3rd February 2006 Archive

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Handheld device shipments tumble in 2005

Palm maintains lead

The market for handhelds reached 2.2m units during the fourth quarter, up 37.6 per cent compared to the preceding quarter, according to IDC's Worldwide Handheld Qview. However, while sales soared during the last three months of 2005, shipment volumes decreased 18.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2004. Moreover, yearly …

Phones 3 Feb 2006, 07:02
Sony's ambitious HD PC

Plus bionic ears

It is a real sign of the times that you get a press release about a new PC and its first sentence bangs on about HD. But then again, this is Sony, a company that is staking an awful lot on HD, so perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising. The PC in question is the latest in its series of high-end desktops, the £1300 VGC-R202. Sony …

PCs 3 Feb 2006, 09:47
Apple sued over overly loud iPod

Insufficient hearing-loss risk warnings, apparently

A Louisiana man is suing Apple claiming that the iPod is "inherently defective" because it can pump up the volume to ear-damaging levels and that Apple hasn't done enough to warn him of the risks. The plaintiff, John Kiel Patterson, is seeking unspecified compensatory damages presumably for hearing loss he may have suffered, …

Media players 3 Feb 2006, 10:08
Global chip sales set record in 2005

Even better next year, industry body chirps

World+dog bought $227.5bn worth of chips in 2005, up 6.8 per cent on 2004's total of $213bn, the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced yesterday after posting December 2005 sales figures. The month's sales came to $19.95bn, down 2.2 per cent sequentially from November's $20.41bn, but up 8.6 per cent on …

Bits 'n' Chips 3 Feb 2006, 10:27
Intel's loss was VIA's gain in 2005 desktop graphics biz

Firms trade chipset market share

Intel may have shipped more desktop graphics chips than any other player in the market, but it also managed to lose market share to almost all its rivals, the latest figures from Jon Peddie Research reveal. VIA took the most market share from the chip giant. JPR's numbers focus on Q4 2005. During the quarter, Intel took 32 …

Bits 'n' Chips 3 Feb 2006, 11:03
Discrete mobile GPU decline continues in Q4

But will Q1 2006 reverse the trend?

Notebooks using integrated graphics chips outsold those kitted out with discrete GPUs by almost three to one last quarter, data from market watcher Jon Peddie Research (JPR) suggests. Put it this way: in the mobile graphics chip market during Q4 2005, integrated graphics engines accounted for 74 per cent of sales, while discrete …

Bits 'n' Chips 3 Feb 2006, 11:25
Nvidia tweaks nForce 4 SLI x16 drivers

Patching time

Nvidia has updated its nForce 4 SLI x16 chipset drivers for Windows XP and 2000 in both 32-bit and 64-bit incarnations of the operating systems, taking them to versions 6.85 and 6.83, respectively. The update includes what Nvidia calls "compatibility fixes", and it's tweaked a variety of driver components, including audio, …

Bits 'n' Chips 3 Feb 2006, 11:37
AMD Socket M2 spotted on Nvidia-based MSI mobo

Debuts on web

AMD's upcoming Socket M2 desktop CPU interconnect has surfaced on the internet, revealed in all its 940-pin glory on MSI's K9N Platinum motherboard. You can view the snaps here. The board clearly sports an Nvidia chipset, so there's no doubt it's going to support the new interconnect when it debuts - in Q2, if rumours, leaks …

PCs 3 Feb 2006, 11:56
Motorola Q to miss Q1 ship deadline?

Now due 'early April', Moto moles allege

Motorola's slimline smart phone, the Q, may not appear until early April, having missed the December launch window hinted at by company CEO Ed Zander in September 2005. When Motorola announced the Q in July 2005, it said the machine would ship in Q1 2006. The would-be Blackberry beater's original launch window is still open, of …

Phones 3 Feb 2006, 12:13
Dell websites drop LCD TV line-up

Exclusive While demand outstrips supply

Dell insisted today its LCD TV line-up will return after the company was forced to pull the products from its EMEA websites late last month. Describing the company as a "victim of its own success", a Dell spokeswoman today admitted the company could not meet current demand for its 32in and 37in tellies. Reg Hardware readers …

Gadgets and Gizmos 3 Feb 2006, 13:29
HP confirms iPaq hw6910 - again

Unannounced PDA phone crops up on support site

HP has updated its website to include a further reference to the upcoming iPaq hw6910 smart phone, along with a pointer to another as-yet-unannounced machine, the rw6828. Searching for both products yields HP Business Support Center pages for each machine. Alas, there's no documentation on them but a generic iPaq-oriented …

Phones 3 Feb 2006, 14:06
iMac G5 17in R.I.P.

PowerPC product put to sleep

Apple has killed off the 17in iMac G5 - at least, the machine is no longer available from either the UK or the US online AppleStores, or stores throughout Europe and Asia-Pacific, though it remains listed on the main Apple website. The move comes just days after Apple cut the price of the 20in iMac G5 by $200 in the States and £ …

Mac 3 Feb 2006, 14:58
Devolo MicroLink dLAN powerline Ethernet adaptor

Review Wired networking through the mains

After Reg Hardware tried out ZyXEL's new PL-100 Ethernet-over-powerline product, quite a few readers pointed out a similar but more convenient item from Devolo. It's been around for some months now, but since it was new to us, we guess it'll be new to quite a few other Reg Hardware readers too. So we called up Devolo and asked …

Networking and Wireless 3 Feb 2006, 16:12