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Acer Liquid handled, evaluated, 'not too shabby'

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 5th 2009 at 7:38PM

Looks like quite a few folks have got their hands on the Acer Liquid as of late, and lucky for us they've been rather loose-lipped with their thoughts on the subject. As suspected, the handset is running a 1GHz Snapdragon that's been under-clocked to 768MHz. And it looks like Acer didn't go crazy with the User Experience either, pretty much staying true to its Google Android 1.6 roots, albeit with a number of additions, including: social networking integration (Facebook and Flickr contacts and photo sharing), nemoPlayer for multimedia files, DataViz for Microsoft Exchange support, and the Spinlets music streaming service. In addition, Acer has redesigned some of the widgets, including the clock and the task manager, which now includes a preview of open apps. All-in-all, it seems to be a pretty solid Android handset with a few useful additions -- but as always, the verdict is out until we get our hands on one. In the meantime, hit up the read links below for a generous helping of screenshots, hands-on pics, and impressions.

[Via JK On The Run]

Read - PREVIEW: Acer Liquid Android 1.6 WVGA Touchscreen Smartphone
Read - Acer A1, Screenshot and Interface

VIA Nano 3000 CPU series finally launches to rival Intel's Atom

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 10:10AM

We suppose dreams really do come true. Nearly a full year after we heard that VIA was toiling on a new processor line to really give Intel's aging Atom a run for its money, the company has come clean and confessed that those whispers were indeed true. The Isaiah-based Nano 3000 Series is a range of six new CPUs clocked between 1GHz and 2GHz, all of which boast an 800MHz FSB, 64-bit support, SSE4 instructions, Windows 7 / Linux compatibility and power ratings that check in some 20 percent more efficient than existing VIA Nano processors. There's also the promise of 1080p multimedia playback, and VIA swears that we'll see these popping up in all-in-one desktops as well as thin-and-light laptops in the very near future. How soon, you ask? Samples are shipping now to OEMs, with mass production slated for Q1 2010.

Gallery: VIA Nano 3000 CPU series finally launches to rival Intel's Atom

Acer Liquid's Snapdragon processor to be clocked at just 768MHz?

by Darren Murph posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 11:13AM

Ugh. Just weeks after we figured that Acer's first Android-based handset would indeed ship with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a new slide over at an international Liquid presentation is suggesting otherwise. As you can clearly see above, it looks as if the Qualcomm-sourced CPU will be underclocked to just 768MHz, which makes little to no sense on the surface. Granted, most average consumers couldn't care less about the CPU in their next smartphone, but it seems reasonable to think that the Liquid will lag behind its 1GHz contemporaries when used side-by-side. Who knows though -- maybe this is just the thing necessary to squeeze a full week of battery life out of this thing. Or not.

[Via MobileTechWorld, thanks Gully and Jose]

Tilera's 100-core Tile-GX processor won't boil the oceans, will still melt faces

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 26th 2009 at 3:16AM

Sixty-four, sixty-shmore... that's so 2007 in terms of processing cores found in a single CPU: one hundred cores is where the future of computing resides. This magnificent engineering feat isn't from AMD or even Intel, it's the latest Tile-GX series of chips from the two-year old San Jose startup, Tilera. Its general purpose chips can run stand-alone or as co-processors running alongside those x86 chips that usually ship in four-, six-, or now eight-core configurations like Intel's upcoming Nehalem-EX chip. Tilera's 100-core chip pulls 55 watts at peak performance while its 16-core chip draws as little as 5 watts. Tilera uses the same mesh architecture as its previous 64-core chip in order to overcome the performance degradation accompanying data exchange on typical, multi-core processors -- or so it says. Tilera's new 40-nm process chips have cranked the clock to 1.5GHz and include support for 64-bit processing. And while its processors could be applied to any number of computing scenarios, Tilera's focusing on lucrative markets like parallel-processing where its meager developer and marketing resources can extract a relatively quick payout. The fun begins in early 2011 with volume pricing set between $400 and $1000.

[Via PC World]

Physicists calculate the end of Moore's Law, clearly don't believe in Moore's Law

by Darren Murph posted Oct 20th 2009 at 6:01PM

If you're looking for pundits with an end date for Moore's Law, you don't have to look far. You also don't have to look far to find a gaggle of loonies who just knew the world was ending in Y2K, so make of that what you will. The latest duo looking to call the demise of the processor mantra that has held true for two score comes from Boston University, with physicists Lev Levitin and Tommaso Toffoli asserting that a quantum limit would be achieved in around 75 to 80 years. Scott Aaronson, an attention-getter at MIT, expects that very same limit to be hit in just 20 years. Of course, there's plenty of technobabble to explain the what's and how's behind all this, but considering that the brainiacs of the world can't even agree with Gordon Moore's own doomsday date, we're choosing to plug our ears and keep on believin' for now. Bonus video after the break.

[Via Slashdot]

Continue reading Physicists calculate the end of Moore's Law, clearly don't believe in Moore's Law

AMD 's new Athlon II processors aim to go easy on the power, your wallet

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 20th 2009 at 4:12AM

AMD has just outed a selection of new Athlon II procs, which do little to help it reclaim the performance crown, but will be of interest to anyone who likes to keep things minimal -- whether we're talking about prices or temperatures. Starting at $69 per chip (when bought in bulk) with the 2.7GHz dual-core X2 235e and topping out at $143 for the 2.3GHz quad-core X4 605e, AMD's new e-tagged processors operate within a 45W thermal envelope, as opposed to the relatively standard 65W TDP. The Sunnyvale outfit makes some ill-advised claims of "up to 75 percent" better performance versus comparable Intel CPUs -- the small print tells us that number is derived from 3DMark Vantage while testing with different GPUs -- but we suppose until the Thuban six-core shows up, AMD will have to take performance gains from wherever it can get 'em, including its own imagination.

TI's OMAP-DM5x coprocessors promise 20MP cameraphones, 720p recording and freedom from heartache

by Darren Murph posted Oct 16th 2009 at 9:26AM

Another season, another Texas Instruments coprocessor for us to wonder about. For what feels like ages now, TI has been pumping out silicon that promises to bring high-def recording capabilities to cellphones, but by and large, most everything has been stuck at VGA or below. Oh sure, we've seen our first batch of 12 megapixel cameraphones, but it's not like those things are replacing DSLRs en masse. Bitterness aside, the OMAP-DM525 coprocessor is supposedly capable of bringing 20 megapixel imaging to handsets along with 720p video recording, while the OMAP-DM515 hits the ceiling at 12 megapixels. Of course, the DM525 won't actually be ready for volume production until sometime next year, but here's hoping a sample or two slips out at CES.

[Via LetsGoDigital]

Dell adds dual-core SU1400 CPU, other options to Inspiron 11z

by Darren Murph posted Sep 30th 2009 at 10:21PM

Dell's 11.6-inch Inspiron 11z just went on sale last month, and already the outfit is opening up the options for those not entirely pleased with the single $399 model. Starting today, a $479 configuration is available to ship with a 250GB HDD and Vista Home Premium (with a Windows 7 upgrade, of course), and if that's still not enough, prospective customers can soon select their 11z in a variety of colors. We're talking Alpine White, Ice Blue, Jade Green, New Cherry Red, Passion Purple and Promise Pink, with the latter contributing $5 to breast cancer research. As for optional hardware upgrades, you can slot a dual-core Pentium SU1400 CPU in there alongside 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. As of this very moment, Dell has yet to open up the CTO doors, but we're guessing an admin is on that as we speak. Right, Dell?

Intel's 32nm processors show off power efficiency in informal preview

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 28th 2009 at 10:19AM

Craving for some cutting edge tech to go with your croissant this morning? Intel's Clarkdale and Arrandale -- the 32nm chips that cram the GPU and memory controller inside the CPU package -- have been subjected to the discerning eye of the Hot Hardware investigators, and have shown off some significantly reduced power usage. The entire small form factor system you see above, built around a Clarkdale processor, clocked up an austere 28W when idling, and only went up to around 70W under full load, which you can just about make out on the wattmeter beside it. Limited to two processing cores due to the added complexity inside the chip, these might lack the juice to oust Core i7 rigs, but if the laptop parts reflect similar power savings, it's difficult to imagine a more desirable CPU for your next mobile computer. Hit the read link for some synthetic benchmarks and further impressions.

Intel Atom dev program launched, seeks to inspire netbook-centric applications

by Darren Murph posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 3:48PM

So, here's the situation. The current fleet of netbooks would be rendered next to useless with Vista loaded on, but having Windows XP on there forces manufacturers to regurgitate specification lists. Rather than using the introduction of Windows 7 to fully pursue a world where netbooks can actually run around freely with 2GB (or even 3GB!) of RAM and chipsets powerful enough to open seven Excel sheets simultaneously, Intel is today sparking up its Atom Processor Developer Program. The reason? To "spur a new wave of applications for... netbooks, with support for handhelds and smartphones available in the future." Call us calloused, but that sounds a lot like a company pushing for "lite" software that functions on sluggish hardware.

Granted, we know that's not exactly the case here -- after all, even we wouldn't argue that some applications could benefit from being re-written to operate on a 10.1-inch display -- but it still feels like Intel's pushing software programmers to cater to underwhelming hardware rather than innovating its chips to work faster and more efficiently. There's no doubt that this feeling is compounded by just how long we've been waiting for a new wave of Atom CPUs, but at long last, we digress. The program actually has quite a few positive merits, such as striving to "reduce overhead and streamline the creation of new applications" for smaller devices -- something that would benefit every user regardless of processor. So far, both Acer and Dell have voiced their support for the program, giving us at least a modicum of reassurance that the Aspire One and Mini lines aren't vanishing anytime soon. Hit the read link for the glorified details, if you're into that type of thing.

[Via jkkmobile]

Intel announces 22nm chips for 2011

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 12:14PM

Paul Otellini just held up a 22nm wafer at his Intel Developer Forum keynote, saying that chips with the technology would be out in the second half of 2011. Take a good look, kids: that's 2.9 billion transistors right there.

AMD to bring six-core 'Thuban' processor to the consumer realm

by Darren Murph posted Sep 21st 2009 at 9:11PM

Look out, Intel -- six cores are mightier than four, don'tcha know? Shortly after introducing a six-core processor in the server sector, AMD is reportedly angling to issue a hexa-core chip over on the consumer side. The chip maker has confirmed to Maximum PC that a six-core slab of silicon (codenamed Thuban) will be released in 2010, with the real kicker being that it'll be fully backwards compatible with existing AM3 and AM2+ mainboards. It'll be based on 45nm process technology and will boast an integrated DDR3 controller, 3MB of L2 cache and 6MB of L3 cache, and while the outfit wouldn't confirm, word on the street has it that the final product will sport a Phenom II X6 moniker. So, Core i9 -- what have you to say now?

Intel's 1.73GHz Core i7-820 QM mobile CPU maneuvers onto test bench

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 21st 2009 at 4:14AM

The middle child of Intel's forthcoming new family of mobile performance parts, the i7-820 QM clocks in at 1.73GHz when things are relatively calm, or it can Turbo Boost its way up to an enviable 3.06GHz when your multitasking life demands it. The PC Pro crew have snatched one from Intel's presumably still warm hands, and have given it a benchmarking run to find out if it extends the Core i7 legacy of dominance into the mobile space. Their conclusion? "It's very, very fast." They couldn't avoid gushing about the dynamic overclocking and efficiency improvements relative to Intel's older generation of quad-core laptop procs, but battery life tests showed you'll still want to keep a power outlet nearby. Read link below should furnish you with more info, should you require it.

Video: VIA EPIA-P720 Pico-ITX motherboard plays 1080p, doesn't sweat much

by Darren Murph posted Sep 19th 2009 at 12:06PM

While NVIDIA's Ion has been getting all of the attention of late, VIA's been doing this 1080p thing for quite some time. We actually heard earlier this year that the company's EPIA-P710 Pico-ITXe board was capable of playing back glorious 1080p video clips, but now we've got video proof that the unit's successor truly can. According to VIA, this mobo is the first from it to come with the VX855 Media System Processor onboard, which is obviously the secret sauce involved in delivering the high-res graphics. Head on past the break for a peek at the demo, and good luck resisting the urge to build a new SFF HTPC over the weekend.

Continue reading Video: VIA EPIA-P720 Pico-ITX motherboard plays 1080p, doesn't sweat much

AMD pops out sub-$100 quad-core Athlon II X4 CPU: review roundup

by Darren Murph posted Sep 16th 2009 at 8:53AM

AMD has always been one to play the pricing card in its never-ending tussle with Intel, but we get the feeling this introduction may pack more of a punch than any before it. It's a simple concept -- the $99 quad-core CPU -- and given just how in love we Americans are with value menus, you can bet new PC builders will at least give the new Athlon II X4 620 ($99) and 630 ($122) a look. Reviews around the web essentially came to the same conclusion: it's not the fastest quad-core chip around, and the lack of L3 certainly doesn't make it the most attractive, but the 620 somehow manages to compete with all of the processors in its price range while being the cheapest. The "cut-down Phenom II," as HotHardware calls it, suffers a bit on the gaming side due to the L3 removal, but in general scenarios it was plenty potent. Hit the links below if you feel like digging in way, way deeper.

Read - HotHardware
Read - TechSpot
Read - MaximumPC
Read - PC Perspective
Read - TweakTown
Read - PC Pro
Read - AMD Zone