Bomb Shaped Portable Speaker

Don’t worry, the bomb will never explode. But if you want to set off your music passion, the bomb shaped portable speaker should be able to help you.

This is an interesting mini speaker that just measures 2 inches diameter by 2 inches tall. As we can see from the images, the portable speaker features a bomb shaped design, and comes with black glossy coating, while the sweet smile makes the bomb more lovely. Inside, there is a 36mm driver featuring 4ohm impedance, through the integrated 3.5mm stereo plug, connecting with any music player with 3.5mm audio jack in order to deliver you clear sound. Apart from that, the mini speaker is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery, and the keychain allows you to attach the speaker to your keys or backpack.

The bomb shaped portable speaker is priced at $16 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Urban Outfitters for more details.

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Wrap’It Headphone Cord Organizer

We have introduced a few nice headphone cord organizers, while the latest finding is the following Wrap’It headphone cord organizer. If you’re also curious, let’s go on checking.

Wrap’It is a practical headphone cord organizer designed for smartphones, tablets and MP3 players. As we can see from the images, the headphone cord organizer features a circular design, and comes with a suction cup in order that you can quickly attach Wrap’It to the smooth surface of your music player, or remove it from the back with ease. Moreover, the cord organizer is constructed of durable, flexible TPE plastic in order to provide you a comfortable touch, and allow the headphone organizer compatible with various headphones. All you need to do is to wrap the cord around Wrap’It and fix the two earbuds in any two slots.

At present, the designer of Wrap’It headphone cord organizer is raising fund on Kickstarter. Pledge $5 will let you own a Wrap’It. If you’re interested, jump to Kickstarter for more details.

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Create your own “privacy monitor”

If you’ve got a spare LCD monitor lying around and you’re comfortable enough to disassemble electronics, you can turn it into a pretty cool privacy monitor. An electrical engineer who met the aforementioned requirements recently turned the LCD monitor into a “privacy monitor” that can only be seen with the use of special glasses. He disassembled the monitor, took apart its plastic frame, cut out the polarized film with an utility knife, and removed the film adhesive from the glass panel.

He then reassembled the monitor and fitted a pair of theater 3D glasses with the film that was removed from the monitor. Viola! A privacy monitor was created. Regardless of what is being shown on the monitor, people without the special glasses will only be able to see a blank white screen. This is probably one of the coolest ways I’ve ever seen a monitor being reused. Head over to Instructables for more detailed instructions.

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Super Mario Cookie and Cupcake Toppers

It’s the right time to surprise your friends with your unique cookies or cupcakes. If they’re familiar with the classic video game, the Super Mario cupcake toppers should be able to catch their eyes.

This is a set of vibrant cookie and cupcake toppers made based on the classic video game series Super Mario. As we can see from the images, each cupcake topper features an iconic character originated from Mushroom Kingdom, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Star, Goomba, Koopa and more. Each cupcake topper comes with nice details and bright colors, and is made from edible fondant, some of them also have toothpick for support. Apart from that, the cupcake topper set contains 24 toppers, each character or item for 2 toppers.

The set of Super Mario cookie and cupcake toppers is priced at $40 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Etsy for more details.

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Temple Multi Functional Leather iPad Bag

Carrying your iPad with rugged, tough iPad bag, and starting a brand adventure, at that moment you were Indiana Jones. Well, let’s go on checking the leather iPad bag by Temple.

Similar with the former Temple leather iPad case, this is a multi functional iPad leather bag that is made of oiled leather, and trimmed with canvas. With the padded shoulder strap, you can conveniently take your iPad to anywhere. In addition to your iPad, the two front pockets and a large back compartment also allow you to carry more needed items like iPhone, USB cable, cleaning cloth, and even a book. Once you flip over the iPad bag, it will double as a folio styled leather iPad case and make your iPad upright for your viewing. And the hidden leather flap can offer you a perfect angle for your typing. Moreover, the leather bag also features a pen holder.

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Your Magnet Multi Functional Phone Stand

Do you remember that impressive U-magnet shaped phone stand? Now the design concept has become reality. That’s Your Magnet.

Your Magnet is a multi functional phone stand designed by Korea-based design studio Lufdesign. The phone stand measures 145 x 95 x 20mm, and is made from PC and PUR. As we can see from the images, the phone stand is shaped as an interesting U-magnet along with vivid color tone. At the each end of the special U-magnet, there is a suction plate, so you can easily attach the phone stand to the back of your smartphone in order to hold it in landscape or portrait viewing mode. And the U-magnet shaped phone stand can also offer you a secure grip. Of course, you can also apply the phone stand to your tabletop as a practical cable organizer or to your cup as a handle. Apparently the more functions rely on your imagination.

Your Magnet multi functional phone stand is available in 5 colors, including red, scarlet, chocolate, gray and lime, each one is priced at $7 USD. If you’re interested, jump to connect design for more details.

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Amoeba Modular USB Flash Drive

How to organize those contents in your USB flash drive? What would you do if there is no enough space in your USB drive? No doubt Amoeba Modular USB flash drive is a perfect solution.

Amoeba Modular USB flash drive is an innovative design concept designed by designer Hyunsoo Song from SADI.  The modular USB drive allows you to add more USB flash drive units. You can also save different contents into each unit based on different categories for convenient management. In addition, simply unhooking the ‘Private’ unit allows you to share info safely. After the break, check out the images about the design concept.

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Nixon Rubber 51-30 Watch

Recently Nixon has added a new coating for their popular Nixon 51-30. If you like the touch feeling of silicone, the Nixon Rubber 51-30 watch should be able to catch your eyes.

Nixon Rubber 51-30 is a unique watch collection. As we can see from the images, each Rubber 51-30 wrist watch features a one-piece injected silicone case for comfortable touch feeling, and the 51mm custom stainless steel interior case with hardened mineral crystal and anti-glare ensures the analog watch durability, while the custom 3 hand Swiss quartz movement with tide subdial shows you the accurate time. Apart from that, the wrist watch also comes with a one-piece injected watch band with stainless steel lugs, and stainless steel buckle with patented locking looper. And the watch also features 30 ATM (300 meter) water resistance.

Nixon Rubber 51-30 analog watch is available in 4 colors, including black, white, blue and pink, each one is priced at $400 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Nixon official site for more details.

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Camera Lens Cap Strap Holder

You had met some trouble in keeping the camera lens cap around you when taking photos with your DSLR camera? Check out the camera lens cap strap holder. It should be a nice solution.

This is very piratical camera lens cap holder designed for those who don’t want to attach the lens cap to their cameras. As we can see from the images, the lens cap holder features a buckle-like construction in order that you can conveniently slide it onto your camera strap, and the holding system allows you to attach your camera lens cap into the holder with the same strong grip just like attaching the cap to your camera lens, while the tight fit can effectively keep the lens cap safely in place. Apart from that, each lens cap holder works with a range of cap sizes.

 

The camera lens cap strap holder is available in 4 types based on different sizes, each one is priced at $18 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Photojojo for more details.

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Spar Zephyr Portable Bluetooth Speaker

We can use portable speaker to enjoy our favorite music. But if you want more functions, Spar Zephyr portable bluetooth speaker may be more suitable for you.

Spar Zephyr portable speaker line contains three different Bluetooth speakers. Each portable speaker features integrated Bluetooth technology in order that you can connect the wireless speaker with your Bluetooth-enabled devices such as iPhone, iPad and etc, while the 3.5mm audio input also allows you to connect it with any music player with 3.5m audio jack. Zephyr 550 and 500 features 2 custom drivers and 1.5w x 2 output in order to deliver you clear, loud sound, and the built-in rechargeable battery can be used as backup battery to charge your device out of juice. Zephyr 550 has a 3000mAh rechargeable battery, while 500 comes with a 1500mAh rechargeable battery.

Spar Zephyr portable Bluetooth speaker is priced from $99.99 to $159.99 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Spar official site for more details.

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Integralus Digital Watch

Do you remember that cute piggy bank styled power strip by Art Lebedev Studio? This time the talent designers turned their focus on wrist watch. Let’s go on checking their latest Integralus digital watch.

Integralus is an innovative digital watch designed by Russia-based Art Lebedev Studio.

The concept watch features a unique dial which consists of two display segments, one for hours, and another for minutes, each segment has a battery of its own. And as we can see from the images, each segment has been snapped into an assembling watch case made of milled aluminum, which connects with vibrant elastic band via spring shafts. After the break, check out the images about the design concept.

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Lizard Shaped USB Flash Drive

The special lizard doesn’t like eating insects, but your various digital contents, so if you want the cute lizard to help you transmit data, let’s go on checking the lizard shaped USB flash drive.

This is an interesting USB flash drive that measures 138 x 54 x 15mm and weights 23g. As we can see from the images, the USB drive features a cute green lizard look, and highlights a large head. But the special lizard is not one of many lizards that can lose their tails when alarmed, but just removing its head, the exposed USB port allows you to connect the lizard with your computer for data transmission. And the built-in flash memory can hold your documents, MP3 files and various data. in addition, the USB drive is compatible with various mainstream operating systems like Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

     

The lizard USB flash drive is available in 3 types of storage capacity: 2GB, 4GB and 8GB. The prices range from $16 to $25 USD. If you’re interested, jump to Brando for more details.

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Report: AMD Vishera (next-gen FX) in Q3 2012

AMD is planning to release their next-gen FX CPUs in Q3 2012. Codenamed Vishera, these CPUs will feature Piledriver cores, and today's FX-Series Zambezi CPUs with Bulldozer cores. The report from Fudzilla also mentions that Vishera will be compatible with the AM3+ platform and 900 series chipsets.

AMD is planning to release their next-gen FX CPUs in Q3 2012. Codenamed Vishera, these CPUs will feature Piledriver cores, and today's FX-Series Zambezi CPUs with Bulldozer cores. The report from Fudzilla also mentions that Vishera will be compatible with the AM3+ platform and 900 series chipsets.

AMD's earlier Zambezi successor, Komodo, which is reportedly canceled, was planned to fit into the FM2 platform, shared with Trinity. AMD is also preparing 1000 series chipsets, with 1090FX and 1070, which will likely be the chipset of choice for Vishera. Trinity will be the first AMD product to feature Piledriver cores, releasing in Q2 2012, and will give a good indication to Vishera's performance characteristics. Vishera will continue to be manufactured at GloFo's 32nm process, which should hopefully be mature by Q3 2012. 

Rumours indicate Vishera will continue to contain 4 Piledriver modules, although the canceled Komodo it replaces was said to feature 5 Piledriver modules. 

Intel's Ivy Bridge-E enthusiast CPUs are also slated to launch around the same time, although AMD's Vishera will most likely battle Intel's Ivy Bridge quad-core CPUs, particularly Core i7 3770K, unless Piledriver brings unexpectedly massive improvements over Bulldozer. 

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Samsung to build Flash memory chip factory in China

Samsung has revealed plans to build a Flash memory chip factory in China as the smartphone and tablet computer markets continue to grow.

The Korean electronics giant will spend upwards of 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) on the new plant, which will produce 20nm Flash memory chips. The exact location of the facility has yet to be decided.

The move signals a vote of confidence in the Chinese market, which many see as an increasingly pivotal region for electronic goods. Samsung is already investing in China with plans to build a factory that will produce flat-screen TVs, one of its strongest industries.

The plans will need to be approved by the South Korean government, which monitors foreign investment made by Korean firms. However, it appears likely that it will be given the go-ahead.

Samsung is a major player in the memory market, producing Flash chips for a number of portable devices, including Apple's highly successful iPhone and iPad ranges. The expansion into China will help secure deals with Huawei and ZTE, both of which are increasing tablet and smartphone output.

Samsung has also increased chip production at its other plants, including its only foreign facility in Austin, Texas, and a new $10 billion factory in South Korea. It hopes to have its Chinese plant open by 2013.

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Super Talent Intros Their Fastest SSD Yet: The 2.5" TeraNova

Super Talent and SSDs have gone together like peas in a pod for years on end, but there's one section of the market that the company has been avoiding until now: pro/enthusiast. At least, that's what the company purports, and they've entered that very market with the introduction of their fastest 2.5" SSD to date, the SATA3 TeraNova.

It boasts SATA3 support, a SandForce 2200 processor (with "optimized firmware"), and offers over 500MB/sec for both reads and writes. The TeraNova also includes new features that enhance reliability as well. In the event of a sudden power loss, the TeraNova reacts, protecting valuable data from corruption before it powers off.

It's available today in 60/120/240/480GB sizes, but as usual, pricing remains under wraps.

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Lian-Li Equips Cases With Washable Fan Filters

Anyone who's opened a PC before knows it's quite common to find dust bunnies inside, even though dust and electronics don't exactly form a great duo. In an effort to help reduce the dust inside of one's case, Lian-Li is equipping all of its cases with easy-to-remove twist motion air filters. These washable air filters work with Lian Li and other manufacturers' 120mm and 140mm fans. The PT-AF12-3B and PT-AF14-3B washable air filters have been shipping on Lian Li cases since September, but you can also order them separately as a spare part.

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TSMC Vows to Ramp Up 28nm Production in 2012, Start 20nm Manufacturing in 2013.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest contract maker of chips, said that it would ramp up production of chips using today's leading-edge 28nm process technology substantially by the third quarter of 2012. TSMC also hopes to start commercial production of chips using 20nm fabrication process in 2013.

After expanding its advanced manufacturing capacities with new production lines in 2012, TSMC will be able to produce 24 thousand of 300mm wafers processed using 28nm manufacturing technology in a month in 2012, according to a report from China Economic News Service which quotes Morris Chang, chief executive officer of the company. Based on certain assumptions, it is believed that the 24 thousand wafers output for 28nm process tech will be reached by Q3 2012. By the end of the year the 28nm production capacity is expected to further increase to around 50 thousand.

TSMC decided to produce chips using 28nm technology process exclusivelly at Fab 15, which will have capacity of more than 100 thousand 300mm wafers per month when fully operational. Construction is divided into four phases, and total investment over years was initially expected to exceed $9.322 billion (NT$300 billion). TSMC began equipment move-in for the phase 1 facility in June 2011 and started volume production of 28nm technology products for customers in October, 2011. The phase 2 of Fab 15 is projected to be completed in Q4 2012 and this will boost total 28nm capacity to reach about 50 thousand wafers per month.

TSMC also reportedly decided to construct phase 3 and phase 4 of Fab 15 in parallel, which will allow it to start production simultaneously and dramatically boost its leading-edge production capacities. In particular, it is expected that TSMC will be able to start commercial manufacturing of chips using 20nm process technology in 2013. Thanks to simultaneous start of manufacturing at two phases of Fab 15, it will be able to ramp up volumes very quickly.

Based on assumption that a 300mm wafer processed using 28nm manufacturing technology costs from $4000 to $5000, the fact that TSMC expects 28nm wafers to account for 1% of its revenue in Q4 2011 (which is between $35 and $40 million), and keeping in mind that the company started to ship first 28nm wafers in late October, at present TSMC can output from 3.5 to 5 thousand 300mm wafers processed at 28nm node in a month (7 - 10 thousand in Q4 2011).

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AMD's Radeon HD 6000 GPU Series Nets DisplayPort v1.2 Certification

Congrats, AMD! Your Radeon HD 6000 Series is the first of its kind to achieve DisplayPort 1.2 Source Certification! What does that mean for the future? According to the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), those graphics products -- including the AMD Radeon HD 6990 -- are the first source devices to achieve DisplayPort Version 1.2 certification. AMD received certification from Granite River Labs, a Santa Clara, California-based VESA DisplayPort Authorized Test Center (ATC), for support of DisplayPort's new 5.4Gbps (gigabits-per-second) HBR2 (High Bit Rate 2) data link rate. These same AMD Radeon HD 6000 graphics products also include additional features from the DisplayPort 1.2 standard, such as multi-stream transport (MST) and Full High Definition (HD) 3D stereoscopic display support.

"Achieving DisplayPort 1.2 Source device certification is an important milestone for us," said David Cummings, director, Graphics Technical Marketing, AMD. "With DisplayPort, we are able to go beyond offering enthusiast gamers faster performance and advanced image quality features. Depending on the GPU model, we can now offer dozens of multi-monitor configuration options up to and including six simultaneous displays, flexibility in display selection, and new DisplayPort audio features, creating an ultra-immersive visual environment for the ultimate gaming experience."

By doubling the maximum data transfer rate to 21.6Gbps, the HBR2 link rate offered by VESA's DisplayPort Version 1.2 standard significantly enhances display and audio performance. This includes increased display resolution, color depths and refresh rates, improved support for Full HD 3D stereoscopic displays, and with MST, better support for multiple monitors connected to a single DisplayPort receptacle. These features make DisplayPort the best choice for high performance PC gaming, prompting increased demand for DisplayPort 1.2 certified products.

Needless to say, we doubt AMD's stopping here, and if you're interested in finally tossing VGA to the curb and looking ahead, you should be one happy gamer.

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AVADirect Now Offers 32Gb of RAM In Clevo, MSI and Asus Notebooks

Do you feel like your notebook is a little lean on RAM? If so, a new offering from AVADirect may be at the top of your holiday wish list. AVADirect has announced tested compatibility for 32GB RAM kits in over a dozen laptops from Celvo, MSI, and Asus. All of the compatible notebooks feature Intel's Sandy Bridge platform and offer 17.3 or 15.6-inch displays. Pricing will vary depending on the model and how much system RAM comes pre-configured by default.

AVADirect Now Offers 32Gb of RAM In Clevo, MSI and Asus Gaming Notebooks

AVADirect, a leading custom computer manufacturer, announces tested compatibility for 32GB RAM Kits now featured in the Clevo P170HM, P151HM, MSI GT780DXR-405US, GT683DXR-634US, and ASUS G53SX, G73SW, G74SX Gaming Notebooks.

The line of Sandy Bridge-based, 17.3 and 15.6 HD display gaming notebooks offer superb performance for the price. Until now, the notebooks were placed second as AVADirect's flagship notebook line when compared to the Clevo X7200, a desktop replacement that features an Intel 1366 desktop socket. With the option to upgrade the them up to 32GB of RAM using tested compatible RAM kits, end-users can take advantage of Clevo P170HM, P151HM, MSI GT780DXR-405US, GT683DXR-634US, and ASUS G53SX, G73SW, G74SX Gaming Notebooks capability by using added resource to edit photos, video, and open large-scale files/applications without an impact on consistently smooth performance.

AVADirect will continue to test unique solutions and confirm availability by listing these options on their website. The innovative custom computer builder strives on providing the latest in high-end hardware to provide professionals and enthusiasts with the right tools for desired tasks. AVADirect understands the importance of creating solutions for many different market segments while maintaining reliable, high-quality products. These standards are what separate AVADirect from its competitors.

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Motorola's Xyboard: Now With Fewer Features, Weaker GPU

The Motorola Xoom was a notorious flop thanks to a sky-high price tag, features that didn't work for months (the company didn'ts tart upgrading the tablet to its promised 4G capability until late this fall), and a buggy implementation of Honeycomb that was a direct result of Motorola pushing too hard for an early launch.

Moto, defiant in the face of such failure, went back to the drawing board and has given us the Xyboard / Xoom 2. The new tablet doesn't just replicate some of the mistakes that doomed its predecessor, it adds new flaws and foibles. This, my friends, is dedication at its finest.

First, let's talk specs. The new Xyboard comes in 8.2" and 10.1" flavors with full retail prices of $599 and $699 respectively ($429 and $529 w/ two-year Verizon contract). That makes the Xyboard $100 cheaper than a 16GB 9.7" iPad 2 w/ equivalent contract . The front camera is lower quality (1.3Mpixels vs. 2.0 MP on the original Xoom), there's no more removal storage, and the GPU is significantly less powerful. Like the original, it runs Honeycomb (Motorola has said that an ICS upgrade will be pushed out at an undefined later date.

Motorola is primarily talking up the increase in CPU speed (from 1GHz to 1.2GHz), but neglects to mention that it swapped out Nvidia for a TI OMAP4 solution, including an SGX540. There's nothing inherently wrong with the SGX540 GPU, but it's significantly less powerful than NV's Tegra 2 -- much less Tegra 3 or the iPad 2's SGX5432 MP2. In short, this is a tablet that packs a GPU better suited to a smartphone.

The Xyboard is equally bizarre from a business perspective. The great, painful tablet lesson of 2011 was that consumers weren't interested in Android approximations of what they viewed as a superior Apple product. Motorola scarcely lacks for company in this field; the Touchpad tanked, PlayBook punted, Streak sank, and the Xoom xucked. Of all the companies in question, Moto is the only one who got up, dusted itself off, and decided to strip out some features and hit a price point marginally lower than the iPad 2's, because clearly the success of the Kindle Fire and Nook tablet at half or less of Apple's MSRP proved the market was ready for expensive Android solutions.

This tablet is very nearly a uniquely lousy deal. If you don't need 3G service, there are cheaper options with better features. If you do want 3G access, the iPad 2 is a much more powerful machine. The 8.2" option is a bit more interesting  (and for a landscape tablet, it fits better in the hands), but both the Kindle Fire and the Nook tablet are still much cheaper and have more rich content options available.

Who is this thing supposed to actually appeal to? We have no idea. If it seems like we're being harsh on the device, remember, the prices we've quoted above are for a two-year contract with a minimal $350 cancellation fee. This is a piece of hardware you're going to be sitting on for quite some time -- but it's outfitted with last-generation equipment and actually offers fewer features than its predecessor.

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Razer Blade Shipping in Time for Christmas, Razer Says

The Razer Blade gaming notebook by Razer is one sexy looking laptop that didn't make it into our Holiday Gift Guide this year, but that's partially because we had no idea when it would be available. Until now, that is. According to reports, it's going to ship in time for Christmas, and if you're confident it will live up to the hype, you can add it to your wish list before handing it over to your significant other.

 

Razer CEO Min-Liang Tag spoke with Kotaku about the Razer Blade and explained that the "world's first true gaming laptop" will go up for pre-order very soon. It won't be cheap, however, coming in at $2,800, though the hardware's been slightly changed (for the better) since it was originally announced.

"Prior to the announcement of the Razer Blade, we had to deal with skeptical component suppliers who were convinced that no one wanted a well-designed gaming laptop – and that all the users cared about were cheap and mass produced laptops. To convince them to supply us, we offered a premium over their listed prices for the components" said Tan.

"After the announcement of the Razer Blade, they were floored with the response from the press and the community and we managed to negotiate a price down for the components. We were able to convince them to bring the cost down and with the cost savings; we decided to upgrade the 320GB HDD to a 256 SSD drive," Tan added.

It's a storage downgrade in terms of capacity, but an obvious performance upgrade moving from a mechanical hard drive to a solid state drive. Other specs include:

• Intel Core i7 2640M processor
• GeForce GT 555M graphics
• 8GB DDR3-1333 memory
• 17.3-inch display (1920x1080 resolution)
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• HD webcam
• Backlit keyboard with integrated LCD panel

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AMD Southern Islands (Tahiti / HD 7900) Pictured

A mysterious picture has been posted by a member of Beyond3D forums, capturing two next-gen AMD graphics cards in Crossfire. These new graphics cards are certainly enthusiast (and power hungry) products of the upcoming Southern Islands family, most likely to be Tahiti XT - expected to be branded Radeon HD 7970.

The first visual observation is that these cards are hefty and approximately 10 inches long - or around the same length as HD 6970. They contain 12 memory chips (as demarkated on the picture - the 12th being at the edge of the PCI-e connector), which suggests a memory interface of 384-bit - a novelty for AMD/ATI GPUs. There seems to be a provision for 2x8-pin PCI-e power connectors on the PCB - or upto 375W power. However, both cards are powered by the SIG approved 6-pin + 8-pin configuration, powering upto 300W. The two cards are powered by a 850W power supply. This is no doubt a power hungry card, and all this power seems to be fed through a mammoth 20 phase VRM. 

The first Southern Islands / AMD Radeon HD 7000 series 28nm GPUs are set to release in January 2012, most likely around CES 2012 time. Whether it will be the above pictured enthusiast Tahiti / HD 7900 or the performance Pitcairn / HD 7800, as previously rumoured, remains to be seen. 

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Beware of Lost and Found USB Flash Drives

If you should happen to run across a USB flash drive on the subway, you may want to leave it there, assuming you weren't planning to take it to lost and found to begin with. There's a good chance it's infected with malware, and that doesn't just apply to USB keys you find on the ground, but ones you buy at auction, too.

Security firm Sophos said it studied 50 USB keys bought at a major transit authority's Lost Property auction, and of those 50, two-thirds were infected with malware. That's bad news for the buyer, and the previous owner doesn't get off scot-free either. The study also revealed that drives were filled with information about many of the former owners, including their family, friends, and colleagues.

 

"We found 62 infected files in total. The worst key contained six infected files, representing four separate items of malware," Sophos said in a blog post. "We didn't find any OS X malware. But nine of the keys appeared to belong to Macintosh owners (or at least had been used extensively on Macs); seven of these were infected.

"In other words, if you're a Windows user, don't assume that you can automatically trust everything that comes from your Apple-loving friends. And even if you're one of those Mac users who is opposed to the concept of anti-virus software, consider softening your stance as a service to the community as a whole."

Another fun tidbit: none of the 50 USB keys were encrypted, though none contained any "smoking guns," like insider trading tips, credit card dumps, criminal plots, etc. There were, however, files containing tax deductions, minutes of an activists' meeting, photo albums of family and friends, software and web source code, and other information you typically wouldn't want to go around sharing willy-nilly.

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AMD refreshes Notebook Llano A-Series range

AMD has quietly rolled out incremental upgrades to the A-Series APU line-up for notebooks. This refresh will be the last for Llano before Trinity ships in H1 2012. In general, most of the new models increment CPU clock speed by 100 MHz for both base and turbo, while the GPU part remains unchanged. 

 

The first refresh, A4-3305M, is the only one which does not follow the general pattern. It features the same clock speed as the A4-3300M, but with only 1MB L2 cache. While branded HD 6480G, the GPU is different from that in other A4 APUs. Instead of 240 SP @ 444 MHz, A4-3305M features 160 SP @ 593 MHz. This suggests that unlike other A4 APUs, which are quad-cores with 2 cores disabled, A4-3305M is based on the native dual-core Llano die, which features only 160 SP. 

The remaining new models follow a similar pattern - one model for 35W and 45W APUs each, for A4, A6 and A8 series, each advancing clock speed by 100 MHz over exisiting Llano APUs. The top 35W APU will be A8-3520M, with the 45W flagship being A8-3550MX - finally breaking the 2 GHz barrier. The only existing APU to not receive a direct refresh is the A8-3510MX clocked at 1.8/2.5 GHz, which presumably will continue to fill in the void left between A8-3520M @ 1.6/2.5 GHZ and A8-3550MX @ 2/2.7 GHz. 

A similar refresh is expected for A-series Desktop APUs in early Q1 2012. Following these, the next stop for AMD's A-Series will be Trinity, releasing in first half 2012. 

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AMD Radeon HD 7000M / NVIDIA GeForce 600M mainstream GPUs announced

AMD and NVIDIA have both introduced their first next-gen products - mainstream GPUs for the Radeon HD 7000M and GeForce 600M. However, they are next-gen only in branding - they continue to be 40nm GPUs based on HD 6000M and GeForce 500M, with the true next-gen reserved for higher end products.  

The AMD refreshes include Radeon HD 7600M, 7500M and 7400M. The HD 7400M series is based on the same Seymour XT chip powering HD 6400M. The same applies for HD 7600M, based on Whistler, which powered HD 6600M/6700M. However, in both cases, the HD 7000M parts should end up faster due to higher clocks.

HD 7600M should end up performing more like HD 6700M. HD 7500M is now based on 480SP Whistler, over 400SP Capilano for the HD 6500M, and also introducing GDDR5 memory albeit with a 64-bit memory bus (net effect should be similar memory bandwidth).
However, some SKUs in the HD 7500M series will continue to utilize DDR3.

NVIDIA's new products include GeForce GT 635M, GT 630M and 610M. There are no changes whatsoever and are direct rebrands of GeForce 500M GPUs. The GT 635M replaces all the variants of GT 555M, GT 540M is rebranded as GT 630M and GeForce 520MX is now GeForce 610M.
For everyone expecting true next-gen 28nm GPUs with new architectures, this will be a disappointment. However, due to greater risk and higher costs with a new and risky process like TSMC's 28nm, both AMD and NVIDIA have opted to play it safe for the entry-level and mainstream segments.

The true next-gen will most likely find its way as HD 7700M, 7800M and 7900M, as well as GT 635M to GTX 690M, in 2012. 

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Intel and Micron announces world's first 20nm 128Gbit NAND flash

If all goes well, then we can look forward to much larger SSDs come the second half of next year as Intel and Micron has announced that their joint venture IM Flash Technologies will be launching 128Gbit NAND flash sometime in the second half of next year. In the meantime, we'll have to make do with IMFT's 20nm 64Gbit NAND flash which the two companies announced has gone into mass production.

The 64Gbit parts are built using IMFT's brand new 20nm process which should for the time being, be the most advanced flash memory manufacturing process. However, this is merely a stepping stone to the 128Gbit parts which are made using the same process, but with quite a few technical advances in terms of everything else.

 

For starters, IMFT is promising terabit storage in a chip using eight 128Gbit NAND flash devices in a single package and if you don't know your bits from your bytes, then that is 128GB, i.e. a standard size SSD on a chip. The 128Gbit chips will also feature ONFI 3.0 which will boost the interface speed to 333 megatransfers per second which should see SSDs gain further performance next year as multiple chips are used to make up SSDs.

With a move to more storage capacity per chip it should become more affordable to create larger size SSDs for the drive makers, as you could make a 1TB SSD out of a mere eight chips. As for concerns about data retention and product life, IMFT has developed what they call "planar cell structure" that is meant to make the 20nm chips as reliable as current 25nm chip if we're reading the press release correct. The new NAND flash devices are also made using Hi-K metal gate, which is apparently another first in NAND flash production.

It looks like the latter half of 2012 will be an interesting time for SSDs and the good news is that IMFT is expecting to sample 128Gbit devices to its partners as early as January. We're fairly certain that Intel and Micron will get first dibs on these parts, but as long as production quantities ramp as expected, IMFT is going to bring some serious competition to Samsung and the other NAND flash makers. Who's up for a smartphone or a tablet with 128GB of built in storage?

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IOGEAR Intros New USB 3.0 Accessories

USB 3.0 may not be the hotness that it was a year or so ago, but it's still a protocol that's not adopted everywhere, and in turn, more and more accessory companies are jumping on the bandwagon -- even today. IOGEAR has just announced a new SuperSpeed family of products, including the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 4-Port Hub (GUH374) and USB 3.0 SD/Micro SD Card Reader/Writer (GFR304SD).

Moving data at a clip of 5Gbps, the new USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Card Reader / Writers and SuperSpeed USB 3.0 4-Port Hub improve connectivity and efficiency between computers and the peripherals that create, store and transfer digital content.  The compact USB 3.0 Hub is plug-n-play for a no hassle installation and hot swappable for easy connecting and disconnecting of device, while the card reader will handle SD, SDHC, SDXC, MicroSD, MicroSDHC, MicroSDXC, MMC II, RS MMC, Ultra II SD, Extreme SD and Extreme III SD.

Pricing for the IOGEAR USB 3.0 SuperSpeed products are:

• IOGEAR SuperSpeed USB 3.0 4-Port Hub (GUH374) - $49.95
• IOGEAR SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader/Writer (GFR381) - $37.95
• IOGEAR SuperSpeed USB 3.0 SD/Micro SD Card Reader/Writer (GFR304SD) - $16.95.

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