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Monday, April 19, 2010

Samsung first with 20-nm NAND Flash: cheaper, faster SD cards on the way

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/19/samsung-first-with-20-nm-nand-flash-cheaper-faster-sd-cards-on/

Let it sink in, 20 nanometers. It wasn't that long ago when 45-nm manufacturing processes were all the rage. Now we've got Samsung following Toshiba with a sub-25nm flash memory announcement all its own. Samsung's 20-nm class 32Gb (gigabit) MLC NAND is sampling now, however, for use in embedded memory solutions and SD memory cards ranging from 4GB to 64GB. In addition to increasing densities and decreasing manufacturing costs, Samsung's 20-nm class NAND is claimed to be more reliable and 30 percent faster than the 30-nm MLC chips forming the core of its existing 8GB and higher SD cards. That translates to cheaper class 10 (20MBps read, 10MBps write) SD cards when these ship to consumers later this year -- always a good thing.

Samsung first with 20-nm NAND Flash: cheaper, faster SD cards on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vision Research's Phantom Flex captures 1080p at 2,800fps, our full attention

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/19/vision-researchs-phantom-flex-captures-1080p-at-2-800-fps-our/

Inside tech fiends the world over, there is a deep-seated desire to film lightning strikes, bullets penetrating glass and objects dropped into water, if only to see the fantastic, chaotic patterns played back in slow motion. (Peep an example after the break.) Thing is, most cameras fast enough to catch such phenomena do so with a tradeoff -- like the Phantom V12, which had a tiny 256 x 8 picture at its impressive 1,000,000fps. But now, Vision Research claims they have a camera that does it all: the Phantom Flex, which captures 1080p images at up to 2,800fps -- with 1000 ISO sensitivity -- and can shoot higher (2560 x 1600 at 1,560fps), faster (640 x 480 at 13,000fps) or even slower (down to 5fps) for regular filming. Since the high speed modes fill the onboard 16 or 32GB of memory in the blink of an eye, the sexy black number supports hot-swappable SSD modules for storage, and can even be synced in pairs to film blue alien Pocahontas reenactments in stereoscopic 3D. Hit the source link for a mouthwatering spec sheet, and don't ask how much it costs. You really don't want to know.

Continue reading Vision Research's Phantom Flex captures 1080p at 2,800fps, our full attention

Vision Research's Phantom Flex captures 1080p at 2,800fps, our full attention originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, April 16, 2010

Compaq Presario CQ1-1020 all-in-one: Atom-equipped, ready for grandma's email sessions

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/16/compaq-presario-cq1-1020-all-in-one-atom-equipped-ready-for-gr/

Okay, okay -- so maybe Compaq's Presario CQ1-1020 is good for a little more than just browsing the world wide web and sending the occasional email, but there's no denying that this one's aimed at the "casual user." Outfitted with an Atom D410 processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, Intel's GMA 3150 integrated graphics, a 160GB (7200rpm) hard drive and dual-layer DVD burner, the all-in-one isn't exactly cut out to handle Crysis. Furthermore, it ships with Windows XP Home Edition, though we are delighted to see that 802.11b/g/n WiFi was tossed in alongside the Ethernet jack. You'll also get inbuilt speakers, a 6-in-1 card reader, eight USB 2.0 sockets and enough bloatware to keep you busy with uninstallations for at least 10 to 12 minutes. It's listed for the low, low price of $429.99, but that little "check back soon" message means you can't order quite yet. Bummer, bro.

Compaq Presario CQ1-1020 all-in-one: Atom-equipped, ready for grandma's email sessions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Computer Monger |

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Dell's 7-inch and 10-inch Streak tablets leaked!

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/16/dells-7-inch-and-10-inch-streak-tablets-leaked/

We'd heard through the grapevine that the engineers at Round Rock were working on a number of slates to fill the Streak lineup, but man, we didn't see this coming... at least not yet. A couple of images along with an internal Dell announcement landed on our virtual doorstep this fine morning, and lo and behold, it looks as if a 7-inch and 10-inch Streak tablet is on the horizon. But that's not all -- we learned that the "coming soon" we heard earlier regarding the Aero's release date on AT&T really means "June." Later this "summer," said phone will be joined by the Streak 5 (yeah, that's the Mini 5 we've had for months now) for those who prefer a more capable mobile. As for the 7-inch Streak? Look for it to launch (presumably with or without AT&T support) late in 2010, while a 10-inch flavor follows in "early 2011." Is Sidetalkin' really about to return? We're ready -- so ready.

Update: Dell hit us up with a totally corporate line when we dug deeper for details:

"Dell continually develops and tests new products that extend the mobile experience. We have not made any product announcements and do not comment on speculation, rumor or unannounced products."

So insightful.

Gallery: Dell's 7-inch and 10-inch Streak tablets leaked!

Dell's 7-inch and 10-inch Streak tablets leaked! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2TB hard drive review roundup: Samsung, Seagate and WD throw down

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/16/2tb-hard-drive-review-roundup-samsung-seagate-and-wd-throw-dow/

It's a 2TB world, folks, and if you're looking to select a new drive to archive your upcoming vacation footage, you owe it to yourself to do a little research before pulling the trigger. Currently, 2TB options are on the market from Seagate, Western Digital and Samsung, and while all are in the 3.5-inch SATA form factor, they certainly aren't equal. The benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware decided to toss no fewer than ten 2TB drives into the mix, and after running 250 or so tests, they found that WD's RE4 2TB came out on top. 'Course, that just so happens to be the most expensive platter in the bunch, checking in at around $0.16 per gigabyte; the admittedly slower Caviar Green 2TB and Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB both came in at less than half of that. Go on and give that source link a look if you're into bar charts and in-depth analysis of bits and bytes -- and remember, friends don't let friends buy lousy storage.

2TB hard drive review roundup: Samsung, Seagate and WD throw down originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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