Asus Tablet

AsusTek's answer to the iPad comes in the form of the EEE Pad Transformer.

AsusTek launches Android-powered Tablet

ANOTHER CONTENDER: A Taiwanese model displaying an Asus Eee Pad Transformer during its unveiling in Taipei, Taiwan. The Asus Eee Pad Transformer features a 10.1-inch touch screen, tablet with a detachable keyboard dock. - AP

TAIPEI: Asustek Computer Inc unveiled a sleek Tablet computer after the Taiwanese firm saw the sales of its once popular line of mini-laptops stall following the launch of Apple's hit iPad.

AsusTek said the EEE Pad Transformer, which runs on the Android 3.0 operating system, distinguishes itself with an optional keyboard that is superior to docking options for other Tablets because of its light weight and flexibility.

Its 10.1in screen with a front and rear camera can be detached from the keyboard to allow users on the move quick web browsing and film viewing. Plugging it to the keyboard dock, the device can then be used as a fully-fledged laptop.

"In our own pursuit of perfection, we offer users more options," AsusTek CEO Jerry Shen told The Associated Press. "They can get a full range of functions including 10-finger touch, Flash supported video viewing, e-book reading, and a physical keyboard so they don't have to deal with any inconveniences."

The EEE Pad Transformer, which just became available for pre-order in Taiwan, goes on sale in Britain on March 30, to be followed by US sales.

In Taiwan, the 16GB version without the keyboard sells for US$500 (RM1,600), while the keyboard version costs US$600 (RM1,920). The company did not provide prices for other markets.

Another Asus Tablet, the 12in e-Slate powered by the Microsoft Windows operating system, went on sale in January, while two additional Asus Tablet models will go on sale soon. Shen said he expected total sales of the four models to reach two million units this year.

Taiwan's Acer Inc, the world's third largest computer vendor, has already unveiled four Tablet models, as well as a 4.8in smartphone that doubles as a Tablet. The company says all will be on sale next month.

Shen acknowledged Apple Inc's current dominance in the rapidly expanding Tablet computer market, but predicted that its market share would fall to 50% by next year, as devices run on Android and Microsoft systems pick up steam.

Asus pioneered netbooks - mini-laptops - to great fanfare in 2007. Once seen as a key to the company's growth, sales remained flat in 2010, Shen said, following the iPad's appearance in the marketplace. - AP

http://techcentral.my/news/story.aspx?file=/2011/3/28/it_news/20110328102203&sec=it_news

Sandy Bridge in Malaysia

Sandy Bridge is officially launched in Malaysia and it seems that they also solved the motherboard flaw.

The main significance for this is that we can get more powerful laptops and PCs at a lower price.

Sandy Bridge officially lands here

OFFICIAL LAUNCH: Prakash speaking at the launch of the company's new second-generation Core processor family.

KUALA LUMPUR: Intel has officially launched its second-generation Intel Core processors, (formerly codenamed "Sandy Bridge") in the country.

In terms of architecture, these second-generation Core processors are a major departure from the last generation of processors, as it integrates both the CPU (central processing unit) with the GPU (graphics processing unit) onto a single piece of silicon.

By integrating the two onto a single die, the performance is greatly improved compared to using a CPU with a similarly-specified but separate GPU located on the PC's motherboard.

The second-generation Core processors will still follow the current naming convention, i.e. Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7, but with a new logo to differentiate the new versions from their predecessors.

According to Prakash Mallya, Intel Malaysia country manager of sales and marketing, the company calls the new second-generation Core processors "Visibly Smart" in reference to how noticeably fast the chips process high-resolution digital photos, encode/decode videos and handle 3D (stereoscopic) video playback.

Prakash amusingly opened his speech by stating, amongst other things, that he would not mention Moore's Law (a mantra often repeated in speeches from Intel executives) in his presentation.

The international launch of Sandy Bridge has not been as smooth as Intel would have hoped for - at the end of January, the company announced that it had discovered a design flaw in the SATA controllers for the motherboard chipsets of the Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge-based processors.

In response, Intel offered its OEM partners workarounds to the problem, as well as returns, modifications or replacements as needed on motherboards or systems.

The company has since fixed the flaw in new chipsets that were shipped starting from the end of February.

http://techcentral.my/news/story.aspx?file=/2011/3/10/it_news/20110310171958&sec=it_news

Get a contract free iPhone 4 with the iDigi Promo

Get a Second iPhone 4 at RRP with the iDiGi Promo!

There’s nothing quite like the joy of being the owner of a brand new iPhone 4. We know. It’s just so shiny, so pretty, and nothing beats the ‘ooooohs’ and ‘aaaahs’ from your friends when you whip it out to show them that cool app you just bought today.

But it gets a little lonely after a while if you don’t have anyone to share your excitement over Fruit Ninja or Angry Birds with, right? Some things (like madly swiping at fruits) are infinitely more fun when you have friends to share it with 

Which is why starting today till 31 March 2011, DiGi is giving you the chance to get a second iPhone 4 without a contract with their iDiGi plans!

If you know somebody who’s just itching to get their hands on an iPhone 4 but is balking at the thought of a contract, this is the perfect time to get one  There are two ways you can go about it;

- Sign up for a new line under an iDiGi plan
- Upgrade your existing iDiGi plan to iDiGi 138 or iDiGi 238

When you sign up or upgrade your existing plan, you’ll get the opportunity to purchase a second iPhone 4 at the recommended retail price (RRP) without the need for another contract! This way, you get to save up to RM 288 on DiGi to DiGi calls, SMS and MMS over 6 months.

The promotion ends 31 March 2011. For more information about the z, log on to http://bit.ly/fGWLEY

GOOGLE BODY BROWSER

Now we can learn anatomy in 3D using the web courtesy of Google.

GOOGLE BODY BROWSER LETS YOU BROWSE THE HUMAN ANATOMY

We all know how the earth look like, thanks to those big round globe we have at home but how does a detailed earth look like? Thanks to Google Earth, you get to see not only the big round planet we reside in, we can also zoom into any parts of the earth to see every sea, trees, buildings, and with Google Maps Street View, you can even see people (sometimes doing bizarre things). So how does a human body look like? Thanks to Google again, you can use the Body Browser to see a 3D model of a human anatomy.

With the Google Body Browser, not only do you get to see a human body from the skin all the way down to the skeleton, it will show you everything (in 3D view), including the muscles, organs, tendons, tissues, veins, arteries and so many more but I failed my biology to properly list them all out but in a nutshell, you can see everything a human body has minus the gruesome blood. On top of that, all the parts of the human body, organs and such are labeled and all you have to do is click on it to see what it is. I think the team at Google Labs just made learning biology a whole lot more fun. Check it out in the Google Labs page but you’re going to need a web browser with WebGL support (Chrome beta, Firefox 4.0b1).

http://www.lowyat.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3717&Itemid=2

Apple launches iPad 2

I don't whether user in Malaysia will be delighted or sad cause the Apple iPad2 is now launched although the official iPad release is barely 6 months ago but anyway the Apple iPad seems to have some great improvements over its predecessor.

APPLE LAUNCHES IPAD 2

Apple® today introduced iPad^TM 2, the next generation of its magical device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading ebooks and much more. iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen.

iPad 2 features Apple's new dual-core A5 processor for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics and now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime® and Photo Booth®, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time. Though it is thinner, lighter, faster and packed with new features, iPad 2 still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life* that users have come to expect. iPad 2 is available in black or white, features models that run on AT&T's and Verizon's 3G networks, and introduces the innovative iPad 2 Smart Cover in a range of vibrant polyurethane and rich leather colors.

"With more than 15 million iPads sold, iPad has defined an entirely new category of mobile devices," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "While others have been scrambling to copy the first generation iPad, we're launching iPad 2, which moves the bar far ahead of the competition and will likely cause them to go back to the drawing boards yet again."

With the new front and rear cameras, iPad 2 users can now make FaceTime calls to millions of iPhone® 4, iPod touch® and Mac® users so they can see family and friends anywhere there is Wi-Fi. Photo Booth lets you apply fun visual effects, including eight photo special effects like Squeeze, Twirl and Kaleidoscope, to photos captured by either camera. 
iPad 2 comes with iOS 4.3, the latest version of the world's most advanced mobile operating system, with new features including faster Safari® mobile browsing performance; iTunes® Home Sharing; enhancements to AirPlay®;** the choice to use the iPad side switch to either lock the screen rotation or mute audio; and Personal Hotspot to share an iPhone 4 cellular data connection over Wi-Fi.*** Additional iPad 2 features include a built-in gyro for advanced gaming; HSUPA support for enhanced 3G upload speeds on iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G on AT&T, and HDMI Video Mirroring that lets users mirror their iPad screen on an HDTV using an optional adaptor.

The innovative new iPad 2 Smart Cover provides protection for the iPad screen while maintaining its thin and lightweight profile. Designed with a unique self-aligning magnetic hinge that makes it easy to attach and remove, the new iPad 2 Smart Cover automatically wakes iPad 2 when it's opened and puts it to sleep when it's closed, and has a soft microfiber lining to help keep the screen clean. The Smart Cover also folds into a stand for typing or viewing videos and is available in vibrant polyurethane for $39 or rich leather for $69 in a range of colors, including a (PRODUCT) RED one which helps support the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Apple also introduced two new apps: iMovie® and GarageBand® for iPad, both available on the App Store℠ for just $4.99 each. With iMovie, iPad 2 users can shoot and edit videos right on their iPad and post their movies to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and their MobileMe℠ gallery; watch them on their iPod®, iPhone or iPad; as well as view them on their HDTV using AirPlay and Apple TV®. GarageBand turns your iPad into a collection of touch instruments and 8-track recording studio, allowing you to perform with onscreen keyboards, guitars, drums and basses using multi-touch gestures-even if you don't play a musical instrument.

iPad 2 runs almost all of the over 350,000 apps available on the App Store and there are more than 65,000 native iPad apps available from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The iTunes Store gives iPad users access to the world's most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 14 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 10,000 films including over 3,500 in stunning high definition video. The iBooks® app for iPad includes Apple's iBookstore℠, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device.


http://www.lowyat.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4049&Itemid=2

Fujitsu Wireless PC Monitor

A wireless PC display sounds cool and I think could be pretty handy for people who are obsessed with keeping their workstation wire free although I think the display could be prone to theft as there is nothing holding them back.

Fujitsu shows off wireless PC display at CeBIT

Many of us can now wirelessly stream images from a computer to a screen over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi without too much trouble, but the display is still inevitably powered by cables. At CeBIT 2011, Fujitsu is showing off a working prototype of a 22-inch computer display that receives both images and power wirelessly. The power transfer is made possible by magnetic induction technology – similar toPowermat chargers – that's concentrated into hotspots built into office furniture or conference tables.

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I remember being somewhat disappointed when I bought my first wireless telephone. Although there were no cables connecting the handset to the base, there were still numerous wires joining the base to the power outlet and the telephone socket, and there was even one dangling down the back to provide a better signal.

Happily, wireless technology has moved on somewhat since then and we're now at a point where our homes are filled to the brim with computing solutions that connect to the internet without needing to be positioned next to a router, televisions and audio systems that can play digital media from a box located in another part of the house and mobile phones that can be charged by placing them on a special mat.

Now Fujitsu, working with the Fraunhofer Institute and other German partners under a project funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs, has developed a completely wireless solution for the provision of power and images to a computer display.

The new 22-inch proof-of-concept, park and play, wire-free monitor receives its power using something called Smart Universal Power Access (SUPA) technology. The display is placed on a hotspot area of a desk and draws power via magnetic induction from a transmitter located inside the desk or office panel or conference table, making as safe to use as electric toothbrush chargers. It receives its images over wireless USB from a desktop PC or notebook within a range of up to 10 meters (32 feet).

"We are planning to introduce the first models incorporating totally wireless power technology to our LED-backlit display range within the next year," said Fujitsu's Rajat Kakar. "This is another technology innovation from Fujitsu, following on from our 0-Watt PCs and displays. In operation, there's no difference in quality from the desktop image – except that we've consigned cables to the history books of display technology."

The working prototype is currently on display at the Fujitsu booth in the Dealers only section at CeBIT 2011. Pricing details are expected at launch.

http://www.gizmag.com/fujitsu-unveils-wireless-pc-monitor-at-cebit/18017/