Network equipment maker AboCom Systems will showcase its latest WiFi devices, including the HGW810 router and its WR-201 wireless AP sound card as well as its BSH203 Bluetooth stereo headset at the upcoming Computex Taipei 2005 (May 31-June 4), according to company sources. The HGW 810 is a completely wireless and wire integrated router that incorporates three devices – a wireless access point supporting IEEE 802.11a/b/g standard, an 8-port switch with four ports exclusively for full-duplex 10/100Mb and four ports exclusively for Gigabit Ethernet and four USB2.0 ports, the sources said. The WR-201 wireless AP is an 802.11g Internet connection device that also allows your laptop or other wireless device to transmit audio to your media center with ezWAVE virtual sound and supports 2.1 or 5.1 channel audio and Dolby Digital, the sources said. The BSR203 is a Bluetooth stereo headset that is compatible with iPod music players and can switch from music player to mobile phone manually or automatically when there is an incoming call, the sources noted. The AboCom HGW810 router. Source: company, May 2005 The AboCom BSH203 Bluetooth stereo headset. Source: company, May 2005

Billion Electric, a network equipment maker from Taiwan, will introduce three new voice-over IP (VoIP) ADSL 2+ routers, the BiPAC 7402VL series, at Computex Taipei 2005 (May 31-Jun 4). Tim Chen, CEO of Billion Electric, stated that VoIP and ADSL2+ are two key products for the company this year. The maker aims to develop a full range of VoIP and ADSL2+ routers to meet customers’ needs in the home and SOHO markets, Chen said. Billion's new BiPAC 7402VL series integrates ADSL and VoIP capabilities for home and SOHO users. All three models provide two FXS (Foreign Exchange Subscriber) phone ports to allow your phone to make calls through the Internet using the SIP protocol, however, only the BiPAC 7402VGP has an FXO (Foreign Exchange Office) port that allows you to dial out to the PSTN (public switched telephone network). The BiPAC 7402VGL and BiPAC 7402VGP support 54Mbps 802.11g wireless capabilities with Wireless Protected Access (WPA) and Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) security features for data protection. BiPAC 7402VL Source: Billion Electric BiPAC 7402VGL Source: Billion Electric BiPAC 7402VGP Source: Billion Electric

AOpen is set to release its i915GA-HFS motherboard, which although based on Intel’s 915G desktop chipset, will support Pentium M CPUs, according to sources at the company. The motherboard will be released later this month, with volume shipments coming in the beginning of June. The i915GA-HFS will support a number of improved features over the recently released 915Mm-HFS motherboard, which is based on the mobile Intel 915GM Express chipset. The new motherboard will support up to 4GB of dual-channel DDR2 memory instead of 2GB and the motherboard will support four serial ATA connectors instead of two. In addition, AOpen claims the integrated graphics performance of the I915GA-HFS will be improved over the i915Mm-HFS, despite the graphics core being the same. However, the motherboard will not support DDR memory. Other features of the motherboard will include a 533MHz front side bus (FSB), one Gigabit LAN port, support for PCI Express (PCIe) graphics cards, high-definition audio, three PCI slots, one PCIe x1 slot and four USB ports, while connectivity options include DVI, YPbPr (for connecting to HDTVs), D-Sub, S-Video and a D-4 connector. AOpen is positioning the 915Mm-HFS in the market as a motherboard for media servers, while the i915GA-HFS will target users looking to build quiet but powerful multimedia systems that are energy-efficient, the sources stated. In related news, Asustek Computer recently introduced an adaptor for using Pentium M CPUs with some of the company’s desktop motherboards, but the adaptor only can be used with socket 478 motherboards. AOpen i915GA-HFS Photo: Company

Transcend Information plans to show a variety of memory modules, DRAM, flash products and MP3 players at Computex Taipei 2005 (May 31-Jun 4). In the flash memory category, Transcend will introduce a complete line-up, including CompactFlash, MMC, RS-MMC, MMCmobile, MMCplus, SD and mini SD products. Other memory products on display will include memory modules for high-end servers and a full line-up of DDR and DDR2 modules. Transcend will also highlight its MP3 player (T.sonic 610) and MP3 photo player (T.sonic Photo). In addition, Transcend will present its award-winning storage devices, including its StoreJet, PhotoBank, and Digital Album products. Transcend will be displaying its products at Hall 1, booth D401. Further details about Computex Taipei 2005 can be found at the website: http://www.computextaipei.com.tw.

Nvidia will unveil its next-generation flagship chip, the SLI-supporting G70 graphics chip, at the Computex Taipei 2005 show from May 31 to June 4, according to motherboard makers in Taiwan. Market sources indicated that the Nvidia G70 should deliver twice the performance of the current flagship series, the GeForce 6800. The chips will be built using a 0.11-micron process at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), as opposed to ATI’s R520 chip, which will be manufactured using a 90nm process, the sources suggested. Since the G70 is currently under non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Nvidia, motherboard makers declined to provide more details about the product. Nvidia also had no comment on the news as it is its policy not to comment on products not yet released. The makers did say the G70 may begin volume shipments in the latter half of the third quarter at the earliest and will retail for US$549.

Raritan Computer, a provider of solutions for managing IT infrastructure equipment and the mission-critical applications and services that run on it, will be demonstrating its newest enterprise-class IT management offerings based on remote KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) and serial console server technologies at Computex Taipei 2005, from May 31 to June 4, 2005. The company will be showing how its remote access and control products and technologies can help accelerate and simplify IT equipment repair and maintenance in a variety of IT environments, including lights-out data centers, virtual data centers and remote offices. Leading German KVM switch maker Peppercon – which Raritan acquired in 2004 – also will be at Computex Taipei, displaying its range of remote KVM-over-IP switches designed to meet the needs of entry-level and SOHO users and its KVM-over-IP subsystems. Raritan will show its first five-channel 32-port digital KVM switch, The Dominion KX. The Dominion KX is an enterprise-class KVM switch that is the first product of its kind to support four remote users and one local user, according to Raritan. An IP-based KVM switch that can support up to 32 servers, and is for environments where multiple IT personnel need to access data from remote data centers simultaneously. The KVM switch supports up to five concurrent users with four of them via a Web browser and one via the local console port, for high-availability access to servers and other devices. Raritan will also show its serial-over-IP console server, the Dominion SX. The new Dominion SX48 model, supports 48 ports and includes dual-feed, load-sharing (AC or -36-72V DC) power, two 10/100 Base-T Ethernet ports with intelligent, automatic failover and a back-up modem for remote emergency access to both the console server and the systems that are attached. One new feature in this model is its SecureChat instant messaging for collaboration.

Small-form-factor (SFF) barebones system suppliers Shuttle and AOpen reported their financial results for the first quarter, with Shuttle recording a profit and earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.11 while AOpen suffered a slight loss of NT$0.11 per share. Although phasing out its motherboard production dragged down Shuttle’s first quarter revenues 33% on year to NT$1.32 billion, the company still managed to increase its margins to 11.59%, helping it turn an overall profit. Shuttle also reported losses of NT$34.24 million on exchange rate fluctuations. Shuttle shipped 146,000 barebone systems in the first quarter. AOpen, which is currently targeting barebones systems for the notebook market as well as the SFF market, saw its on-year revenues drop 22% and reported margins of 6%. The company shipped 50,000 barebone systems in the firs quarter.

Shuttle shipped 48,000 XPCs in March, bringing its shipment total for the first quarter to 146,000 small-form-factor (SFF) PCs, according to the company. The March shipment total was boosted by the release of the XPC SN25P system at the end of February. Shuttle shipped about 10,000 units of the Nvidia nForce4-based SFF PC last month and it expects the volume to remain at that level in the near future. The company also stated that its first quarter shipments were split 60:40 between Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) XPCs. However, market sources stated that Shuttle plans to introduce 8-10 new Intel-based XPCs this year, including a 945G system in May. Although the company’s revenues only reached NT$960 million in the first quarter, down 44% on year, Shuttle was quick to point out that was mainly due to it exiting the motherboard business. In addition, while most motherboard makers are seeing their gross margins slide downward to single digits in the ultra-competitive motherboard business, Shuttle estimates that its gross margins topped 15% in the first quarter.

Although late to the game in the small-form-factor (SFF) PC segment, Albatron believes the experience it gains in the SFF PC segment this year will help it become a key vendor once the market transitions to the pico-BTX form factor starting next year, according to the company. Albatron announced its first SFF PC, the ABox, last November and just started shipping the product earlier this year. The company is currently targeting the Japan and Australia markets with the Abox. The Intel 865G based-ABox has most of the standard features expected from a SFF PC, including a cube design, several front access ports, and an AGP and PCI slot. Albatron did add some features to the system that it believes will help differentiate the product from other SFF products, including a 40-pin connector for connecting all front panel ports to the motherboard at once. Albatron also added more connectivity features, such as a mini-PCI slot and a USB connector, for connecting the company’s Albalink wireless module. The system also features a specially designed fan/heatpipe solution for minimizing noise. Although the product is quite vanilla, Albatron claims that it has entered the SFF market mostly to get its toes wet as a system maker while it gears up for production of pico-BTX products. Because Albatron is a young company, it entered the motherboard and graphics card business as a latecomer. The company now feels that the PC industry will soon be transitioning to BTX products, and it is optimistic that is will be able to be a key competitor in the pico-BTX market from the start, once the market transitions. Albatron stated that it is hoping to produce it first pico-BTX solution by the fourth quarter of this year, but admitted that the mainstream market may not transition to BTX solutions until next year. Although BTX solutions are eventually supposed to less expensive to produce than current systems, the market is not yet developed and the overall price is still too high. Another source in the market recently estimated that BTX motherboards will only account for about 5% of global shipments by the end of this year, well behind Intel's expectations, while SFF market leader Shuttle also forecast that demand for BTX (Balanced Technology Extended) systems will not pick up until next year. Albatron ABox SFF PC Photo: Company

As Skype has become increasingly popular as the software of choice for online communications, more manufacturers are developing Skype-related PC peripherals including headset microphones and USB headphones with a built-in Skype API (Application Program Interface). Jazz Hipster, which specializes in digital audio speakers, recently introduced its Bzcom J1302 desktop microphone with built-in speakers, a solution for use with Skype for online communications, such as chat rooms, online meetings, voice-over IP (VoIP), online radio and karaoke. The product will begin shipping in May. Jazz Hipster combines the functions of microphone and PC-use USB speakers into the Bzcom J1302, enabling users to just turn on the speaker and chat when using Skype, rather than needing to don headgear and microphone and talk like an operator. Jazz did not introduce any new integrated technologies into the J1302, but instead focused on design and functionality. With dimensions of 10x17x12cm (wxhxd), the Bzcom J1302 is a compact unit that features one microphone (built into the base), two 1.75-inch full-range speakers (located on each side of the device), one USB connector and one headphone jack. Jazz also provides a user guide and a utility CD. There is no power adapter for the Bzcom J1302, as it is powered through USB. The USB cable also serves at the audio connector to the PC. Overall, the microphone quality is clear enough so that the product can be shared among several users, and the Bzcom J1302 can be used by small businesses looking to use the free Skype service as an inexpensive audio-conferencing solution. However, even with the simulation software provided on the utility CD, the unit can only reach a certain degree for 3D sound effects. Users requiring high performance sound quality may be disappointed by the weak sound that the Bzcom J1302 provides. We suggest plugging PC speakers into the headphone slot for better sound quality. Two 1.75-inch full-range speakers on each side of the Bzcom J1302 Specifications Bzcom J1302 Item Detail Speaker power rating 1 watt (0.5wx2) Impedance 44 ohm (parallel) Inputs USB 1.1 Magnetically shielded Yes Power adapter require No Microphone Embedded Hardware compliant OS Window 98 SE/2000/ME/XP Mac OS9/OSX Capabilities USB bus-powered and easy installation Speaker and microphone functions provided Sound reception up to five meters away Clear voice and echo cancellation support Provides software 5.1 virtual effect and X-ear 3D performance Application Chat room, online meeting room, VoIP, online radio and online karaoke Source: Jazz Hipster, compiled by DigiTimes, April 2005. Appearance The Bzcom J1302 has an avant-garde design, looking perhaps like a spaceship bow from a science-fiction movie. The front of the unit has a status light that shines with an aesthetic blue light when the unit is being operated. In addition to the two speakers, four function keys are located on the side of the device: two for controlling volume (up/down), one microphone mute (on/off) and one speaker mute (on/off). The function keys are also lit with a blue hue when the system is being operated. Although the function keys have a rubber feel, they are still a bit stiff and pressing the buttons is not as easy as most users would expect. It would be better if this matter were altered. Four function keys and one headphone jack on the side of the device USB slot on the back of the device The key to the Bzcom J1302 is the microphone, and it is very sensitive. You can even hear the fluctuating electric current while the systems is being operated. By using the microphone mute button, Jazz also provides users with a convenient an on/off switch for the device, a thoughtful design for users who do not wish to access software to start and stop conversations. Although the microphone is hidden inside the base of the unit, recording sound is still clear. When the microphone is turned off, the top of status light turns from blue to pink. Easy installation When you connect the Bzcom J1302 to any Windows XP computer, you can just plug it in without needing any driver installation. In addition, the CD features sound effect utilities, including Software 7.1 Virtual effects and X-ear 3D technology. The utilities help the device deliver better 3D sound by mimicking effects when users listen to music. However, despite the maker considering these feature very carefully, it is not easy for a normal user to notice the improvement. In addition, the Bzcom J1302 can connect with Mac computers with the OS9 or later versions. Sound-sage controlling system Sound performance The sound performance of the Bzcom J1302 cannot compete other computer speakers that cost NT$300-500 (US$9.50-16), because it lacks high- and low-pitched rhythm. The design is much more suited for use of online conversations through Skype. Conclusion With its lower price, the Bzcom J1302 desktop microphone can compete with other voice conferencing systems for commercial applications. Users who have used the device as a voice conferencing platform have commented on the depth of sound, which provides a better acoustic ambiance than that of all users speaking directly into a microphone. The device seems especially suited for getting a group of people together to have an argument over Skype, as the microphone will prevent the combined noise level from getting out of hand.