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Netgear announces NeoTV 550 & 350 HD Media Players plus other networking goodies
This week Netgear made a battery of new product announcements related to home entertainment and Powerline networking. On the media side, the NeoTV 550 & 350 HD players look a lot like last year's Digital Entertainer Elite, minus the 500GB of internal storage and access to VOD services like CinemaNow. Both are however capable of playing a robust list of codecs in full HD from a variety of attached sources like USB, eSATA (in the case of the 550) or SD storage, as well as streaming content from UPnP, DLNA or WMP11 networks. The 550 adds in support for external Blu-ray drives and BD-Live too, all for $219, which should appeal any of the poor souls with an unused standalone drive. Three new Powerline kits -- AV 200, AV 500, and AV+ 500 -- were also announced to help consumers avoid the pain of stringing Ethernet in every direction. The entry level AV 200 appears to improve on the previous HDXB101 kit by offering the same theoretical 200mbps in addition to push button security enhancements and greener power consumption. The AV 500 kit provides the same and ramps the networking speeds to up to -- you guessed it -- 500mbps, while the "+" version throws in a pass-through filtered AC socket to avoid sacrificing precious outlets. Priced all below $200, every kit will available be by mid November for all the fall home networking your heart could desire. Peep the galleries and PR below for further details. %Gallery-100540% %Gallery-100541%
Verizon FiOS set-top boxes getting a new HD guide, external storage and more in Q4
Streaming and downloading TV content to mobiles is nice, but we enjoy watching TV... on the TV, and Verizon had plenty of that to talk about today as well. Due in Q4 along with its FlexView app for mobile VOD access, version 1.9 of its FiOS TV guide software will finally add a 16x9 HDTV-filling guide to those Motorola boxes and it looks like many of our suggestions (and yours, according to Director of Product Management Joe Ambeault) made it in. Beyond a fresh coat of paint (although, with animated transitions, highly customizable viewing and browsing options and 3D-ish elements it's shaping up to be a very nice fresh coat of paint), the real meat is in the enhanced DVR features. New updates include support for external storage (up to 1TB eSATA per DVR), automatic DVD-style chaptering on recordings, and an undelete button to bring back mistakenly removed recordings. Also freshened is its MoCA-powered multiroom setup that now shows all recordings from any box or external storage all in one list. About the only thing we can find missing from the new software is any sort of support for conflict resolution across DVRs or using all tuners as a pool, but it's otherwise robust, with each box handling up to 4 streams (2 in, 2 out) at once, and 7 connected devices (6 boxes plus one router) per home. Check out a couple more screens after the break, though skipping directly to house shopping in FiOS-connected neighborhoods may make for more efficient use of your time.
Apricorn's DVR Expanders get bigger, prettier, quieter with new 2TB option and fanless designs
Say hello to the latest iteration of Apricorn's DVR Expander series, now offering sizes up to 2TB. The drives are wrapped in a passively cooled design that not only upgrades the looks from its external storage units of years gone by but are also "ultra-quiet" after dropping the fans. The 1.5TB and 2TB ($169 and $249, respectively) models are only for compatible DirecTV boxes, while Dish Network and Scientific Atlanta (8300 and 8240 series) DVR users can plug in units of either 500GB or 1TB ($99 and ($129, respectively) in size. With up to 234 hours of HDTV recording on the eSATA/USB connected units, mentioning the possibility of connecting multiple drives to the satellite boxes seems like overkill, but if you want to record every episode of The Daily Show and Colbert Report left this year, we won't judge.%Gallery-99002%
OWC will cut a hole in your new 27-inch iMac, put an eSATA port behind it
Say what you like about Apple, as a company it's not exactly on the forefront when it comes to offering standard connectors for peripherals. Case in point: the latest iMac revisions lack eSATA, something of a bother for companies that make external storage devices. Companies like OWC. So, that particular organization is introducing a service to add that to 27-inch iMacs, cutting a small hole into the bottom-right of the display and sticking an eSATA port behind it. It's a nice idea, the results look flush enough, and 48-hour turn-around time is great -- but $169 is hardly small change. You can, however, take that time to get a 480GB Mercury Extreme Pro SSD stuffed in there as well for a mere $1,649 more.
Switched On: A new spin on external hard drives, part two
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Last week's Switched On laid out the basics behind GoFlex, Seagate's new system of interoperable connectors and docks that leverage a sturdier-than-stock SATA connector separate external storage from the connecting interface. With USB 2.0 nearly universal, Seagate has the burden of explaining why consumers should buy into GoFlex. The system does have advantages. You can pick up a GoFlex drive assured that it will work with most computers via the bundled USB 2.0 connector cable, upgrade to eSATA or FireWire 800 for faster speed today, and then to USB 3.0 as you acquire a computer that uses that connector. Adapters start at about $20, which is what one might spend on a decent new enclosure for upgrading the old-fashioned way, and Seagate claims that separating the drive from the physical interface will enable it to sell less expensive external drives that come without any connector. Still, by the time most people spend between upgrading their PCs, they might want to simply start over with a higher-capacity drive that will be compatible with the latest and greatest connector anyway.
Samsung P580 business laptop hands-on
Boy, Samsung's been keeping us busy today -- in addition to the Q330 and Q530, the company was also showing the P580 business laptop at the British Museum today. The particular unit we played with had a vibrant 15.6-inch 1,366 x 768 matte screen, although a higher resolution and greater viewing angle would've made it a prettier package. To our further disappointment, the keyboard was nowhere as good as the Q-series' chiclet offering -- we kept pressing neighboring keys by accident, and the spacebar's right-hand side often failed to pick up our input. An isolated issue? Only time will tell -- you guys might have better luck when this bad boy eventually arrives in the stores.%Gallery-92795%
Samsung announces P580 business notebook with Core i3 / i5 and matte screen
Laptops with anti-glare screens are hard to come by these days, so it's nice to see Samsung adding a new option for us all. What you're looking at here is the P580 notebook, sporting a 15.6-inch 1,366 x 768 LED-lit screen and keyboard with numeric keypad. Underneath the hood you'll find a Core i3 or i5 CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M (1GB GDDR3) graphics, Trusted Platform Module security, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and 2GB to 4GB of RAM. If you feel that the four chargeable USB 2.0 jacks (one of which is also eSATA) aren't adequate, then there's always the docking port that offers plenty more for your socket fetish. Not bad for a 2.5kg (5.51 pounds) package, and let's hope this workhorse trots in before long with appropriately alluring pricing. Full PR after the break.%Gallery-92739%
Switched On: A new spin on external hard drives, part one
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Consumer hard disk connectors have been pretty stable for the past few years. Most internal drives use SATA connectors and most external drives connect via USB; there hasn't seemed to be much frustration with this other than the speed of USB 2.0, which is showing its age and is being superseded by the backward-compatible USB 3.0. Seagate, though, is betting big that a new series of breakaway connectors will bring the old usage model of floppy drives into the 21st Century and accommodate complete media libraries, as well as include a few new twists that take into account such modern tasks as media streaming, remote access and networked entertainment.
Seagate introduces new GoFlex range: multi-port HDDs, media players, etc.
We all knew Seagate's FreeAgent line couldn't hang around forever, and tonight the storage mainstay has revealed the next logical step for the line. The GoFlex family is one of the more varied ranges out there from any hard drive maker, with the primary intent on the HDD side being to create drives (ranging from 320GB to 2TB) that are friendly with both Macs and PCs (simultaneously) while also giving users the ability to upgrade their connection or switch it out depending on what workstation they interface with. The new crew supports USB 2.0 out of the box, though upgrading to USB 3.0, FireWire 800 or eSATA can be accomplished via the new GoFlex cable system. Also launched today is the GoFlex TV HD media player, which essentially acts as a liaison between your tele and your media, regardless of whether it's stored locally, on the LAN or on the internet. Moving on, there's the GoFlex Net media sharing device, which transforms any USB mass storage device into one that's happy to pump out content via the 'net -- think Pogoplug, and you've pretty much got the idea. It looks as if the whole crew will be available for purchase starting this week, with the full list of details and prices just beyond the break. %Gallery-92290%
Active Media Products ships 100MB/sec eSATA flash drives, shrugs off USB 3.0 noise
Who needs 200MB/sec when you've got... 100MB/sec? Nah, Active Media Products' newest flash drives aren't quite as snappy as those few USB 3.0 keys that are making their way out, but for folks who aren't quite ready to upgrade (or are just dying to make use of that otherwise empty eSATA port), this here unit is the ticket. Outfitted with 16GB or 32GB of MLC NAND memory, these units boast sequential read and write speeds up to 100MB/sec and 55 MB/sec, respectively, and in case you cruise over to a legacy machine that lacks eSATA, a mini USB 2.0 port is also provided for universal access. 'Course, a USB cable is still required in the eSATA port for power, but hey, at least you'll be "with the times," right? Check 'em right now on Amazon for $69.95 and $109.95 in order of mention.
USB 3.0 PCIe and ExpressCard adapters flow from Addonics and VPI
Belkin may have kicked things off nice and proper, but c'mon, surely you're smart enough to avoid paying such insane premiums for a major label, right? With the USB-IF recently certifying a full 50 SuperSpeed USB products, it looks as if the little guys are getting in on the upgrade game as well, with Video Products, Inc. and Addonics being the latest to offer up USB 3.0 PCIe and ExpressCard adapters. As you'd expect, the respective devices bring USB 3.0 support to products that were born without it, with VPI charging $45 for its 2-port PCIe host card, $52 to $65 for USB 3.0 HDD enclosures and an undisclosed amount for its forthcoming USB 3.0 switch. Addonics is offering your aged desktop USB 3.0 compatibility for the lowly rate of $35, while the ExpressCard will do the same for your laptop at $49.99. In related news, the company is also doling out PCIe / ExpressCard adapters for adding SATA 6Gbps support ($39.99 a pop), and if we were the betting type, we'd say the flood gates were just about to bust wide open.
LaCie refreshes connectivity options on Rugged eSATA portable HDD
LaCie's startlingly orange Rugged drive has been waltzing around and taking beatings for years now, but the company finally decided to give it an interface overhaul to deal with this phenomenon known only as "technological progress." The latest and greatest in the family is the Rugged eSATA, which maintains the iconic shape and color of the original, yet adds support for eSATA; reportedly, users can see transfer rates as high as 90MB/sec, and if you can only find a USB port, it'll also work with that when speed isn't a concern. It's up for order right now in a 500GB model, but you'll have to amicably part with $159.99 before calling it yours. %Gallery-85273%
Addonics intros two eSATA-enabled multicard readers for the brave and gullible
There's no denying that the two newest multicard readers from Addonics can connect to one's PC via eSATA as well as the conventional USB 2.0 method, but frankly, we've our doubts about the honest-to-goodness speed benefits of linking through the former. The outfit claims that when its (external) Pocket eSATA / USB DigiDrive is hooked up with an eSATA cable, any flash media you insert can be used as a bootable device with read / write speeds of up to 150MB/sec, but of course you'll want to slap the quickest SDHC or CompactFlash card you can find in there to fully take advantage of the extra bandwidth. There's also an internal version for those tired of looking at the gaping hole where your floppy drive used to be, and considering that both retail for $59.99, you'll probably spend the next four or five hours just choosing which you really need.
Drobo supersizes product line with the new, faster Drobo S and DroboElite
This morning, Data Robotics doubled the size of their Drobo storage line with two new products equipped with the proprietary BeyondRAID technology -- the Drobo S and the Drobo Elite. The Drobo S (at right) is a performance storage device designed to answer the question "Why isn't there a Drobo with an eSATA interface?" Not only does the Drobo S have the eSATA interface that many have requested, but the device is now equipped with an even faster ARM processor for enhanced FireWire 800 connectivity. Like the DroboPro, the Drobo S can offer protection from two simultaneous drive failures. To do this and still offer a large amount of protected storage capacity, the Drobo S has five drive bays instead of the four on the original device, while still maintaining a small desktop footprint. The dual-drive redundancy option can be switched on or off at any time. As with the DroboPro, the new member of the Drobo family has self-healing technology built-in. The device constantly examines the blocks and sectors of all drives, and flags questionable areas. By scrubbing the drives, data is only written to "healthy" areas on drives in the array. Mark Fuccio of Data Robotics told TUAW that the eSATA interface provides data transfer up to 50% faster than what was available with FireWire 800, or about 90 MB per second. Earlier in 2009, the DroboPro brought even more expandability to the Drobo line with eight available drive bays and an iSCSI (Gigabit Ethernet) interface. While the DroboPro had immediate success in locations with a single server, it couldn't multi-host -- in other words, it couldn't be used by multiple servers simultaneously.
UMAzone UMA-ISO drive enclosure takes the sting out of mounting disk images
Hey, man -- aren't you sick of all the pain and expense of mounting disc images from the desktop? OK, we weren't either -- until we saw this: UMAzone's UMA-ISO is a drive enclosure (supply your own 2.5-inch HDD) that features a small display and jog wheel for scrolling through CD / DVD image files. Simply select the file of your choice and plug it into your machine via USB or eSATA and the disk will be mounted, the same as if you'd inserted an optical disc. It's that simple! There is also a mode for mounting as a standard external hard drive. Be forewarned, however: this guy is only compatible with a few flavors of Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7), and it's only available in Japan -- for the princely sum of ¥9,980 yen (about $111).
MSI GT640 houses Core i7, claims to be 'world's most powerful gaming notebook'
Man, Core i7 laptops just keep coming and coming (kinda like Arnold). The latest in what's sure to be a torrent of companies upgrading their premier products to Intel's finest quad-core battery killer is MSI, with the GT640. Though MSI hasn't yet specified which of the trifecta of Clarksfield chips it has inside the machine, we do know there's a 1GB NVIDIA Geforce GTS 250 taking care of graphics, as well as options for up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM, half a terabyte of storage and a Blu-ray burner. Other notables include a two megapixel webcam, HDMI, 7.1 channel audio output and an eSATA input. While we don't yet know the wallet damage for that red-striped aluminum alloy body, its Windows 7 installation would indicate a release some time around, oh, October 22 perhaps? One more shot of the keyboard and screen after the break.[Via Laptoping]Update: The German announcement for this machine has been more forthcoming with the details. There's a 1680 x 1050 resolution, 4,800mAh battery and a two-year warranty among the things we didn't know about before, and the most important thing, the CPU model, is now revealed as a 1.6GHz Core i7 720QM. [Thanks, Johannes]
Kanguru takes eSATA + USB e-Flash drive to 64GB
We'd be stretching things ever-so-slightly if we said Kanguru's newest e-Flash drive was just a wee bit behind schedule, but at least the unit -- which was originally slated for a January release -- is finally real. If you'll recall from last year, this dual-sided drive includes a USB 2.0 connector for mass compatibility and a powered eSATA port for blazing performance. Until now, however, you've had to deal with capacities of 32GB and smaller, but the new 64GB iteration changes all that for good. Too bad there's nary a mention of this thing's MSRP, but we'd go ahead and brace for the worst if we were you.[Via HotHardware]
Brando churns out new HDD dock, all is well with the world
We've decided to start using Brando's tireless refreshes as a sort of economic barometer -- if an entire calendar month passes without a brand spanking new HDD dock, we'll know we are in trouble. Seemingly content with its high-end offering, Brando has gone back to basics with the SATA Dual HDD Docking Station, which has space for a pair of 2.5- or 3.5-inch drives, but eschews the usual multicard reader. You get an eSATA extension kit in the package for suckling power and data from your computer, but that's pretty much it. Is it convenient? Sure. But at $63 we'd expect a little bit more -- like maybe bundling the hard drives for free.
Neuros OSD 3 in development, makers want your input
Neuros has earned significant kudos with techies for its hackable OSD media player / recorder and its commitment to open source software. It's no surprise then to see the company reaching out to its loyal community for input on what should be found in the third generation of the device. Yes, technically the OSD 2 isn't even out of the developer kit stage yet, but Neuros is planning well ahead of time, with the 3.0 model unlikely to be seen for another 18 months. Founder Joe Born has confirmed a continuing partnership with Texas Instruments on an ARM-based unit, which should be able to play and record at 1080p / 60 with support for all the relevant formats and containers. There'll be a minimum of 2GB DDR3 RAM, as well as a HTML5- and Flash-compliant browser, but the rest of the specs are up to you -- if there's some killer feature you simply must have, hit the read link and let Neuros know.[Via Slashgear]
Seagate unleashes three new BlackArmor storage devices for small business, road warriors, mercenaries
Looks like the storage freaks at Seagate are back on the scene with yet another array of BlackArmor devices for securing all that precious data of yours. First up: for the small business types, the NAS 220 storage server sports 4TB of shared storage capacity for up to 20 PCs. If that's not your cup of tea, the WS 110 is an external (USB 2.0 or eSATA) drive available in capacities up to 2TB. Lastly (but not leastly) the PS 110 is a 500GB portable drive perfect for road warriors and the like, sporting a thin form factor (12.5mm). All devices include automated full-system backup, SafetyDrill+, and AES 256-bit government-grade encryption. Both the BlackArmor WS 110 ($159.99 for 1TB or $309.99 for 2TB) and the BlackArmor PS 110 ($159.99 for 500GB) are available now. The BlackArmor NAS 220 will hit the shelves in late July ($449.99 for 2TB or $699.99 for 4TB). Full PR after the break.
