11/04, 3:50pm
NVIDIA blames Intel for delaying USB 3
Intel may have stalled adoption of the USB 3.0 standard for as long as two years, NVIDIA spokesman Brian Burke says. Following an apparent PC vendor leak which claims Intel won't have any USB 3.0-capable chipsets of its own until 2011, Burke tells TGDaily that NVIDIA has learned the same news. He contends that Intel has held the industry back by creating a near monopoly in demand for its chipsets but refusing to provide significant updates.
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10/27, 3:15pm
Tiny NEC WiMAX router has Wi-Fi support
NEC Japan has introduced the world's smallest WiMAX router with Wi-Fi capability on Tuesday. The Aterm WM3300R is battery-powered but can still reach 40Mbps downstream and 10Mbps upstream when on a suitably fast 4G network. The pocketable device is meant to share access through Wi-Fi but can also be plugged into a PC using a USB adapter for mobile Internet access on a specific system.
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10/26, 2:35pm
NEC business tablet PC spotted
A prototype tablet PC from NEC has been spotted recently, though little information is known about the device, according to a Nikkei report (subscription required). The device will be close to a mobile Internet device (MID) in shape as it's is expected to sport a touchscreen sized at between 7 and 8 inches, but it should have functionality that is said to more closely mimic that of a full-fledged PC. No technical specs are available, however.
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10/02, 4:45pm
O2 set to test LTE technology in six countries
Telefonica, which owns the UK-based wireless provider O2, announced that it will begin trial testing of its Long Term Evolution mobile broadband technology in six European countries. The 4G technology will allow for faster wireless data speeds, and the trials will involve hardware from six manufacturers including Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, Nokia Siemens Network, and ZTE.
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10/01, 11:45am
NEC adds entry-level AccuSync desktop monitors
NEC on Thursday added three new desktop monitors to its AccuSync lineup. All are entry level and environmentally-friendly, and include the 19-inch AS191, 19-inch widescreen AS191WM and 22-inch widescreen AS221WM. Compared to the models they replace, they use up nearly 50 percent less power, while an ECO Mode in the widescreen models lets users choose from two energy saver settings.
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09/14, 10:10am
Casio Hitachi NEC joint cellular venture
Casio, Hitachi and NEC took defensive steps to protect their cellphones today and said they would merge their handset businesses into a single joint venture. The deal leaked earlier will see NEC join an existing Casio and Hitachi venture but largely take it over; NEC will have a 66 percent stake while Casio and Hitachi will have 17.3 percent and 16.7 percent respectively. All three will share their technology, production and other efforts as part of the deal.
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09/08, 1:15pm
New NEC projectors get 5,000 hour ECO Mode
NEC on Tuesday announced the release of two new digital projectors, the NP110 and NP215. Part of the company's budget Value Series, the portable DLP projectors are meant to be taken to meeting and conference rooms. While they look nearly identical, several key features differ between the NP215 and NP110, including the 2,500 lumens of brightness for the NP215 (versus 2,200 for the NP110). The NP215 also gets a 1024x768 native resolution compared to the NP110's 800x600, but both accept input up to 1600x1200.
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09/01, 11:00am
NEC 19-inch business LCD
NEC Display recently announced the upcoming release of its MultiSync EA190M 19-inch desktop monitor meant for workers. It has environmentally conscious features that include an ECO Mode, and is said to be twice as energy efficient and contain half as much mercury in its build compared to traditional LCD displays.
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08/28, 8:55am
Casio Hitachi NEC Rumor
Three of Japan's major cellphone makers are nearing a joint venture that would create one of the largest companies of its type, sources said on Friday. Contacts for the WSJ believe Casio, Hitachi and Sharp are in talks to create a phone-only firm that would launch by April 2010. The project would be an attempt to consolidate businesses after the combination of economic fallout and a largely saturated Japanese cellphone market, where such a high percentage of residents own cellphones that handset designers are often competing for upgrades rather than new users.
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08/04, 9:10am
NEC MultiSync EA231WMi
NEC on Tuesday entered into the field of DisplayPort-capable displays through the 23-inch MultiSync EA231WMi. The full-size connector gives owners of newer computers a future-proof display option and comes alongside DVI and VGA inputs for those using older or less compatible formats. It also brings new features for the company outside of this, such as an ambient light sensor and a new multi-directional pad for navigating on-display menu options.
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07/24, 1:55pm
GlobalFoundries Fab 2
GlobalFoundries on Friday began building a new factory dedicated to making more advanced processors. The Saratoga County, New York-based Fab 2 plant is due to be completely ready by 2012 and will make processors on processes current by the time the factory opens. Initial chips will be made using a 28 nanometer (nm) process and should shrink quickly to 22nm once its production is completely ready. The plant should be ready on a basic level by 2011 and could start its earliest production ahead of time.
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07/20, 2:35pm
Japan Looks to iPhone
The Japanese are turning to Apple's iPhone as a source of ideas for how to rescue their ailing cellphone business, the head of a local think tank said today. Professor Takeshi Natsuno of Keio University told the New York Times that companies like Hitachi, NEC and Sharp have generally been unable to sell phones outside of Japan due to difficult, often highly customized interfaces and that the iPhone is a key example of how to solve the problem. Its emphasis on ease of use over hardware is believed to have made it more palatable worldwide and encouraged third-party app development that isn't usually present in Japan.
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07/01, 12:25pm
USB 3.0 due out in 2009
The next-generation USB 3.0 interface may reach customer PCs before 2009 is out, despite an earlier report to the contrary. Industry members believe Taiwan-area PC makers will be the first to release computers equipped with USB 3.0, as working prototypes of the interface, which promises 5GBps transfer speeds, are abundant at computer technology shows. These included PC hosts transferring data to connected external SSDs and interoperability between components from different vendors.
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06/29, 9:30am
Apple Agrees to Micro USB
Several major cellphone makers today agreed to support a European Union push for a universal charger standard. Apple, LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Samsung and Sony Ericsson have signed a deal with the European Commission that will see micro USB become the default connector for powering cellphones in the continent. Chipset producers like NEC, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments have also agreed to the deal.
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06/18, 2:50pm
Toshiba 28nm Deal Extends
Toshiba and NEC together said today that they would extend their agreement with IBM to produce 28 nanometer chip technology. The deal sees the members of the larger alliance continuing to work on the smaller, more efficient technology with the intention of using it for home user products. They now also say they expected 28nm to be particularly useful for "mobile communication devices" such as smartphones.
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06/08, 9:20am
NEC LCD2490WUXi2 US
NEC today quickly followed up on its Japanese releases with the American versions of a pair of color-accurate LCDs. The LCD2490WUXi2 and LCD2490W2 have 24-inch IPS panels that produce better images than PVA or TN screens; the decision gives them about 96.7 percent coverage of the sRGB color space, suiting them to pro-level image editing. They likewise have 12-bit color lookup tables, ambient light sensors to auto-adjust brightness and compensation for color and light variances across the LCD.
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06/04, 11:40am
NEC CRV43 Display
NEC today claimed the lead as the first mainstream company to ship an extra-wide, continguous desktop display. The CRV43 has a 43-inch, unbroken screen that handles resolutions up to 2880x900. Its 3.2:1 aspect ratio is wide enough to almost completely fill peripheral vision and makes it ideal for simulations, where off-angle views are important, as well as home offices and professional situations where having multiple large windows open is essential.
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05/26, 12:00pm
NEC 1.6lb, 10.6in netbook
NEC Japan has recently announced the upcoming release of its business-grade 10.6-inch netbook, the VersaPro UltraLite type VS. Most notably, the netbook weighs just 1.6lbs and is 0.62 inches thick. The low weight is achieved thanks to a magnesium frame that is die-cast and by exclusively offering a solid state drive, while the thinness comes from a careful design and shuffling around of the internal components. The 10-layer baseplate for the mainboard does not sit directly underneath the keyboard, for example, and a traditional heat sink for the CPU was done away with.
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05/21, 3:55pm
NEC LCD2490WUXi2 Japan
NEC today improved its longstanding MultiSync 90 series displays with a low-key update to its core 24-inch model. The LCD2490WUXi2 improves on the original WUXi with a newer 12-bit color lookup table that improves the visible gamut as well as general improvements to color brightness and stability. It continues to offer a 1,000:1 static contrast ratio and musters 320cd/m2 brightness.
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05/20, 3:50pm
Sony TransferJet tech due
Sony is bringing its TransferJet wireless data transmission technology closer to production by announcing recently it is now accepting licensing applications from interested companies. A Wednesday report has Sony taking "adopter" membership from companies that are interested in incorporating TransferJet into their products. TransferJet, which operates on a 4.5GHz radio frequency, lets users transfer data between portable devices at up to 375Mbps when they are about an inch apart. It is faster than wired USB 2.0 and FireWire connections and is supported by Japan, the US, European Union members and South Korea.
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05/19, 3:35pm
Atheros Wi-Fi Hotspot Chip
Atheros today unveiled a new cellphone chipset that could let cellphones host Internet connections as easily as with a typical wireless router. The AR6002 can run its Wi-Fi as a hotspot and can share its connection without the manually configured, ad hoc tethering over Bluetooth or USB normally needed to make the link. It can potentially save battery life for the devices connecting to the phone as it lets them idle or go to sleep where tethering requires both to be constantly alert.
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05/18, 4:45pm
NEC USB 3 Controller
NEC claimed a minor record on Monday by becoming the first company to produce a hardware controller that supports the new USB 3.0 standard. The µPD720200 will let computers and other devices talk to USB 3.0 peripherals and theoretically allows for the peak 5Gbps transfers of the format, or roughly 10 times the speed of USB 2.0. The Japanese chipset nonetheless remains backwards compatible with both the 2.0 spec as well as 1.1 devices, although USB 3.0 ports themselves won't support 1.x.
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05/11, 10:45am
EU Likely to Fine Intel
Sources said late yesterday that the European Commission will rule against Intel on Wednesday for its purported anti-competitive behavior versus AMD. Those aware of the case have told Reuters that the Commission will not only issue a fine but force Intel to change the way it sells processors in Europe. Intel's attempts to hinder AMD's success were "naked," according to the tip.
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05/06, 10:05am
WiGig Alliance
Efforts to solidify very high-speed, short-range wireless gained steam today with the creation of the WiGig Alliance (site active soon). The organization is meant to produce a common standard for sending data over a 60GHz link and to streamline developing computers, handheld devices and home theater equipment that can use the wireless link. The ultra wideband technology is fast enough to run about 10 times as quickly as an 802.11n connection -- effectively, 1Gbps -- and has the headroom to not just stream HD video but also to allow for previously impossible features like fast wireless displays and syncing entirely over the wireless connection.
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04/27, 12:05pm
NEC and Renesas Merge
Semiconductor giants NEC and Renesas today said they would merge in a deal likely to change the electronics industry. The two plan to finish talks by July that would create a single company by next April. Such a deal would give them roughly $13 billion in combined yearly sales and would make it the single-largest Japanese company building processing technology.
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03/29, 10:35pm
NEC Exits Non-Japan PCs
NEC this weekend said that it would quit selling PCs outside of its native Japan. The departure takes effect in July and follows similar plans for Africa, Europe and the Middle East announced last month. NEC is making the withdrawals following a predicted $2.96 billion loss for the past fiscal year and after it was concerned that cutting 20,000 jobs worldwide would not completely address its concerns.
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03/18, 4:45pm
Laser boosts rural access
The University of Melbourne and NEC in Australia are working on developing a high-powered laser that would cut the costs of bringing high-speed Internet access to rural areas of the country over fiber. Dr. Ka Lun Lee and his colleagues at the University are conducting an experiment in the state of Victoria, where the service can be sent to 99 percent of residents. Results of their work will be presented next week at a fiber optics expo in San Diego.
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02/12, 7:55am
Pioneer Exits TVs
Confirming rumors, Pioneer today said it would exit TVs altogether in a bid to recover its business from an approximately $1.44 billon loss in the past year. The move will see the company quickly shut down its Castleford, UK and Pomona, California factories that make TVs and eventually phase out TVs altogether by March 2010. The departure is directly pinned on the US economic crisis and its impact on demand for TVs.
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02/09, 4:15pm
Verizon commits to LiMo
The LiMo Foundation on Monday announced six new wireless providers have committed to release LiMo Platform based handsets in 2009. The Linux OS-based phones will become available from Verizon Wireless, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, SK Telecom, Telefonica and Vodafone sometime in 2009. The open-source Linux operating system in the devices will be based on the latest version of the LiMo Platform.
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02/09, 3:35pm
NEC intros NP projectors
NEC on Monday announced the introduction of two new portable short throw projectors, the NP500WS and NP600S, meant for use in classrooms and conference rooms. The identical-looking projectors share the same 600:1 contrast ratio and are rated to operate for 4,000 hours in ECO Mode. The NP500WS is a wide aspect ratio projector, offering a 1280x800 native resolution at 2,100 lumens of brightness, while the NP600S has a 1024x768 resolution at 2,600 lumens. Either has closed captioning capabilities and network control connectivity while being capable of projecting images up to 77 inches in size onto screens from less than four feet away.
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02/06, 9:30am
NEC CE143 Phone Chip
NEC today unveiled a new processor it says should significantly bolster the media capabilities of cellphones. The CE143 can process photos at 12 megapixels but also supports decoding 1080p video, letting any equipped device play full HD without needing a more advanced graphics chipset. The still photo mode also has features normally reserved for still cameras, such as fast face detection for portraits, image stabilization and a "super resolution" technique that can reduce the blur and pixelation when using digital zoom.
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01/30, 3:55pm
Toshiba, NEC chip merger?
Toshiba is said to be in negotiations with the semiconductor unit of NEC to merge part of its chip operations as it struggles with dropping demand, according to a Friday report for the International Herald Tribune. The source remains unnamed as the talks weren't made public by either company, and Toshiba wouldn’t comment on the rumors. The majority, some 65 percent, of NEC is owned by Toshiba, and the parent company has gone on record to say Japanese chipmakers need to consolidate operations in order to be profitable worldwide.
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01/28, 11:55am
NEC Eye Flavor ad board
NEC Japan has been selling its Eye Flavor digital signage board in Japan since December and what makes the device unique is its built-in camera with face recognition technology. The board will scan a passersby face before he or she gets to the board and, by estimating his or her age range or even sex, will display ad content most suitable for these results.
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01/06, 1:00pm
NEC Pro LCDs, SpectraView
NEC announced on Tuesday the upcoming launch of its 26-inch MultiSync LCD2690W2-BK-SV and 30-inch LCD3090W-BK-SV widescreen displays meant for graphics professionals along with the new SpectraViewII Kit, which combines a color measurement sensor with sophisticated software to enhance the color accuracy. The three new products will be displayed at the currently ongoing Macworld Expo.
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01/05, 11:40am
NEC intros 26-inch LCD
At the Macworld expo due to kick off tomorrow in San Francisco, CA, NEC Display will demonstrate its newest desktop display for graphics professionals, the 26-inch MultiSync LCD2690WUXi˛. Based on the existing LCD2690WUXi display, the new monitor has a wider color gamut panel, covering 97.8 percent of the Adobe RGB color spectrum versus the older model's 91 percent, as well as delivering greater blue coverage and brightness uniformity.
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12/22, 4:30pm
NEC LaVie L-series laptops
Computer monitor and PC maker NEC announced it will soon launch a new notebook series in Japan, with the LaVie L series. The fashion-focused notebook features a 15.4-inch LCD, offering 1280x800 resolution and will sport a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chip along with 4GB of RAM. The 320GB hard disk drive will come pre-loaded with Windows Vista. The notebook's touchpad has a feature that allows it recognize handwriting gestures by users' fingers or scroll across web pages.
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12/11, 4:40pm
Ratoc wireless USB hub
Japan's Ratoc Systems has recently shown off its certified wireless USB starter kit, the REX-WUSB1. The system is designed for use with notebooks equipped with a PC Card slot and includes a three-port wireless USB hub that can also be wired. The kit is compatible with Windows XP or Vista PCs after the included drivers are installed.
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10/23, 1:10pm
ARM-based netbooks coming
New processors designed by ARM will soon find their way into netbooks, says the company's director of mobile solutions, Rob Coombs. ARM is more commonly associated with the low-power processors used in many smartphones, including Apple's iPhone. ARM is working on a successor to its ARM11 architecture, dubbed Cortex-A8, which Coombs notes should be fast enough for both smartphones and netbooks. Some individuals are "playing around with gigahertz speeds," Coombs claims.
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10/16, 12:20pm
NEC intros first netbook
NEC on Thursday announced its entry into the netbook market with the introduction of its 8.9-inch LaVie Light, which like many is powered by Intel's Atom processor running at 1.6GHz. NEC's first netbook will also include a hard disk drive with a class-leading 160GB capacity, while its 1GB of memory is on par with competitors. The screen's 1024x600 resolution is governed by a graphics processor that's part of the Intel 945GSE Express mainboard.
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10/15, 4:50pm
NEC show 12.1-inch 3D LCD
NEC Display on Wednesday announced it will demonstrate a stereoscopic display that produces high-definition 3D images without requiring viewers to wear special 3D glasses at the FPD International 2008 show due to kick off on October 23rd. The 12.1-inch display has a resolution of 800x600 pixels and is meant for commercial use. NEC has developed a Horizontally Double-Density Pixels LCD module to achieve the feat, which uses horizontally arranged RGB pixels in addition to the vertical arrangement of a typical LCD display.
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10/01, 9:55am
NEC EA241WM and EA191M
NEC this morning expanded its MultiSync EA screens for higher-end home and pro users with a pair of slightly smaller models. Headlining the updates, the 24-inch EA241WM has the same 1920x1200 resolution as the 26-inch flagship and finds room for a full pivoting display as well as hidden, chin-mounted stereo speakers, a carrying handle and a four-port USB hub. The panel has a now-typical 1,000:1 contrast ratio but is fairly bright at 400cd/m2.
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09/03, 4:00pm
NEC intros four projectors
NEC on Wednesday introduced new entrly-level LCD projectors to add to its NP line, including the NP400, NP500, NP500W and NP600. The new products feature 1024x768 native resolution, with the NP500W upping it to 1280x800. All four are meant for use in classrooms, during meetings and training sessions thanks to their Ethernet network connections, closed captioning systems and a comparatively loud built-in 7-watt speaker.
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09/02, 11:10am
NEC MultiSync EA221WM
NEC added just its second EA series display on Tuesday through the MultiSync EA221WM. The 22-inch panel is billed as one of NEC's more complete models with support for pivoting the LCD into portrait mode as well as height, swivel, and tilt adjustments. It also carries a four-port USB hub, hidden stereo speakers and both HDCP-encrypted DVI as well as regular VGA inputs for its video sources.
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08/04, 9:20am
NEC NP41 and NP61
NEC began its week with an unveiling for two computer-oriented portable DLP projectors. The NP41 and NP61 are both light enough at 3.5 pounds to be carried along with a notebook but still bright enough for less-than-ideal lighting at 2,300 and 3,000 lumens of brightness respectively. They also have a claimed 1,600:1 contrast ratio and a six-segment DLP color wheel that produce relatively vivid images at either projector's 1024x768 maximum resolution.
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06/19, 1:15pm
NEC 8x Blu-ray recording
NEC has developed a technology for 8x Blu-ray burners, a Japanese site reports. Current NEC drives can only burn Blu-ray at 5x, and many other commercially-available models are slower still, or complete lacking in Blu-ray burning. Samples of the 8x chipset are going out to manufacturers; the technology is said to merge a digital signal processor (DSP) with an analog one, the latter originally intended to serve in 20x DVD drives.
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06/18, 9:05am
NEC EA261WM Display
NEC today contributed its share to the InfoComm expo with the EA261WM, a new 26-inch LCD it targets at the workplace but which is also usable at home. The design is relatively accurate with coverage for 92 percent of the NTSC color gamut and a 1,000:1 contrast ratio in spite of its relative size and a 5ms pixel response time. The professional black bezel also hides downward-firing stereo speakers for users who might not have space for separate speakers.
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06/17, 5:35pm
NEC intros two projectors
NEC on Tuesday announced details on two network projectors ahead of their debut at the InfoComm 2008 show in Las Vegas which kicks off tomorrow. The NP905 offers 1024x768 (XGA) native resolution, while the NP901W features WXGA (1280x800) resolution, but both max out at 1600x1200 (UXGA). Either of the identical-looking units is compatible with Windows Vista via the Windows Network Projector support, allowing for wired or wireless network connections with laptops or PCs without the need for any specialized software.
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04/15, 12:20pm
NEC Lui Formal Launch
NEC this morning prepped the final launch of its Lui media streaming devices. Essentially more advanced versions of today's media extender devices, all four models provide a network connection to the music and video of a DLNA- or Windows Media Center-capable PC in a reportedly more elegant way than with traditional extender hubs. The Lui RP (pictured) is considered the standout with a UMPC-like handheld design; users are given enough control with a directional pad and QWERTY keyboard to find and play media from its four-inch LCD. The Lui RN offers the same formula in a 10.6-inch notebook that reaches a very thin size by depending on its media source for storage.
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03/24, 3:05pm
NEC NP-series projectors
NEC announced the release of two mobile projectors on Monday, the NP100 and NP200, aimed for use in small or home offices and developing businesses. Both look nearly identical and feature Texas Instruments’ DLP technology that allows for a 1,300:1 contrast ratio. The NP100 has just SVGA (800x600) resolution, while the NP200 increases that sharpness to XGA (1024x768) for computers and other high-resolution sources.
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02/04, 9:45am
NEC AccuSync xx4 Series
NEC is growing its AccuSync display line today with three widescreen models, all built with full features but also stealth in mind. The 17-inch LCD174WXM, 19-inch LCD194WXM, and 22-inch LCD224WXM all share stereo speakers but use a refreshed design that tucks them underneath the bezel, preventing the large "chin" that often plagues mixed-media displays. NEC also makes concessions to environmental friendliness with a special ECO mode that drops brigtness to reduce the display's power use by about 30 percent.
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