Introducing the Samsung Omnia M – a new Windows Phone handset aimed at customers that prioritize social connectivity and entertainment features. After a quick look at its specs sheet it becomes evident that the Samsung Omnia M is but a mid-range smartphone. To start, it has a 1GHz single core processor backed up by 384MB of RAM. The device's Super AMOLED display with "reduced glare" measures 4 inches in diagonal and has a resolution of 480 by 800 pixels, which is standard for Windows Phone 7.5 devices. On its back resides a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, and a VGA front-facing shooter enables video chats. Other features include 4GB of built-in storage, 1,500mAh battery, 7.2Mbps 3G HSPA radio, Wi-Fi and GPS. All of these goodies are contained within a 119 gram body that is only 10.5 millimeters thick. When it comes to software, Samsung has thrown in a few tricks of its own in there. Most notably, we see that the ChatON service is present allowing multi-platform IM-ing, along with Family Network, which is a cloud-based service from Samsung meant to facilitate communication between family members. Samsung AllShare for wireless media streaming is present as well. The Samsung Omnia M will be released in Europe first, after which a rollout in other regions will follow.

AMD has launched their second generation Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) for mainstream and ultrathin notebooks, traditional and all-in-one desktops, HTPCs and embedded designs. Codenamed “Trinity”, the new APUs are described as a ground-up improvement over first generation components with double the performance per watt of Llano parts. As before AMD is not targeting the performance market and Trinity is not meant to compete direclty with Ivy Bridge for the most part. On the mobile market, Trinity should present an interesting alternative for ultrabook-style laptops where a balance of features, low power consumption, and integrated graphics are the norm. Trinity features an AMD Piledriver CPU core that uses 3rd gen Turbo Core technology that shifts power between the CPU and GPU as needed. The technology can effectively ramp up the CPU core clock to 3.2GHz. Other key features include a dual channel DDR3 memory controller, an AMD HD Media Accelerator, a unified northbridge and up to four Piledriver CPU cores with 2MB L2 cache. Radeon HD 7000 graphics are said to provide up to 56 percent better performance that the previous generation. Notebooks featuring Trinity APUs will boast battery life up to 12 hours through CPU and GPU power enhancements. “Our 2nd Generation AMD A-Series APU is a major step forward in every performance and power dimension, allowing users to enjoy a stunning experience without having to give up the things that matter to them most. This experience doesn‘t stop at mainstream notebooks. It carries over into affordable ultrathin form factors featuring the latest in AMD Radeon graphics,” said Chris Cloran, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD’s client business unit. AMD has released three different APU models for mainstream notebooks: A10-4600M, A8-4500M and A6-4400M, all featuring a 35W TDP with varying CPU core counts and clock speeds. Ultrathins will see the quad-core A10-4655M clocked at 2.0GHz and carrying a 25W TDP while the dual-core A6-4455M will include a 17W TDP at 2.1GHz. AMD notes that desktop systems and component channel parts will be available later this year.

The HTC Desire C has been talked about in louder-than-whispered tones for the last few weeks, and has finally been made official. The new phone will be available in both black AND white and also has a 'durable metal frame with precision engineering'. The phone is packing a 3.5-inch HVGA display, 600MHz processor, 5MP camera and 4GB of internal storage. It's also going to be coming rocking Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and Beats Audio branding – so that paltry processor aside, it's looking like a fairly decent handset for the money. The HTC Desire C release date has been set for June.

We’ve recently presented you with three different motherboard models based on the latest Intel Z77 Express chipset, however, we weren’t able to perform thorough testing as usual, as we didn’t have any Ivy Bridge CPUs (for which this chipset was created) at disposal at the time; we had to settle for a Sandy Bridge one. This time around, we’ve finally got our hands on an Ivy Bridge representative, as well as four new motherboards with the Z77 chipset from ASUS and Gigabyte, so read on to find out how well this chipset handles its native environment.

As a short reminder, the differences between the new Z77 and the old Z68 chipset are mostly of a “cosmetic” nature, with one of the key features being the integration of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 into the chipset itself, while earlier LGA1155 motherboards enabled this functionality through additional, external controllers. Another feature is the support for PCI Express 3.0, again, native this time, instead of the usual earlier support through separate components. If you want to run three graphics cards at the same time, Z77 is limited to the 8x/8x/4x configuration, but that won’t be an issue, since the 4x on the third generation of PCI Express designated the same speed as the 8x on the second generation, as long as the cards are PCI-E 3.0 compatible too. Finally, the motherboard supports DDR3-1600 RAM, concluding the list of differences, so let’s have a look at how well all that works in ASUS and Gigabyte renditions.

GIGABYTE's first and only GeForce GTX 670 graphics card is the GV-N670OC-2GD, a non-reference design graphics card that implements the company's popular WindForce 3X cooling solution, coupled with its UltraDurable VGA+ PCB. While the PCB layout appears to be identical to that of NVIDIA reference design GeForce GTX 680, it is backed by GIGABYTE exclusives such as 2 oz copper PCB layers, electrical ripple control, tier 1 GDDR5 memory chips, ferrite core chokes, low RDS (on) MOSFETs, and Japanese solid-state capacitors. Out of the box, the GV-N670OC-2GD features clock speeds of 980 MHz core, 1058 MHz GPU Boost, and 6.00 GHz effective GDDR5 memory. It loads 2 GB of memory across a 256-bit wide memory interface, with 192 GB/s bandwidth. Display outputs include two dual-link DVI, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. The card is capable of 4-way SLI. The cooling solution consists of two aluminum fin stacks, to which heat is transported by three copper heat pipes that make direct contact with the GPU, and ventilated by three 90 mm fans. GIGABYTE is asking US $415 for the GeForce GTX 670 WindForce 3X OC 2 GB.

Although it may have been a bit late to the party with Kepler, Nvidia still managed to stay in the black despite a drop in revenue and net income. Nvidia’s revenue slipped 3.9 percent to $924 million between February and May, but the drop was in line with Nvidia’s predictions. Profits also shrank to $60.4 million, a far cry from $135 million reported in the same quarter last year and almost 50 percent lower than in Nvidia’s fiscal Q4 2012. Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said that Kepler would accelerate sales and pointed out that shipments of notebook GPUs hit an all-time high. The Tegra business is also showing signs of recovery after a pretty disappointing few months in late 2011. Huang also stressed that Nvidia is unable to meet demand for 28nm chips due to manufacturing issues, which came as no surprise given previous statements out of Qualcomm, which is also struggling to keep up with demand for its 28nm Snapdragon processors. Nvidia expects 28nm chips to make up about 30 percent of its shipments in the current quarter. On the whole Nvidia can afford to sound optimistic. Kepler is proving to be a success, hampered to some extend by slow introduction and supply issues, and Tegra is bouncing back nicely. Ironically, the very same 28nm supply issues that are hurting Kepler could benefit the Tegra business in the short term, as Qualcomm struggles to keep up with demand for its 28nm LTE enabled chips.

Source: fudzilla

According to "trusted sources", 9to5mac reports that Apple iOS 6 will feature a new Map application with 3D features from C3 Technologies. Apple's current map application is from Google, using Google maps and features. Apple has been quite conspicuous about their resentment towards Google's app, and they are clearly seeking to dethrone it. The Google maps application allows users to view the entire earth in map and satellite modes. The app also features Google Street View, allowing users to view certain areas on the maps from a pedestrian perspective. The application is useful for navigation, giving users a GPS-like system for navigating to and from locations. C3 Technologies' mapping system, which has been described as Google Earth on steroids, is a big step up from anything that even Google has to offer. Utilizing declassified missile targeting methods, the company can create brilliant 3D maps of world locations. Unlike Google Earth - which features user generated 3D models overlaid on flat satellite pictures - this mapping system goes beyond terrain and cities, including 3D cars, vegetation, and more. The extreme level of detail and realism of this tech can be seen in this C3 demo. 9to5mac reports an application featuring this 3D tech from C3 Technologies will be included on iOS 6, in place of the current Google Maps application. As far as mapping is concerned, Apple is behind its Google owned Android competition. A big feature of Android phones is their turn-by-turn voice navigation, which the iPhone does not have. Using their own maps application may give Apple the chance to majorly expand user features, giving a much more useful and integrated end product. But, then again, it could end up being an underdeveloped scheme to gain more territory from its competitor. Only time will tell.

Source: vr-zone

Although the market is pretty saturated as far as PSUs are concerned, with all segments well-covered, manufacturers are still churning out new models in the desire to satisfy the customers’ needs as well as possible and present a product for every budget. OCZ has built a decent reputation in the past few years, both by its aggressive approach on the SSD market and their PSU product gamma. As the models from the ZX series are made to satisfy even the most demanding of users and cater for the high-end bit of the market, OCZ had to create the ZT product line, targeting the mid-range and with an excellent price/performance ratio.

Sony has posted a record annual net loss of $5.7 billion, or $5.55 per share, marking its fourth straight year in the red highlighted by declining sales company-wide. The loss is the largest in the company’s 66-year history and close to double the amount the company lost last year. Quarterly sales were up 1.2 percent to $20 billion but annual sales were down almost 10 percent, or roughly $81 billion. Sales of flat-panel TVs, digital and video cameras, the PlayStation gaming console and personal computers were all to blame. The company’s television business has been in the toilet for eight years but recent misfortune has resulted in additional hardships. Sony factories and those of their suppliers were hit hard last year by an earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the region. Flooding in Thailand has also affected production in various sectors and an unfavorable yen has eroded overseas earnings. Newly appointed CEO Kazuo Hirai is leading a company-wide restructuring plan that will see 10,000 jobs cut in the next year. The cuts will represent six percent of the company’s global workforce in a goal to move away from the TV industry and delve further into manufacturing smartphones. Sony plans to sell some 33 million smartphones this year, up from 22.5 million last year according to Reuters. Sony bought out Ericsson’s 50 percent share in their mobile phone venture late last year for $1.5 billion. The company is hoping to see greener pastures as they look toward a new year.

Source: techspot

This past Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of “Wolfenstein 3D,” the game that essentially laid the groundwork for the first-person shooter genre and influenced many of id Software's titles for years. To celebrate the milestone, Bethesda (which acquired iD Software in 2009) has released a free, browser-based version of the iconic game where you’ll have to shoot your way out of a Nazi stronghold during World War II. Although Wolfenstein wasn’t id’s first 3D shooter — Hovertank and Catacomb 3D came before it — it was a major improvement as it moved from a 16-color EGA to a 256-color VGA graphics palette and used 2D sprites mapped from eight perspectives to produce a better illusion of 3D objects. It also established the fast-paced action commonly expected in the genre, encouraging exploration and rewarding players with various treasures, hidden rooms, and even some easter eggs like a Pac-Man level. Doom came a year later with better graphics and network play, while 3D Realms and Valve followed with titles such as Duke Nukem 3D in 1996 and Half-Life in 1998. Together with the advances in 3D hardware technology these companies helped spawn a PC gaming industry now worth billions of dollars. Along with the free, web-based game Bethesda also published a 25-minute developer commentary track where industry legend John Carmack talks about his memories of the game and the early days of id Software.

Source: techspot