Motherboard maker ASRock is showcasing new entry-level notebooks and a nettop at CeBIT 2009.The company has confirmed its 12.1-inch notebook is named the MultiBook G12, is equipped with a dual-core processor, and weighs around 1.7kg. The company also has a 15.6-inch notebook, the M15, which comes with either an Intel Pentium or Celeron processor.The two notebooks will start shipping to Europe or China markets after CeBIT 2009 ends.The company is also showcasing the S330 nettop equipped with a dual-core Intel Atom 330 processor and 160GB hard drive.ASRock MultiBook G12 and M15 notebooksPhoto: Monica Chen, Digitimes, March 2009

VIA Technologies has announced its latest board form factor for embedded system developers, the Em-ITX form factor. Offering embedded developers a compact, versatile and highly integrated board form factor, VIA's Em-ITX establishes a standard for ultra-slim embedded devices.The Em-ITX form factor is a new open industry standard defined by VIA, and is 30% more compact than Mini-ITX, yet offers 200% more I/O real estate. At 12×17cm, the Em-ITX form factor includes unique dual I/O coastlines and an exclusive Em-IO expansion bus to bring flexibility and scalability, said VIA. Benefits also include reduced time-to-market cycles for developers and access to a scalable processor platform that includes the 64-bit VIA Nano processor.Embedded boards based on the Em-ITX form factor could form a base for industrial automation, digital signage, kiosk and other applications requiring an ultra-slim embedded device, highlighted VIA.The VIA developed Em-ITX form factor specification includes dual I/O coastlines: I/O inputs can be found on both 17cm edges of the board. This design reduces cable clutter facilitating more compact and robust designs while also boosting signal integrity and improving airflow, said VIA. A variety of connectors are available on these two I/O coastlines, including COM (RS-232/422/485), RJ45, DVI, VGA, LVDS, USB 2.0 and DC power signals.The Em-ITX form factor utilizes the Em-IO expansion bus to integrate with stackable, customizable, expansion modules. The Em-IO expansion bus integrates the majority of popular bus signal technologies, including USB 2.0, GPIO, LPC, PCIe, IDE, IEEE 1394, SATA, PCI, DVI, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet and Card Bus signals.Products based on the Em-ITX form factor will be available early next month.In other news, VIA recently announced net sales of NT$388.85 million (US$11.13 million) for February of 2009, an increase of 5.86% on month.A technical drawing of Em-ITX board and expansion modulePhoto: Company

Taiwan-based telecom provider Taiwan Mobile (TWM) has announced the W101, an own-brand netbook that adopts a 10-inch display, Intel Atom N270 processor, 8GB solid state drive (SSD) and Windows XP. The netbook weighs only 935g, the telco highlighted.The W101 is priced at NT$14,800 (US$421.89), but the company is providing several bundle deals with it 3.5G wireless services.Taiwan Mobile W101 netbookPhoto: Company

Nvidia has introduced four new mobile GPUs - GeForce GTX 280M and 260M GPUs for enthusiast notebooks and GeForce GTS 160M and 150M GPUs for high-performance notebooks.GeForce GTX 200M and GeForce GTS 100M series GPUs can deliver a frame rates up to 50% faster than the previous generation products without increasing overall power consumption, claimed Nvidia.The GPUs feature Nvidia's HybridPower technology that can dynamically power down the discreet GPU and transfer graphics to the system's IGP for applications that do not require a high level of graphics horsepower.Asustek Computer, Clevo and Micro-Star International (MSI) are all showing notebooks based on the new GeForce GTX 200M and GeForce GTS 100M-series at CeBIT 2009.

Mitac Technology has announced that it is showcasing the latest offerings from Getac's rugged solutions including the Getac PS535F, a next generation fully rugged GPS PDA featuring an auto-focus camera, altimeter and E-compass, as well as the new 9212 and 9213 series of durable notebooks.The 9212 and 9213 series of durable notebooks feature magnesium alloy casing, built-in TPM and fingerprint reader, while the notebooks also provide safeguards against accidental drops and resistance to vibration, shock and water spillages.The PS535F is designed for GIS surveying applications across different sectors, including utilities, oil and gas, forest patrol, and surveying and mapping of geology and mineral resources. It boasts a 300g lightweight design, eight hours operational battery power and has been built and tested to withstand rigorous everyday use and use in harsh environments. Compliant with MIL-STD 810F and IP54 the Getac PS535F safeguards against frequent drops and exposure to water, dust and extreme temperatures. A built-in 3-megapixel auto-focus camera enables instant visual data capture in the field, and the VGA touch screen display with sunlight readable technology enhances the viewing quality of graphic intensive files and detailed maps.To enhance its navigation support, in addition to built-in GPS, the PS535F offers built-in altimeter and E-compass. The PS535F also features comprehensive wireless connectivity options, including integrated Bluetooth V2.0 and 802.11b/g WiFi.

Taiwan-based network equipment specialist Alpha Networks will showcase a lineup of new broadband CPE solutions that include a GPON (Gigabit passive optical network) ONT (optical network terminal), VDSL2 802.11n wireless IAD, and ADSL2+ 802.11n wireless IAD at the upcoming CeBIT in Hanover from March 3-8.A consensus has developed that accelerating broadband deployment will lead to substantial economic growth, while observing that many governments have made it a national plan to invest in next generation broadband infrastructure, according to Alpha. Emerging video-on-demand services also boost the demand for bandwidth.The new Alpha GPON ONT complies with the ITU-TG.984 standard and offers one GPON uplink port and four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports.Alpha's VDSL2 integrated access device enables voice, data, and video information transmissions over one broadband connection. It supports VDSL2 with ADSL2+ fallback, and offers four Ethernet ports, an 802.11n wireless connection, and a USB 2.0 host interface. In addition, its ADSL2+ 802.11n Wireless Router/IAD has four Ethernet ports and can deliver WPS, TR-069, and QoS functions, the company detailed.Alpha VDSL IADPhoto: CompanyAlpha ADSL IADPhoto: Company

Alpha Networks, a Taiwan-based network equipment maker, has unveiled its new network media player, BT (BitTorrent) Box, which will be showcased at the upcoming CeBIT Hannover in Germany on March 3-8.With a built-in hard drive, the Alpha network media player is a plug-and-play network device that enables users to download files without PC from peer-to-peer BitTorrent networks, and to play and share all kinds of multimedia contents easily on a TV. BT-BOX offers video/audio decoding of all popular media formats, including RMVB/RM, WMV, MPEG-4, DivX, H.264, MKV, Avi, Asf, Vob, MP3, WMA, OGG, and AAC, as well as support for HDMI up to 1080i resolution.Alpha's new model offers an easy-to-use interface, which allows users to program channels and organize contents. In addition, BT-BOX implements an external USB OTG.Alpha network media player BT BoxPhoto: Company, February 2009

A-Data Technology, a Taiwan-based memory module specialist, has announced its new 64GB USB flash drive, S901.The A-Data S901 comes with a vibration-resistant outer casing and is compact in size. The new USB flash drive is water, dust and shock resistant to keep data from being damaged. In addition to 64GB in storage capacity, the S901 offers value-added software such as UFDtoGo and FormatTool.The A-Data S901 will be showcased at the upcoming CeBIT in Hanover from March 3-8.A-Data S901 USB flash drivePhoto: Company, February 2009

ASRock will showcase the X58 SuperComputer motherboard featuring Intel's latest X58 chipset at CeBIT 2009. The X58 SuperComputer motherboard is designed with four PCI Express x16 double-wide spacing slots, which makes it flexible when installing Nvidia SLI or ATI CrossFire graphics combinations, the company noted. ASRock X58 SuperComputer motherboard specifications Item Detail CPU Intel Socket 1366 Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition System Bus up to 6400MT/s; Intel QuickPath Interconnect Supports Hyper-Threading Technology Supports Untied Overclocking Technology Supports EM64T CPU Chipset Northbridge: Intel X58 Southbridge: Intel ICH10R Memory Triple-channel DDR3 memory 6 × DDR3 DIMM slots Supports DDR3 2000(OC)/1866(OC)/1600(OC)/1333(OC)/1066 non-ECC, un-buffered memory Supports DDR3 ECC, buffered memory with Intel Workstation 1S Xeon processors 3500 series Maximum capacity of system memory: 24GB Supports Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) Graphics 4 × PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (Double-wide slot spacing between each slot) 3 × PCI slots Supports ATI CrossFireX, Quad CrossFireX Supports Nvidia Quad SLI, 3-Way SLI and SLI Supports Nvidia Tesla Personal Supercomputer with three Tesla and one Quadro graphics card Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, February 2009 ASRock X58 SuperComputer motherboardPhoto: Company

Micro-Star International (MSI) plans to showcase new products including X-Slim series ultra-thin notebooks, Wind Top all-in-one PCs, a performance motherboard, and military-specific graphics card at CeBIT 2009.The MSI X340 ultra-thin notebook features Intel's CULV platform and 16:9 aspect ratio 13-inch LED display and weighs around 1.3kg, noted the company. Three color options – gold, white and black – will be available.The MSI X600 ultra-thin notebook also adopts the CULV platform, but comes with a 15.6-inch panels and weighs around 2kg.MSI will also showcase the 20-inch Wind Top AE2010 all-in-one PC based on AMD's 780G chipset.MSI said it has renamed its all-in-one PC product line from Wind Neton to Wind Top, while its nettop product line will be renamed to Wind Box.The military-specific graphics card, N260GTX Lightning 216, features much higher durability and longer life-span as well as offering MSI's exclusive technologies including Digital Sensor, Flying OC Panel, 8-way Heatpipes, Exclusive 2-slot+ and 10-phases power, said MSI.Finally, MSI's Eclipse Plus performance motherboard will offer more advanced BIOS settings aimed at overclockers, the company said.MSI X340 and X600 ultra-thin notebookPhoto: CompanyMSI Wind Top AE2010 all-in-one PCPhoto: CompanyMSI N260GTX Lightning 216 graphics cardPhoto: CompanyMSI Eclipse Plus performance motherboardPhoto: Company