You need the controllers before getting the goodies, and that’s why this NEC xHCI host controller is the first USB 3.0-certified device. Good, because I need this USB 3.0 1080p camera, capable of capturing 60 raw, uncompressed frames per second:
Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, RIM, Samsung and Apple have all agreed to use the microUSB standard in their phones made for the European market. Why can’t we have that?
Remember this 43-inch curved monitor from CES a couple years ago? Well, it’s finally about to be available in all of its 2880x900px glory. For $US8,000. Yowza!
While we’ve been justifiably excited about the Eee Seashell, NEC has announced a product that’s nearly half the thickness and but 2/3 of the weight.
I heard these rumours last week, and was flat-out told that it wasn’t happening, but Current is reporting that NEC will be announcing this afternoon that they are pulling out of the consumer retail market in Australia, as well as closing their Sydney office and cutting staff. However, they will be keeping their business systems division.
UPDATE: It’s official. Announcement is below the fold.
Here in America, we use paper to pay for things—maybe plastic if we’re lucky. But over in Japan, wireless RFID is gradually becoming the rage. And this NEC robot supports the trend of paying for something without feeling like you’re actually paying for something.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: e-ink and e-paper displays are getting pretty darn funky… especially when you look at NEC’s nifty solution that actually tiles multiple units. In fact, NEC can now tile up to eight microcapsule electrophoresis e-ink displays into one large screen, up to a maximum A3 size. Crazily, this huge screen has only a 1mm border to it too. That means if you’re prepared to accept a tiny bit of deadspace, you could perhaps tile those into a truly monster screen. There’s little more info than a 10:1 contrast ratio—definitely no pricing or timings—but at least it gets our imaginations ticking over. E-ink broadsheet newspapers or wallpaper anyone? [Techon via Engadget]
And another PC manufacturer begins their journey down the road more travelled. NEC has announced their own entry into the netbook market, the Versa N1100. It’s got the usual suspects in terms of components: Intel Atom processor, XP, 8.9-inch screen, 160GB HDD, Wi-Fi and webcam…
But it does try and differentiate itself (in the press release at least) with gesture-enabled NX pad and a keyboard with a 17mm pitch. Now while my years as an cadet at school (and my adolescent mind) tell me that a 17mm pitch isn’t much for a tent, it’s probably something special for a netbook keyboard. There’s also an Impact resistant design, which I take to mean it can handle being bumped against a pitched tent…
$749 is what the N1100 will set you back when it launches in the second half of November.
Wireless USB has finally begun to match regular USB 2.0 speeds, making our inevitable launch into a life untethered by the confines of copper and rubber cabling all the more forthcoming. At the Fall 2008 Intel Developer Forum, NEC unveiled a WUSB prototype that transfers at speeds of 200Mbits per second. The company didn’t mention the effective range or when it plans on commercialising its new technology, but it’s still exciting news for all of us who have trouble finding our desks under the tangle of our various USB doohickeys. [Tech On via EverythingUSB]
