Runner are trademarksofTozai,Inc.registeredorprotectedintheUSand other countries). Sony Ericsson has announced their collaboration with Tozai Gamestobringthecriticallyacclaimedconsolehitandgaming franchise “Lode Runner” to Android devices, for the first time, and helps to build the Xperia PLAY's list of over 150 optimized titles. The Lode Runner X will be available from November 2011 and exclusive on the Xperia PLAY and other Xperia devices. The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY has recently gone Published by: VR-Zone on sale in the US on the AT&T network last week on 14th September, and the company said that the Xperia PLAY will launch in Japan with NTT DOCOMO in Autumn 2011. Canon Singapore launches PowerShot SX150 IS compact camera Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-singapore-launches-powershot- sx150-is-compact-camera/13586.html September 19th, 2011 Canon Singapore has announced the new PowerShot SX150 IS compact digital camera that features one-touch high definition(HD)moviebuttonandlong-zoomcapabilitiesatan affordable price. The PowerShot SX150 IS is available now at all Canon authorized dealers. Owners of Sony Ericsson Xperia range of Android phones would be pleased to know that the Lode Runner X game from Tozai Games will be exclusive on the smartphones. The Lode Runner X game is scheduled to be available from November this year. Canon Singapore has unveiled the PowerShot SX150 IS compact camera which claims to offer 14.1-megapixel sensor, 12x optical zoom (28-336mm), and has a dedicated Movie Button to record 720p high definition (HD) movies. With a powerful 12x zoom, 28mm wide-angle lens, it lets users shoot landscapes, building and people easily. The digital camera also incorporates electronic wind filter that can suppress wind noise that muffles or distorts sound, and built-in Intelligent IS (Image Stabilizer) for minimized camera shake. The Powershot SX150 IS comes with 32-Smart Auto Scene detection options including sunset, clear skies, and backlit that provide optimized camera settings for best results. Photographers can also enhance their images using the eight in-cameraCreativeFilterstoaddeffecttotheoriginalimages- Toy Camera, Monochrome, Miniature, Fish-eye, Super Vivid, Poster, Color Swap and Color Accent. There is also the new Photo Book function that allows users to pre-select their favoriteshotsin-cameratofacilitatetheeasycreationofphoto books. The new Canon PowerShot SX150 IS also operates 4PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 on AA batteries for added convenience and comes with the optional high power flash HF-DC2 slim and portable slave flash with enhanced sync performance and a wider flash coverage of up to 24mm (with attached wide panel). The Canon PowerShot SX150 IS is now available at all authorized Canon retail stores at the recommended retail selling price of S$369. Pricing and availability of the optional high power flash HF-DC2 will be confirmed at a later date. LG to introduce Street Fighter IV on upcoming high definition smartphones Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/post-idf-bites-ivy-bridge-gpu-to- support-4kx4k-displays-/13584.html September 19th, 2011 With all the hustle and bustle of IDF, one piece of news, gently unveiled in one of side technical sessions at the conference, mostly passed unnoticed. It was a particular detail about the Published by: VR-Zone updated graphics and multimedia processing hardware in the upcoming Ivy Bridge series of processors, expected to hit the shelves about half a year from now. It wasn't the fact that the new chip will have graphics far faster - some expect at least double, and much more in some operations - than the Sandy Bridge, or the full DirectX 11 and DirectCompute capability, with an OpenCL port to follow. Neither was it the much tighter connection to the L3 cache for more usability in graphics tasks. Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-to-introduce-street-fighter-iv-on- upcoming-high-definition-smartphones/13585.html September 19th, 2011 LG Korea has announced that it has entered into an exclusive deal with Japanese game developer Capcom to introduce their popular Street Fighter IV game on their high definition Android smartphone. Details inside. It'sthevastlyimproveddisplaycapability,andassociatedultra high resolution video processing, of the new chip - in fact, so high it stands on an equal footing with the fastest high end discrete GPUs in this particular measurement: the 4K display resolution. Take a look at their Multi Format Codec or MFX engine,capableofplayingmultiple4Kvideosatthesametime, even a wall of them, as Intel says. Today, LG Korea announced that it has entered into an exclusive deal with Japanese game developer Capcom that gives LG the exclusive rights to their popular Street Fighter IV game on their first high definition (HD) Android smartphone for three months after its launch. Debuted in 1987, the Street Fighter series is found on millions of game consoles and in arcades all over the word, though it has not been offered on the Android platform yet. Street Fighter IV will make its Android smartphone debut on LG’s global apps site ( www.lgworld.com ) in the fourth quarter this year. Post-IDF bites: Ivy Bridge GPU to support 4Kx4K displays! Not only can the MFX engine display up to 4096 x 4096 pixels on a single monitor, but it can also handle video processing for4KQuadHDvideoaswell.Rememberwhen,twoyearsago, Jen Hsun Huang at Nvidia for the first time encouraged 4K resolution - at that time 3840x2400 or as he called it XHD2, for ultra realistic gaming too, to use the extra pixels to justify 5PowerPoint Presentation: Published by: VR-Zone September 19th, 2011 thehighendcardneed?Now,whatafate,Intelismakingitreal on the - integrated graphics platform, of all. Now, can we have back those 16:10 3840x2400 or, better, 4096x2560 monitors? Akasa Venom Voodoo CPU Cooler Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/akasa-venom-voodoo-cpu-cooler- review/13583.html September 19th, 2011 Adept PC users are rarely satisfied with the factory bundled CPU cooler, being it because of the performance, noise and/or aesthetics, creating a great demand for good aftermarket cooling solutions. Out of the many products currently available, today we are having a close look at the latest offering from Akasa, the Venom Voodoo CPU cooler, which is boasting exceptional performance and socket LGA 2011 support. Adept PC users are rarely satisfied with the factory bundled CPU cooler, being it because of the performance, noise and/ or aesthetics, creating a great demand for good aftermarket cooling solutions. Out of the many products currently available,todaywearehavingacloselookatthelatestoffering from Akasa, the Venom Voodoo CPU cooler, which is boasting exceptional performance and socket LGA 2011 support. Manufacturer features and specifications • Performance 12cm PWM fan in killer Viper yellow • 6 high capacity heatpipes with direct CPU contact • Award winning S-FLOW fan blades provide 30% more airflow • Dual 12cm viper yellow fans Socket type Cooler dimensions Heatsink material Weight Installation Fan dimension Fan speed Max airflow Max air pressure Noise level Voltage rating Bearing type Fan life expectancy Fan connector Product code Intel LGA775, LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1366 & LGA2011 AMD Socket AM2, AM2+, AM3 & FM1 131 (W) x 129.5 (D) x 163.5 (H) mm High grade aluminium fins, copper heatpipes 1065g Screws and backplate (Intel & AMD) 120 x 120 x 25mm 600-1900 RPM (PWM controlled) 83.63 CFM 2.98 mm H2O 6.9 - 28.9 dB(A) 12V DC HDB (Hydro Dynamic) 50,000 hours 4pin PWM AK-CC4008HP01 Logitech G9x Gaming Mouse Review: With interchangeable grips and weight-tuning options Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/logitech-g9x-gaming-mouse-review- with-interchangeable-grips-and-weight-tuning-options/13233.html September 19th, 2011 Logitech, one of world's largest manufacturers of computer peripherals from mice to multimedia speakers, is known for their line of "G-series" gaming peripherals. What we have today is the not-so-new Logitech G9x which features interchangeable grips, weight-tuning options and more. Let's go into the details. Introduction: The gaming market is booming, and it is no wonder peripherals makers like Logitech is coming up with more gaming products for the hardcore gamers. Their G series mice are widely received and this year, the company has given their G9 an upgraded sensor and called it the G9x. The G9x claims to have sensitity of up to 5700 dots per inch (DPI). The Logitech G9x comes packed in fancy green and orange box with a large transparent area that displays the mouse and 6PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 for users to get a feel of how the mouse feels like. Opening the flap revealed an additional grip and an explanation of the difference and main features of the mouse. Features and Specification : Interchangeable grip Next-generation gaming laser Onboard memory Weight-tuning system Custom-colour LEDs On-the-fly adjustable DPI Resolution Image processing Maximum acceleration Maximum speed Polling rate Dynamic coefficient of Published by: VR-Zone 200-5700 DPI 12 Megapixels/second 30G Up to 165 inches (4.19m)/ second 1000 Hz 0.09 friction Static coefficient of friction 0.14 Tuning weight Up to 28 grams Button durability (Left/Right) 8 Million clicks Mousefeet durability 250 Kilometres Inside the packaging, there is a small tin box and an envelope containing a user's guide, a Logitech Setpoint disc, a quick guide, a USB usage and Logitech contact leaflets. 7PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone 8 ASUS ENGTS450 DirectCU Silent Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-engts450-directcu-silent- review/13157.html September 19th, 2011 Nearly all modern GPUs are designed for use with active cooling systems, in order to allow for desirable levels of performance within a reasonable form factor. To take a GPU intended for active cooling and cool it passively would entail a compromise in performance, size, or both. The passive graphics card we're looking at today is ASUS' ENGTS450 DirectCU Silent. While the GeForce GTS 450 is by no means the fastest GPU around, its relatively low TDP of 106W (for NVIDIA's reference design) makes it a good candidate for passive cooling. In the case of the ENGTS450 DirectCU Silent, ASUS has decided to sacrifice performance instead of size. The core clock on this card is ~25% slower than NVIDIA's reference speed. ASUS has also opted to use DDR3 memory, which has lower power consumption but also much lower bandwidth than GDDR5 memory. In terms of performance, the reference GTS 450 sits roughly in between AMD's HD 5770 and HD 5750 (now renamed the HD 6770 and HD 6750 respectively). Gainward GeForce GTS 450 GS GLH 930MHz 1860MHz 1000MHz (2000MHz) Core Clock Shader Clock Memory Clock (effective) Memory Bus ASUS NVIDIA ENGTS 450 GeForce DirectCU GTS 450 Silent 594MHz 783MHz 1188MHz 1566MHz 800MHz 902MHz (1600MHz) (3608MHz) 128-bit Memory Type Memory Size DDR3 GDDR5 1GB ThefullspecificationsoftheASUSENGTS450DirectCUSilent are as follows: Graphics Engine Bus Standard Video Memory Engine Clock Shader Clock Memory Clock Memory Interface Interface Software ASUS Features Dimensions Note NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 PCI Express 2.0 GDDR3 1GB 594 MHz 1189 MHz 1.6 GHz ( 800 MHz GDDR3 ) 128-bit D-Sub Output : Yes x 1 DVI Output : Yes x 1 (DVI-I) HDMI Output : Yes x 1 ASUS Utilities & Driver / AIWI software DirectCU Silent Series 5.936 " x 4.375 " Inch This card doesn't need extra power supply, it's the best choice for user to upgrade Qualcomm reveals future plans, we give you the details Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/qualcomm-reveals-future-plans-we- give-you-the-details/13581.html September 19th, 2011 Earlier this week Qualcomm hosted its Innovation Qualcomm event in Istanbul where the company unveiled details of some of its upcoming products, including a 2.5GHz next generation Snapdragon SoC. However, a lot of details were left out, but VR-Zone is here to help fill in the blanks as to what to expect from Qualcomm over the next couple of years. From the event we know that Qualcomm is getting ready to launch a 28nm SoC with clock speeds of up to 2.5GHz in single, dual and quad core versions, all with next gen Adreno dual or quad core graphics. However, the company didn't say much more and some publications made the assumption that Qualcomm would have a quad core solution for phones out by early next year. Well, sadly this isn't the case for those of you that are longing to get your hands on a quad core phone, but let'snotgetaheadofourselves,instead,let'sstartfromthetop. The current series of Snapdragon SoC's from Qualcomm are known as the S3 class, also known as Scorpion and here we're talking about chips like the current MSM8660 and MSM8260 as well as the APQ8060 which lacks baseband support. ThesePowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 SoC's can be found in a wide range of devices from HP's now defunct TouchPad to HTC's Sensation and EVO 3D. They're all 45nm dual core parts with Adreno 220 graphics and a core clock speed of between 1.2 and 1.5GHz. The next generation of Snapdragon chips will be the S4 class, as Qualcomm are keeping things simple when it comes to its naming schemes, although these chips are more commonly known as Krait. The first new Krait SoC's to arrive is the MSM8260A, MSM8660A and the MSM8960, all of which are 28nm dual core parts with a clock speed of 1.5 or 1.7GHz and 1MB of L2 cache. All three models sports support for dual channel500MHzLPDDR2,fasterAdreno225graphicssaidto be good for 125 million triangles per second. The MSM8960 should also come in a version with a faster Adreno 330 GPU capable of some 200 million triangles. The main difference between the MSM8260A and MSM8660A is that the 8260A supports dual-cell HSPA+ and TD-SCDMA,whereasthe8660AsupportsHSPA+andvarious EV-DO standards mostly used in the US. The MSM8690 sports LET in addition to the connectivity options on the other two models and will be available with either CDMA or UMTS in addition to LTE. All three models should enter mass production next quarter, although devices based on these dual core SoC's aren't expected until the second quarter of next year. As far as phones are concerned, this is as much as we get for all of 2012, but in early 2013 Qualcomm is expecting to launch its first quad core phone SoC, the MSM8974. This isn't the 2.5GHz chip the company has been talking about, but instead a slightly slower 2GHz part with 2MB L2 cache. It will support dual channel 800MHz LPDDR3 memory and comes with a faster Adreno 330 GPU core which is capable of 200 million triangles per second. It will support the latest LTE and CD- HSPA+ MIMO standards and it'll be Qualcomm's first phone SoC to sport USB 3.0 connectivity. Some of the more crazy features Qualcomm is planning to add is 4K x 2K video at 24fps, 1080p video at 120fps or 1080p 3D video at 60fps. If you're still waiting for the 2.5GHz part, then please bear with us a little bit longer, as we'll get there in just a second. Qualcomm's first quad core SoC will be the APQ8064 and as you may or may not know, the APQ models don't feature any built in baseband technology. As such, the APQ chips tend to be used in many devices that don't require internetconnectivity,ormorecommonlyasoflately,intablets 9 Published by: VR-Zone where there's room for additional chips that will handle the connectivity. The APQ8064 is similar to the MSM8960, as it's a 1.5 to 1.7GHz SoC, although with a pair of additional cores and 2MB L2 cache. It features Adreno 320 graphics, but it also offers SATA and PCI Express connectivity, something the MSM chips lack. Things brings us to the 2.5GHz monster, well, it might in fact be even faster as it's not expected to arrive until the second half of 2013. The model in question is the APQ8094 and it'll support either 800MHz dual channel LPDDR3 memory, or dual channel 1333MHz PCDDR4 memory, or in other words, standarddesktopDDR4memory.Apparentlybythen,desktop memory will be so low power that it will be just as good to use in a tablet as low power mobile memory. Here we're looking at an Adreno 420 GPU which is said to be capable of 400 million triangles per second. Beyond that we don't' have too many details about this upcoming chip, but it'll offer SATA connectivity just like its predecessor and apparently it'll do 3D video at 60fps in 1080p. We'll be following up this article with a closer look at Qualcomm's more affordable options next week, although as always when we're diving into roadmaps, things are likely goingtochangebeforemostoftheseproductsarriveandwe've already seen that some of the models covered here have had their specs changed from earlier roadmaps. That said, it looks likeQualcommhassomeinterestingproductscomingoverthe next couple of years, but the real question is, is it going to be good enough, as the company is getting more and more competitors and none of them are resting on their laurels. Image courtesy of Pocket-Lint IDF Day 3: Multi Core, Many Core and Many More Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/idf-day-3-multi-core-many-core-and- many-more/13580.html September 19th, 2011 More apps coming, according to Intel's Justin Rattner. Look at China Mobile LTE 4G base station in a multi-core PC, and Pentium-class mini PC running off a small solar cell The last day of every IDF is usually reserved for a more relaxed 'future looking' keynote, delivered as usual by Intel's CTO Justin Rattner - a happy research bloke whose cheerful disposition, enormous breadth of knowledge, and oh so slight facial similarity to the actor doing the Senator Palpatine role in early Star Wars movies, gives him regular following at IDF.PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 He covered quite a lot on the multi-core evolution at Intel ever since the 2005 Core 2 Duo CPU. Interestingly, he omitted those infamous Netburst generation dual die Pentium 4- generationPreslerprocessorsin2004,whichatleasthadsome lovely clock frequency records for a while and yes, were seen as dual core CPUs from the system point of view. The multi- core general purpose desktop, mobile and server CPUs were covered, as well as the many-core MIC add-on card approach for supercomputing, where the stated goal is to bring the MIC many core approach from the HPC niche to the mainstream. Note that AMD and Nvidia already do that in the mainstream -partially only, due toincompatible underlying instruction set and need for programming in OpenCL or CUDA, rather than in-line X86 - with their GPUs for a while already. On the other end of the spectrum, their Extreme Computing team, going beyond all this, showed experiments like very low voltage threshold transistor usage to create a Pentium-class (yes, the old P55 MMX Pentium from year 1998 or so, with matching 13 year old mainboard) processor that takes only 10 mW (miliwatts!) and runs of a single credit card sized solar cell. The thing ran Windows XP with moving dancing kitten JPG, but could go up in clock by 10X too, if allowed for the voltage to reach the normal level. This all, however, would need new system infra running at such low voltages too. Published by: VR-Zone Finally, they are pushing the generic multi-core PC CPU infrastructure into almost any app - here you see the joint effort with China Mobile to program the complete LTE 4G mobile base station software stack into a standard 4-core Sandy Bridge PC, using the SSE and AVX extensions as a kind of DSP feature, and reducing the cost of LTE deployment substantially. On the other side of the story, Intel was also rapidly updating their Sandy Bridge GPU drivers to extract maximum performance, and they recommend the users downloading the freshest version with 'substantial performance' increases. Same applies to the OpenGL professional application 3- D for apps like Pro/E or CATIA being certified for the Xeon version of Sandy Bridge, the E3-1275, providing inexpensive competition to Nvidia and ATI cards in the OpenGL workstation space, where often just lots of polygons and simple texturing, but with guaranteed error free display, wins over fancy effects of the 3-D gaming world. Overall, a good event with lots of new things, but the next major launches - the Sandy Bridge E & EP high-end processors, followed by Ivy Bridge, will be the focus over the nexttwoquarters.Intelseemshappywiththeirclearlongterm performance advantage in the mainstream and high end, and seems to devote quite a bit of their focus now to the emerging phone and tablet markets, and attempting an aggressive X86- based entry there. Canon unveils PowerShot S100 and PowerShot SX40 HS with new DIGIC 5 image processor Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-unveils-powershot-s100-and- powershot-sx40-hs-with-new-digic-5-image-processor/13579.html September 19th, 2011 Canon has recently announced two new members in their popular PowerShot series of digital cameras - the PowerShot S100 and SX40. Both cameras incorporate the latest DIGIC 5 image processor that provides enhanced resolution and fast shooting speeds to photographer enthusiasts. 10PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Canon has announced the feature-packed PowerShot S100 and PowerShot SX40 HS, which comes equipped with the new DIGIC 5 image processor for superb performance and shooting speed. Both cameras also feature HS SYSTEM, Full HD video capture, High-speed Burst HQ and Intelligent IS for clearer smoother images. The Canon PowerShot S100, successor to the hugely received PowerShot S95, has improved features such as 4-120mm wide angle lens with 5x optical zoom, GPS functionality and is capable of achieving improved low-light performance of up to ISO 6400, and comes with a 12.1-megapixel CMOS image sensor. Available in either black or silver, the estimated selling price of the Canon PowerShot S100 is US$429.99 and is scheduled to be available in early November. Some features of this camera:- -3-inchwideLCDscreenforeasyviewingofimagesandmenu options. - GPS capabilities where satellites collect data of the latitude, longitude and altitude of an image's location, which is then stored to the image's EXIF data. Map utility software is included with the camera to view the locations where images were captured. - A full range of shooting and recording modes including RAW +JPEGandacontrolringonthefrontofthecameraforquick, manual adjustment of key functions such as ISO, zoom and focus. - compatibility with the HF-DC2 High-Power Flash, which is an optional flash accessory that operates wirelessly and Published by: VR-Zone The Canon PowerShot SX40 HS is the camera you need to ensure high quality images, be it shooting at a football game or at the local zoo. Some features of the include: - 35x optical zoom range (24mm-840mm) with image stabilizer and a 12.1-megapixel CMOS image sensor; the camera can capture low-light images of enhanced image quality up to ISO 3200. - 2.7-inch wide vari-angle LCD for easy viewing of images and menus from almost any angle. - Improved Smart AUTO settings to ensure the settings are intelligently selected based upon the cameras 32 predefined shooting situations. -ZoomFramingAssistbuttonhelpstheusersteadythecamera when tracking a moving subject at extreme telephoto settings keeping it in focus. The estimated selling price of the PowerShot SX40 HS Digital camera is US$429.99 and is scheduled to be available in late September. Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler Review - Dual 140mm of Air Cooling Greatness Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/thermalright-silver-arrow-cpu-cooler- review--dual-140mm-of-air-cooling-greatness/10000.html September 19th, 2011 increases the effective flash range up to approximately 9 metres. We at VR-Zone test many combinations of motherboards and CPU platforms throughout the year, often demanding quick assembly/disassembly of heatsinks and decent air cooling performance in order to maximize overclocks in the shortest possible time. One CPU cooler (among many on our shelves) that we prefer to use in particular, is the Thermalright Silver Arrow. 11PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone Unpacking the contents of the box, we have: Introduction Quick run through of the greatest hits from Thermalright - SK-6, SLK-900, SP-94/97, Ultra-90, Ultra-120 Extreme, Venomous X, AXP-140, HR02, Archon (review coming soon). Measuring 147mm x 122.6mm x 162mm (L x B x H), the Silver Arrow takes up a huge amount of real estate. Google Nexus Prime with dual- core processor to launch end October? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/google-nexus-prime-with-dual-core- processor-to-launch-end-october-/13578.html September 19th, 2011 ItwasNexusOne,followedbytheNexusS,anditlookslikethe next official Google phone could come in the form of Google Nexus Prime. If online sources are right, we may see the new Google Nexus Prime smartphone to launch end October or early November. • the Silver Arrow heatsink, • two TY-140 fans, • a few installation leaflets, and • a sealed accessories pack which includes the mounting kit and fan clips. According to TheDroidGuy , the upcoming Google Nexus PrimesmartphonewhichismanufacturedbySamsung,would befirstcarriedbyU.StelcooperatorVerizoninlateOctoberor earlyNovember,andthentoothercarriers.AtarecentVerizon Developer’s conference in Las Vegas, a Samsung executive showcased the Nexus Prime, though he forbid attendees to haveacloserlookattheAndroidsmartphone,norallowothers to take picture of it. According to sources, the Nexus Prime is 12PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 broader and longer than the Nexus S which is likely due to the support for 4G LTE. The Google Nexus Prime will come with 4.6-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display, 5-megapixel rear and 2- megapixel front cameras, dual-core Ti OMAP processor. As Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has yet to be out, it is possible that the Nexus Prime will run Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread mobile operating system and upgradeable to the newer Android version in the near future. Digital Style multi-brand electronics concept store launched in Funan DigitaLife Mall Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/digital-style-multi-brand-electronics- concept-store-launched-in-funan-digitalife-mall/13576.html September 19th, 2011 This afternoon, @notebook.com, which is part of Newstead Technologies, has announced the launch of their first multi- brand electronics concept store, Digital Style, to provide users with comprehensive consumer-centric experience. Published by: VR-Zone Located at #03-32 in Funan DigitaLife Mall, Digital Style electronics concept store carries the complete range of consumer electronics products under six categories of Entertainment & Media, Gaming, Home Computing, Mobile Communications, Office & Professional and Ultra Mobile & Business. Experiential retail is one key component to the concept behind Digital Style. The store is specially designed to allow shoppers to easily try out products at the kiosk. Be it the latest speakers for music entertainment or new keyboards for gaming, shoppers are able to mix-and-match and plug-and- play the gadgets in-store. The Gaming zone features latest notebooks and desktops with powerful processors and superb graphics along with game controllers. The Office & Professional zone showcases various office productivity solutions while the Mobile Communications zone is packed with smart phones and cutting-edge tablets coupled with latest accessories to complete the entire experience. Across its five lifestyle categories,DigitalStylecarriesproductsfromallmajorbrands including Acer, Asus, Blackberry, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, HTC, Lenovo, Logitech, Microsoft, Motorola, Panasonic, Samsung, Toshibaetc.NewsteadTechnologiesplanstoopenanotherfive Digital Style outlets islandwide in the next three years. Sony unveils new range of Balanced Armature In-ear Headphones Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-unveils-new-range-of-balanced- armature-in-ear-headphones/13575.html September 19th, 2011 Sony has introduced a new range of Balanced Armature (BA) in-ear headphones, which includes 11 models featuring its new BA technology for high performance music enjoyment. The technological breakthrough revolves around the BA drivers,whicharemicro-sizedconstructionthatare¼thesize of conventional dynamic drivers, yet retaining the ability to achieve high resolution sound. 13PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Sony says its BA drivers are optimised for music enjoyment, and located within a sealed housing to reduce the amount of ambient noise, as well as significantly reducing the levels of sound leakage - both in and out of the ear. The result is a deeper and richer sound, allowing for high-quality playback over a broader sound range across all models of the new Sony Balanced Armature headphones. "With audiophiles and music lovers in general continually in pursuit of greater sound quality, the Sony Balanced Armature headphones offers a new holistic auditory experience," said Mr. Yosuke Aoki, General Manager, Personal Imaging & Sound Asia Pacific, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific. "These new models will forever change the way one appreciates music by catering to their individual specific needs." The 11 models of in-ear headphones are as follows: • XBA-1, XBA-2, XBA-3 and XBA-4: For high sound quality for common listening • XBA-1iP, XBA-2 iP, XBA-3 iP and XBA-4 iP: Same as the XBAbutwitharemotecontrolforusewithmusicplayers and hands-free talk for smartphones • XBA-S65: Waterproof and washable for the sporting consumer • XBA-BT75: Bluetooth wireless headset model in-ear • XBA-NC85D: The smallest and lightest headphone with digital noise cancelling XBA-1,XBA-2,XBA-3andXBA-4headphonesencompassone (full range), two (full range + woofer), three (full range + woofer + tweeter), and four (full range + woofer + tweeter + super woofer) respectively. This allows music lovers to purchase the appropriate earphone with a frequency response thatbestsuitstheirlisteningpreference. Theversionswiththe iP designation simply come with additional support for music players and hands-free talk for smartphones. Note that the XBA-S65 (Waterproof), XBA-BT75 (Bluetooth) and XBA-NC85D (Digital noise cancelling) features only a single full range BA driver for each ear. In the case of the XBA-BT75 and XBA-NC85D, the micro-size of the new BA drivers does mean that the Bluetooth transmitter and noise cancellation circuitry respectively are built right into the headphone housing; including their rechargeable batteries. Published by: VR-Zone The new Sony Balanced Armature in-ear headphones will be available from all authorised Sony dealers from November 2011. ECS X79R-AX Black Series Motherboard Pictured Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ecs-x79r-ax-black-series-motherboard- pictured/13574.html September 19th, 2011 Here are the first pictures of ECS' top-of-the-line socket LGA2011 motherboard, the X79R-AX Black Series. This standard ATX form-factor motherboard crams in a ton of connectivity and features to tick all the boxes as far as Intel's next-generation HEDT (high-end desktop) platform goes. It's got room for 4-way SLI or CrossfireX, a strong-looking VRM, and connectivity galore. Here are the first pictures of ECS' top-of-the-line socket LGA2011 motherboard, the X79R-AX Black Series. This standard ATX form-factor motherboard crams in a ton of connectivity and features to tick all the boxes as far as Intel's next-generation HEDT (high-end desktop) platform goes. It's got room for 4-way SLI or CrossfireX, a strong-looking VRM, and connectivity galore. Styled in ECS' signature black, white, and gray color-sheme, the X79R-AX belongs to the "Black Series" line of premium motherboards by the company, which helped build the its image as a premium board vendor. The LGA2011 socket takes in upcoming Core i7 "Sandy Bridge-E" processors, the socket itself is LOTES-made. The socket is powered by a 14-phase VRM, seven sets of Driver-MOSFETs and chokes on either sides of the PCB. We can imagine this to be a heavily layered PCB to keep signaling proper, when you have high-current electrical components on even the reverse-side of the PCB. 14PowerPoint Presentation: 15 September 19th, 2011 The CPU socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, two on its either sides. Each slot has its own 64-bit wide data path to the memory controller, since Sandy Bridge-E packs a hefty quad- channel (256-bit) DDR3 integrated memory controller. Up to 32 GB of DDR3-2400 MHz (via OC) memory can be installed. The memory slots are powered by a 4-phase VRM. Other expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x1. Published by: VR-Zone VIA powered Zotac ZBOX nano appear in Japan Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/via-powered-zotac-zbox-nano-appear- in-japan/13573.html September 19th, 2011 After having seen Zotac's dual core VIA Nano X2 powered ZBOX nano at Computex back in June, we were surprised when the company launched an AMD E-350 powered model insteadoftheVIAmode,butloandbehold,theVIAversionhas arrived, well, at least in Japan. We have as yet to see an official announcementfromZotac,butwe'resurethiswillcomeindue time. After having seen Zotac's dual core VIA Nano X2 powered ZBOX nano at Computex back in June, we were surprised when the company launched an AMD E-350 powered model insteadoftheVIAmode,butloandbehold,theVIAversionhas arrived, well, at least in Japan. We have as yet to see an official announcementfromZotac,butwe'resurethiswillcomeindue time. The size hasn't changed, so we're still looking at a 127x127x45mm cube, although the internals have of course changedquiteabit.Aminorcosmeticchangeincludesayellow circle, instead of a green one on the AMD powered model. Around the front, we're looking at an identical setup as well with a memory card reader, a pair of audio jacks and an IR receiver. Expansion slots include four well spaced-out PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, which depending on the way they're populated, are electrically configured (top to bottom) as x16/NC/x16/NC, or x8/x8/x8/x8, or x16/NC/x8/x8. Switching is handled by new ASMedia ASM1480 lane switches, that are PCI-Express 3.0 compliant. There doesn't appear to have been any changes made to the rear either, as here we find a DisplayPort, and HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, an eSATA port and the Wi-Fi antenna. Internally things are quite different though, as here we find VIA's Nano X2 U4025 dual core CPU which is clocked at 1.2GHz with an 18W TDP. It's been paired up with the VIA VX900H chipset, although we couldn't find any reference to this specific model, nor the CPU model on VIA's website.PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 A single SO-DIMM will accept up to 4GB of DDR3 memory and there's of course space for a 2.5-inch drive. It also sports 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 and just like with the AMD model, you get an external IR receiver, a remote control and a VESA mounting plate in the box. The VIA powered model goes under the name of ZBOX nano-VD01 and it's expected to hit retail in Japan later this month for somewhere around 10,000 Yen (S$162/US$130), although exact pricing has as yet not been confirmed. Global Foundries GTC Taiwan 2011 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/global-foundries-gtc- taiwan-2011/13572.html September 19th, 2011 Yesterday we attended Global Foundries Global Technology Conference 2011 in Hsinchu, Taiwan and although the company didn't reveal anything new in addition to what was announcedatitsconferenceininSantaClaraacoupleofweeks ago, as we didn't attend that conference, we thought we'd sum up some of the things the company is working on. As always with these kind of events, only so many details are revealed, as much of what Global Foundries does are company secrets, or it's related to its partners products and as such Global Foundries can't talk about a lot of the specifics. Yesterday we attended Global Foundries Global Technology Conference 2011 in Hsinchu, Taiwan and although the company didn't reveal anything new in addition to what was announcedatitsconferenceininSantaClaraacoupleofweeks ago, as we didn't attend that conference, we thought we'd sum up some of the things the company is working on. As always with these kind of events, only so many details are revealed, as much of what Global Foundries does are company secrets, or it's related to its partners products and as such Global Foundries can't talk about a lot of the specifics. Published by: VR-Zone It's clear that being in the foundry business is a risky thing, least not looking at the big ups and downs in the market which affects a foundry directly when customers end up with too much stock of a certain product. That said, since the early 1980's the year or year growth for the semiconductor industry has grown from US$15 billion to US$314 billion and it's expected to grow further as we're moving towards more connected devices. Jim Kupec, the SVP of sales and market at Global Foundries mentioned that today's biggest driving force for new devices are teenagers and although this might not be entirely true, a lot of the devices out there are targeting the younger end of the market. That said, Global Foundries aren't exactly slowing down their investments as the company is busy investing in all of its facilities. It's facility in New York reached its “ready for equipment” date two months early and Global Foundries should be kicking off test production here this year, although this facility isn't expected to go into full production until early next year. Fab 1 in Germany has started volume production of 32nm parts for AMD earlier this year and it's also doing some 28nm production tests and it will transition entirely to 28nm in the near future. Fab 7 in Singapore has been upgraded to produce anything between 40 and 65nm and is currently under evaluation to move to 300mm wafers in the future. It's also worth noting that Global Foundries have several additional facilities in Singapore which are all production various kinds of solutions such as MEMS and special components for the auto industry etc. 16PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone products and even start some initial 20nm production at Fab 8 in the US. Furthermore the company is expecting to ramp capacity in Fab 1, 7 and 8 as the company is expecting demand for what it calls leading edge technology (65nm and below) to increase and this is also where the company is seeing close to 70 percent of its revenues from. Global Foundries also addressed the concerns that some outside observers have had with regards to its High-k Metal Gate manufacturing process and the company has produced 2GHzARMCortex-A9testchipwithits28nm-SLPtechnology and hit 3GHz with its 28nm-HPP process. That said, AMD's Fusion processors in the A-series are also built using Global Foundries HKMG manufacturing process and despite being late,thevolumesareramping,althoughthecompanywouldn't go into any specifics here either due to non-disclosure agreements with AMD. All future processors from AMD for at least the next 12 months should be based on Global Foundries 32nm HKMG process, including the upcoming FX-series and AMD's next generation A-series APUs. AMD benchmarks FX against Intel CPUs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-benchmarks-fx-against-intel- cpus/13571.html September 19th, 2011 Right alongside the Trinity demonstration, AMD also showed off its FX CPUs - with competing Intel CPUs by the side. Two AMD FX CPUs were shown benchmarked against two Intel Core CPUs, both times the FX CPUs coming out on top. However, neither victory was comprehensive. By next year Global Foundries expects to be ramping its 28nm The first benchmark pegged a AMD FX 8-core CPU against a similarly priced Intel Core i5 in Handbrake. While the exact models weren't revealed, it is likely a Core i5 2400/2500 and FX-8100/8120 were benchmarked. A 5 minute standard definition was converted at 223 fps on the FX system against 188fps for the Core i5. The conclusion is simple - AMD has a 19% performance/price lead in Handbrake. While Handbrake isn't as aggressively multi-threaded as Cinebench or X264, it does respond to multiple threads, giving AMD's 8-cores an advantage (albeint disproportionate) over Intel's 4-core, 4- thread Core i5. The second benchmark involved Dirt 3 running at 2560x1600 with two Radeon HD 6970 cards in Crossfire. An unnamed FX CPU scored 82.8fps versus 80.9fps for the Intel Core i7 980X. At such resolutions, games are extremely CPU limited, and slight performance difference does not reveal much. The benchmarks don't reveal as much as we would have liked, buttherearesignsofstatusquo-Intelleadingonperformance and IPC while AMD winning on performance/$ and especially multithreaded performance. RIM launches BlackBerry Torch 9860 and BlackBerry Torch 9810 Smartphones in Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/rim-launches-blackberry-torch-9860- and-blackberry-torch-9810-smartphones-in-singapore/13570.html September 19th, 2011 RIM today announced the launch of two new BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones in Singapore, the BlackBerry Torch 9860 and BlackBerry Torch 9810. Pre-order for both smartphone 17PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 models start today, with expected availability in Singapore on September 22nd. The new BlackBerry 7 operating system has been touted to offer a significantly faster, and more fluid browsing experience. Built on the WebKit browser engine, RIM says its BlackBerry7smartphonesdeliver40%fasterbrowsingresults than BlackBerry 6 smartphones, as well as optimized zooming and panning for smoother web navigation The BlackBerry Torch 9810 is an evolution of the BlackBerry Torch 9800, which was RIM's first smartphone with a capacitance touch screen and a slide-out keyboard. Equipped The BlackBerry Torch 9860, on the other hand, is a touch- only BlackBerry. With a depth of just 11.5mm, the Torch 9860 comeswithanevenlarger3.7"displaywithaWVGAresolution of 800 x 480. The Torch 9860 shares the same 1.2GHz processor and has the same amount of RAM and onboard memory as the Torch 9810. Gregory Wade, Regional Managing Director, East Asia at RIM, said: "This is an exciting period for RIM and we are thrilled to introduce two new BlackBerry 7 powered smartphones in Singapore. Both of these new BlackBerry Torch smartphones offer a full touch display and feature RIM's next generation of hardware and software to deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity." Published by: VR-Zone For more information, visit http://sg.blackberry.com/ IDF Day 2: Mobile Ivy Bridge, Haswell shows up too Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/idf-day-2-mobile-ivy-bridge-haswell- shows-up-too/13569.html September 19th, 2011 The ever-popular Mooly Eden keynote show focused on Sandy/IvyBridgeultrabooksandthefirstshowingofworking Haswell system. The IDF second day is usually as exciting and news-packed as the first one, especially since other speakers' keynotes may be more 'liberal' and peppered with more juicy revelations than what the CEO shows earlier. Mooly Eden, the VP in charge of the PC Client world - meaning desktops, notebooks and such, and the man who helped create Centrino, Core and all the way up to Sandy Bridge processors, was there on stage to promote Intel's next big mobile thing, the Ultrabook. with a significantly faster 1.2 GHz processor under its hood for azippyuserexperience,theTorch9810incorporatesthesame form factor as older Torch. In addition, the Torch 9810 has a 3.2" display that sports a VGA resolution of 640 x 480, as well as a vastly expanded 768MB of RAM and 8GB of onboard memory. Now, Mooly has for some time preached a mantra that really reasonates beyond this whole processor thing: basically, with the likes of iPod and iPad, and such, the users are becoming more and more content consumers, not content creators. Then he dabbled into the left brain - right brain balance dilemma,withobviousfocusontherightbrain,whichIhaveto welcome, myself being a pure 'right brain' left hander. That's where the Ultrabook comes as the ideal device - satisfying the practical requirements of the left brain, while providing a tool to materialise the inspiration from the right brain. Youmaythinkthisdoesn'tmakeanysense,butactuallyitdoes - think carefully, ARM right now has an advantage only in the 'content viewing' devices like smartphones and tablets, while Intel rules the roost in 'content creation' devices like laptops, desktops and workstations. ARM wants to somehow go up, while Intel wants to expand downwards as well. The promise 18PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 of added creation capability on Ultrabook - a notebook that is barely larger than a tablet, but with full PC capability and no less sexy looking - appeals to that 'freedom' and 'creativity' of the right brain. After all, you don't need an 'app store' to be controlled what you install on an Ultrabook, unlike with a tablet. The technical merits of barely 1 cm thick Ultrabooks still include a decent dual core X86 CPU, preferably Ivy Bridge I guess, 13.3 inch or large screen - too bad most are in the infamous moviescreen 16:9 proportion at 1366x768, unproductive for serious work - and comfortable keyboard with touchpad for full creative operability. The prizmatic batteries are now there, instead of curvy ones, and brand new super thin displays, including the new e-DP kind that self refreshes the image for lower power use, and thin SSD drive - the HDD makes little sense here. Knowing that most of these machines will cost above S$ 1,000 in retail, SSD is to be expected. You can see the various vendors' early models here. Frankly, with the 17 W CPU TDP budget in Ultrabooks, yet the need for performance, I feel the real systems matching all the requirements will really wait for Ivy Bridge update six months from now, not to mention better displays at 1600x900 or even FullHD resolution. Mooly also ran the first fully working Haswell system here, no particular surprises, and the case was closed from the outside. The point was that Intel is basically ready, with Ivy Bridge ramp up not far away, and even Haswell prototypes seemingly Published by: VR-Zone working fine. Now, we just need more competition to spice up the race... Canon announces new LV-8320 LCD multimedia projector Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-announces-new-lv-8320-lcd- multimedia-projector/13568.html September 19th, 2011 Canon Singapore had announced their latest multimedia projector, LV-8320, designed for professionals who want to do presentations on the go. Weighing 3.4kg, the LV-8320 claims to offer accurate images even under bright conditions, and features 1280x800 WXGA resolution, 3,000 lumens brightness and 2,000:1 contrast ratio. Canon has unveiled the new LV-8320 LCD multimedia projector that features 1280x800 WXGA resolution, 3,000 lumens brightness and 2000:1 contrast ratio. Weighing only 3.4kg,itisidealforprofessionalswhoneedtodopresentations on the go. The projector can project up to 1280 x 800 (WXGA) resolution and is compatible with modern widescreen laptops without the need to adjust. At 3000 lumens, projected images are vivid even under bright environments. It also incorporates Intelligent Lamp Dimming System that adjusts the lamp’s power output to suit the brightness of the image, hence reducing power consumption by a significant 69%. The projector can also adjust the color to maintain color balance at various brightness levels. The lamp has a long lifespanofupto5,000hoursinEcomode,andanairfilterthat can last 5,500 hours. Users will be able to combine two projections within a single screen, increasing convenience for presenters and adding interest to presentations. Users can either choose ‘picture in picture’ or ‘picture by picture’. The function also allows 19PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 users to refer to, for example, a video or document, without switching out from their presentation. Theprojectorisalsopackedwithconvenientinputcapabilities including HDMI, DVI, VGA and S-video. With the Auto Input Search, the LV-8320 can automatically identify input signals without the need to manually switch source input. A built- in 10W speaker provides amplified audio where needed. The projectorcomeswithAutoKeystoneCorrectionthatcandetect the projector’s tilt and correct distorted images. The LV-8320 will be available from 16 September at authorized Canon dealers at the recommended retail price of S$1,599. AMD demonstrates Trinity Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-demonstrates-trinity/13567.html September 19th, 2011 running the next-gen Trinity APU, running Deus Ex: Human Revolution. This is not the first time AMD has showed off Trinity on a notebook, the first being at the AMD Fusion Developer Summit back in June. While that was just a video playback, running a modern DX11 game shows that Trinity is up and running in force. If all goes well, we could see Trinity releasing early in 2012, perhaps announced even as early as CES 2012 in January. Published by: VR-Zone releasing early in 2012, perhaps announced even as early as CES 2012 in January. At this point, a fair bit is known about Trinity. Trinity is the successor to Llano, and is likely to be the branded as the next A Series (likely Ax-4xxx). The CPU part of Trinity gets a major upgrade, moving from the aging Stars cores to AMD's next-gen Piledriver architecture, an enhanced version of Bulldozer. Trinity consists to 2-4 Piledriver cores or 1-2 Piledrivermodules.TheGPUpartgetsanupgradetoaRadeon HD 7000 branded GPU, rumoured to be based on the VLIW-4 architecture currently only available in Radeon HD 6900 series on the desktop. Unlike mobile Llano, which spans TDPs from 35W to 45W, mobile Trinity is rumoured to scale from 17W ULV systems all the way to 60W high-performance notebooks. While 60W may sound like a lot, it is reasonable for a quad-core with a full fledged GPU on die. You can view a video of the demo here , courtesy of Anandtech. While it doesn't give away much, it does show Trinity running Deus Ex: HR smoothly with good IQ. Not far away from IDF, AMD has demonstrated a notebook Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray Review: A sleek and elegant Android phone Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-ericsson-xperia-ray-review-a- sleek-and-elegant-android-phone/13523.html September 19th, 2011 Lastmonth,VR-ZonewasinTokyo,Japantolearnmoreabout the design concept and engineering of the new Sony Ericsson Xperia ray. We also managed to get a a unit for review. So how good is the Xperia ray with its fairly small 3.3-inch screen and how does it compare to its larger screen competitors? Read on to find out. Not far away from IDF, AMD has demonstrated a notebook running the next-gen Trinity APU, running Deus Ex: Human Revolution. This is not the first time AMD has showed off Trinity on a notebook, the first being at the AMD Fusion Developer Summit back in June. While that was just a video playback, running a modern DX11 game shows that Trinity is up and running in force. If all goes well, we could see Trinity 20PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone range of phones consisting of the Xperia ray, Xperia active and the txt. In this review, we're taking a closer look at the SonyEricssonXperiaray,butbeforeweproceed,here'saquick breakdown of the specifications:- CPU Memory Screen Graphics Display Resolution Connectivity Expansion Slot Battery life Talk time Platform Dimensions Weight Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray 1GHz Scorpion processor Internal: Up to 300MB free; RAM: 512MB 3.3-inches (WVGA) 854 x 480 8-megapixel camera w/ auto focus, LED flash 3.5mm audio, microUSB, 802.11b/g/n Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP, aGPS microSD up to 32GB 1500mAh rechargeable Lithium-ion Up to 440 hour standby time; Up to 420 min talk time Android 2.3 Gingerbread 111 x 53 x 9.4 mm 100g "Phone Story" app gets ban in Apple iTunes Store Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/-phone-story-app-gets-ban-in-apple- itunes-store/13566.html September 19th, 2011 Developing an iPhone app that criticized how Apple does business, it is no wonder such app would get the ban. Phone Story,isthelatestvictimtobeonApple'sbanlistasitcriticizes the company in the form of four games with regards to human rights violation, gadget consumerism and creating e-waste. Android is growing steadily with recent statistics showing that the Google mobile operating system has taken 40 percent of theUSsmartphonemarketcomparedto28percentforApple's iOS. This year, while we see a lot of new tablet devices, the phone makers are still churning out new smartphones which are slimmer and have large displays, and are incorporating features such as scratch-resistant glass, 3D technologies as well as high-tech LCD touchscreens for superb clarity and colors, while maintaining a low power consumption. Sony Ericsson launched their flagship Xperia arc earlier this year which measures just 8.7mm thick, has a 4.2-inch display and weighs 117g. In June, the company unveiled their new Produced by Molleindustria, Phone Story is a smartphone game that "attempts to provoke a critical reflection on its own technological platform". From the game description, it consists of four educational games whereby player symbolically complicit in coltan extraction in Congo, outsourced labor in China, e-waste in Pakistan and gadget consumerism in the West. The developer claims that Phone Story is intended to serve as a reminder for users of the impact, though indirectly accusing Apple of human rights violation via dangerous extraction of coltan, a mineral used in manufacturing of consumer electronics products, worker abuse under questionable conditions at companies such as Foxconn, and launching new products every year thus creating more e- waste. Apple has thus ban the app citing reasons including the depictionofviolenceorabuseagainstchildrenandexcessively objectionable or crude content. Razer to design the ultimate Xbox 360 arcade stick with community effort Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/razer-to-design-the-ultimate- xbox-360-arcade-stick-with-community-effort/13565.html September 19th, 2011 21PowerPoint Presentation: September 19th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone At this year Tokyo Game Show, peripheral maker Razer has announced co-development program with the arcade stick community to come up with the ultimate arcade stick for the Microsoft Xbox 360 game console. Beta testing of the prototype will commence soon. Razer has announced a program to co-develop the ultimate arcadestickfortheMicrosoftXbox360gameconsoletogether with the arcade stick community. The arcade stick, developed with pro-gamer feedback, is currently at the prototype stage. Up to 200+ specially selected top-seed Street Fighter IV pro-gamers, influential modders, and members of the arcade enthusiast community will each be given a Razer arcade stick totestandprovidefeedbacktofurtherimproveittoperfection, whereupon the final design will then proceed to production. Members of the arcade community worldwide interested in participating in this beta program are encouraged to contribute ideas at www.razerzone.com/bredtofight , along with a short description as to why they should be selected for prototype testing. Registrants can also nominate other people to the program. Up to 200+ successful applicants worldwide willreceiveanarcadestickprototypedelivereddirectlytotheir homes. Razer will be launchingthis non-retail arcade stick closed beta community program at Tokyo Game Show. Select pro-gamers and key modders will also be approached to begin beta testing the prototype. For more information on the arcade stick or the community program, please visit www.razerzone.com/bredtofight 22PowerPoint Presentation: Published by: VR-Zone September 23rd, 2011 VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks. Intel Remains Committed to the Atom Brand Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-remains-committed-to-the-atom- brand/13624.html September 23rd, 2011 DigiTimes today ran a story about Intel's plans to rename the AtombrandundertheupcomingCedarTrailplatformin2012, due to poor brand image of Atom CPUs. We contacted an Intel spokespersonwhorespondedbysayingthattherearenoplans to change the Atom brand and that they are on track to launch new Atom processors in Q4 and more next year. VR-Zone also had an opportunity to talk to Brian Fravel, Intel’s Director of Marketing for Brand Strategy and Management who oversees the Atom brand. Read more for the interview... DigiTimes today ran a story about Intel's plans to rename the AtombrandundertheupcomingCedarTrailplatformin2012, due to poor brand image of Atom CPUs. We contacted an Intel spokespersonwhorespondedbysayingthattherearenoplans to change the Atom brand and that they are on track to launch new Atom processors in Q4 and more next year. Currently under the Atom brand, there are currently 5 processors series; D, N, Z, E and CE where D is for performance segment, N and E is for mainstream, Z is for Battery Optimized and CE is for Consumer Electronics. VR-Zone had an opportunity to talk to Brian Fravel, Intel’s Director of Marketing for Brand Strategy and Management who oversees the Atom brand. He confirmed that Intel remains extremely committed to the Atom brand and will continue to do so for 2012 and beyond. According to Fravel, Atom is doing well in segments such as Smart TVs where Intel Atom CE 4100 (Sodaville) chips are powering Google TV and Sony Internet TV. In the mobility space, Atom will continue to make in-roads into the netbook/ entry level desktop space with 32nm Cedar Trail which is expected to launch in Q4 this year. Tablet/smartphones with 32nm Medfield SoC are slated for a H1 2012 release, and a tablet/hybrid 32nm Clover Trail succeeding Oak Trail sometime next year. TherecentpublicdemonstrationsoftheirAtomsolutionsover at Intel Developer Forum and Microsoft BUILD conference also clearly showed Intel is fully behind their Atom chips. At IDF, Intel has showed a Medfield powered smartphone and at BUILD, Microsoft has showed a tablet powered by a 32nm Atom chip which we believe is a Medfield. According to our sources, Medfield is a single-core chip supporting HyperThreading and Clover Trail is essentially a SoC version of Cedar Trail which is dual-core chip supporting HyperThreading. AU by KDDI to carry Apple iPhone 5 in Japan early 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/au-by-kddi-to-carry-apple-iphone-5-in- japan-early-2012/13623.html September 23rd, 2011 Japanese mobile phone carrier, AU by KDDi, has recently spilled the beans about the upcoming Apple iPhone 5, as reported by Nikkei Business. However, as opposed to its earlier report that AU by KDDI would be selling the phone in early November, Nikkei said that the telco operator would be selling in early 2012 instead, Nikkei Business has earlier reported that AU by KDDI will be selling the new iPhone 5 in early November. But it seems that Nikkei, the sibling entity of Nikkei Business, said that the operator would only be selling the highly anticipated Apple iPhone5inearly2012instead.Softbankhasbeentheexclusive 1PowerPoint Presentation: September 23rd, 2011 telco operator for the iPhone in the past three years, but it seems that AU by KDDI, who is the second largest mobile phone carrier to NTT DoCoMo, has managed to seal the contract tosell the iPhone 5 inJapan. Thiscould be good news to AU users, especially those who have switched to Softbank because of the iPhone. Samsung to launch Galaxy Skin with flexible AMOLED screen next year? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-to-launch-galaxy-skin-with- flexible-amoled-screen-next-year-/13622.html September 23rd, 2011 The Samsung Galaxy Skin was unveiled at CES 2011 and features a bendable and foldable display that is able to withstand hard blows. However, the phone was still in conceptual stage, though if reports are true, the Samsung Galaxy Skin could become commercial next year. Featuringabendable,foldableAMOLEDdisplay,theSamsung Galaxy Skin is probably the most flexible mobile phone to date. Well, if it goes to retail that is. This new conceptualized phonewasshowcasedatHongikUniversityinSouthKorealast June,andatCES2011.AccordingtoSamsung,theGalaxySkin incorporates flexible AMOLED displays, instead of glass, and is said to use a plastic polyimide substrate. The tests showed thatthedisplaysareabletobendaroundacylinder,measuring just an inch in diameter. In terms of specifications, the Samsung Galaxy Skin will sport a 4-inch bendable AMOLED display (800x400), 8- megapixel rear and VGA front cameras, 1.2GHz processor, 1GB memory, and supports Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11b/ g/n connectivity. The phone may not run the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich, but a new mobile operating system called Android Flexy. According to news sources, Samsung has already confirmed that the production of these flexible AMOLED displays will begin in the Q2 2012 next year, which Published by: VR-Zone means that we could see the Samsung Galaxy Skin in stores before end 2012. Source: androidpit , gadgets and gizmos Samsung open doors to new memory fab, starts churning out 2Xnm DDR3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-open-doors-to-new-memory- fab-starts-churning-out-2xnm-ddr3/13621.html September 23rd, 2011 Back in May last year Samsung started building its Line-16 memory fab and trial production kicked off back in June this year, followed by mass production in August and the company hasnowannouncedthattheFabhasgoneintofullproduction. According to Samsung this is the world's largest memory Fab and that in itself might be impressive, but what we're more interestedinisSamsungnew20nm"class"DDR3memoryand NAND flash which is being made in the Fab. 2PowerPoint Presentation: September 23rd, 2011 Back in May last year Samsung started building its Line-16 memory fab and trial production kicked off back in June this year, followed by mass production in August and the company hasnowannouncedthattheFabhasgoneintofullproduction. According to Samsung this is the world's largest memory Fab and that in itself might be impressive, but what we're more interestedinisSamsungnew20nm"class"DDR3memoryand NAND flash which is being made in the Fab. As you'd expect, the new Fab is located in Korea and is a part of Samsung's Nano City complex in Hwaseong. It has 198,000 square meters of workspace and is a 12 story building. In the Fab Samsung can manufacture over 10,000 12-inch wafers of 2Xnm NAND flash plus an unknown amount of DDR3 wafers. That's a serious amount of memory and it's easy to see why Samsung is one of the leading memory manufacturers in the world. Samsung is also expecting to move to 10nm class NAND flash production at the Fab come next year. Additionally the company will move from 2Gbit DDR3 DRAM chips to 4Gbit chips later this year, which will be used in 4, 8, 16 and 32GB DDR3 DIMMs, although apparently we'll have to wait until next year before these hit retail. Samsung is expecting to output 50 percent more memory chips by moving from 3Xnm to 2Xnm and claims that the 2Xnm chips will use up to 40 percent less power than its 3Xnm chips. Hopefully from a consumer perspective this means that we can look forward to more affordable SSDs and sustained memory prices over at least the next 12 months. Gigabyte's GA-A75N-USB3 mini-ITX motherboard pictured ahead of launch Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-s-ga-a75n-usb3-mini-itx- motherboard-pictured-ahead-of-launch/13618.html September 23rd, 2011 The GA-A75N-USB3 was announced quite some time ago, although nothing much have been heard about the product since. Now picture of an early revision of the mini-ITX motherboard has appeared over on a Japanese website and although we expect some minor cosmetic changes before launch, we can't be too far from an official unveiling. The GA-A75N-USB3 was announced quite some time ago, although nothing much have been heard about the product since. Now picture of an early revision of the mini-ITX motherboard has appeared over on a Japanese website and although we expect some minor cosmetic changes before launch, we can't be too far from an official unveiling. The A75N-USB3 is a fairly basic motherboard, but as such it should also be quite affordable. Standard features include two DIMM slots, four SATA 6Gbps ports and a x16 PCI Express slot. We can also spot a front USB 2.0 pin header, but that 3 Published by: VR-Zone appears to be pretty much it. We'd expect the chipset heatsink to change before the board goes on sale. Around the back the board has four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, an eSATA port, three analogueaudiojacks,opticalS/PDIFoutandaDVIandHDMI port. It's good to see that Gigabyte has finally given up on the D-sub connector, although we'd presume that the DVI port allows for a D-sub display to be used via an adaptor. We did find a price as well, as the board is listed for pre- order with some online retailers. In Europe the board should retail for around €100 (S$176) which about on par with the competition, although it doesn't make it a bargain, especially considering its fairly basic feature set. We'll have to wait and see what the official pricing will be once Gigabyte officially launches the board. Intel's upcoming Core i7-2700K expected to cost more than the 2600K Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-s-upcoming-core-i7-2700k- expected-to-cost-more-than-the-2600k/13616.htmlPowerPoint Presentation: September 23rd, 2011 September 23rd, 2011 Sadly we can't reveal the exact price point of the 2700K as it would get our source in a lot of trouble, but suffice to say, it'll not end up at the US$317 list price of the 2600K. We'd expect the actual retail price of the 2700K to end up somewhere close to US$340-350 at launch, not massive increase in price, but still an unusual move by Intel. It's possible that the company isn't ready to replace the 2600K, although if this is the case, then this will be the first time we see two K SKU CPUs in the same sub family of CPUs from Intel. The Core i7-2700K will have a base clock of 3.5GHz, up 100MHz from the 2600K, although it's otherwise identical to the 2600K. This also means that the highest multiplier is still stuck at 57x, but we've also heard via the grapevine that the 2700K is proving to be a better overclocker than the 2600K. Intel is apparently cherry picking the best of the best of its Sandy Bridge cores for the 2700K, which helps when it comes to the overclocking potential. We shouldn't have to wait too long to find out, as Intel is expect to launch the CPU on the 24th of October. Update: Fudzilla seemstohavefoundoutamoreaccurateprice point and claim that the Core i7-2700K should retail for US $331. The Body Shop to launch the iButterfly Asia iPhone application tomorrow Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-body-shop-to-launch-the- ibutterfly-asia-iphone-application-tomorrow/13613.html September 23rd, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone This year is The Body Shop's 35th anniversary and the cosmetic company will be launching their iButterfly Asia iPhone application in Singapore tomorrow. The iButterfly Asia iPhone app is designed to engage and reach out to potentialcustomerswithelectronicdiscountcoupons,product giveaways and useful content. For the longest of times Intel has follow a very linear pricing model with new faster models entering its price lists at the same price point as its previously fastest model. However, it seems like this is all about to change with the introduction of the Core i7-2700K which is set to launch in about a months' time, as according to information VR-Zone has been privy to, the 2700K will be pricier than the 2600K. For the longest of times Intel has follow a very linear pricing model with new faster models entering its price lists at the same price point as its previously fastest model. However, it seems like this is all about to change with the introduction of the Core i7-2700K which is set to launch in about a months' time, as according to information VR-Zone has been privy to, the 2700K will be pricier than the 2600K. Cosmetic company The Body Shop will be launching the iButterfly Asia iPhone app tomorrow, 23 September, in Singapore. This is the first time the app is coming here, following recent successes in Tokyo and Hong Kong. The campaign will be running from 23 September to 16 October,coinciding with the ethical beauty brand’s 35th birthday celebrations. The iButterfly Asia iPhone app is designed to engage, capture and reach out to potential users via a paper-less "coupon entertainment". The objective is to catch the "butterflies" with each containing a variety of discount coupons, product giveaways and beneficial content. The application can be downloaded for free at the Apple iTunes App Store, and supports iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices (with iOS4.2 and above). It works withiin 150m radius of the vicinity of any of The Body Shop stores in Singapore whereby you can catch the "butterflies". These butterflies are air tags created using augmented reality and location information elements. The smartphone‘s global positioning system (GPS) and their motion sensors are then used to "catch" the butterflies. Once users have captured their butterflies, they will be able to redeem for free prizes and great discounts off products at any The Body Shop outlet. Each butterfly is unique to The Body Shop brand. Throughout the campaign period, consumers can catch these butterfliesusingtheiriPhonesandtakeadvantageofiButterfly Asia-exclusive offers, including 10 grand prizes of S$500 worth of The Body Shop products. These special edition butterflies will make appearances throughout the campaign. The public can follow The BodyShop Singapore on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thebodyshopsingapore starting 23rd September to get instant updates and how-to information on The Body Shop iButterfly Asia campaign. 4PowerPoint Presentation: September 23rd, 2011 OCZ announces second SSD caching solution with the Synapse series Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-announces-second-ssd-caching- solution-with-the-synapse-series/13614.html September 23rd, 2011 If OCZ's RevoDrive Hybrid is outside of your budget, then its new Synapse series of SSDs might appeal to you as the new range of drives have been designed specifically for SSD caching. The good news is that you don't need chipset level supporttotakeadvantageoftheSSDcachingfeatureeither,as OCZ has integrated software from Dataplex that handles the caching part. If OCZ's RevoDrive Hybrid is outside of your budget, then its new Synapse series of SSDs might appeal to you as the new range of drives have been designed specifically for SSD caching. The good news is that you don't need chipset level supporttotakeadvantageoftheSSDcachingfeatureeither,as OCZ has integrated software from Dataplex that handles the caching part. So what makes the Synapse series of SSD's different from any other SSD? Well, OCZ are selling them as 64 and 128GB models, but you only get half of that space thanks to 50 percent overprovisioning. This means that the drive is likely to last longer than the hard drive it'll work in tandem with and OCZ claims a MTBF time of 2 million hours, which oddly enough isn't higher than OCZ's other SSD's, despite the high overprovisioning. The Synapse series features SATA 6Gbps interface and both modelshavearatedmaxreadspeedofupto550MB/swhereas 5 Name Available & Major Published by: VR-Zone the64GBmodelhasamaxwritespeedofupto490MB/swhile the128GBshouldbeslightlyfasteratupto510MB/s.Themax IOPSareslightlylowerthanforOCZ'sotherSSD'sbasedonthe SandForce SF-2281 controller which is surprising, although the difference isn't that big. OCZdoesn'tsupplymuchinformationwithregardstohowthe Dataplex caching software works, only that it takes some time for it to build up the cache, as per any other caching system. One slightly different feature is that the Dataplex software can dynamically handle which is stored on the SSD and the hard drive, which seems to suggest that frequently used software might be stored on the SSD rather than the hard drive. OCZ claims that the drives are available as of now, but we haven't found anyone listing them for sale and OCZ didn't reveal pricing. We're going to try to get a unit in for review and do a comparison with other SSD caching solutions. Nikon COOLPIX P7100, P1200pj, S6200, S8200 on sale now Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nikon-coolpix-p7100-p1200pj-s6200- s8200-on-sale-now/13612.html September 23rd, 2011 Nikon Singapore is pleased to announce that the sales date for COOLPIX P7100, P1200pj, S6200 and S8200 officially start today, 22nd September 2011, Thursday. They are going for S $799, S$629, S$349 and S$519 respectively. Nikon Singapore is pleased to announce that the sales date for COOLPIX P7100, P1200pj, S6200 and S8200 officially start today, 22nd September 2011, Thursday. Product Colors Specifications Recommended Retail Features Price P7100 COOLPIX • Black • 10.1 megapixels with 3” LCD • 7.1 optical zoom • 28mm wide-angle to 200mm telephoto lens • Faster response and lesser noise $799