Posted 09/30/2008 at 08:19:39am

With Intel bracing itself for the discrete GPU market with its upcoming Larrabee chip, Nvidia and AMD are expected to make an earnest attempt at luring millions of users of integrated graphics with their low-end discrete graphics solutions – quid pro quo. ATI/AMD has launched its low-end offerings HD 4350 and HD 4550  with integrated graphics’ users in sight. The new GPUs are priced between $40 and $55.

The cards are based on AMD’s 55 nm 4800 series architecture and are claimed to hold an edge over Nvidia’s low-end 9400 series. Both the GPUs have 80 stream processors and are clocked at 600 MHz. The HD 4550 will come with either 256 MB or 512 MB GDDR3 memory. On the other hand, HD 4350 will only be available with 256 MB of DDR2. The GPUs are only going to consume 20 watts of power, which is 2/5 of the appetite for power of Nvidia’s 9400 series.

Posted 09/30/2008 at 08:02:46am

The Netbook movement, if it may be labeled as such, has received a shot in the arm in the U.S with the launch of Sprint’s XOHM WiMax network in Baltimore. The launch effectively ushers in the WiMax epoch in the U.S.

Subscribers will have unabated mobile broadband access throughout Baltimore as the XOHM network envelopes the entire city. Sprint is claiming downlinks speeds of 2-4 Mbps, effectively faster than 3G.

Netbooks are expected to become more practical and even indispensable to a fair degree as more cities appear on the WiMax map in coming months. Moreover, netbook are beginning to make much more sense due to the financial meltdown.

Posted 09/28/2008 at 07:32:58am

Internet’s father Vint Cerf is a little concerned about his beloved child. He has warned that we will soon expend the 4.2 billion IP addresses available under the IPv4 system currently in use. As per his prediction, there might not be any fresh IP addresses left by 2010.

He fears that this will considerably hamper the connectivity of the internet. He has suggested that internet be urgently switched to a new system. That new system is already in use in Japan for linking thousands of earthquake sensors and has been around for almost a decade. The IPv6 as it is called can provide an inexhaustible 340 trillion, trillion, trillion addresses.

Posted 09/28/2008 at 07:10:12am

Taiwan-based HTC might be committed to the progress of Android but it hasn’t forgotten Windows Mobile - its favorite mobile platform. Not that it has the luxury of forsaking Windows Mobile. It happens to be the leading manufacturer of Windows Mobile-based devices in the world.

The company’s CMO John Wang said that Android and Windows Mobile can coexist. However, Wang let it be known as to where HTC’s allegiance actually lies. He stated that Windows Mobile will continue to be most important for the company.  This statement appears to be targeted at Microsoft rather than the average smartphone consumer.

Posted 09/27/2008 at 08:26:09pm

Toshiba has announced that it is all set to begin mass production of a new 256GB SSD with MLC controller. The company will also be introducing a few small-sized Flash Modules for UMPCs and other mobile devices.

The high density NAND-flash-based SSD boasts a maximum read speed of 120MB/sec and maximum write speed of 70MB/sec. On the other hand, the small-sized Flash Modules, which support 8GB, 16 GB and 32 GB densities, are claimed to be capable of a maximum read speed of 80MB/sec and maximum write speed of 50MB/sec. Both drives utilize the SATA-2 interface.

Let us see if Toshiba can pleasantly surprise everyone with cheaper than expected prices.

Posted 09/27/2008 at 09:39:09am

OpenPeak is trying to spruce up the bland world of home or VOIP phones with its OpenFrame phone range. The company announced that its OpenFrame IP Media Phone is now ready for production. Service providers are expected to begin supporting the phone in Q1 2009.

It is certainly not a generic home phone as it deploys the Intel Atom processor. The touchscreen phone will provide a rich media experience along with voice and data services. OpenPeak believes that the phone will present new revenue opportunities to VOIP service providers. We will have to wait for a while to learn about its fate.