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.

Samsung Electronics and Toshiba are aggressively planning to ramp up their output of 8Gbit NAND flash chips, as Apple Computer plans to roll out 2GB and 4GB versions of its iPod Shuffle this June and August, respectively, according to sources at NAND flash makers. Apple and Toshiba had no comment on the news, while Samsung did not reply to requests for a comment at the time of publication. Samsung Electronics was reported to have started volume production of 8Gbit NAND flash memory in April of this year, while Toshiba stated it will begin producing 8Gbit parts this summer. Apple currently offers 512MB and 1GB iPod Shuffle models. Currently, only Samsung and Toshiba have the ability to volume produce 8Gbit NAND flash, with both companies producing the parts using 90nm technology, the sources said.

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.