Intel Corp. on Wednesday unveiled its new family of Xeon E7 processors for enterprise-class servers that brings unprecedented compute performance and introduces new reliability, availability and serviceability (RAS) features never-before-seen on Xeon products. The new central processing units are designed for up to 32-socket servers and will power various machines …
Read More »Global sales of Sony PlayStation 4 surpass 5.3 million units
Just several days ahead of of the PlayStation 4 launch in Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment announced that global sales of the PS4 had surpassed 5.3 million units. The new number exceeds the amount of the latest consoles that Sony originally planned to sell during the fiscal year 2014 and underlines …
Read More »Microsoft promises Windows for ultra-small devices
Developed initially for desktop personal computers, Windows operating system is now used on laptops, tablets, 2-in-1s and smartphones. Microsoft Corp. claims that it will not stop evolving its OS and eventually there will be Windows for ultra-small devices. The OS will be specifically tailored for the best user experience on …
Read More »Nvidia unveils the first GPUs based on Maxwell architecture
Nvidia Corp. on Tuesday introduced its first graphics processing units (GPUs) based on code-named Maxwell architecture, which once again increases performance while minimizing power consumption. The initial graphics solutions based on the first-generation Maxwell are Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti and GeForce GTX 750. To boost performance per stream processor …
Read More »Samsung boosts output of DRAM made using 25nm technology
Samsung Electronics, the world’s No. 1 maker of DRAM, may further improve its market share by boosting output of memory produced using leading-edge manufacturing process, according to industry analysts. The company is reportedly increasing production of dynamic random access memory using 25nm process technology, which is a threat to Micron …
Read More »Qualcomm cancels Snapdragon 802 system-on-chip for UHD TVs
Less than two months after formal announcement, Qualcomm said it would not release its Snapdragon 802 application processor for ultra-high-definition smart TVs on the market because of lower than expected demand. It is unknown whether the company has not managed to win a particular contract with a TV maker, or …
Read More »Launch date of Intel’s next-gen chipsets revealed
While not everything is clear about Intel Corp.’s new microprocessor introduction plans, it looks like the company has finalized its desktop chipset launch schedule. According to a media report, Intel’s new core-logic sets aimed at enthusiasts will debut in mid-May. Such a release timetable will allow Intel and its partners …
Read More »Microsoft Office for iPad due in the first half of 2014 – report
Microsoft Corp. apparently has not cancelled plans to release its Office software suite for Apple iPad media tablet, according to a report. The programs – including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote – may become available as soon as in the first half of this year. But isn’t Microsoft too late …
Read More »Tizen association gets 15 new members, still no hardware
Tizen Association, an industry consortium that supports the development of an open source Tizen software platform and operating system, last week announced that it had been joined by 15 new members. The expansion of the Tizen team will likely speed up its adoption and will make the platform more competitive …
Read More »$15.39 billion spent on video games in the U.S. in 2013
Gamers spent whopping $15.39 billion (£9.1894 billion) on PC and console video games in the U.S. last year, according to a new report from NPD Group, a leading market tracker. Due to changes of the ways people get new content, the overall market grew just 1% annually amid increasing interest …
Read More »Apple plans to discontinue iPad 2 media tablet – report
Apple introduced its second-generation media tablet – the iPad 2 – in March, 2011, nearly three years ago. The slate was in many ways better than its predecessor, which was discontinued immediately after the newcomer hit the market, and became a huge success. For a number of reasons Apple still …
Read More »SanDisk’s ‘world’s fastest’ SD cards boast SSD-like speeds
SanDisk this week introduced its new SecureDigital memory cards compliant with the latest UHS-II standard that can offer performance of low-cost solid-state drives, which is needed to shoot videos in ultra-high-definition resolutions. The new SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-II memory cards are designed for experienced users and require cameras and …
Read More »First Nvidia Tegra 4i-based devices are still months away
Even though Nvidia Corp. introduced its Tegra 4i system-on-chip with integrated baseband capabilities more than a year ago, the first devices based on the SoC will be announced sometimes this April, according to the company. Perhaps, some of the upcoming products will be demonstrated later this month at the Mobile …
Read More »Sales of Windows 8 surpass 200 million licenses
An executive from Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday that the software giant has sold over 200 million Windows 8 licenses in the first 15 months of the operating system’s general availability. While the number is high and is definitely important to Microsoft and its investors, it does not mean that …
Read More »AMD rolls-out mainstream Radeon R7 265 graphics card
Advanced Micro Devices and its partners on Thursday unveiled a new graphics card aimed at the mainstream market segment. The new Radeon R7 265 is based on the good-old code-named “Pitcairn” graphics processing unit and will cost around $150 initially, but will quickly drop to around $119/€89. AMD Radeon R7 …
Read More »Nvidia’s Shield game console not even close to popular
Despite of all the efforts Nvidia Corp. has put into promotion of its Shield video game console introduced at the CES 2013, the system just did not sell well. While the exact number of Shield units sold is unknown, Nvidia admits that it is not high. Still the company claims …
Read More »Sony wants PlayStation 3 to live for another three to four years
Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 2 remained on the market for 12 long years, a record that was only beaten by Nintendo’s NES and SNES game consoles which were available for 20 and 13 years on the Japanese market, respectively. Sony now claims that its aging PlayStation 3 could also live on …
Read More »Nvidia has not signed a single Kepler licensing deal so far
In a bid to better monetize its intellectual property and expand its presence in the next generations of computing devices, Nvidia Corp. announced intentions to license its Kepler graphics processing cores as well as some other intellectual property to third-party designers of system-on-chips back in mid-2013. Unfortunately, so far Nvidia …
Read More »Toshiba MG04 HDDs: up to 5TB capacity, 7200rpm spindle speed
Toshiba Corp. on Thursday introduced a new enterprise-class MG04-series hard disk drive family with up to 5TB capacity as well as 7200rpm spindle-speed. The new drives are engineered for the high-capacity demands of mid-tier servers and cloud application workloads and for capacity-optimized data center storage systems that benefit from high …
Read More »Intel is working on 15-core ‘Ivytown’ processor for servers
At the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) conference this week, Intel Corp. revealed the first details about its next-generation processor for enterprise-servers code-named Ivytown. The new chip will pack 15 cores and will feature an all-new floor plan and internal interconnections. The next generation enterprise Xeon server processor has 15 …
Read More »Apple may introduce new Apple TV in April
Apple TV set-top-box (STB) was historically a pet project for the company, but recently things began to change as the company started to treat the product as a fully-functional device, not as an accessory for iPod, iPhone or iPad. The rumour has it that Apple is getting ready to release …
Read More »Innodisk introduces memory modules with special coatings
Innodisk, a leading manufacturer of special-purpose DRAM and NAND flash products, has introduced its new breed of memory modules with conformal coatings applied are protected from moisture, dust and chemical contaminants. Such modules are useful in extreme environments, including industrial, embedded, automate and so on. Innodisk conformal coatings refer to …
Read More »Microsoft mulls to let Android apps to run on Windows platforms
In a desperate move to popularize its mobile platforms in general and Windows Phone platform in particular among those who already use smartphones running the Android operating system, Microsoft Corp. may let applications designed for Google’s mobile OS to run on Windows and to be sold using Windows Store. Microsoft …
Read More »Microsoft vows stronger support for PC games
Microsoft Corp. has mostly concentrated on Xbox video games throughout the last decade or so. While the software giant has continued to advance DirectX, a multimedia application programming interface for PCs, the first party titles from Microsoft Studios have been designed primarily for the Xbox platform. Nonetheless, Microsoft promises that …
Read More »MediaTek’s new SoC: eight cores, high-end graphics, 4K and 4G/LTE
MediaTek, a developer of application processors for inexpensive mobile devices, announced its first chip that can actually offer respectable performance along with high-end features, usually only found on rather expensive gadgets. If the new processor turns out to be affordable, it may revolutionise the market of low cost smartphones and …
Read More »SanDisk introduces USB flash drive with two interfaces
SanDisk, one of the world’s largest producers of NAND flash-based devices, has announced its first drive that can be used both with mobile gadgets as well as with PCs since it boasts two interfaces. The SanDisk Ultra dual USB drive will help to quickly free storage space on mobile devices. …
Read More »Apple Mac Pro shipping estimates slip to April
Apple’s online stores in the U.S. and the U.K. on Tuesday changed shipping estimates of the latest Mac Pro desktops to April, delaying the highly-anticipated product by another month. The reasons why Apple cannot ship the new workstations immediately are still not clear. Apple’s new Mac Pro utilizes numerous proprietary …
Read More »Asus reportedly working on Gamebox portable game console
Asustek Computer is reportedly working on its own portable video game console based on Google Android operating system and Nvidia Corp.’s Tegra system-on-chip. The console is projected to be similar to Nvidia’s own Shield device that has not become popular. If Asus proceeds with the release of the console, then …
Read More »ARM unveils Cortex-A17 core for mainstream devices
ARM Holdings, a leading developer of microprocessor technologies for mobile and low-power devices, on Tuesday introduced its new general-purpose core designed for entry-level and mainstream devices based on Google Android operating system in 2015 and beyond. In addition, ARM revealed its new cost-optimized Mali-T720 graphics processing unit. ARM Cortex-A17 processor …
Read More »Apple reportedly expands ‘iWatch team’ to over 200 developers
Apple has expanded the team of engineers who work on the iWatch smart-watch to over 200 people and is continuing to hire, according to a media report. In case the information is correct, then the development of the device is ongoing and hence it hardly makes sense to expect the …
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