cebit
Latest
Gigabyte looking to unveil U60 UMPC at CeBIT?
It seems like just about everyone is testing out the questionable UMPC waters of late, as just days after seeing the niche BumbleBee offering, Gigabyte is purportedly looking to dish out a handheld computer of its own at next month's CeBIT. Although details are admittedly scant, the proposed U60 will tout a swank slide-out / split keyboard approach, a 6.5-inch 800 x 600 resolution display, integrated 802.11b/g, your choice of 20GB / 30GB 1.8-inch hard drives, a pair of USB ports, SD / MMC flash card readers, and a mysterious C7-M processor. Unfortunately, that's about all the information that's been leaked on the 1.59-pound device thus far, but we should know plenty more when the floor opens up in mid-March.[Via UnwiredView]
TomTom DUO to hit CeBIT, tout handsfree calling
Fresh deets on TomTom's forthcoming GPS are starting to flow in, and hopefully we'll know about all there is to know by the time this unit shows off on the CeBIT floor. While we'd been led on by the FCC leaks seen just hours ago, it looks like TomTom's marketing department took the easy route with regard to titling, as they've purportedly settled for TomTom DUO. Quite literally one-upping the ONE, this squared-off handheld GPS will reportedly play nice with TomTom's PLUS services, support handsfree calling over Bluetooth, and of course, offer up an elusive (albeit enticing) interaction with a docking station. The dock is suggested to include an FM transmitter for piping navigation audio throughout your vehicle's sound system, as well as allowing external DAPs to be heard through more than just a built-in tweeter, but we're still waiting to see if TomTom plans on this being a standalone unit or if it fits better integrated into one's dash. Per usual, keep it here for (more) emerging information.
Samsung's 19-inch SyncMaster 940UX LCD picks USB
After DisplayLink hit us up with a cordless monitor care of Wireless USB, things really can't get much simpler for connecting LCDs with PC towers, but for those not quite ready to jump into all that, Samsung is reportedly readying a USB-only monitor that'll be showcased at CeBIT. Yep, according to reports, the 19-inch SyncMaster 940UX will be axing the DVI and VGA inputs in favor of a USB 2.0 connector, which means you can finally do away with those flakey USB to VGA adapters of days past. Slated for a May release, the display should sync up with Windows XP initially, with Vista drivers (no OS X love?) to follow shortly thereafter. No other details regarding contrast ratio, resolution, or whether a 0.25-page installation manual will be included is currently available, and more importantly, we're not so sure how your CPU is going to feel about its newfangled processing duties when you plug this sucka in. Still, Samsung claims between "three and five" of these monitors can be plugged in and used at any given time based on the amount of processing requirements your applications have, but the real question is how quickly can ATI / NVIDIA can crank out a next-generation GPU with USB 2.0 outputs, eh?[Via Slashgear]
GlobalTop intros GPS HUD Speed Meter
It's practically a foregone conclusion that eying your handy GPS unit a bit too much whilst cruising down the freeway can indeed put you and your fellow motorists in peril, and while robotic turn-by-turn voiceovers do quell the staring fits somewhat, we still tend to rely a tad too much on sheer visuals. GlobalTop is hoping to make the roads a safer place to navigate with its forthcoming GPS HUD Speed Meter, which will supposedly makes its debut at CeBIT. This Bluetooth-enabled device purportedly "displays your speed and other navigational info, like direction, onto your car's windshield," and also enables handsfree communications with your BT-equipped cellphone. Moreover, the speed meter can be setup to alert the driver when exceeding a user-set limit, and while you may not be familiar with the brand, it's reportedly a spinoff of f-tech, which bodes fairly well for us actually seeing this thing beyond the Photoshop stage. As expected, there's no pricing or availability deets surfacing just yet, but all that should change come next month.[Via NaviGadget]
Albatron showcasing Nano Abox V2.0 Mini-PC at CeBIT
It looks like Asus' LED-backlit laptop and NVIDIA's three-way SLI will have to share the limelight with someone else at CeBIT, as Albatron is planning to showcase its wee Nano Abox V2.0 Mini-PC for literal computing on the go. While not quite a laptop per se, this miniature PC has a 6.1- x 3.4-inch LCD screen flanking the top, and while a brief glance may bring back delightful memories of the Wii laptop design, this multimedia-centric device isn't just fun and games. Aside from boasting Viiv certification, it packs an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, integrated graphics, DVI output, eight-channel audio, USB 2.0, FireFire, and gigabit Ethernet. Of course, no pricing or availability details have yet been divulged, but if you're looking for an average HTPC that can hit the road without taking up too much space, Albatron's got you covered.[Via 64-Bit-Computers]
NVIDIA readying three-way SLI for CeBIT?
Who needs two-way SLI when you've got three-way SLI, right? Reportedly, NVIDIA is readying a new three-way SLI approach that will actually hit "the mainstream," which differs somewhat from the SLI x 4 renditions that currently reside primarily in pre-fab boxes and luxury boutiques. While we've already heard that Asus' forthcoming U1F will show up at CeBIT, NVIDIA's new SLI treatment just might steal a bit of everyone's thunder by loosing it on the public with a presumably "spiffy marketing" scheme. What this means for the future of linking GPUs together to squeeze marginal benefits out of a gaming rig remains to be seen, but if this rumor proves true, we'll be getting a lot more details come month's end.
Asus set to unveil LED-backlit U1F laptop at CeBIT
Apparently, Asus didn't have quite enough fun dishing out swank new laptop gear at CES, as the firm is now prepared to unveil its first LED-backlit machine at this year's CeBIT Show in Hanover, Germany. The ultralight U1F weighs in at just 2.2-pounds, and sports an 11.1-inch WXGA+ LED-backlit screen, steel edges, leather-clad palm rests, black motif, an ultra-low voltage Intel Core Duo processor, and of course, will come pre-loaded with Windows Vista. Unfortunately, Asus isn't spilling any more details on this one until the time is just right, but hopefully this noticeable move towards LED-backlit lappies will persuade a few other firms out there to follow suit, and soon.[Via Laptoping]
Next-gen AOpen MiniPC unveiled
It seems that the engineers over at PC manufacturer AOpen have been studiously reading the reviews of the first generation of their Mac mini ripoff homage, the miniPC, as the latest version is promising to eliminate the loud whine that made its predecessor almost unusable. The company has just formally announced the Core Duo-powered version of what is now called the MiniPC (with the capital "M" presumably meant to further differentiate the box from its Apple counterpart), which is essentially the same machine that was being shown off at CeBIT 2006, except with a black case that makes it look less like an external DVD burner. Besides Yonah CPU support and a slight bump in RAM speed, the MiniPC model MP945-VXR sports nearly identical specs to the MP-915 (version one), although you do get a built-in mic and the Media Center Edition version of Windows XP. The price this time around, however, is decidedly less "mini," with AOpen claiming a MSRP of $955 -- compared to only $500 for the 915 -- whenever the new model hits stores.[Via Reg Hardware]
VK Mobile's waif-like VK2020 musicphone reviewed
VK Mobile seems like a very flashy company to us, what with their fashion-over-function ethos, their, shall we say, liberal "borrowing" of design elements from some of the sexier phones on the market, and who could forget the airbrushed nude models that they employed to hawk their products at CeBIT this year? We think PC Mag would agree that the company's quad-band GSM VK2020 musicphone -- that, like the models, we also spotted at CeBIT -- falls in line with this assessment, as their review highlights the handset's RAZR- and SLVR-killing thinness and "wow factor," but knocks it on nearly every aspect important to people who actually like their stuff to function properly. Among the laundry list of flaws reported are this model's small, dim screen, barely acceptable MP3 and call audio quality, lack of even EDGE-speed data, sub-four-hour battery life, limited filetype support, and flaky Bluetooth connection. Still, PC Mag's Sascha makes a good point when he compares the VK2020 to a hot date, in that you're a lot more likely to accept its faults just because it looks so damn good. If you're the type that rushed out to buy LG's silly Style-i non-hands-free, non-headset Bluetooth headset when it became available from Verizon this week, then you'll probably be just fine with forking over $400 to Dynamism in order to sport one of today's hotter-looking imports.
HD Coverage of CeBIT
Just when you thought there wasn't any real HD via BitTorrent, all the readers of HDBeat come to let you know where to find it. Now I have found another source and even better it is HD coverage of CeBIT. CeBITVideo has a few great HD clips of their coverage of the show. So crank up your favorite BitTorrent cliet and check it out.
More competing formats? EVD/VMD High definition players coming to CeBit 2006
Who needs blue lasers? Not New Medium Enterprises or Beijing e-world, as they have announced they will be showing off a combo EVD/VMD player at next year's CeBit in germany. Amazingly, while Blu-ray and HD-DVD continue to fight in the streets over who has the birthright to the high definition throne, a little collaboration could be a big boost to two other formats.EVD (Enhanced versatile disc) is a Chinese backed format that has produced very little since being originally announced in 2003, but promised high definition DVD's with standard red laser technology.VMD (Versatile Multilayer disc) is a new format pushed by NME, where they say they can increase the storage of a standard red-laser DVD, by adding additional layers, all the way up to 100GB storage (theoretically).Could all this Blu-ray/HD-DVD posturing be for naught? If these companies can get any studio support and cheap but high quality (MPEG-2 apparently) high definition DVD's on store shelves before the big guys get traction.......2006 will be an interesting year. Read on for the full press release.
