TDK claims HDD recording density record

At the CEATEC show kicking off today in Japan, TDK announced it has achieved a new milestone in surface recording density for hard disk drives thanks to its prototype TMR head. The company achieved the world’s highest surface recording density at 803GB/inch2, which could result in a typical single 1.8-inch double-sided disk having the capacity of 260GB. The TMR head is the same one as introduced in 2007, although TDK engineers have increased its magnetoresistance ratio by more than 80 percent while keeping its bond resistance low.

Official BlackBerry Storm photos leak

Official promotional photos of the highly-anticipated Blackberry Storm smartphone have been leaked over the weekend, showing the home screen and confirming some of its specifications and that it will be available exclusively at Verizon Wireless. The RIM handset’s large 3.25-inch, 480x360 touchscreen shows the menu will have eight shortcut buttons, with one dedicated to Verizon’s VZ Navigator application.

iRiver announces pricing, launch date for SPINN

The wait for the iRiver SPINN personal audio player unveiled this summer is nearly over, as the Korean company announced the touchscreen device will start shipping to US customers from October 3 onward. The personal audio players are currently available for pre-order. The 4GB SPINN is priced at nearly $250, and the 8GB version at $290. In other markets, such as Korea, the player can also be had in a 16GB capacity, but all share a 3.2-inch, 480x372 active matrix OLED (AMOLED) touchscreen.

Xohm subject to data throttling, FCC scrutiny

Users of Sprint's just-launched Xohm service are likely to face certain services being throttled from the outset, according to the WiMAX network's Acceptable Use Policy page. The carrier claims the right to use "various tools and techniques" to limit the speed available to any particularly data-heavy apps or entire protocol types, including file sharing suites. The restriction would be put in place to create a consistent experience for the user base, Sprint argues.

Sprint's Xohm WiMAX goes live

Sprint today marked the official debut of Xohm, the first WiMAX service available from a major provider in the US and the first 4G-level service from a cellular carrier. The 2.5GHz service, launching first in Baltimore, is likened to a traditional Internet provider and provides roughly DSL-quality broadband wherever the network is available: Sprint estimates real-world downloads of between 2Mbps and 4Mbps depending on distance and signal strength. The speed allows full-quality streaming video and other services that are largely impractical over 3G.

Toshiba adds 250GB 1.8" drive, claims highest density

Toshiba on Wednesday unveiled a new 250GB 1.8-inch format hard drive, something the company claims to be an industry first. Sitting off a Serial ATA connector, the MKxx29GSG series drives now offer the highest density of data storage currently available, at 378.8 Gb per square inch, with a 15ms seek time. The drives, which are also available in 120GB and 160GB capacities, run at 5400RPM, and offer a free fall sensor option to help prevent damage to the drive platter.

First photos of Motorola Q11 smartphone surface

Photos of the upcoming Motorola handset have surfaced on the Internet on Wednesday, revealing what the smartphone will look like and shedding some light on its specs. Despite bearing a close resemblance to the handset maker’s Q 9c, the Q11 adds a Wi-Fi module, and ups the integrated camera’s megapixel count to three from 1.3, as well as including an 8x digital zoom.

First photos of Motorola Q11 smartphone surface

Photos of the upcoming Motorola handset have surfaced on the Internet on Wednesday, revealing what the smartphone will look like and shedding some light on its specs. Despite bearing a close resemblance to the handset maker’s Q 9c, the Q11 adds a Wi-Fi module, and ups the integrated camera’s megapixel count to three from 1.3, as well as including an 8x digital zoom.

Photos, info of new Sony Ericsson 5MP handset leak

A couple of fuzzy photos and unofficial information was leaked about an upcoming Sony Ericsson handset on Thursday. Codenamed Kate, the cellphone sports a 5-megapixel camera in a candybar body that is slightly larger than the C902 in Sony Ericsson’s range, which also sports a 5MP camera. Some believe Kate is the replacement for the K850i, yet another 5MP phone in the handset maker’s line-up. The camera will sport autofocus, Xenon flash and Smile Shutter (face detection) features.

Metadata group intros first digital photo standard

The Metadata Working Group on Wednesday announced the introduction of its first standard for the preservation of metadata, or ‘data about data’ in digital photographs at the Photokina 2008 show. The specification is meant to make organizing, sharing and searching for digital photos quicker and easier, as well as make working with digital photos compatible across all applications, devices and services. Current metadata standards typically overlap and do not provide interoperability options.

Claim: Nokia's first touch phone due Oct. 2

Nokia's defining 5800 XpressMusic is due at a previously rumored October 2nd special event, claim sources for Reuters. The news outlet points to the media gathering, most likely also to include Nokia's already discussed Comes With Music plans, as the starting point for the company's first ever touchscreen phone. The device has been nicknamed the "Tube" and is widely known to be pitched as a non-smartphone but high-spec alternative to handsets like the iPhone, with a sharper 640x360 display and 3.2-megapixel camera countered by the lack of large built-in storage and reduced support for third-party apps.

GSmart intros phones with custom Windows Mobile UI

GigaByte Communications, maker of GSmart-branded handsets, on Thursday introduced a pair of identical looking cellphones, the MW702 and MS802 smartphones. The pair will first launch in Hungary, with the MW702 available on Friday, and will offer the company‘s advanced Smart Touch II user interface to control the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system. Targeted at business users, the phones will include a GPS module that will allow geotagging of photos taken by their 3-megapixel camera and sending out messages that contain position information.

China Mobile next up for Android phone?

National carrier China Mobile on Friday is one of the next in line to get an Android phone after T-Mobile, industry contacts allegedly report. The state-run company is part of the Open Handset Alliance and has already committed to the concept of an Android phone but is now reportedly confirming a past slip by narrowing down its Android launch to a specific spring 2009 release window. The unnamed handset would be made by G1 creator HTC but is said to have been delayed by the creation of China-specific apps for Android.

Amazon offers limited pink ribbon Nintendo DS Lite

In an effort to show its support for breast cancer research and promote awareness, Nintendo has launched a limited edition DS Lite portable gaming console in polar white with a pink ribbon. The console is available for purchase on Amazon‘s online store, and Nintendo pledges that $5 from the sale of every limited edition Pink Ribbon DS Lite will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity, and guaranteed a minimum donation of $100,000 even if it doesn‘t sell the 20,000 DS Lites or otherwise raise the minimum amount.

NVIDIA teams with MotionDSP to boost video

NVIDIA on Thursday announced it has partnered up with digital video software creator MotionDSP to provide users with a way to enhance the quality of personal videos created by their cellphone cameras, point-and-shoot digicams, camcorders or video captured from the Internet. Written using NVIDIA’s CUDA general-purpose computing technology to take advantage of the GPUs’ abiilities to handle non-graphics tasks, MotionDSP’s codenamed Carmel software tracks every pixel from tens of video frames before reconstructing high-quality video from low-res sources.

Art Lebedev Studio designs WiMAX cellphone

OLED keyboard and keypad maker Art Lebedev Studio has developed a cellphone concept for Russian network provider Scartel. The device would be one of the few to carry WiMAX for 4G-level Internet access but would also have an unprecedented 850x480 resolution touchscreen. Users will also be able to connect to the Internet via a built-in Wi-Fi module and make calls on tri-band GSM.

Kodak CCD sensors used in high-end pro cameras

At the currently ongoing Photokina show, three professional medium format digital SLR camera manufacturers revealed newly released products that utilize current and new Kodak CCD image sensors. The newly-unveiled Leica S2 uses Kodak’s KAF-37500 image sensor, which is good for 37.5-megapixel resolution. The sensor introduces a new format that is 50 percent larger than conventional 35mm film thanks to its imaging area of 45mm x 30mm. The KAF-37500 uses micro lenses to increase its light sensitivity, while a built-it infrared filter is integrated into the sensor, allowing the camera to be physically thinner.

Kodak CCD sensors used in high-end pro cameras

At the currently ongoing Photokina show, three professional medium format digital SLR camera manufacturers revealed newly released products that utilize current and new Kodak CCD image sensors. The newly-unveiled Leica S2 uses Kodak’s KAF-37500 image sensor, which is good for 37.5-megapixel resolution. The sensor introduces a new format that is 50 percent larger than conventional 35mm film thanks to its imaging area of 45mm x 30mm. The KAF-37500 uses micro lenses to increase its light sensitivity, while a built-it infrared filter is integrated into the sensor, allowing the camera to be physically thinner.

Panasonic readies 8-series Toughbooks

Panasonic early today revamped its semi-hardened notebooks with the launch of its 8-series Toughbooks. The 14-inch F8, 12-inch W8 and the similarly-small T8 are all the first in their particular class to carry a Qualcomm Gobi chipset that gives access to 3G cellular Internet access over either EVDO or HSPA with supporting providers. They also take advantage of Intel's newest low-power Core 2 Duo chips and the newer GMA 4500MHD graphics and 802.11n Wi-Fi to match.

Sony unveils first true Blu-ray ultraportable

Sony this morning made official the VAIO TT, a major update to the TZ that marks a number of firsts. The ultraportable notebook is the first to carry a Blu-ray drive and burns at 2X in addition to reading the HD movie format. It's also one of the lightest at just under 2.9 pounds, Sony adds. A carbon fiber case helps reach this target, as does an LED-backlit, 11.1-inch display that the company now says produces a 100 percent color gamut while reducing the display thickness.

TomTom ONE XL II revealed in FCC filing

Portable GPS device manufacturer TomTom will soon release a new GPS system, if a filing with the Federal Communications Commission is to be taken as an indication. The new model, expected to be called the ONE XL II, should add Bluetooth functionality for hands-free cellphone use to specifications and features otherwise shared by the existing ONE XL-S. In the process, the XL II becomes the first navigation device from the ONE line to include Bluetooth.

Kodak adds two entry wireless AiO inkjets

Kodak on Monday announced it will soon ship the new ESP 9 and ESP 7 all-in-one printers, both of which, the company claims, offer significant savings in ink replacement costs compared to competitors. The ESP 9 will let users print, scan, photocopy and fax documents via its 10-inch touch control panel that includes a 3-inch LCD for previewing documents. Either sports a Wi-Fi connection to allow wireless-free printing from any networked computer, as well as an Ethernet port for a wired network connection.

Pretec claims record with 100GB CF card

Pretec today said it has reached a new limit in flash storage with the launch of two CompactFlash cards. Its 64GB and 100GB cards have the most capacity ever and are designed for photo and video professionals who need exceptionally large room for RAW photos or uncompressed digital video. Both are also relatively fast at 233X and transfer at up to 35MB per second, rendering either fast enough for burst shots.

New camera module hints at future 9MP cellphones

Digital Imaging Systems has recently announced it will soon begin shipping its new, 9-mega pixel camera module to interested handset manufacturers. Called the DIS6931, the module is created with mobile devices in mind, and will be able to capture images at 3488x2616 resolution. Other specs that allow users to capture high-res images include a fast, under 300ms auto focus and less than 200ms of delay between when the shutter button is pressed to when the image is captured.

Art Lebedev changes name of Optimus Pultius

Art Lebedev, of Art Lebedev Studio fame, has updated his blog on Friday, announcing the previously reported Optimus Pultius customizable keypad will be called the Optimus Aux when it is released. The device is still under development, though it is a working prototype.

ASUS intros first Skype-certified videophone

ASUS and Skype have collaborated to bring the AiGuru SV1 videophone to market, announcing its release on Thursday. The ASUS AiGuru SV1 has a 7-inch, 800x480 LCD and a built-in 640x480 webcam that allow users to make free video calls to other users of the Skype VoIP phone service without relying on a computer; the device is the first of its kind, the firms claim. Skype reveals more than a quarter of all Skype-to-Skype calls involve video, and the AiGuru SV1 is seen as a response to that trend.

Toshiba intros three DVRs with XDE upscaling

Toshiba Japan on Thursday introduced three new DVRs with the company’s proprietary eXtended Detail Enhancement (XDE) near-HD quality upscaling technology that was first introduced in the XD-E500 DVD player. The newest models to use the technology are headed up by the RD-X8 DVR, which comes with a 1TB hard drive to record TV from its digital TV tuner. In addition, it will burn dual-layer DVDs and supports both MPEG-4 and AVC/H.264 formats. Of the new additions, the RD-X8 alone has Deep Color HDMI outputs.

ORACOM intros W30 PMP with haptic user interface

Korea‘s ORACOM on Thursday announced it will soon launch a digital music player, the W30, that features a haptic user interface for its 240x400, 3-inch touchscreen. Like in the Samsung Instinct cellphone and numerous other devices, a haptic interface simulates pressing a real button when users press a virtual key on the touchscreen, often making a sound and vibrating the device via a built-in gyroscope.

Imation preps Wireless USB hard drive, more

Imation started its Thursday with a new set of Apollo hard drives that includes one of the first Wireless USB disks. Called the Apollo Pro WX, the device uses the near-wired speed of the ultra-wideband signal to duplicate the features of a normal USB hard drive without the need to string a cable for the roughly 30-foot range of the standard. The storage is as secure as physical USB, the company claims, and comes with a reportedly unique automatic backup utility that exploits the drive's ability to stay connected without necessarily using an extra USB port.

Iomega unveils MacBook Air-styled 320GB drive

Iomega on Wednesday announced it will soon release the external eGo Helium portable hard drive that is designed to match the styling of Apple’s MacBook Air. Iomega is showing off the 320GB capacity drive at the Apple Expo tradeshow in Paris this week. The tapered aluminum shell of the drive houses a 2.5-inch HDD which comes formatted with the HFS+ file system used by Mac OS X. At its thickest, the drive is just 0.63 inches high.

HP confirms TouchSmart notebooks, denies work on OS

While speaking to the press at a consumer event in London on Tuesday, Hewlett Packard’s vice president of the Personal Systems Group Eric Cador again confirmed the company will soon release notebooks with TouchSmart technology and software. As per report, HP unveiled a new TouchSmart desktop at the event. In addition to confirming the new notebooks, Cador dispelled a myth about HP’s developing an operating system that would be an alternative to Microsoft’s Windows Vista.

BlackBerry Storm to be official next week?

Verizon's BlackBerry Storm launch could take place as early as next week, the company hints in a pre-release campaign sheet. The provider is reputedly set to start the public side of its marketing campaign on the 22nd for business customers and will reach out to a wider audience on October 1st. The details would also suggest a complete launch as soon as November 1st and cast doubt on a rumor of a multi-week delay.

T-Mobile sends invite for Android launch

T-Mobile today sent an invite for a New York City event that will introduce the first production Android phone. The release is short on details but confirms that Google will attend the event, which takes place the morning of September 23rd. The news validates leaks pointing to the same date as the introduction date for the HTC Dream, which most now believe will be rebranded as the T-Mobile G1 when it goes on sale.

Google shows Android, faces software challenge

Google used its London Developer Day on Tuesday to show a late build of its Android mobile operating system in an event that suggests continuing resistance to the platform. Using what's now largely accepted as a prototype of the T-Mobile G1, Android chief Michael Jennings demonstrated the phone's full HTML browser as well as its version of Google Maps and the accelerometer, which can affect both the operating system as well as specific programs.

Zune 3.0 ships with Originals, McD's Wi-Fi

As promised, Microsoft today rolled out its Zune 3.0 software and the according updates for its Zune players. The upgrade lets every Zune from the original 30GB model up to the new 16GB and 120GB versions download songs directly from the Zune Marketplace over Wi-Fi as well as tag songs on some FM radio stations to buy them either from the device or with the next PC sync. Users both on the players and the Windows software also get access to dynamically updating Channel playlists, while the software alone gets a Mixview that shows related music and related listeners.

WD adds 500GB capacity Passport portable drives

Western Digital on Monday introduced a 500GB capacity portable drive in its My Passport Elite and My Passport Essential lines. The small drives are small and light enough at seven ounces to be carried comfortably in users’ pockets and connect to computers via a USB 2.0 port. They feature built-in 128-bit encryption for security and are compatible with gaming consoles such as Sony’s PlayStation3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 for added flexibility in loading music or videos.

Intel launches first six-core processors

Intel this afternoon fulfilled a promise and launched the Xeon 7400. The processor once nicknamed "Dunnington" is the first x86 architecture design to hold six cores and is targeted at very high-end computing where sheer parallelism is more important than clock rate; it's particularly useful for virtual machines and databases, Intel suggests. The chipmaker estimates a speed boost of as much as 50 percent and helps this in part by a similar increase in Level 2 cache to 16MB as well as dedicated virtualization features on the cores themselves.

Freestyle, Skullcandy show 1st mirasol color devices

Freestyle Audio and Skullcandy have together introduced the first devices to use color mirasol displays. The still rare technology uses conductive plates to reflect light and change the wavelength to produce different colors in many small elements that make up each individual pixel. As the approach not only doesn't require a backlight but actively reflects ambient light, the displays are both very thin and power efficient but also near-perfectly visible outdoors, making them ideal fits for technology used outside. The small size also creates very sharp output compared to large LCD or even OLED pixels.

SanDisk unveils 32GB, 30MB/sec CF card

SanDisk today upped the threshold for its Extreme III CompactFlash cards with a new 32GB card that meets its expectations. The new storage doubles the previous storage limit but still promises at least 30MB per second in read and write speeds. The combination suits the two to professional photographers and HD video capture; most still cameras can shoot in full-quality RAW without running out of buffer space or bogging down in transfers, while HD videographers can record in full 1080p while still having enough room for 80 minutes of footage on a single card.

Windows 7 Beta delayed until mid-December

A blog entry by Mary-Jo Foley posted on Thursday suggests Microsoft will not make the Beta version of its Windows 7 operating system available to testers at either its October Professional Developers Conference or November’s Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, as expected by many in the industry. While the software giant is likely to unveil new information about the new operating system that is to be Vista’s successor, the actual Beta 1 versions aren’t likely to be released until the middle of December, Foley claims, citing industry sources familiar with the schedule who do not want to be named.

Sony preps large iPhone, iPod clock radio

Sony is preparing at least a third iPhone and iPod speaker dock for its lineup, says a leak from Sony Insider. In contrast to the CD3iP, the S4iP would be larger than any of Sony's iPod-oriented speaker docks to date and would use a vertical tray reminiscent of cassette decks and a handful of other iPod speakers. The load method would protect touchscreen Apple devices but appears to potentially hide the home button.

BlackBerries gain TiVo remote control, more

Research in Motion and TiVo today announced a plan to add control hooks for TiVo's DVRs into the BlackBerry line. A new software add-on will let the smartphones both view a programming guide from the device as well as schedule the TiVo box to record shows away from home, similar to TiVo's existing web feature. Neither company provides more specifics but explains that the necessary software should be available by the end of the year.

Sony intros $1,000 Blu-ray notebooks

Sony today continued a spate of notebook introductions by introducing a pair of the least expensive Blu-ray capable notebooks available. The 15.4-inch VAIO NS replaces the NR and upgrades the budget notebook with options that Sony has normally reserved for its mid-range or higher systems; helped in part by newer Intel 4500 integrated graphics that help offload video decoding, the NS can be equipped with a Blu-ray combo drive while still sitting at the $1,000 mark. It also introduces a new AV menu that not only supports media playback but also shortcuts to favorite apps and websites.

AMD readying low-power Radeon HD 4550

AMD is designing a new graphics chipset that will not only occupy one of its least expensive price rungs but require very little heat and noise, a leaked presentation obtained by Expreview shows. The Radeon HD 4550 would sit below the new 4600 series in performance by cutting the number of visual shader processors down from 320 to 80 on a 64-bit memory bus but would also drop in size and consequently in power; at less than half as many transistors in the chip, a 4550 would consume under 25 watts of power versus 50 for the 4650.

ATTO unveils 8Gb quad fibre-channel PCIe 2.0 card

ATTO has unveiled the Celerity FC-84EN, a quad channel 8-Gb fibre channel PCIe 2.0 host adapter. The Celerity boasts FC speeds up to 1600MB per second per channel. Combining the capabilities of a x8 PCI Express 2.0 bus with four fibre channel connections allows for a combined speed of 6400MB per second (aggregate 3200 read or write). The card is also back-compatible with PCIe 1.1 and 4-Gb or 2-Gb FC connections, depending on the needs of the system.

T-Mobile app store to pass on Android, limit uses

T-Mobile's previously rumored self-run app store has been confirmed by the company at the CTIA expo but will be significantly more limited than either previous estimates or versus similar stores from Apple and Google. Company mobile product development chief Venetia Espinoza and devPartner Community Program head marketer Sue Schmitz explain that the software will initially rule out Android and Sidekick phones in a bid to simplify the rollout and see what works.

T-Mobile app store to pass on Android, limit uses

T-Mobile's previously rumored self-run app store has been confirmed by the company at the CTIA expo but will be significantly more limited than either previous estimates or versus similar stores from Apple and Google. Company mobile product development chief Venetia Espinoza and devPartner Community Program head marketer Sue Schmitz explain that the software will initially rule out Android and Sidekick phones in a bid to simplify the rollout and see what works.

iPhone 2.1 initial impressions

Apple's iPhone 2.1 update has been under early testing by MacNN and Electronista staff on iPhone 3G units, and at this stage appears to be a definite upgrade over the 2.0.x releases. The software's defining trait isn't a new feature but rather its speed. Where 2.0 was frequently choppy while entering text or even just in some transitions, 2.1 appears to be seamless and smooth -- that is, what Apple had originally promised and delivered with its 1.x software.

WD ships slim 500GB notebook drive

Western Digital on Friday began shipping the 500GB Scorpio Blue, the company's largest-capacity notebook drive. Claiming a record in the process, Western Digital says the disk is the only one to make no sacrifices in size or speed to reach its storage goal. The Serial ATA drive is as tall as normal notebook hard drives at 9.5mm (0.37in) and spins at the same 5,400RPM as most other 2.5-inch disks. Quietness is also considered paramount with an optimized seeking process cutting down on the noise generated by the drive head.

Virgin launches Shuttle as first 3G phone

Virgin Mobile today bore the first fruits of its takeover of Helio by introducing the Personal Communication Devices (formerly UTStarCom) Shuttle. The device is Virgin's first 3G phone and uses the faster EVDO network for several features that are either borrowed from Helio or were previously inaccessible to Virgin's phones, including quick access to multiple social networks as well as Buddy Beacon for finding friends and YouTube for web video.

Nokia offers MS Exchange on 80m devices

Finnish cell phone giant Nokia on Tuesday announced it now offers the world’s most popular business-grade email solution by making it available for free on about 80 million cellphones. Exactly 43 of the company’s cellphone models with the Symbian S60 3rd Edition operating system will either have the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync corporate e-mail software pre-installed or else let users download the upgrade free of charge. This, Nokia believes, makes it the most popular corporate email solution.

Gefen releases 1:5 HDMI splitter over CAT-5

Gefen has introduced a new rack mount product for systems integration, a 1:5 Splitter for HDMI over CAT-5. One HDMI source signal can be simultaneously sent to five different displays. Four displays can be placed up to 45 meters away on CAT-5 and still receive full 1080p resolution. The distance can be doubled if the resolution is reduced to 1080i. Video and audio signals are sent using two cables.

Lawsuit alleges NVIDIA hid flaw in chips since 2007

A lawsuit filed against NVIDIA on Tuesday alleges the graphics card maker not only knew about a serious flaw that caused some of its graphics chips products to overheat but also kept it hidden from the public for at least eight months, says a Wednesday report. When the company did acknowledge issues with its products back in July, its shares fell by nearly a third and the company pledged to put away $200 million to cover warranty costs. The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, claims NVIDIA violated US securities laws by making false and misleading statements to the investing public.