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The price drop is the result of Intel moving the product line to a 34-nanometer manufacturing process for NAND flash memory used in solid-state drives.
Intel on Tuesday introduced its next-generation solid-state drives at a price that's 42% less than the previous models.
The price drop is the result of Intel moving the product line to a 34-nanometer manufacturing process for NAND flash memory used in SSDs from the 50-nm process used in making the previous generation. Also as a result of the shift, the die size of the memory is smaller and the engineering design more advanced, the chipmaker said.
"Our goal was to not only be first to achieve 34-nm NAND flash memory lithography, but to do so with the same or better performance than our 50-nm version," Randy Wilhelm, VP and general manager of the Intel NAND Solutions Group, said in a statement.
The Intel SSDs for mobile PCs come in two sizes, 2.5 inches and 1.8 inches, and offer either 80 GB or 160 GB of storage. The 2.5-inch drive is called the X25-M and the smaller is the X18-M.
Intel launched the 34-nm X25-M on Tuesday and expects to release the smaller model later in the quarter. Compared to the 50-nm version, the new X25-M offers a 25% reduction in latency and faster random write input/output operations per second, according to Intel. The SSD will also support Microsoft Windows 7 with a firmware update to be released later. Windows 7 is scheduled to ship in October.
The new X25-M and X18-M can replace current models in systems without modifications. They are also drop-in compatible with similar size hard-disk drives. The X25-M is available in quantities of 1,000 for $225 and $440 for the 80-GB and 160-GB models, respectively. The previous prices, announced in February, were $390 and $765, respectively.
This is the perfect phone for sportspeople, intrepid explorers and people working in demanding, noisy environments such as farmers, engineers or foremen. Packing in the hardiest durable features, the B2100 lends itself to suit any lifestyle and almost any condition.
Embodied in a slim, 0.7inch case, the B2100 is the slimmest submersible phone to be released on the market to date; quite an achievement when ticking off the rest of the technical spec-sheet of this sturdy and affordable phone.
The most notable feature of the B2100 is its resilience to water, shock and dust. The water-submergible features allow the B2100 to remain water resistant for up to one meter for half an hour. If this phone is put in a glass of water, it will still ring and remain fully functional once removed.
This can be partly attributed to its urethane casing which also gives the phone a comfortable grip and enables the handset to withstand harsh outdoor environments. The B2100 has an IP57 rating which rates its resistance to water and dust, the phone also displays a hardy resistance to bumps, scrapes and scuffs and provides the perfect outdoor mobile experience. Adaptable for even the toughest environments including blowing rain, salt fog, and extremely hot and cold temperatures, this phone is the perfect travel companion for adventure-seekers and those working in tenuous conditions.
The rugged handset is fitted with outdoor-friendly features such as loud external speakers, and noise cancellation which functions through a dedicated microphone. It also sports an impressive LED flash light - a necessary accessory for power-failures at home, outdoors and in the work-place. Samsung Mobile also throw in a free FM radio and camera with the LCD screen display which measures 120 x 160.
Features:
1. Expandable up to 8GB memory
2. Bluetooth
3. USB aid
4. Decent external speakers
5. 1.3Megapixel Camera
6. FM radio
7. Music player
8. Camcorder
9. Quick flash light
10. Battery backup offering up to 9.5 hours talk time.
Gateway this morning extended its LT series to include its first Intel-based netbook. The LT2000 opts for familiar specifications with a 10-inch display, 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive, most of which help bring down the price significantly from the faster, larger LT3100. It does inherit the more expensive system's multi-touch trackpad to scroll using circular motions or to swipe through documents using two fingers.
The portable is outfitted with a webcam and a card reader but has a 3-cell battery that lasts for a strictly typical 3 hours of battery life. Gateway will sell the LT2000 in stores later today and is counting on price as a selling point, with black and red versions both selling for $300.
Microsoft, which has been at odds with the Linux community over the years because of intellectual property issues, said on Monday it has released 20,000 lines of device driver code to the Linux kernel community.
Available for inclusion in the Linux tree, the code includes three Linux device drivers; it will be available to both the Linux community and customers. The drivers will enhance the performance of the Linux operating system when virtualized on Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 virtualization software or Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V. Code will be offered under the GNU General Public License 2.
[ About two and a half years ago, Microsoft forged a Linux partnership with Novell that still generates controversy. ]
"We are seeing Microsoft communities and open source communities grow together, which is ultimately of benefit to our customers," said Microsoft's Sam Ramji, senior director of platform strategy in the company's Server and Tools organization, in a statement released by the company. "The Linux community, for example, has built a platform used by many customers. So our strategy is to enhance interoperability between the Windows platform and many open source technologies, which includes Linux, to provide the choices our customers are asking for."
"Today's release would have been unheard of from Microsoft a few years ago but it's a prime example that customer demand is a powerful catalyst for change," said Ramji.
Indeed, Microsoft has been involved in ongoing disagreements with open source advocates, with Microsoft claiming open source projects like Linux violate 235 Microsoft patents.
Ramji also cited the current economic climate as a driving force. "Many companies are turning to Microsoft more frequently to help them succeed in a heterogeneous technology world because we understand that reducing complexity is a key factor to reducing cost. We are seeing interoperability as a lever for business growth," Ramji said.
In a statement, the executive director of the Linux Foundation saw Microsoft's effort as validation of open source.
"We see the move by Microsoft to submit its device driver code to the Linux kernel as a validation of the open source development model and the GPLv2 license," said Executive Director Jim Zemlin. "Even if a bit overdue, we applaud Microsoft for recognizing the value of collaboration in order to compete in today's IT market."
An industry analyst concurred that the move was precedent-setting.
"This is a logical but precedent-setting decision for Microsoft. Credit Microsoft for recognizing the reality that a sizable portion of its customer base was going to be running Linux and Microsoft side by side in virtualized environments, so it would be important to be competitive on an interoperability front," said Stephen O'Grady, analyst at Redmonk.
"For all of its logic, however, this is a move that would have been inconceivable a few years ago, meaning that the glasnost of Microsoft vis a vis open source continues," O'Grady said.
Continuing a recent mantra of accommodations for open source, Tony Hey, corporate vice president of the external research division at Microsoft Research, will address the O'Reilly OSCON (Open Source Convention) audience in San Jose, Calif. this Thursday about the company's commitment to open access, open tools and interoperability in the "heterogeneous world of research," according to a statement from the company. Hey will discuss tools for scientists to process and analyze massive amounts of data to accelerate scientific discovery.
Microsoft also is highlighting on Monday its ongoing investment in optimizing PHP on Windows Server and the Microsoft SQL Server database. The company has had work ongoing on a SQL Server driver available for PHP to support more native features in SQL Server 2008. Microsoft also has partnered with PHP tools vendor Zend Technologies to boost PHP.
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Verizon Wireless is defending AT&T’s right to keep the iPhone to itself.
The company today announced a policy that it says will give small wireless carriers more access to phones that Verizon had the exclusive rights to sell. From now on, when Verizon strikes a deal with a manufacturer for exclusive sale of a handset, it will let any carrier with fewer than 500,000 customers sell the phone after six months.
There has been increasing interest in Congress over whether wireless carriers are hurting consumers by shutting out rivals from hot phones. Of course, the hottest phone right now is Apple’s iPhone, which is sold only by AT&T in the United States.
It may not be a consumer issue. Much of the political pressure on the issue is coming from smaller wireless carriers that worry that they are being shut out from all the cool phones by a giant carrier.
Verizon’s move, announced in a letter to Representative Rick Boucher, the Virginia Democrat who is chairman of a crucial telecommunications subcommittee, appears to address the concerns of the small companies while preserving the right of big carriers to offer handsets their rivals can’t.
The letter defends these arrangements:
Exclusivity arrangements promote competition and innovation in device development and design. We work closely with our vendors to develop new and exciting devices that will attract customers. When we procure exclusive handsets from our vendors we typically buy hundreds of thousands or even millions of each device. Otherwise manufacturers may be reluctant to make the investments of time, money and production capacity to support a particular device.
In other words, please don’t make Apple sell us the iPhone because we want to have the next cool phone and keep it from AT&T.
Summer is when new apps graduate out of Google's labs and beta programs into the real world.
Google announced Tuesday that it would shift its Tasks feature out of Google Labs into a standalone feature. Tasks is the first feature to graduate from the Labs site, according to a Google spokesman.
Google is also announcing a new tool that will make it easier to switch from Lotus Notes to Google Apps, following an effort with Fairchild Semiconductor last month, in conjunction with moving several of its Google Apps, including Gmail, out of beta.
Many of Google's products began life as beta projects or components of its Labs offerings, the latter of which has served as an incubator for several projects created by Google's "20-percent" program, which encourages its employees to develop their own, self-managed projects. At this point, Google's highest-profile Labs effort is Gmail Labs, which houses efforts to access Gmail offline, and preview services like YouTube and Picasa directly inside an email.
On Tuesday, Google also announced Calendar Labs, a Labs section for its Google Calendar portion of Google Apps. One of the more interesting portions for the Labs announcement, according to the Google spokesman, is that Google is releasing a Google Calendar API to let developers add on features and gadgets into the Calendar platform. Google usually releases APIS to let developers take Google information and integrate it into third-party apps; Google's approach with its Calendar Labs is the opposite.
Apple Inc. has updated it's iTunes software to block use with the Palm Pre device. The recently-released device was compatible with the iTunes software, letting users organize media with the software just as they would with an iPod. An Apple spokesman commented that this update, "disables devices falsely pretending to be iPods, including the Palm Pre." Palm responded by reminding Apple who the real target of this change is.
"Apple's move is a direct blow to their users, who will be deprived of a seamless synchronization experience," Palm spokeswoman Leslie Letts said. She recommended that users stick to the older versions of iTunes or consider other music applications to organize the media.
Jon Rubinstein, a former Apple exec who played a big part in the iPod, became Palm's executive chairman in October 2007. The Pre has touch-screen control features like the iPhone. The recent awarding of a patent to Apple in January covering certain multi-touch functions may affect Palm and other companies eventually.
Nandan Nilekani, chairperson of the newly set-up Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) to provide each Indian an identity card, said Monday a major problem at present is duplicate identity in many of the government systems, leading to fraud.
The new authority would help end ID card duplication by creating a network of verification and authentication, Nilekani, co-founder of IT major Infosys, told reporters after meeting Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
'A major problem today with identity is that many (government) systems have lot of duplicates leading to fraud,' he said.
Yeddyurappa facilitated Nilekani on his new assignment. Nilekani quit the Infosys co-chairman's post as also from the company's board on July 9 following his appointment as head of the UIAI.
The UIAI would create a national database of Indian residents. It would use bio-metrics, fingerprints and other methods necessary to ensure people have a unique number. This would end the problem of duplicates, he added.
On the time the authority would need to complete the process, Nilekani said: 'First I have to find an office.'
A hunt is on at Delhi for office premises for the new authority, which will function under India's Planning Commission, which is headed by the prime minister.
Nokia has started testing its online music store in India, with plans to launch services to consumers before the end of this year.
"Right now our own people are testing the site, and we will go live as scheduled in the second half of this year," a spokeswoman for Nokia said on Wednesday.
The music download service will be initially available only against vouchers issued to customers at the time of buying handsets and other equipment from Nokia, the spokeswoman said.
Allowing consumers to pay online to download music will require the site to have a payment mechanism. This will be possible only after Nokia's joint venture with Indian partner, HCL Infosystems, starts handling the online payments, the spokeswoman said. By Indian rules, online retailing requires a company that has an Indian partner, she added.
Nokia said in January it was setting up a joint venture with HCL to offer mobile value-added services such as navigation, music and other entertainment to Indian consumers.
A number of companies, including mobile phone service providers, are now offering online music downloads in India.
Nokia has signed up a number of top music labels in the country. On its beta site it currently features music from a number of labels including T-Series, Times Music, and Universal Music India. "The store will help promote legal music," the spokeswoman said.
Nokia said on its India music store site that its service uses Microsoft DRM (digital rights management) technology.
Microsoft fired a new salvo in its ongoing war with Apple by promising to open new Microsoft retail stores close to Apple Stores.
Kevin Turner, Microsoft COO, said during Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference that his company plans to open some retail stores "right next door to Apple Stores" this fall, Reuters reported.
Microsoft said in February that it planned to open a chain of retail stores.
One of its first moves in that push was to hire former DreamWorks Animation and Wal-Mart executive David Porter to fill its newly created position of corporate vice president of retail stores. His hire was effective Feb. 16.
Porter is a 25-year veteran of Wal-Mart. His boss, Turner, spent nearly 20 years at Wal-Mart.
Apple currently has 211 stores in 41 states in the U.S., in addition to a number of stores in the U.K., Japan, Canada, Italy and other countries. A complete list of Apple Stores in the U.S. can be found by clicking here.
Microsoft and Apple have been firing shots at each other in an effort to gain consumer mind share.
In addition to strategizing on retail stores, the two have been hitting each other in advertisements, including Apple's ads featuring John Hodgman as PC and Justin Long as Mac in Apple's "Get a Mac" campaign and Microsoft's more recent "I'm a PC" campaign.
The price drop is the result of Intel moving the product line to a 34-nanometer manufacturing process for NAND flash memory used in solid-state drives.
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