Maximum PC consumer electronics RSS Feed

Asus Announces Eee Top All-In-One, Meant to Compete With iMacs

Andy Salisbury — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:19:27 -0600

Just this week Asus announced their brand new Eee Top desktop computer, which is meant to directly complete with Apple’s juggernaut, the iMac.

The Eee Top is a fancy take on desktop computing, that features a 15.6-inch touch screen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB DDR RAM, a 160GB 5,400RPM hard drive (boo!), a 1.3-megapixel webcam, and built-in WiFi. The price point is set at about $580 USD, but sadly the machine is only available in Taiwan. The rest of us will have to wait!

Though, the wait will be worthwhile, because if 15.6 inches sounds like it’ll be to small for you, Asus has a 20 and 22-inch version slated for release in June.

Microsoft Takes Aim at Apple with Zune Price Cuts, Software Push

Mark Edward Soper — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:17:07 -0600

This holiday season, Microsoft is taking aim at arch-rival Apple's iPod - and its companion iTunes software. This week, Microsoft cut the retail prices on 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB Zunes as well as on the Car Pack, Home/AV Pack, and Dock Pack. With the 8GB Zune now selling for $139 (was $149) and the 16GB model now selling for $179 (was $199), Microsoft is undercutting the price of comparable Nanos by $10 (8GB) and by $20 (16GB). The 4GB Zune anchors the lineup at $99, down $30 from its old price.

The Car Pack now sells for $69 (was $79), but the Home/AV Pack, also formerly $79, is now just $59. The Dock Pack is also cheaper at $39 (was $49).

To find out how Microsoft plans to use Zune software to drive hardware sales, join us after the jump.

Thanks for Contributing to a $20 Billion PC Gaming Hardware Industry!

Andy Salisbury — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:53:40 -0600

As it stands, the PC gaming industry is estimated to be worth a massive $20 billion today, and it is predicted to enlarge to $34 billion by 2012.

While many have claimed that PC gaming is dying, they don’t take into account the sales of gaming-oriented PCs. According to Ted Pollack, one of the two men behind this robust estimation, “Retail software figures are not an accurate barometer for the health of the PC gaming industry. The retail numbers don’t capture the casual and digitally distributed games, either.”

Pollack goes on to state that PC gamers don’t really buy that many games to begin with. “Enthusiast PC gamers often latch onto one or two games that offer multiplayer options and stick to these titles for years. Hardware is where they spend the big bucks.”

And yes, it is noticeable that a good amount of the sales went to complete PCs, but there’s also a large market of you that buy your own parts. Many of the sales come from upgrade pieces such as improved graphics cards and memory. And for this, we at Maximum PC salute you.

Flash Headed to Smartphones; Apple Still Holding Out

Andy Salisbury — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:33:32 -0600

At a series of press events over the past few days Adobe has unveiled a brand new version of flash aimed directly at smartphones. The new version of Flash is optimized to work with ARM processors (like the one used in the iPhone).

So long as your smartphone has a processor clock speed of at least 200MHz and 16MB of RAM, it should be able to run the new Flash. It’s also mentioned that a “completely capable browser” is required, but given the phones that it’s meant for, there shouldn’t be any issues.

Google’s G1 is expected to get the update soon, among others. Whether it’ll be simply downloaded by the phone itself or updated in-store is yet to be revealed.

While many other smartphone vendors are prominent when it comes to excitement about the possibility of Flash on their phones, Apple isn’t. Steve Jobs has mentioned that Flash “performs too slow to be useful” on the extremely popular iPhone. To many this seems like a match made in heaven, but Apple has politely snubbed that notion.

Kanguru's New 32GB Flash Drive Combines eSATA and USB

Paul Lilly — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:00:00 -0600

Kanguru has developed a new breed of flash drive eliciting one of those 'Why hasn't someone thought of this before?' moments. The new drive, which the company calls e-Flash, combines both eSATA and USB connectivity on a standard sized thumb drive.

"We’ve combined the fastest connectivity with the most universal connection for the best of both worlds,” said Nate Cote, VP of Product Management at Kanguru Solutions. “The ultra-fast transfer speed, high capacity and small size combine to make it a great portable solution for users that want the next generation of unbelievable performance."

Kanguru says the eSATA connection comes powered so that it requires no extra power, but the company also tosses in an "eSATA + Power bracket and an eSATA + Power cable for easy hookup to the computer you use it most on." The flash drive also comes preloaded with Hotswap! software.

The Kanguru e-Flash currently comes in 16GB and 32GB capacities ($85 and $120 respectively), with a 64GB planned for January 2009. The drive's aluminum casing can also be personalized with a custom engraving.

Chinese System-Maker Markets Bejeweled Rigs

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:54:03 -0600

Ms. Hilton! I must say, it is a pleasure to know that you’re a reader of our fine publication. Today we’ve got a wonderful story just for you, and it’ s all about an exceptional machine that will match perfectly with your comically undersized dog of the week.

China’s very own Eazo is offering a jeweled up PC that will come in many different colors, depending on what your desk is looking. Just make sure that you don’t throw off your feng shui!

The Eazo F20-SE Xing Crystal packs an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 processor and a Western Digital Green Power 1 TB HDD for storing all those important documents. So far though, there’s no word on how much memory is installed or what kind of graphics processing is available.

And while you’re looking at just how attractive this PC will look next to the pictures of your family, fifth car, and private jet pull out your wallet. This little beast will run you a fresh $70,000 for the top end model.

Shuttle's New XPC Mini-PC Packs Intel's G45 Chipset, Supports Core 2 Quad

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:21:08 -0600

While Shuttle’s new XPC SG45H7 might not have many discernable differences from the usual Shuttle system, it’s got a hidden treasure trove of new features hidden underneath that compact chassis.

The XPC SG45H7 only comes in black, but it sports plenty of powerful pieces underneath the hood. For starters, they’re shipping Intel’s G45 Express chipset topped off with your choice of an Intel Core 2 Quad or Core 2 Duo processor. This is mostly thanks to the improved cooling and space provided by the new H7 case, which is slightly bigger than previous Shuttle PCs. It allows for a larger, quieter power supply fan, room for dual-slot graphics and up to four sticks of memory.

This slick little box is available from specialist retailers with prices listed as low as $349. And with this economy, prices that low coupled with hardware that hot is a combination that’s tough to beat.

Analysts Predict AMD & Intel will Struggle in 2009

Justin Kerr — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:15:04 -0600

The slowdown in the economy continues to trickle down into the technology sector and new warnings have been issued for both AMD and Intel. According to the marketing research firm IDC; "The supply chain is telling us that there is strong concern for demand decline." As a result IDC, and many other firms are cutting their processor growth forecast to around 2-5 percent for fiscal 2009.

This negative outlook on the global PC market had a crushing effect on the earnings forecasts of both companies. Investment bank Friedman Billings Ramsey has slashed its fourth-quarter earnings expectations for Intel to a meager 30 cents per share, down from a previous estimate of 36 cents. AMD also takes a hit jumping from a 19 cent per share loss to as much as 24 cents. Obviously the situation is much worse for AMD who continues to struggle to find its way out of the red, but both companies are facing challenges.

Wall Street analyst firm ThinkEquity predicts much of the weakness will come from softer corporate notebook demand. According to Avon Securities; "PC OEMs...are worried about having too much inventories if end-market demand comes in materially weaker than expectations this holiday season."

Are you holding back on your PC purchases amidst the economic uncertainty? Hit the jump and help us conduct our own informal survey.