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Texas Instruments has unveiled the industry's first single quad-radio package, incorporating WLAN 802.11n, GPS, FM transmit/receive, and Bluetooth technologies in one 65nm chip. The WiLink 7.0 boasts several benefits, including a 30% cost reduction, it requires 50% less space, and superior coexistence performance than existing solutions.

The WiLink offers a few unique benefits, such as hardware mechanisms to cancel out board and chip-level RF interference at the source, low energy inter-core communication prioritizes packet scheduling and supports more connections in parallel. A full list of features can be read after the break, but something that jumps out is best in class 3GPP and RF performance.


Texas Instruments is shipping samples of the WiLink 7.0 to major OEMs today, and the company expects devices using the part to surface toward the end of 2010.

AMD has been talking up its Fusion microprocessor plans for quite some time, ever since it acquired ATI for $5.4 billion in 2006, but for the most part the company has abstained from discussing its upcoming GPU/CPU hybrid in detail. Having missed its original May 2009 launch timeframe, and with Intel's Westmere CPUs featuring built-in graphics already out, it seems AMD is now ready to share a little more.

Speaking at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco this week, AMD's Sam Naffziger said the upcoming 'Llano' Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) will see the joining of its first 32nm Phenom II quad core CPU with a DirectX 11 capable GPU on the same die. This is a much more sophisticated approach than Intel's at present, which simply adds a separate 45nm GPU to the processor package.


Naffziger didn't reveal specific speeds of the graphics unit, but he said it will be a derivative of the current Radeon HD 5000 series and that it will not link to the cores through a HyperTransport link. Instead, it will use a more direct link on the die. Llano's CPU clock speeds are expected to surpass the 3GHz threshold and AMD is aiming for power consumption in the 2.5W to 25W range per core -- with the ability to shut down unused cores.

The chip will also integrate a DDR3 memory controller, 512KB L1 and 1MB L2 Cache per core. There's no shared L3 cache though. In any case, Llano is looking quite promising for the mobile sector, but with a launch scheduled for 'sometime in 2011' Intel's current platform will have a significant head start. If both companies stay on track, Llano should go up against Intel's next major architecture shift, dubbed Sandy Bridge, which will also have graphics on-die but is only expected to support DirectX 10.

After teasing the technology back in January, Nvidia has finally thrown back the curtain on Optimus and is promising notebook users the full performance benefits of a discrete GPU with the battery life of an integrated graphics solution. In a nutshell, it allows notebooks to dynamically switch between graphics systems without any user interaction.


Notebook manufacturers have been combining discrete and integrated graphics for a while now, but thus far choosing which card should handle graphics at any given time has remained a manual process. Sometimes this involved a software switch and a lot of screen flickering as the discrete graphics chip turns on or off, sometimes an actual physical switch on the laptop and a system restart. However, it always required some form of interaction and prioritizing notebook performance or battery life.

This process is just too cumbersome and confusing for mainstream users, some of which may not even know they have switchable graphics, and will simply leave the discrete GPU permanently off or on. Optimus on the other hand is automatic. It determines the best processor for the workload and routes it accordingly, with the decision being entirely transparent to users as they fire up a game or start writing an email.

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Intel revealed its Itanium 9300 series today, which more than doubles the performance of its predecessor. Codenamed Tukwila, the new four-core design packs two billion transistors and boasts an 800% increase in system interconnect bandwidth, as much as a 500% gain in memory bandwidth, and up to 700% more memory capacity.

The Itanium 9300 and Intel's upcoming "Nehalem EX" Xeon processor share several platform ingredients, including the Intel QuickPath Interconnection, Scalable Memory Interconnect, 7500 Scalable Memory Buffer, and 7500 chipset. Intel says its 9300-series CPUs feature advanced machine-check architecture manages errors through the hardware, firmware and OS, allowing recovery from otherwise fatal errors.


The Itanium 9300 also employs second-gen Intel Virtualization Technology, an enhanced form of Demand-Based Switching for power savings, Turbo Boost, Hyper-Threading, and are binary-compatible with existing software. Pricing on the 9300 line ranges from $946 to $3,838 and chips are being sold in quantities of 1,000. OEM systems should ship within 90 days.

Sources close to AMD said the company's six-core Thuban processors have some form of dynamic speed boost technology called "C-state performance boost." Intel has incorporated a similar feature into certain Core i5 and i7 processors called Turbo Boost, which allows an operating system to adjust the clock frequencies of a CPU's cores based on performance requirements and the chip's TDP specifications.

Details are scarce, but X-bit Labs reports that "when single-thread performance is needed most, Thuban processors will automatically disable idle cores and overclock the remaining engines to the maximum possible level that is determined by general thermal design power." However, C-state performance boost is said to be hardware-based and will work with any operating system.

Nothing is official, but such a technology would be handy in a six-core desktop processor that supposedly has a TDP on par with quad-core Phenom II CPUs. Thuban is expected to land in May as the Phenom II X6 1035T, 1055T, and 1075T -- all of which are 45nm-based and should work with existing Socket AM2+ and AM3 motherboards.

Twitpics in Space @ PCWorld
Common Misconceptions about Web Designers @ Six Revision
Toyota readies global Prius recall @ Reuters
Moon Base Alpha: If Not U.S., Then Who? @ FoxNews
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Socket T hasn't caught much press lately with all the buzz around Intel's LGA 1156 and 1366-based processors, but the elderly platform dates back to the late days of the Pentium 4. Despite its age, LGA 775 still claimed 77% of sales last year, and will seize about 50% this year according the Intel's projections -- more than the company's two new desktop platforms combined.

LGA 1156, the socket used by Intel's Lynnfield and Clarksfield processors, will account for some 18% of Intel's shipments and its market share is expected to grow to 44% by the fourth quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, LGA 1366 debuted over a year ago with the first batch of Bloomfield chips, but reportedly stands as the company's least popular socket. The Atom's socket will represent roughly 5% of shipped units in the present quarter, but will climb to 7% by the end of the year.

In addition to the new 13-inch Latitude, Dell's Precision M6500 is receiving a handful of upgrades. The business-minded notebook is said to be the "world's most powerful mobile workstation" and while it's already available with Intel's Core i7 quad-core processors (including the 920XM), some dual-core i5 and i7 configurations are expected later this month. Not only would this offer power savings, but it could lower the $2,749 starting price as well.

The updated M6500 will also include USB 3.0 ports -- a first for Dell, I believe -- a newer 3.2-megapixel webcam, and a 64GB SSD MiniCard, giving the M6500 up to three total storage drives. Present configuration options should remain largely unchanged -- and there are a lot of them.


Highlights include 2GB through 16GB of 1066MHz to 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, 1GB Quadro and FirePro graphics solutions, a selection of 17-inch RGB LED displays, various mechanical and flash drives with a couple RAID and encryption options, Blu-ray, wireless-N, mobile broadband via AT&T, Sprint or Verizon, and virtually every upper-end retail edition of Windows Vista or 7.

Corsair has introduced a fresh pair of 2.5-inch SSD lines, Nova and Reactor. Each series is comprised of two products: Nova brings 64GB and 128GB drives, while Reactor carries 60GB and 120GB models.

The 64GB Nova offers 64MB of cache and a maximum read/write rate of 215MB/s and 130MB/s, and the 128GB unit bumps the write speed up to 195MB/s. The Reactor line boosts that to 128MB of cache, and the 60GB tops out at 250MB/s and 110MB/s read/write, while the 120GB drive can achieve up to 170MB/s on writes.


The Nova line is believed to house an Indilinx controller, and all of the drives use MLC NAND flash memory with a second-gen SATA interface. Pricing isn't official, but Fudzilla cites a couple of EU listings that show the Nova drives at €160.11 and €298, and the Reactor models at €151.67 and €290.35. A launch date hasn't been disclosed.

Corsair is also reportedly preparing a 3.5-inch SSD that features a 128MB cache, 200MB/s and 240MB/s read/write speeds, 512GB of storage, and a £1,250 asking price.

HP has quietly slipped out a new laptop prepared to tackle everyday computing tasks, the G62T. At $600, the base unit offers a 15.6-inch 1366x768 LED display, an Intel Core i3-330M and integrated HD graphics, 2GB of DDR3 RAM (free upgrade to 3GB at the moment), a 160GB 7200RPM HDD, a DVD burner, a six-cell battery, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

Additional configuration choices include five other Core i3, i5, and i7 processors, up to 4GB of RAM, 250GB to 500GB of storage, a Blu-ray reader, Bluetooth, and a webcam. The G62T houses the usual round of connectivity, such as (optional) HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, wireless-N, three USB 2.0 ports, an optional media card reader, as well as headphone and mic jacks.


HP claims the G62T offers "all of what you need, [and] nothing you don't," and I think that's a fair statement for the average user. It's worth noting that coupons are readily available, and that sweetens the deal.

Asus has set its sights high, aiming to outship competing companies Toshiba and Lenovo in the notebook segment to become the fifth largest vendor worldwide, according to Shien-yueh Hsu, general manager of Asus' notebook division. The Taiwanese PC maker hopes to ship 20 million laptops in 2010, 12 million of which will be standard notebooks with the remaining eight million being netbooks.

Asus was quick to introduce USB 3.0-equipped laptops, and the company expects those systems to represent about 30% of its total shipments this year. Like others in the business, Asus is currently using NEC's USB 3.0 controller, but it plans to switch to chips provided by its subsidiary ASMedia Technology in May or June.

Naturally, there are naysayers, and some players in the notebook industry believe Asus will have trouble shipping 20 million units. One thing's for sure, the company will have some stiff competition considering Acer's determination to oust HP from the number one position.

MSI has introduced a pair of new notebooks powered by Intel's Arrandale mobile platform, the CR620 and CX620. Both systems are nearly identical in specifications, including a 15.6-inch 1366x768 LED display, an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor and HM55 chipset, up to 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM, and 250GB to 500GB of storage, and Windows 7 Home Premium. The CX620, however, also ships with a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 5470 graphics chip and MSI's "3D Boost Technology."


MSI outfits the two 5.5lb notebooks with a 1.3-megapixel webcam, a four-in-one (XD, MS, SD, MMC) card reader, an ExpressCard slot, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI and VGA-out, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, headphone and mic jacks, two stereo speakers, a chiclet-style keyboard, and a six-cell battery. The company hasn't provided a launch date or price for either system.

HP has upgraded its TouchSmart 600 Quad all-in-one PC to Intel's latest processors. The 23-inch multitouch system starts at $1,699 and can be configured with a 1.6GHz Core i7-720QM or 1.73GHz Core i7-820QM quad-core processor.

The remaining specification options look unchanged, with a 1080p display, 4GB, 6GB (free upgrade at the moment), or 8GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM, a 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT230M graphics chip, 750GB to 1.5TB of storage, DVD or Blu-ray drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a TV tuner, a webcam, a six-in-one memory card reader along with a plethora of USB and other ports.


The TouchSmart 600 ships with 64-bit versions of Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate and takes advantage of its multitouch support, allowing you to use pinch-zoom, rotate and other gestures. It also includes preinstalled TouchSmart apps, such as a calendar and email client.

LG has introduced a new batch of EX-series, ultra-slim LCD monitors. The displays boast LED backlighting, a 5ms response time, a 1,500,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and judging by a feature sticker, they should offer HDMI connectivity as well.


LED technology is said to bring up to 40% energy savings, so it's likely that the new EX monitors have an edge on power efficiency -- but the real selling point of these displays is their super thin bezel. They reportedly measure a mere 17.5mm (a little over half an inch) thick, and listed models include the 20-inch EX205, 21.5-inch EX225, and 23-inch EX235 -- perfect for standard desktop use.

LG's new EX entries will probably arrive in Korea before eventually making their way overseas, but there's no official word on price or availability.

Gateway has announced a batch of new gaming and media-friendly desktops, with systems spanning the FX (mainstream gaming), DX (mini-tower), SX (small form factor), and ZX (all-in-one) series -- all of which ship with Windows 7 Home Premium x64.

The FX line represents the traditional gaming PC, and Gateway has detailed two new configurations, one priced at $1,300 and the other at $1,700. The least expensive includes a 2.8GHz Core i7-860, 8GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM, a 1GB Radeon HD 5850, 1.5TB of storage, a DVD burner, 7.1 HD audio, and various I/O connections. An extra $400 gets you 16GB of RAM and a Blu-ray drive.

The DX series is more compact with a mini-tower chassis, but still seemingly adequate for the average game or media buff -- and it's cheaper, too. At $850, the DX4831-03 offers a 3.2GHz Core i5-650, 8GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM, a 1GB GeForce GT220, a 1TB "variable RPM" HDD, DVD and Blu-ray drives, 7.1 HD audio, and slightly less connectivity than the FX.

Scaling down further is a new entry in the small form factor SX line. Priced at $560, the SX2840-01 packs a 2.93GHz Intel Core i3-530 and GMA X4500HD, 6GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM, a 1TB "green" HDD, 5.1 HD audio, spare PCIe x16 and x1 slots, a multi-card reader, a "photo frame button", as well as nine USB 2.0, eSATA, VGA, HDMI and S/PDIF ports.

The most humble is Gateway's all-in-one ZX4800-06. Priced at $750, features include a 20-inch 1600x900 touchscreen, an Intel Pentium T4400 and GMA X4500HD, 4GB of DDR2 800MHz RAM, a 750GB 7200RPM HDD, a DVD burner, 5.1 HD audio and 5W speakers, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and similar connectivity options as the other systems.

Catch the press release after the break.

Samsung has jumped aboard the 2TB bandwagon, unveiling its F3EG (EcoGreen) drive. The 3.5-inch "high-performance," "eco-friendly" drives pack 500GB per platter, and are available in 1.5TB and 2TB capacities, 16MB or 32MB of cache, second-gen SATA, support for Native Command Queuing, as well as SilentSeek and NoiseGuard technologies.

The company's press release doesn't mention a rotational speed, but similar products from Seagate (Barracuda LP) and Western Digital (Caviar Green) reduce spindle speeds from 7200RPM to 5900RPM and 5400RPM to conserve energy. This jibes with Samsung's claim that the F3EG is 40% more power efficient at idle and 10% during read/write than competing drives.


Samsung is a bit slow to announce the F3EG, as it seems to have been available on Newegg for a few weeks. In any event, the drive is e-tailing for $180, which is on par with the aforementioned units.

It's no secret that Intel is working on a six-core processor, one of which is the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor detailed months ago. Another, according to Fudzilla, will hit shelves as the Core i7-970 and should be more affordable.

The i7-980X uses 32nm fabrication tech, features Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost, is being crafted for the X58 platform, and supposedly operates at 3.33GHz. Meanwhile, the i7-970 doesn't bear the Extreme Edition branding, and Fudzilla says it has a clock speed of 3.2GHz. It also features Hyper-Threading, Turbo Boost, a 6.4GB/s QPI, supports 1066MHz DDR3 memory, and has a TDP of 130W.

Rumors suggest the i7-980X will launch sometime next month and Intel will wait until the third quarter before releasing the i7-970. Other speculation indicates that Intel will introduce quicker Lynnfield and Clarkdale processors in the second quarter as well, including a 3.06GHz i7-880, a 3.6GHz i5-680, and a 3.2GHz i3-550.

Alienware's 11.6-inch gaming notebook is now up for preorder, and more importantly, its inner-workings have been made public. Sadly, the base $799 system is meeker than we hoped, carrying a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 processor, 2GB of DDR3 800MHz RAM, a 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT335M GPU, and a 160GB 5400RPM HDD.


Scaling up from that is a 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300 (an extra $100), 4GB or 8GB of RAM ($50 or $350), 250GB to 500GB ($50 to $150) of disk storage or a 256GB SSD ($570). Other specs include a 1.3 megapixel webcam, 5.1 HD audio, optional Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 3G mobile broadband through AT&T or Verizon, and an external optical drive.

The M11x offers Windows 7 Home Premium x64 by default, but Professional and Ultimate are also available. Systems ordered now have a preliminary ship date of March 1.

Samsung's 30nm DDR3 DRAM chips have successfully completed customer evaluation and will enter mass production in the second half of this year -- before rivals. PCWorld reports that while IM Flash Technologies, owned by Micron and Intel, is ahead of Samsung with 25nm technology for flash memory, the company doesn't make DRAM.

The Korean electronics maker says its latest 2Gb (256MB) DDR3 chips consume 30% less power than 50nm parts, and can be produced at more than double the cost-efficiency. The 30nm technology also boosts productivity by 60% over 40nm DDR3 chips. The new chips run at 1.35V or 1.5V, and in a typical notebook, a 4GB DDR3 module is said to consume only three watts per hour.

This announcement comes a few months after Samsung revealed the world's thinnest multi-chip memory package. Measuring a mere 0.6mm in height, the package contains eight 30nm 32Gb NAND flash chips (32GB in total).

Jumping into the 3D market with both feet, Acer has launched a new 3D-ready computer monitor today. The company's 23.6-inch TN-based GD235HZ display has a 120Hz refresh rate and is designed to work with Nvidia's 3D Vision active-shutter glasses.

Other features include a 1920x1080 resolution, 80,000:1 ACM/1,000:1 native contrast ratios, 300cd/m² brightness, 2ms response time, 0.2715mm pixel pitch, 170/160-degree viewing angles, and covers 72% of the NTSC color gamut.


HDMI, DVI, and VGA inputs are present, and the display consumes 38.2W when on and 1.85W when asleep. It's also compatible with 100mm VESA mounting systems. The GD235HZ will kick off this month with a suggested retail price of $399.99, and Nvidia's 3D Vision Kit will set you back another $199.99.

In other Acer news, the company said it has no plans to compete against Apple's iPad. Instead, Acer's 2010 mobile lineup will be between 50 to 60% full-size laptops, 20 to 30% ultraportable notebooks, and the remaining chunk will stem from netbooks.

HP Fansite has unearthed a PDF that contains information suggesting HP's EliteBook 8540w will get the "ATI FirePro M5800" graphics card as a configuration option.

Prior to the CES craze, revamped 8440w and 8540w notebooks were spotted and an HP product manager said they would exclusively offer Nvidia graphics. HP officially unveiled the updated EliteBooks at CES, and along with Intel's latest processors, USB 3.0 and other goodies, the systems were said to use next-generation Quadro GPUs.


Based on the recently discovered document, the EliteBook 8540w (and perhaps others) will be configurable with a GPU from ATI's new workstation-class notebook graphics line. HP Fansite speculates that the FirePro M5800 is derived from the Mobility Radeon 5830 or 5850 and has 1GB of DDR3/GDDR5 RAM.

If interested, you can read the EliteBook 8540w Maintenance and Service Guide here. ATI's FirePro M5800 is mentioned many times throughout the document.

With a growing affinity for gaming and media-related hardware, Microsoft has introduced the SideWinder X4 keyboard. Redmond claims the SideWinder X4 gives gamers more control over their gaming experience with the "industry's most advanced anti-ghosting technology."

The keyboard's anti-ghosting technology ensures that even the most complex key combinations will be recognized by the computer, allowing up to 26 keys to be pressed at once -- a valuable feature for you button mashers. Other more common functions include macro recording and auto macro repeat functions, mode and profile switching, as well as adjustable backlighting.


The ghost busting SideWinder X4 should hit US shelves sometime in March of this year with a retail price of $59.95 and a three-year limited warranty, and Amazon will offer preorders later this week.

Intel and Micron are announcing today that its joint venture company, IM Flash Technologies, is ready to sample the first 25nm NAND-based flash memory technology. In fewer words, that is the smallest semi-conductor process in the world.

The story broke earlier than anticipated during the weekend but the fact remains unchanged, flash memory using this new 25nm technology has roughly twice the density of a 34nm part at the same size. Manufacturers can take advantage of this reducing chip count by half, putting together a 256GB SSD with 32 chips instead of 64.


IMFT 25nm process NAND flash die
If you ever wondered why solid-state storage pricing dropped so dramatically over the last couple of years, NAND flash's lower density is the answer. IMFT was formed back in 2006 when they began sampling memory using a 72nm process. By 2008 they had moved to 40nm which is what the original Intel X25-M SSD utilized, and most recently 34nm in the second generation drives.

The first ever 25nm product is a 8GB die using 2-bits per cell MLC NAND flash (see the photo above) measuring a mere 167 sq. millimeters, or in more practical terms small enough to fit through the central hole of a CD while having 10+ times the data capacity. Intel expects consumer products based on 25nm NAND flash technology to become available before the end of the year.

Nvidia may be taking its time entering the DirectX 11 market, but it reportedly tied up 500 engineers and $600 million to develop the second-generation Tegra, and is prepared to cash in on the "year of the tablet" with various firms "lining up" at the company's door, according to Tech Eye's inside source.

The system-on-a-chip was supposedly very difficult to produce, and contains eight independent processors, including dual ARM Cortex A9 cores. It's about four times faster than its predecessor, handling up to six hours of Internet video streaming, 12 hours of stored HD content, 140 hours of music, 3D graphics, and Adobe Flash. The chip was demonstrated running Unreal Engine 3, which powers games like BioShock, Mass Effect, and Gears of War.


It's believed that MSI's upcoming tablet will use the Tegra 2, but Tech Eye's source says "every major PC maker will be including Tegra in its tablet line-up this year," including Dell.

Remember that 11.6-inch Alienware notebook spotted at CES? At the time, Dell said the netbook-sized device would sell for under a grand, and yesterday Engadget stumbled upon a bit of source code revealing the system's base price: "The Alienware M11x, with over 6.5 hours of battery life and weighing under 4.5 lbs. will start at an amazing $799! Leave it to the folks at Alienware to enable truly mobile performance gaming at an affordable price."


Considering the brand's reputation for peddling overpriced computers, kicking things off at $799 isn't so bad. Sadly, there are no details about exactly what hardware ships at that price. The M11x at CES carried switchable integrated and Nvidia GT335M graphics, attained 50 FPS in Crysis, and about 6,000 to 7,000 in 3DMark. An exact release date has yet to be defined, but the system is due later this year.

Update: It's also worth noting that the M15x and M17x just became available for $1,199 and $1,799, respectively. At that price, they ship with Intel's latest mobile platform, but the M17x can be configured with a Core 2 Duo for $100 less.

AMD has made no secret of their plans to release at least one six-core desktop processor in 2010, codenamed Thuban. Intel on the other hand hasn't been as forthcoming, but thanks to numerous leaks, and even some early benchmark results, we do know the company has a 32nm six-core chip up its sleeve, which is dubbed Gulftown and will be branded as Core i7 980X.

DigiTimes has come up with a little more information regarding their respective launch schedules and products. Citing anonymous sources at motherboard makers, the site reports that Intel will kick off the hexacore deluge with its Core i7 980X at the end of March. It is expected to be priced at around $1,000, as usual for their flagship parts, featuring 3.3 - 3.6HGz clock speeds and a whopping 12MB of L3 cache.

This will be followed by three AMD Phenom II X6 1000T processors in May which are expected to be compatible with existing AM2+ and AM3 motherboards. DigiTimes specifically lists the Phenom II X6 1075T, 1055T and 1035T, all 45nm process chips, and says they will be preceded by compatible 890FX (RD890) and 890GX(RS880D) chipsets in April.

Further details about AMD's upcoming Phenom II X6 processors are a little scant, but rumors suggest they will house 3MB of L2 and 6MB of L3 cache. In terms of performance, they should compete for a completely different market, perhaps taking on Intel's Lynnfield Core i5 and i7 CPUs. The company is also expected to announce a new quad-core chip, the Phenom II X4 960T, alongside its hexacores.

Hot on the heels of Apple's iPad, MSI has released more information about its upcoming tablet device. According to company sales director Sambora Chen, the slate will run Google's Android operating system, feature a 10-inch color capacitive touchscreen, and an Nvidia Tegra 2 chip.

MSI plans to launch various models of its tablet based on market demand, with a range of "flexible" specifications to meet various consumer needs. Among the expected niceties is a front-mounted camera, allowing users to record themselves while in front of the tablet.


At least one SKU will cost $500, which is the same price point Apple and Asus seem to be after, and the device is expected to launch sometime in the second half of this year -- shortly after Apple ships the iPad, and around the time Asus launches its Eee Pad.

If you're sick of hearing about Apple's iPad, perhaps a dose of Asus' Eee Pad is in order. In a chat with TechRadar, Asus' corporate vice president Eric Chen confirmed the tablet, and even revealed a few details about the device.

According to Chen, the Eee Pad is still under development. It will be powered by an Arm processor and feature a 3G chip "so you are always connected to the Internet." Chen also noted that there was a strong emphasis on the device's user interface. "You look at the iPhone, for example. The reason the iPhone is so successful -- and call quality is really not that good -- is the UI function, I think, is just the best. So this is also the way we need to improve."

Chen didn't validate rumors of the device carrying Nvidia's Tegra 2, nor did he speak of its purported $500 price tag. Considering the Arm chip and talk of a custom UI, the Eee Pad will probably run Android -- perhaps even Chrome OS -- rather than Windows 7.

Kingston has unveiled its DataTraveler 5000 line of portable USB flash drives, which boasts government-grade, "ultra-secure" data protection. Aimed at enterprise customers, the drives achieved FIPS 140-2 Level 2 certification (Level 3 pending) with "SPYRUS" technology, which provides 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption, XTS-AES cipher mode, and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) algorithms.


If you're wondering what all of that means, the FIPS 140-2 certification requires a validation process that meets federal standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. "Level 2" means that the drives have a tamper-evident construction, and a power-on self test that verifies the encryption mechanism is working every time the drive is plugged into a USB port.

The DataTraveler 5000 are available with onboard anti-malware tools and ship in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB capacities with prices of $111, $185, $231, and $400.

Earlier this month we first began hearing rumors about an upcoming Radeon HD 5830 graphics card intended to fill the price gap between the $150 Radeon HD 5770 and $300 HD 5850. Although there has been no official confirmation from AMD, and no new leaked information in the way of specs, another source has now joined in with more details regarding some complications and the planned launch date.

Citing anonymous sources at graphics card makers, DigiTimes reports that AMD initially aimed for a January 25 launch, but a "last minute issue" that cropped up during the validation process prompted a delay. The issue is related to circuits on the board, and is triggering an error on card makers' software testing platforms. Naturally, AMD had no comment on the reported issue, but they did stress that none of their cards already on the market was affected by any problems.

DigiTimes adds that Radeon HD 5830 products probably won't show up in stores until early February "at the earliest." This is pretty much in line with previous rumors pointing at a February 5 launch date. Cards are expected to sell for around $199 - $239, and could match the old Radeon HD 4890 in terms of performance.