SanDisk's V-Mate video memory card recorder will hit the Taiwan market next month at a price of NT$4,599 (US$140), according to sources with the company.The V-Mate captures video content from an analog source directly onto a flash memory card, allowing playback of recorded video content by simply inserting the flash memory card into a compatible mobile device.Card formats that the device supports include SD, MMC, and Memory Stick/PRO/Duo/PRO Duo.The sources said SanDisk is aiming to eventually have video memory card recorders replace DVD recorders as the market mainstream.SanDisk expects its memory card shipments to the Taiwan market to grow 40% on-year in December, the sources added.SanDisk's V-Mate video memory card recorderPhoto: Company

PowerColor and Arctic Cooling will launch in the first quarter of 2007 a solution for PowerColor's X1950 Pro and X1950 XT passive cards, which are claimed to be the fastest passive cards in the world, according to industry sources.The products based on the X1905 Pro and XT cards will be priced at about US$10 more than existing cards, the sources said.The new passive cooler can keep the X1950 Pro at 63C° while ATI's reference card can be cooled to 67C°, the sources said.The product features four heat pipes in a special heat sink for the cooling of voltage regulators, the sources added.PowerColor's X1950 Pro passive cardPhoto: Industry sources

Fujitsu today announced the development of the world's first 2.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD) that offers storage capacity of 300 gigabytes (GB) with a Serial ATA (SATA) interface.The new HDD, the MHX2300BT, which will be available in late February 2007, will be for use primarily in multifunctional mobile PCs and digital TVs, the company said.Fujitsu began selling hard disk drives with perpendicular magnetic recording in October of this year. A leader in introducing high-capacity 2.5-inch HDD, the company already launched products with 160GB in September 2005 and 200GB in May 2006.The company said the MHX2300BT marks the commercial introduction of second-generation of perpendicular magnetic recording technology. The new HDD will be offered in 300 GB and 250 GB versions. The new HDDs are RoHS-compliant and have read/write power consumption requirements of just 1.6W, among the lowest in the world, the company said. They are also quiet, emitting just 2.1bels of noise at idle, the company added.Fujitsu aims to sell 1.5 million units during fiscal 2007 (ending March 2008) for the MHX2300BT and MHX2250BT combined.Fujitsu's MHX2300BT 300GB 2.5-inch SATA HDDPhoto: Company

Thermaltake Technology officially introduced its iFlash+ (12cm) fan. The fan has a dimension of 120×120mm and spins at 1800RPM with a noise level rated only at 25dBA. Despite its near-silent operation, the fan features a high-volume airflow, according to the company.Unlike standard traditional fans, the iFlash+ (12cm) utilizes a streamline cover on top of the fan. When the fan is operating, the fan blades will be able to display the word "Thermaltake" and the current operating temperature. The fan will attract anyone that sees the computer system under its blue background glow, said Thermaltake.Thermaltake Technology's iFlash+ (12cm) has a life expectancy of 30,000 hours, demonstrating the effort that Thermaltake puts into providing the highest-quality product users will be able to use on the market today, according to the company. Thermaltake's iFlash+(12cm) specifications Item Detail Product name iFlash+ (12cm) P/N A2445 Dimension (mm) 120×120×28 Start voltage (V) 7 /1 3.2 Max Rated current (A) 0.20 Power input (W) 2.4 Fan speed 1800 ± 10% RPM Max. air flow 63 CFM Max. air pressure 1.56mm-H2O Noise 25dBA Bearing type Sleeve Life expectancy (hrs) 30,000 Connector 3 pin Weight (g) 160 Source: Company, compiled by DigiTimes.com, December 2006Thermaltake's iFlash+ (12cm) fanPhoto: Company

Gigabyte Communications on November 22 unveiled its GSmart i120, a PDA phone featuring Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 3.0. In terms of product design, the GSmart i120 highlights a modern retro accent with a metallic silver frame, introducing a modern art deco accent to the luxury design concept of a PDA mobile phone, according to Gigabyte.Powered by Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 3.0 push email technology, the GSmart i120 keeps mobile users connected with real time email while traveling worldwide. The GSmart i120 supports mobile Internet access via Wi-Fi or GPRS and has mobile TV and TV recording functions, supporting NTSC/PAL/SECAM TV standards.The GSmart i120 has Wise Talk, an exclusive feature, which allows users to simulate background noise when answering a phone call. The GSmart i120 Wise Talk, can camouflage a user's location by providing a selection of pre-set special background effects. The GSmart i120 Wise Talk, for instance, can create a virtual scenario with sounds at a concert, in a meeting room, or at an airport, according to Gigabyte.The GSmart i120 has a recommended retail price of US$650 and is currently available in Southeast Asia and will be launched in other regions worldwide, including Europe and the Middle East, according to Gigabyte.Gigabyte Communications' GSmart i120 PDA phonePhoto: Company

Fujitsu on November 21 launched its new Lifebook P1610 tablet PC in Taiwan with a suggested retail price of NT$69,800 (US$2,122), according to the company.The 1.4-inch thick P1610 is powered by an Intel 1.2GHz Core Solo U1400 processor and features an 8.9-inch convertible display, which is also swingable by 180 degrees, said the company. The company also plans to bring its 10.6- and 12.0-inch tablet PCs into Taiwan in 2007, according to a November 22 Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report. Fujitsu's Lifebook P1610 tablet PCPhoto: Andrea Liu, DigiTimes, November 2006

Asustek Computer on November 20 launched four gaming notebooks in the Taiwan market amid expectations of rising demand for high-performance notebooks in line with the upcoming Microsoft Windows Vista OS (operating system), according to company and market sources.All of the four models – the G1, G2, A8Js and F3Jc – are powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors, with the G1 and G2 available between NT$58,900-88,900 (US$1,790-2,702) and the A8Js and F3Jc available between NT$42,800-52,800, said sources at Asustek.With shipments of gaming notebooks currently accounting for 30% of its total notebook shipments, the company stated that the advantage it enjoys in the manufacturing of motherboards and graphics cards allows Asustek to bring the new models to the gaming market in a fast manner, the sources stated. Dell's recently introduced a 12-1-inch XPS-series gaming notebook, powered by Intel's Core 2 Duo T5600 CPU, which carries a suggested retail price of NT$37,900 and has received positive response from the Taiwan market, according to market sources. Another model from Dell, powered by an Intel 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU, is available for NT$43,000, indicates Dell's aggressive marketing to expand its share in the local gaming notebook segment, the sources said.Asustek's G1 and G2 gaming notebooksPhoto: Company

Sony Electronics on November 17 introduced an optical high-definition (HD) recorder to capture and store HD video of medical procedures in 1,440×1,080i resolution. The device can record and store up to two hours on a 23GB PFD-23 XDCAM disc, which is sealed to help prevent scratches and preserve data with minimal degradation for more than 50 years, based on Sony's accelerated testing.The PDW-70MD XDCAM HD recorder integrates a 3.5-inch color LCD screen that allows users to view thumbnail-sized stills of footage accessible through RAM. This enables users to quickly identify points of interest without manually winding through hours of footage."Sony's HD products are helping to improve all levels of medical visualization," said George Santanello, Sony Electronics' director of marketing for medical products. "With the advent of surgical HD camera systems, the recorder will prove to be a tool offering the bandwidth and storage capacity required for recording HD content, Santanello said.The recorder has a compact design and can be positioned horizontally or vertically to improve integration within existing digital operating rooms.The PDW-70MD recorder is available through Sony resellers at a suggested list price of US$14,995.Sony's new HD recorder for medical usePhoto: Company

Thecus Technology has added to its YES Box series a media server edition, the N2100BM, featuring embedded media server technology from Mediabolic, which makes music, photo, and video files available over a network for streamed playback on connected entertainment products. The Mediabolic software resides on the N2100BM and aggregates personal media so that it was can be accessed by a variety of players, such as network TVs, IP set-top boxes (STBs), and digital media adapters. This software is DLNA Certified, which means that increased interoperability with other DLNA certified devices. The embedded media server software aggregates content from multiple sources on the network into a single, unified directory, and enables advanced digital rights management, an auto setup wizard, and auto-generating video thumbnails. Under the hood, the YES Box N2100BM features an Intel 80219 Processor and two internal 3.5-inch bays that accommodate two SATA hard disks for up to 1.5 terabytes (1500GB) of storage. The YES Box N2100BM also offers users several disk storage options, including RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD. With advanced power saving management, the YES Box N2100BM consumes 30% less power compared to a similarly configured PC, but comes fully equipped with dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and three high-speed USB 2.0 ports for quick file transfers. The YES Box N2100BM can be used as an FTP server to allow friends or customers to access digital assets, or configure it as an iTunes server to make music accessible by networked PCs with iTunes installed. The YES Box N2100BM comes equipped with the YES Community Photo Web Server, turning it into a fully-fledged photo bank. "Ensuring superior usability and interoperability are some of the principles we have when designing a new product. Our new N2100BM accomplishes these goals by integrating Mediabolic's media server software," says Edwin Lin, Thecus CEO. "Meeting both UPnP specifications and DLNA Certification, the N2100BM makes digital media easily accessible over virtually any network. We are thrilled to have developed the N2100BM with Mediabolic technology, and are looking forward to further collaboration between our two companies in the future."The Thecus N2100BMPhoto: Company

Toshiba today announced the launch of its second-generation HD DVD players in the Japanese market. The company will roll out two new players, the HD-XF2 and HD-XA2, from late December.The new HD DVD players are smaller and offer improved speed in loading and response times over the HD-XA1, which Toshiba introduced to the market in March 2006. The new high-end HD-XA2 supports Deep Color technology, an optional standard under HDMI that improves representation of color tones and achieves finer color gradation.At 65.5mm, HD-XF2 achieves the industry lowest height of any next generation digital high-definition player (as of November 15, 2006), according to Toshiba.Through the HDMI interface, high-definition pictures stored on a disc can be displayed digitally in HD, on digital TVs and displays that incorporate HDCP capable HDMI input. Through the HDMI interface, standard definition DVDs can be up-converted to an output resolution of 720p or 1080i (1080p for HD-XA2), to complement the performance of a HDTV. HD-XA2 integrates a 1080p compatible up-scaler and a high performance IP converter that supports Deep Color technology to achieve finer color gradation.In addition to prerecorded DVD software, the new players support playback of DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. The players are also compatible with music CDs and can play back CD-R and CD-RW discs, according to Toshiba.Both players offer advanced navigation and interactive features unique to the HD DVD format. A Picture in Picture (PIP) function include the ability to play supplementary video over the main program, allowing viewers to watch bonus content, The players' "pop-up menu" displays movie chapters with thumbnails while the movie plays, and allows users to navigate menu features without pausing playback. HD-XF2 and HD-XA2 support AACS (Advanced Access Content System), the next generation content protection system.The new HD DVD players comply with the European Union's RoHS directive, which came into force in July 2006.Toshiba's HD-XF2 HD DVD playerPhoto: CompanyToshiba's HD-XA2 HD DVD playerPhoto: Company