Blu-ray 3D disc specification finalized

by Lucas Mearian, Computerworld

The Blu-ray Disc Association announced Thursday that it has finalized the 3D Disc Specification, which includes support for the PlayStation 3. The format will be display agnostic, supporting any 3D television, including LCD and Plasma models.

The news comes less than a week after LG Electronics announced it expects to ship 400,000 3D-enabled televisions next year, and 3.4 million in 2011. The market for 3D television is expected to be a $1.1 billion in 2010. By 2015, it’s expected to skyrocket to $15.8 billion, according to market research firm DisplaySearch.

3D Blu-ray players will project a 1080p image for each eye. Special glasses required for viewing 3D brings the two images together to create the additional affect of depth.

Toshiba Announces 64GB Flash Memory; Perfect For Next iPhone

Chris Brandrick - Tue Dec 15

On Monday, Dec 14, Toshiba announced a new 64GB flash memory module, which the company claims is the highest-capacity flash module in the industry. The new 64GB NAND flash module is just 30 micrometers thin, packs a dedicated controller, and contains sixteen 32Gbit chips. It was manufactured using Toshiba’s 32-nanometer process.

These memory modules are geared toward use in various portable devices, and once the new modules arrive in early 2010, it likely won’t be long before we see a range of new pocket-sized gadgets using the higher 64GB capacity, including future iterations of Apple’s iPhone.  Read more... (230 words, 2 images, estimated 55 secs reading time)

The New Rugged Laptop from Dell

posted by Bram P

Dell, Inc, this week has announced its first multitouch rugged laptop The Latitude XT2 XFR. The rugged laptop is designed to meet the unique and demanding needs of customers in the military, police, border patrol, field service organizations, factory fulfillment and first responders. The Latitude XT2 XFR is independently tested to meet military (MIL-STD-810F) and IP54 (Ingress Protection) standards. Its means that resistant to rain, dust, dirt, vibration, extreme temperatures and drops from up to 3 feet.

“It offers single hand manipulation of the laptop in the field and it’s very exciting from that perspective,” Sean Berg, Dell’s sales director for defense and public security said. “Customers are wanting this type of interaction with their computers - anything that can simplify the interaction to do their role is important.”

Sony Vaio AC Adapter Recalls

posted by Bram P

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in October 29, 2009 announced a voluntary recall of the Sony AC adapter from Vaio laptop product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Sony said it has received four reports of adapters short-circuiting, with none of those incidents occurring in the U.S. No injuries have been reported, Sony said.

The Sony AC adapter to recall is about 69,000 pieces, because their insulation inside the AC adapter can fail over time, posing an electrical shock hazard to consumers. Those Sony AC adapters were manufactured in China by Sony Electronics Inc. of San Diego.

BlackBerry Storm 2 Releases in October 28

posted by Bram P

Research In Motion (RIM) recently release statement that they would release new Blackberry cell phone Storm 2. The Blackberry cell phone Storm 2 is prepared to launch in Wednesday, October 28 2009.

Like previous model, the BlackBerry cell phone Storm 2 will feature a touch screen. The display features a 3.25-inch capacitive touch screen display (480×360 pixels resolution), which provides electronic feedback instead of the “clickable” screen found on the previous model. RIM hopes to fix the mistakes from previous model which was at the center of many customer complaints. It also features multi-touch support, allowing users to click two keys (like shift plus a letter) on the virtual keyboard at the same time.  Read more... (502 words, 1 image, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)