We're following a breaking story this morning coming out of Wuxi, China, where two DRAM production facilities owned by SK Hynix Semiconductor were destroyed in what is being described as a massive chemical explosion. Hynix is the world's number two maker of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and, as of the second quarter of this year, had a 30 percent market share.

The fires began around 0750 GMT during a routine install of equipment and quickly spread to other production facilities. While the fire damage was contained within two hours, massive smoke damage throughout both facilities caused the most damage. Manufacturing of silicon at today's nanometer scale is a highly precise science that requires impeccably clean and dust free environments. One can imagine the type of irreversible damage that can be done to a clean-room facility when trillions of smoke particles enter the atmosphere.

With one third of the world's DRAM production suspended, consumers can expect increases in all products that utilize any form of flash memory. The facilities reportedly also manufactured all of the DRAM used in Apple products, as well as a significant portion of the GDDR5 memory used by AMD and NVIDIA in their graphics processing units. With this revelation, this could mean that production of next-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony could be affected negatively.

Today, Microsoft announced the official release date for its upcoming Xbox One console. November 22 is the magical "day one" on which the next-gen console will hit retail shelves across the US and 13 other countries. It is unclear as to why Microsoft chose such a late date, and many thought that Redmond would launch before Sony launches the PS4 on November 15.

Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and the USA will all get the Xbox One on November 22. The rest of the world will see a slow roll out beginning in 2014, but no date has been given on which countries will get the console next. Have you pre-ordered an Xbox One,or will you be heading to the store on November 22 to fight the crowds? Let me know in the comments.

HDMI 2.0 has finally been officially announced, arriving at a perfect time to be baked inside of the 4K TVs flowing out of manufacturers' factories. HDMI Licensing took some time of out of its day to announce the new standard, which is quite powerful.

We'er looking at a bandwidth capacity of 18Gbps, which has enough room to squeeze 3840x1260 at 60fps, which is quite nice. HDMI 2.0 also has support for up to 32 audio channels, "dynamic auto lipsync" and additional CEC extensions. The connector itself remains unchanged, which means we should be all systems go for backwards compatibility.

The cables themselves also won't change, which is refreshing, with the HDMI Licensing group claiming that current high-speed Category 2 cables can handle the increased bandwidth.

Today, a new report from Bloomberg suggests that Lenovo CEO, Yang Yuanqing, plans on giving away $3.25 million of his bonus to 10,000 of the company's lowest paid workers. Workers in 20 countries will get the payments, including a facility in Mooresville, North Carolina, where Lenovo's US headquarters is located.

The deal works out to about $325 per employee, which may not sound like much to the US crowd, but $325 is just about the equivalent of one month's pay for the company's workers in China where 85 percent of the company's employees are located. Yang says that he is giving away a significant portion of his annual bonus so that all employees understand the impact they have on making Lenovo the largest PC manufacturer in the world.

10,000 workers only work out to about a third of Lenovo's total employees, but Yang has decided to give the payouts to those who earn the least amount, are paid by the hour, or not eligible for commission or other bonuses that would increase their normal rate of pay. The $3.25 million will not affect Mr. Yang, though, as last year he earned 14.6 million and owns roughly 7 percent of the company's stock.

Today, Corsair announced the launch of ten new USB 3.0 flash drives over the range of three different product lines. All of the new flash drives are USB 3.0 compatible and are capable of reaching speeds up to 285 MB/s during read cycles and up to 180MB/s during write cycles. Additionally, all of the drives are fully backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and are compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux with no driver installation necessary.

Up first is the new Flash Voyager GS series, which is intended to brand the company's flagship USB 3.0 flash drives. Each Voyager GS is housed in a scratch-resistant brushed metal enclosure and can be attached to a key ring. The Voyager GS Series is available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities.

Up next is the all new Flash Voyager Mini USB 3.0 series, which is designed to have a minimal size of just 1.25 inches long in an effort to help reduce the space they occupy in your pocket. Each Voyager Mini USB 3.0 comes equipped with a detachable key ring loop and features a brushed metal housing that is designed to resist wear and tear while protecting your data. The Flash Voyager Mini USB 3.0 is available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities.

Have you ever ordered a paperback or hardcover book from Amazon and wished that you could get the digital copy for your Kindle in the same purchase at a discounted price? If so, an announcement today is sure to make you quite happy. Amazon today announced a new initiative called Kindle Matchbook that will allow customers to include the Kindle edition of physical books in with their order at a highly discounted price.

Customers will now be able to pick up the Kindle edition of their book for $2.99, $1.99, $0.99, or for free anytime they purchase the physical copy of the book. Amazon has made this feature retroactive as well, and any books you have purchased since Amazon first opened its online bookstore now qualify for this deal. This means that you can go back through your Amazon purchase history and pick up the Kindle edition of your favorite books at a highly discounted price.

"If you logged onto your CompuServe account during the Clinton administration and bought a book like Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus from Amazon, Kindle MatchBook now makes it possible for that purchase-18 years later-to be added to your Kindle library at a very low cost," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. "In addition to being a great new benefit for customers, this is an easy choice for publishers and authors who will now be able to earn more from each book they publish."

Microsoft's early morning announcement of its pending acquisition of Nokia has the entire tech world talking this morning, with many speculating about what the future may hold for both companies. Shortly after the official announcement, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer issued a statement to Microsoft employees in the form of a company-wide memo.

The memo mentions that the partnership between Microsoft and Nokia over the last two years has yielded some incredible work and cites the recently released Lumia 1020 41-megapixel Windows Phone as its greatest achievement. Ballmer says that he believes that now is the time for Microsoft to build on this momentum and capitalize on Windows Phone's growing popularity on the Lumia platform.

He goes on to say that Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia is a good deal for both companies in that Microsoft is on the receiving end of some incredible talent, technology, and intellectual property. In an article I posted earlier this morning, Ballmer alluded to the fact that he feels that Microsoft can take the Lumia line of smartphones to an entirely new level that was unachievable with Nokia. I have pasted the full memo below in the event you would like to read it.

There was a point in the cellular device timeline where pretty much everyone owned a Nokia phone, and to this day, there are many hard-core and very loyal Nokia fans. Unfortunately, with Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia, we have seen the end of the Nokia-branded phone.

In the deal, Microsoft managed to acquire the "Asha" and "Lumia" trademarks, but the Finnish company managed to retain all rights to its Nokia name. Microsoft may only use the Nokia name on future phones if it signs a 10-year license agreement and this most likely means that all future models released will most likely be Microsoft-branded and that the Nokia brand will never again be seen on a mobile phone.

Furthermore, during a call to investors about the acquisition of Nokia, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that he believes that Microsoft "can probably do better" than Nokia at naming new devices. "I will say that I think we can probably do better for consumer names than 'the Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 1020,' and yet because of where both companies are and the independent nature of the businesses, we haven't been able to shorten that. Just take that as a proxy for a range of improvements that we feel we can make. We can simplify the way in which we work with operators and the overall consumer branding and messaging gets much simpler. That is an efficiency of being one company."

Maybe this is one of the driving forces behind Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's Services and Devices division today, in that the Redmond-based company isn't even making $10 per Windows Phone-based Nokia device sold.

Part of it's "rationale for the deal", Microsoft revealed that under its current deal with Nokia, it receives less than $10 per phone in software royalties. This would mean that if Windows Phone were to overnight, somehow, with maybe a wish from a genie, become the number one mobile OS in the world and sell millions of handsets through Nokia, it wouldn't exactly equal huge money for Microsoft.

So while people might be looking at Microsoft taking a big risk acquiring the Services and Devices division from Nokia, in the long run it obviously hopes it'll help them. Microsoft has also said that Nokia's Windows Phones have a gross profit margin in the range of $40 per phone. The Redmond-based software giant is also signing a rather large cheque to Nokia for "platform support", which is kinda like a bribe so that Nokia goes all-in with Windows Phone instead of Android.

I'm sure that most, if not all of Microsoft's Windows Phone partners were calling emergency board meetings today when the Redmond-based giant announced it had acquired Nokia's Devices and Services division, but what does this mean for the future of Windows Phone?

Well, apart from writing an article about it (which you can expect in the coming days, as well as a new surprise addition to the site), Microsoft's EVP of Operating Systems, Terry Myerson, has said that Microsoft won't be cutting ties with other WP partners. He has been quoted as saying: "Acquiring Nokia's Devices group will help make the market for all Windows Phones, from Microsoft or our OEM partners. We collaborate with our Microsoft hardware teams in the same way we partner with our external hardware partners... We look forward to building new products together that will provide valuable business opportunity for the ecosystem and enable OEMs."

Without going into much detail, I don't think we'll see anything big from the acquisition. By then, Google would have put its foot right down to the metal with Android 5.0 "Key Lime Pie", Google Glass, and enjoying its partners pushing out countless devices. Apple is going to be the underdog going into 2015 with the iPhone, and Microsoft, well, they could surprise us, but they haven't so far.

Microsoft is in the news today for at least half of the right reasons, where the Redmond-based software giant just acquired Nokia's Devices and Services Division. This news on the other hand, is all about its IllumiRoom technology.

It looks like the proof-of-concept technology won't be making it to the consumer market, as it has been deemed too expensive. The let down happened during Gamescom 2013, where Xbox One director of product planning Albert Penello said that he wouldn't expect gamers to see IllumiRoom. He said that it was awesome if you're in the lab and have Microsoft money to have it all setup, but this would cost thousands of dollars for the average consumer to set it up.

While it wouldn't sell in the millions, there would still be some high-end gamers that would kill for this technology. Kinect isn't really the expensive part either, it's mostly the investment that needs to be put into the projector setup. Boo.

Seriously Microsoft, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to sell the PlayStation 4, or are you trying to sell your own console? Because this latest news isn't helping you.

Microsoft spokesperson Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has said that the Xbox One, at launch, will not support external storage. He was responding to a PAX Prime attendees question, where he explained that Microsoft plans to allow Xbox One users to use external HDDs if they need more space, but this feature will not be working at launch.

He said: "The Xbox One will ship with the 500 GB hard drive, all of them have that. The future plan is for definitely to support external storage much like we do on the Xbox 360. My understanding is that feature will not be there at launch, because the team is working on some other things, but it definitely is on the list. I don't know when it will come in though."

Google announced the $100 price cut to the Nexus 4 last week, while I sat at home thinking it would sell quickly, but not this quickly. The company has announced that the 8GB version of the Nexus 4 is now sold out on the Google Play Store, and won't be restocked.

The 16GB version is still available for the great price of $249, while the 8GB version is still listed in other countries' Play Store's, for now, so if you want to pick it up, do it now. Those of you based in the US missed out on the superstar $199 smartphone, but for just $50 more you can still pick up the 16GB version. Even to this day, with the lack of LTE connectivity, I think it's one of the best smartphones on the market.

The $199 and $249 pricing for the 8GB and 16GB devices respectively just makes that deal cheaper. Apple, you'd better be pricing your new iPhone 5C at $199-$249, or you're going to be in for a big surprise. Even the iPhone 5S better be priced competitively if Google can dump out its flagship handset for under $250.

The always-listening Xbox One is already capable of this, but the PlayStation 4 will also be able to do voice commands through its PlayStation Camera. Sony confirmed the news, telling Polygon: "Sony Computer Entertainment can confirm that PlayStation Camera allows for voice recognition and we will look forward to sharing more details in the lead up to the launch of PlayStation 4 on November 29."

At GameStop Expo 2013, SCEA's group manager of retail training and advocacy, Sean Coleman, outlined the PS4's features, which included a quick overview of the PlayStation Camera's abilities. With YouTube user 'lex1020' with the video above, describing the camera as "From navigational voice commands to facial recognition, the PlayStation Camera adds incredible innovation to your gaming."

Coleman added: "When you add the PlayStation camera into the mix, the pair works together to expand upon system features and enhance your PlayStation 4 experience. The new stereoscopic lenses track your body movements in games or even recognize your face easier system navigation."

We're just days away from Samsung unleashing its Galaxy Gear smartwatch to the world at IFA, but Venture Beat has had a quick look at the upcoming Galaxy Gear smartwatch ahead of the ev ent.

One of VB's sources showed them a prototype of the Galaxy Gear, a prototype which was sent to developers and a few close partners of Samsung. Keep in mind that because this is a prototype, and Samsung of course has high levels of security around its smartwatch, that this won't be the final design of the Galaxy Gear, but it'll be awfully close.

Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch is part smart device, part fashion accessory, part camera and a health monitor. It features Bluetooth that will connect with all of Samsung's Galaxy S family of devices, but we might see it capable of connecting with all Android-based devices too. The Galaxy Gear also features Wi-Fi, allowing it to connect to the Internet and check your e-mail.

Frickin' laser beams, am I right? Yeah, well, Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC has just announced the Mini+, a multifunctional device that is pretty much just a flashy-looking laser poniter.

It features a 1.5-inch white color 4 gray OLED display with a 128x128 resolution, and can do quite a few things with its features. It can 'stay connected' with calls, SMS and more, it can take control of what you see on the TV and 'facilitate presentation with remote control and laser pointer' in the words of HTC.

It features NFC technology and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, features PowerPoint controls, and a 320mAh embedded battery. Talk time on the Mini+ is rated at 9 hours while the standby time is a hefty 95 hours. The HTC Mini+ is compatible with HTC's One mini, Butterfly S, Desire 200 and Desire 500 smartphones. It costs just $50, which isn't too bad at all.

This has been a long time coming, but Samsung should be moving away from the plastic chassis found in their smartphones and tablets to a magnesium- or aluminum-based chassis on the upcoming Galaxy S5 smartphone.

We heard about this earlier in the year, but now the rumors are getting stronger as we get closer to the Galaxy S5 launch. The news is coming from Korean news site, ET News, who is reporting that the South Korean company has kept with plastic until now in order to keep the price down on its products, on top of it being more durable and lightweight.

But, with HTC and Apple having more premium exteriors, Samsung now needs to play in the same league. We shouldn't expect Samsung to unveil anything that is non-plastic until at least 2014, with the Galaxy Note III to most likely use a plastic exterior. I think we'll see a refresh of the Note next year, with the Note IV, which will use this new chassis.

Sony announced during its PAX Prime 2013 panel a new division of the company dubbed Third-Party Production, which is a new division that will work on porting and localizing games for the PS4, PS3 and Vita.

The division was founded as a result of the Borderlands 2 port for the Vita, with former lead producer at LucasArts and executive producer on the now-defunct Star Wars 1313 coming on-board to run the operation. Most people will skip past this news, but this is a gigantic step for the Japanese giant. This means that we might see more games that don't come to US shores, released in the US and vica versa.

It also means that the portable gaming device, the PS Vita, will see more games released on it, which is definitely not a bad thing.

We loved the Intel NUC when we looked at it, but we always need more power, speed and features. This is something Intel is working on, where they were showing off a new Haswell-powered NUC at PAX Prime 2013.

The new NUC is dubbed Intel NUC D54250WYK DIY kit that uses the Intel NUC Board D54250WYB. Intel will be releasing the Intel NUC kits under the Intel NUC D54250WYK DIY kit that uses the Intel NUC Board D54250WYB, which will be released later this year. Intel looks to be dropping Thunderbolt from the next-gen NUC units, which is a shame.

The Intel NUC Kit D54250WYK featured a Core i5 4250U processor, which runs at 1.3GHz but can be pushed up to 2.6GHz with Turbo enabled, and is a dual-core part with 3MB of smart cache. Intel HD Graphics 5000 is included, with the entire processor coming in with a TDP of just 15W, which is just incredible.

We heard about Intel allowing 'overclocking' on its SSDs, but now we have a little more proof. The chipmaker was showing off some SSD overclocking to PAX attendees, but Legit Reviews thinks that Intel will release a 'K' series SKU of SSDs that would be overclockable.

This would fall in line with Intel's current K series of processors, such as the Core i7-4770K, which can be overclocked. If Intel do indeed unleash a K series of SSDs, the chipmaker would unlock the 'dials' on the SSD which would give users the ability to increase clock speeds on the controller frequency as well as the NAND flash memory bus frequency.

Intel has already added overclocking features to their Intel Extreme Tuning Utility, or XTU. The drive Intel were using at PAX was a prototype SSD made for overclocking, so we're not talking about anything official right now. So, let's get into what it can do, at the moment, and what people saw at PAX.