24th April 2007 Archive

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High level Night Elf druid saves PC gaming

3.4 million unwashed nerds really can make a difference

A level 60 druid seeking l33t blue drops in the Hellfire Ramparts may have saved PC gaming, according to The New York Times. The paper reports that US retailers sold $203m worth of PC games in the first two months of 2007 — a 48 per cent increase on floundering sales the past few years. Market analyst NPD Group attributes the …

PCs 24 Apr 2007, 00:07
Intel slashes desktop processor prices

Cheaper PCs ahoy!

Intel pruned its processor prices earlier this week, as anticipated. The cuts include knocking 38 per cent off the price of the Core 2 Quad and up to 40 per cent off Core 2 Duo CPUs. Intel also reduced what it charges for its remaining Pentium D chips - remember them? - by as much as 37 per cent. The price cuts centred on …

Bits 'n' Chips 24 Apr 2007, 07:30
Sony signals fall in Blu-ray, HD DVD hardware prices

You want blue-laser diodes? We got 'em

Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD players look set to get cheaper now that Sony has formally begun selling blue-laser diodes, a key component of machines that can read the two next-gen optical disc formats. Sony has been manufacturing blue-laser diodes for some time, but its output is believed to have gone entirely to meeting the giant …

HD 24 Apr 2007, 07:49
Intel expands Core 2 Duo line-up

Cache question

Intel has extended its line of desktop dual-core Core 2 Duo processors, adding an extra model to the set limited to an 800MHz frontside bus and beefing up the cache size of a number of 1066MHz FSB versions. So, in comes the 2GHz Core 2 Duo E4400, fitted with 2MB of L2 cache. The existing E6300 and E6400, clocked at 1.86GHz …

Bits 'n' Chips 24 Apr 2007, 09:14
Sony sticks it to Spider-man

Spider-man 3 opens on 4 May but you can get an ahead-of-time Spidey fix by snagging a special edition Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo memory card or Micro Vault USB Flash drive. The Memory Stick - available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities - comes with DVDs of the first two Spider-man movies in the box. The 2GB Micro Vault is pre- …

Gadgets and Gizmos 24 Apr 2007, 09:34
Motorola teases Hong Kong girls with gilt-y pleasures

Gold KRZR K1, anyone?

Here's Motorola's latest lady-leading limited edition mobile telephone: a one-off "champagne gold" KRZR K1 ready to bring a true sense of gilt to your life. Well, if you live in Hong Kong, that is. The skinny quad-band clamshell handset, described as both a "conversation piece" and a "fashion statement", is now available in …

Gadgets and Gizmos 24 Apr 2007, 10:10
Blu-ray builds big lead in US, mag claims

Sales figures suggest victory's still not certain

Blu-ray Disc appears to be cementing its lead over rival next-gen format HD DVD, with the latests sales figures from the US pointing to more than two BDs sold for every HD DVD disc. According to figures compiled by US trade publication Home Media Magazine, some 832,530 pre-recorded BDs were sold to consumers during the first …

HD 24 Apr 2007, 10:32
Easy cam, easy go: camcorders on test

Group Test 'This is incredible. A portable television studio...'

The stigma of the camcorder as a provider of rubbish quality "comedy" footage shot solely to keep Harry Hill in a job is over. Be it HD pro movie making or just YouTube-style improv clips, there are myriad models on offer so suit any and all budgets... Sony HDR-UX3E Sony's new AVCHD-format camcorder range has been …

Cameras 24 Apr 2007, 14:04
T-Mobile 'super 3G' modem tackles Vodafone on price

HSDPA via USB

Vodafone's USB-connected 3G HSDPA modem has appeared again, this time with T-Mobile's name on it - and a lower price. T-Mobile wants £30 for the modem on a 12-month Web'n'Walk data contract. You can even get it for nowt if you're willing to take out an 18- or 24-month contract. That compares to the £50-100 Vodafone has …

Gadgets and Gizmos 24 Apr 2007, 14:16
AMD's 'R600' benchmarked on web

Card slips out, website tests it

How will AMD's upcoming ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT perform. Pretty darn quickly, it would seem, if preliminary tests posted on the web ahead of the troubled chip maker's official release date prove correct. Website DailyTech put the as-yet-unannounced GPU up against Nvidia's rival part, the GeForce 8800 GTS. The 2900 XT has 512MB …

Bits 'n' Chips 24 Apr 2007, 16:19
Analysts confirm ugliness of AMD's Q1

Intel scores share gain trifecta

With AMD's horrible first quarter now out in the open, analysts have started to deliver fresh data that documents just how much market share the chipmaker ceded to Intel in recent months. Intel's share of the x86 processor market rose to 81 per cent during the first quarter, according to data from Mercury Research. That total …

Bits 'n' Chips 24 Apr 2007, 20:46
HP to sell low-cost ink

Change of attitude

Michael Hoffmann, the head of the European operations of HP's printer division, has told German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung that his company is going to sell low-cost ink alongside better quality cartridges. Customers will be able to buy more than one type of cartridge: from low-cost ink for bulk-printing purposes, to high …

Gadgets and Gizmos 24 Apr 2007, 21:16