X-bit labs

March 2004 Hardware News Overview (page 14)

Category: Editorial

by Andy Yaschenko

[ 03/15/2004 | 02:11 AM ]

So the most interesting product of the month is Sony DRU-700A, specifically the information about its imminent arrival into the market. Anyway, this is a drive with parameters similar to those of the Teac and ASUS, but working with dual-layer DVD+R 9 discs with a capacity of up to 8.5GB. Regrettably, the burn speed for such media is lowered to 2.4x, although it remains 8x for ordinary one-layer discs.

By the way, in February, Philips released the second version of its specification for dual-layer DVD-R discs – version 1.9. It is once again preliminary, as the previous version (0.9) never made it to the official 1.0 yet. Anyway, we are sure to see numerous drives capable of burning two-layer DVD+R blanks at CeBIT. Philips is going to show its DVDRW 885K with a proposed burning speed of 4x. The second quarter will bring us the first version of the DVD+RW 9 specification. So we’d better wait for drives that support this specification.

Well, you could wait eternally long here. For example, you can wait for Blu-Ray or HD-DVD drives. Sony is producing the former drives and is set to introduce two models of external Blu-Ray devices with Ultra160 SCSI and USB 2.0 interfaces, handling 23.3GB discs. You like it? Prepare to pay $3980 and $4160, respectively. I hope HD-DVD drives will be cheaper, but let’s first wait for DVD Forum to ratify their specification first.

Notebooks

Surprisingly, IDF produced most news for this field, which is a very rare occasion. Although there is not much fuss about processor/chipset-related matters, but there is an abundance of mobile-concerned announcements. First of all, Intel is developing further its digital home concept with the notebook playing a major part. To provide full mobility in a house, a really broadband connection is necessary to be established in this domicile.

The presented Ultra Wideband channel with a bandwidth of 500Mbit/s is capable of becoming the carrier for USB 2.0 with its specified 480Mbit/s. Video, audio and data can be retrieved without any annoying wires. This technology clearly targets at destroying Bluetooth, which should be considered a failure because of its very sluggish invasion into the market and low bandwidth. We don’t yet know the schedule for UWB-supporting equipment (the second half of 2005 is set as a target), but the price is promised to be like that of Bluetooth.

The next step in wireless communication – within a building – is still the 54Mbit/s 802.11 standard. WiMax (802.16) can commune between buildings. The mobile Florence platform, showcased at IDF, includes only 802.11b/g and Bluetooth controllers so far. Florence is not a codename for the next Centrino generation or anything like that. It is something more wide-reaching – a concept of the notebook of the future that will come in three formats: 12” On the Go, 15” Virtual Office and 17” Mobile Entertainment PC. You can see the outlines of classification in the current notebook market already.

Besides the communication capabilities of the Florence platform, Intel emphasizes the fingerprint recognition technology, a small auxiliary LED on the lid of the two portable models, the detachable and usable as a tablet screen of the On the Go and the keyboard-integrated detachable remote control of the Mobile Entertainment PC. All this stuff looks alluring, but also reasonable considering the existing market trends.