Google to acquire Motorola Mobility, can we please have a phone called Googlerola?
Dedicated Android partner, Motorola Mobility, have been acquired by Google today in an announcement that was music to my ears. Google Inc. and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011.
Google CEO, Larry Page has a few things to say about the acquisition:
Motorola Mobility's total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.
Sandy Bridge-E shipping light without a heatsink/fan
It has just come to light that Intel does not intend to ship its upcoming Sandy Bridge-E (LGA2011) Core i7 processors with a heatsink/fan (HSF). Instead, Intel plans to offer the certified HSF for these processors as a separate, standalone purchase through the same retail channels.
While there's no doubt some people are satisfied with, or even prefer an Intel certified cooler for these high TDP processors, Intel would be banking on the majority of the target users wanting to use third-party cooling options, as it is expected that many of the big name CPU cooler makers will have lineups of LGA2011-ready coolers readily available upon the Sandy Bridge E series launch.
Sandy Bridge E processors have a rated TDP of 130W, but early testing on engineering samples has proven that it can reach as high as 180W under load (and that's at stock speeds).
Continue reading: Sandy Bridge-E shipping light without a heatsink/fan (full post)
ASUS announce F1A75-I DELUXE motherboard, includes wireless USB remote control
ASUS today have announced the launch of their new Mini-ITX motherboard based on the AMD A75 chipset, the F1A75-I DELUXE motherboard. Powered by the Fusion APU, the F1A75-I DELUXE has the power to deliver amazing graphics performance when combined with a discrete GPU for Dual Graphics capabilities. Built on the Mini-ITX format, the board is only 170x170mm and ships with a convenient wireless USB remote control that also has a full keyboard for typing on the backside.
A first, for sure and something like this is a huge bonus for HTPC builders. The F1A75-I DELUXE also fills out with DIGI+ VRM, a first on a Mini-ITX board. As well as ASUS throwing in its unique UEFI BIOS, flexible and user friendly, mouse-controlled graphical user interface and ASUS Exclusive EZ mode design can help tune a HTPC easier.
The F1A75-I DELUXE also includes built-in 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet. PCI-Express 2.0 16x slot is included as well as four SATA 6Gb/s connectors, with one an eSATA port and four USB 3.0 connections.
Mozilla unleash Firefox 6 early, ahead of August 16th release
Firefox 5 only came out a short while ago and Mozilla are not slowing down. Firefox 6 final is now available for download on Mac, Windows and Linux via Mozilla FTP servers. It's not available "officially", but will be available anytime next week. Firefox 6 does not introduce any UI changes, but the new version of Mozilla's ever-so-popular web browser does include some speed improvements while using the browser, almost 20% faster in some cases verses Firefox 5.
As always, because this isn't the "official" release, the final build may be updated before it gets released to the public next week. The welcome page does still say "Firefox 6 Beta" but don't let this stop you, Mozilla just hasn't updated the page yet. Go forth and grab Firefox 6! If you'd like to get your download on, I've linked to the 3 flavours of Firefox 6 below.
Continue reading: Mozilla unleash Firefox 6 early, ahead of August 16th release (full post)
Acer Iconia Tab A100, 7-inch Honeycomb goodness
Acer have today launched the industry's first 7-inch tablet powered by Google's Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) OS in the US and Canada. The A100 sports an incredibly portable sub-one pound design, a vibrant 7-inch multi-touch display and a sleek, thin design that is comfortable to use and take virtually anywhere. The A100 features a 7-inch TFT WSVGA screen that has a 1024x600 resolution and high-color contrast, with a 75-degree wide viewing angle.
The Iconia Tab A100 also has Adobe Flash Player 10.3 pre-installed so that Adobe Flash games and websites can be viewed and enjoyed right out of the box. The A100 also includes a HDMI port so that customers can share and enjoy their tablet on a TV in 1080p, the A100 also supports dual-display. If supported, a game can use the A100 as a controller, while watching and experiencing the game on the larger display thanks to its HDMI output.
Acer A100 also sports a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with flash and records video at 720p at 30fps. It also includes a 2-megapixel front-facing camera that can be used as a webcam for video chat. Pricing on the A100 starts at just US$329.99 and is available in stores across the United States today. It will get it's Canada on next month.
Continue reading: Acer Iconia Tab A100, 7-inch Honeycomb goodness (full post)
TweakTown's Ultimate Guide to PC Cases eBook
We are very happy to announce that TweakTown's very first eBook is live and now on sale.
It is titled "TweakTown's Ultimate Guide to PC Cases" and was written by our very own case and cooling expert Chad Sebring. The extensive book goes into detail about all things cases and which is the best to buy and much more.
TweakTown have reviewed literally hundreds of PC cases and their main PC case reviewer, Chad Sebring, reflects and summarizes all of his experiences and knowledge in the field in this comprehensive guide to choosing your next chassis.
Continue reading: TweakTown's Ultimate Guide to PC Cases eBook (full post)
iPhone 5, is this you?
The iPhone 5 is slowly getting more details leaked about it and it was only last month that the design specification which claimed to be for the iPhone 5 leaked out from Chinese case manufacturers. Now we're seeing some proper mock-ups from 3D modelling software and the iPhone 5 seems to be a slight change over the iPhone 4 and even features some Samsung Galaxy S II-esque designs.
As you can see from the above picture, the iPhone 5 could be thinner and have a larger display. It also sports a larger home button and dives away from its usual circular design to more of a rectangle shape, ala the Samsung Galaxy S II. For all the bitching Apple did with Samsung "copying their design", you would think they would not use a home button that resembles the second- most powerful smartphone maker in the world's phone. Tsk, tsk, Apple.
Rumor has it that the new, larger home button could be used for finger-gestures, that would allow users to quickly switch between multitasking apps. The bigger screen size will be welcome as iOS 5 features a "swipe-down" notification system that is strikingly similar to Google's Android notification bar. The extra screen space would be nice as it would allow a user to drag from top to bottom easier.
USB 3.0 to provide up to 100 watts of power, capable of driving monitors, notebooks
The next USB 3.0 specification is set to deliver something pretty amazing, 100w of power to devices. What this will allow is much more power to devices that are demanding of power without additional power through USB ports or stand-alone power. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced that the new standard would allow USB 3.0 ports to power and charge devices such as notebook PCs and would remain backwards compatible with USB 2.0 devices.
Currently, USB 3.0 can deliver speeds of up to 5Gb/sec to compatible products and also maintain currents and voltages up to 900mA at 5V for a maximum power output of just 4.5W. This was roughly double the maximum power output of USB 3.0 ports. The new USB 3.0 spec is more than twenty times its old power input and output and should set the industry on fire, allowing hungrier, more power-sucking products such as monitors, desk lamps and even notebook PCs to power from a single USB 3.0 port.
This would help in more ways than one, it would create an entire new market of products as well as clean up your desk and the tangle of cables leading to the power sockets on your wall. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group says that the new standard will be ready for industry evaluation at the end of 2011 and is set for release to manufacturers in early 2012.
SATA-IO announce SATA Express, capable of 16Gb/sec
With SATA 6Gbps not fast enough to keep up with todays SSDs, the Serial ATA International Organization had to come up with something, and quick. SATA-IO have just announced the development of a new standard that combines SATA software infrastructure with the PCI Express interface. The new standard will be called "SATA Express," and will allow manufacturers to create devices that can access the bandwidth of the PCIe slots whilst remaining compatible with existing SATA applications.
The combination of the technologies will provide 8Gb/s and 16Gb/s (one lane via PCIe 2.0 or two via PCIe 3.0) - which is a decent increase over SATA 3.0's single-channel throughput of 6Gb/s. SATA-IO is still concerned certain high-end consumer and enterprise configurations could saturate the existing 6Gb/s interface.
SATA-IO president, Mladen Luksix says:
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Low-Profile HD 6850 graphics card from AFOX on shelves in Japan
A particularly interesting looking HD 6850 graphics card has been found in Japanese stores by a company unheard of to most, AFOX. It's not just the brand name and box design that stands out, though. More interestingly, this card is quite a big step away from the reference design in that it is of low-profile stature and without the need for external power.
The low profile heatsink/fan design is also a standout feature with its dual-fan aluminum setup. AFOX appears to have left the stock clock rates on the card alone, however, which are 775MHz on the core and 4000MHz on the GDDR5 memory.
Due to being a low-profile card, it only has 1 x DVI and 1 x DisplayPort output. AFOX does ship the card with a separate full-profile bracket.
Continue reading: Low-Profile HD 6850 graphics card from AFOX on shelves in Japan (full post)