Pioneer First 12x Blu-ray Disc Writer

Pioneer today announced its new BDR-205 Blu-ray Disc Computer Writer, the industry?s first and fastest model to feature up to 12x write speed for single and dual-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD) media.

The drive has been already introduced in Japan last week (read about the BDR-S05J here)

When utilized with a properly configured PC, the drive?s Low Vibration Mechanism Design improves overall writing accuracy.

“The BDR-205 drive represents our ongoing efforts to combine Pioneer’s engineering expertise with advanced technologies, and our next generation Blu-ray Disc writer is a great example of our no-compromise approach to optical disc product development,” said Steve Cohn, director of optical disc sales for Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “We are bringing to market the fastest Blu-ray Disc writer to date, and it is just one of the many ’firsts’ that have come to define Pioneer’s 30-year heritage in optical disc innovation and leadership.” Dynamic Performance for an Array of Professional Users

When utilized with a properly configured PC, the drive’s Low Vibration Mechanism Design improves overall writing accuracy, especially for those preserving copious amounts of critical data. Designed for maximum flexibility, Pioneer’s writer provides significant solutions for multiple user groups, including:

• System builders can confidently recommend the sophisticated BDR-205 to their clients, noting the drive’s unique design, robust build quality and high grade parts
• With 50Gbytes** of storage space on a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc, professional users can utilize the BDR-205 to rapidly test high definition feature films during the authoring process, as well as to back up large volumes of data with ease
• Besides up to 12x write speeds for Blu-ray Disc media, Pioneer’s new computer drive also provides read and write speed performance up to 16x for DVD and 40x for CD media

The new BDR-205 Blu-ray Disc computer writer begins shipping October 2009. The retail version of this product, the BDR-2205, will be available Q1 2010 for $249 MSRP.

Nvidia Ready to Enter The DirectX 11 Gaming With Upcoming 40nm GT300 GPU

Nvidia lagged behind rival AMD in the introduction of a Direct X 11 GPU but it seems that the company is ready to make an impressive come back with the upcoming GT300 chip, which bloggers already describe as a "computational beast".

Nvidia's upcoming 40nm GPU codenamed "Fermi" or simpler "GT300" is slated for a Q4 2009 launch, meaning that it will most probably show up around the end of November.

Rumors about the new chip indicate that it will pack a lot of architectural changes compared to Nvidia's GT200 generation of GPUs.

Manufactured by TSMC, the 40nm chip is expected to pack three billion transistors and 16 Streaming Multiprocessor (former Shader Cluster). Each multiprocessor has 32 cores, with each core to be able to execute an integer or a floating point instruction per clock per thread.

The chip also packs six 64-bit GDDR5 memory controllers for a grand total of 384-bit, matching AMD's current offering with the Radeon HD 5800 series.

Possible configurations of the new boards should include 1.5, 3.0 GB and 6GB of GDDR5 memory.

Of course, the GT300 gives direct hardware access for CUDA 3.0, DirectX 11, OpenGL 3.1 and OpenCL.

Nvidia should have been very busy with the design of the new architecture fir the GT300 chip. According to early reports, the chip will be more than three times more powerful than the GT200 GPU.

Nvidia has made an official statement on the state of the GT300 yields last week, after some stories online reported that the GT300 yields were bad, with only nine chips to work per wafer. An Nvidia' product manager said that the company's 40nm yields were "fine" and described the information as "baseless."

It seems that the complicated design of the new GT300 chip was the reason behind the "late" introduction of the chip in the market. AMD has already made a strong statement with the release of its Radeon HD5800 series but Nvidia believes that they can make its DirectX 11 GPU even faster.

All we have to do is to wait to see if the GT300 can outperform the HD 5870, HD 5850X2 and the HD 5870X2 chips, in a very interesting race in the GPU market.

Sony "Uncharted 2" Game In Theaters to Promote

Sony will reportedly unveil its upcoming action game "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" game title for the PS3 in theaters the U.S. next month.

On 5-6 October, four theaters in San Francisco and Thousand Oaks, California, Rosemont, Illinois and Bellevue, Washington, will give viewers a chance to play the upcoming action game on movie screens equipped with Sony digital-projection technology, according to a Reuters report

Those theaters will provide viewers with PS3s connected to Sony?s 4K digital cinema technology, which provides better image resolution than traditional projectors.


Sales of video game equipment and software in the United States fell 16% in August to $908.7 million, the industry?s sixth consecutive monthly decline, research group NPD reported.

"Uncharted 2" launches on 13 October. A multiplayer Demo for the game is currently available for everyone to download on the PlayStation Store.

In short, the Multiplayer Demo includes four maps, four competitive modes and two co-op modes. That?s two new maps, two new competitive modes and one more co-op mode than our June Multiplayer Beta.

UNCHARTED 2 automatically records the gameplay data for gamers' competitive multiplayer matches in any map and gametype. Gamers can then head into Cinema to watch their recorded matches, take screenshots, make videos or even usethe Machinima game mode and Stage map to create their own videos.

Microsoft Releases Security Essentials Anti-malware Software

Microsoft Security Essentials, Microsoft's new anti-malware service that helps protect consumers against viruses, spyware and other malicious software, is finally available for download today for free.

Microsoft Security Essentials, independently certified by West Coast Labs, requires no registration, trials or renewals and is available for download directly from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials.

"Consumers have told us that they want the protection of real-time security software but we know that too many are either unwilling or unable to pay for it, and so end up unprotected," said Amy Barzdukas, general manager for consumer security at Microsoft. "With Microsoft Security Essentials, consumers can get high-quality protection that is easy to get and easy to use - and it won't get in their way."

By making Microsoft Security Essentials easy to get and easy to use, Microsoft hopes to encourage broader adoption of anti-virus protection across the consumer audience, which in turn will help increase security across the entire Windows ecosystem. For business customers, Microsoft continues to offer Forefront Client Security.

The software is designed to run quietly in the background alerting users only when there is an action for them to take. It also limits CPU and memory usage, resulting in less impact on the tasks consumers perform every day such as opening documents or browser windows or loading search results, even on older or less powerful PCs. Microsoft Security Essentials uses real-time protection to help prevent PCs from becoming infected, and it is the first Microsoft security product to make use of the company's new Dynamic Signature Service, a technology that helps ensure users stay protected by the most current virus definitions available without having to wait for the next scheduled download.



"Microsoft is focused on the challenges that prevent consumers from running up-to-date anti-virus software today, particularly in emerging markets where there is a growing prevalence of malware," said Jon Crotty, security analyst at IDC. "With Microsoft Security Essentials, Microsoft is helping to reduce some of the barriers that constrain consumers from running AV."

Microsoft Security Essentials is available for Windows XP SP2 or SP3, Windows Vista and Windows 7 including Windows XP mode on both x32 and x64 PCs. It will be available in eight languages and 19 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. More information about Microsoft Security Essentials and the product download is available at http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials.

Samsung announced AMOLED 12M Camera Phone

Samsung today announced the launch of the 'Samsung AMOLED 12M' (Model Name: SCH-W880), a 12-megapixel camera phonewith a 3-times optical zoom lens. The phone will be available in the Korean market from early October.

Following the launch in June of the Pixon 12, the first 12-megapixel camera phone to launch globally, the Samsung AMOLED 12M combines the latest camera technology with an advanced WVGA (800 x 480) AMOLED full touch screen.

The phone's 3x optical zoom is the fist one available within a 12-megapixel camera phone, and should provide users with the possibility to take great shots even at long distances. Moreover, the device also sports a 2x digital zoom, which enables even more far close-ups. Other specific features are also present with the device, such as Touch Auto-Focus (AF), a Smart Auto feature, Xenon flash, shake reduction, face recognition, a rapid image saving feature (2 seconds) or high-quality video recording functionality, 1280 x 720-pixel at 30 frames per second.

The AMOLED 12M comes packed with a host of functions enabling consumers to easily capture, browse and share their images on the move, fully utilizing the 3.3-inch AMOLED screen.

The Samsung AMOLED 12M's image saving allows users to move to the next shot within just 2 seconds, while the phone also provides video recording (1280 x 720) at 30 frames per second.

The Samsung AMOLED 12M introduces the Touch Auto-Focus (AF) feature, which permits users to select a focus point with the touch of a finger, after which the lens will automatically track the object, keeping it in focus even as it moves across the screen. The Smart Auto feature lets users capture perfectly balanced images as the camera automatically changes its shooting mode based on the object, background, and lighting. Other features include a Xenon flash, shake reduction, face recognition, and 4GB of built-in memory.

LG GD510 unveiled Touchscreen Phone

LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, the LG GD510, or more simply, “Pop”, the most compact 3-inch full touchscreen phone ever made. The LG GD510 is the handset people who want a simple touchscreen phone have been waiting for.

LG has been one of the industry’s leading innovators in touchscreen phones since it launched the world’s first full touchscreen phone, PRADA Phone by LG, in January 2007. Since then, the company has achieved great success in the touchscreen devices market by creating an array of handsets designed to meet different consumer needs. For instance, LG’s Cookie (KP500) is an affordable full touchscreen phone that has already sold more than 7 million units worldwide since its launch earlier this year. With the LG GD510, LG is applying its tried and true strategy to another new model – this time, to a compact full touchscreen handset.


LG’s consumer research showed that a large group of consumers wanted the functionality of a full touchscreen phone without the extra bulk and unnecessary features that resulted in higher prices. According to the research, many users were also put off by the complexity of feature-laden phones but still desired the easier navigation and larger screens of full touchscreen phones. The LG GD510 was designed to include the key features these users craved, without the overhead of features they didn’t use.

“We gave the LG GD510 an optimized feature set which allowed us to concentrate on making the phone more compact and simpler to use,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Our high-end phones like the Black Label Series New LG Chocolate (LG BL40) may be getting all the attention but there’s a gap in the market for affordable touchscreen phones that we want to fill. The LG GD510 delivers all the essentials in communication, multimedia and entertainment and comes in a compact form factor as well.”

Fully fluent in multimedia, the LG GD510 plays music and movies in several popular file formats and 8 gigabytes of internal memory provides plenty of room for storing large collections. An easy-to-use browser brings all the best mobile content to the device’s large screen and a 3.0 megapixel camera captures high quality photos and videos for sharing online or sending wirelessly to friends.

The spacious 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen extends almost to the edges of the LG GD510 with a narrow 4.8 mm bezel giving the illusion of an uninterrupted sheet of glass. The unit’s sleek design is accented by a single button on the face that functions as the menu, end and cancel keys, depending on the phone’s mode. A slim strip of light around the button shines either green or red to indicate the handset’s function. The LG GD510 is crafted from brushed aluminum which gives it a high-end look and feels solid in the hand even when squeezed.



LG GD510 will be available beginning in mid-October in Europe, followed by other markets. Prices will vary country-to-country and will be announced separately in each individual market.