If anyone questions why things are this way, the answer is quite simple. The NVIDIA G200 core consists of one point four billion transistors. And that is quite a great number when it comes to putting all those transistors on a chip manufactured using the 65nm lane process, mainly because the number of faulty chips per wafer would be a big one too. Before the launch, the chip was expected to become quite expensive, meaning $100-110, due to the fact that suggested yields were somewhere in the low 40%. This may sound somehow extreme, but the reality may prove to be better than we thought.

The release of G200 caused, in fact, many Nvidia partners to be left outside and unhappy, as there was quite a shortage in chips. On the other hand, those Nvidia partners that got the chip seem rather unhappy too, considering the margins. Since its associates are quite upset with the situation, the Santa Clara company is pushing itself to the limits in the development of the 55nm "G200b", trying to get it ready as soon as possible. That would be a great achievement for the graphics card manufacturer, but things point in the opposite direction right now.

Yet, if the company manages to get it to work, the G200 at 55nm is expected to be about 470mm2, and a 300mm wafer should have enough room for about 120 dies. At best, this will get yields closer to 50%, but, given the circumstances, Nvidia would probably be more than satisfied if they are above 40%.

Another piece of the puzzle consists of the limitations to partners' playing ground Nvidia has brought with its new Unilateral Minimum Advertised Price Policy (UMAP), which also minimized competition among the company's associates. Partners are very likely to get upset if Nvidia decides to launch new cards based on existing cores, but at the same time lowers prices, because the earnings are diminishing this way. On top of that we also have AMD's new RV770 chip, which may look pretty tempting to some of those partners.


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A New Definition for "Luxury": the AKG K702 Headphones - Reference listening for discerning ears

Following the great success and unanimous appreciation of the exquisite K701 high-end headphones, AKG have taken things further and created another piece of audio excellence in the body of the K702 headset. Introduced at the InfoComm '08, the AKG K 702 headphones are a proud and praiseworthy successor of the acclaimed 701 edition, boasting the same surprising features and aesthetic refinement.

The AKG K 702 is built on the same amazing technologies which have made the 701 so popular and coveted throughout the worlds of personal monitoring and studio production as well. The voice coils run on the same top-drawer flat-wire winding technology, ensuring an accurate acoustic reproduction and excellent transient response, capable to meet the expectations of the most discerning audiophiles.

The drivers in the AKG K 702 boast the revolutionary Varimotion diaphragm, with a two-layered design producing clear and clean, shimmering highs while at the same time delivering a well-contoured bass with round and creamy definition, extending down to 10Hz. The 39.8 kHz high frequency threshold of the AKG K 702 makes sure you can use these headphones for any over-demanding application, no matter whether we're talking about a relaxing listening session in your comfortable sofa at home or when working on complex high-def audio tracks in high-tech sound engineering projects.

This headset boasts a massive 105 dB SPL efficiency, driven by a max 200mW input power in 62 Ohms. Unlike the K701, which came in an elegant white finish, these new headphones come with a "tougher" appearance, in dark shades for the 3D-form soft ear pads, making them less susceptible to a worn-out look after being heavily used.

The flagship K702 headset from AKG will be available in August 2008 but so far, a price hasn't been announced. Anyway, I guess nobody is expecting anything near "cheap".

AMD Brings Back ATI All-In-Wonder Series with New HD Version - HDTV, HD graphics and HD video for PCs, all from a single card

As mentioned in one of yesterday's articles, these past few days have been extremely busy and tumultuous on the graphics card market, both major players in this particular segment (ATI/AMD and NVIDIA) launching a couple of very interesting products, some of them targeting the exact same specific price points. And in order to capitalize on the momentum created by the release of the HD 4850 and HD 4870 models, AMD has decided to let yet another little wonder out of the bag: the ATI All-In-Wonder HD.

Practically, the new hardware component combines ATI Radeon Premium graphics and ATI TV Wonder HD tuner technology card in one PCI Express 2.0 solution, providing twice the data throughput of older PCI-E 1.0 interfaces. Furthermore, Blu-ray disc playback can be enjoyed in full HD glory (1080p) thanks to ATI All-in-Wonder HD’s unified video decoder (UVD) technology.

The All-In-Wonder also provides support for Microsoft DirectX 10.1 and is accompanied by the ATI Catalyst Media Center software that provides an easy method of viewing video content. Additionally, the ATI All-in-Wonder HD provides expanded connectivity with built-in support for six channel (5.1) Dolby Digital surround audio transmission through HDMI, native dual-link DVI-I for high resolution panels and optional component video connectivity.


"Never before has this level of HDTV and graphics performance been seen in an all-in-one PC multimedia solution," said Matt Skynner, vice president of marketing, Graphics Products Group, AMD. "The award-winning ATI All-In-Wonder lineage is built on long-standing leadership in TV and video on the PC. For the hundreds of thousands of owners of previous ATI All-In-Wonder models and for those hungry to realize the full potential of their PC, we’re excited and proud to introduce the newest addition to AMD’s PCTV product family."


The ATI All-In-Wonder HD is also AMD LIVE! Ready and Certified for Windows Vista, has a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of $199 and will arrive in stores at some point in late July, probably just after the first overclocked HD 4850 units will hit the shelves.

Nokia E51 Review - Powerful business tool

One of the latest Nokia Eseries' handsets available on the market, Nokia E51 is the perfect successor of the older E50. Furthermore, Nokia E51 comprises all the E90 Communicator's technical features in a slim candy-bar design. Based on Symbian operating system, Nokia E51 is the perfect tool for businessmen, as it features rich communications skills, perfectly completed by a stylish design. Nokia developed a wide range of Eseries handsets, which targeted different customers that had various needs: enhanced messaging, mobile office, Communicators and high-end business devices. The last were and still are the best choice for the 'ultimate businessman' on the go.

Announced in September 2007, Nokia E51 was made available on the market two months later, in November 2007. Nokia also launched a camera-free version of the E51 in February 2008. Anyway, Nokia E51 can be bought for around USD 350$, depending on the location
Design

Instead of searching for a design that will make the handset stand out from the crowd, Nokia decided to center upon the sturdiness of the device. The stainless steel that covers the edges of the front faceplate and the entire back cover makes the phone feel compact and durable. Size-wise (114.8 x 46 x 12 mm), Nokia E51 is neither too large, nor too heavy (100g, including battery) to carry. These traits make it a perfect fit for almost any pocket or hand. Nokia took care of the ergonomics of the device, thus the business candy-bar is very comfortable to use. The sturdiness of the phone is fully reflected onto the few external keys that are placed on different sides of the handset. All of these are too rigid to use, but not impossible.

The Power key is again present on the top side of Nokia E51, while on the right side of the phone, there's a voice command button flanked by the two volume keys. All external keys have been covered by a rubber-like finish, which makes them even more unyielding. On the bottom side, there are miniUSB, 2.5mm jack and charger ports. The left side of the device integrates a small Infrared port that is barely visible. Above the screen, there is a small ambient light sensor and the in-call speaker. The keypad layout looks pretty standard for a Symbian device with few exceptions. One of these is the lack of the 'Pencil' key and the replacement of the S60 icon with another one that looks like a house.

Besides the usual numeric keys, the keypad also contains some specific buttons such as: D-pad, two selection keys, Menu key, Calendar key, Contacts key, Messaging keys and, Call and End keys. Right under the D-pad, there is the Clear key, which also changed the logo from 'C' to one that looks like that on the Backspace keys of every PC. The keypad is extremely responsive and the tactile feedback is at the highest. It has been a real pleasure to text SMS or emails, even tough it doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard. In fact, Nokia E51 features so many shortcuts and dedicated keys that users won't even feel the need of a touchscreen or QWERTY keyboard. Any important function or menu can be accessed with only one hand and at first touch.

The back of the phone includes a 2 Megapixel camera that lacks autofocus and flash, but instead has 4x digital zoom and the capability to record clips. Above the camera, on the plastic part of the back cover, there are the Nokia logo and a small loudspeaker. The stainless steel part of the phone is surely a fingerprint magnet, but a swipe on the surface will solve this issue. Overall, I believe Nokia kept the same standard bar design that has been a main characteristic for its business phones, but with the addition of the stainless steel and rounded sides transformed the E51 into a stylish, compact and solid business mobile phone.


Display and Camera

At first glance, I was a little bit disappointed by the size of the screen (only 2 inches), but when I started using the phone to browse the Web or the menu, I was amazed by its image quality and forgot all about size. The TFT display supports 16 Million colors and 240x320 pixels resolution, and is one of the best on the market. The screen is well protected against scratches by a special glass and it is perfectly visible outdoors in strong sunlight. The old benchmarks used revealed almost maximum performance, which says it all, even if the Finnish-manufacturer over-optimized its device against these tests


I'm not sure why the 2 Megapixel camera has been included but since it's there, let's see what it can do and what it lacks. Well, it can take pictures and record movies, but it doesn't have any flash, autofocus or macro capabilities.


The camera can take pictures with a maximum resolution of 1600x1200 pixels and record clips in QVGA standard (MPEG-4 format) at 15fps (320x240 pixels resolution). The quality of the pictures is average, which was expected, as we're talking about a business phone.


The snapshots taken are extremely sharpened and a little bit low on color contrast. Sharpening the pictures to the extreme loses some of the vividness of colors and makes the pictures look a little bit 'dull'. White balance (Sunny, Incandescent, Fluorescent), Colour tone (Sepia, Black & white, Negative) and Night Mode can be accessed from the camera interface, but they won't help improve the quality of the pictures.


Still, users that don't care too much about the camera can choose to buy themselves the free-camera version of this handset. The samples below reflect clearly the quality of the pictures in good light conditions.

Menu and Software

Nokia E51 candy-bar runs Symbian operating system version 9.2 and is based on S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1. The Feature Pack 1 provides 3D graphics hardware support, over-the-air (OTA) firmware support, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR support, Flash Lite 2.0, screen turning feature that permits the user to turn the screen to landscape or portrait mode (very useful for browsing the Internet), as well as a better organization of the file cache.

The phonebook has almost an unlimited number of entries as all the contacts can be saved onto the phone's memory. Symbian OS and Java compatible third-party applications can be installed with ease on the phone through the USB connection, just check the requirements. Navigation on the Web can be a real joy because of the high-quality display and HSDPA and WiFi connections. The business phone even supports four pre-installed themes, which can change its look entirely

Communication

Nokia E51 features HSDPA connectivity for those in need of fast data transfer speeds, but also EDGE and GPRS class 32 technologies as a cheaper version of the HSDPA. Users won't have any problems with either of the connectivities as data transfer speeds are way over the charts: 1051 Kbit/s download and 305 Kbit/s upload with HSDPA and 144 Kbit/s download and 79 Kbit/s upload with EDGE. These are the highest results that we managed to attain with a Nokia handset, after having used Nokia N95 and N95 8GB devices.

Wi-Fi 802.11g with VoIP over WLAN support is also on board and works even better as a free option for Web browsing instead of the HSDPA connectivity. Furthermore, Nokia E51 features miniUSB v2.0 and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP and EDR profile support and IrDA (115 kbps), which makes it the ultimate communication tool.


Impressive to the last, Nokia E51 includes an Internet browser that displays webpages perfectly. No matter the size, webpages fit into the small screen and look amazing. The virtual mouse cursor makes the browsing experience even better. A mini-map can be activated to help navigating around complex websites where lots of scrolling down/up or left/right is required. Users also have the possibility to adjust the zoom level to their needs.

Nokia features four different message editors, one for each of these types: SMS, MMS, audio message and e-mail. The phone is fully compatible with POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP accounts. Also as mobile email, the E51 supports various solutions including Mail for Exchange, Visto mobile and Seven Always-on.

The quad-band phone has worldwide coverage and is GSM900 / GSM1800 / GSM1900 / GSM850 / HSDPA network compatible. This will simply enlarge the market of the phone and will attract consumers all over the world. Nokia E51 has a mediocre in-call sound, but is extremely good on signal reception.









Processor and Memory

Nokia's E51 smartphone runs a very good ARM11 family processor working at speeds up to 369 Mhz. Practically, this is the same CPU that was embedded in Nokia N93 model and Nokia 6290 a little while ago. And that’s another reason to believe that Nokia E51 approaches the high-end series through its performance
The business phone comes with 130 MB internal memory (96 MB SDRAM memory), which can be expanded through the microSD slot card up to 8GB.







I have tested the phone with a 4GB card by transferring some data through miniUSB cable and everything worked fine. This should be more than enough for a businessman who wants to carry all his documents into a pocket-sized device

Multimedia

This is the only department where Nokia E51 lacks consistency. Even if it hasn't been developed as a multimedia tool, Nokia E51 provides a limited multimedia experience. The mediocre sound quality and the poor music player interface don’t recommend the device as an MP3 player.

The music player is compatible with MP3, AAC, WMA, AMR-NB and AMR-WB formats and features five pre-defined Equalizer settings: Bass booster, Classical, Jazz, Pop and Rock. If these are not enough, the phone offers the possibility of adding new customized settings. Music library is automatically scanned after each USB synchronization with the PC and new music files are added. Users can sort the files by artist, song or album and can define playlists. Nokia E51 supports Bluetooth with A2DP profile, which allows listening to music on a wireless stereo headset.


Other multimedia offerings include Visual Radio that can store up to 50 base stations, video streaming and playback in H.264 (MPEG-4), 3gpp and Real codecs. Videos are played using the integrated RealPlayer and can be watched in portrait, landscape or full screen.

Battery

The handset includes a Li-Polymer (1050 mAh) BL-5F battery. The talk time that I found on Nokia's site says that it should last about 4 hours and 20 minutes in talk time mode (only GSM) and about 13 days in standby mode (GSM only). For a heavy user, this phone will need recharging every two days, while for a medium user, one recharge in 4-5 days will be enough. The phone has great functionality, and features a big screen and HSDPA, which will both kill the battery even faster. Nokia E51 is a low "battery drainer", which means that it's even more fitted for business use

Impressions

The only thing that impresses at first glance is the stainless steel material that covers most of the phone. That's because 'slim size' has become a standard for these days’ handsets, and E51 cannot stand out from the crowd just because it's slim. Anyway, for a business phone, Nokia E51 really looks stylish and will probably attract more buyers than its Eseries predecessors. Only after actual use, owners will understand what this little piece of technology can really do. Nokia E51 is a well-balanced phone that has been 'stuffed' with only the best technical features, which makes it one of the most powerful communication tools available.


The Good

There are many key features that Nokia E51 embeds, such as: HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, fast user interface, powerful CPU, microSD card, Symbian 9.2 OS Series 60 3rd edition UI with Feature Pack 1. Also, the fact that the phone doesn't freeze at all and is very fast makes it even better. Let's not forget about the low price (only 350 USD).



The Bad

Maybe the phone should've been launched without a module camera or, at least, a better one could've made a difference. A longer talk time is also needed to maximize E51's functionality. Some small improvements should've been added, such as: possibility of editing documents, charge via miniUSB and a better multimedia interface.



Sales package

Nokia E51 handset
1050 mAh Li-Polymer Battery (BP-6MT)
Nokia AC-5 DC charger
miniUSB connection cable (DKE-2)
Wired stereo headset (HS-47)
Eseries CD-ROM
Quickstart guide and User guide


PICTURES ---

Sagem my411C Lulu Castagnette Review - The teddy bear clamshell, not so adorable after all

After reviewing Sagem's my721X 'So Ice' handset, I didn't have any surprises with the latest phone for girls - Sagem my411C. Except for the design, everything seems to be the same and no improvements are noticeable. my411C is definitely a low-end phone and targets women that are looking for an adorable mobile phone, but don't care about performance. Furthermore, Sagem partnered with the French company Lulu Castagnette, a fashion brand that features a teddy bear as main icon, to develop the Sagem my411C clamshell. Thus, the phone bears the teddy bear trademark and has been tagged with the clothing producer's name - Lulu Castagnette. Hmm, there's no wonder most of the girls will want one the moment they see it.

Announced in January 2008, Sagem my411C Lulu Castagnette was made available on the market a month later for about 85 Euros (135 USD).



Design

While the clamshell doesn't come with anything innovative in terms of design, the teddy bear pictured on both front and back cover of the phone will definitely catch young women's eyes. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't tested it - three out of four women showed interest in owning such a device, regardless of the fact that it offers only basic features. I'll try to be as objective as I can and see what's good and what's bad about the device. Still, I would've preferred to have a woman colleague review this clamshell for a better perspective. Now, back to the design of the phone, I believe Sagem did a good job. Without introducing anything new and keeping the same old school clamshell form factor, the shiny plastic, the colors and the small teddy bear sketched on the surface of the phone suddenly became the truly main attractions of the device. As a side note, I haven't been impressed at all by the little teddy bear, but that's acceptable since I'm a man and not a woman.

Sagem my411C measures 91 x 46 x 16mm, which makes it rather 'dull' for those expecting a slim, small clamshell. When closed, users will be able to notice a microSD memory slot card, covered by a rubber stripe, on the left side of the phone. The right side features two volume keys, which are flanking the key that opens the music player, but also a proprietary Sagem port that can be used to attach the wired headset that comes with the phone or the charger. At the bottom of the clamshell, there's a small gap where users can insert a short string that has a miniaturized teddy bear attached to it. The latter can be found in the sales package and looks girlish enough so I cannot talk about it. The VGA camera has been placed on the front cover of the phone, right above the small secondary display. Below, it's the Lulu Castagnette logo, written with silver letters. The back of the phone features the teddy bear icon and Sagem's logo.

When open, the clamshell reveals a large keypad that strongly resembles Motorola's SLVR handset. This happened for the second time, Sagem my721X featuring the same type of keypad. Fortunately, my411C's keys are easier to press, its only drawback being the fact that is a fingerprint magnet. The plastic used for manufacture seems exquisite and shiny, which impresses. Even if it's a low-end device, the clamshell won't look cheap or affordable. Right above the main display, again, there's a small teddy bear, while below the keypad Sagem strategically placed two rubber dots that will prevent your display from touching the keys.

I have counted a total of three teddy bears printed on the various parts of the phone; in fact, there are four if you include the one attached by the string found in the sales package. Definitely a girl's thing, Sagem my411C Lulu Castagnette attracts through its imprinted teddy bears, rather for its clamshell form or features. Men will surely stay away from this handset, but I suggest you guys try keeping your girls away from the device too as it only offers basic features.
Display and Camera

Oh, well I'm thinking that there are worse phones than Sagem's my411C when testing its display and camera. On the other hand, both are sub-mediocre. The main CSTN display supports 65k colors and 128x160 pixels resolution, but quality is way under today's standards. The secondary monochrome display is there to show you the time when you press any external key (volume or MP3 player). The only positive thing I found about the main display is the fact that it is visible under strong sunlight. Otherwise, as you can see from the benchmarks, this is a low-end display, which means that talking about quality is out of the question.

The VGA camera can take pictures using a maximum resolution of 640x480 pixels and features only 4x digital zoom. Lack of a bigger number of megapixels, flash and autofocus make this camera almost useless. The interface is very simple and features few settings such as: Effects (Sepia, Grey Scale, Negative), Exposure (Night, Back light, Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten), Timer and Click sound. Videos can be recorded and are limited only by the amount of memory available. Again, we cannot talk about quality.

Menu and Software

Sagem's UI, while not the most user-friendly interface, is pretty straightforward and offers a pleasant user experience. Because of the low resolution, the phone is pretty fast when browsing through the menus. The latter has been divided into more sections, pretty easy to guess what they are used for. The first on the left is the Music player; then, there is the WAP browser, Games area (Air Strike and Brain Challenge).