According to sources from various reports, it is confirmed that an update to the Acer Liquid (currently android 1.6) is scheduled for an early Q2 release in Singapore. In an earlier report by another site, it is stated that an update is scheduled from Acer France for the french market at end March.

So, users of the Acer Liquid, do stay tuned and wait for it to be pushed to your handset over the air. If you can’t wait, you can download the firmware and flash it in yourself (breaking all warranty).

Google has stopped censoring its search results in China and started to re-direct Chinese users to an uncensored Hong-Kong based site.

Chinese state officials have been quick to criticise the move, saying it was ‘totally wrong’ and in violation of Google’s promise to abide by Chinese law.

Beijing’s firewalls are already censoring sensitive searches within mainland China.

Major political upheaval

Google has explained the move in detail on its blog.

For its part, China is clearly not happy with the latest moves by Google, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang saying that the move was an isolated act by a commercial company and that it should not affect China-US ties “unless politicised” by others.

A leading (and un-named) Chinese official responsible for online affairs told the Chinese state news agency Xinhua: “Google has violated its written promise it made when entering the Chinese market by stopping filtering its searching service and blaming China in insinuation for alleged hacker attacks.

- GIGABYTE Captures 1/3 of Global USB 3.0 Market Share –
– Undisputed Leader With USB 3.0 Motherboard Shipments of 1 Million –
TAIPEI, Taiwan – March 22, 2010 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other computing hardware solutions today proudly announced that they have reached an industry milestone of 1 million SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) motherboards shipped, making GIGABYTE the single most widely adopted SuperSpeed USB platform in the world.
 
GIGABYTE SuperSpeed USB motherboards support USB 3.0 technology through an onboard NEC µPD720200 host controller – the world’s first (and only to date) USB Implementer’s Forum (USB-IF) certified SuperSpeed USB controller. According to their March 17, 2010, press release, NEC has shipped a total of 3 million host controllers since beginning mass production in September, 2009. Having shipped 1 million USB 3.0 equipped motherboards, GIGABYTE motherboards now account for 1/3 of the total USB 3.0 host products currently available in the market, including USB 3.0 enabled desktop motherboards, notebooks, PCI Express cards, etc…
 
“Reaching the 1 million USB 3.0 products mark is a testament to GIGABYTE’s strategy of innovating for the high-end product category, and then driving those innovations down through our product line quicker than our competitors in order to boost sales volumes,” said Henry Kao, Senior Vice President, Motherboard Business Unit, GIGABYTE Technology Co. Ltd. “Today, one out of three SuperSpeed USB platforms on the market feature a GIGABYTE motherboard because we have a top-to-bottom range of desktop motherboards that are globally available as Windows 7 breathes new life into the desktop PC market. There could not be a better time to launch a USB 3.0 product!”
 
The extensive range of GIGABYTE USB 3.0 motherboards are based on Intel® X58, P55, H57, H55, P45 and P43 chipsets, as well as AMD 790FX, 790X, 770, 785G chipsets (and the soon to be released AMD 800 series of chipsets). In addition to providing USB 3.0 on its motherboards, GIGABYTE is also working with USB 3.0 device vendors to develop the USB 3.0 ecosystem through cross-validation, debugging and co-promotion activities. More information is available by visiting www.usb3motherboard.com.
 
With super fast transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps, USB 3.0 allows users to experience up to 10x faster data transfer rates over Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0). Additionally, backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 assures users continued use of their legacy USB 2.0 devices. USB 3.0 technology also provides new power management features, including increased maximum bus power and device current draw to better accommodate high power devices.
 
To learn more about GIGABYTE USB 3.0 motherboards, please visit the GIGABYTE website at: http://www.usb3motherboard.com.

While other manufacturers are still keeping busy designing their own custom cards,Inno3D, a HK based company readies to ship the NVIDIA Fermi cards GTX470 and GTX480. Here are some pictures of the packaging of the card.

The card is rumoured to launch on March 26, 2010.

On 27 Apr 2010, AMD will launch 2 new 6 core processors – Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition (3.2G) and X6 1055T (2.8G) is April 27.

There are a few more models X6 1075T (3.0G) and X6 1035T (2.6G) which are scheduled for a later release date.

The prices of the X6 1090T BE (3.2G) is 295 U.S. dollars and the X6 1055T (2.8G) is 199 USD.

? Phenom II X6 10xxT Series (AM3, 45nm, Thuban core)
? X6 1090T BE: 3.2G, TB 3.6G, L2 512KBx6/L3 6MB, TDP125W, 295 USD
- X6 1075T: 3.0G, TB? G, L2 512KBx6/L3 6MB, TDP125W
? X6 1055T: 2.8G, TB 3.3G, L2 512KBx6/L3 6MB, TDP125W, 199 USD
- X6 1055T: 2.8G, TB 3.3G, L2 512KBx6/L3 6MB, TDP 95W
- X6 1035T: 2.6G, TB? G, L2 512KBx6/L3 6MB, TDP 95W

Motorola and Starhub will launch a smartphone this Friday, probably the highly anticipated Milestone. We have seen this device some time back in December 2009 in Hong Kong. If you are looking for an Android phone with a qwerty keypad, this phone would fit the bill.

You can read our Milestone launch in Hong Kong right here.
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2009/motorola/launch-of-motorola-milestone/p1.htm

Sony Ericsson’s first Android phone was announced last year. Last week, we had the opportunity to hands on the real product to see if it lives up to its promises with Timescape on the smallest Android phone so far in the market.

The Xperia™ X10 mini and X10 mini pro, compact versions of Xperia™ X10, which will deliver powerful and application packed mobile phones into the industry. By introducing mobile phones that are both compact and clever, Sony Ericsson is challenging the norm and defining a brand new offering that combines high specification features with a version of Sony Ericsson’s powerful UX platform specifically designed for smaller devices. Instead of the full fledge UX on the Xperia X10, it feature a 4 touch screen button to access the features on this device.

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2010/SONYERICSSON/XPERIA-X10-Mini-and-XPERIA-X10-Mini-Pro-Video/p1.htm

At last we see some real picture of the upcoming GeForce GTX 480/470. The first to hit the web comes from XFX.

The XFX GeForce GTX 480 comes with 1536MB of GDDR5 memory , CUDA 480 Cores (instead of 512 that had been previously reported) and the card includes support for DirectX 11 technology, CUDA, PhysX, Vision 3D Surround, and 3-way SLI .

As for the XFX GeForce GTX 470 has the same technological characteristics, but incorporates CUDA 448 Cores and 1280MB of GDDR5 memory.

The default frequencies for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 (GF100 or Fermi) is 700Mhz for the core , to 1401Mhz shader engine and GDDR5 at effective 3700MHz with a FSB of 384 -bit resulting in a bandwidth of 173.4GB / s.

In the case of the GeForce GTX 470, this will come with a frequency of 607Mhz core , to 1215Mhz and 3348Mhz shader engine for memory (GDDR5) with a FSB of 320-bits, resulting in giving a bandwidth of 130.7GB / s.

Thermal power of these new graphics cards, according to the GTX 480 will have a TDP of 295W, while the GTX 470 will have a TDP of 225W. As for the prices the GTX 480 would be priced at $ 499, while the GTX 470 cost $ 349.

Of course these information are subjected to changes and we expect to see the final specifications on 26 March when it is officially announced.

We are currently trying to increase our followers for both Facebook and Twitter. Since we started in late last year, we are still falling short of numbers. We hope to be able to set a target of 500 first for both twitter and facebook.

Do join in as do carry flash news over at both platforms regularly. Join now as we will have a give away event coming soon. (provided we reach 500 for both).

Twitter : http://www.twitter.com/ocworkbench
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/OCWorkbench/172425480487

What makes this phone different from the rest ? Why Nokia chose a resistive screen instead of capacitive screen ? Will N900 get an upgrade to the new OS MeeGo in the future?

You want to know the answers ? Check out this video review to find out

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2010/NOKIA/NOKIA-N900-Video-Review/p1.htm

It is confirmed that the Motorola Milestone is heading for Singapore’s telco Starhub (probably exclusive). A new firmware bearing Starhub customisations was spotted on Motorola website. That indicates that we don’t have to wait long before we see the milestone in Singapore.

The firmware is version 2.1 Eclair customised for Starhub Singapore and can be downloaded from our forums.

Earlier today, we met up with Nokia Singapore. We raised the same question about the possibility of having meego os running on it in the future.

Nokia affirms that reports onntge net aren’t true and ao far there is no confirmation that they will not have the new OS ported to N900 in the future.

My perosnal feeling is that in this competitive market, it would be a pr disaster if nokia chose to stick to their own Linux OS. As this is a new product for the market, it would be good that nokia provides an assurance that they will eventually port over to N900

ASUS Readies Server and Workstation Platforms
for Next-generation 32nm, 6-core Performance
Refreshed Systems will Support New Intel® Xeon® 5600, Xeon® W 3680
and Core™ i7 Processors
 
ASUS today announced that it is ready to support upcoming 32nm, 6-core processor platforms in its refreshed server and workstation lines. ASUS server motherboards and systems will support Intel® Xeon® 5600 processors, while its workstation motherboards will be ready for Intel® Core™ i7 980X and Xeon® W3680 processors.
 
Better Performance, Enhanced Efficiency, and Improved Security
The Intel® Xeon® 5600 Series enterprise-class processors—based on the new 32nm infrastructure—delivers 50% more cores and cache, as well as 60% more performance than its 45nm predecessor. It also consumes 30% less power than previous generation processors. With support for various security features such as Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (AES-NI), the Xeon® 5600 Series accelerates data encryption and guards against malicious software attacks—thereby greatly enhancing security during operations.
 

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is already on the shelves. It is a Symbian based phone with recording capability in HD 720p format. It is also tightly integrated to social media tools allowing you to upload after shooting a picture or video.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ basic specs :
8.1 megapixel camera
4x digital zoom
Auto focus (photos)
Continuous auto focus (video)
Face detection (photos)
Geo tagging
Image stabiliser
Photo light
Send to web
Smile detection
Touch capture
Video light
Video recording (720p HD recording)

Sony Ericsson’s first Android phone was announced last year. Last week, we had the opportunity to hands on the real product to see if it lives up to its promises with Mediascape and Timescape as their signature applications.

XPERIA™ X10 introduces a new UX platform that will evolve across the product portfolio and expand over time continuously introducing new features and capabilities. The UX platform builds on top of the Open OS and creates a unique Sony Ericsson user experience by combining best-in-class entertainment features with signature applications, unrivalled integration of social media services and a rich graphical user interface. The XPERIA™ X10 is the first mobile phone to truly humanise the way people interact with their phones.

Introducing signature applications like Mediascape and Timescape™, the XPERIA™ X10 lets consumers organise everything in their phone in an intuitive way:

Sony Ericsson Timescape™ manages all your communication with one person in one place. Browse through your conversations the bright way to check out your Facebook™, Twitter™, photos, emails, and texts all in one go

Sony Ericsson Mediascape is the smart way to get all the music, photos and videos you want from your favourite friends and artists. It accesses content from everywhere – your phone, YouTube™, PlayNow™ – and presents everything for you.

Intelligence capabilities, integrated into Mediascape and Timescape™, can automatically recognise connections between contacts, content and media. By recommending alternative ways to communicate or guiding to new media experiences, consumers can discover more in a truly open way. For example:

Pressing the new “infinite button” guides you through the connected world, aggregating all your interactions with one person into one view
Intelligent face recognition features recognise up to five faces in any picture, automatically connecting them with your social phonebook and all other related communications with that person.

See video

If you own the Satio or the Vivaz, you can now download and install a new application, the free Sound Equaliser.

For most markets there is now an free application called “Equalizer” available on PlayNow in the music category under applications. This equalizer will give you the following different options: Off, Classical, Jazz, Dance, Party, Pop, Rock, Spoken Word, Loudness, Mega Bass and Treble Boost. As I understood it it will equalize all music played in the phone, also the setting it makes is global and stay there if the Equalizer application is closed and also even stays after rebooting the phone. There are two important notes though: First of all this application needs the latest update to work on Satio (on Vivaz it works on the launch SW of course) and also since it’s a separate application it needs to be started separately when you want to start using it i.e. it’s not included under options in e.g. the music player. When an equalizer setting has been chosen it should stay even if the application is closed or the phone rebooted.

Telstra to begin LTE trials in May

Telstra has chosen Nokia Siemens Networks to conduct trials of Long Term Evolution (LTE) in May to assess the technology’s capability and performance as the next-generation evolution for the Next G™ network.
 
Michael Rocca, Telstra’s acting chief operations officer, said the trials will help Telstra understand how the new technology will work with the operator’s Next G™ network.
 
“LTE is globally acknowledged as the dominant next-generation technology for mobile technology”, said Rocca.  “It will be an important evolution for the Next G™ network in due course because it will give consumers access to higher speeds while giving Telstra the capacity to serve an increasing number of customers and applications.”
 
“Wireless technology has been advancing in great strides in recent years and LTE is the next big step beyond 3G,“ said Kalevi Kostiainen, head of the Australia and New Zealand region at Nokia Siemens Networks. “Through the advancement in technology that LTE brings, this will in turn enhance the user experience for many Australians as the number of wireless broadband users continues to grow. Nokia Siemens Networks are delighted to be working with Telstra in trialling LTE.”
 
Telstra will spend the next three to six months testing the feasibility and technical capability of LTE for future commercialization. Nokia Siemens Networks is the leader in LTE technology, being the first to enable commercial LTE calls and handovers, fully in line with the 3GPP Release 8 March 2009 baseline standard.* In addition, Nokia Siemens Networks is trialling with a large number of customers globally and has already secured nine commercial LTE contracts.

Kingston Technology Creates World’s Fastest Memory —

Intel Certifies HyperX Clocked at 2400MHz 

Hsinchu, Taiwan — March 17, 2010 — Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it has developed the fastest Intel-certified memory in the world. Running at 2400MHz, Kingston’s HyperX dual-channel DDR3 memory kit (Kingston part#: KHX2400C9D3T1K2/4GX) gained Intel XMP certification on the Core i7 platform. Intel’s certification is posted at: http://www.intel.com/en_US/Assets/PDF/prodspec/ww09-2010-XMP-self-cert_Core-i7-BlueBadge.pdf. 

The 2400MHz kit runs at 9-11-9-27 timings at 1.65 volts and was developed for enthusiasts, gamers, and benchmarkers looking to scale new memory heights. As with all Kingston memory, the 2400MHz kit was created with the highest design-engineering principles and subjected to OEM-quality production and testing standards to gain Intel XMP certification. The memory was tested to great success on several P55-based systems including the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P motherboard. 

The 2400MHz kits will be available in Q2. Kingston HyperX memory is backed by a lifetime warranty and free technical support. For detailed information please visit the Kingston Web site at www.kingston.com/asia.  

To discuss this product on Kingston Blog, please go to www.kingston-blog.com. To try the game “Challenge Your Memory”, please go to

www.kingston-blog.com/challenge_your_memory/en/. To get the freshest information on Kingston, please go to http://twitter.com/KingstonFEPR. 

To find out if your Kingston product is genuine, Kingston also provides an online verification site: www.kingston.com/asia/verify. To try the game “Search for Genuine Kingston”, please go to http://anti-counterfeit.kingston-blog.com. For the interesting animation: The Adventures of Rex, please visit: www.theadventuresofrex.com.

Today, NVIDIA posted new drivers that resolve customer reports of fan speed issues with 196.75 drivers.

Download the New 197.13 Drivers (Posted March 17, 2010):

Windows 7 and Windows Vista (32-bit)

Windows 7 and Windows Vista (64-bit)

Windows XP (32-bit)

Windows XP (64-bit)

NVIDIA apologises to our customers who installed the 196.75 driver and experienced quality issues. For the small number of customers who did experience problems, in almost every case, reverting back to our 196.21 driver immediately resolved their issues. We continue to work closely with our add-in-card partners and PC manufacturers to help resolve any additional customer issues not solved by reverting to the earlier driver. Any NVIDIA customer who has questions about their board as a result of downloading 195.75 driver should contact their board supplier.

If you have been following our reports, SONY and SAMSUNG have announced their plans for 3D TVs in Singapore. Samsung will have it in March while SONY promises June-July 2010.

Viewers of Avatar must be impressed by the 3D effects in the cinemas with big screen. How about on a 40-52″ LCD TV? We witnessed both the SONY and SAMSUNG LCD TV demostrating in 3D. I would say is impressive.

There are still issues that needs to be sorted out before it will take off especially in an Asian country like
Singapore.

Singapore has one of the highest population with myopic. Look around you, you see students wearing spectacles. According to http://www.myopia.org/myopiaprevalence.htm, 79% of adults are myopic.
When the school children reach adulthood, their degree might have gone up in the range of 300 degrees.

Problem arises, to view a 3D program on the LCD TV, you would need to wear a special battery powered spectacle. It is cumbersome to wear a spectable over another one. Moreover, these glasses is one size fits
all. The younger audience would not be able to enjoy their animations with a loose fit spectacle. Perhaps 3D TV retailers should bundle in a free LASIK operation for those who are willing to spend money on a LCD TV.

Secondly, LCD TV won’t be cheap. Basically, you will be paying for just another LCD TV but with a 3D decoder. In fact, it is all super imposed images (if you look at it without the spectacles).

Thirdly, a lot of the films or sports programmes are not in 3D. Although there are broadcasters overseas filming the World Cup in 3D, the local audience are stillstil wondering if both Pay TV operators here are able to secure the broadcast rights in 2D!

Most importantly, there have been cases of people feel nauesous after prolong periods in front of a 3D screen. Would it be a health hazard. Do we need to have doctors on standby before we view in 3D. We might also end up with more psychiatric patients at the end of the day imagining things as there aren’t able to differentiate real 3D and virtual 3D anymore.

Times evolve and gets better over time. I am sure technology is to help better our lifes. So will you get a 3D TV in time to come ?

Discuss