Asus' U30s second generation Core i notebook gets reviewed early

Notebooks with Intels second generation Core i processors are slowly starting to trickle out into the market, but so far weve only seen 14 and 15.6-inch models from Asus. However, an early review of one of its upcoming 13.3-inch models the US30s which is an interesting mix of portability and features. This is likely to be Asus budget 13.3-inch model judging by the features, so we can expect a higher-end version to be announced at some stage as well.

The U30s should be a direct replacement of the current U30Jc model, but with several key feature changes beyond the CPU and chipset. The chassis actually appears to be mostly identical to the older U30Jc which means that the U30s still packs an optical drive, something that results in it being a rather chubby 13-incher. The model on review came with a Core i5-2410M processor; although wed expect it to be available will several CPU options.

The U30Jc featured Nvidias now almost antiquated GeForce 310M graphics and this is where the U30s really improves on things with a GeForce 520M. In as much as this is an entry level solution from Nvidia, it should still be a huge step up from the old 310M. Asus has also built in support for Nvidias Optimus graphics switching technology which switches over to the Intel HD graphics when the additional power of the GPU isnt needed.

What Asus missed to add was USB 3.0 support which is a real shame, as the U30s doesnt feature an eSATA port so the fastest interface for peripherals is USB 2.0. Bluetooth 3.0 has been thrown in for good measure though, although this is becoming an increasingly common feature on notebooks, but doesnt add much in terms of actually being useful as there are still very few devices that utilizes Bluetooth 3.0.

Battery life is said to be good for up to 6h of light usage and about 4.5h watching HD videos on it. Not amazing by todays standards, but still decent enough battery life for whats expected to be Asus most affordable 13.3-inch model, at least for now. Pricing is estimated to end up sub €1000 (S$1770) including tax fully kitted out with 8GB of RAM and a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive. In will be interesting to see what else Asus has coming over the next few months as the U30s is really just an upgrade of an old model, but were hearing that we can expect some interesting announcements at Computex in May.

Source: Netbooklive

Apple updates Find My iPhone feature with driving directions

Apples updated version of the Find My iPhone application now includes driving directions, leading users directly to the location of their missing devices.

Former versions of the functionality would trace a missing device to a location, and display that location as an icon on a map. Now, this icon includes a car symbol. Tapping on it induces the device to bring up driving instructions, so that an iDevice owner can find his Apple product with much less guesswork.

The Find My iPhone feature has come in handy before, defeating theft, and possible loss of valuable merchandise. One caveat to the Find My iPhone feature is that robbers can disable it even without knowledge of a users passcode. This does make the application less secure – however, the application is undoubtedly valuable in cases of accidental loss.

One possible objection to the Find My iPhone app is that it is an iOSapplication - meaning that it would seem to require an Apple device to run. So unless you have two different iOS devices, and only one of them is lost, the feature may not seem very useful. However, the functionality is also usable on iCloud.com, using mapping data by Google (Google - rather than Apples own Apple Maps).

Find My iPhone is now a free feature, and has been since 2010. Despite the name, the feature is not limited to iPhones, and will help to track other iDevices like the iPod touch, iPad, and MacBook.

Perhaps in the future, Apple can improve functionality even further with pedestrian directions. Any long term user of an iPhone knows that the biggest suspect location of missing devices is somewhere in the recesses of your own home – and that would not render very useful driving instructions.

Source:CNET

ASRock Unleashes 870 Extreme3 Motherboard

ASRock has launched the 870 Extreme3 motherboard, jumping onto the AMD 870 + SB850 bandwagon. It features AM3 support, 5-phase power PWM, four DDR3-1800 slots, twoPCI-e x16 slots (CrossFireX-ready), one eSATA, five SATA IIIconnectors, Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1 channel audio, 1394a, two USB 3.0ports (courtesy of integrated NEC MPD720200 controller), a debug LED,UCC (Unlock CPU Core) chip function, as well as onboard Power, Resetand Clear CMOS buttons. Pricing has not been announced yet but theASRock 870 Extreme3 is expected to start shipping in end April.


News via [Techconnect]

Antec Preps LanBoy Air ATX Case for Launch at CES 2010

LanBoy Air

Antec, a name synonymous with perfomance PSU and chassis, is announcing the launch of its LanBoy Air ATX Case at CES 2010. The case’s modular designfeatures 9 drivebays (6 x 3.5” bays & 3 x 5.25” bays), 8 expansionslots (for Tri-SLI configurations) and a top-side panel with 2 x USB2.0, 1x eSATA and audio connectors, and has support for up to 12 x120mm fans.


LanBoy Air - Front


LanBoy Air - Rear


LanBoy Air - Actual


LanBoy Air - 120mm Fans Galore


LanBoy Air - Front side panel

To further minimize noisegeneration, Antec had incorporated suspension mounts in the chassis toreduce HDD vibrations. Fully compatible with micro, mini and standardITX motherboards, the LanBoy Air is to be launched at CES 2010 nextJanuary. It is expected to be sold at a MSRP of 200 EUR.

News via [Casandcooling.fr]