Samsung to ship higher-capacity solid state disk drive
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. plans to begin shipping a solid state disk drive in the second quarter that will have double the capacity of its current highest-capacity drive. Solid state disk drives are intended as replacements for conventional hard-disk drives and use NAND flash memory rather than a rotating magnetic storage disk. Samsung currently offers 16 GB and 32 GB drives and will begin shipping a 64 GB model. It will offer better performance than Samsung’s previous models in addition to the higher capacity. The speed it reads data has been increased from 53 Mbps to 64 Mbps, while the write speed has been increased from 30 Mbps to 45 Mbps.
Availability: Late Q2 2007 URL: http://www.tinyurl.com/38f67t
HP offers SMBs an AMD-based server at a PC price
HP has announced a dozen new products and services aimed at small and midsize businesses, including an Advanced Micro Devices-based server priced less than US$500. The ProLiant ML115 is HP’s first tower server with AMD processors inside. The system, designed to sit under a desk in small office situations, can support SMB workloads such as file-and-print or small group e-mail. It comes configured with either a dual-core Opteron or a single-core Athlon 64 processor.
An Athlon-based configuration with an 80 GB Serial ATA drive and 512MB of memory starts at US$499, while the dual-core Opteron-based systems are priced around US$730. By comparison, HP’s Xeon-based system, the ML110, is priced around US$1,000. The ProLiant ML115 also can be configured with HP’s Lights-Out 100C remote management card, enabling SMB customers or their service providers to remotely manage the system from anywhere.
Availability: Available now Pricing: Starting at US$499 URL: http://www.tinyurl.com/2crzbu
Intel promises fast Penryn chips in 2007
Intel will begin producing its next-generation “Penryn” processors by the end of 2007, using greater power efficiency to push improved Core 2 and Xeon chips to speeds over 3GHz. The Penryn design calls for shrinking Intel’s current Core microarchitecture from chips using 65-nanometer feature sizes to 45nm.
To prevent electricity from leaking between transistors packed so closely together, the chip will use novel “high-k, metal gate” materials to provide better insulation. The Penryn chip will also have better power management than previous Intel processors, with deeper sleep states than Core 2 Duo chips.
Thanks to that efficiency, Intel plans to run its new chips faster than 3GHz for desktop and notebook versions, reversing an industry trend of scaling back the processor speed in order to add more cores without creating too much heat.
Availability: Late 2007 URL: http://www.tinyurl.com/yst55x
Fujitsu launches notebooks with solid state drives
Fujitsu Computer Systems has introduced two touchscreen notebook PCs that are available with custom-ordered solid state drives (SSD) of 16GB or 32GB. The Life Book P1610, a convertible notebook, and the Life Book B6210, a clamshell style, can each be converted to run the flash-based SSDs. Fujitsu also anounced a rugged case for each notebook, priced at US$139, Moore said.
The P1610 is 2.2 pounds, with an 8.9-inch touchsreen, while the B6210 is 3.2 pounds with a 12.1-inch display. The B6210 runs Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 or Windows XP Pro, while the P1610 runs those two or Windows Vista Business Edition.
Availability: Available now URL: http://www.tinyurl.com/2l5qpl
RIM adds APIs for new types of applications
Research In Motion is hoping to expand the types of applications developers can make for its BlackBerry handheld by adding APIs to the BlackBerry Java Development Environment. The new APIs will let developers access additional functions in the phones, including audio, messaging and mapping, to build social networking, location-based, multimedia and other kinds of applications, RIM said.
Developers can also use a BlackBerry Messenger API, which offers access to presence and contact information and the capability to send peer-to-peer messages. RIM is also working on releasing additional APIs, including support for 3D graphics, MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) and SMS (Short Message Service).
Availability: Available now URL: http://www.tinyurl.com/yw5eb5
Symantec offers Mobile Security Suite 5.0
Antivirus vendor Symantec Corp. expects to ship the fifth version of its Mobile Security Suite this May, adding firewall, VPN, antispam and client-access protection to the antivirus software for devices based on Microsoft‘s Windows Mobile 5.0 platform. Symantec Mobile Security Suite 5.0 will also now have a LiveUpdate feature, which administrators can use to schedule regular virus scans and updates, and the firewall function will be able to control both inbound and outbound traffic on mobile devices.
Another security feature is the software’s ability to encrypt data on the device and memory card if it’s lost or stolen. It includes a mechanism to enable or disable device features such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and device synching to limit potential attack vectors while providing access to services required by the business.
Availability: May 2007 Pricing: To be announced URL: http:www.tinyurl.com/32alze
Telus and HTC announce new device combo
Telus is bringing the first devices from High Tech Computer Corp. to Canada, offering the Windows Mobile-based HTC P4000 and HTC S720 smart phones to the Canadian market. Both devices feature a full sliding QWERTY keyboard, 2 megapixel high resolution digital cameras with video capture and playback, optional removable MicroSD memory card and Bluetooth support for accessories.
Designed for the heavy mobile data user, the P4000 features a 2.8” 240 x 320 color touch screen, while the S720 is optimized for those that want access to mobile data, email and the Internet but prefer a smaller, phone-focused design. The phones will be compatible with the telco’s EVDO Rev A service, which is scheduled to launch in selected markets later this year.
Availability: Q2 2007 Pricing: Not disclosed URL: http://www.tinyurl.com/27qts8
Optical chipset allows instant downloads
IBM researchers have showed a prototype optical transceiver chipset they say will allow people to share online data eight times faster than current commercial fibre optic technology allows. The chipset can move data at 160 Gbps by representing information as light pulses instead of electrons and could be used for both corporate and consumer applications as soon as 2010, IBM said.
Consumer demand for digital media has caused an explosion in the amount of data being transferred over the Internet, underlining the need for greater bandwidth and connectivity. IBM said it can meet that need, building its new chipset by making an optical transceiver with standard CMOS technology and combining that with optical components crafted from exotic materials such as indium phosphide and gallium arsenide.
Availability: 2010 URL: http://www.ibm.com
Cisco unveils IPICS for emergency s
