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.

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.

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.

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.

Storage maven inXtron adds to its line of USB 3.0 devices with the Orbit. Not to be confused with the Altec Lansing Orbit speaker, this Orbit is a 2.5 hard drive enclosure built for two 2.5″ drives. They’ve developed this closely with Gigabyte, who is leading the way with many USB 3.0 implementations; and Silicon Image who is providing its SteelVine Series 3 Core storage technology. These drives can be configured to run in RAID configurations 0 and 1 as well as JBOD. RAID 1 mirroring is an ideal use for this device as a great method to handle drive failures for critical data. Unfortunately, even the best RAID 1 device sacrifices speed for security. Duplicating the data across disks is done real-time and can effectively take twice as long as normal.
RAID 0 is where this drive will really smoke. The USB 3.0 bandwidth can really be exploited with the dual write, striping operations permitted by RAID 0. USB 3.0 should provide plenty of power to be able to run both drives solely with bus power. There’s not much more detail at this time so release may be far off. Hopefully no more than a few months will pass before we can get our hands on one.

TRON, the movie that captured our imaginations and united young and old at the dawn of the graphical evolution for computing, is about to return. The original TRON is still near to our hearts and we challenge you to find someone who didn’t dream of racing Light-Cycles or Frisbee fighting. As weak as that may sound or the TRON Guy makes it look, the TRON movie is bound to be epic. Gamer favorite Razer has recently shown off their TRON:Legacy inspired gaming keyboard and mouse. Made of the same high grade materials that comprise all Razer gaming devices.
Actually, having Razer make a special TRON device is kind of redundant. They already specialize in glowing and futuristic gaming accessories. Please see any of their keyboard, mice, headsets or joysticks for examples of glowing gaming gear. Besides the extra extra cool lighting effects the over-sized mouse wheel is the only obvious variation from the normal slick looks of Razer gear. If you want to take a look at these newest additions to Razer’s line you’ll have to line up at the San Diego Comic-Con next month. Actual release of the items will likely be available closer to the release of the movie slated for December of this year.

Sony once again returns to the compact camera fray with an impossibly thin 10 megapixel slim digicam called the Cybershot DSC-TX1. Boasting the best techno-wizardry Sony has to offer, including a brand new EXMOR R back-illuminated CMOS image sensor, new touch-screen interface, and 720p HD video capability, the TX1 arrives well dressed to the party. With a new set of advanced automatic shooting functions and the novel Sweep Panorama feature requiring no manual stitching or software, the TX1 speaks to the tastes of the fashion-conscious and the demanding shutterbug alike.

It doesn’t seem all that long ago when Corsair first unveiled their Padlock USB flash drive, a secure drive with a nifty keypad to unlock the storage by PIN code without the need for platform-specific software. Too bad the security was bypassed in less than a year by a group of dutch engineers armed with a simple 10K resistor. Corsair’s not one to take such humiliation lightly, however, and has jumped back into the game with the Flash Padlock 2, now backed by 256-bit AES hardware encryption. Better still, the Padlock 2 is now housed in the same rubber casing as the ever-durable Flash Voyager, meaning it’s practically begging to withstand much more than its fair share of flagrant abuse. So how did this new contender fare in the hands of a crazed reviewer? Read on to find out…

On the heels of the notice of Gigabyte’s mega-volume announcement, Asus has shot back with its own pedigree and the breadth of their commitment to innovation. The company has definitely been a major player in the adoption of new technologies and new form factors. Gigabyte may hold the title of most, but Asus asserts, and we agree, they have always been first. First motherboard with USB 3.0 certification from the USB-IF, first nettop with USB 3.0, first to integrate USB 3.0 into their full range of products, not a long list, but definitely an impressive reminder of how hard they have been working to make the best product possible.
Asus has always had our loyalty since the early days of consumer PCs. We’ve gladly ordered products that were the first and best in: tweaked motherboards, Dual CPU capability, SLI support, integrated IO systems, small form factor machines, the EEE PC. That list goes on quite a bit longer and reads like a greatest-hits list of personal computing. We expect sharks with lasers to be built in to their next system at this rate. If you have a few days, try a search for Asus on our site, and you can see for yourself how often we find them newsworthy. One thing is for sure, “new” and “hotness” are words that will be associated with Asus for a long time to come.