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XBMC 10.0 'Dharma' now available to download with improvements galore, add-on manager and Apple TV support
You may have gifts for every family member under your Yuletide tree, but we're willing to bet you haven't given much thought to your trusty media center PC. Thankfully, the open-source community once again has a ready-made present, ready to be loaded right now -- the 10.0 release of XBMC, filled with goodies and toys. It's available for Windows, Linux, Mac and even the original Apple TV, and brings a brand-new add-on manager that lets you extend functionality and improve appearance right from the UI. There's also hardware acceleration for every platform, including special consideration for nettops sporting NVIDIA ION 2 or Broadcom Crystal HD chips, and even the underpinnings of support for Windows 7 touchscreens, ARM processors and OpenGL ES 2.0. The catalog of improvements is honestly rather staggering, so rather than read them all here, you can follow our source links to the full changelog and download pages, while we try to spread the Christmahanukwanzaakah cheer. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
ExoPC Slate review
Of all the Atom-powered, Windows 7 tablets we've seen over the last year and a half (and boy have there been a lot!), the 11.6-inch ExoPC has been the one we've been waiting on. Sure, its specs are similar to the recently reviewed Tega v2 and CTL 2goPad -- it's also got a capacitive touchscreen, accelerometer, Atom Pinetrail processor and 2GB of RAM -- but unlike the others the company has put some serious love into its Windows 7 software layer, which we've dubbed the Connect Four UI. ExoPC's also preloaded the tablet with touch apps, built out its own app store and included a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator to handle full 1080p video. You can clearly see why we've had high hopes for the ExoPC ever since we got to check it out at Computex, but does it live up to the promise and provide the more enhanced and finger-friendly Windows experience we've been looking for? And is the software stable and robust enough for the average consumer? We've spent the last week with the $599 tablet so read on to find out in our full review. %Gallery-106093% %Gallery-106092%
ASUS Eee PC 1005PR shipping to some customers with disabled Broadcom Crystal HD chip?
We've definitely had some hit-or-miss experiences with the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator chip in various Atom-powered netbooks, but it sounds like some Eee PC 1005PR buyers are having a different sort of bad day entirely, as ASUS is apparently shipping some systems without the chip disabled or otherwise not installed. That's at least the word according to several reviews on Amazon, and ASUS is apparently directing people to return the machines for a refund or replacement. We'd recommend holding off for a tick if you were in the market, and if you've already thrown down the cash, well, now might be a good time to double-check that Device Manager. Update: ASUS tells us it's looking into the matter, and that company reps are actively contacting users with issues to sort things out. We'll let you know if we hear anything else.
ASUS ships $400 Eee PC Seashell 1005PR, complete with Broadcom Crystal HD chip
You've waited long enough, and now it's finally time for you to treat yourself to the HD-savvy netbook you've been craving. You deserve it. You really do. Motivational speeches aside, ASUS would sure love for you to feel that way, as the company's Eee PC Seashell 1005PR has finally departed the "coming soon" stage -- according to ASUS, anyway. Amazon's product page still indicates that stock is incoming, but it seems as if the 10.1-inch machine should be filtering out to various sales channels as we speak. In case you've forgotten, $399.99 nets you an Intel Atom N450 processor, 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a battery good for "11 hours" of life, a 1,366 x 768 resolution panel and Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator. Kind of sells itself, no?
ASUS Eee PC 1005PR packs Broadcom Crystal HD and high-res screen
Today in Tales from ASUS we bring you the story of the 10.1-inch Eee PC 1005PR. While we didn't catch this one hiding out in the overflowing CeBIT booth, it appears big A has gone and swapped out the screen on the 1005PE for one with a 1366 x 768-resolution and tucked a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator inside, which means the little lappie should be able to handle some YouTube HD (at least after you download 10.1 Beta 3). Nothing special apart from that, as it's standard netbook down the line: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450, 1GB of RAM, and 320GB hard drive. No word on pricing or availability, but we're guessing it'll probably come in at under $400, like the Dell Mini 10 and HP Mini 210. It may not be a bad deal in the end, but we're still holding out for the Ion 2-equipped 1201PN and for ASUS to someday slow down the frenetic pace of Eee PC iteration.
HP Mini 210 HD edition review
Netbooks for all! We're convinced that's the motivational saying plastered to the wall in the HP lab where the company births Minis for everyone but your pet fish. But of all the company's Pine Trail offerings, we're most excited about the $425 Mini 210, which has a 10.1-inch HD screen and a Broadcom Crystal Accelerator chip that promises decent HD video playback, even with Flash. With an attractive new thin design, improved chiclet keyboard and that promise to handle high-def content, the Mini 210 has the potential to kick the others to the curb. Given the issues we had with the Broadcom-powered Dell Mini 10 and HP's newer touchpads, though, we had to put on the glasses and take a closer look. Join us past the break for the full review, will you? %Gallery-86317%
Flash 10.1 beta 3 released, adds support for Intel GMA 500 and Broadcom Crystal HD chips (Update: 1080p Flash on a netbook!)
Rejoice, owners of netbooks with Intel GMA 500 graphics: Flash Player 10.1 Beta 3 is here, complete with hardware video acceleration for your machines. That should make Hulu and YouTube HD usable on machines like the Sony VAIO P and VAIO X, the Nokia Booklet 3G, and the previous-generation Dell Mini 10. The new build also bring support for the Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator found in Pine Trail Atom machines like the newest Dell Mini 10 and HP Mini 210 -- support we found sorely lacking when we reviewed the Dell. We just tried it out on our review HP Mini 210 and it managed 720p YouTube just fine, although 1080p was a no-go -- we're waiting on some updated Broadcom drivers though, so don't take that as gospel quite yet. We'll have much more on that in our full Mini 210 review; for now you should all get downloading and let us know how it's going in comments. Update: Success! We updated the Broadcom drivers on our Dell Mini 10 and downloaded the fresh Flash 10.1 Beta 3, and as you can see in the video below 1080p YouTube HD content plays smoothly. It's almost everything we've ever dreamed of for our netbooks. We are still having issues with the HP Mini 210 which uses the older BCM70012 Crystal HD card, but will have an update on that in our full review soon.
Broadcom's Crystal HD tech to liven up HD capabilities of N450-based netbooks
NVIDIA's Ion technology may be hogging the limelight when it comes to netbook graphics, but Broadcom's no stranger to the space. After giving Acer's Aspire One HD playback capabilities that it could only dream of just months prior, the company's newly announced Crystal HD platform could provide Intel's Atom N450 with the multimedia boost it badly needs. The nitty-gritty details are still being withheld, but we're told that "top-tier OEMs including Asus, Dell and Samsung" will be slapping this into their upcoming N450-based netbooks. If you're curious as to why you should care, the BCM70015 promises "near flawless" HD video playback, including support for Flash Player 10.1 and Blu-ray flicks. We're told to expect it to start popping up in forthcoming machines throughout 2010, and if you're looking to soak up anything else in the meanwhile, a promotional video awaits you after the break.
Eyes-on with Intel's Pine Trail CPU/GPU hybrid and new Gulftown gaming chip (update)
See that tiny little thing? That's not just a CPU, it's Intel's next-gen Atom Pine Trail CPU / GPU hybrid, and it's set to pop in all sorts of devices here at IDF. Intel was demoing it in a nettop running 480p video, but they assured us it was capable of 1080p playback -- we'll believe it when we see it, obviously. Also on display here at IDF: demo machines running 32nm Arrandale chips, with Intel's Clear HD video playback system, and the next-gen Gulftown gaming chip, which has six cores and will slot right into your X58 mobo to provide more power than you possibly need sometime next year. Check it all in the gallery! Update: So the first Intel rep we spoke to was a little confused -- Pine Trail only supports 480p playback, although it can apparently do 720p if pushed. Native HD isn't on Intel's roadmap until the next generation of these chips, so If you want HD right now, Intel's pointing manufacturers to the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, which usually ends up costing about $30 extra at retail. So to recap: Intel's integrating graphics into its CPU dies, but in order to play back HD content, you still need a separate video processor to handle the decoding. How very efficient. %Gallery-73726%
HP Mini 110 netbook goes pink and white, adds Broadcom's HD video acceleration
It's July 8th which means the white swirl and pink chic editions of HP's Mini 110 netbooks are available. Unfortunately, the addition of color over the base-black models will cost you an extra $20. More importantly, this commonly speced netbook with choice of Atom N270 or N280 processors and integrated GMA 950 graphics is also getting an HD video boost thanks to a $30 option for Broadcom's Crystal HD Enhanced Video accelerator. That should make HD video playback silky smooth without taxing the CPU (and battery) too much. Of course, it looks like you'll have to give up your favorite media player and use the bundled ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre software if you want to take advantage of the acceleration. A small price to pay for portable, 10.1-inch LCD-backlit access to all your MKV, MOV, MP4, AVI, WMV, and TS/M2TS files -- or at least as many as you can fit on 160GB of HDD or 32GB of SSD storage. Pink and white models pictured after the break, for free.[Via PortableMonkey, thanks David]
Adobe, NVIDIA and Broadcom bringing GPU acceleration to Flash at long last
As part of the Open Screen Project, which should be getting Adobe Flash onto many new platforms, Adobe, NVIDIA and Broadcom are all hard at work getting GPU acceleration to do what it ought for Flash Player, with improvements in store for everything from Tegra MIDs to Broadcom Crystal HD netbooks (like HP's new Mini 110XP, pictured) to tablets and beyond. Of note is H.264 playback acceleration, which should at last make Hulu and YouTube bearable on netbooks and nettops -- a major shortcoming in the otherwise enticing form factors. Unfortunately, the most precise timeline we have on all this is from Broadcom, who says its Flash Player support will be available in the first half of 2010. We're also going to be bugging Adobe and Intel about when this functionality might hit mainstream Intel integrated chipsets as well, though at least Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator can be added to some existing netbooks such as a PCI Express mini-card or ExpressCard 34 add-on. Perhaps we sound ungrateful, but this sort of acceleration for Flash -- the internet's most popular multimedia delivery method -- is long overdue, and we're not overly impressed with the idea of waiting until mid-2010 for it to happen.Read - Adobe and NVIDIARead - Adobe and Broadcom
