Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) announced today that its SiS761GX chipset will be used on PCChips’ A31G motherboard. The chipset has also been incorporated into products offered by Axper, Fujitsu Siemens, and Foxconn Electronics (the registered trade name of Hon Hai Precision Industry), according to the company. PCChips’ A31G motherboard supports the AMD Athlon 64 or Sempron CPU lines and is able to deliver sufficient graphics performance with the Mirage 1 Graphic Engine embedded in the SiS761GX chipset, according to SiS. Gamers can upgrade their system's graphics performance by simply plugging a compatible video card into the PCI Express (PCIe) interface, noted the chipset maker. PCChips’ A31G is also equipped with the SiS965L southbridge, providing two independent SATA ports with a 150MB/sec data transmission rate for a hard-disk storage device, noted SiS, adding that the SiS965L has two PCIe x1 ports and eight USB 2.0 connection ports. PCChips uses the SiS761GX / SiS965L chipset on its A13G motherboard Source: SiS

Buffalo and Mediabolic recently announced the availability their Buffalo TeraStation Terabyte Home Server, a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)-compatible network-attached storage (NAS) device. The new TeraStation Home Server includes media server software from Mediabolic that provides centralized media management and distribution to multiple PCs and connected entertainment products on the home network. The one-terabyte TeraStation allows consumers to deploy a powerful yet easy-to-use and cost-effective media and data server on their home or office networks, claims Buffalo. Powered by Mediabolic’s NAS Media Server software, the TeraStation makes music, photo, and video files available over data networks so that consumers can browse and, using a compatible client such as Buffalo’s LinkTheater Mini, play back all of their personal content anywhere in the home, said the company. In addition to being very easy to set up and manage, the Buffalo TeraStation offers advanced fault-tolerant, RAID-based file sharing solutions, and Jumbo Frame technology for higher transfer speeds than on standard networks, said the data storage maker. It includes gigabit Ethernet networking, powerful file security and back-up utilities, and four USB 2.0 ports to accommodate additional external hard drives or shared printers, said Buffalo, adding that the TeraStation can run in four different operating modes and features a built-in USB print server and an FTP server function that allows users to access and transfer files using any computer on the Internet. The Buffalo TeraStation Terabyte Home Server with media server capabilities (model number HS-D1.0TGL/R5) will be available in mid-December in Japan with a suggested retail price of JPY108,400 (US$905), according to the company. Buffalo’s new TeraServer Terabyte Home Server Photo: Company, December 2005

Albatron today announced that its GeForce 7800GT VGA card will be bundled with online war-game software "Call of Duty 2,” with availability starting from this month. The GeForce 7800GT VGA card is all "PCI Express (PCIe)" and features the Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT GPU, which boasts 400 MHz in core speed, said Albatron, adding that this card has also been endowed with 256 MB of speedy 1000 MHz, DDR3 memory using a 256-bit bus. The Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT series is also equipped with the latest Intellisample 4.0, Ultrashadow II, CineFXTM 4.0, for bringing the most graphically demanding and popular games on the market, claims Albatron. This GPU also features Nvidia's PureVideo, a full featured video encoder/decoder producing the finest quality video playback for a variety of formats including HDTV, noted the graphics card maker. The Albatron GeForce 7800GT will provide TV-out, DVI and VIVO connectors, said the comapny, adding that the bundle package will include an HDTV cable that also supports S-Video and AV connectors. The card will also include the full "Call of Duty 2" software package, with a retail price tag of about US$40, noted the company. "Call of Duty 2" is the sequel version to the original "Call of Duty" gaming software that was awarded numerous "Game of the Year" awards, according to Albatron, adding that the WWII epic features some of the most exhilarating, full-on action battle engagements ever depicted in a PC game. Albatron GeForce 7800GT geared-up, battle-ready for "Call of Duty 2" Source: Company

Albatron Technology recently announced the 512MB version of its GeForce 6600 and 6600LE PCI Express (PCIe) graphics cards, with prices similar to equivalent 256MB cards. Availabilities of the 6600 512 and 6600LE 512 series are slated for the middle of December, according to the company. In addition to 512MB of DDR2 memory, the 6600 512 and 6600LE 512 cards support 350MHz in core clock speed, 533MHz in memory clock speed, and a 128-bit memory bus, said Albatron. At the time of this writing, the two cards were boasting more on-board memory (512 MB) for a VGA card than any other card currently on the market, claimed Albatron. Powered by the Nvidia GeForce 6600 GPU series, Albatron’s 6600 and 6600LE series provide complete support for DirectX 9.0 and Shader Model 3.0 optimizing compatibility with the most popular 3D gaming software. With D-Sub and DVI connectors, the 6600 512 bundles an HDTV cable that contains S-Video and AV connectors. The Albatron GeForce 6600 and 6600LE graphics card Source: Company

Asustek Computer recently introduced its EAX1800XT TOP graphics card, which incorporates ATI's flagship Radeon X1800XT VPU (video processing unit) to provide video capability needed for robust PC video systems. Availability is slated for the middle of December, with no suggested retail price available yet, according to the company. Powered by ATI’s overclocked version of the X1800XT series, the EAX1800XT TOP runs at 700MHz in core speed and 1.6GHz in memory. The card adopts advanced visual technology standards, including Shader Model 3.0, High Dynamic Rendering (HDR) and support for high-resolution LCD up to 2560×1600, according to the company. The bundled package for the EAX1800XT TOP will also incorporate the official game of “King Kong” the movie and an XitePad gamepad, which together is valued at close to US$100, said the company. ASUS EAX1800XT TOP graphics card specifications Item Details Graphics engine ATI Radeon X1800XT Video memory 512MB DDR3 Engine clock 700MHz Memory clock 1.6GHz (800MHz DDR3) Memory interface 256bit Max. resolution 2048×1536 Bus standard 16-lane PCIe VGA output Standard 15-pin HDTV output S-video to HDTV TV output S-video to composite Video input S-video to composite DVI output DVI-I Dual DVI output Yes Dual VGA output Yes Availability Mid-December Photo Source: Company website, compiled by DigiTimes, December 2005

BenQ on November 30 unveiled the X600, a 1.9-cm super slim digital camera with six-megapixel resolution, for launch in the Taiwan market under the BenQ name early in December at a recommended retail price of NT$11,900 (US$355). The camera went on sale in the European and US markets last month. The X600 features Pentax-developed SMC (super multi-coating) lens technology and a super slim sliding lens system to minimize its thickness to only 1.9cm, according to the company. BenQ’s domestic monthly sales volume of digital cameras has increased from 6,000-7,000 units before this quarter to over 10,000 currently, while its total monthly shipments, including exports, has also risen from 30,000 units early this year to more than 100,000, according to the company. BenQ X600 digital camera specifications Item Details Lens Focal length of 6.2-18.6mm; aperture of F2.7/F5.2 Zoom 3x optical and 4x digital Screen 2.5-inch low reflective LCD of 232,000 pixels Memory Bulit-in 23MB; compatible with SD cards Dimension (W × H × D, cm) 8.55 × 5.35 × 1.90 Weight (not including battery) 130g Source: BenQ, compiled by DigiTimes.com, December 2005 BenQ X600 super slim digital still camera

Mio Technology, a subsidiary of Mitac International, on November 29 unveiled its new GPS-enabled PDA phone, the A700, which will be available worldwide in mid-December at prices ranging between US$597-746. The A700 will specifically target users in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan as the model features built-in Chinese-version maps of cities in China and Taiwan, according to company president Samuel Wang. The A700 will also be the company’s first PDA phone to tap the China market since its affiliated company, Mitac Computer (Kunshan), secured a license in September to sell its own-brand handsets in China, Wang added. Mio expects combined sales of the A700 in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan will total 200,000 in 2006, Wang predicted, adding that Mio also plans to introduce sub-US$300 GPS-enabled PDA phones to the China market in the first quarter of 2006. Overall, Mitac shipments of smart handheld devices, including smartphones, PDA phones, and GPS-enabled devices, will total about three million units in 2005, up from the 950,000 units it shipped in 2004, Wang stated. Mio A700 PDA phone specifications Item Details OS Windows Mobile 5.0 CPU Intel XScale PXA270 520MHz Network GSM tri-band/ GPRS Display 2.7” 262K-color TFT (240×320 pixels) Memory 128MB ROM, 64MB SDRAM Memory expansion slot SD/MMC card slot Built-in camera 1.3-megapixel camera Built-in GPS SiRF III GPS chip Wireless connection Bluetooth v1.2 Battery 1300 mAh Li-ion battery Dimension 107×57×18.8 mm Weight 148g Photo Source: Company, compiled by DigiTimes, November 2005 Mio’s A700 GPS-enabled PDA phone Photo: Andrea Liu, DigiTimes, November 2005

Sony Taiwan recently announced the launch of two of its latest MP3 players in the Taiwan market, the NW-E305 Walkman Bean and the NW-E407, with respective recommended retail prices of NT$4,690 (US$140) and NT$5,690 (US$170). The NW-E305 Walkman Bean will be available on December 15 while the NW-E407 will be on shelves on December 9. Both models feature an OLED display screen, a built-in lithium-ion battery with a continuous run time of 50 hours and a fast three-minute recharge for three-hour playback, and supports ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus, MP3, WMA, and WAV digital audio standards. Sony’s NW-E305 and NW-E407 MP3 player specifications comparison Item NW-E305 NW-E407 Memory capacity 512MB (23 hours of music or 345 songs) 1GB (47 hours of music or 695 songs) Dimension (W×H×D, cm) 6.9×2.3×3.8 8.5×2.9×1.4 Weight (gram) 45 37 Photo Source: Sony Taiwan, compiled by DigiTimes.com, November 2005

Walton Chaintech launched the SE68GS, a SLI-ready graphics card utilizing the Nvidia GeForce 6800 GS graphics processing unit (GPU), worldwide on November 18, with a suggested retail price of US$249. The Chaintech SE68GS features advanced gaming technologies – Shader Model 3.0, high-dynamic range (HDR) lighting and Nvidia Scalable Link Interface (SLI) multi-GPU technology, according to the company, adding that the SE68GS has 256MB DDR3 SDRAM plus the 6800 GS GPU’s native 256-bit memory interface. In addition, the new SLI-ready card delivers 1000MHz in memory clock, noted the company. Chaintech officially changed its corporate name to "Walton Chaintech Cooperation,” according to a September 7 company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE). IC testing and packaging house Walton Advanced Engineering acquired a 25% stake in Chaintech. Chaintech SE68GS graphics card specifications Item Detail Engine clock 425MHz Memory clock 1000MHz Chipset Nvidia GeForce 6800 GS Memory bus 256bit Memory 256MB DDR3 Expansion slots PCIe, D-sub VGA out, HDTV out, DVI-I Pipelines 12 Photo Source: Company, compiled by DigiTimes, November 2005

Thecus Technology, a company specializing in multimedia data storage solutions and wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN) access systems, today introduced the N2050, claimed to be the world’s first DAS (direct attached storage) that features an external SATA (eSATA) interface, according to the company. With eSATA, the N2050 boasts up to 3Gb/s of data transfer speed – six times faster than high-speed USB 2.0, claims the company, adding that the N2050 is also a SATA/USB dual-mode device. With two 3.5-inch SATA drive bays, the N2050 can accommodate up to two SATA hard disks of up to 500GB in size for a total of one terabyte (TB) of storage, according to the company. To keep your data safe, the new storage device comes standard with a hardware RAID controller, which can be configured RAID 1 for increased data security, said Thecus, adding that with RAID 1, the N2050 automatically saves your data on two hard disks, allowing you to easily replace one should it fail. Alternatively, RAID 0 can be used for increased disk performance, noted the company. The N2050 is slated to hit the market worldwide by the end of November, with a suggested retail price of US$160, according to the company. Thecus N2050 specifications Item Detail HDD bays Two bays for 3.5-inch SATA HDD HDD capacity 80/120/160/200/250/300/400/500GB RAID Stripping (RAID 0), Mirroring (RAID 1) Dual-mode SATA/USB speed 480Mbps USB2.0 Up to 1.5Gbps eSATA Up to 3Gbps Installations Plug-n-play, no drivers required for Windows/MAC OS/Linux Dimension (H×W×D) 85×160×200mm Weight 1.3kg AC voltage 100-240 VAC Power frequency 47-63Hz AC Photo (Available in green and blue) Source: Company, compiled by DigiTimes, November 2005