This week, Taiwan-based Alontec Industrial is catching eyes, and sore bodies, at Taitronics Autumn 2005 trade fair with its new product designed for workaholics and others who need or just like to get a massage without walking far from a personal computer or notebook. Displayed at the exhibition, the USB-powered massager is now still under development, but the company is hoping to start shipments within three months. The product will come as part of a kit called Massager Plus USB Power Cable. The kit will also include an USB power cable and cable adaptors to charge mobile phones and PDAs. The massager itself will consist of a four-button control device, which operates in six preset modes (cycle, knead, press, vibrate, pound, and tap), and two gel pads. The massage time will be up to 15 minutes, Alontec said. Pricing details about the kit are not yet available. Alontec was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Taipei. The company has its own manufacturing site located in Dongguan, Guangdong Province (China), and it focuses on power supplies, cables and accessories for mobile PDAs, notebooks, mobile phones and game consoles. Alontec’s Massager Plus USB Power Cable Photo: Vyacheslav Sobolev, DigiTimes.com, October 2005

Pioneer’s new HD-ready PDP (plasma display panel) TVs recently hit the Taiwan market with 43-inch units priced at NT$159,000 (US$4,800), according to Pioneer's Taiwan subsidiary, Pioneer High Fidelity. The 50-inch PDP-506HDG will be available by the end of this month with prices expected to be less than NT$300,000 (US$9,000), more than 20% lower than the previous model, the company said. The PDP-506HDG features a native resolution of 1,280x768 and a contrast ratio of 4,000:1 while the 43-inch PDP-436HDG offers a resolution of 1,024x768 and a contrast ratio of 3,000:1. In addition, with the an improved front filter in the newly released PDP TVs, even the darkest black can be reproduced in a well-lit room, according to Pioneer. While HDTV programs are going to kick off in Taiwan in the beginning of 2006, Pioneer aims to ship 11,000 PDP TVs next year in the local market, up from 5,500 units this year, indicated Nobuyuki Kokubo, president of Pioneer High Fidelity. Locally, Pioneer ranked third in PDP TV sales, accounting for a 15% of market share, according to market sources. In related news, LG recently unveiled a new 50-inch PDP TV model priced at about NT$180,000 (US$5,390), while Panasonic will also launch a 42-inch PDP TV priced less than NT$100,000 (US$3,000), sources indicated. Specifications for Pioneer’s new PDP TVs Model number PDP-506HDG PDP-436HDG Screen size 50-inch 43-inch Aspect ratio 16:9 16:9 Native resolution 1,280x768 1,024x768 Brightness 1,100 cd/m2 1,100 cd/m2 Contrast ratio 4,000:1 3000:1 Prices (NT$) N/A 159,000 Sources: company, compiled by DigiTimes, October 2005. Pioneer’s PDP-506HDG and PDP-436HDG PDP TV Photo: Company

Samsung Electronics has announced that it has developed the largest TFT-LCD TV panels without using color filters (CF). The new CF-free 32-inch TFT-LCD TV panels will be showcased at FPD (Flat Panel Display) International 2005, opening in Yokohama, Japan on October 19, with volume production to begin in the second half of 2006 at the earliest, according to a Samsung press release issued yesterday. The newly developed panels use LEDs as backlight sources, which are expected to help the company shorten production time and save material costs as well as facility investment, according to Seongsik Shin, vice president of the Samsung Electronics LCD R&D Center. To keep up with its Korean rival, Taiwan-based LCD panel maker AU Optronics (AUO) stated that the company now also has researchers involved in related product development and will continue to observe the potential of the market for LCD TV panels with LED backlights. Chang Wen-yi, chairman of Taiwan-based CF maker Sintek Photronic, revealed that the advanced technology for Samsung’s new product indeed is a big breakthrough. However, industry sources pointed out although Samsung can save production costs from color filters, compared to conventional LCDs which require both a cold cathode fluorescent (CCFL) backlight and a color filter, units prices for LEDs are still relatively high with one-watt LEDs costing about US$3. Samsung Electronics CF-free TFT-LCD TV panels Photo: Samsung Electronics

LG Electronics Taiwan Taipei (LGETT) on October 12 introduced two new Super Multi DVD burners, the internal GSA-4167B and external GSA-2164D, for sale in the Taiwan market with recommended retail prices of NT$2,300 (US$70) and NT$4,800 (US$144), respectively. The burners have writing speeds of 16x for +R/-R, 8x for +R/-R DL (single-sided double-layer) and 5x for –RAM. Global shipment volume of DVD burners of all types will grow from 46.8 million units in 2004 to an estimated 69.3 million this year, according to LGETT, adding that the sales volume in Taiwan will increase from 200,000-300,000 units to 500,000-600,000. As other brands launch Super Multi DVD burners, LGETT expects that the proportion of total sales volume for Super Multi DVD burners in Taiwan will rise from the current 20% to at least 30% by the end of this quarter. In related news, LGETT said that LG has registered the name “Super Multi” with the DVD Forum and therefore will require other brands to obtain LG’s permission before allowing them to name DVD burners with the “Super Multi” name. In response, Asustek Computer will first understand the details of LG’s registration while BenQ will use its self-designated “DVD Cube” rather than the name “Super Multi,” the two local makers emphasized. LG’s GSA-4167B Super Multi DVD burner Photo: Company

Asustek Computer yesterday unveiled its PVL-D series server motherboards, coinciding with Intel’s recent launch of its dual-core Xeon CPU that will improve the performance and response time of multi-threaded server applications. The PVL-D series includes the PVL-D/1U and PVL-D/SCSI motherboards. Both boards support a dual-Xeon DP (Paxville) dual-core processor platform with Hyper-Threading Technology, independent 2M L2 cache for each CPU core, and 800MHz system bus, according to Asustek. For the cost of a dual-CPU server board, users can enjoy the benefits of eight CPU threads, claims the company. The server boards further leveraged advanced 64-bit computing, which provides 16GB of memory address, to deliver another 46% system performance increase compared to conventional solutions, said the company. According to Asustek, the streamline design of the memory slots, northbridge and power supply unit connectors (located on the side), the server boards maximize airflow and ventilation within the system for superior heat dissipation. The CPU and VRM (voltage regulation modules) are located at the center of the boards, allowing the fans to aim directly at the critical components for efficient cooling, the company states. To ensure data safety, the PVL-D series incorporate RAID 0, 1, 10 on Windows, Redhat and Netware for complete driver support, and additional OS/data integrity protection as well as cost-effective Hardware RAID 5 upgrade from SODIMM ZCR, said the company. Bernard Cheng, Director of ASUS Server Business, stated that the PVL-D Series was developed with corporate productivity in mind, providing system performance improvement with a dual-CPU architecture, dual-core processing, and Hyper-Threading Technology. Asustek dual-core Xeon server boards specifications   PVL-D/SCSI PVL-D/1U   Processor Dual 2.8GHz Intel Dual-core Xeon Processor at 800MHz FSB with EM64T and 2*2M L2 cache Dual Intel Xeon, 800MHz EM64T with 2M L2 cache, 3.6GHz+ Dual 2.8GHz Intel Dual-core Xeon Processor at 800MHz FSB with EM64T and two 2M L2 cache Dual Intel Xeon, 800MHz EM64T with 2M L2 cache, 3.6GHz+ Chipset Intel E7520MCCH, Intel ICH5R Intel E7520MCH, Intel PXH, ICH5R Memory Dual-channel DDR2 400, ECC Registered Up to16GB, 8 slots Expansion slot One PCIe x8, two PCI-X 133, two PCI-X 133/100, one SODIMM for Adaptec ASR2025S ZCR card One 64bit / 133 MHz PCI-X One mini- PCI Socket for ASMB2 card Onboard chip Two Broadcom PCI Express BCM5721 Gigabit Ethernet Dimension 12×13 inches, EEB 3.51 compliant Source: Company, compiled by DigiTimes, October 2005

Hewlett-Packard (HP) Taiwan on October 11 introduced its latest photo all-in-one (AiO) MFP (multi-function peripheral) models, the Photosmart 3310 and Photosmart 3110, and a photo printer model, the Photosmart 8230, for sale in the local market. Each of the three models can print out 32 black & white A4 sheets or 31 color A4 sheets per minute, said Edwin Huang, HP Taiwan’s vice president and general manager for Imaging & Printing Group. The fast photo/document printing speeds are due to the unique “scalable printing technology” (SPT) developed by HP, Huang pointed out. In addition to the three models, HP Taiwan debuted several new models of photo AiO MFPs, photo printers, color inkjet printers and photo scanners for local sale. With hypermarkets, TV shopping networks, and on-line shopping platforms being the three main marketing channels, HP Taiwan aims to occupy 50% of the local photo printer market in 2006, Huang noted. HP’s latest imaging/printing models recently unveiled in Taiwan Category Model Recommended retail price (NT$, with US$ in parentheses) Photo AiO MFP Photosmart 3310 16,999 (512) Photosmart 3110 12,999 (393) Photosmart 2575 7,999 (241) Photo printer Photosmart 8230 6,999 (211) Photosmart 8030 4,999 (151) Photosmart 7830 2,999 (90) Office color inkjet printer Officejet K550 Pro (equipped with SPT) 5,999 (181) Photo scanner Scanjet 4890 9,499 (286) Scanjet 4850 6,699 (202) Scanjet 4370 3,999 (120) Source: HP Taiwan, compiled by DigiTimes.com, October 2005 An HP multi-functional peripheral Photo: Jimmy Hsu, DigiTimes

Small-form-factor (SFF) PC specialist Shuttle today launched the XPC SD11G5, a silent PC system based on the Intel low-power Pentium M processor and 915GM chipset. Utilizing a single fan design coupled with Shuttle’s ICE heat-pipe technology, the XPC SD11G5 system offers efficient cooling of internal components with little cost in noise. Testing of the XPC SD11G5 configured with standard PC components reveals that the system produces less than 24dB of noise, comparing to the 32dB level produced by typical XPCs and more than 40dB for standard PC systems. Shuttle stated its strategy in designing its mainstream silent PC was to keep it simple, or as the company puts it, KISS (Keep it simple, Stupid). Shuttle XPC SD11G5   Specification   CPU Intel Pentium M 533/400 MHz FSB, Pentium M LV 400MHz FSB, Celeron M Chipset Intel 915GM, ICH6M Memory Two 240-pin 400/533DDR2 DIMM slots (up to 2GB) Graphics Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 SATA ICH6-M integrated SATA Dual channel UDMA 150MB/s SATA Audio 24-bit 7.1 channel EAX Advanced HD audio Digital SPDIF I/O Ethernet Broadcom 5789 100Base-T specifications compliant 10/100/1000 Mb/s Ethernet IEEE1394a VIA VT6307 1394 OHCI v1.0 compliant 400/200/100 Mb/s data transfer rate Power External 220W adapter Input: 100/240V AC Dimension G5 chassis form factor: 310×185×200mm Source: Company, compiled by DigiTimes, October 2005

Sapphire Technologies today unveiled two graphics cards based on the ATI Radeon X1300 and X1800 XL graphics processing units (GPUs). ATI Technologies’s recently introduced X1000 series features the latest 90nm chip technology and has been designed to deliver efficiency and high performance in Shader Model 3.0, according to the company. The Radeon X1800 family now delivers the highest graphics performance with a new architecture featuring 16 pixel processors and a new ring-bus based 512-bit memory controller, claims the company. Sapphire will introduce several models based on the X1000 series, with the X1800XT and XL models at the top of the range. Based on the same architecture, but offering more affordable pricing at a slightly lower performance level will be the Sapphire RADEON X1600 series, according to the company. The company says that the RADEON X1300 line will deliver unbeatable performance for competitive pricing and that there will also be versions to support dual GPU operation in CrossFire systems. New Sapphire X1000 series graphics card breakdown Item RADEON X1800 RADEON X1600 RADEON X1300 Engine clock Up to 625 MHz Up to 590 MHz Up to 600 MHz Shader unit 4 12 16 Memory clock Up to 750 MHz Up to 690 MHz Up to 400 MHz Memory interface 256-bit 128-bit 64/ 128-bit Memory support 128/ 256/ 512MB 128/ 256/ 512MB 128/ 256MB Bus interface PCI Express Variable display output DVI/ VIVO VGA/ DVI/ TV out VGA/ DVI/ TV out Maximum 3D resolution 2048X1536, 85Hz (VGA) 1024X768, 200Hz (TV out) Hardware feature DirectX 9, Shader Model 3.0 Software feature Avivo Source: Sapphire, compiled by DigiTimes, October 2005 Sapphire RADEON X1800XL graphics card Source: Company Sapphire RADEON X1300 graphics card Source: Company

VIA Technologies today announced sponsorship of Team Jefferson, contenders for the US$2 million DARPA Grand Challenge 2005 autonomous vehicle race through the harsh terrain of the Mojave Desert from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on Saturday 8th October with their VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard-based vehicle, "Tommy." The team's vehicle, "Tommy", features the advanced PRI-MAX software navigation platform from Perrone Robotics running on Sun Microsystems' Java technology, powered by the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard. Together with UGV application software, Tommy is imbued with the intelligence needed to survive, drive, and navigate the tough DARPA Grand Challenge course, a VIA press release stated. However, survival is not easy in the Darpa Challenge. According to the latest news posting on the Team Jefferson website, Tommy suffered a devastating crash on October 3. But Tommy was brought back to life, with parts sourced from all over southern California and if Tommy could pass a 7:00am inspection on October 5, it would be the last robot to run in the qualifying event, and the only bot to run on Wednesday. News updates on Tommy’s progress can be found here. Team Jefferson’s Tommy Photo: VIA Technologies

Gigabyte Technology today introduced two versions of its flagship 90nm GV-RX18 series graphics card, the GV-RX18T512VB with 512MB of memory and the GV-RX18L256VB with 256MB, based on the ATI Radeon X1800 (codenamed R520) graphics processing unit (GPU). Gigabyte’s GV-RX18 line in two versions will be ready for volume shipment later this month, but a suggested retail price has not yet been set, according to the company. ATI Technologies announced the availability of its 90nm Radeon X1000 family worldwide yesterday. In addition to Gigabyte, other graphics card makers, including Asustek Computer, Micro-Star International (MSI) and Tul, have 90nm cards ready for debut. In addition to the GV-RX18, Gigabyte will unveil the GV-RX16 and GV-RX13 series, which feature ATI’s Radeon X1000 (codenamed RV515, RV530) GPUs sometime this month, said the company. All of Gigabyte’s 90nm graphics cards include an ultra-threaded 3D core architecture and full support for Microsoft Direct X 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 for better performance and graphics processing speeds, according to the company. In addition, the company said that its new series is equipped with ATI’s “Avivo” video and display platform, which enables PCs to connect all kinds of digital devices including home theater systems, LCD monitors, HDTVs, projectors and notebooks. Gigabyte GV-RX18L256VB graphics card Source: Company