Feed UR Mind

Toshiba has unveiled a new high-performance 2.5-inch hard drive in the MKxx56GSY series. The new drive has 500GB of storage with only two platters. The drive spins at 7,200 rpm and is aimed at notebooks and netbooks needing a lot of storage and high-performance.

Toshiba reports that the line of drives has a 13% improvement in disk operation compared to Toshiba’s previous 7,200 rpm drive family. The new line also removes some of the toxic and hazardous chemical used in previous generations of drive making the new line even greener.

The drive uses the SATA 3GB/sec interface and consumes low amounts of power in idle and sleep modes to extend battery life. The two platters used in the 500GB drive have an areal density of 395 Gb/in2. With 500GB of storage, the drive is capable of storing up to 142,000 digital photos, 131,000 music files, and 58 hours of HD video.

"This new family delivers faster overall system performance, which boosts user productivity – a key differentiator that PC manufacturers can provide to commercial and consumer notebook users,” said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing at Toshiba Storage Device Division. “As a result, we expect that 7,200 RPM HDDs will grow to more than 25 percent of 2.5-inch HDD shipments within two years.  In addition to the half-terabyte capacity, decreased environmental impact and low power consumption are also benefits, demonstrating Toshiba’s continued leadership in delivering the right solutions to meet emerging market needs.”

Other drive specifications include an average seek time of 11ms, 16MB of buffer memory, and more. The drive can withstand 325G of shock for 2ms when operating and 900G for 1ms while not operating. Toshiba will ship the new drives to manufacturers in Q3 and volume production is set for Q4 2009.

Source: Daily Tech

Medion has unveiled The Touch X9613 – a sleek black all-in-one home entertainment PC with multi-touch and voice control capabilities.

The 24in The Touch X9613 can be wall mounted or placed on a desk. Powered by an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor, it has 4GB RAM and 1GB of nVidia GeForce GT 240M graphics.

The Touch X9613 runs Windows 7 and its multi-touch and voice-recognition functions mean users can swap between applications by simply touching the screen, or speaking commands. The touchscreen can be used to navigate the desktop, surf the web, view and edit digital photos, initiate media playback even play games.

The PC comes with a wireless keboard for typing, although a virtual keyboard is also offered for users that want to use the touch capabilities all the time.

The 1TB hard drive offers users plenty of space to store all their movies, music and photos while a side-loading Blu-Ray drive and integrated DVB-T, DVB-S and analogue tuner, means users can enjoy movies or TV on The Touch too. The dual turners also allow users to record live TV while watching another channel, while the Dolby-certified two integrated speakers and subwoofer, offer cinema-quality sound.

Just below the display sits the Medion Multimedia board, which offers back-lit touch-sensitive buttons to control films, TV and music.

The Touch X9613 also comes loaded with the Medion Touch Centre software that offers access to a number of application and also a helpful avatar named Laura. This ‘help’ function explains to users how specific applications work and can even read emails, browser content or personal documents out loud.

The PC also benefits from finger print recognition, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity along with a 2Mp webcam and microphone.

Medion’s The Touch X9613 will be available before Christmas. No pricing details have yet been announced.

Source:PC Advisor

Samsung has come up with a new take on digital camera screens: it’s added an LCD to the front of its new ST500 and ST500 models. Yes, the front.

The ST550 is a 12.2Mp compact camera with a 3.5in LCD on the back and a supplementary 1.5in screen on the front. The idea here is that you can point the camera lens at yourself or you and a group of friends and make sure you’re in shot for your self-portrait. A self-timer assists.

As for the grinning emoticons featured on some of the press materials accompanying the Samsung camera launch, presumably you can instant-message with your friends and use your camera as a webcam.

This quirky idea is bound to garner all the headlines while, in fact, what Samsung ought to be trumpeting is the exceptional resolution of the main 3.5in widescreen LCD used to compose most shots. While some cameras have screens of 230K, Samsung is experimenting with megapixel-plus resolutions on its latest models. The result should be accurate detail and pin sharp gallery reviewing.

The 27mm wide angle Schneider Kreuznach lens is joined by a 4.7x optical zoom and the usual face-recognition, smile detection, autofocus and auto-exposure settings common to most compact cameras.

However, Samsung isn’t quite don’t with the crazy features: that high-resolution display is haptic, meaning its touch-sensitive screen vibrates in response to a command. We’re intrigued how this will affect vibrations and the ability to take a sharp shot, though Samsung does of course include anti-shake technology in the cameras too.

Both models offer 720p video recording, while the ST550 adds an HDMI connection for direct playback on a high-definition laptop or TV screen.

The Samsung ST500 and ST550 models will go on sale towards the end of August.

Source: PC Advisor

Earlier Tuesday, Kmart.com jumped the gun on the announcement and accidentally posted an ad on its home page that revealed a price cut to the "old" 80GB and 160GB PS3s to $299 and $399 respectively and hinted at the impending arrival of the new PS3 Slim.

In Cologne, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai performed the unveiling, taking the stage and announcing the PS3 was "getting a new model" and that indeed it was called the PS3 Slim.

The Slim is hitting stores the first week in September and will cost $299 (or for those who live in other regions, 299 euros or 29980 yen). Hirai says it has the same features and functions as the "old" PS3 but is 33 percent smaller, 36 percent lighter, and comes with a 120GB hard drive.

Source: Cnet News

Following various reports of exploding iPhones and iPod touches, Apple has reportedly informed the European Commission that it has begun a probe into the matter.

In a new report from Reuters, a spokeswoman from the European Union’s consumer safety division stated that Apple is gathering information on a number of events in which users allege devices running the iPhone OS exploded. Apple has reported the incidents to the union as "isolated," but will do tests to determine the possible cause.

"What they’ve said to us is that they consider these are isolated incidents," Helen Kearns said at a news briefing. "They don’t consider that there’s a general problem."

A spokesman for Apple in Europe added little else: "We are aware of these reports and we are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers. Until we have the full details, we don’t have anything further to add."

Earlier this month, a report from the U.K. over a supposed exploding iPod touch said the company attempted to refund the family only if they agreed to keep quiet. In that case, an 11-year-old girl reportedly dropped the device, at which point it hissed, popped, and flew into the air. After the family requested a refund, Apple sent a letter denying any liability on the company’s part. It also asked the family to "keep the terms of existence of this settlement agreement completely confidential."

Reuters also cites a recent incident in which a French teenager was "slightly injured" when his iPhone made a hissing noise and shattered. The boy’s mother is considering taking legal action against Apple.

Earlier this year, Apple was sued over an alleged exploding iPod touch in Ohio. In that suit, the complainant states that a second-generation device exploded, set a person’s pants on fire, and caused second-degree burns.

Source: Apple Insider