November 17 - 9:35am EST   Dell today quickly seized on Intel's Core i7 debut by launching two new systems, including one completely new line. The Studio XPS upgrades the regular Studio desktop with features friendly to gamers and high-end media with Core i7 processors and dedicated video as the baseline. They further exploit the new Intel hardware with three memory sticks that both up the minimum storage and also the available bandwidth. [full story]

September 12 - 12:05pm EDT   Creative is readying itself for a new X-Fi product launch next week, the copmany has revealed through an invite sent out to an Engadget reader. The invite for the September 17th event provides only a brief glimpse of a device with the X-Fi logo and states that the brand is "heard everywhere," hinting that the launch is for one or more portable devices. No other details have been revealed through the message. [full story]

September 11 - 1:40pm EDT   A Wednesday report suggests a patent filed by Creative at the start of 2008 may reveal an upcoming ZEN Internet tablet or ZEN Vision media player. Creative itself describes the device as a media player in the PDF patent document but conspicuously shows features such as a back-mounted camera that aren't normally used in this class of device. [full story]

August 29 - 9:35am EDT   Samsung this morning expanded its MP3 player range with two devices previously hinted at in the past. Standing as the mid-range device, the YP-Q1 (shown) is the first player from Samsung with the company's in-house DNSe 3 audio engine, which like Creative's X-Fi is said to restore missing detail from compressed songs. It also claims a simple, illuminated D-pad interface and a 2.4-inch LCD comparatively large for flash-based players. [full story]

July 14 - 8:25am EDT   Creative this morning set US launch information for the ZEN X-Fi, its first Wi-Fi media player. The local launch quickly follows the Singapore announcement and prices the full wireless versions well below the iPod touch and also with more features than Microsoft's flash-based and similarly wireless Zunes, putting a 16GB version of the player at $200 and a 32GB player at $300. An 8GB player without wireless will sell for $150. All three should be available in early August. [full story]

July 10 - 8:40am EDT   Creative on Thursday took the wraps from the ZEN X-Fi, the company's first-ever wireless player and its first competitor to the iPod touch and Zune. The device succeeds the original ZEN and includes a new, nine-point control pad key to using the device online over Wi-Fi: Wireless LAN versions can use a phone-style text entry system to chat online using Windows Live or Yahoo instant messaging. The network access also gives the X-Fi the ability to stream music and video directly from a home computer on the local network, although a rumored Internet streaming feature doesn't reach the finished product. [full story]

June 29 - 10:40am EDT   Creative's ZEN X-Fi player is still in progress and is being more directly targeted at Apple on both the hardware and software sides, says a slew of leaked information obtained by epiZENter. Spotted in an official product shot, the X-Fi changes the look of the original ZEN to an aluminum-and-chrome look believed to be drawing heavily on the visual appeal of the iPhone. According to leaked documents from the company's UK website, the new ZEN will also be Creative's first wireless player and will have a unique nine-point directional pad to take advantage of integrated Wi-Fi: users will have the option of instant messaging on Windows Live or Yahoo Messenger with a phone-style ... [full story]

May 27 - 8:45am EDT   Creative has for now shelved its plans to develop a Wi-Fi capable player, the company's Nordic product manager Jan Hvidberg has revealed in an interview. The senior official confirms the one-time existence of the ZEN Share but says that there were "technical complications" developing the player that prompted the company to drop the project. The executive doesn't rule out the possibility of a future player with wireless but for now shelves hopes of an immediate release. [full story]

May 16 - 4:45pm EDT   Creative Technology on Friday announced two additions to its PCI Express Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty sound cards with the Professional Series and Champion series. Creative claims the products are the first ever native PCI Express hardware accelerated sound cards. Both cards feature Dolby Digital encoding and single-cable connection for 5.1-channel home theater hook-ups, as well as EAX 5.0 effects and CMSS 3D positional audio support. [full story]

May 12 - 2:40pm EDT   Creative expanded its lineup to the underserved notebook audience with the Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1. The USB device is claimed as the first to both boost audio quality and output in full 5.1-channel surround sound; Dolby and DTS movies, as well as games that support surround through DirectSound or OpenAL, automatically have their video processed and split across a speaker setup. Compressed audio is also cleaned up through the Crystalizer hardware that Creative says restores lost details. [full story]

April 16 - 10:00am EDT   Creative's answer to the iPod touch and Zune has had details firmed up in its development, says a new, purported leak to epiZENter. The player once known as the ZEN Share is now said to have been changed to ZEN X-Fi to turn attention to the player's sound quality. While Wi-Fi is still a defining feature, the future jukebox now appears likely to include the Crystalizer used in other Creative devices to auto-enhance sound quality by filling in audio detail lost to compression. [full story]

February 28 - 8:40am EST   Creative may finally be launching into touchscreen media players with its rumored ZEN Share player, say tips from alleged insiders. While the name is no longer certain, the device is claimed to be the first to rely on touch navigation. The new player would also break ground as the first Creative player to sport the company's X-Fi sound processing hardware, which helps restore missing detail from the compressed music files most likely to be used on a portable device. [full story]