Bringing affordability to the ultraportable notebook platform, Acer America today announced the new Acer Aspire AS1410 Series. These new notebooks integrate enough power for enjoying digital entertainment in a very sleek, stylish design for just $US399.

"With the rising popularity of social networking, consumers are more connected than ever to the online world," said Ray Sawall, senior manager of product marketing for Acer America. "When it comes to selecting a notebook, they're increasingly concerned with size, weight and style. The AS1410 Series is small enough to be carried in a backpack or even a large purse but with enough power for spreadsheets and presentations. Aggressively priced, the AS1410 is an affordable mobile solution for checking Twitter updates, viewing YouTube videos and handling productivity applications on a plane, at school or a coffee house. Those in the market for a netbook should consider this notebook as an option, due to the step up in processing power."

Gateway rolled out two new all-in-one PCs that boast of multi-touch capable displays. The Gateway One ZX6800 (23-inch), and Gateway One ZX4800 (20-inch) PCs come with everything expected from PCs in this quickly growing category. While the ZX6800 offers a full-HD screen resolution of 1920 x 1080, the ZX4800 give 1600 x 900. Under the hood, the ZX6800 packs an Intel Core 2 Quad 2.33 GHz processor, 8 GB of memory, and ATI Radeon HD 4670 1 GB powering the graphics, DVD Writer, 64 GB SSD to store the OS and installed applications, 1 TB hard drive for storage, gigbit Ethernet and WiFi b/g/n, a hybrid TV-tuner, and 5.1 channel audio (outputs).

The ZX4800 on the other hand, is powered by an Intel Pentium Dual-Core 2.10 GHz, 4 GB memory, Intel GMA X4500 integrated graphics, a 750 GB hard drive (no SSD here), the rest of its specs is identical to its sibling, except that it doesn't pack the TV-tuner. Both come with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit pre-installed. The multi-touch capabilities may come of use thanks to Windows 7's finger enhancements, and the various applications the company will be bundling. Slated for a time-frame between late October and early November, the Gateway One X6800 will carry a price-tag of US $1399, while the X4800 will sell for $749.

Combining a high-performance NVIDIA ION graphics processor with a choice of energy-efficient dual-core Intel Atom 330 or single-core Atom 230 processors, the ZOTAC MAG delivers an eco-friendly computing experience that still packs a performance punch in a compact 186mm x 189mm x 38mm package.

"As users start equipping every room in their house with computers for a true networked digital home experience, space and power conservation becomes an issue, especially for larger houses," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. "With the ZOTAC MAG series, we're providing users with a system suitable anywhere inside a house. The compact size, performance and energy efficiency makes the ZOTAC MAG perfect for all computing uses."

"ZOTAC always listens to user requests for features. End users loved our ION ITX series motherboards, but some requested PCI Express expansion. We listened and thus the ZOTAC ION ITX F series was born," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. "Our engineers managed to integrate PCI Express x16 expansion without sacrificing any of the award-winning features either."

The ZOTAC ION ITX-F series receives power from a high-performance NVIDIA ION graphics processor and energy-efficient dual-core Intel Atom 330 processor for a power packed combination that's ready to take on high-definition video playback and everyday computing tasks.

LG Electronics introduced a new Network Attached Storage option for consumers looking to protect their multimedia entertainment files, this week at Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) EXPO 2009 (Booth #2623).

To help safeguard treasured family memories, photos and music, LG's Network Attached Storage (NAS) model N2R1 uses a proven system of multiple hard drives used for sharing and replicating data to prevent possible damage or loss. Called RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Discs), this system automatically backs up and restores files for added security in the event of a hardware failure.

Remember EPoX? A reminiscent of that company now operates under the name SUPoX, and seems to have an entire range of PC motherboards including the Core i7 compatible AP58+ GTR. The company is gearing up to cater to the LGA-1156 socket processors with a new feature-rich motherboard based on the Intel P55 chipset called AP55+ GTR. The socket supports Core i5 series processors, along with support for Intel Flexible Display Interface (FDI), that relays display handled by embedded graphics controllers on Intel processors to their DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI outputs. The PCI-Express x16 slots (electrical configuration not known) support ATI CrossFireX, although NVIDIA SLI support for most LGA-1156 motherboards largely remains unknown. Along with support for as much as 16 GB of DDR3 memory, the motherboard provides connectivity in the form of gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1, and WiFi. The motherboard should release towards the end of Q3 2009.

After several technical hurdles and some controversy with Intel, NVIDIA was able to go ahead with its Ion platform initiative, where partners are allowed to use Intel Atom processors (both single and dual-core variants) with NVIDIA MCP79-class chipsets. The most distinct feature on offer is the powerful integrated GPU in the form of GeForce 9400M. NVIDIA partner Zotac is ready with two ULPC-friendly mini-ITX motherboards based on the platform, that promise features filled to their brims.

The Zotac IONITX-A-U and IONITX-B-E are powered by Intel Atom 330 dual-core or Atom N230 single-core processors respectively. The only other difference is that the former features an onboard DC-DC power supply. Both feature NVIDIA MCP79 chipset with onboard GeForce 9400M graphics, that comes with clock speeds of 450/1100 MHz (core/shader). Two 240-pin standard DDR2 DIMM slots support DDR2-667/800 MHz memory. There are three SATA II ports provided on the board, with the fourth one placed as an eSATA connector. RAID 0/1 modes are supported. Display outputs are taken care of by D-Sub, DVI and HDMI connectors. The 8-channel audio also provides co-axial and optical SPDIF connections. Six USB 2.0 ports on the back, four through headers, a gigabit Ethernet and WiFi make for the rest of the concoction. It is indicated that the two will hit Japanese stores at prices of JPY 29980 (US$303) for the IONITX-A-U and JPY 19980 ($202) for the IONITX-B-E.

Iomega, an EMC company and a global leader in data protection, today added to its ScreenPlay series of Multimedia drives with the new Iomega ScreenPlay Pro HD 1.0TB Multimedia Drive.

The new ScreenPlay Pro HD Multimedia Drive creates a convenient link between the home network and the home theater, giving users a convenient way to show off their family photos, play music, and enjoy their videos from the best seat in the house.

A free WiFi service has been launched in London, provided by Free-hotspot.com and WiFi infrastructure firm MeshHopper. The service, which covers a 13.6 mile stretch of the River Thames from Millbank to Greenwich, provides users with a free 256kb/s internet connection if they agree to watch one 15-30 second advert every 15 minutes. If users refuse to watch the ads, they will be charged either £2.95 an hour or £9.95 a month to use the service, with download speeds of 512kb/s. "This really marks the arrival of free Wi-Fi in Greater London," said Dan Toomey, chief executive of Free-hotspot. "Millions of Londoners, as well as commuters, visitors and tourists, can now expect to find free Wi-Fi as they work or play along the Thames." The service is being marketed at website Online-4-free.com, and the coverage should be extended to 22.3 miles by August this year.

NTT DoCoMo a Japanese company announced today that it plans to begin testing on an experimental "Super 3G" system for mobile devices. Japans largest mobile carrier stated that they hope to achieve an impressive 300Mbps down in its tests over the wireless network. The company has already begun accepting proposals from suppliers and hopes to implement the Super 3G system in Japan by 2009.

The first Super 3G experiment was scheduled to be in an indoor enviroment with one transmitting antenna and one receiving antenna. NTT DoCoMo takes the experiment to a new level by using four Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas on both the transmitting and receiving side.Their goal is not just to achieve 300Mbps down but also to look at how well handovers will be handled between towers.

You might be pleased with your new wireless equipment that can transmit signals as far as a few houses down the street, but Ermanno Pietrosemoli (president of the Escuela Latinoamerica de Redes, which translates as networking school of Latin America) has managed to establish a WiFi link between two computers placed 382 km apart - that's about 238 miles. Using this connection, Pietrosemoli managed to achieve transfer rates of about 3 megabits per second, which is quite impressive considering the distance involved. This figure represents a new record for a WiFi connection, and was achieved using a combination of technology from Intel and some "off-the-shelf" parts, set up to transfer data to a specific point rather than in all directions. The previous record was held by a group of Swedish scientists that managed to create a WiFi connection between a hot air balloon and an Earth-bound station 310 km apart, so this exceeds that by almost 25%.

Apple plans to launch new iPods featuring Wi-Fi in the second half of 2007. USI will produce the Wi-Fi modules and Foxconn will perform as the OEM system assembler. USI will begin shipments later in April, while Foxconn may do so in the third quarter. Wi-Fi equipped players stand a chance of becoming the mainstream for all portable music models.

You may have heard some things about the very interesting unfinished 802.11N wireless standard. D-Link can officially claim that they are the first to release a device compatible with a wireless standard that isn't even released yet. Anyone with at least an ExpressCard 34 can plug this card in an access 802.11N networks, assuming they're running Windows XP or later. The device only works on 802.11B/G/N networks on the 2.4GHz band, instead of the much less crowded 5GHz band. We can expect to see the DWA-643 in America sometime in May for $120 USD. There is no word as to when we can see this in the UK or elsewhere.

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), the technology used to secure many wireless networks around the world, has been demonstrated to be extremely insecure in new research by a team of cryptographic researchers at the University of Darmstadt in Germany. Using information collected by previous studies that demonstrated correlations in the encryption used by WEP, the team found that they could recover a 104-bit WEP key 50% of the time using just 40,000 captured packets, increasing to a 95% success rate with 85,000 packets. To put it into perspective, 40,000 packets can be captured in under a minute, and a 1.7GHz Pentium M can them work out the WEP key in about three seconds. WEP has been known to have security flaws since 2001, but this latest research demonstrates how weak the technology has become in recent years - if your hardware supports WPA or WPA2 it is highly recommended that you shift to that if you are worried about keeping hackers out of your wireless network.Source:University of Darmstadt via The Inquirer

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced the launch of Google TiSP (BETA) , a free in-home wireless broadband service that delivers online connectivity via users' plumbing systems. The Toilet Internet Service Provider (TiSP) project is a self-installed, ad-supported online service that will be offered entirely free to any consumer with a WiFi-capable PC and a toilet connected to a local municipal sewage system.If you'd like to learn how to install TiSP, please read the instructions here.

The EIAA (European Interactive Advertising Association) has proved in a recent report what we probably could have guessed ourselves. People who own wireless computers (such as the one I'm using right now) are very likely to do things such as contribute to websites (such as this one), make/spread user-generated content (like this), and review/rate content on websites like YouTube. On average, people who own a wireless laptop/device spend 18 hours a week on the internet, as opposed to 11 hours that the average wired user would spend. This is because, you guessed it, wireless users can bring their computer with them, instead of having to come to it.

A recent survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project has revealed that 34% of internet users in America have used wireless networking to access online material, with 27% of users accessing the net outside their own homes. The survey has also shown that 20% of users have wireless networks at home, which has doubled from last year. This is the result of more shops and public areas offering wireless services (and even entire cities) and increased consumer awareness - one interesting discovery is that wireless internet users check their emails more than those with wired connections.

As the DailyTech author Tuan Nguyen states in one of his new articles the IEEE, a non-profit standardization gremium, is currently working hard on the new 802.16m standard. The technology behind should bring wireless products to new speeds as fast as 1Gbps. The good part is that the standard will apply to Wireless LAN but WiMAX and 4G as well. The bad news is that the standard itself is one or two years away from being finished.

Intel Corporation today introduced the Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N network connection, an upgrade to the wireless component found inside Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology and other Intel-based laptops that helps consumers better connect to wireless networks. As notebook PCs increasingly download broadband-intense content such as movies, videos and music, a more powerful networking solution is needed. Based on the draft 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, the Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N technology addresses that need by offering users up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range - while providing up to an extra hour of notebook battery life when compared to existing Draft-N products.

Early rumors stated that Apple was going to charge people who own a copy of their latest operating system, Macintosh OS X 10, $5 to run 802.11N technology. Apple will only be charging users $1.99 to run 802.11N compatible hardware. While most people would complain that these costs should have been factored in with the cost of the actual operating system, Apple claims that the "nominal fee" is to ensure that Apple complies with various regulations in the USA.

Microsoft does offer limited WiFi capabilities with their Zune, but SanDisk is now joining the frey, SanDisks's new Sansa Connect doesn't have the sharing features of the Microsoft Zune, but it does allow users to connect directly to the Internet via a wireless hot spot to download music or distribute photos. No PC is needed to accomplish these tasks. The Sansa Connect has 4GB of internal storage as well as a microSD slot. A 2.2-inch color screen an internal speaker round up the entire package. The Sansa Connect will be available in retail store in late March for $249.99.

Rumours of a deal between search giant Google and internet service provider EarthLink have been around for some time, but the two companies have only just confirmed that a deal has been finalised. The agreement will "enable EarthLink to build a citywide wireless network and allow Google to provide free internet access" in San Francisco. It is estimated that one million people should benefit from this deal which ought to start rolling out in the near future, with Google hoping "to see the service go live as soon as possible." EarthLink is also planning a fee-based service, although not all the details are available about this yet. So this should be good news for most people in San Francisco, however it isn't clear if there are any downsides to this deal. If it proves to be successful, Google could well spread its wireless service to other parts of the globe.

A U.S. research institute has sued Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Matsushita-owned Panasonic for violating a patent for Bluetooth technology, potentially putting the free wireless standard at risk. The Washington Research Foundation, which markets technology from the University of Washington, is seeking damages from the three mobile-phone makers for using a radio frequency receiver technology without paying royalties, according to court papers obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. Nokia, Samsung and Panasonic declined to comment the story.

Although you could already get online whilst travelling using EVDO or UMTS cards, Autonet Mobile has become the first ISP solely intended for vehicles. For $50 a month, the company will allow you to connect to the internet on 95% of roads in the United States. However, before you do that you will have to pay $399 for their in-car wireless networking unit, which possibly uses Verizon's EVDO networking. So far no information on the speed or any monthly allowance is available, but Autonet Mobile will have to do its best to establish a strong foothold before other ISPs start offering a similar service if it wants to be successful.

Creative, a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products, today announced the Creative Wireless Headphones SE2300. For added convenience, the Creative Wireless Headphones SE2300 features a cool lightweight design, user-friendly controls and advanced Bluetooth technology. The trendy Creative Wireless Headphones SE2300 is great for MP3 music on the go, as it is designed for maximum flexibility and portability. With a lightweight clip-on design, users are given a greater sense of style and comfort without the hassle of a headband.