During the Computex tradeshow in Tapei, NVIDIA’s CEO Huang Jen-hsun said that sales of tablet PCs will surpass notebook sales in five years, Taiwan Economic News reported on Tuesday. It’s certainly no secret that NVIDIA hopes to profit off of that market shift — the firm already has its dual-core Tegra 2 chip in a number of tablets and phones from Motorola, LG, Samsung, Acer, and ASUS — and NVIDIA’s chief said that 14 of the top 20 global wireless carriers currently sell devices powered by its Tegra mobile processor. NVIDIA has already started showing off the power of its next-generation Kal-El quad-core mobile processor, too, but Hung says the company won’t stop there. It’s charging forward and will roll out a total of three new GPU models featuring a 28nm process technology between 2012 and 2014. The next chips are codenamed Wayne, Logan, and Shark. More →
As if Sony didn’t have enough issues to deal with, Rockstar, the developer behind hits like Grand Theft Auto and L.A. Noir, is reporting that the latest 3.61 firmware update for the Sony PS3 is causing units to overheat. “We have received some reports of PS3s overheating while playing L.A. Noire or beeping three times before shutting down / turning themselves off, mostly on older 60GB and 80GB fat models,” Rockstar customer service team said on its support page, as reported by MCVUK. The developer suggested that the problem is not limited to L.A. Noir and that gamers are experiencing the same issue on other titles — the red light or PS3 freeze usually occurs 30 minutes to 2 hours into gameplay. Hit the jump for a statement from Rockstar’s customer service, which the company has clarified is not official.
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According to Reuters, Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini confirmed that smartphones powered by Intel’s Medfield mobile processor would land next year. Otellini also denied earlier rumors that Intel might include ARM technology in future chips. “There’s no advantage going in there, we’d be beholden to someone else, beholden to ARM. We’d pay royalties to them so it would lower the overall profits,” Otellini explained during Intel’s annual investor meeting in California. Intel’s Atom processors have been used in tablets and netbooks, but the firm has been noticeably absent in the smartphone market, which has been dominated by ARM, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, and Samsung. “With Medfield we’re in the power envelope for phones … We’re working with several customers and we start to expect to see the revenue ramp toward the end of this year,” Intel’s CFO Stacy Smith said. More →
Intel recently took the wraps off of its new “Ivy Bridge” platform that includes new 22nm 3D “Tri-Gate” transistors, as opposed to a traditional flat-circuit design. The new transistors will help chips run more efficiently at lower voltages, and Intel says the platform should offer up to a 37% increase in performance compared to its 32nm transistors. Ivy Bridge will make its debut in PCs and servers by the end of this year, Reuters said, although Intel also has plans to use 3D Tri-Gate transistors in mobile chips, too. More →
The crew over at iFixit — torx screw drivers in hand – just stripped down one of Apple’s brand new 21.5 inch Sandy Bridge iMacs to give us a look at its guts. There aren’t too many surprises in store: the computer uses the same LG display found in the last generation of iMacs, and iFixit was pleased to find that Apple used an appropriate amount of thermal paste on the CPU and GPU — a “happy departure from the gobs” Cupertino put on the new MacBook Pro. The RAM, hard drive, and optical drive can be swapped out easily, too; you’ll just have to remove the LCD in order to do so. iFixit gave the new iMac a 7 out of 10 “repairability score,” as most of the hardware was easy to access. The team’s biggest complaint was with the need to remove the logic board in order to clean the LCD after reassembling the computer. Hit the jump for a few more images of the teardown. More →
Qualcomm has released a few videos promoting its next-generation dual-core Mobile Development Platform, which includes its blazing fast MSM8660 Snapdragon processor. The video shows the platform’s Adreno 220 graphics processing unit chewing through 720p HD video. Similarly, Qualcomm’s single-core QSD8255 processor bests an LG Optimus 2X, powered by a a 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, in a Flash load test. What’s so exciting about that? The MSM8660 Snapdragon chipset powers devices such as the HTC EVO 3D, headed to Sprint, and the HTC Sensation 4G for T-Mobile that will launch in the coming months. Hit the jump for two quick videos. More →
On Monday, AT&T took the wraps off of its new Remote Mobility Zone products that it hopes will help business, government, and public safety agencies stay connected during natural or man-made disasters. There are three different Remote Mobility Zone solutions, including a mounted fixed site deployment option, a “Park and Use,” cell site that can be integrated into vehicles with roof-mounted satellite antennas, and a super portable “fly-away” suitcase cell site that’s capable of providing communications up to one half of a mile away in all directions. AT&T said customers can use their current phones with each of the solutions, and cell sites support up to 28 concurrent users. “In the pivotal first minutes of a natural or man-made disaster, AT&T Remote Mobility Zone provides a solution to help maintain critical mobile communications,” said Chris Hill, vice president, Advanced Mobility Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. “With AT&T Remote Mobility Zone, users can set up a cell site in less than 30 minutes.” Hit the jump for the full press release. More →
The team over at iFixit spent the morning tearing down RIM’s brand new tablet for an in-depth look at the inner-workings of the BlackBerry PlayBook. There aren’t too many surprises, but the firm did discuss how difficult and costly it could be to replace broken parts. If you aren’t using a case for your PlayBook just yet, here’s one reason you might want to start:
“The front camera, rear camera, and top control buttons are all attached as one assembly, making the replacement of a broken power button or volume buttons very costly.”
iFixit also said that RIM chose to build a magnesium frame around the glass LCD display, which should give it some extra durability. If you do end up shattering that 7-inch front panel, it’s not the end of the world. The LCD isn’t fused to the glass, which means a replacement should be fairly easy on you, and your wallet. Hit the jump to see iFixit’s full gallery. More →
Sony has kept its PlayStation 3 sales figures close to the vest, but on Friday the company officially announced shipment figures for its popular PlayStation 3 gaming console. Sony said that, as of March 29th, 2011, it has shipped 50 million PlayStation 3 consoles globally. Sony’s PlayStation Network, which allows users to download games, watch movies, and more, now has more than 75 million registered users in 59 countries around the globe. Sony also noted that it has shipped 8 million of its PlayStation Move motion controllers since the September 2010 launch. As of February, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console remained the most popular gaming console in the United States – that’s no surprise given that it’s available at multiple price points, most of which are below that of the PS3. Hit the jump for Sony’s official announcement. More →
Intel on Monday officially took the wraps off of its latest Atom Z760 processor, formerly codenamed “Oak Trail.” The Atom Z760 processor promises to provide better performance, specifically with multimedia playback, and it supports 1080p video encoding as well as HDMI-out in a package that’s 60% smaller than previous Atom CPUs. The new processor also supports Windows 7, Android and MeeGo, allowing manufacturers to build tablets that can boot into a variety of operating systems, and Intel says the chip is designed for more portable embedded designs. The Atom Z760 chip — clocked at 1.5GHz – has been shipping to manufacturers for the last few weeks and tablets from OEMs including Lenovo, Toshiba and Fujitsu are expected to hit the market as soon as this May. Intel confirmed with BGR that the “lion’s share” of the Atom Z760 powered tablets will run Windows 7. The chip maker will show devices running the new processor during the Intel Developer Forum, which begins on Tuesday, and it will also tease its next generation “Cedar Trail” chip for netbooks during the forum. Cedar Trail will provide support for Intel Wireless Display, PC Synch, Fast Boot and Intel Wireless Music. Hit the jump for the full release. More →
Sony has officially dropped the suggested retail price of the PSP in Europe to €129.99 ($187.29). This follows the company’s February 25th announcement that it was slashing the price of its gaming system to $129.99 in the United States. Sony also said that — beginning on April 14th — PSP owners will be able to access an unlimited cloud-based music service called Music Unlimited. Powered by Qriocity, Music Unlimited will allow PSP owners to listen to customized music channels or sync up with tunes stored on their PlayStation 3, PC, or other Sony devices. “The price cut is aimed at increasing adoption of the player in Europe,” said Sony spokesperson Satoshi Fukuoka. The move may also be tied to the recent launch of the Nintendo 3DS, which we reviewed earlier this month. More →
Apple may soon include 3D tech in its devices, according to a recent patent filing. Apple has reportedly filed for a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week titled “Systems and Methods for an Imaging System Using Multiple Image Sensors.” The document details Apple’s plans to use two-cameras to capture and record 3D images and video. This is a feature we’ve seen on other devices, such as the HTC EVO 3D on Sprint, which sports two 5 megapixel cameras that are capable of recording 1080p HD video or 720p 3D video — no special glasses required. Apple plans to build on the techniques already in use, which involves software that has to “guess” the stereo disparity compensation required for 3D images and videos. The Cupertino based company plans to use a hardware approach with separate sensors that would produce a more accurate 3D image, AppleInsider said. We heard rumors earlier this year that Apple had plans for a 3D iPod touch, and this patent filing certainly solidifies Apple’s interest in 3D. More →
