Category: Miscellaneous

TechNexion Toucan-0700 is a HMI panel that is based on Freescale i.MX6 processor with a  baseboard following EDM standard for system-on modules. TechNexion Toucan-0700 features EDM1-CF-IMX6 SoM which was also used in Wandboard boards and runs Android 4.3 or Android 4.4 operating system.

TechNexion Toucan-0700 specifications include Freescale i.MX6 Solo / Duallite Cortex A9 processor with Vivante GPUs, 512MB / 1GB RAM, 4GB eMMC flash storage + micro SD slot, 7″ LCD display with LED backlight, 1024×600 resolution, HDMI 1.4 for external display, 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x USB OTG 3.0 connector and 7 Watt power consumption.

TechNexion Toucan-0700 can be mounted using 4 mounting clips (included), or an optional 35×75 VESA Mount (MIS C. Standard). You can find its documentation on official company’s pages. It is on sale for 540.09 Euros without Wireless LAN / Bluetooth and 584.00 Euros with both of those wireless radios.

AOC Q2778VQE was launched today that features a 27 inch display packing 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution. AOC Q2778VQE is ideal for fast-paced games and movies. The screen of AOC Q2778VQE has an aspect ratio of 16: 9 and viewing angles of 170 degrees horizontally and 160 degrees vertically. Since many users make use of different ports to connect their devices to their computer monitors, AOC has equipped it with several ports that include Display Port, HDMI, DVI and D-Sub connectors. This is how it looks like.

AOC Q2778VQE not only offers high performance but also come with nifty power saving modes like Eco Mode and e-Saver. In fact this computer monitor also meets strict regulations such as Energy Star 6.0 and TCO 6.0. AOC offers a on site replacement service for up to 3 years.

AOC Q2778VQE specifications are given below:
Line monitor    Pro-line
Monitor size    27 Inch
Display Format    16: 9
Brightness    350 cd / m 2 (type)
Contrast ratio    1000: 1
Dynamic Contrast Ratio    80M: 1
Response Time    1 ms
Maximum resolution    2560 × 1440 @ 60Hz
Connectors: D-Sub, DVI, HDMI and Display Port   

AOC Q2778VQE is now available at a suggested retail price of 399 euros  and you can find more details in the AOC website.

More and more storage manufactures have been launching M.2 solid state drives lately. Today ATP has launched a new collection of new industrial-grade SSDs. The new models are 2242 and 2260 M.2 SSDs where 42 and 60 in the names indicate how long the drives are.

Smaller ones have lower capacity and they will likely be used in PMPs and HTPCs. Of course they will also be heavily used in thin laptops like ultrabooks. Experts also say that it might make them to embedded systems and point of sale terminals.

The new ATP 2242 and 2260 will features all modern SSD features like S.M.A.R.T monitor, TRIM and Advanced Wear-Leveling), as well as Power Cycling Protection (PowerProtector) and Data Integrity Protection (AutoRefresh).

ATP is all working on slimSATA and mSATA storage devices which will be making their debut along with the 2242 and 2260 M.2 solid state drives.

Mousepad as its name suggests is meant for accomodating your hand and a mouse. MSI is a company that thinks differently and today it has released MSI Xield5 mousepad that is designed for people who like have their desktop covered. It is not wafer thin or light. It is quite heavy at 1.6 pounds and oozes out quality and durability.

You will find the familiar dragon logo on the MSI Xield5 which looks amazing. There is no word when MSI will be putting it in production or how much it will cost.

We have been told that the MSI Xield5 is made of bamboo rubber which mean it will much more expensive than your generic mousepad.

Intel is the biggest producer of solid state drives and today it has announced newest members to its data center drives called S3710 and S3610. Both offer better write performance that is necessary in data center environments. Intel promises to bring both S3710 and S3610 at low cost of total ownership.

The Intel DC S3710 offers up to 25 percent increase in write performance when compared to its previous generation of data center SSDs. At the same time, it offers high endurance and strong data protection. The result is lower cost of ownership and higher write speeds.

Second is Intel DC S3610 SSD that is a mid range solid state drive. It offers twice as performance as entry level drives for data centers but retains the benefits of DC S3710 and similar high-end drives such as high endurance and data protection. It is also ideal for virtualization, e-commerce, analytical and operational databases, and cloud infrastructures.

OnDemand Books which is the maker of Espresso Book Machine has announced that they have launched a self pub service that will allow the authors to distribute their work via OnDemand Books network of POD machines and through major bookstores.  The new service is called SelfEspress and upon research we found that it is same as the one being provided by PastPencil.

• Check out Blloon eBook pricing and details

In fact on a number of pages, you will find the publisher as FastPencil which is the actual creator of this service. The only contribution being done by OnDemand is using FastPencil’s service under their brand and mark up prices.

You can also get a single copy printed through Createspace or you can distribute the soft copy via LSI and get it printed at local Espresso Book Machine.

• pressrelease pdf

Crucial has launched some really good solid state drives that an average consumer can afford and buy. Called the Crucial BX100 it will be made available in four capacities –  120 GB, 250 GB, 500 GB and 1 TB. The BX100 makes use of Silicon Motion SM2246EN controller.

Specifications include read speed is of up to 535 MB/s and write speed of 185 MB/s. The 250GB, 500GB and 1TB solid state drives offer 370 MB/s and 450 MB/s write and read speeds respectively. Random performance is of 70,000 4K read/write input/output operations per second (IOPS).

It features a standard 2.5 inch form factor that can be used in any laptop or mini laptop and will retail for $70 for 120GB model, $110 for 250GB, $200 for 500GB and $470 for the 1 terabyte model.

Shipments of Crucial BX100 will commence in first quarter of 2015. The company will be bundling an app called Storage Executive tool that will allow you to monitor SSD’s health, temperature and status.

• Company’s page

Olixar BabyBoom is a wireless mini speaker that can be used with your Bluetooth equipped phone or laptop. It packs enough punch with enough volume to fill a small room nicely. Here is how the Olixar BabyBoom looks like in my hand.

Continue reading “Olixar BabyBoom review, a great mini bluetooth speaker with excellent sound output”

The Micro SATA 1.8 inch SSD-HDD to 2.5 inch converter is for using 1.8 inch SSD drives in laptops with 2.5 inch HDD bay. In simple words, it lets you use a small SSD or hard disk into your conventional laptop.

I bought one for just $5 from Amazon to try it out and it works like a charm. I had a 128GB 1.8 inch SSD from Toshiba lying around and I thought of using it on my Lenovo ThinkPad X120E laptop that is slow snail when it comes to performance. I came to the conclusion that only an SSD can rescue it but I did not want to buy one since I already had one at home.

This Micro SATA 1.8 inch SSD HDD to 2.5 SATA converter worked like a charm. It adds around 1 inch to the length of the SSD. Here is how it looks like with the 1.8” SSD attached.

After attaching simply slide it into the 2.5 inch connectors of your laptop. You may need to add some padding on the bottom so that it does not rattle. I added thermocol for padding. It works perfect and has solid construction.

It shall be noted that this converter does not works with mSATA drives.

Conclusion: It is cheap and it is functional. It lets you use your 1.8 inch SATA SSD drives in your big laptops. Buy it from amazon for just $5.

Onyx Book I62A is a new ebook reader that features a 6 inch e-Ink display and it retails for $89 with cover. For many the Onyx Book I62A is a like Barnes Noble Touch tablet that is updated to newer operating system and faster processor. This model is currently not on sale in Europe but we have heard that is coming soon to European land.

Onyx Book I62A specifications include a 6 inch eink pearl display with a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels and runs Android 2.3 OS that runs fine thanks to the powerful Rockchip 1 GHz processor and 512MB RAM.

For storage you get meager 4GB but that should be just fine to store quite a lot of ebooks but if you want to store more, you can always use its micro SD card slot.

The Onyx Book I62A also comes with Wi-Fi module and headphone jack. It weighs 238 grams and has thickness of 10.2 mm.

But let us face it, after the launch of Amazon Kindle 2014 model for 59 euro, it leaves no room for competition. Thus Onyx will have to work very hard in pushing these units off the shelves as Kindle offers so much more for less.