Thin and light with long battery life, Acer America today announced availability of the new TravelMate B113 notebook PC for U.S. and Canadian customers. An ideal solution for institutional customers, the TravelMate B113 meets all the needs for productivity, communication and mobility needed in today's e-learning environment.

"Acer has had great success with the 11.6-inch form factor in the education market because their compact size is ideal in a classroom setting, even for the youngest of students," said Michael O'Beirne, Acer senior director, commercial product marketing. "The TravelMate B113 notebook is an important addition to our notebook portfolio, as it combines everything educators and students need, including exceptional performance, durability and reliability for a best-in-class mobile experience."

Presenting NextPowerUp, our sister tech-publication in the works, designed with a bigger canvas. TechPowerUp established itself as one of the top PC hardware publications thanks to our pursuit for quality reviews and relentless news delivery. We decided it was time to put these core ideals to use, in addressing the much larger consumer electronics and gadgets markets, without disturbing TechPowerUp's focus on PC enthusiast content, one of its hallmarks.

NextPowerUp is designed to keep you up to speed on the latest in over 20 markets (and growing), each with its own content channel, and editors hand-picked for them. These include Audio (personal, home, professional, concert), Business, Cinema (filming, production, exhibition), Desktops (pre-built desktop PCs), Displays (signage, projectors), Gadgets, Gaming (games, game development, gaming industry, consoles), Internet (the business of WWW), Networking (social networking), Notebooks (notebooks, Ultrabooks, netbooks), Phones (of all shapes and sizes), Photo & Video (cameras of all shapes and sizes), Politics (industry soap-opera), Robots (outside assembly lines), Science (popular science, space exploration), Software, Storage, Tablets, Televisions (TVs and technologies built around them), Transportation (wheels that don't run on fossil fuels), and Wireless (Cellular carriers, commercial WiFi).

I-O Data Japan introduced a thoughtful new device for road-warriors, called NUBES, an SDHC/SDXC card reader that is completely wireless. The device is packs a 1,350 mAh battery that can keep it going for 4 hours on full charge. Supporting 802.11 b/g/n (up to 150 Mbps), the card reader has just enough bandwidth to stream 720p HD video. The reader works as a short-range WLAN router, supporting all modern router security features, including WPA-PSK (TKIP / AES), WPA2-PSK (AES). It supports up to three simultaneous connections. Along with the reader, I-O Data released an iOS app that allows you to manage files, and stream media from an inserted SD card. Measuring 83.5 x 12.3 x 5.8 mm (WxDxH), the reader weighs about 57 g. It is priced at 4,180¥ (US $50).

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today launches the new A75-ITX WiFi B-series and A55-ITX WiFi B-series mini-ITX platforms for 2nd Generation AMD A-series APUs. The new socket FM2 platforms enable users to harness the power of the latest AMD Trinity APU architecture featuring AMD Radeon HD 7000 series graphics processors for perfect CPU and GPU synergy in a compact mini-ITX form factor.

"The 2nd Generation AMD A-series APUs paired with our ZOTAC A75-ITX WiFi B-series or A55-ITX WiFi B-series are perfect together. The mini-ITX form factor enables compact systems while the 2nd Generation AMD A-series APU delivers a performance punch and provide adequate gaming capabilities from the integrated AMD Radeon HD 7000 series graphics processor," says Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. "The high-definition video processing capabilities from the AMD Radeon HD 7000 series graphics processor makes the ZOTAC A75-ITX WiFi B-series and A55-ITX WiFi B-series perfect for home theater PC use as well."

WD, a Western Digital company, and a world leader in external storage and solutions for today's connected life, today unveils the new My Net AC1300 HD Dual-Band Router and My Net AC Bridge as the latest additions to the acclaimed My Net family of HD dual-band routers. These products combine next-generation 802.11ac wireless technology with WD's exclusive FasTrack technology for automatically prioritizing high-bandwidth entertainment services like Netflix, YouTube, online games and Skype, to provide maximum streaming performance inside the home.

A leading product testing and analysis organization, The Tolly Group, conducted performance testing of the My Net AC1300 router and My Net Bridge amongst comparable products on the market today. Results show that the My Net AC1300 router is faster than leading competitive products averaged across ranges of 30 to 75 feet, demonstrating the strongest performance in providing stable wireless speeds over long distances, and cutting out buffering and lag times to provide a smooth HD entertainment streaming experience throughout the home.

Acer America today debuts its new Acer C7 Chromebook, its next-generation mobile computer that runs Google's Chrome operating system and is priced at a low $199. The new Acer C7 Chromebook is the ideal additional laptop for families, students and business people that need a fast, easy and secure way to get online to do their computing in the cloud, such as using Gmail, keeping up on social networks, shopping, and paying bills.

"Today's computer users are doing more online heightening the need for enhanced security, quicker online access and an easy-to-use interface," Jim Wong, corporate president, Acer Inc. "The Acer C7 Chromebook provides all this at an affordable price, making it the right choice for families and students on a budget as well as anyone who wants a new or second mobile PC for web-based computing."

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today injects the ZBOX with a performance boost to give the flexible mini-PC greater graphics processing capabilities thanks to the latest AMD Radeon HD 7340 graphics processor. The latest performance-boosted ZBOX updates the form factor with greater graphics and processing capabilities without sacrificing energy-efficiency or the flexible form factor.

"The new ZBOX gives users up to a 10-percent performance boost for even greater system responsiveness and usability in applications and games," says Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. "We also add four high-amperage USB ports to quickly charge power hungry devices such as tablets and smartphones to simplify charging multiple devices."

Harman International Industries has now started taking pre-orders for its newest JBL-branded audio hardware, the SoundFly Air wireless speaker. This device has a total power output of 20 W, it plugs directly into a wall outlet, and it uses WiFi to wirelessly connect to PCs, Macs, iPhones and iPads (Apple AirPlay is supported).

The SoundFly Air measures 190 (D) x 92 (H) mm, it has a frequency response of 60Hz - 20kHz, and it costs $199. To sweeten the deal JBL is also offering a free companion app that allows users to 'browse music with cover art, adjust volume and tone, and fully customize the digital signal processing (DSP) to get the best sound'.

Gigabyte unveiled the S1082, a 10.1-inch tablet PC powered by Windows 8 (and optionally, Windows 8 Pro). Based on the x86 platform, the tablet is driven by Intel Celeron 847 dual-core processor clocked at 1.10 GHz, with up to 8 GB of DDR3 memory, and Intel HD 2000 graphics. Its 10.1-inch multi touchscreen packs 1366 x 768 pixels native resolution. Storage options include 320/500 GB HDD; or 64/128/256 GB SSD. Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 4.0, and 3.5G WWAN; with HDMI and D-Sub display outputs; two USB 2.0 ports, 5-in-1 card reader, and 1.3 megapixel web-cam. Measuring 270(W) x 173(D) x 14.94(H) mm, it weighs 790~850 g (SSD/HDD). Its dedicated docking station includes additional battery and DVD SuperMulti drive. Expect this one to go for anywhere between $599 to $799.

German company Wortmann has just added a new, business-oriented laptop to its portfolio, a 15.6-inch model known as TERRA MOBILE 1541 PRO. Pictured below, Wortmann's notebook features a Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen, an Intel Core (i3, i5 or i7) processor, up to 16 GB of RAM, integrated graphics, up to a 1 TB hard drive and, optionally, a 256 GB solid state drive, a 2-megapixel webcam, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 9-in-1 card reader, an ExpressCard slot, three USB 3.0 ports, plus D-Sub and HDMI outputs.

The TERRA MOBILE 1541 PRO runs Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) and starts at €759.

Foxconn, a global innovator and channel manufacturer of electronics and computer components, announces the release of the quietest NanoPC AT-5250, which is about to keep your surroundings silence in the next upcoming months. The latest AT-5250 with Intel GMA 3650 HD boosts graphics and CPU processing capabilities while maintaining energy efficiency to create a palm-sized home theater PC capable of high-definition video playback and lightning-fast system responsiveness. The elegant design can go with the environment freely, meeting the high-end needs of sales centers and real sales presentation who are seeking for a powerful tower PC replacement, home theater or energy-efficient PC.

For those who haven't taken a leap to Intel's Z77 and Ivy Bridge combo yet, either you're cultivating self discipline or you're planning to prey upon something big. Well, now is the big moment, because ASRock is releasing its beastlike Z77 Extreme11!

This tiptop motherboard has 8 SAS2/SATA3 connectors supported by an LSI SAS2308 PCIe 3.0 x8 controller. For extreme graphics, 3-Way SLI/4-Way CrossFireX is supported via a PLX PEX 8747 bridge. The LAN solution is also tempting. Two Intel LAN chips to support dual LAN and teaming, while there's also a 2T2R Dual Band WiFi & Bluetooth 4.0 module and a bundled Wi-SB Box. Specially designed for computer enthusiasts, Z77 Extreme11 possesses unbeatable hardware and extreme powers waiting to be unleashed.

Acer America, the number two notebook provider, today announced that the Acer Iconia W700 tablet PC, a high-performance mobile PC in a tablet PC form factor, will be available for the U.S. market. Acer's first Windows 8-based tablet PC for the U.S., the Iconia W700 features a versatile, portable design that delivers a first-rate touch and typing experience for productivity-focused PC users.

The Acer Iconia W700 tablet PC with Windows 8 delivers excellent performance using responsive and fast Intel Core i3 and Core i5 (Ivy Bridge) processors, enabling the system to take on spreadsheets, presentations, and more with ease. The powerful processors allow customers to use the Iconia W700 as their main PC for all of their everyday computing tasks, such as content creation, running multiple apps, and sharing multimedia.

Eye-Fi Inc., makers of the world's first wireless memory card, has announced today a new Eye-Fi Pro X2 16GB, Class 10 card that increases both storage and speed capabilities while continuing to deliver convenient, reliable wireless upload of photos and videos from cameras. The new 16GB card provides twice the storage capacity of the prior Pro X2 card, while the Class 10 performance delivers ultra-fast read and write speeds. That means more power and speed for the same retail price of $99.99. And, the new Pro X2, like Eye-Fi's other X2 series cards, enables you to wirelessly connect a camera to a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, or use an authorized WiFi network to move content directly to a computer.

"Cameras have more megapixels, and pictures and videos are more demanding in terms of size. Moving to a 16GB, Class 10 card keeps up with these trends and delivers what our customers have been asking for," said Yuval Koren, CEO and co-founder of Eye-Fi. "Customers already know and love our Eye-Fi cards for instant wireless uploads, so the added space and faster speeds are a great addition, especially with the highest-volume photo days coming up."

SP/Silicon Power, the world's leading provider of memory storage solutions today launches the new Sky Share WiFi drive. Sky Share H10 is the ideal storage solution for digital handheld device, allowing users to store and share their favorite multimedia content via WiFi connection.

The design of Sky Share H10 is based on the concept of "Touch." The circular curvature surrounding the power switch signifies that once it is activated, data transmission can be shared as free and simple like ripples. Its exceptional design also won Sky Share the renowned Golden Pin Design Mark 2012 and Tom's HardwareBest of Computex 2012.

NETGEAR, Inc., a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, today announced the worldwide availability of NETGEAR Centria, a powerful, all-in-one automatic backup/media server and high-speed WiFi router. Centria is a dual band high-performance router with the added convenience of automatic data backup for both PCs and Macs. The backup capability of the Centria router gives you peace of mind knowing that your data is always backed up.

If your PC or Mac goes down or is lost, you can still access your data from Centria using another computer. Routers are an ideal device to provide data backup since they are always on and are the central point of connection for all computers in the home. Additionally, Centria can be used as a storage repository for photos, media and documents that may take up too much space on your computer. Centria uses an internal SATA drive and/or external USB drives to backup and store data.

At IDF 2012, Intel showed off an experimental SoC codenamed "Rosepoint," targeted at low power mobile consumer devices. Built on the 32 nm process, the tiny chip combines a full-featured dual-core Atom processor with a WiFi transceiver. This could eliminate the need for external transceivers on Atom-powered devices, reducing the platform's board footprint, and of course, power draw.

The current chip comes with its share of limitations. It supports just 2.4 GHz radio band. According to Intel's Justin Rattner, the chip should scale with Moore's Law, and future versions could have greater capabilities, including cellular data, and built-in antennae. Production versions of the chip aren't due for another two years, so it's safe to assume that Rosepoint is just a development milestone.

In his keynote today at the Intel Developer Forum, Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner said, "In the future, if it computes, it connects. From the simplest embedded sensors to the most advanced cloud datacenters, we're looking at techniques to allow all of them to connect without wires."

Rattner demonstrated for the first time a working, all-digital WiFi radio, dubbed a "Moore's Law Radio." The CTO explained that an all-digital radio follows Moore's Law by scaling in area and energy efficiency with such digital chip processes as Intel's latest 22nm tri-gate technology. System-on-chip designs for smartphones and tablet computers would be the most likely spot for the all digital radios to be integrated. The small size and lower cost of integrated digital radios will enable a host of new applications from wearable devices to "The Internet of Things" where devices such as home appliances with sensors can communicate with each other, exchange data and can be operated remotely.

Yet another Gigabyte-branded barebone has now appeared on the horizon and it's called AB24BT. Seen below, this upcoming barebone is an All-in-One which is equipped with an Intel H61 motherboard and boasts a 24-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) LED-backlit touchscreen.

The AB24BT supports 2nd and 3rd generation Intel Core processors, and has a built-in 2.5-inch HDD/SSD docking station, a DVD writer, a 2.0-megapixel webcam, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, a 4-in-1 card reader, two USB 3.0 ports, and D-Sub plus HDMI outputs. No word on pricing.

Gigabyte launched its pair of mini-ITX form-factor motherboards based on Intel 7-series chipset, supporting processors in the LGA1155 package. These include the Z77-based GA-Z77N-WiFi, and H77-based GA-H77N-WiFi. The two are virtually identical, with the exception of the Z77-based model supporting CPU overclocking. This is made possible due to the fact that Z77 and H77 PCH chips are pin-compatible, and it's only a matter of pairing either of those with compatible micro-code. The GA-H77N-WiFi has been detailed length in our older article. The two are perhaps the only mini-ITX motherboards in the industry to feature three network interfaces (two gigabit Ethernet and an 802.11 b/g/n WLAN). Further, the WLAN adapter supports Intel Wireless Display Technology (WiDi), adding to three other ways to connect your display to it: HDMI, DisplayPort, and DVI.

NETGEAR, Inc., a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, today announced the NETGEAR N750 Dual Band Gigabit WiFi Router - Premium Edition (WNDR4300), a wireless solution that combines a rich feature set with blazing fast 750 Mbps (300 + 450 Mbps) speed to stream HD video, support multiplayer gaming and handle large file transfers. Featuring secure NETGEAR ReadyShare Cloud service and compatibility with Apple Time Machine, the NETGEAR N750 is a cost-effective router that makes home networks faster, more reliable and easier to manage in medium-to-large homes.

The NETGEAR N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Premium Router includes NETGEAR ReadyShare Cloud service, which enables the creation of a highly secure private cloud for easily accessing and sharing files wirelessly. NETGEAR ReadyShare Cloud keeps all your files stored securely at home but available to transfer, edit or share anywhere, anytime remotely via your smartphone, tablet or PC. Simply and securely drag and drop files and folders without the hassle of using multiple file sharing sites or uploading.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and channel manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today refreshes the ZBOX nano with AMD Radeon HD 7340 graphics processing capabilities. The latest ZOTAC ZBOX nano with AMD Radeon HD 7340 graphics boosts graphics and CPU processing capabilities while maintaining energy efficiency to create a palm-sized home theater PC capable of high-definition video playback and lightning-fast system responsiveness.

"Our ZOTAC ZBOX nano series is a user favorite as it enables full-fledged PCs in all rooms and locations. The palm-sized form factor is extremely flexible and with the new AMD E2-1800 APU, we are able to deliver more performance and additional connectivity in the ZOTAC ZBOX nano with AMD Radeon HD 7340 graphics while maintaining the same footprint," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.

Giada, a brand of Jehe Technology Inc., (JEHE) is pleased to announce the new A51 mini PC series with an AMD T56N processor. This book-sized PC is quiet and unobtrusive, but offers remarkable power, performance and style. The A51 series is powerful enough to use as your main home computer, and it's small size, low power consumption, and portability also make it the perfect choice for a second home PC.

This mini PC has all the features you need for the ultimate home entertainment, including 1080p Full High Definition graphics and vivid 5.1 surround sound. There's full Windows 7 support out-of-the-box, and 320 Gigabytes of hard drive space to store your favorite music and movies. Accessories include a wireless remote with remote boot-up for comfortable viewing and listening. The A51 series is the ideal Home Theater PC (HTPC) and media server.

Designed for professionals seeking a solid business notebook that delivers robust productivity, manageability, security and reliability features, Acer America today introduced the new TravelMate P243 notebook PC for U.S. customers.

"Today's mobile business executive needs a PC that is robust enough to run intensive business applications while still fitting into strict budget guidelines," said Gregg Prendergast, vice president of commercial sales for Acer America. "The TravelMate P243 notebook is an important addition to our professional notebook portfolio as it combines everything today's road warrior requires, including exceptional performance, enterprise-level security, durability and manageability for a best-in-class mobile experience."

Gateway today debuts its new Gateway NE Series line of notebooks in Canada. The new Gateway NE notebook line delivers the ultimate blend of essential performance, popular features and great extras for learning, playing, being productive and staying in touch. In addition, the new Gateway NE notebooks feature an all-new design that is sleek and stylish; its matte black finish is highlighted by brushed stainless steel accents.

"The new Gateway NE Series delivers what families and students are looking for today -- a combination of the most popular features and proven technologies," said Eric Ackerson, mobile product marketing for Gateway. "This new notebook line delivers the outstanding performance and capabilities needed for classes, homework, staying in touch and having fun. Students and families planning back-to-school purchases will definitely want to consider the Gateway NE Series."