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Samsung now has an 8TB SSD thanks to 3D memory tech
Data centers are about to get a lot more storage efficient. Samsung has launched the industry's highest capacity NVMe solid state drive (SSD) that packs an 8TB punch in an ultra-small footprint of just 11cm x 3.05cm -- twice the capacity of SSDs commonly used in hyper-scale server designs and slim line laptops.
Intel's push for petabyte SSDs requires a new kind of drive
There aren't many ways to make data center storage exciting, but mentioning a drive that could hold up to one petabyte (1,000 terabytes) comes close. Intel is making the case to swap out old disk-based drives in data centers with SSDs, and as part of that it's showing off a new "Ruler" form factor. Instead of molding to the 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch size of traditional drives or just the dimensions of a PCIe slot, its long skinny shape fits into a standard rack mounted server. As TechGage notes, with regular 10TB hard drives, slapping together a petabyte's worth would fill up a 100-bay 4U server. The new Ruler drives aren't available yet, but Intel claims it will offer them with both its Optane and 3D NAND SSDs in the "near future."
Switched On: Hinging on success
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. The announcement of the Acer Aspire R7 was the best example of the company's assertion that it was moving from computers designed with touch to computers designed for touch. But if having a fancy, even unprecedented, hinge is what defines a touch-optimized notebook, Acer is a bit late to the party. Last October, Switched On discussed the role that laptop-tablet hybrids -- namely convertibles and detachables -- would play in the differentiation of Windows 8 devices. Both types have seen their share of support. Detachables have included HP's Envy x2, ASUS' Transformer-inspired VivoTab and Microsoft's Surface. (Dell's XPS 10 is available only with Windows RT.)
The brutal, exaggerated death of the form factor phone
This year's Mobile World Congress is bound to be frenetic with phone news. That's why we're about to brave Barcelona's rain, airline strikes and pickpockets (no offense, dear BCN) in order to stay up to date. But if there's one aspect of mobile phones we're not counting on to provide much excitement, it's their fundamental physical design or form factor. We're in the grip of the monolith, the concrete slab, the plain rectangle, with its full touchscreen and a couple of buttons here and there, and that grip is so tight that even the pickpockets are slightly shocked when they haul in something with a physical QWERTY. But the point of this piece isn't merely to plot the decline of form factor diversity. It's actually to argue that the current monotony is probably only temporary, and that signs of a revival are already in the air. Read on and we'll do our utmost to convince you.
NEC's LaVie Z Ultrabook has definitely lost weight: just 875 grams and priced from $1,600 in Japan
No one complained when we reported NEC's initial claimed weight of 999 grams (2.2 pounds) for its LaVie Z Ultrabook, but it turns out that statistic is brutally unfair. The 13.3-inch laptop actually tips the scales at just 875 grams (1.9 pounds) thanks to the magnesium lithium alloy used in its 0.59-inch chassis -- not bad when you consider that there are still 1.3kg netbooks wandering the planet. Of course, in line with Intel's official Ultrabook spec, you're getting a minimum Core i5-3317U processor (yes, that's Ivy Bridge) and 128GB SSD, plus USB 3.0, SDXC slot, HDMI out and a claimed battery life of 8.1 hours. There's no word on US pricing yet, but that base spec will set you back ¥130,000 ($1,600) in Japan, while the top model with Core i7-3517U and 256GB SSD will add another ¥30,000 ($375) to your bill.
Toshiba unveils Windows 8 concept devices, details stay hidden
If you're looking for pricing, specs, availability and all that good stuff, then you've come to the wrong place. What we have here is a gallery of photos revealing Toshiba's various concepts of what Windows 8 devices ought to look like. There's a Transformer-style tablet with detachable keyboard dock -- a form factor we're seeing plenty of at Computex right now. There's also a slider PC that looks rather like the MSI Slider S20 we played with earlier. Finally, perhaps the most conservative of the bunch is a clamshell laptop design with a touchscreen. So yes, as concepts go none of these are especially pioneering -- but at least Toshiba will know it can't dally in bringing its ideas to market and hitting a competitive price point. Dana Wollman contributed to this report.
Switched On: The iPad's landscape orientation
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. The two major classes of tablet seeking to grab a share of the iPad's market have in many ways been driven by operating system advances. Windows 8 will bring the new Metro user interface and ARM support to allow what has historically been the more powerful PC class to scale down. Android 4.0 unifies the platform's tablet and smartphone operating systems, encouraging it to take better advantage of the larger screen capabilities and scale up.Indeed, the full potential of the new iPad won't be known until the release of iOS 6 to fuel Apple's historically tight pairing of hardware and software; that other shoe will likely drop at its developer conference in June. Despite the lack of a new operating system or form factor, the third-generation iPad and its now price-reduced predecessor have set the stage for how Apple plans to defend against Android and Windows tablets.
Sharp's slim 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor to further trim smartphone silhouettes (updated)
Mobile waistbands are about to get tighter. Sharp's taking that whole thin is in thing to the extreme with its just outed 12.1 megapixel, 1/3.2-inch CMOS camera module. Measuring in at 5.47 millimeters thick, this component's set to ship out to manufacturers for ¥12,000 apiece (about $154) starting tomorrow and is, apparently, the result of overwhelming demand for anorexic handsets -- we're looking at you, dear readers. Okay, not really. The company actually claims its "proprietary high-density packaging technology" (jargon, much?) is responsible for this slimmed-down image sensor that's capable of full 1080p HD capture. So, does this coming wave of starved form factors mean we can expect less bloatware? Let's all hard wink at the carriers together. Update: It turns out that the Sharp AQUOS SH-01D already utilizes this awesome sensor, and you can see its optical image stabilization in action after the break -- it's super impressive!
UK's Advertising Standards Authority rules iPhone 4 is thinnest
Apple has gained another victory over Samsung, though this one has nothing to do with patents. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that the iPhone 4 is indeed the thinnest smartphone in the country. Apple refers to the iPhone 4 as the "thinnest" smartphone in UK ads. That's something Samsung said was false advertising because their Galaxy S II smartphone is 8.71mm at its thinnest, while Apple's iPhone 4 is 9.3mm at it's thinnest. However the ASA sided with Apple in the dispute, citing that though the Galaxy S II was indeed thinner than the iPhone at certain points of its body, the Galaxy S II has a hump near its base that measures 9.91mm thick. Both Apple and the ASA believe that a phone's thinness can only be judged by the thickest part of the device. "Apple pointed out that the Galaxy S II had prominent bulges at the top of the device," the ASA said in its ruling on Wednesday. "Apple said consumers would not be interested in the thinnest part of the device, but in its overall measurements, as these would, for example, affect whether the device could fit into a pocket or purse."
Google adding touchscreen-friendly tweaks to Chrome OS, still has tablets on its mind
When a tablet version of Chrome OS was teased back in February of last year, we found it a legitimately exciting proposition. Now that we have Android's Honeycomb iteration designed specifically for slates, however, we're having to wonder just why Google's still chasing that keyboard-less dream with its web-centric OS. CNET has been doing some snooping in and around the latest iterations of Chrome OS, where it's discovered numerous pieces of circumstantial evidence, such as a new onscreen keyboard, suggesting tablets are still very much on the menu. Chrome OS kicked off life on the development device known as Cr-48 and will resume availability this summer courtesy of Acer and Samsung, though we'd kind of assumed it would stick to notebooks now that Android's making a sincere effort on devices bigger than an EVO. Mountain View has responded to CNET's queries with a pretty inconclusive statement, saying only that "We are engaging in early open-source work for the tablet form factor, but we have nothing new to announce at this time." Check out last year's concept video after the break.
Viking Modular's SATADIMM jacks an SSD into your memory slot
Explaining the differences between DRAM and non-volatile storage is about to get that little bit harder, thanks to Viking Modular. The company's decided to "borrow" the DIMM form factor for its latest enterprise SSD offering, equipping it with a 240-pin array to draw power from your spare memory slots. Of course, you'll still need to hook up a SATA cable to get data flowing to this SSD -- at a very respectable 260MBps for both read and write -- but we must admit we're in love with the very idea of it. This new design offers another option for consolidating storage right onto the motherboard and should help case modders yearning for ever-slimmer enclosures. Alas, the SATADIMM is only available to enterprise and OEM clients for now, but we can't think of any reason why it won't test the consumer waters as well -- if not by Viking, maybe someone else? [Thanks, David]
Australian Broadcasting Corporation wants to be on the iPad
ABC is making moves to bring their content to the iPad, but before you get all excited about seeing the Lost conclusion on Apple's tablet, let us point out that we're talking about the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, not the guys who write Jimmy Kimmel's checks. The down-under version has told Adobe that they want to build content for the iPad as soon as possible, and while Flash is tied up in a lot of back-and-forth lately, ABC confirms that they're excited to bring some kind of content to the iPad, even though they're not sure exactly what content yet. Why? They're convinced the iPad is a whole new outlet for content consumption. They aim to use the iPad to "bring about a very different relationship with our readers than other platforms," and their head of strategic development says the iPad could create a whole new category of mobile content. While the iPhone is made for more quick hits of content delivery, the rep says that "with [the iPad] you can imagine people sitting back on the sofa and enjoying something longer." After seeing the form factor in action at Macworld last week, we can, too. It'll be very interesting to see the types of content that come from a device like the iPad, and it's great to see big content companies jumping at the chance to create it. [Via iPad Insider]
Sony Ericsson files "flipper phone" patent
Just when we were ready to give the award to Samsung for the most complicated phone form factor, Sony Ericsson outdoes their Korean counterparts in a just-revealed 2004 patent application aptly titled "Flipper Phone Configuration." The concept appears to accomplish essentially the same function as a swiveling clamshell but with additional drama surrounding the conversion between modes, using a pivot point halfway up the sides of the display to allow 180-degree rotation. At least Samsung is trying to bring some additional functionality to the table with their "sliding clamshell" patent; where's the innovation here, fellas?[Via textually.org]
