Tul, a Taiwan-based graphics card supplier, has announced the PowerColor X1650 XT, its second graphics card to include a chipset manufactured at 80nm process and to feature the new CrossFire Bridge Interconnect. The PowerColor X1650 XT clocks at 600MHz, with memory at 700MHz (1400MHz effective) 256MB DDR3 RAM and 24 pixel processors. This board is also HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) and Windows Vista ready. The PCIe version will be priced under US$150, while the AGP version will be just under US$170, according to Tul. Tul's PowerColor X1650 XT Key features 2nd GPU manufactured at 80nm process New CrossFire Bridge Interconnect Simultaneous anti-aliasing with HDR for smooth graphics Support for DirectX 9c, Open GL 2.0 and Shader Model 3.0 High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) ready H.264 playback with ATI's Avivo Video- & Display Engine Windows Vista ready Source: Company, compiled by DigiTimes.com, October 2006Tul's PowerColor X1650 XTPhoto: Company

OSD Displays has introduced a new 7-inch WVGA transflective TFT LCD with white LED backlighting. This new low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) TFT LCD is fully Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliant, according to the company.The OSD070WGEA1 offers a 500:1 contrast ratio and provides a uniform brightness of 500 cd/m2.The display supports extended operating temperatures from minus 20 degrees Celsius to 70 degrees and storage temperature from minus 30 degrees Celsius to 85 degrees.The WVGA module offers a simple interface. It has a built-in timing controller and includes all the high and low voltage power supplies need by the panel. The signals required are the logic power supply, the display data lines, the data clock and sync signals.Ideal for mobile applications and portable multimedia players (PMPs) , the OSD070WGEA1 is available in sample quantities now. Sample pricing starts from US$120.00.OSD 7-inch WVGA LED-based TFT LCDPhoto: Company

VIA Technologies and Everex Systems on October 26 unveiled the StepNote NC1500 notebook, the first Everex notebook to make use of the advanced VIA C7-M processor. Employing a 15.4-inch widescreen display with DiamondBrite Technology, built-in wireless LAN and DVD burner, the US$498 computer utilizes the VIA C7-M processor to provide ultra-low power consumption, advanced security features and 1.5GHz performance at a mere 12W peak power, according to the companies. "Teaming up with VIA, Everex has been able to create an exciting new category of energy efficient portable computers," stated John Lin, vice president of sales for Everex.With a shared commitment to developing energy-efficient, environmentally friendly products, the results of the collaborative effort is expected to aid users in reducing their overall electricity usage, resulting in a lower total cost of ownership. According to the two companies, utilization of VIA Enhanced PowerSaver technology and VIA TwinTurbo allow the laptop to dynamically transition between intermediate power states, providing users with a 20% longer battery life than comparable systems. Key specifications of the StepNote NC1500 Item Details Processor 1.5GHz VIA C7- M Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 Graphics VIA UniChrome Pro with Chromotion CE Video Display Engine Memory 512MB DDR2 SDRAM (2 slots) Hard disk drive 60GB, 4200 PATA Optical drive DVD+/-RW with dual layer support Display 15.4" TFT, 1280×800 (WXGA) with DiamondBrite technology LAN 10/100 Ethernet Wireless IEEE 802.11b/g I/O (1) DB 15-Pin VGA, (3) USB 2.0 ports, (1) RJ45, (1) RJ-11, (1) headphone/line out, (1) microphone/line in Battery Lithium ion Dimensions (W×D×H, inches) 14.1×10.7×0.9-1.5 Weight (lbs) 5.3 Suggested retail price US$498 Photo Source: VIA, compiled by DigiTimes.com, October 2006

Logitech Taiwan, recently unveiled three Logitech QuickCam web cameras, the Ultra Vision, the Sphere MP and the Communicate STX, to the Taiwan market at recommended retail prices of NT$4,290 (US$129), NT$3,790 and NT$1,690, respectively.The three webcams all have a CMOS image sensor with a resolution of 1280×960 pixels for photos and 640×480 pixels for video, according to Logitech Taiwan.With growing demand for webcams by users of Microsoft MSN, Yahoo!, Skype and other IM (instant messaging) services, the global penetration rate of webcam use is expected to rise to 30-40% this year, Logitech Taiwan noted. In the Taiwan market, the emerging demand for HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) service, commonly called 3.5G, is expected to boost use of webcams in video conversation, Logitech Taiwan added.The Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision webcamPhoto: Company

TPO Displays today introduced a 4.3-inch wide-viewing angle, transmissive WVGA low-temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) display for portable devices such as portable TVs and hand-held game consoles.Three resolution settings are available for the panel: 800×RGB×480, 480×RGB×272 and 400×RGB×240. TPO claims the product features a resolution of four times higher than those of multimedia devices available in the market now.In addition, the panel has viewing angles of 170/170 (H/V), a contrast ratio of 450:1, a brightness of 350 nits and supports full color display of 16.7 million colors.The multimedia-focused display can also be equipped with touch screen functionality to reduce the number of buttons and switches, simplify design processes, and produce cleaner, sleeker portable devices. Mass production is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2006, according to the company.TPO 4.3-inch displayPhoto: Company

Gigabyte Communications on October 20 unveiled its GSmart i200, a DVB-H Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 3.0 VGA handheld device, at the 3GSM World Congress Asia 2006 in Singapore in conjunction with Innoxius Technologies and Penthera. "Gigabyte Communications is proud to demonstrate the GSmart i200 phone, particularly live mobile broadcasting using Penthera viewer to provide a VGA viewing experience," said Christopher Chen, General Manager of Gigabyte Communications' Global Sales and Marketing Division. "By providing a complete, open-standard, feature-rich solution set, the GSmart i200 addresses the needs of operators worldwide who are seeking devices that support revenue growth opportunities associated with mobile broadcast services." "Innoxius is excited about the cooperation with Penthera and Gigabyte Communications on offering this end-to-end mobile television solution," stated Edmund Yong, CTO of Innoxius Technologies. "Penthera is very pleased to work with Gigabyte and Innoxius to showcase the GSmart i200 integrated with Penthera's mobile broadcast software," said Sam Leinhardt, CEO of Penthera Technologies. "Broadcasters and operators will be impressed by this full-featured, multi-vendor solution which is ready for commercial roll-out." A mobile broadcast demonstration at the 3GSM World Congress Asia 2006 utilized Penthera's end-to-end, mobile broadcast software suite, Innoxius' mobile broadcast head-end and transmission solution, and Gigabyte's GSmart i200. At the head-end, Innoxius Technologies' hardware is integrated with Penthera's Broadcast Services Platform, a DVB-IPDC-compliant control and services solution which enables such unique services as media casting, interactivity, targeted advertising, and usage tracking. Broadcasters and mobile operators can use this system to develop a range of transaction-based revenue opportunities. On the mobile client, Gigabyte has integrated Penthera's field-proven mobile client application, Penthera Viewer, along with Siano Mobile Silicon's Mobile Digital TV receiver/demodulator. Penthera Viewer enables mobile devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs and laptops to receive DVB-H- and DAB-IP-based TV, radio and media transmissions through a user-friendly, Virtual Set Top Box on the device. As a multi-platform, multi-OS, multi-bearer, mobile broadcast client solution, Penthera Viewer addresses the needs of broadcasters, manufacturers and operator worldwide. The GSmart i200 handset will be available starting in the first quarter of 2007 with pricing to be announced at that time, according to the company.Gigabyte Communications' GSmart i200 DVB-H handsetPhoto: Company

ASRock recently announced that its ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 motherboard officially received the Windows Vista Premium logo, which makes it among the first Vista Premium motherboards in the world. ASRock's ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 officially got the Windows Vista Premium logo on October 5, 2006, according to the company.In the past eight months, ASRock engineers had been cooperating with Microsoft Taiwan WHQL lab for all of the DTM (device testing manager) test items, running tests and fixing bugs for the qualification. DTM is a test for Windows Vista, which includes 43 test items that involve systems, chipsets, software, aging and reliability category.The ASRock ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 supports the Intel Core 2 Duo/Pentium D/Pentium 4/Celeron D processors, a FSB 1066/800/533MHz, dual-channel DDR2 667 x4 DIMM slots, PCI Express (PCIe) x16 slot and an additional AGI Express slot. The ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 supports four Serial ATA2 (SATA2) connectors (3.0 Gb/s), with the adoption of ICH7R designed to support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, RAID 5 and Intel Matrix Storage), NCQ, AHCI, two eSATA2 connectors (3.0 Gb/s), Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s and two IEEE1394 ports. In addition, the ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 features 7.1-channel high-definition audio powered by Realtek's ALC888 codec.The ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 is now available worldwide and has a recommend retail price of 795 yuan in China, according to the company.ASRock ConRoeXFire-eSATA2Source: CompanyThe ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 receives the Windows Vista logoSource: Company

Sony Ericsson expects its combined sales of handsets in the Taiwan market to surpass its 2006 shipment target of one million units by November, according to Steve Yeh, president of Sony Ericsson Taiwan.Sony Ericsson sold a total of 700,000 handsets in Taiwan in the first nine months of this year, with an ASP (average selling price) of US$200, Yeh stated.Although Sony Ericsson currently still ranks as the third largest vendor, trailing Nokia and Motorola, in the Taiwan market, the company's market share in part of Taiwan's handset channel in September was higher than that of Motorola's, Yeh said, citing the latest data available from the channel. The company launched on October 16 its clamshell 3G handset, the Z610i, in the Taiwan market, with an aim to compete with Motorola's KRZR-series handsets, according to market sources.The Sony Ericsson Z610i clamshell 3G handsetPhoto: Company

Nvidia has released its GeForce Go 7950 GTX graphics processing unit (GPU), claiming it to be the world's fastest notebook GPU on the market.The new flagship GeForce Go 7950 GTX GPU supports the latest games and applications with DirectX 9.0, Shader Model 3.0 and film quality high dynamic range (HDR) lighting, delivering vivid realism to HD games, according to the company.The GeForce Go 7950 GTX features GPU acceleration of HD video formats like H.264 through Nvidia PureVideo technology and incorporates Nvidia PowerMizer technology which allows advanced power management features. "2006 is a phenomenal year of growth and technology leadership for Nvidia notebook GPUs. The efficient Nvidia GeForce 7 series GPU architecture continues to deliver the ultimate visual experience in notebooks of every class – from lightweight ultra-portables to HD DVD multimedia machines," says Jeff Fisher, senior vice president of the GPU Business Unit at Nvidia. "Notebooks based on our flagship GeForce Go 7950 GTX GPU will deliver the premiere visceral experience for gamers."Gamers can experience the power of this new GPU in Dell notebooks at DigitalLife 2006 in New York City. "Dell is fully committed to delivering the most intensely realistic gaming and entertainment experience to PC gamers," said Brett Faulk, director of Inspiron and mobile XPS product marketing. "Dell XPS notebooks have swept the awards thanks to their sheer gaming performance and the Dell XPS M1710 with GeForce Go 7950 GTX is our best yet."The Nvidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX GPUPhoto: Company

Toshiba Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, on October 10 announced its latest Satellite ultra-portable notebooks featuring the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, the Satellite U205-S5034 and Satellite U205-S5044. The two Satellite U205-series notebooks are thin and light at 1.34-inch slim and starting at 4.1 pounds, according to the company.Featuring a 12.1-inch widescreen TruBrite LCD display, the Satellite U205-S5034 and Satellite U205-S5044 incorporate the Intel Core 2 Duo T5200 and T7200 processors, respectively. Other features found in the Satellite U205 notebook line include a DVD SuperMulti double-layer drive, 5400rpm SATA hard drive, DDR2 SDRAM memory and 5-in-1 bridge media adapter. The Satellite U205-series notebooks support the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 operating system (OS) and are Vista Premium Ready, ensuring that consumers can upgrade to the new Microsoft Windows Vista OS.The Satellite U205-S5034 includes a 100GB hard drive and 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM memory for an estimated single unit price (ESUP) of US$1,299.99. The Satellite U205-S5044 features a 120GB hard drive and 2048MB PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM memory for an ESUP of US$1,599.99.Toshiba releases new notebooks in its Satellite U205 seriesPhoto: Company