smartech

If you wanted to learn more about the main components that assemble your new iPhone 3G, the chips, the amps, the processors and the involved manufacturing companies, this is your chance to take a look at one the most detailed inside-views, as the guys from research firm Semiconductor Insights dissected the stellar handset into pieces, showing us who has done what. From the picture below, we understand that Infineon provides many of the components, including the GPS chip, the baseband chip, UMTS transceiver and the power management chip. In addition, we can see the  application processor, provided by Samsung and the power amplifiers, provided by Triquint and Skyworks, as Marvell brings the Bluetooth and the WIFI components while Toshiba is responsible for the internal flash memory of your phone. The rest stays the same as the first generation, with Samsung to supply the ARM11processor architecture, Wolfson the audio decoder chip, Broadcom the touchscreen controller, National Semiconductor’s MPL the display interface, etc. Hit the jump to checkout more pictures and to see the videos. To get a bigger view just click in here.

[via Semiconductor Insights]

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Do you love your iMac ? Do you want to control it with your fingers? Turns out there’s a pretty neat solution that will turn it into a touchscreen unit, thanks to a company named Troll Touch who’ve created a DIY SlipCOVER kit that adds a finger-sensitive layer to the screen’s front panel, turning it into a nice useful user interface machine that can be used in kiosks, exhibitions, clinics or even in school. The user-installable kit comes in two configurations, matching both 20-inch or 24-inch aluminum iMacs. Once you buy it you have to install the touchscreen drivers and calibrate the screen for maximum accuracy. Regretfully, it doesn’t support MultiTouch gestures due to OS restrictions, but it’s still very usable, as you can see in the video after the break. Priced at $699 (20″) and $899 (24″), the SlipCOVER is not a cheap solution but definitely an efficient one.

[via TUAW]

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Asus Eee PC 900 is one of the most talkative objects you can hear about on recent weeks, along with the rumored iphone 3G. Today we have a chance to take a glance into the bowels of the great Eee 900 (which was officially released today in Taiwan), thanks to the guys at bit-tech who disassembled the laptop into pieces. Surprisingly, it pretty much looks the same as the Eee PC 700, except the mobile PCI-Express socket, coming with a 16GB SSD module, expanding the drive space, and a new location for the speakers at the base of the chassis. To see more, press the link below.

[via bit-tech]

Here’s your chance to get an inside look at the Microsoft Zune 2 80GB model. Just to remind you, the player sports a 3.2″ screen, a 4-way touch pad, a built in FM radio and WiFi capabilities. Once removing the outside shell, you discover the control chip along with the Wolfson’s WM8350G DAC chip and the WiFi antenna, running in a WYSBCVSX2 70AN module.

[via imp3]

More pictures and full observation after the break.

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Onkyo unveils new PC lineup, designed as Hi-Fi stereo systems. The new APX-2 HD PC sports an advanced digital audio amplifier and Pure Direct Audio Path, allowing you to play high-quality HD Audio tunes, without any audio lost, caused by vista filtering drivers. Other features include:

• Processor: Intel 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500.
• Memory: 1GB RAM.
• Storage Size: 500GB stored in a Super Floating HDD Unit with noise cancellation box.
• Price: Not Available

Unfortunately, the new PCs are not available outside Japan, so if you get a chance to drop by, pick one and bring it to us for a first impression.

[via akihabaranews]

Nvidia, a strong graphic cards manufacturer, wants to get a foothold in the mobile processors market with their new APX 2500 series, presented at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The company created the AMD11 750MHz chip with ultra-low power GeForce core, providing advanced graphic capabilities and 3D GUI rendering support. This top-notch features enabling to display up to SXGA resolution (1280 x 1024) and to embed 12MP camera sensors in cellphones, which means there’s aplenty to aspire for. The APX 2500 will be able to pack 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, quad-band GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth, composite/S-Video outputs and even HDMI. The chip is capable of running 720p HD video, smoothly, even when playing on a 60-inch LCD TV. To demonstrate this impressive capableness, Nvidia has created a reference design prototype, running a Windows CE OS and equipped with an accelerometer. The device can play more than 10 hours of HD video and a GUI coded in OpenGL ES 2.0. The chip is expected to go on full production between Q2 - Q3, and we say - WOW !!

 [via phonemag]

Check out the video after the break.

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Microsoft published the official price for the latest Xbox 360 HD DVD drive, so you can snatch one for 129.99$ though it is a  manufacturer’s suggested retail price only. Therefor, you might find it cheaper on the shelves, but i’m not sure it will hit big time in view of  the HD DVD gloomy situation.

[via engadget]

Following the tremendous success of the Asus Eee PC, we are getting more and more ultra-portable twin PCs, heading our way. One of those is the Everex Cloudbook, making its first steps toward the US market and expected to land across Walmart soon. The Cloudbook features VIA C7-M 1.2GHz processor, 7-inch LCD TFT screen, Linux OS, 512MB RAM (MAX 1GB), 30GB hard drive storage, WiFi connectivity, card reader, 1.3 MP built-in camera and scanty weight of 900gm. Price is set for 399$.

Check out the video.

[via jkkmobile]

The guys in iFixit have been digging inside the new MacBook Air, revealing us its bowels. The slim Air features notable notes like the 1.8″ 80 GB 4200 RPM Parallel ATA hard disk drive, similar to the iPod Classic one and a Broadcom BCM5974 touch screen controller chip, similar to the one in the iPhone and iPod Touch. Check out the other parts in the attached link.

[iFixit via engadget]

Another picture after the break.

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Western Digital officially released the 320GB My Passport Essential portable drive. The new storage device features a small and pocketable polished design with shiny black gloss color, powered USB bus connection (No separate power needed), 128-bit encryption, easy sync usage and Google software. Price is set for merely $200.

Update: Also available in 160GB and 250GB storage size.

[via wd]

More pictures after the break.

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The fierce competition between Nvidia and AMD-ATI on the PC gaming adapters control, is getting a new dimension, as AMD introduced the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphic card, a fruitage of teaming up with companies like Asus, MSI, Club3D, Diamond, HIS, ITC, Jetway, ASK, Sapphire, Triplex, Tul and Visiontek. The new card features the most powerful processing abilities ever made, with 2 cards in one PCI-Express slot and 2 RV670 GPU chips on board. The card is a DirectX 10.1 compatible and has 1GB DDR3 memory, for maximum high-end gaming resolution. The HD 3870 X2 has managed to overcome its most powerful rival, the Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra, and gained constant advantage in all tests. Additionally, AMD has set a very competitive price of 450$, comparing to the expropriated 700$ of the GeForce 8800 Ultra. Nvidia is expected to blow away with new striking cards, somewhere around March.

Archos released the Archos TV+, a stationary version of its Archos 605 portable media player. The TV+ is the first WiFi Digital Video Recorder that comes in 80GB or 250GB storage capacities. With the Archos TV+ you can schedule, record and stream content whenever you want, threw your WiFi network. You can watch your favorite stored movies, listen to your music and flip between your last vacation photos, in a simple push of a button, from the living room couch. The device comes with a cool QWERTY remote, for a full control of the UI and the web surfing (thanks to the touch pad). It supports a video on-demand service, so you can order your favorite movies from CinemaNow, or watch any video threw one of the video web services such as YouTube, DailyMotion and others. The TV+ has a USB 2.0 host, for an easy and direct access to your digital camera photos or your portable media player movies. In addition, it has an HDMI output, so you can plug it to your advanced LCD TV and watch high resolution movies. You can get one for $229 (80GB) or $349 (250GB).

More pictures after the break.

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Miniaturization, is not an easy job. When Apple introduced the slim MacBook Air, last week, we noticed a slenderized design from the outside, but inside hardware had some major modifications as well. One of this interesting changes, came from the ultra mini Core 2 Duo processor figure. It is a combination of Intel 65 nanometer Merom architecture with an 800MHz bus, molded into a new, smaller chip package.

[via gizmodo]

This is not a new hardware, just a free extensive software upgrade to the Apple TV. The Take Two features AirTunes support, for a complete direct streaming, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, HD movies (4GB Size), movie preview, photo browser, computers-free usage, direct movie rental (priced 2.99$ for older versions, 3.99$ for new ones and 4.99$ for HD movies), and more.

[via engadget]

Check the video after the break.

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This wireless drive will backup all your Leopard OSX Time Machine Macs threw your wireless network. The Time Capsule features a full Airport Extreme base station with 802.11n wireless and a server grade hard drives, allowing you to backup your data from anywhere, in your wireless network area. You will be able to choose two storage capacities, 500GB for $300 and 1TB for $500. The product should be available next month.

[via gizmodo]