Technology Info

Solid state drives (SSDs) are used instead of hard disk drives in select high-end notebook PCs today such as the Apple MacBook Air and Toshiba Portege R500.

The next generation of SSDs will use multilevel cell (MLC) technology, which will require a more sophisticated controller–a crucial component in solid state drives. These drives will have capacities ranging up to 128GB, 160GB, and later, 256GB. MLC drives are expected to appear in a wider selection of notebooks later this year.

Speaking during SanDisk’s second-quarter earnings conference call, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eli Harari said that Windows Vista will present a special challenge for solid state drive makers. “As soon as you get into Vista applications in notebook and desktop, you start running into very demanding applications because Vista is not optimized for flash memory solid state disk,” he said.

This is due to Vista’s design. “The next generation controllers need to basically compensate for Vista shortfalls,” he said. (link)

Although it’s anybody’s guess whether Apple will release an iPod with integrated Bluetooth wireless capabilities, Logitech has stepped up to the plate with its Wireless Headphones for the iPod ($150), the first set of Bluetooth headphones for Apple’s MP3 player. The well-designed product includes white neckband-style headphones with foam-covered ear pads and built-in controls, a low-profile Bluetooth 1.2 wireless transmitter (measuring 1.25 by 2.5 by 0.75 inches) that attaches to any dockable iPod, and a charger cable. (If you want wireless headphones for another MP3 player, check out Logitech’s Wireless Headphones for MP3.) The transmission range of up to 30 feet lets you conveniently stash your iPod in a messenger bag or a purse, for instance, while listening untethered.

At just 3.2 ounces, the surprisingly light headset was comfortable throughout mostly sedentary, multihour listening sessions and didn’t dislodge once during a 40-minute jog. However, you should note that the headband is not adjustable, so the ‘phones won’t fit everyone as well as they fit us. Although you wouldn’t want to regularly run while holding the bulky iPod, the wireless capability lets you stash it in a treadmill’s accessory holder or even leave it in a nearby gym bag during your workout. The headset is appropriately easy to operate without requiring you to look at its controls. The outside of the right earpiece hosts four keys (volume up, volume down, next track, and previous track) that are intuitively arrayed around a large, circular play/pause button, and the volume controls have slight indents so that you can distinguish them by feel from the track-skip keys. (link)

As Apple Inc. rolled out its newest iPhone on Friday, dealers and buyers were anticipating the popular device in Asia’s thriving underground marketplace in as little as a few days.

The iPhones are nothing new to Asia, where enthusiasts from Bangkok to Shanghai already sport fake and unlocked versions of last year’s models - unlocked so they can work with any carrier, not just the Apple-authorized ones.

Now, electronics markets are preparing for an influx of iPhones capable of 3G, or third-generation, cellphone technology.

In the Chinese territory, ads pitching unlocked iPhones and services to unlock them were everywhere in a shopping mall with three floors of cell-phone stores. (link)

The battery life on Apple’s new 3G iPhone isn’t great, but it beats that of other 3G smartphones we’ve seen. PC World’s Test Center ran it through our standard talk-time battery life test, and found that on average it ran 5 hours and 38 minutes, which we consider to be fair.

That’s a big tumble from the superior performance of the original iPhone, which ran on AT&T’s slower EDGE network and lasted the maximum 10 hours of our test. But the 3G iPhone beat out the rest of the current 3G smartphone pack, most of which fell shy of the 5-hour mark that’s the cutoff between a word score of fair and poor in our performance ratings. (link)

After raising the ire of its customers with what are believed to be overly expensive iPhone 3G plans, Canadian provider Rogers Wireless is allegedly being punished by Apple with fewer shipments.

Blogger Daniel Smith claims multiple sources, including a senior Rogers representative, claim that Apple has diverted a significant amount of its initial iPhone 3G Canadian deliveries to Europe in retribution for the carrier’s steep rate plans, which at similar prices offer a third fewer minutes and limited data compared to AT&T.

Stores may be getting just 10 to 20 iPhones each and are being told to “exercise caution” not to promise ample stock on launch day, according to the rumors.

At the same time, Rogers is also claimed to be promptly firing the part-time staff that had been hired to handle an expected deluge of customers at some stores.

With the story breaking on the weekend, neither Apple nor Rogers officials have commented on the allegations. However, the provider in recent days has faced a steadily mounting backlash against its planned rates with approximately 42,000 would-be iPhone buyers signing a highly-publicized petition for lower rates that they plan to deliver to Rogers in person. (link)

Typhoon Touch Technologies, which claims to own foundational intellectual property covering touch-screen computing, has filed suit against Apple, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Lenovo, Panasonic, HTC, Palm, Samsung, Nokia and LG alleging patent infringements.

The move represents the extension of a suit filed by Typhoon and its licensee and co-plaintiff, Nova Mobility Systems, against Dell in December 2007. Craig Weiner, a lawyer with New York based Hofheimer, Gartlir & Gross who acts as director of legal affairs and licensing for Typhoon, said: “Typhoon believes that numerous defendants are selling and/or offering for sale - what could be millions of devices - which may infringe Typhoon’s patents.” (link)

Apple is likely to reap significant profits despite slashing the cost of its updated iPhone in half, said analysts. Although details about the phone are still scarce, sources said they believe Infineon and Samsung have continued to snag the top chip designs in the handset.

The raw cost of materials to build the iPhone 3G could be nearly half that of the original model, according to Portelligent Inc. (Austin) that conducted a teardown analysis of the first handset. The first phone had a bill of materials estimated at $170 at launch, but the iPhone 3G could have a BOM as low as $100 when it debuts July 11, said David Carey, president of Portelligent, a division of TechInsights, the publisher of EE Times.

The cost cut is also strategic for a company seeking to extend its toehold in the massive cellular market. Apple has sold 6 million iPhones to date mainly in the U.S. in a market where nearly a billion handsets ship each year worldwide. (link)

According to our sources at O2, Brits who want to buy a 3G iPhone are going to have to sign up to a contract before they can get their hands on one, wherever they buy it. This is seriously bad news for people eager to unlock their new iPhone, as you’re not going to be able to buy one for the discounted contract price and then unlock it.

If you don’t want to get tied to a contract you’ll have to choose the pay-as-you-go option, which hasn’t been priced yet but is likely to be more than a couple of hundred quid. Either way, unlockers are going to be stuck between a hard place and a rock. The choice is clear: sign up to a contract or splash some cash on a pay as you go handset. (link)

First, you should know that I’m no Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) fanatic. I’ve used the gear steadily since the Reagan era; the early Apple II and the computer-as-Cuisinart lookalike that was the original Mac were both college tools of mine. But overall, I have found Apples, as lovely as they are for certain applications, just not worth the hassle for most small businesses.

Still, even I have to admit that the latest Apple line of desktops and laptop computers is flashing some serious small-business form. Apple computers now run on the same basic electronics guts - Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) chips and the like - as any PC using the Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) operating systems. Peripheral support for Apple is strong: Every gadget vendor wants a piece of that sexy iPhone/iPod pie. And though plenty of software is still not supported on the Mac (more on that in a moment), it’s now possible to get just about any Windows program up and running on an Apple computer. (link)

If you’ve been thinking of switching to Mac or picking up an Apple pc? Well now’s your chance. I can’t think of a better time to buy one. Anyone else on the site now? That MacBook Pro looks pretty sweet.
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