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Posts Tagged ‘Watts’

AMD reveals Fusion CPU+GPU, to challege Intel in laptops

SAN FRANCISCO—The “Llano” processor that AMD described today in an ISSCC session is not a CPU, and it’s not a GPU—instead, it’s a hybrid design that the chipmaker is calling an “application processor unit,” or APU. Whatever you call it, it could well give Intel a run for its money in the laptop market, by combining a full DX11-compatible GPU with four out-of-order CPU cores on a single, 32nm processor die.

Details on the highly parallel vector hardware—the “GPU” part of the device—have yet to be disclosed, but AMD is focusing today’s revelations on the CPU part of the design. In a nutshell, AMD has taken the “STARS” core that’s used in their current 45nm offerings, shrunk it to a new 32nm SOI high-K process, and added new power gating and dynamic power optimization capabilities to it. Each out-of-order core has a bit under 35 million transistors, and a 1MB L2 cache that’s not included in that number. AMD is targeting sub-3GHz operation, and a power consumption range of 2.5 to 25 watts.

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Pedal Brain’s Gadget Turns Your iPhone Into A Powerful Cycling Computer

For years, runners have been able to take advantage of Nike+, a nifty accessory that lets your iPod communicate with your shoes to turn it into a personal running coach of sorts. Soon, cyclists will have access to a tool that’s in the same vein as Nike+, but far more powerful. It’s called Pedal Brain, and it allows your iPhone or iPod Touch to receive and interpret data from a variety of exercise devices that use the ANT+ wireless protocol. ANT+ is used by cyclists (including many professionals) to accurately measure and analyze their performance over a ride, but until now there hasn’t been a way to connect these devices to your iPhone.

That’s where Pedal Brain comes in. The bootstrapped startup is making a small device called the Pedal Brain Synapse that plugs into your iPhone or iPod Touch and allows them to receive this data, which is then interpreted by an iPhone app. The application shows you how you’re performing in real-time (you’ll want to mount your iPhone in plain view) and can also use GPS to show the position of your team members. Once you’ve completed your ride, you’ll be able to log on to the Pedal Brain site to get more detailed analysis. The site will also have an integrated platform for coaches, so you sign up to get your own trainer to help plot your future rides and track your progress.

Pedal Brain founder Matt Bauer acknowledges that there are a handful of other cycling applications available for the iPhone, like Map My Ride, but says that these only offer basic data. That’s because they rely on your phone’s GPS for data, which can help gauge the distance you’ve travelled but can’t measure many of the things that ANT+ devices can. Bauer explains that power (in Watts) is a common metric used to gauge your progress, and can’t be accurately determined using GPS alone.

Pedal Brain’s iPhone/iPod accessory, which has already been approved by Apple, will be available through local bike shops this spring. The company is targeting a March release date and plans to sell the device for between $130 and $190. The online service will be subscription based, though users will be able to get a limited version for free (you won’t be able to track your data for longer than a couple weeks).

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Viewsonic VOT132 nettop review

You don’t need booming sales figures to tell you that netbooks have taken over the world — the mobile computing world, at least. Their screenless and battery-free brethren, however, have yet to find quite the same success. Nettops are great tiny little machines but in general they’ve been under-powered and, while people love eking out another hour or two of battery life on the road, few sadly care whether their desktop computers pull down 17 or 71 watts of juice. Still, it’s hard to deny the appeal of a fully-functional computer that’s half the size of a Wii — especially when it can manage 1080p output over HDMI. Viewsonic’s VOT132, with its Ion graphics and trick magnetic DVD drive, is tiny, efficient, and powerful. The perfect media PC? Read on to find out.

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Viewsonic VOT132 nettop review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JVC intros cord-free TH-BA3 and TH-BS7 soundbar audio systems

JVC’s never been much on using wires to hook up its home theater systems, and for those not looking for mind-blowing 7.1 surround, these soon-available wireless soundbar setups might just satisfy your aural cravings without forcing you to run ungodly lengths of cabling around your den. The TS-BA3 ($549.95) is a dual wireless soundbar system that consists of a 280-watt amplifier, 5.1-channel surround rig (including a soundbar, wireless subwoofer and wireless rear speaker kit) and built-in surround decoding. You’ll also find a single analog input, two optical digital inputs and support for Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby ProLogic II surround signals. The TH-BS7 ($599.95) is engineered to mount alongside flat-panel HDTVs, with a 1.4-inch tall, ultrathin soundbar, an even slimmer wall-mountable amplifier / control unit and a wireless subwoofer. This one’s packing 180-watts of teeth-rattling oomph and promises 4.1 sound with minimal consumption of floor space. Hop on past the break for the full release and detailed specifications.

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JVC intros cord-free TH-BA3 and TH-BS7 soundbar audio systems originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel crams 48 cores onto stamp-sized processor, wants to do what Cell did

Intel crams 48 cores onto stamp-sized processor, wants to do what Cell did originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MusicNAO offers unique dock for iPhone and iPod touch

Filed under: Audio, Hardware, Bluetooth, iPhone, iPod touch, Music

Canadian company Cignias has announced an interesting product in the home audio/iPhone category. It’s called the MusicNAO and it allows you to wirelessly control a docked iPod with an iPhone or iPod touch. It also lets you play music wirelessly to the dock from an iPhone or iPod touch. The music streams using the stereo Bluetooth capability of your iPhone or second generation iPod touch.

The base unit, which is a bit reminiscent of the Bose product, has 40 watts of output power, contains equalization circuitry, and uses 4″ speakers. You can skip music, select music, and control the volume remotely. If you have an iPod plugged in, you can view and select playlists, artists and genres from your iPhone or iPod touch.

The apps for your iPhone or iPod touch are available free from the iTunes app store [iTunes link]. The control connections are through Wi-Fi, while the music streams through Bluetooth.

The unit also has an auxiliary input for plugging in another audio source. Hey, anyone still have cassettes?

The MusicNAO is shipping December 1, with an introductory price of U.S. $249.00 until November 30, then it’s $299.00. The prices are the same in Canada. I haven’t heard the device, so I can’t give testimony to the audio quality.

I do think the MusicNAO is a unique twist on portable music integration with Apple products. The system also supports Blackberry cellphones that have a stereo streaming feature.

TUAWMusicNAO offers unique dock for iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tilera’s 100-core Tile-GX processor won’t boil the oceans, will still melt faces
Sixty-four, sixty-shmore… that’s so 2007 in terms of processing cores found in a single CPU: one hundred cores is where the future of computing resides. This magnificent engineering feat isn’t from AMD or even Intel, it’s the latest Tile-GX series of chips from the two-year old San Jose startup, Tilera. Its general purpose chips can run stand-alone or as co-processors running alongside those x86 chips that usually ship in four-, six-, or now eight-core configurations like Intel’s upcoming Nehalem-EX chip. Tilera’s 100-core chip pulls 55 watts at peak performance while its 16-core chip draws as little as 5 watts. Tilera uses the same mesh architecture as its previous 64-core chip in order to overcome the performance degradation accompanying data exchange on typical, multi-core processors — or so it says. Tilera’s new 40-nm process chips have cranked the clock to 1.5GHz and include support for 64-bit processing. And while its processors could be applied to any number of computing scenarios, Tilera’s focusing on lucrative markets like parallel-processing where its meager developer and marketing resources can extract a relatively quick payout. The fun begins in early 2011 with volume pricing set between $400 and $1000.

[Via PC World]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Tilera’s 100-core Tile-GX processor won’t boil the oceans, will still melt faces originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Polk Audio’s HitMaster: your own personal Rock Band stage monitor

Sheesh. Just days after Altec Lansing shocked the gaming world with a dedicated stage monitor for Guitar Hero, Rock Band or any other gaming title you’d care to pump through a mini-wedge, Polk Audio has stepped in to do the same. As we witness the beginning of a curious, um, beginning, the HitMaster has stepped things up for anyone else thinking of joining the fray by packing 60 watts of RMS power, a pair of 2.2- x 5.5-inch horns, twin 1-inch tweeters and a booming 6.5-inch subwoofer. The whole cabinet weighs some 13 pounds, and aside from line level inputs and outputs, you’ll also find a 1/8-inch jack for connecting iPods and the like. Oh, and did we mention that you can daisy chain these things? Because you can. Look for this one to rock your face off (or something to that effect) in early 2010 for $99.99.

[Via Hot Hardware]

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Polk Audio’s HitMaster: your own personal Rock Band stage monitor originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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