Twinhead International is exhibit its new series of “Durabook” notebooks at its Neihu headquarters during this year’s Computex Taipei. The Durabooks are designed to withstand the hazards that may harm notebooks during daily usage. They are available in both Intel and AMD flavors. Durabooks vary in form, function and features, but share the common traits of being drop- and shock-resistance and spill proof. Durabooks all have a magnesium alloy case that is 20 times stronger than usual ABS plastic. The LCD monitor is contained in an anti-shock mounting design, while the optical drives have a patented locking mechanism. There are two models available for each platform: the 15D and 14D Intel-Centrino models and the 14K and Lite 12KS AMD-based models. The Durabook 15D supports Intel’s Pentium M CPU and is based around the 915GM chipset. It supports SATA with a 150MB/s data transfer rate and 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet. The Durabook 14D is a 14-inch model that also uses the 915GM chipset and supports DDR2 533 SDRAM. The Durabook 14k is a 64-bit model that supports AMD’s Athlon 64 or Sempron, while the Lite 12KS uses the Turion 64 or Sempron. Both notebooks offer AGP4x/8x high-performance graphics. In addition to the Durabooks, Twinhead is also displaying its 17P, 17K and 12K traditional models. The 17P has a 1440x900 resolution 17.1-inch LCD monitor, making it best suited to multimedia applications. This notebook supports Intel’s 3GHz Pentium 4 530 CPU. Buyers can choose between an Nvidia or ATI graphics solution. The 17K is another multimedia-oriented notebook, which offers the AMD Athlon 64/Sempron CPU. It is equipped with an Nvidia Geforce Go6600 (codenamed NV43M) on a PCIe interface with dual-channel DDR SRAM. For those who are looking for a slim, light and wireless-ready notebook, Twinhead offers the 12K. This model supports AMD’s Turion 64 or Sempron CPU and offers AGP 4x/8x graphics. The 12K weighs just 2kg and is aimed at providing a high-mobility solution. For an up-close look at the Durabooks and Twinhead's other products, a trip to the company's Neihu headquarters is required (see advertisement on back page). Alternatively, you could visit www.twinhead.com/index.aspx. Twinhead Durabook 15D. Photo: Company Twinhead Durabook 14D. Photo: Company Twinhead's Lite 12KS supports 64-bit applications on a 32-bit platform. Photo: Company Twinhead’s wide-screen 17P notebook. Photo: Company Twinhead's slim and light 12K only weighs 2kg. Photo: Company

Handset maker Wistron NeWeb (WNC) and Senao International, a handset distributor and a wireless phone manufacturer, introduced wireless IP phones supporting WiFi at Computex 2005. WNC is displaying a clamshell-design wireless IP phone that supports the IEEE802.11b standard at the show. The phone has no codename and will be shipped as an ODM product, according to the company. Senao International has introduced a series of IP phones, which use chips from Atmel Semiconductor, at the exhibition. Although IP phones usually only support the 802.11b standard, Senao’s lineup of IP phones offer 802.11a/b/g support, as well as supporting up to five-line conference calls. In related news, Asustek Computer, BenQ, Gigabyte Technology and Micro-Star International (MSI) plan to develop Wi-Fi IP phones in the second half of 2005, according to market sources. WNC WiFi IP phone Photo: Daniel Shen, DigiTimes

More notebooks using CPUs from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are being highlighted at Computex 2005 (May 31-June 4) than last year. Micro-Star International is featuring its Turion 64-series notebooks while Asustek Computer is also presenting notebooks using AMD CPUs. In addition, Acer is highlighting its third-generation Ferrari notebook featuring AMD CPUs. Acer finds the right formula for its AMD notebooks Photo: Allen Lin, DigiTimes

Arima Computer has launched the SW500 server board and SW5001U barebone system, which adopt dual-core AMD Opteron 800 Series CPUs in a 4-way configuration, for the demanding four-way 64-bit architecture server market. The board and barebone system are moving into mass production this quarter, according to the company. The SW500 is equipped with Broadcom's HT-2000 and HT-1000 server I/O chipsets with a HyperTransport throughput of 2000MT/s. The board also supports up to 64GB of DDR400 registered memory with ECC support. In addition to dual 10 Gb/s InfiniBand ports on a PCIe interface, the SW500 has four integrated SATA2 ports with RAID 0, 1, and 1+0 support and provides optional Ultra 320 SCSI as well. The integrated 2Gb Ethernet ports provides teaming with load balancing and fail over capability. It also provides an independent Gb Ethernet controller for a server management daughter card. The SW500 board is also available in a 1U barebone, the SW5001U, which offers a SCSI backplane with two hot swappable drive bays. It can also accommodate one riser card on one full size PCIe 8x or PCI-X 133MHz interface. For more information, visit Arima in Hall 2 at booth F184 or go to the company website: http://www.arima.com.tw. Arima's SW500 4-way Opteron motherboard Photo: Company.

Both Taiwan-based Kolin and BenQ will demonstrate a number of LCD TVs at Computex 2005 (May 31-Jun 4). This year will be the first time Kolin has appeared at the exhibition, and the company will be displaying its 20-, 26-, 30-, 32-, 37-, and 42-inch LCD TVs. In addition to 23- and 32-inch LCD TVs models, BenQ will be showcasing 37-inch and 46-inch models, which the company will begin volume producing in June and the fourth quarter, respectively, according to the company. In related news, Teco Electric & Machinery also aims to draw attention to its products at Computex by introducing LCD TV models designed by three famous Taiwanese artists.

Sampo and Tatung will be the only two Taiwan-based vendors to showcase 42-inch and 50-inch PDP (plasma display panel) TVs at Computex 2005 (May 31- June 4). For Sampo’s PDP TV lineup, the company uses panels from Japan-based Matsushita featuring a contrast ratio of 3,000:1. Tatung is using panels from both Samsung Electronics and Pioneer, with the panels featuring a contrast ratio of 3,000:1 and 1,500:1, respectively. In related news, last year Taiwan-based PDP panels makers focused on WVGA resolution (852×480 pixels) panel production, with less than 5% of the panels supporting WXGA resolution (1,280×768 pixels). On the other hand, WXGA panels accounted for 30% of the panels produced by Japanese PDP makers and 12% of the panels produced by South Korean vendors, according to market sources.

TwinMOS will display a series of computer and consumer application products at Computex 2005 (May 31-June4), including Bluetooth speakers, Bluetooth microphones, flash cards, flash disks, MP3 players and DDR2 memory modules. The company will also debut its mini MMCmobile, MMCplus and MiniSD memory cards for smartphones. Other memory devices include the 133x Ultra-X SD Card for camera phones and DVs, and a SD Combo Card. For memory modules, TwinMOS will present SO-DIMM and Micro SO-DIMM modules for notebooks and DIMMs for servers, all under the company’s TwiSTER series designed for overclockers and gaming enthusiasts. The company’s booth (A1027) will be located in Hall 1 of the Taipei World Trade Center.

Tatung will be showing a variety of display products and a wide range of home- and office-use devices at Computex 2005 (May 31-Jun 4) in Taipei. Among the various display products, the company will showcase a 17-inch multi-function monitor (MFM), a 3.5-inch portable media center (PMC) display and a 12.1-inch tablet PC. The MFM can function as a PC and a TV. The PMC has a 20GB storage place, can play music, photos and videos and can be connected with a PC via USB connection. In addition, Tatung claims the tablet PC (TTAB-A12D) is the world’s first 12.1 tablet PC that supports the Intel Sonoma platform. Weighing only 1.4 kg and with having a depth of 1.8 cm, the tablet PC also has other features such as a fingerprint identification system. In addition to display products, Tatung will present connected devices, portable entertainment devices, digital set-top boxes (STBs), blade servers & PC servers and PC peripherals, as well as a video recorder and a media center PC. Tatung’s booth (T101D) is in Hall 4 at the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC). Tatung at Computex 2005: Display product line-up Product type Size (inch) PMC 3.5 Tablet PC 12.1 LCD monitor 17, 19 LCD TV 20, 23, 27, 32, 37 PDP TV 42, 50 MFM 17 Source: company, compiled by DigiTimes, May 2005.

Foxconn Electronics (the registered trade name of Hon Hai Precision Industry) will showcase a super-slim small-form-factor (SFF) PC and its own-brand motherboards during Computex 2005, which runs from tomorrow through June 4, according to Christin Wang, global marketing sales manager of Foxconn's Channel Service Division. Foxconn’s SFF PC will feature a super-slim footprint and the entire system can be hung on the wall noted Wang. The new SFF PC will is codenamed TucaAway, Wang added. In addition to motherboards and SFF PCs, Foxconn will showcase components including chassis and heat dissipation units during the exhibition, Wang added. Foxconn began its own-brand motherboard sales through channel distributors last year, and the products are currently distributed by Ingram Micro and Tech Data worldwide and Weblink International in Taiwan, Wang pointed out. Christin Wang, global marketing sales manager of the Channel Service Division at Foxconn Photo: Charles Chou, DigiTimes.

Acer unveiled its Ferrari 4000 carbon-fiber black Ferrari-series notebook in Taiwan yesterday, with the notebook expected to be available worldwide in June. The notebook vendor also stated it will introduce its Ferrari design into its line of n50 PDAs in the third quarter of 2005. The company had previously released three Ferrari models to the market, with all of them being red. The new 15.4" Ferrari 4000 is based on the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Turion 64 processor and features ATI Mobility Radeon X700 graphics with 128MB DDR memory, as well as a DVD Super Multi double-layer drive and a 5-in-1 card-reader. Acer has projected sales of 90,000-100,000 Ferrari-series notebooks for this year, accounting for 1.8% of its total shipment forecast. In addition, Acer recently reached an agreement with the Scuderia Ferrari team for marketing a new Ferrari PDA model, according to the company. Acer anticipates selling 200,000 PDAs in the first half of 2005, compared to less than 100,000 units in 2004. Acer Ferrari sales, 2004-2005(f) (thousand units)   2004 2005(f) Y/Y Ferrari series 60-70 90-100 29-67% Total 3,900 5,000-5,500 28-41% Contribution 1.5-1.8% 1.6-2% <0.5pp Source: company, compiled by DigiTimes, May 2005. Specifications: Acer Ferrari notebook series   Ferrari 3000 Ferrari 3200 Ferrari 3400 Ferrari 4000 Processor AMD Athlon XP-M processor 2500+ AMD Athlon 64 processor 2800+ AMD Athlon 64 processor 3000+ AMD Turion 64 Operating system Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition preloaded Display 15-inch TFT 15-inch TFT 15-inch TFT 15.4-inch TFT System memory 256/512MB 512MB 512MB 1GB HDD 60GB or higher 80GB 80GB 100GB Optical device DVD-DUAL drive Slot-load DVD-Super Multi drive DVD-Super Multi drive DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive Dimensions 300x272x31mm 363x265.7x30.5-34.3mm Weight 2.93kg 3.014kg 3.014kg 2.86kg Source: company, compiled by DigiTimes, May 2005. Ferrari 4000 Photo: Acer. Acer chairman JT Wang Photo: Allen Lin, DigiTimes.