TDK Corporation has developed the GBDriver RS4 series of NAND type flash memory controllers with support for 3 Gbps serial ATA. Sales will begin in January 2013.

With an effective access speed of 180 MB/sec, the GBDriver RS4 is an advanced high-speed SATA controller chip. It is fully compatible not only with the latest 1xnm generation and 2x nm generation 16 kB/page SLC (single level cell) and MLC (multi level cell) NAND type flash memory, but also with 8 kB/page and 4 kB/page structures. This allows the customer to select the optimal flash memory for the respective application, providing the flexibility to configure high-speed SATA storage with a capacity ranging from 512 MB to 1 TB.

Intel has launched the Intel Ethernet Controller I210 Family for desktop, server, and embedded systems. These new low-power gigabit Ethernet controllers include advanced features, such as IEEE 802.1AS Time Stamping and 802.1Qav Audio-Video Bridging for better streaming of content. The I210 also comes with innovative power management features that reduce overall platform power consumption, and can withstand industrial temperatures, making it ideal for Industrial Automation, In-Vehicle Infotainment, Medical, Print Imaging, Telecommunications Infrastructure, and Military platforms.

Like other embedded products, Intel offers 7-year extended lifecycle support so customers can protect their development investment. Additional information can be found here.

Over the past month, AeroCool unveiled six new products featured in its mainline and Strike-X brands, including the Strike-X XPredator Devil Red and White Editions, Strike-X Air, and Mechatron Black Edition cases; Silent Master 200 mm fans, and Strike-X X-1000 fan-controller. AeroCool made an addition to the lineup, the Touch-2000 fan controller, and made all products available through retail channels in the US.

The Touch-2000 is a 2-bay fan-controller. It is characterized by a brushed aluminum bezel, and a large LED display, with feather-touch buttons. The Touch-2000 supports a maximum of five channels with 25W maximum output per channel. In addition to five fan speed channels, the controller supports temperature monitoring from five thermal probes that can be stuck to key components such as heatsinks, hard drives, etc., for real-time monitoring. The color scheme of the LED display can be changed among 7 options. Overheating alarms can be set. The Touch-2000 also doubles up as a 2-port USB 3.0 (standard header) and audio (HDA header) front-panel, to help with cases that lack the ports.

Kotkin Enterprises announces their newest endeavor, Delta Six, a hybrid motion controller designed to enhance performance and create a more immersive experience on titles like Call of Duty Black Ops 2. Former Special Forces operator turned military consultant for Spike's Gametrailers, David B. Johnson, says "When David Kotkin presented this invention, I was excited to be included on such an innovative project." We made a fps simulation controller that is preferred over the standard controller. Our vision is to bridge the gap between motion control and Hardcore First Person Shooters. For the first time a Call of Duty player will feel more immersed in game-play and have more control over the game than ever before. The only way to get more real is to enlist" said David Kotkin, owner and inventor of the Avenger Elite.

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the availability of its SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) hub controller system-on-chip (SoC), the µPD720210, for use in hubs that enable connection of multiple devices supporting the USB 3.0 standard, such as PC peripherals and digital TVs.

The USB interface standard has been widely adopted worldwide. The recent proliferation of video content and large-capacity recording media has increased demand for interfaces capable of handling higher data transfer rates. In response, new products are coming to market with support for USB 3.0, which delivers speeds 10 times faster than the 480 megabits per second of USB 2.0 speeds. Adoption of USB 3.0 in non-PC products, such as digital consumer electronics, is growing due to factors such as the appearance of solid state drives (SSDs), which allow reading and writing of data at faster speeds than conventional hard disk drives (HDDs), and chipsets with a built-in USB 3.0 host controller.

Other World Computing (OWC) www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, today introduced the OWC Mercury AccelsiorM, a Mac and PC-bootable, fully supported PCIe controller card that accepts any standard 50 mm mSATA Solid State Drive. By utilizing the fastest data interface available in a Mac Pro or PC-the PCIe slot-the Mercury AccelsiorM can offer data transfer speeds that exceed 3 Gb/s SSDs….up to 380 MB/s.

User-Friendly, Yet Robust for Demanding Uses
As easy to install as a memory module, yet robust enough to handle the rigors of professional multimedia production environments, the half-height AccelsiorM card is the clear choice for Mac Pro and PC owners who desire the maximum performance from their 3G data bus-based machines. Waiting for I/O-intensive apps like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, or Avid Pro Tools to render, capture or process will become a distant memory; business critical applications are given an instant boost; and game level loading, object streaming, and save times can be reduced for more play time and less waiting.

Offices of semiconductor company ASMedia were raided by law enforcement agencies in Taiwan, late last month, over allegations of intellectual property (IP) theft of physical-layer component (PHY) design of USB 3.0 host controllers. While the agencies did not disclose who is behind the allegations, it is rumored to be VIA, which sells USB 3.0 host, hub, and device controllers under the VIA Labs Inc (VLI) brand. Many of ASMedia's engineers are former employees of VIA, who are believed to have trafficked its IP over to their new employers.

Following the raid, ASMedia president Lin Che-wei held a press-conference in Taipei, announcing full cooperation with the authorities over the investigation. It remains to be seen how the investigation affects supplies of ASMedia's USB 3.0 controllers. A PC motherboard maker we spoke with expressed concern over the developments.

Apple might be diving into the world of console gaming yet again according to Shacknews and GI.biz The patent application shows a staggering similarity to Sony's DualShock controller and what seems to be an iPhone interacting with a Microsoft Xbox360. This might be an Apple style preemptive attack against future endeavors to create apps that interface with current generation consoles or it could be something new that Apple has in the works. With the current growth in Apples market share and the growing popularity of Apple TV it shouldn't come as a surprise it would want a piece of the console pie. Whether the big three (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo) give any leeway to Apple has yet to be seen.

NZXT, a company built on realizing the dreams of gamers worldwide, is proud to announce Hue, an LED configurator that grants PC enthusiasts the power to completely customize chassis illumination. With three RGB controls, Hue enables users to adjust the color fade, pulsating light effects, and brightness levels of your internal LED sleeve. It also features a simple on/off switch in so you can quickly turn down the lights while watching a movie or heading to bed after a marathon gaming session. Installation is a breeze with Hue's stealthy mesh design that blends flawlessly into the façade of any front panel.

"Proper LED lighting can immensely affect the aesthetic appeal of your rig" said Johnny Hou, Founder and Product Manager at NZXT. "Now enthusiasts have complete control right at their fingertips with the ability to adjust color fade and add pulsating effects with instant gratification."

Building on the success of the industry leading Bullet Proof line of mSATA SSDs, we at MyDigitalSSD are proud to announce two highly anticipated SATA III (6G) mSATA drives that reach up to 256GB capacity at a price that's right for any budget.

Like their predecessors, Bullet Proof 3 SSDs offer the performance and reliability you've come to expect from MyDigitalSSD while boasting improved Read/Write speeds of over 500/300MB/sec with Random 4K speeds of over 20/40MB/sec. Featuring Asynchronous NAND Flash and the new Phison S8 Controller, BP3 drives are the perfect upgrade solution for anyone looking for the best price to performance ratio on the market. For those who like to push their devices to the max, MyDigitalSSD will be releasing an IOPS minded Firmware in mid to late July.

Raptorfire Inc., a Miami, FL-based manufacturer of gaming device modification tools, will be present at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, CA from June 5th thru 7th. The booth will feature product demos as well as Q&A sessions with product developers.

Raptorfire will feature their new gaming controller modification chips for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The chips, which are installed into existing hand-held controls for both systems, improve and enhance controller functionality and game play for the user. Many of the features provided by these chips include rapid fire, "drop shot", fast reload, and other popular modifications that are central to most first-person shooting games.

Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, today announced a partnership with Piranha Games and Infinite Game Publishing for the highly anticipated next installation of the MechWarrior franchise, MechWarrior Online. The collaboration culminates in the Razer Artemis, a concept controller crafted to give gamers a competitive edge as they stomp and destroy their way to victory in the dog-eat-dog BattleTech universe.

The BattleMech inspired Razer Artemis concept controller puts gamers into the cockpits of their favored hulking metal behemoths, fully immersed and focused on the dangers of the battlefield, claiming wins for their chosen Great House. With fully-programmable, fine-tuned controls, the ergonomically adjustable Razer Artemis concept controller makes piloting a Mech more efficient and lethal in combat.

For all those put off with the ergonomics of Nintendo's standard Wii U controller, the console giant is planning a new ergonomic gamepad for games that can make do with just common controls (D-pad, axes, four buttons, triggers). Called the Wii U Pro Controller, the gamepad dons a similar shape to that of the Xbox 360 controller, but with both its analog sticks located in the same row of controls. The controller appears to be designed to work both wired and wireless. More details will be released at this year's E3 event, scheduled for this week.

BitFenix is proud to introduce two brand new fan controllers designed to put the user in the driver's seat - Recon and Hydra Pro. Recon is the world's first Internet-connected fan controller, offering total control even on the go. Hydra Pro delivers powerful 30 W per channel performance and, when combined with BitFenix Spectre and Spectre Pro LED fans, convenient push-button LED on/off functionality.

"Users have been clamoring for these two devices for a while now, and I'm proud to report that the wait is finally over," says BitFenix Product Manager David Jarlestedt. "With Recon and Hydra Pro, BitFenix once again takes our disruptive ideas and brings them into a new design space - fan controllers. Offering never-before-seen functionality at competitive price points, Recon and Hydra Pro are set to become the go-to thermal control devices for enthusiasts the world over."

Dell today announced additions to the PowerEdge portfolio with new blade, rack and tower servers designed to deliver value and performance in demanding enterprise and mainstream environments. The new blade servers offer strong performance gains and improved efficiencies from the shared power, cooling and network infrastructure, and professional IT services. The new tower and rack servers are built to enhance customer IT infrastructures with enterprise-class capabilities and tailored chassis designs for small and midsize businesses.

Dell introduced industry-leading innovations in the PowerEdge 12th generation servers based on input gathered from more than 7,700 customer interactions in 17 countries across four continents. The company was the first-to-ship servers based on the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family with the first wave of PowerEdge 12th generation servers in March 2012.

EVGA has released a utility that allows the "GeForce GTX" logo on the side of the EVGA GeForce GTX 690 to be customized. Users can manually increase/decrease the brightness, or, when paired with EVGA Precision X, have the LED light increase/decrease based on GPU Utilization, GPU Clock or even Frame Rate! Please note this application is only compatible with the EVGA GeForce GTX 690.DOWNLOAD: LED Controller for EVGA GeForce GTX 690

The new Adjust 108 fan controller from Fractal Design offers a simple yet clean option to adjust the speed of your case fans. With a brushed aluminum front panel and smooth moving sliders, it does not only emanate quality but also robustness and preciseness.

The Adjust 108 Fan Controller manages a total of six fans with a maximum of 36W per channel, while grouped three by three for ease of use. With a bi-color LED beneath each of the six sliders, the controller shows the speed of the fan not only by the slider itself but also through the color of the LED; white indicates a low RPM and blue a high RPM.

Since Nintendo pushed the envelope, hardware manufacturers seem intent on making new controller types. Now that each of the big gaming companies have at least dabbled with motion controls, biometric feedback seems to be the next big thing. Sony is looking into biometric controllers to measure factors like sweat and heart rate. Not to be outdone, Microsoft is apparently considering a pressure-sensitive controller. The company has registered a US Patent (8,172,675) for a controller with a "pressure-sensitive exterior surface." The patent suggests that device memory could store the output signatures to identify users simply by how they grip the controller. And confirming that these plans relate to gaming, the patent also mentions the device as "a game controller that interacts with a game console service."

The patent makes repeated mention of the controller being used for identification, but doesn't go much deeper than that. Microsoft could potentially find gaming utilities, but doesn't seem to be going in that direction with the initial patent application. As always, a patent doesn't mean a product will ever come to market.

Leading international graphics card and mainboard maker MSI today announced MSI R7870 Hawk, equipped with AMD's 28nm Radeon HD 7870 GPU. MSI introduce the flagship design concept of Lightning series into R7870 Hawk, adopting UnlockedDigitalPower that incorporates an Unlocked BIOS, DigitalPWM Controller, and Enhanced Power Design to boost overclocking potential and make overclocking easier than ever. With the industry first "GPU Reactor" power panel, it reduces power supply noise as well as increases overclocking stability. As for thermal solution, MSI R7870 Hawk utilizes the latest Twin Frozr IV Thermal Design with Dust Removal Technology.

The dual 8cm fan setup with PropellerBlade Technology generate massive airflow for fast heat dissipation while remaining whisper silent. The two form-in-one heatsinks improve cooling for memory and the power module as well ensure structural integrity. The R7870 Hawk uses Military Class III components which have passed rigorous testing to meet MILSTD810G standards, guaranteeing the card's stability and reliability under actual use conditions. Moreover, the "3X3 OC Kits" are designed to simplify overclocking, which makes it easier for users to fine-tune their graphics cards. Competing with flagship design of Lightning series, R7870 Hawk absolutely stands out on top among the industry's HD 7870 based graphics cards.

David Kotkin, the founder of N-Control, the company that manufactures and markets the Avenger Controller, an adapter for the PS3 and Xbox 360, today announced the launch of the Avenger Elite. The company's new product is expected to be popular with gamers worldwide. The Avenger Elite is expected to be released at the end of this month.

Earlier models of the Avenger Controller were well received by gamers and reviewers for gaming publications. The AE remains fully legal for professional gaming competition, as well giving amateur gamers the chance to "up their game." According to Kotkin, "The Avenger Elite adapter may look a lot like previous versions of the Avenger but it represents a major leap forward for what was already a very advanced product. Using extraordinary new alloys and metals made in America specifically for the Elite, the new Avenger also makes use of medical grade nano technology and a new military grade precision hair trigger kit."

VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated circuit controllers, today announced its 3rd generation USB 3.0 hub controller, the VIA Labs VL812. The VL812 USB 3.0 Hub Controller utilizes a new low-power design and features an industry-first integrated 5V DC-DC switching regulator, offering a single-chip solution that achieves both high power efficiency and greater system integration for further reduced BOM.

In typical configurations, the VIA Labs VL812 USB 3.0 Hub Controller consumes less than 0.5w under load, making it one of the market's low-power leaders. The low operational power consumption of the new VIA Labs VL812 USB 3.0 Hub allows users to attach an external 2.5" USB 3.0 hard drive, USB 2.0 Flash drive, and a USB Mouse simultaneously without the need for an AC adapter, when connected to a regular USB 3.0 port.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today introduced Indilinx Everest 2, its next-generation SSD platform that delivers an industry-best performance of 120,000 random input/output operations per second (IOPS) for SATA-based drives.

In addition to this unprecedented transactional performance, the Everest 2 features the most advanced flash management capabilities which can significantly extend NAND flash life and enhance SSD reliability. This innovative controller platform will debut in OCZ's new Vertex 4 SSD product line.

The Indilinx Everest 2 family of solid state drive processors establishes a new computing and storage paradigm by delivering breakthrough performance and uncompromising reliability to next-generation SSDs. Combining a 400M Hz dual-core CPU, 6 Gbps SATA Revision 3.0 interface, and support for the latest, most advanced NAND flash memory technology available, Everest 2 exceeds the needs of the most demanding SSD environments.

Matrox Graphics Inc. announced today the introduction of three new fanless MuraTM MPX Series video wall controller boards that build upon the line's revolutionary design. Mura is the first PCI Express (PCIe) x16 Gen 2 board class to feature both HD resolution inputs and outputs. The new fanless SKUs make use of the same high-performance, single-slot design with 64 Gbit/sec duplex data transfer and feature four HD outputs and either zero, two, or four HD inputs for maximum I/O flexibility. The fanless Mura boards have no moving parts, helping to further increase Matrox's industry-leading reliability. With the ability to create quieter systems and a jump to three-year warranties, Matrox expects a relatively quick OEM adoption of these new Mura cards.

Mura boards can be scaled from just one board to create small video wall controllers to multi-board medium-sized and even very large-sized video wall controllers in order to support a wide range of applications from presentation systems in conference rooms, auditoriums, control rooms, and classrooms to collaboration systems used in surveillance and process control systems. With support for HDCP capture and output, the Mura line is also now very popular in advanced digital signage solutions.

Microsoft rolled out the Chrome Series special edition Xbox 360 controllers. As the name suggests, these controllers have a chrome finish. The top-side has a metallic/chrome surface, in three color options: red, blue, and silver, while the D-pad has a silver chrome finish on all three variants. Slated for mid-May, these controllers are each priced at US $54.99, availability may be limited, and specific to select markets.

EtronTech, which started out as a DRAM IC manufacturer, expanded into PC connectivity solutions, such as USB 3.0 host and webcam controllers, is now shipping its first USB 3.0 flash drive controllers. The EV268-series dual-core controllers come in 2-channel and 4-channel variants, with the ability to offer transfer-rates in excess of 230 MB/s. These controllers are designed to support 30 nm-class and 20 nm-class SLC/MLC/TLC NAND flash memory chips.

With the EV268, Etron entered a small but budding group of companies with USB 3.0 flash-drive controllers: VIA Technology/VIA Labs Inc. (VLI), Phison Electronics, and InnoStor Technology. By Q4 2012, it is estimated that USB 3.0 flash drives will make up 20% of all flash-drives shipped.