Intel Unveils New Classmate PCs

Intel Corp. unveiled new features for its line of low-cost laptops for schools Wednesday, adding bigger screens and more data storage capacity as the chip maker ratchets up its rivalry with the One Laptop per Child organization, which sells a competing machine.Intel's new Classmate PCs - slated to go on sale in April for between $300 and $500 - reflect the company's growing efforts to sell computers equipped with its own chips to schools in developing countries, a battleground for technology companies because of the millions of people there just coming online.But the target market has expanded to include kids in the U.S. as potential users of cheaper, stripped-down machines.Classmate PCs also are part of Intel's push to generate interest in a new class of mobile devices the company is calling "netbooks," which are smaller and have fewer functions than standard laptops but also use far less power and are easier to carry around.

Other tweaks to the Classmate that Intel announced Wednesday from its developer forum in Shanghai include the availability of both 7-inch and 9-inch screens, a 30 gigabyte hard disk drive and an integrated Web camera.At the developer forum, Intel executives also rolled out five new processors under the "Atom" brand name. The chips are designed for pocket-size Internet devices. The chips come in speeds up to 1.86 gigahertz while using less than 3 watts of power.Intel said its Classmate PCs will eventually use Atom processors.Classmates are based on Intel's design and include its processors, but they are built by other manufacturers and sold under a variety of brand names. The first generation went on sale in March 2007 with the 7-inch screen and fewer functions. Intel said it has sold "tens of thousands" of the machines but declined to provide more specific data.Intel and OLPC have feuded furiously over their competing products.The Cambridge, Mass.-based nonprofit OLPC says it has sold hundreds of thousands of its $188 machines.The Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinoff's low-cost XO laptop includes a microprocessor from Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the world's No. 2 microprocessor maker behind Intel.A short-lived truce between Intel and OLPC ended earlier this year when Intel suddenly pulled out from OLPC's board of directors.Intel claimed it couldn't continue cooperating with OLPC when founder Nicholas Negroponte demanded Intel stop selling Classmates overseas. Negroponte said the dispute stemmed from Intel sales reps disparaging OLPC products while pushing Intel's own machines.Source

XFX Introduces 9800GTX in India

XFX has unveiled its latest XFX NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX card. This card promises faster performance as compared to current solution and offers exceptional power management.The card looks to achieve lower power consumption by means of Hybrid Power technology. By utilizing this technology, the 9800 GTX allows users with a HybridPower compatible motherboard to power down their GeForce 9800 GTX graphics card when running less graphically intense applications. The result: a silent, low power PC experience.In terms of performance, the 9800 GTX is among the most powerful single chipset GeForce card available today, delivering all-out gaming performance at extreme HD resolutions. This card can be combined into a 3-way SLI mode on one of the new XFX nForce 780i SLI or 790i Ultra SLI motherboards and therefore can ramp up of to 2.8 times the performance of a single GPU.

The new card is designed to work on PCI Express 2.0 slots, which are featured in nForce 7 series motherboard. In addition the 9800 GTX offers the highest data transfer speeds, enabling it to accommodate today’s bandwidth hungry games and 3D applications. Hardware Decode Acceleration provides ultra-smooth playback of H.264, VC-1, WMV and MPEG-2 HD and SD movies. Dual-stream Hardware Acceleration supports picture-in-picture content and Dynamic Contrast Enhancement & Color Stretch ensures post-processing and optimization of High Definition movies on scene-by-scene basis with spectacular picture quality. HDMI capability allows users to send both high-definition video and audio signals to their HDTVs via a single cable.9800GTX will be available through Rashi Peripherals and its 53 branches spread across India at a suggested street price of Rs. 21,500/- with 3 years warranty.Source

SE's XPERIA X1 Will Run on WinMob 6.1

Sony Ericsson has confirmed that it will be running Windows Mobile on its new arc-slider phone, XPERIA X1. Using Windows Mobile 6.1, together with Sony Ericsson’s unique XPERIA panel user interface (UI), will enable a highly user-focused experience with enhanced connectivity, messaging and multimedia features.

The XPERIA X1 from Sony Ericsson enables consumers to personalize their experiences through a distinctive touch screen, panel-based UI creating an interface which is relevant to them. This continually active desktop allows users to organize the phone’s active dashboard as they want, changing between panels, activity and information needs in the course of every day. “Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1 has been developed to ensure that mobile web communication and multimedia entertainment can be tailored, putting the individual at the heart of the mobile experience in a uniquely personal way,” said Rikko Sakaguchi, Head of Portfolio and Propositions, Sony Ericsson.

Operators will also be able to custom build the touch panels that run on the XPERIA X1 to provide the consumer with a rich, aggregated offering of their applications and services. In addition, Sony Ericsson also plans to align with key partners around the panel technology to enable them to develop exciting applications that can be enjoyed by users on the XPERIA X1. Its features also include a touch sensitive optical panel for navigation, Bluetooth with A2DP, a 3 megapixel auto-focus camera with a flash, built in GPS that supports A-GPS, a motion sensor for automatic UI rotation. The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 will be available in select markets in the second half of 2008.Source

Nokia Launches N810 WiMax Edition

Nokia has unveiled its newest Nseries device, the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet - WiMAX Edition, Nokia's first device engineered to take advantage of new wide-area high-speed mobile WiMAX networks. This pocket-sized device lets consumers enjoy an open Internet experience, allowing for access to the Internet without barriers, while on the go. The N810 allows users to easily and quickly access all of their favorite Internet services beyond local area hot spots.

WiMAX is a standards-based wireless broadband technology that delivers an open Internet experience similar to that of fixed broadband technologies with typical data download speeds of up to 2-4 Mbps per user with peak download speeds of up to 10 Mbps. Unlike current single point local area technologies like Wi-Fi, which have a range of a few hundred feet, WiMAX networks consist of a number of interconnected base stations, each with a radius of up to 2-3 miles, that allow for handoffs from one base station to another as users move about a region or metro area. Additionally, WiMAX networks integrate technology designed to maximize the quality of service for each subscriber."By delivering the kind of open Internet experience that consumers previously only expected on a desktop PC, the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition is a compelling example of how next generation broadband wireless technology will not only change the way people think about the Internet, it will change the very nature of the Internet itself," said Ari Virtanen, Vice President of Convergence Products for Nokia.

Along with a full-featured web browser, powered by Mozilla, that takes full advantage of the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition's large 4.13 inch touch screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a variety of popular web-based services are also supported. To keep connected while on-the-go, a number of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Instant Messaging (IM) clients are available, including Skype, Google Talk, and Gizmo5, which can also take advantage of the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition's built-in web cam for video calls. A client for the popular Rhapsody online music service is also available. An active developer community has also emerged around the Linux-based Internet Tablet platform, creating additional applications - from games to productivity tools.The Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition also comes with built-in GPS, an integrated media player and 2 GB of internal memory, expandable to a full 10 GB with microSD memory cards and when not in range of a WiMAX network, the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition can also access the Internet over Wi-Fi or via conventional cellular data networks by pairing to a compatible mobile phone via Bluetooth technology.

The new upgraded OS2008 introduces new features to the platform, including an enhanced e-mail client, support for Chinese character rendering in the browser and RSS feeds and Seamless Software Update functionality to eliminate manual software updates. While standard on the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition, current owners of Nokia N810 and N800 Internet Tablets with earlier operating systems will be able to upgrade their device to the revised operating system for free during the second quarter of 2008.The Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition is expected to be available in the United States during the summer of 2008 in areas where WiMAX connectivity is available.Source

New Ring to the Word 'Married'

Okay, here’s a bummer! Muvon, a Japanese research and manufacturing company, today announced the launch of their most “ingenious” invention made with the intention of curtailing extra marital affairs. The ring can do what most suspicious spouses pay up heftily for - spying. But it doesn’t stop here! The ring can even stop you from cheating, says company spokesperson

“We weren’t concerned with spying all that much. Instead, we chose to limit the occurrence,” says Mee Shai, MD of Muvon. This is how the company was inspired to place two electrically charged pins, each capable of dispensing 10watts of jolts. Also nick-named ‘electric-jabber’, the function is simple - Cause pain when it’s really required.“For this, specifically, the ring contains a receptive valve, that can not only measure your body heat, but also detects changes in body odor, emitted right after your hormones react to the thought or the act of sex,” says Shai. This jolt is intended to deter partners from cheating, while a ray of translucent light will spell in bold — “ I AM MARRIED”.“Of course, while engaging with the right partner, you can do so without the ring. You can, however, lock the rings on your partner, requiring a code to be able to take it off,” added Shai.The ring is to be available soon across the globe, and is going to be “quite affordable” according to the MD. Well, after this, I think marriage will be history, eh?Source