It appears that releases from CES are already making their way in the press even before the year ends. We learned of LG's new "Ultra" series monitors recently, and now we get to know about their plans from the laptops business unit. Their Gram lineup was developed to feature lightweight portable laptops with enhanced user experience in mind, and joining the series in 2019 are the 14-inch LG Gram 2-in-1 (model 14T990) and the new LG Gram 17 (model 17Z990), both of which are 2019 CES Innovation Award winners.

The 14" Gram 2-in-1 is a convertible, shifting from tablet to laptop at the whim of the user. It features a 360° hinge coupled with a touch screen to add more use cases in between. This by itself is not necessarily new or unique to the market, but a welcome addition to fans of the LG brand nonetheless. The company wants to also assure the customer that the laptop is built to last, having met the U.S. military MIL-STD-810G standard for durability. Part of this no doubt comes from the incorporation of Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 on the touch screen, and the display underneath uses LG's IPS technology. More information on this, and the Gram 17, following the break.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, announced the release of the Z390 DESIGNARE motherboard with full support for the newest 8-core Intel Core i9-9900K processors. The newest addition to the GIGABYTE DESIGNARE series is a feature-packed motherboard that provides content creators the fastest and most efficient tools to showcase their creativity and craftsmanship. GIGABYTE DESIGNARE Series motherboards bring out the best in workstation graphics cards, maximize M.2 SSD and DDR4 RAM performance, and fully support powerful CPUs such as the newest 8-core Intel Core i9-9900K CPU. With built in USB Type-C Thunderbolt , and native USB 3.1 Gen 2 to provide 40Gb/s transmission speed, the board is designed with effective storage performance as a key feature. GIGABYTE Ultra-Durable Technology and exclusive software also bring additional value for digital content creators and design professionals.

"Today's content creators are seeking faster and more efficient performance from their PCs. GIGABYTE created the DESIGNARE series a few years back to fulfill these user demands," stated Jackson Hsu, Deputy Director of the GIGABYTE Channel Solutions Product Development Division. "Z390 DESIGNARE is the newest addition to this constantly evolving content creation focused series and is loaded with features that enable content creators to express their artistic creativity through their PCs with excellent performance and efficiency."

Apple today announced a slew of updates to there product lines including an all-new MacBook Air and Mac Mini. Starting with the MacBook Air, Apple has finally given the system a proper upgrade bringing it back to relevance after years of stagnation. These upgrades include a 13.3-inch Retina display, Intel's 8th generation Core i5 processor with UHD Graphics 617, up to 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3 and SSDs with capacities up to 1.5 TB. In terms of design, the shell is made of 100% recycled aluminum with the entire system weighing in at just 2.75 lbs compared to the outgoing models 2.96 lbs.

On top of the various hardware improvements, Apple has also included their Touch ID fingerprint sensor which is paired with their T2 chip for a secure login much the same as the current MacBook Pro. These two inclusions, along with the T2 chips ability to deliver on-the-fly data encryption makes the MacBook Air one of the most secure notebooks on the market according to Apple. However, one thing missing here is the Touch Bar, which will likely make more than a few users happy. The keyboard also gets upgraded to the same third generation with butterfly mechanism used on the MacBook Pro lineup.

MSI, a world leader in high performance computing hardware, today announces its new notebook designed specifically for content creators and professionals, the P65. The P65 is a powerful system with a stylish design featuring high-end specs, beautiful thin-bezel display and long-lasting battery life. MSI will have the P65 on display at IFA 2018 at Booth number 107.

The P65 provides everything a content creator or business professional needs to work quickly and efficiently. Creators are constantly on the move and need to have desktop-grade power in a form factor they can easily carry around. With a potent processor and dedicated graphics, the P65 gives users more than enough power to edit raw HD or 4K video, create motion graphics and fly through complicated spreadsheets on the go. The P65 also features a full suite of ports including an SD card reader, USB Type-C, USB Type-A, HDMI, micro-DisplayPort and an ethernet jack. The P65 will be available this September.

When it comes to video ports, the Display Dock has them all: HDMI (4K@60 Hz), Mini-DP (4K@30 Hz), DP (4K@30 Hz), DVI (1080p@60 Hz) and VGA (1080p@60 Hz). The Display Dock let's you extend your video content to two external displays (dual 4K monitor support via HDMI & Mini-DP/DP as well as further combinations with VGA and DVI), each at its maximum resolution and refresh rate. It is the only USB-C dock that supports 4K@60 Hz video output via HDMI and it comes at less than half the price of a Thunderbolt dock. Ideal for the professional user, the passionate movie fan or the avid gamer alike - take advantage of 4K video with high-frequency 60 Hz refresh rate.

AKITIO announced today at the NAB show several new products to their already impressive Thunderbolt 3 line-up. New products include a Thunderbolt 3 10GbE docking station, an 8-bay hardware RAID enclosure, a dual-slot PCIe box, and a RED camera Mini-Mag reader. These new products are ideal for the content creator audience at NAB who have an insatiable appetite for fast, scalable storage and connectivity options to optimize workflow.

The new Thunder3 Dock Pro features a 10GbE port, a DisplayPort port, three USB 3.1 ports, an eSATA port, an SD Card reader, a C-Fast card reader, and two Thunderbolt 3 Ports for daisy chaining. The Thunderbolt 3 ports provide 60 Watts of Power Delivery (PD).

OWC , a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, has announced that the pioneering ThunderBlade external drive is now shipping in four capacities, from 1TB to 8TB. The first-to-market ThunderBlade is the fastest external drive available, with almost unheard of transfer speeds up to 2800 MB/s Read and 2450 MB/s Write, making it the preeminent production solution for professionals.

Celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2018, OWC continues to build on their legacy of first-to-market innovation, proudly designing products that push the edges of possibility in order to support the M&E space. Larry O'Connor, Founder & CEO, said "We at OWC can't thank our customers enough for allowing us to do what we love so much every day. We strive to build products that will go further and deliver a better return on our customers' technology investments. The ThunderBlade is one more example of a solution that will allow our customers to work more effectively, a product that can literally change the way they create. Everyone at OWC is excited by the boundless opportunities the next 30 years will bring for our customers."

Recently, TerraMaster officially released the latest generation of its thunderbolt product, the D5 Thunderbolt 3. This product adopts the latest Thunderbolt 3 technology, with a transmission rate of up to 40 Gbps. It supports the hardware RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 and other data backup technologies, which greatly improves file transfer efficiency and data security. Moreover, it is a medium specifically designed for photographers, video editors, and other media workers, to provide them with a large capacity, ultra-fast 5-bay RAID storage device.

In appearance, the D5 Thunderbolt 3 inherits the style of the previous TerraMaster storage series products by using a rugged, aluminium-alloy integrated housing. This is paired with a high-efficiency heat-control system, built in with intelligent temperature-controlled fans. With the Thunderbolt 3 dual interface and DisplayPort interface, you can connect 5 Thunderbolt 3 devices or display devices simultaneously. DisplayPort users can also connect it to the external 4K @ 60Hz high-resolution screens.

OWC, a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, is making drive juggling a thing of the past with the new OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad. The new external storage solution offers four drive bays to provide massive amounts of storage from a single USB-C connection, with the flexibility to be utilized in Mac, PC and mixed Mac/PC environments. Designed for users who require high capacity storage with fast transfer speeds, the Mercury Elite Pro Quad is ideal for use by post- production firms, photographers, creative agencies, higher education programs, and small businesses.

After years of experience in the optical disc, computer equipment, auto and industrial markets, Pioneer has recently made the leap into the consumer electronics market and launched its all-new USB Type-C Series which include a docking station, multiport adapter, and external Portable SSD and more.

Versatile Docking Station helps build a super powerful personal workstation
The docking station features a simple design, intuitive use, and perfect compatibility with MacBooks and Thunderbolt computers. Only the USB-C terminal is required to connect all devices to significantly improve work efficiency. It supports Windows dual-screen output, having the complete expanding capability for the A/V output. It is flexible, easy to use and charges your device to greatly enhance your work efficiency.

Today, Intel launched the latest and most powerful Intel NUC to date, based on the newly announced 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with Radeon RX Vega M graphics. The new Intel NUC (formerly code-named Hades Canyon) brings this powerful new processor and graphics solution into an incredibly tiny 1.20-liter system. Great for VR enthusiasts and workload-heavy content creators, it will be Intel's smallest premium VR-capable system in the market.

The new NUC will come in two versions: NUC8i7HVK and NUC8i7HNK.

• The NUC8i7HVK is based on the unlocked version of the new 8th Gen Intel Core processor with the Radeon RX Vega M GH graphics, giving overclockers the ability to take the system to higher levels.
• The NUC8i7HNK uses the 8th Gen Intel Core processor with the Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics.

Today Intel is announcing the Intel Thunderbolt 3 controller JHL7x40 series, code named Titan Ridge. Comprised of three controllers, the JHL7x40 series is a compatible extension of the current line of Intel JHL6x40 Thunderbolt 3 controllers, code named Alpine Ridge. The JHL7540 and 7340 controllers provide computer makers the same Thunderbolt 3 40Gb/s performance and feature set as Alpine Ridge, and also adds DisplayPort 1.4 capability for increased video performance.

The JHL7440 controller was specifically designed for Thunderbolt 3 monitor and enterprise dock makers who choose to offer basic compatibility when a Thunderbolt 3 monitor or dock is connected to a USB-C computer port. To accomplish this, the JHL7440 controller integrates USB-C computer port compatibility so a Thunderbolt 3 monitor or dock can intelligently provide more performance and features when connected to a Thunderbolt 3 computer port, and basic compatibility when the Thunderbolt 3 monitor or dock is connected to a USB-C computer port. Additionally, as with the other controllers in the JHL7x40 series, the JHL7440 supports DisplayPort 1.4.

Transcend Information Inc., a leading manufacturer of storage and multimedia products, is proud to announce the release of JetDrive 825 Thunderbolt PCIe portable solid-state drive (SSD) for Mac computers. The drive utilizes the powerful JetDrive 820 PCIe SSD as its storage media featuring 3D NAND flash and a PCIe Gen3 x2 interface. The JetDrive 825 offers lightning-fast transfer speeds and large capacities, making it the perfect storage upgrade for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, and Mac Pro.

Thunderbolt technology in a sleek case
Transcend's JetDrive 825 features a 10Gb/s Thunderbolt interface, capable of blazing-fast file transfers. The drive is housed in sleek, aluminum alloy enclosure which was designed to tastefully complement your Mac's simple, clean design. In addition, the inner SSD is removable for greater ease of use based on users' preferences.

LG Electronics (LG) will introduce its latest LG gram notebooks that deliver superior portability, enhanced powerful performance and convenience features. Since the incredibly lightweight notebook line debuted in 2014, LG has consistently surprised consumers by maximizing portability without sacrificing performance. The 2018 LG gram notebooks push the boundaries of portable computing with improved mobility and durability, as well as upgraded processors and more versatility.

"The new LG gram PCs have been designed for those users who want an all-round, high performance notebook with maximum portability," said Tim Alessi, head of product marketing at LG Electronics USA. "The 2018 gram series ticks all the boxes for users who want versatile and lightweight notebooks with faster processing capabilities."

Today, Drobo announced two new special editions for the 5N2 and the 5D3 to bring performance and peace of mind to power users. Power users among creative professionals, SMBs and connected homes require increased speeds, data recovery protection, and extended support for their data-intensive workflows. These special editions are best-in-class complements to Drobo's stellar history of delivering award-winning simple, safe, and smart storage solutions.

All Gold Edition Drobos include a premium DroboCare warranty for five years, replacing the standard two-year coverage for uninterrupted protection on Drobo products. Additionally, the Gold Editions include a 128GB mSATA SSD for up to 30% faster access to frequently used files. The Platinum packages also include one instance of a data recovery service within a five year period. This partnership is an industry first and a direct result of our power users' desire to ensure their data will never be compromised. DriveSavers has the highest recovery rate for mechanical, water and fire damage, file corruption, and more on hard drives and all data storage devices. Drobo has an exclusive partnership with DriveSavers for this level of service, potentially saving customers thousands of dollars in recovery fees.

Transcend Information Inc., a leading manufacturer of storage and multimedia products, is proud to announce the release of the StoreJet 600 for Mac. Housed in a stunning metallic casing, this light and durable StoreJet 600 for Mac matches the sleek lines and elegant curves of Mac devices. The space-gray color reflects a sophisticated style, and makes this portable SSD a fashionable on-the-go accessory. The StoreJet 600 for Mac features the latest USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface and pre-formatted HFS+ file system, allowing it to be used right out of the box.

Transcend's StoreJet 600 for Mac utilizes the USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface, which achieves double the transfer speeds of USB 3.1 Gen 1 devices, and meets UASP standards to boost transfer rates up to 470 MB/s. In addition, both a USB Type-C cable and a USB Type-C to Type-A cable are included in the package to accommodate Mac models featuring the Thunderbolt 3, USB Type-C, or USB 3.0 interface.

The first 3-litre PC from Shuttle with a fully-fledged PCI Express x16 3.0 slot virtually spells the end of limitations. This is because almost any expansion card can now be fitted in the Mini-PC, which is only around 7 cm high. Computing power is delivered by new Intel Core processors of the 7th generation and the latest of storage and drive technology.

The XH110G model from the XPC slim category is a compact barebones PC in a 25 x 20 x 7.85 cm (DWH) format. Its mainboard with an Intel H110 chipset can accommodate up to 32 GB of DDR4 memory and Intel processors (LGA1151) with up to 65 W of TDP. Two M.2 slots, one being M.2-2280 and one M.2-2230, may for example accommodate an NVMe SSD and a WLAN module - or also lots of other commercially available M.2 add-on cards.

Today, Intel is releasing the specifications for the 12- to 18-core processors: Intel Core i9-7920X, Intel Core i9-7940X, Intel Core i9-7960X and the Extreme Edition Intel Core i9-7980XE processors. Announced at Computex 2017, the Intel Core X-series processor family is the most powerful, scalable and accessible high-end desktop platform offered by Intel, designed to deliver the performance needed to meet extreme computing demands for virtual reality (VR), content creation, gaming and overclocking.

The new X-series processor family is the ultimate platform for content creators and gamers. Multitasking becomes extreme mega-tasking with simultaneous, compute-intensive, multithreaded workloads aligned in purpose, powered by up to 18 cores and 36 threads. And, with up to 68 PCIe 3.0 lanes on the platform, people have the ability to expand their systems with fast SSDs, up to four discrete GFX cards and ultrafast Thunderbolt 3 solutions.

Intel seems to be addressing key platform limitations with its 8th generation Core "Coffee Lake" mainstream desktop platform. The first Core i7 and Core i5 "Coffee Lake" processors will launch later this year, alongside motherboards based on the Intel Z370 Express chipset. Leaked company slides detailing this chipset make an interesting revelation, that the chipset itself puts out 24 PCI-Express gen 3.0 lanes, that's not counting the 16 lanes the processor puts out for up to two PEG (PCI-Express Graphics) slots.

The PCI-Express lane budget of "Coffee Lake" platform is a huge step-up from the 8-12 general purpose lanes put out by previous-generation Intel chipsets, and will enable motherboard designers to cram their products with multiple M.2 and U.2 storage options, besides bandwidth-heavy onboard devices such as additional USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt controllers. The chipset itself integrates a multitude of bandwidth-hungry connectivity options. It integrates a 10-port USB 3.1 controller, from which six ports run at 10 Gbps, and four at 5 Gbps.

GIGABYTE, the world's leading premium gaming hardware manufacturer, today announced the release of the highly-anticipated AORUS GTX 1070 Gaming Box, a true plug-and-play external graphics solution that was unveiled earlier at COMPUTEX 2017 with much attention received for its innovative design and affordability. Pre-installed with a high-end GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card, the device can easily transform any Thunderbolt 3-enabled laptop into a powerful gaming battle station.

Unlike most conventional external graphics enclosures that come with an empty dock, the AORUS GTX 1070 Gaming Box is a complete package with a factory-overclocked GTX 1070 graphics card already built inside, requiring no extra hassle or cost to put together an accommodating graphics card separately. Thanks to the Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, the device is able to provide a significant graphics boost to laptops with a blazing-fast data transfer speed of 40Gbps, while delivering up to 100W of power to the connected laptop at the same time with the embedded 450W PSU. The Thunderbolt 3 plug-and-play support also allows for quick, easy connections without having to reboot the PC.

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced its upgraded 13.3-inch version of the award-winning 12.5-inch Razer Blade Stealth. The new Razer Blade Stealth is one of the most portable laptops for professionals in the world, measuring 0.52 inches thin, weighing 2.93 pounds and with up to nine hours of battery life.

Razer's latest chassis is CNC-milled out of aircraft grade aluminum, and it is now available in a black or gunmetal gray finish. The gunmetal gray variant features a tone-on-tone Razer logo and white backlit keyboard, offering a sleek, solid and professional design. Gunmetal gray will be available in the United States and Canada.

Creating rich, immersive experiences and bringing them to life takes a lot of compute power. Creators, gamers and enthusiasts have an insatiable demand for more power, more performance and more capability that lets them focus on what they want to do, not on whether their computer is up to the task. Intel is committed to continue giving them that extreme platform. Introducing the new Intel Core X-series processor family: Intel's most scalable, accessible and powerful desktop platform ever. Ranging from 4 to 18 cores, it offers unprecedented scalability. With price points to match, there is an Intel Core X-series processor that is sure to meet the needs for the widest range of enthusiast customers ever.

We're also introducing the entirely new Intel Core i9 processor brand, representing the highest performance for advanced gaming, VR and content creation. At the top of the lineup is the new Intel Core i9 Extreme Edition processor - the first consumer desktop CPU with 18 cores and 36 threads of power. Select SKUs of the Intel Core X-series processor family brings extreme performance to enthusiasts with Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 creating new levels of single-threaded and dual-threaded performance.

QNAP Systems, Inc. today released the TVS-1582TU - a pioneering 19-inch rack-mountable Thunderbolt 3 NAS that is suited for moving vehicles and outdoor media editing environments. The TVS-1582TU includes four Thunderbolt 3 ports, two 10GbE ports, and can utilize its Thunderbolt 3 ports to have USB-C 3.1 Gen2 (10 Gbps) connections for high-speed data transfer and backups. The collection of high-speed connections provides an ideal 4K solution for SNG/OB van live productions in the fast-paced media industries.

"TV and film production and outdoor broadcasting require on-location recording and editing, and need their videos to be backed up immediately to prevent file loss," said David Tsao, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "The TVS-1582TU is designed for this environment, and its 19-inch rack form factor makes it especially usable for SNG/OB van live media production that requires frequent relocation."

RAIDON announces new Thunderbolt RAID storage - SR4-TB2 and SR8-TB2 at NAB show 2017, not only comes with Thunderbolt interface but with Hardware RAID chip inside!

STARDOM SR4-TB2 supports four 3.5" or 2.5" hard drive or SSD (Solid State Drive) and SR8-TB2 supports eight drives. Both models come with dual Thunderbolt 2 ports, the data transfer rate will be 4x faster than USB3.1. It also supports daisy chain to let you connect up to six Thunderbolt devices through one cable. Embedded one Hardware RAID chip inside, SR4-TB2 supports the RAID level - RAID 0,1,5,6,10 and JBOD, and SR8-TB2 supports RAID 0,1,5,6,10,50,60 and JBOD.

Drones are creating more content than ever before, and with the announcement of the Seagate DJI Fly Drive, managing that surge of data is about to get easier. The first data solution to come from Seagate and DJI's strategic partnership, Fly Drive will allow drone pilots to efficiently back up their photo and video content on location, thanks to its large storage capacity, integrated MicroSD card slot, quick transfer speeds and durable build. It also comes with a complimentary two-month subscription to Adobe Premiere Pro CC, part of Adobe Creative Cloud-placing the keys to creativity in the hands of drone enthusiasts everywhere.