Andino Denim Texas iPad 2 Leather Case and PowerPlus II Lite now available in Singapore

When one pays good money to purchase devices that are designed specially to appeal to the fashion-conscious, it goes without saying that such devices could always use some form of protection in the form of third-party cases and bumpers. After all, with luxury products like Apples iPhone 4 and iPad 2 tablet devices costing a lot more than most of the competition, users will definitely want to ensure that their drool-worthy, Steve Jobs-approved fashion statements remain well protected from the likes of nicks and scratches.

And if you are going to invest in protection for your iPhone and iPad 2, why not spend a little more and get some protective gear that not only shows off your individuality, but comes with some added functionality at the same time? Which, coincidentally, happens to be what Andino is offering to owners of iOS-powered devices with its Andino Denim Texas iPad 2Leather Case and PowerPlus II Lite battery pack for the iPhone 4.

Andino Denim Texas iPad 2 Leather Case

According to Andino, the Denim Texas iPad 2 Leather Case is a protective case which has been designed to cater to the fashion-conscious and utilizes high-quality denim for its exterior. In addition, the Denim Texas iPad 2 Leather Case also has a built-in "inner spine" which enables the case to cater for both landscape and portrait viewing (as shown below).

PowerPlus II Lite battery pack

According to Andino, the PowerPlus II Lite mobile battery pack is "an enhanced-capacity battery case" which is said to be capable of doubling an iPhone 4s uptime on a single battery charge. Designed to serve as both an iPhone 4 bumper case and a mobile battery recharger at the same time, Andino claims that the PowerPlus II Lite mobile battery pack was created to cope with the "increasing demands of smartphone users" while offering additional protection for the iPhone 4 at the same time.

Both theAndino Denim Texas iPad 2 Leather Case and the PowerPlus II Lite battery pack are currently available for sale at the retail price of S$59and can be purchased at the following flagship stores:

Love Mobile - The Cathay @ Dhoby Ghaut, #01-10Love Mobile - nex @ Serangoon Central, #04-40Love Mobile - Hougang Point Festival Market, #01-05Love Mobile - Whitesands Shopping Centre, #03-22Stereo Electronics Pte Ltd - Plaza Singapore, #04-06Stereo Electronics Pte Ltd - Causeway Point, #04-08/09/10/35

Apple scheduled media event to unveil iPad 2 on 2nd March

According to a report by All Things Digital, Apple has scheduled a media event in the start of March where they are going to announce the upcoming iPad 2.

To those who intensely cares about this kind of stuff - which would be pretty much everyone in the tech ecosystem - Apple will hold its much-anticipated event on March 2, where the tech giant seems poised to unveil a new version of its hugely successful iPad.

As in, iPad 2! Or, as BoomTown is now officially nicknaming it: iPad Too!

The report goes on to say that the scheduled date is firm and that the event will take place in San Francisco.

Its not clear when Apple will begin sending out its famous invites for gathering, but I am guessing soon, in order to get the Apple faithful to the proper level of froth.

Reuters also posted a story and they are also hearing that Apple will introduce the next iPad on the same day.

Apple will host an event on March 2, where the company is expected to take the wraps off the newest iPad model, an individual with knowledge of the situation said. Apple declined to comment.

The New York Times also ran a similar story announcing that Apple will indeed introduce their flagship tablet on the second day of March.

Now people with knowledge of the matter say that Apple will host an event on Wednesday, March 2 to showcase its new iPad.

If true, Apple should be sending out media invites for the event in the following days.

Update: Engadget just posted on their site that theyve received the following media invite from Apple indeed scheduled on 2nd March. As you can see, they are very likely going to announce the next iPad from the teaser invite.

Sources: All Things Digital, Reuters, The New York Times, Engadget

AMD Fusion to revolutionize tablet devices

In spite of not having a single processor that is suitable for powering most netbooks and tablets in the market today (save for the Athelon Neo), AMD is highly optimistic that its upcoming Fusion platform which is due for release in 2011 will be all it needs to turn the tides against ARM and Intel.

By integrating the GPU into a CPU to produce what AMD calls an accelerated processing unit or APU, AMD believes that its new breed of microprocessors had the potential to change the way tablets work and perform, especially where general-purpose usage tasks such as web surfing and video streaming are concerned.

Leslie Sobel, AMD's vice president of marketing, felt that Fusion's characteristics makes it well suited for such devices.

"Think about the advantages you get from a power performance and a form-factor perspective when you can take GPU and CPU and put them on the same die,” he said. “You get enormous power efficiencies which is going to enable, not only things like tablet and slate, but these great experiences when you use it."

Sobel also believes that the features which Apple has chosen to omit from its device, namely multi-tasking and Flash support, will end up being the very thing most consumers expect in a tablet device, saying that user experience has to go hand in hand with the tablet's form factor.

"People know what they want and web video is pretty much in the top three of every wish list...they might not think of it as web video – they certainly dont think of it as Flash - all they know it when they go to YouTube they want it to work," he said.

Source: TechRadar UK

AMD 28nm GPU on-track for 2011

During the latest financial conference call AMD Interim CEO, Thomas Seifert, revealed that AMD was well on schedule to release the first 28nm GPUs in 2011 - "We have working silicon in-house and remain on-track to deliver the first members of what we expect will be another industry-leading GPU family to market later this year. We expect to be at the forefront of the GPU industrys transition to 28nm".

This is no surprise, of course, considering AMD have always been first to a new process technology, well ahead of NVIDIA. However, 40nm has been an exception, a trouble process lasting for well over 2 years thanks to the cancellation of 32nm and constant delays to 28nm. Some thought this would allow NVIDIA to catch up, but the latest rumours have suggested AMD releasing 28nm GPUs in 2011, with NVIDIA following up sometime in 2012.Seifert also confirms that 28nm GPUs will be fabricated at both TSMC and Globalfoundries. This would mean that certain GPUs will be handled by TSMC, while others more suited to Glofo will be assigned to them.Few details are known about AMDs next-gen 28nm GPUs, codenamed Southern Islands and rumoured to be branded Radeon HD 7000 series. With VLIW-4 still only used in HD 6900 series, GCN looming and VLIW-5 required to crossfire with AMDs A-Series, the Radeon HD 7000 could be a mix and match of architectures as well as fabricators.Source: Xbitlabs

AMD refreshes FirePro series at the entry level with V3900

AMDs FirePro family of graphics cards for the Professional/Workstation user has just seen a new addition today with the launch of the FirePro V3900 which replaces the V3800. AMD promises best-in-class workstation experiences at an entry level price point with this card - that being a US $119 MSRP at select online resellers.

Compared to the V3800, the V3900 gets double the memory at 1GB and uses a GPU derived from the 6800 family of Radeon cards, dubbed "TURKS". The cards 128-bit DDR3 memory arrangement gives it 28.8GB/s of memory bandwidth compared to the V3800 which had a 64-bit interface providing half the bandwidth at 14.4GB/s.

AMD has claimed through the means of several presentation slides that its V3900 outperforms both the Quadro 400 and V3800 in a wide range of tests. The V3800 sells at just $99, but for a mere $20 difference its expected that this price point is well validated in line of its performance increase.

AMD will ship the V3900 with both a full and half-height bracket to allow it to be installed in small form factor systems. The card will also be showing up in several systems from HP with ISV certification from Fujitsu-Siemens to follow in the spring.

Source: Hot Hardware

ARCTIC NC A Portable USB-Powered Cooler for your Laptop

Swiss based Arctic Cooling has unveiled their 1st notebook cooler, theArtic NC. Measuring 278 (L) x 95.8 (W) x 31 (H) mm and weighing a mere250g, the Artic NC features 2 PWM controlled 60 mm fans running between800 to 1,700 RPM depending on the heat load. This stylish notebookcooler supports all 12” to 19” notebook and boosts 4 USB 2.0 ports foradditional USB devices. Available in silver-grey and black, the ArticNC comes with a 2-year limited warranty and will be sold at a MSRP ofUS$31.50 in October 2009. Certainly recommended for the chic roadwarrior!

News via [Artic]

ASUS to showcase GTX 595 Ares at Computex

Whereas the GTX 590 was clocked slower than the GTX 580 in order to accomodate two GPUs, it is rumoured that the GTX 595 will be even faster. Reports say that Asus GTX 595 Ares will be clocked at a whopping 875MHz (shader clock 1750MHz), with a memory clock of 4800MHz. Memory size is most likely 3GB (1.5GB x 2). If this is true we can expect another Very Large Card from Asus.

Sources: WCCFT,XFastest and PCGH.

Apple Mac App Store to debut on 13 December

The Apple Mac App Store will be launching next week, and if sources are correct, it will be launched on 13 December (Monday). If you go to the Apple website, you will see that the Mac App Store web page is already up, but hasthe "Coming Soon" tag.

Just like the App Store for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, this one lets you download Macapps easily to your Mac machines. The apps are categorized according to their genre -games, productivity, music etc - and simplychoose the one you wantto purhcase it.

Developers can also create their apps for the Mac App store, thoughthey have to go through theprocedure of submitting first for review/approval first. According to sources, beta, demo and trial versions of the developed software are not allowed to be on the Mac App Store.

Source: ComputerWorld

ASUS prepares Mars II dual-GTX 480

Not content with the ARES dual-HD 5870, Asus is undertaking a projectwhich defies all logic and reason. As we know, the single GPU GTX 480 isright on the edge of PCI-e specifications. This doesn't bother Asus atall, as they seem to be making a dual GPU version of the GTX 480. We aretalking of a single graphics card with a power consumption of between500 and 600W!!! The power is supplied through 8+2 phase VRM per GPU,with three 8-pin PCI-e power connectors. That means a total of 525W issupplied to the graphics card, compared to the PCI-e spec maximum of300W.



The Mars II features a total of 3GB, as expected for a dual-GTX 480. The size of Mars II is truly massive - with the height being well over a standard PCI-e card.

An unprecedently hefty cooler must be required to cool 500+W of heat. Could we see the first quad-slot graphics card?

The GTX 480 SLI performs well against the Asus ARES, so we can expect Mars II to just edge out the likes of Asus ARES or Sapphire HD 5970 4GB TOXIC for the overall performance crown, assuming the Mars II does not require a slight downclock.

The Mars II (is just a temporary name) will no doubt be a limited edition card, and will probably sell at a price close to $1500. Perhaps Asus will produce quad-GPU card next, as dual-GF100 seems well on its way to be conquered.

Reference: TechPowerUp

ASUS Readies Server and Workstation Platforms

ASUS Readies Server and Workstation Platformsfor Next-generation 32nm, 6-core Performance
Refreshed Systems will Support New Intel(r) Xeon(r) 5600, Xeon(r) W 3680and Core(tm) i7 ProcessorsASUS today announced that it is ready to support upcoming 32nm, 6-core processor platforms in its refreshed server and workstation lines. ASUS server motherboards and systems will support Intel(r) Xeon(r) 5600 processors, while its workstation motherboards will be ready for Intel(r) Core(tm) i7 980X and Xeon(r) W3680 processors.
Better Performance, Enhanced Efficiency, and Improved SecurityThe Intel(r) Xeon(r) 5600 Series enterprise-class processors-based on the new 32nm infrastructure-delivers 50% more cores and cache, as well as 60% more performance than its 45nm predecessor. It also consumes 30% less power than previous generation processors. With support for various security features such as Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (AES-NI), the Xeon(r) 5600 Series accelerates data encryption and guards against malicious software attacks-thereby greatly enhancing security during operations.
ASUS Server Motherboards and Server Systems with Intel(r) Xeon(r) 5600 Series SupportServer MotherboardsServer SystemsZ8PH-D12 SE/QDRRS700D-E6/PS8Z8PE-D18RS704D-E6/PS8Z8PE-D12XRS702D-E6/PS8Z8PE-D12RS700-E6/RS4Z8PH-D12/IFBRS500-E6/PS4Z8NR-D12RS520-E6/RS8Z8NH-D12TS700-E6/RS8Z8NA-D6TS500-E6/PS4Z8NA-D6C
Faster Graphics and Realistic 3D RenderingThe new Intel(r) Core(tm) i7-980X and Xeon(r) W3680 processors have six cores and 12 threads, delivering brilliant visual output that is vital for fast-paced and immersive personal computing and gaming. Equipped with Intel(r) Turbo Boost Technology, the processor also intelligently scales up performance and power as needed during intensive processing. ASUS’ workstation motherboards support all 32nm processors including the Intel(r) Core(tm) i7-980X, Xeon(r) W3680, and Xeon(r) 5600 Series.
ASUS Workstation Motherboards with Intel(r) Core(tm) i7-980X and Xeon(r) W3680 Support
Workstation MotherboardsP6T WS PROP6T6 WS REVOLUTIONP6T7 WS SUPERCOMPUTER

Un nouveau God of War annoncé !

Les rumeurs se faisaient de plus en plus persistantes, et le voilà enfin officialisé. God of War : Ascension est le petit nom du nouveau bébé de Santa Monica Studios, toujours en charge de la saga. Et c'est en exclusivité sur PlayStation 3 que déboulera à nouveau le chauve et furieux Kratos.



Aucune information concrète pour le moment que ce soit sur le gameplay ou la date de sortie du jeu, mais ce teaser nous en dit un peu plus sur le scénario. Cet épisode devrait se dérouler avant la trilogie initiale. Cela explique pourquoi le jeu ne s'intitule pas God of War 4. Toutefois, il semble que Deimos, le frère de Kratos, fasse partie de cette nouvelle aventure. Beaucoup de spéculation donc, pour l'un des jeux d'ores et déjà les plus attendus sur la console de Sony.

· Voir le teaser
· Forum God of War : Ascension

2012-12-21-28

[Day 1] Computex 2011 Round-up: Mobile, Laptop, Tablet

ASUS

G74SX 3D

The new ROGG74SX 3D is a 17.3 Inch gaming notebook from ASUS, under the Republic of Gamers branding.

It is built in with an Intel Core i7 2630QM processor and the newly launched GTX560M. Maximum memory support is up to 16GB and it has 2 HDD slots.

G53SX Naked-Eye 3D

As the name suggests, the G53SX Naked-Eye 3D allows gamers to game in 3D without the need for 3D glasses. Specifications are fairly similar to the G74SX, but this comes in a 15.6" package.

U56

Keep a look out for the U56 as it is one of the thinnest 15.6" laptops out there.

N75SF

The N series laptops are ones which focuses on superior audio quality with ASUS SonicMaster Technology. Now with N75SF, it is available on a 17.3" screen for extreme movie view pleasure.