Latest News - Page 2756

Richard Leonarz, the Senior Marketing Manager at Samsung, stopped by the TweakTown booth at Storage Visions 2015 to speak about the new external Samsung USB 3.0 SSD. The Samsung Portable SSD T1 features Samsung's exclusive 3bit V-NAND and is designed to provide the ultimate storage performance for external drives.

The T1 comes in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities. The Portable SSD T1 provides 450 MB/s sequential read/write speeds, along with 21,000 random read IOPS and 8,000 write IOPS. The SSD also supports AES 256-bit encryption to provide data security. With a lightweight design off roughly one ounce the Portable SSD is good for on-the-go applications. Like all SSDs, the Portable SSD is shock resistant. This is an important consideration for both causal and professional users alike.

CES 2015 - Smartphone case maker OtterBox has unveiled the Resurgence power case for the Apple iPhone 6.

Resurgence allows iPhone 6 owners to unplug their device and have two-times the battery life, along with increased protection against potential phone damage. The case is made of polycarbonate and has a simple two-piece snap design.

"Resurgence is one of the most innovative product lines we've ever released," said Pete Lindgren, president and CEO of OtterBox, in a press statement. "At CES, we'll preview the year ahead with fresh designs that incorporate new technology, all in line with our legacy of engineered confidence and trusted protection."

CES 2015 - Waxman Industries debuts its leakSMART home water protection system that stops water leaks automatically and has the ability to shut off a home's water in less than five seconds. Using the leakSMART smartphone app, home owners also can receive updates, track water usage, and remotely manage any problems.

"leakSMART makes the smart home something practical for the average homeowner," said Larry Waxman, president and CEO of Waxman Industries, in a press statement. "leakSMART has more than a 'cool gadget factor.' With leakSMART, the everyday homeowner can prevent water leaks in their house, eliminating the possibility of water damage and the thousands of dollars of loss associated with it."

Smart technology will become more prevalent in our homes, and continues to evolve away from just gimmicky, useless features. CES will be a showcase for smart devices, though only 1.5 million households in the United States have smart-enabled devices already in place, according to NextMarket Insights.

SoftKinetic, a maker of 3D vision technology, is showcasing its new product for augmented reality mobile platforms during CES.

The SoftKinetic DepthSense 3D Time of Flight (ToF) camera - powered by the Qualcomm Vuforia mobile vision platform - makes it possible for users to interact in 3D with devices in various environments. The live demonstration uses depth sensing technology to create a room-sized environment so testers are able to carry out natural AR experiences, such as arranging items in the virtual room - and tinkering with items using AR.

"Augmented Reality and Robotics are such exciting arenas, with more and more technologies coming to market that support truly sophisticated capabilities for users to engage with the world around them in fun and beneficial ways," said Michel Tombroff, CEO of SoftKinetic, in a press statement. Qualcomm's Vuforia is a perfect example of a platform that allows our DepthSense technology to deliver at its fullest capacity, creating the most robust mobile AR experience available to anyone, anywhere."

A senior commander of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar Islamic terrorist group, Ehsanullah Ehsan, reportedly is making contacts via the LinkedIn social business networking website, according to reports. Promoting his ties to Islamic extremism, Ehsan listed his skills to include "jihad" and "journalism" on LinkedIn.

The account had around 70 contacts before being suspended from the popular business networking website. The Pakistan government has a $1 million bounty for the capture or death of Ehsan.

"[I] can't say for certain that it is someone else... but I can say that our security team has a high degree of confidence that it is a fake account, which is reason enough to restrict it," a LinkedIn spokesperson told The Telegraph. "[I] also can't say for certain who might have set it up if it is fake."

There was a 50 percent decline in cyberattacks against U.S. retailers in 2014, but a whopping 61 million records were taken in the data breaches that did occur, according to a recent IBM Security report. In 2013, there were 4,200 recorded daily cyberattacks, and that number dropped to 3,043 in 2014.

Cybercriminals are perfecting their craft and using newer, more sophisticated techniques to compromise retailers. Despite increased concern that criminals would target Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but they instead waited it out and are carefully choosing how they launch attacks.

"The threat from organized cybercrime rings remains the largest security challenge for retailers," said Kris Lovejoy, GM of the IBM Security Services, in a press statement. "It is imperative that security leaders and CISOs in particular, use their growing influence to ensure they have the right people, processes and technology in place to take on these growing threats."

CES 2015 - CyberPowerPC's new brand-offshoot is named Syber and they've just announced their new range of Windows-Based PC gaming consoles, set function in Steam's Big Picture mode and through a Windows 8.1 OS.

Soon-to-be-released Steam machines will run SteamOS, based on the Ubuntu Linux platform produced by Valve themselves - enabling gamers to play games only with Linux support and downloaded directly through SteamOS. Syber have set out to jump the gun, releasing their Steambox system before their competition by adding Windows 8.1 into the mix and launching games in Steam's Big Picture Mode.

What is the point of these products? Eric Cheung, CyberPowerPC's CEO commented in their latest press release, "for gamers who want to break out of the bedroom and into the comfort of the living room, the Syber Vapor PC gaming console series offers the best performance at an affordable price," followed by a statement from their VP of Product, Eddie Vong, who commented "we created the Syber Vapor PC gaming console to give gamers more power and more customization than the standard video game consoles like Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox."

In this day-and-age, almost everyone will run out of juice before the day's end. Facebook notifications, Instagram updates, Messenger going off 24/7, Google Maps running and a myriad of quirky games to keep you satisfied all amount to the demise of your much-hated battery bar located at the top of any smart-device. When you've finally reached a USB port and you're exhausted from all the walking you've done around the shopping center, you thrust your charging cable in, only to find you've done it awkwardly and now broken your phones charging port and the expensive $30 Apple officially licensed cable.

"And my axe!" announces Patriot, rushing to your aide - given you own an iPhone 6. They've just announced the release of their new FUEL iON case for Apple's latest smartphone. In the past, this case supported only Apple's iPhone 5 and a range of Android offerings - the iPhone 6 compatible model is the only new part of this offering.

So what makes Patriot's product so special? Their press release states: "setting themselves apart from other competing charging technologies, Patriot has developed a way to conductivity charge a smartphone using neodymium magnets. The incredibly strong magnetic pad on both the FUEL iON phone cases and the charging bases create a direct connection between the two devices and snaps the phone into place; this allows for charging that is comparable to directly plugging into a wall outlet."

CES 2015 - LUXA2 is a sub-brand of the well-known case, cooler and power supply company Thermaltake. They're all about releasing highly-priced, high-quality mobile accessories and are often seen going the extra mile to offer users extra nice touches with their products like leather exteriors, plush carry bags and sleek finishes. We've rated their audio devices highly in the past, can they keep up the good work?

The new products on offer here are their 5,000 and 10,000 mAh EnerG Slim power banks, the Groovy Duo Live Wireless Speakers and the Clip Series Universal Car Mount Holder. I've had some personal experience with pre-release editions of the Groovy Duo wireless and its been quite promising - I'm interested to see what the final product can bring to the table. This speaker uses Bluetooth technology to connect your phone to one speaker, then push it from this to another satellite speaker - which can be placed a few meters away. This means that if you're taking it traveling, you can set up your sound experience as you see fit, allowing for a better experience.

LUXA2 are also pushing the wireless charging game strongly, providing their TX-100 ultra slim portable wireless charging pad to the public. This product uses NFC technology to charge your phone without the need for any messy cable connections. Unfortunately for some devices (like my Samsung Galaxy S4), NFC charging is very up and down - sometimes not working for no real reason. Maybe LUXA2 has fixed these issues, we will have to wait and see.

CES 2015 - Other World Computing (OWC) has just announced the release of their Aura SSD upgrade for any 2013 Mac Pro and a self-made OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock system.

As one of the very few companies offering upgrades, advanced technology and support for Apple products, OWC's Aura SSD upgrade has been custom-engineered to deliver consumers a much higher capacity and performance than seen with the production release models. Available in 1TB and 2TB packages, expect the 1TB to set you back $899 and its big brother will cost you a whopping $1479.

It's certainly not cheap, but that's what you get when you go down the Apple Mac route - so you should expect it by now. These kits come with all tools needed for a DIY upgrade, with a step-by-step installation video provided alongside U.S-based 24/7 technical support. If you are to compare this price to a general PC offering, you can expect a 1TB SSD to set you back around $470 when purchased through Amazon.

CES 2015 - Smartphone, smartwatch, smartring, smartpen - everything is smart these days. Giving users the ability to share, store and create information like never before. Smartpen manufacturer Livescribe inc. has just announced they will be supporting Android OS as of this Autumn, using their new Livescribe 3 product as the launching platform.

The Livescribe+ app was designed with Android in mind, supporting Android KitKat 4.4 and above and Bluetooth Low Energy capable devices. Gilles Bouchard, Livescribe's CEO, explained in their recent press release about the partnerships and lead-up to this release, stating that "since launch, we've been adding new features to Livescribe+ for iOS and also introducing expanded functionality through partnerships with Moleskine, Evernote, Microsoft and Fluid Touch. Now we can start to bring those innovations to Android devices this spring and combine the physical world of pen and paper with Android smartphones and tablets."

The Android edition will feature the key points included within the iOS version of this app, including handy features such as the ability to transfer notes from Livescribe 3 pens and search your handwriting and convert it to digital text.

OWC's Mercury Helios PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis has been released for some time now, however to ensure they keep up with the latest in technology, an updated Thunderbolt 2 capable chassis has been released.

Thanks to this advancement, a 20 Gb/s throughput can be handled, doubling on the old 10Gb/s available with the original Thunderbolt offering. This expansion chassis is described by OWC as "the ideal solution for using half-length professional-level PCIe 2.0 cards with Apple's entire line of Thunderbolt enabled Macs that do not have PCIe slots due to size or design limitations" as according to their newly issued press release.

Coming in at a price of $299.00, the full list of features reads:

Being one of the few companies to support UHS-II capable devices, Patriot have expanded their line of flash storage cards, adding a new range of storage solutions to their series ranging from 16GB to 64GB.

Featuring a read speed of up to 270 MB/s and a write speed of up to 250 MB/s, these cards can record video in 4K UHD and capture photos instantly on any supportive device, meaning it's suitable for both professional and amateur users.

Patriot's Flash product Manager, Meng Jay Choo, explained the use for this new technology in Patriots recent press release, stating "the new EP PRO-II SDXC is the latest, highest-performing SD card available today, meeting the new SD 4.0 specifications and a growing demand for higher performance with faster speeds."

Back in 2010, Lucasfilm announced that the entire 'Star Wars' saga was being converted to 3D for theatrical re-release, but after the reasonably successful release of 'The Phantom Menace', Walt Disney put a halt to the plans in order to focus audience hunger on 'The Force Awakens'. Despite that, Lucasfilm and ILM continued the conversion efforts on both prequel sequels 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith' and shelved them for a later re-release.

Now, the official 'Star Wars' site has announced that all three 3D films, along with 2D versions of the original trilogy will be presented at the next 'Star Wars' celebration in Anaheim, California in April this year.

Whilst Disney have not yet announced a wider theatrical or Blu-ray release, I'd be willing to bet these will come in advance of the release of 'The Force Awakens' in December.

CES 2015 - One of the things I was looking forward to seeing Samsung unveil at CES 2015 this year were 4K TVs, and I was not disappointed at all. The company unveiled its super impressive new SUHD range of 4K TVs, which look and perform delicious from what we saw.

The new SUHD TVs use 'nano-crystal semiconductor' technology, which provide the "highest color purity and light efficiency" according to Samsung.

The company was also comparing Ridley Scott's still fresh Exodus: Gods and Kings movie. With the original colors and detail on the right on Samsung's previous generation 4K TV, and on the right, the new SUHD panel. There wasn't much we could see, but up close on the horse there were improved detail, and the colors of the wave were definitely more vibrant.

CES 2015 - Featuring a sleek matte black finish, the Sony Walkman ZX2 is a very real and very cool looking device. Said to be developed with audiophiles in mind, this new offering has been quoted by Sony themselves as "the fruit of continuous refinement in high audio quality technologies."

Running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean from 2012, this product can actually support apps downloaded from Google Play - although this isn't its original purpose, so don't expect it to run them like any latest phone release would. As we explained earlier, Sony have developed this device for those who are lovers of sound, supporting a wide range of files including DSD, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, Apple Lossless and more.

The ZX2 also includes support for Bluetooth streaming and NFC, enabling various connections to work with ease. If you stop and think for a second, Sony has actually beaten Apple in the NFC race through an 'MP3 player' type device - that's a little sad, isn't it?

CES 2015 - Mad Catz Interactive are once again providing the goods for the competitive gaming and eSports realms, putting up their new G.L.I.D.E mousepad for scrutiny.

Said to be optimized for both optical and laser mice, this surface is designed with FPS gamers in mind. By providing an extended surface size, those using low sensitivity can take refuge in the fact that they'll never slip off the end and miss their crucial headshots.

The G.L.I.D.E mousepad claims to use a new production method, seeing the contact surface being bonded directly to the silicone base and therefore creating an edgeless surface, helping reduce the all-too-common mousepad frayed edge issue. Mad Catz also claims this surface is immune to permanent curling, commenting that it is perfect to take to LAN events as the shape will remain unchanged, even when rolled and unrolled regularly.

CES 2015 - At the Samsung CES 2015 press conference, teh South Korean giant reiterated the important of the latest emerging technology VR. Samsung of course has its Galaxy Note 4-powered Gear VR headset that it worked with Oculus VR on, but there's also Milk VR.

Milk VR is Samsung's VR content delivery service, where there will be new apps, games and content every week. The company announced today at CES 2015 in Las Vegas that it was partnering up with many different companies, such as Boiler Room, Matador, Mountain Dew, NBA and Red Bull Media House.

The company pulled up David Alpert, who is the Executive Producer over at Skybound Entertainment, the company behind AMC's infamous The Walking Dead. Alpert teased the company is working on VR content for the Gear VR headset, that will be distributed through Milk VR.

CES 2015 - BMW has joined forces with the Nokia-owned company HERE, claimed to be a leader in navigation, mapping and location experiences. This collaboration is described as the forefront in automotive technology through their recently issued press release and their work will be proudly displayed later this week during CES 2015.

This collaboration has seen these two powerhouse companies work together to develop a suite of location-based services for your car, helping "integrate them into modern urban transport systems". These services were worked on directly by a select few experts from each company, eventually developing their highly precise and dynamic location information in a short 12 month period.

Some of these new services will be shown off to the public during the trade show in Las Vegas, this week.

CES 2015 - ASUS didn't make a fuss over its upcoming PG27AQ display, but it was hidden in plain sight at their CES 2015 press conference today at Caesers Palace here in Las Vegas.

The ROG Swift PG27AQ is a 27-inch 4K display with NVIDIA's G-SYNC technology. Better yet, we not only have the 3840x2160 resolution at 60Hz, but this new monitor is based on an IPS panel. This means we might be seeing the best 4K gaming monitor to come from ASUS first, with gamers begging for a 4K 60Hz IPS panel for quite sometime. NVIDIA's G-SYNC technology is just the icing on an already very delicious cake.

Another shot of the new ROG Swift PG27AQ.