Archive for September, 2009
Microsoft to Cut Xbox 360 Elite Price For Japan
Microsoft Corp said it would lower the price of its high-end Xbox 360 model by a quarter in Japan, keeping pace with Sony’s launch of a cheaper PlayStation 3 ahead of the critical shopping season.
Microsoft plans to cut the price of the Xbox 360 Elite, which comes with a 120-gigabyte hard disk drive, to 29,800 yen ($321) on Sept. 10 from 39,800 yen. The price of the entry-level Xbox Arcade model will stay at 19,800 yen in Japan, and the company will phase out its mid-range Xbox 360 model with a 60-GB hard drive, in line with its announcements last week for outside Japan. Microsoft said then that it was cutting the price of the Elite model by $100 to $299.99 in the United States and by 50 euros to 249.99 euros in Europe. Sony, which competes head-on with Microsoft in terms of functionality of their game consoles and target users, said two weeks ago that it would launch a slimmer, cheaper version of the PlayStation 3, in a bid to jump-start sales.
Following Microsoft’s price cut announcements last week for markets outside Japan, Nintendo Co Ltd said it has no plan to lower prices of its top-selling Wii console. The Wii sells for 25,000 yen in Japan, compared with the new Xbox 360 Elite price of 29,800 yen and 29,980 yen for the slimmer PS3 model, which will hit store shelves on Thursday.
Sony to Launch 3D TVs Next Year
Sony Corp plans to launch 3D TVs next year in a move to spur sales amid slowing growth in flat TV demand, the Financial Times said.
Sony CEO Howard Stringer will announce the 3D TV launch as well as plans to make its Vaio PCs, PlayStation 3 game machines and Blu-ray players compatible with the technology at the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin on Wednesday, the FT said. The newspaper said Stringer is expected to tell the audience: “As with high definition a few years back, there are a variety of issues yet to be addressed. But the 3D train is on the track, and we at Sony are ready to drive it home.” Sony said the company plans to hold a news conference at the IFA at 1500 GMT and that it may update progress on its 3D TV development there, but declined to comment on the timing of any 3D TV launch. Shares in Sony, the world’s second-largest LCD TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, were down 3.2 percent at 2,440 yen, underperforming the Tokyo stock market’s electrical machinery index, which lost 2.5 percent.
Sony PCs to Offer Google Web Browser
Google is shipping its Chrome browser with Sony Corp PCs, sealing the Internet company’s first such deal since it introduced the Web browser last year to compete with Microsoft.
The deal could expand the reach of Google’s fledgling product which lags behind browsers offered by Microsoft Corp and the Mozilla foundation in market share. Google spokesperson Eitan Bencuya said the deal with Sony went into effect this summer, but declined to discuss terms of the deal, such as which Sony PC models come pre-installed with the Chrome browser, or any financial terms. Google said the company was now exploring ways to make Chrome accessible to more people. “We are in the process of testing one such channel with Sony,” according to a statement. The deal with Sony was first reported by the Financial Times. Sony trails PC giants like Hewlett-Packard Company and Dell Inc, and did not rank among the top five PC vendors by worldwide shipments in the second quarter, according to research firm IDC. But Bencuya said Google was looking at striking similar deals with other PC makers. Google introduced the Chrome browser in September 2008 and remains a distant number four player in the browser market, with a 2.59 percent worldwide share in July according to market research firm Net Applications. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer dominates the browser market with 67.7 percent market share, followed by the Mozilla Foundation’s Firefox, with 22.5 percent, and Apple Inc’s Safari, with 4 percent.
Toshiba Introduces 640GB 2.5-Inch HDD
Toshiba has announced a new series of 5,400 RPM 2.5-inch HDDs offering up to 640GB of capacity.
“IDC estimates in its study of the expanding digital universe that 36.5 terabytes of data will be generated per second by 2010(2),” said John Rydning, research director at IDC. “A significant portion of the digital content being generated needs to be stored in homes and small businesses efficiently. With advances in 2.5-inch capacity and technology, Toshiba’s new 2.5-inch form factor HDD provides a good combination of capacity, mobility and low-power consumption for portable devices, and increasingly for applications traditionally served by larger form factor HDDs.”
Toshiba’s high-capacity MKxx65GSX series is ideal for commercial and consumer notebook PCs, as well as all-in-one desktops, EnergyStar PCs, surveillance systems, digital video recorders, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and other applications, which have traditionally used 3.5-inch HDDs to meet their storage requirements. Toshiba’s new 320GB-per-platter design reduces power consumption and heat dissipation by more than 80 percent compared to like-capacity 3.5-inch HDDs. Low heat generation keeps the HDD running cooler during operation, enhancing reliability and long-term access to data, photos, music, videos and other valuable user content.
With a maximum areal density of 528.5 Gbits/in(2), the MKxx65GSX series includes 640GB, 500GB, 320GB, 250GB and 160GB models. The series’ top-capacity HDD of 640GB can store up to 182,000 digital photos, 168,000 digital music files or 520 downloaded digital movies of high-definition video. For added durability, Toshiba offers a free-fall sensor option to help protect the drive should the host system be dropped.
“These new high-capacity 2.5-inch HDDs provide benefits for both notebook and desktop applications,” said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing at Toshiba Storage Device Division. “Not only do they continue to close the performance gap between notebooks and desktops, they also provide a perfect alternative to 3.5-inch HDDs in desktop and POS applications requiring energy efficiency and reliability in a smaller footprint.”
Toshiba’s new 5,400 RPM 2.5-inch HDD series is scheduled to ship to distributors and PC manufacturers in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Microsoft Windows 7 Innovations Make It Easier and Quicker
It’s the simple things in life that are often the best. Perhaps with this in mind, Microsoft’s developers have crafted the Microsoft® Windows® 7 operating system (OS).
Microsoft Windows 7 will be available in HP notebooks and desktop PCs from 22 October 2009. Including a whole heap of special little refinements, and a few big ones, it can help simplify the operation of your hard-working companion.
Make new things possible
Windows 7 innovations make it easier and quicker to share music, documents, printers, and more, on your home or office networks. The system supports latest advances in PC hardware, like 64-bit computing and multi-core processors, while improved memory capability will lift the overall performance of your computer.
An improved toolbar gives you a better view of the files and applications you have open. And you can even turn your computer into a touchscreen device, thanks to Windows Touch. With the right hardware you can use your fingers to find folders and files, touch-edit pictures, and even “paint” items on screen.
Clever collaboration
HP collaborated closely with Microsoft during the creation of the new OS to ensure that it performs optimally with HP models. Now, to make it easy for you to access the advantages of Windows 7, HP has joined the Windows Upgrade Option Programme, providing selected users with a free upgrade to the new OS.