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Posts Tagged ‘Mid Range’

AMD debuts chip set with faster USB 3.0 data transfer

Advanced Micro Devices is launching its 890GX chip set today that will move computers a step forward in terms of speed of data transfer.

That means it could alleviate one of the headaches of modern computers — the fact that it takes a long time to transfer data to a USB stick or external storage device.

The chip set, which handles traffic functions inside a computer, will accommodate Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 and SATA 3.0 data transfer schemes that will speed the flow of data as much as 10 times within a computer, said Adam Kozack, platform marketing manager at AMD. The chip set is targeted at mid-range do-it-yourself computers.

It will be available as part of dozens of motherboards, or main circuit boards, with prices that range from $130 to $150. The USB 3.0 function is handled via a PCI Express slot; that means it isn’t part of the chip set on the motherboard just yet, which is a cheaper and ultimately faster solution. That will come later. But AMD can still take advantage of the full speed of the USB 3.0 function, which is 10 times faster than USB 2.0. That means you can transfer video much faster from a camcorder to a laptop, or from a digital camera to a computer, or from a computer to an external hard drive.

The new chip set will be compatible with upcoming six-core microprocessors from AMD that will debut in the second quarter. Desktop computers using the chip set are expected to debut around that time.

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Motorola Devour in the wild once again

We’ve already seen the Motorola Devour in the wild once, but with the official Verizon launch right around the corner and pre-sales underway, it looks like at least one more unit has made it out into the world. Great — but we’d like a video of this thing and its mid-range processor running Flash, please.

[Thanks, Zach]

Motorola Devour in the wild once again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Garmin spits out new handheld, touchscreen GPS devices

Continue reading Garmin spits out new handheld, touchscreen GPS devices

Garmin spits out new handheld, touchscreen GPS devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oki shows off prototype LED-based HUD, coming soon to a jalopy near you

Currently, the only way you’re getting a heads-up display in your whip is if you pay two arms and a leg for it. By and large, mid-range and low-end vehicles have been completely removed from the HUD fun, but all that could be changing thanks to a new effort from the crew at Oki Digital Imaging. Said outfit recently demonstrated a LED-based alternative that measures 1.1-inches in size and is constructed using the company’s own EFB (Epi Film Bonding) process. Without getting too deep in the technobabble, the newfound process consumes less power, requires a simpler heat sink and boasts an all-around simpler structure. The end result? A far less expensive heads-up display, which — if all goes well — will begin sampling by the end of next year and could hit low-end cars, mobile phones and other handhelds shortly thereafter. Oh future, how we love thee.

Oki shows off prototype LED-based HUD, coming soon to a jalopy near you originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sonos adds a portable music player with room filling sound

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Audio, Hardware, Multimedia, Music

Sonos, best known for wireless music systems that link to your iTunes library and internet services like Pandora, Rhapsody and Napster, is offering a one piece, 5 speaker system that can be placed in any room. It’s called the Zone Player S5 and it’s US $399 direct from Sonos or dealers around the country.

Sonos shipped me a review system to try for 30 days, and I thought the sound was great. I already had a mutli-room Sonos system so adding the new portable player was just a matter of plugging it into AC power and pressing two buttons on the S5.

If you don’t already have a Sonos system, you have to plug your unit into a router to connect to your music library and the internet. If that doesn’t work in your home layout, you can buy what Sonos calls a Zone Bridge (US $99) that plugs into your router and lets the S5 make a wireless connection. Once that basic pairing is made, you can add as many other Sonos music systems as you like, all connecting over a wireless mesh network.

The system sounds quite good, given the limits of the small desktop-friendly size (8.5 x 14.4 x 4.8 inches). There are 5 speakers, two tweeters, two 3″ mid-range drivers, and one 3.5″ woofer all driven by individual amplifiers. The woofer is a ducted port design and the rear port serves double duty as a carrying handle.

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TUAWSonos adds a portable music player with room filling sound originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultrasone goes ‘airy’ with $329 HFI-2400 headphones

They’re no Edition 8s, but Ultrasone’s newest cans are still aiming to make a believer out of you. The mid-range (by its standards, anyway) HFI-2400 headphones are collapsible, over-the-head cans that promise an “airy tone” from the 40 millimeter drivers. Encased in black and silver, these definitely look the part, and the bundled velvet case and demo CD certainly go a long way towards making you feel like a real epicurean. The pain? Just $329, and they should be up for order as we speak.

Filed under: Portable Audio

Ultrasone goes ‘airy’ with $329 HFI-2400 headphones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Upgrading to Windows 7? Set aside 21 hours, just in case

We can say for sure that our own Windows 7 upgrade experience didn’t take, oh say, a whole day, but according to Microsoft, your own just might. The boys and girls in Redmond set out with a goal of seeing the Vista to Windows 7 upgrade accomplished around five percent faster than an upgrade to Vista, and while it seems that they succeeded, the staggeringly wide range in install times has us a wee bit concerned. A variety of testing situations were put in place, and nearly every profile was tested on low-, mid- and high-end hardware. A clean install of Windows 7 on mid-to-high-end hardware took just a half-hour, but a 32-bit upgrade on a mid-range machine with 650GB of data and 40 applications took an astounding 1,220 minutes, or just under 21 hours. The wild part here is that it’s not all that uncommon for a power user / all-around nerd to have a half-terabyte of information and two score programs, and in anticipation of one install actually taking over a day, the team didn’t even bother testing this path on a low-end rig. Good thing our imaginations are in check, huh?

[Via ArsTechnica. thanks Martin]

Filed under: Software

Upgrading to Windows 7? Set aside 21 hours, just in case originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox 360 price drops go global on Friday, it’s official

Not that we had any doubt but Microsoft has made it official: Xbox 360 price cuts are coming Friday. The entry-level Arcade will remain at $200 while the top end Elite will drop to $300 from $400. The mid-range Pro (reduced to $250 from $300) will be phased out just as soon a they can eliminate stock. As a footnote to the announcement, Microsoft wants to remove all doubt about future project natal compatibility by saying it, “will work with every Xbox 360 sold today and tomorrow.” So what’s going to be kids, PS3 Slim or Xbox 360 Pro? Blu-ray or Netflix?

Filed under: Gaming

Xbox 360 price drops go global on Friday, it’s official originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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