April 16 - 4:55pm EDT   What is being touted as an industry-first by the parties involved, Samsung in conjunction with Wave Systems on Thursday announced it has released the first solid state drives (SSDs) with integrated hardware encryption through Dell. The SSDs automatically encrypt information as it's being saved to the drive for securing data. Each of the new drives is bundled with Wave's Embassy management software. The drives will be initially offered in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities. [full story]

December 1 - 12:25pm EST   Korea's ReignCom, which makes iRiver-branded personal media players, has released its first cellphone in its home market ahead of the promised March 2009 launch. The iRiver Wave handset sports a 3-inch, 480x272 touchscreen that is capable of recognizing handwriting and will connect to the Internet via its built-in Wi-Fi connection or over wireless data networks, provided by exclusive carrier KT. The handset will also support VoIP calling to reduce airtime costs. Initially, the Wave will be offered in just ten iRiver stores in Korea. [full story]