Rapid Bridge Tapes Out Smallest USB 2.0/3.0 PHY Ever

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The key to smaller computers that use less power is miniaturization. The smaller the components inside your computer are, the more components can be fit inside the limited space available. CPUs and GPUs are always moving towards smaller scale manufacturing for power savings and performance.

RapidBridge has announced that it has taped out the world's smallest USB 2.0/3.0 PHY. The new product is the newest member of the company's LiquidPHY product family. The new product meets or exceeds the USB 3.0 Super Speed specifications. Read more

Posted on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:44:04 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Blue Microphones Unveils Yeti THX Certified USB Mic

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Blue Microphones has announced the world's first THX Certified microphone called the Yeti USB Condenser mic. The Yeti offers Blue's premium condenser capsules in a proprietary triple capsule array. The THX certification affirms that the mic has the ultimate recording and playback fidelity.

Yeti offers four patterns including omni, cardioid, stereo, and bidirectional for versatility. Blue Microphones claims the mic has zero latency and offers amplified headphone monitoring with no latency, mic mute, and hardware gain adjustment. Read more

Posted on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Holiday Gift Idea: The Beatles USB Discography

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Alright, so the remastered Beatles discography still isn't available on iTunes. Honestly, at this point it looks like that might never happen. Thankfully, EMI and Apple Corps have found a way to bring us digital copies of everyone's favorite British foursome. Sure, $280 for an Apple-shaped USB stick filled FLAC and MP3 versions of all the remastered CDs seems a bit pricey but, as Gizmodo notes that's only $60 more than you pay for the new CD set.

For you audiophiles out there, the FLAC quality is listed as 44.1Khz 24 bit, and the MP3s are 320 Kbps. Now, the bad news. 'Only' 30,000 of these special edition sets are being made. They go on sale November 8th, but you can pre-order now at TheBeatles.com.

Posted on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 08:16:17 CST | by Robert Evans

IPEVO P2V USB camera Debuts

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Webcams are a dime a dozen really with most of them having the same design and features. IPEVO has announced a new webcam called the P2V camera that is a bit different. The camera sits on an articulating arm.

The arm looks like it should be attached to a desk lamp rather than a webcam. The arm allows the camera to be adjusted for height and angle so it can get the best picture quality. The camera also has a macro mode allowing it to focus on things as close as 2-inches from the camera. Read more

Posted on Tue, 3 Nov 2009 05:23:13 CST | by Shane McGlaun

USB Wink Glasses Make You Blink

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I got through the all night Quake session phase of my life and learned to relax my eyes during my 12 or more hours in front of the big window into the internet. Japanese Masunaga Optical has glasses for you in case you do not blink when fragging your way through virtual worlds.
The USB powered Wink glasses have small sensor to monitor how often you blink and fog the lens when you are not blinking for five seconds. Apparently you blink when the lenses gets fogged by a plastic foil. As the photo suggest only one eye gets fogged. Read more

Posted on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

New ASUS P7P55D-E And P7P55D Feature Native USB 3.0

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Asus announced a range of enhanced motherboards that deliver true USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s data throughput performance.
The ASUS Xtreme Design P7P55D-E Series motherboard has onboard support while the ASUS Xtreme Design P7P55D Series utilizes the ASUS U3S6 PCIe x4 expansion card to deliver the latest USB and SATA data transfer capabilities.

Equipped with the Intel P55 Express chipset, the P7P55D-E / P7P55D Series supports the latest LGA 1156 socket for Intel Core i7/Core i5 Processors. Additionally, they also feature exclusive Hybrid Technology—Hybrid Processor, Hybrid Phase, and Hybrid OS—to give users intelligent performance enhancement, active cooling, and rapid online access. Read more

Posted on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:31:22 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Duracell Instant USB charger and GoMobile Charger Review

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Today I am checking out a couple of new battery devices from Duracell. One of the chargers is the GoMobile that charges AA or AAA batteries in the car and at home.

The other charger is the Instant USB Charger that provides power for anything that charges via USB. That includes the iPod, iPhone, and digital cameras. Read more

Posted on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:02:35 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Shure Unveils New USB Mics for PC Users

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Shure unveiled a pair of new USB microphones called the PG27USB and the PG42USB side condenser microphones. Both of the mics are shipping now. The mics are designed to complement the Shure line of pro mics and home recording products.

Both mics connect directly to a PC via a USB port with plug and play performance. The cardioid condenser mics have built-in headphone monitoring and zero latency with a mix control. This allows the user to hear what they are recording on the go and make adjustments. Read more

Posted on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Before Wearing The Kissing Monkey USB Hands Warmer I'd Set The Office On Fire

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USB Hand Warmer gadgets have been around for a couple of years and apparently people still have cold fingers in the winter months. Gadget Shop Gadget4All just emailed us news about the Kissing Monkey USB Hands Warmer. What should I say, they look really ridiculous.
If you have cold fingers while typing, ask your boss to turn up the heat. Read more

Posted on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:40:45 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Emerge 90W Universal Laptop Charger has Dual USB Ports

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A company called Emerge Technologies has debuted a new laptop charger that is universal and ships with tips to fit many of the most popular notebooks on the market. One of the most interesting features of the device is that is has a pair of USB ports built-in to allow you to charge USB devices like mobile phones and cameras.

The charger promises to be up to 60% smaller than competing devices and has cables that are designed to be retractable. When fully extended the cables are 9.5 feet long to allow you to reach hidden plugs. Read more

Posted on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Novatel Unveils Ovation MC998d USB Modem

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Novatel Wireless has unveiled a new USB modem for mobile broadband users called the MC998D. The new modem supports HSPA+ on 850, 1900, and 2100 MHz frequencies. The device uses MIMO technology for faster data throughput.

The HSPA+ technology allows the modem to support speeds of up to 21.6 Mbps on 3G networks for downloads and up to 5.76 Mbps on uploads. Future firmware updates will increase the download speed to 28.8 Mbps. Read more

Posted on Thu, 8 Oct 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Active Media Products Introduces Aviator 312 External USB 3.0 SSD

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A company called Active Media Products has unveiled a new SSD that uses the USB 3.0 interface called the Aviator 312. The SSD is an external storage solution designed to operate at 4.8Gbits/sec making it about ten times faster than USB 2.0. The drive is very small measuring about 3" long x 0.2" thick.

The company says with the massive speed of USB 3.0 a full 25GB HD film can be saved in about two minutes. The drive comes with a carry pouch and a USB 3.0 micro-B cable for connectivity to any port. The drive will work with any USB 2.0 or 1.1 port as well, just at lower speeds. Read more

Posted on Mon, 5 Oct 2009 05:32:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

UBoard USB Multi-board for Keyboard And Monitor

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Sunnone announces the UBoard, a USB Multi-Board for your Keyboard.
If you have too little desk space a keyboard stand can be the solution. The UBoard has a clean and light look through the use of tempered glass.

Additional benefit are the three integrated USB ports and the "totally must have" Cup & Memo Holder. Read more

Posted on Thu, 1 Oct 2009 03:53:04 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

DoubleSight Unveils Smart USB Monitors

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DoubleSight Displays has announced a new line of USB displays for notebook and desktop users looking to easily add additional screens to their systems. The new line of monitors are compact in size and aimed at the notebook and netbook markets.

The displays need only a single USB connection to the host computer and have built-in support for multiple monitors. The screens can be positioned in landscape and portrait mode. The USB port also powers the monitor as well as connecting the display for video. Read more

Posted on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Hello Kitty Mimobot USB Drives Celebrate 35th Anniversary Of Hello Kitty

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The Mimobot USB drives now feature Hello Kitty. The Japanese cute cat girl is aging very well considering she is already 35.

The Mimobot series has already featured all kinds of designs including Star Wars.
Read more

Posted on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:34:09 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Freecom Releases First USB 3.0 Hard Drive For Sale

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This week at the Intel Developer's Conference (IDF) Freecom announced the first line of USB 3.0 hard drives to hit the market. The Hard Drive XS 3.0 comes out far ahead of the pack of new 3.0 devices, most of which are set to roll out in 2010. Freecom's hard drives, however, will be out in Europe starting mid-November, according to PC World.

The company did not state when or if their drives would be available for sale outside of Europe. They did announce that the product would come in three sizes; 1 TB, 1.5 TB, and 2 TB. Prices will start at around $175 for the 1 TB drive, which is a fairly low fee to pay for the honor of being an early adopter for one of the coolest new technologies.

Posted on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

USB 3.0 ExpressCard From Fresco Logic

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USB 3.0 gets a lot of attention the Intel Developer conference IDF this week. You almost get the feeling USB 3.0 is finally here for the masses, but in reality it is just starting.
To benefit from upcoming USB 3.0 enabled gear you could upgrade your notebook with the USB 3.0 ExpressCard from Fresco Logic that The Register (via ExpressCard-Info) spotted at the IDF. Read more

Posted on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:23:32 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

USB 3.0 At IDF: Now With Video

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It's 10 times as fast, consumes far less power, and is totally backwards compatible. What's not to love about USB 3.0? The new technology debuted this week in several different products and concepts at the IDF show. Some of these products (SuperSpeed USB hard drives) are even angled to hit stores before the year is out. And now, Engadget has posted a video of the new technology in action.

The video, which comes from the IDF show, has the USB 3.0 HD finishing a 500 MB transfer in a little over 4 seconds. Next to it is a USB 2.0 HD, which takes a little under 40 seconds. From this video alone it's pretty obvious that USB 3.0 hard drives are going to change the way we transfer and store media. No longer will making back-ups be a ridiculously long and tedious process!

Posted on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:33:31 CDT | by Robert Evans

Kingston Improves Speeds on DataTraveler 410 USB Flash Drive

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Kingston has announced that it has increased the speed on one of its flash drives called the DataTraveler 400. The drive can be had in up to 32GB capacity. With such a high capacity offering, faster speeds are very important to allow large files to be moved more quickly.

The drive is also password protected to prevent unauthorized access to the data on the drive. The drive now has read and write speeds of 20MB/sec. Other capacities are available as well with 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB drives in the line. Read more

Posted on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:53:30 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

USB 3.0 Makes Waves at IDF

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Yesterday we reported that the first USB 3.0 controller was certified by the USB-IF. That little product isn't the only piece of USB 3.0 goodness coming our way in the near future, however. According to PCMag.com the Intel Developer Forum, which began today, is chock full of USB 3.0 devices.

LucidPort Technology brought several SuperSpeed USB hard drives to the show, from manufacturers like Netac, MacPower, and SSI. At least a few of these USB drives will be available in stores before the end of 2009. That's good news for all of us, because it means we can get some ultra-fast USB 3.0 hard drives to store all of our digital Christmas gifts on.

Posted on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:00:07 CDT | by Robert Evans

USB 3.0 Is Here

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Well not "here" as in "your home or electronics retail outlet" but "here" as in "exists in at least one product". According to Engadget NEC's xHCI host controller is now the first certified product to use USB 3.0. Jeff Ravencraft, president of USB-IF (the group that oversaw the certification) said that he expects the first USB 3.0 end products to be in stores early 2010.

Ravencraft also let slip that he believed some manufacturers will likely have products in stores before Christmas of 2009. That said, there's a bit of a caveat coming. USB 3.0 is not FULLY compatible with USB 2.0 cables and the like. If you have a USB 3.0 gadget connected to a USB 3.0 receptor port with a USB 2.0 cable, you'll only be able to transfer at 2.0 speeds.

Posted on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:53:01 CDT | by Robert Evans