Archive for ◊ 2010 ◊

MacBook Air’s USB OS Recovery Key & USB 3.0
Friday, October 29th, 2010 | Author: Grace

For the first time in Apple history, a Mac laptop doesn’t come along with OS recovery on a DVD. Instead, the software is found on a Apple-branded USB key. This certainly isn’t a surprising move considering MacBook Air has been without an optical drive from day one. The USB key is a super slim one with all the system’s software on it, including Snow Leopard and iLife. It also means the same thumbdrive can boot up a dead MacBook Air for repair or OS reinstall.
Could this mean the entire Mac laptop line-up would dump DVD burners altogether? This does appear to be the trend given Steve Jobs also introduced an online Mac App Store. Though, the switch to USB OS recovery drive is likely to address the problem that some users may not have another Mac to enable DVD Sharing. Speaking of the new business notebook, the executive’s MacBook could really use USB 3.0. It now gains an extra USB 2.0 port, but since wireless transfer still isn’t as fast as we would have liked, a faster wired connection like SuperSpeed USB seems like a perfect match with the laptop’s speedy SSD. We certainly hope Jobs doesn’t see USB 3.0 isn’t a bag of hurt.

apple_macbook_air_usb_key_news

LaCie 2Big USB 3.0 RAID Drive Review
Friday, October 29th, 2010 | Author: Grace

LaCie is one of the few companies out there who consistently make products which are as nice to LOOK at as they are to use. Their latest wunderkind, the LaCie 2Big RAID storage solution – powered by none other than USB 3.0 – looks to continue this trend with an all metal design that is very striking and RAID 0, RAID 1 and JBOD modes. Is this combination of beauty and brains a winning combination or is the Lacie 2Big… well too BIG? Read on to find out in my full review.

lacie_2big_usb_3_news

Category: USB Products  | Leave a Comment
Magic Mouse Wannabe
Friday, October 29th, 2010 | Author: Grace

asus_wx_dl_round_mouse_news

Asus may be better known for their netbooks and motherboards, but they occasionally take an interest in peripherals, namely the ‘Pulse Rate’ mouse and Eee Stick. For your consideration, they deliver the WX-DL Mouse. In the Sisyphean effort to build a better mouse, this is definitely an option, albeit not quite as one would hope. In nearly 30 years of commercial use, the basic shape and use are relatively unchanged. Asus’ WX-DL mouse is named for one of its designers, David Lewis. David has given this a bit of a 90’s look with a chrome finished exterior and dark accents. The all aluminum body should feel cool to the touch as well as the eye. The top surface is a touch sensitive control system that can recognize some gestures. It also has active areas that function as remote control buttons for media players.
While the combination of mouse and multi-touchpad is currently championed by Apples Magic Mouse, this worthy suitor may be a PC friendly alternative. You must be willing to forgo the desire to bounce pinballs off it to beat Tommy’s high score. These are available for sale at various vendors for roughly $79 and should be a bit easier to track down than truly revolutionary Cylo/Orbit mouse of years past. We’ll wait for some hands-on reviews to see if the touch surface can finally replace that awkward scroll wheel we rely on so much.

Wireless Multi-touch Mouse
Friday, October 29th, 2010 | Author: Grace

Forty years after the invention of the computer mouse, there’s apparently still room for improvement for this ubiquitous input device. The most revolutionary change is undoubtedly from mechanical to optical mouse. Now that the whole world is embracing touch controls and that Apple already has its own multi-touch mouse hybrid, SPEEDLINK is trying to catch up for the PC with its own version of multi-touch mouse. With the SPEEDLINK Cue Wireless Multitouch Mouse allows you to flick vertically to scroll or horizontally to navigate through pages. You can also customize any commands you want, but keep in mind that the Cue mouse apparently recognizes gestures with one or two fingers. Granted, the mouse surface may not have enough room for three fingers anyway; otherwise, it would be as big as a trackpad. Don’t expect this wireless hybrid mouse to give you any side thumb button as there’s none. At least the Cue gives you up to 8m of wireless freedom via its 2.4Ghz nano transceiver.

speedlink_wireless_multitouch_mouse_news

USB 3.0 SSD Adapter
Friday, October 29th, 2010 | Author: Grace

Storage upgrade options made for just one particular laptop series are unheard of. But when it comes to Mac, it’s easy to see the reasons why the company goes after this lucrative market. The PhotoFast’s latest SSD upgrade kit for MacBook Air, called the GM2 SFV1 Air – is an ultimate performance storage upgrade as it is powered by SandForce SF-1200 controller. This controller choice boosts sequential read and write speed to 250MB/s. This simply dwarfs Apple’s stock SSD’s 200MB/s read & 185MB write. The GM2 SFV1 Air kit comes in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB options. This ensures there’s at least one albeit costly upgrade path should you need to double the storage capacity for your MacBook Air. Putting in the SSD yourself however will pretty much guarantee you would lose the warranty. For the Apple’s stock SSD, PhotoFast provides a USB 3.0 enclosure dongle exclusively designed for the stick. We suppose you can give the oversized, yet super fast thumbdrive to your PC friend with a USB 3.0-equipped PC. He or she will love the gift.

photofast_air_usb_3_adapter_news

Category: USB Products  | Leave a Comment
A Flexible USB Hub Manager
Friday, October 29th, 2010 | Author: Grace

quirky_contort_usb_hub_news

Following Space Bar and Spilt Stick, Quirky has come up yet another community-developed novelty USB gadget. This time, it’s the Contort, a USB 2.0 hub that gives you a net gain of three ports and that manages your USB cables at the same time. Most USB hubs (even the newer SuperSpeed USB models) can’t combat yawn factor, but the Quirky Contort is different. It’s stylish as it is functional.
For starter, the Quirky Contort has flexible TPE rubber neck with 360-degree mobility that allows you to point the hub in any direction. This gives easier access to the four USB ports. Its built-in four anchors can corral your USB cables; the hub’s base can also be expanded (max. 36mm height) to accommodate more cords if needed. Even though the feature list is somewhat short, $30 isn’t too much to ask for some desktop tidiness.

Category: USB News  | Leave a Comment

resize 

To no one’s surprise, Apple iPhone 4 looks exactly like the one obtained by Gizmodo in mid-April. Today’s announcement by Steve Jobs just confirms almost every feature you may find on the new phone. The iPhone 4 is slightly thinner yet contains a battery boosting better run time (7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of video and 10 hours WiFi browsing). The phone has an stainless steel border going around outside; the material doubles as an antenna.

Besides the cosmetic changes, the iPhone quattro receives both major and minor upgrades, including a new speedy Apple A4 processor; a much shaper screen (960 x 640; 326 ppi); a 720p HD video recorder; 802.11n; a front facing camera for video conferencing over WiFi; LED flash; and a second mic for noise cancellation. We would have to say they are mostly incremental improvements, and aren’t close to revolutionary. We would have to say the real focus is on the iAds platform which is in fact the real cash cow since you virtually have unlimited amount of inventory if the apps sales continue to skyrocket.

As for pricing, Apple iPhone 4 32GB will retail for $299 and 16GB for $199. A cheaper $99 version of iPhone 3GS along with the other new models will again be available thru AT&T (USA) starting on June 24th. Other countries also receiving the iPhone 4 at the end of the month.

Category: USB News  | Tags:  | Leave a Comment
ASUS CineVibe Gaming Headset
Friday, July 30th, 2010 | Author: Grace

asus_cinevibe_rumble_usb_headset_news

Asus today enters the gaming headset market with the CineVibe Rumble Feedback USB headset. Always innovating, Asus has added a rumble effect to this gaming headset. This is a more private version of the Buttkicker home theater device or the rumble effects found on many console game controllers. The USB headset is driver-less of course and works on either PC or Apple computers. The rumble vibrations are tuned to low frequency sounds and not with game related events so this technically isn’t a force feedback system, but its potential for sound enhancement is exciting.
Vortez didn’t find the effect that exhilarating. He notes the addition of the low frequency transformation into vibration altered the somewhat average sound of the headset. While the novelty of the sensation would certainly distract from less than stellar sound, most serious gamers will opt for the higher quality circumaural experience found with larger ear cups like the Logitech G35 or those focusing on surround audio like the Razer Megalodon. Anyone who spends a significant amount of time gaming will know that headphones that press on the ear can’t be tolerated for long sessions. We’ll hope Asus tries again with this concept but with a larger version with some configurable drivers and game support.

Category: USB Products  | Tags:  | Leave a Comment
Lexar Echo SE Easily Backs up your Entire Netbook
Friday, July 30th, 2010 | Author: Grace

lexar_echo_se_128gb_news

Lexar Echo SE was first announced along with the Echo ZE nano-sized USB “naildrive” back in January. Now Lexar comes up with 128GB version that is reportedly 15% shorter than other similar offerings. Lexar touts the mega-sized Echo SE 128GB as a secure backup solution for notebooks and notebooks alike. The backup is handled primarily by onboard Dmailer that includes targeted file backup so the software does continuous incremental backup to reduce wasted space and at the same time allows retrieval of previous file versions.
The files are safeguarded by 128-bit AES software encryption. Unique to the Lexar is the cross-platform compatibility. You will be able to restore or back up files on either a PC or Mac. Lexar Echo SE however won’t break any speed record, with read speed topping at 28MB/s and read at 10MB/s.

Category: USB Flash Disk  | Tags:  | Leave a Comment
AMD Hudson Chipset to Get USB 3.0?
Friday, July 30th, 2010 | Author: Grace

amd_hudson_usb_3_0_news

As Intel evidently won’t be offering USB 3.0 as chipset integrated feature until 2012, AMD is taking the opportunity to slap its nemesis in the face by integrating USB 3.0 into its upcoming mobile PC platform. The said platform is code-named Hudson D1 which serves as the southbridge chip for Ontario and Llano APUs – AMD’s CPU/GPU fusion. It is slated to ship in Q4 2010, and will primarily target at thin-notebooks and notebooks.
Rumor has it that AMD is in talks with NEC to license its proven USB 3.0 chipset in order to save R&D money into developing its own solution. NEC seems like an ideal partner as the fab manufacturer has the capacity to ramp up production as soon as orders are received. The talk comes at a time when Intel at last released xHCI spec 1.0 which finalizes the details of the register-level interface for host controller driver in software. The move by AMD will undoubtedly drive the cost per unit even lower to perhaps under $2, and will likely create an incentive for more first-tier manufacturers to adopt SuperSpeed USB.

Category: USB Technologies  | Tags:  | Leave a Comment