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VIA's power-sipping VN1000 chipset brings Blu-ray playback, DX 10.1 support to low-end rigs
VIA may not have the clout that AMD or Intel have, but one thing's for sure: these guys sure love to bring as much heat as possible to the broke-as-a-joke among us. Take the all new VN1000 chipset, for instance, which is designed for Windows 7-based all-in-one PCs and other low-end desktops that yearn for the ability to handle modern day multimedia. The chipset is compatible with VIA's range of Nano, C7, C7-M and Eden processors, and aside from supporting DDR3 memory, up to five PCI slots, up to four SATA II drives, a multicard reader and 12 USB 2.0 ports, it also allows for Blu-ray playback. Users can slap up to 16GB of RAM around it, and the integrated Chrome 520 GPU is apparently potent enough to support DirectX 10.1 and BD films. Who says 1080p is reserved for royalty? %Gallery-80089%
OLPC's XO Generation 1.5 Laptop dances from GNOME to Sugar, on video!
We know how thrilled you were when you first witnessed the XO 1.5 outpace an overclocked XO 1.0 earlier this month. Still, there's no doubt in our mind that even that level of excitement will soon be overshadowed by the insane craziness you are about to experience in the form of a video showing the newest OLPC machine as it glides softly from GNOME to Sugar Linux environments... and back again. Wild, right? Don't let us spoil it for you -- you can peep the 1GHz powered ultraportable in all its glory after the break.Update: Whoa, boy. Liliputing was able to get a peek at this unit's motherboard, and they were even kind enough to take us all on a video tour. Enjoy!
OLPC's XO Generation 1.5 Laptop handled, speed tested - on video!
The lucky kids at the OLPC Learning Club DC got paid a visit by a man sporting a beefed up XO 1.5 laptop recently and was kind enough to put on a little show for the group. Featuring a VIA C7-M 1GHz variable speed processor, the update to the classic XO machine promises full screen video playback, faster eToys and scratch animation, more storage for a larger offline library, better image capture and remixing, and an all-around better Java experience. In an admittedly unscientific (but still pretty sweet) side by side comparison, the XO 1.5 (left) was able to boot up and launch eToys (a real memory hog) before the XO 1.0 had booted up all the way -- this despite the fact that the 1.5 was started a little later, and that the 1.0 is overclocked to 500MHz. We're looking forward to seeing more red hot XO 1.5 action as the release date grows nigh -- in the meantime, the video below will have to tide us over. Enjoy!
India bids mythical $10 laptop adieu, turns to OLPC
What's worse than a $10 laptop that winds up costing $30? A $10 $30 laptop that's not really a laptop at all. India is shrugging off the disappointment surrounding its apparent failure to bring home-grown tech to its youth, but thankfully isn't giving up on the kids, ordering a whopping 250,000 OLPC XO laptops. Waiting this long to drink the Negroponte Kool Aid means 1,500 schools will get the latest and greatest models, featuring VIA C7-M processors and bumped up storage. The plan is for a total of three million portable computers for Indian schools this year, and while it's unclear just how many will be little, green, and different, that's a whole lot of lappys regardless.
XO Generation 1.5 promises some beefed up internals while we wait for XO-2 to change everything
We're pretty stoked to see that upcoming dual-screen sequel to the XO, OLPC's promised XO-2. Until then, OLPC is sprucing up the insides of its current design with a new VIA C7-M processor that can be clocked between 400MHz and 1GHz depending on the task at hand. Alongside the new processor the "Generation 1.5" model will sport a hot new VX855 chipset that can handle 3D graphics, HD video, and general management duties, and should be able to do it with a smaller footprint and less power consumption. The screen will likely remain the same, but might be tweaked slightly to improve brightness and efficiency, and the whole package should be built with components that will be more likely to drop in price. Developers should get the main board by May, with prototypes for testing going out in August and we suppose wide availability sometime after that.
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Engadget Chinese tracks down VIA NanoBook's US OEM: Everex
Our brethren over at Engadget Chinese just went hands-on with the Via NanoBook at Computex. Better yet, they seem to have unearthed the other, US-bound OEM: FIC (First International Computer) as it's known in Taiwan, or Everex as we know 'em Stateside. Makes sense given Everex's penchant for VIA C7-M procs in their StepNote series of laptops. The FIC CE260 they played with even had a prototype Skype-phone module in place of that oddball world clock insert seen previously. Also new is a date: they were told to expect the unit to show up in China and Europe (presumably under the Packard Bell branding) sometime in August. Engadget Chinese has tons of pics and first-hand impressions so be sure to click the "read" link below for a quick trip across the Pacific.
New Samsung Q1b to sport Via C7-M processor?
We've all come to accept the fact that the UMPC hasn't had the heroic launch Microsoft had originally intended, and a fair share of the blame seems to get placed on the (relatively) high price tags, but more costly is possibly the unbearably short battery life of many of these handhelds. Even though the momentous hype saw some of these bad boys initially sold out, it didn't take long for folks to start griping over the "standard" 2.5 hours of battery life, even though bulking up a "ultramobile" machine seemed a counterintuitive solution. Samsung has apparently went back to the drawing board, and is supposedly planning on swapping in a new, more energy efficient processor to preserve those precious minutes of life. If CNET UK is to be believed, Samsung's forthcoming Q1b will be the one to house a Via C7-M chip -- while speculation involving this move piqued our interest previously, bringing it to fruition is undoubtedly a smart move. Those energy-focused engineers at Samsung are also packing massive 32GB SSDs into future UMPC models (namely the NT-Q1-SSD); the Q1b will reportedly sport a 60GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM, which could make (somewhat) commendable strides in keeping the UMPC powered up longer on a single charge, but pairing the Via C7-M with an SSD would seem the optimal (albeit costliest) solution. Regardless, all this power saving definitely won't come cheap, and while we don't know what the Via-equipped Q1b will set you back (nor if it will eventually pack that swank flash hard drive), it should still be a slightly easier pill to swallow if it operates longer than an extended lunch break.[Via jkOnTheRun]
