The old cliché “good things come to those who wait” can certainly be applied to the computer industry.

The pace of change is continuous, and the Medion 6615 PC is just one example of that, having just been given a £100 price drop in the January sales compared with its price before Christmas.

That pitches it at £579, which is a low price for a desktop computer featuring Intel’s Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor running at 2.4GHz.

Intel’s rival AMD has recently started making similar, cheaper processors, but the Q6600 remains faster than any AMD chip we’ve tested. The ‘quad’ means it is effectively four processors in one, letting it do more things at once, while speeding up some individual programs and games.

The rest of this computer’s specification is also impressive. Vista Home Premium runs smoothly on the 2GB of included memory and there’s a whopping 1TB (that’s 1,000GB) of hard disk space.

It’s actually two 500GB hard disks, using Raid technology to makes them appear as a single one. Having two hard disks increases the amount of noise the PC makes, and the lack of vibration dampeners, as found in pricier PCs, added to the very loud, annoying hard disk clicks.

In reality there’s only 840GB of storage once you take into account Vista’s installation and other programs installed on the system.

The software is all Tesco [www.tesco.com] branded, since Medion is selling the 6615 exclusively through the grocer. The deal includes Tesco’s Complete Office (which is Ability Office rebranded), Tesco Easy Record, Internet Security (made by Panda) and Photo Restyle (again a rebranded Ability utility).

Part of the reason for the low price is that there is no monitor. The graphics card, an Nvidia Geforce 8600 GT, can connect to analogue monitors, using the VGA port, or high-definition TVs using the HDMI port.

Once plugged in, casual gamers will find it can produce smooth game play on medium detail settings, but newer DirectX 10-branded games will require an upgrade.

On the front of the case there’s a single DVD writer and a panel that, once it’s uncovered, offers easy access to USB ports, a memory card reader, headphone and microphone jacks and two Firewire ports for connecting camcorders.

There are also sockets – for capturing sound from a hi-fi, for example – and composite and s-video inputs for connecting a video recorder. This gives the option of digitising an old VHS tape collection, for instance, although this may require extra software.

Although capturing video takes a little bit of know-how to get set up, the 6615 is versatile enough to handle them.

Extras come in the form a cheap wired keyboard and mouse and a remote control (with a disappointingly bulky USB receiver) giving the 6615 some Media Center credentials, which are strengthened by the TV tuner.

This accepts digital (Freeview) television transmissions, and it can also be configured to accept free satellite channels if you connect a compatible satellite dish to it.

The software is high quality stuff and, on the whole, it adds up a powerful system for the price. It’s not perfect, though, since most PCs don’t make this much noise and the one-year warranty is often bettered by other manufacturers.

Sharp and Toshiba have agreed to collaborate closely in their LCD and semiconductor businesses.

The electronics giants will initiate the partnership in fiscal 2008, which they hope will allow each company to make full and effective use of its respective strengths and resources.

This will include Sharp’s capabilities in LCDs and Toshiba’s expertise in advanced semiconductors.

The alliance will start with an expansion of reciprocal procurement, whereby Sharp will get system large-scale integration chips (LSIs) for LCDs from Toshiba, and Toshiba will obtain Sharp’s LCD modules for TVs of 32in and larger.

System LSIs for TVs are increasingly required to support advanced functions and higher levels of performance alongside the core role of image processing.

Sharp aims to satisfy about 50 per cent of its total demand for system LSIs for TVs in fiscal 2010, while Toshiba aims to meet 40 per cent of its demand for LCD modules in the same year.

The LCD TV market has seen rapid growth in recent times, driven by falling prices and the upcoming digital switchover in the UK, and is showing no signs of abating.

Sharp and Toshiba aim to secure a leading position in the LCD TV market, and reckon that they can overcome the increasingly intense global competition by joining forces.

You don’t have to be a couch potato to appreciate that digital photos, videos and music are more captivating when enjoyed on a large-screen TV and a home cinema system rather than a small PC screen.

Wireless media streaming devices such as the Showcenter 250HD connect to a TV, allowing users to browse and play any digital media stored on a networked computer from the comfort of the sofa.

Pinnacle says the Showcenter is plug-and-play, but we found that stretched the truth. It lacked drivers to install in the first place and it was in fact quite difficult to get our existing wireless network to recognise it.

There are three ways of adding it to a network: using your PC’s own wireless network facility (if it has one), a wireless router or a network cable. The poorly written instructions offer little help to the inexperienced user in this area and do not even state which version of Windows they refer to. We were disappointed that Pinnacle has not improved upon the ease of setup, given that the device’s forerunner, the Showcenter 200, had compatibility problems with some wireless routers.

Even once set up correctly, the Showcenter failed to impress us on a number of counts. Its unintuitive and unresponsive menus are hindered by the poorly laid-out remote control. Performance was also unimpressive: high-definition video playback - one of the device’s selling points - suffered from blocky patches and was less smooth than we would have liked.

Our four-megapixel photographs also took longer to appear than we expected. Annoyingly, they were obscured by a ‘loading’ message each time we clicked through to the next one, and often appeared skewed.

To the Showcenter’s credit, it can stream a wide variety of music and video file formats as well as bought downloaded tracks that are copy-protected. It is also similar in appearance to a typical DVD player and shouldn’t look out of place next to any other AV equipment below your television. However, its good points are not enough to outweigh the Showcenter’s shortcomings and as such it is difficult to recommend.

 Watch and record television with Miglia’s USB device

An entertainment centre that can be used to record and watch digital TV on Apple Macs has been launched by Miglia.

The Miglia TVMini+ plugs into a USB2 port and comes with a 10-bit analogue-to-digital converter, which is said to help people get the best digital and analogue TV reception.

The Electronic Program Guide also gives people a guide to their favourite shows and can be set to record programmes. The included Miglia TV software will also let users transfer recordings from their Mac to an iPod, iPhone, or Sony Playstation Portable (PSP).

TVMini+ comes with a two-year manufacturer warranty and costs £85.

This mouse’s USB receiver also functions as a 1GB memory key. It’s also supplied with a cleverly detachable cable so it can be recharged while in use as a wired mouse.

The mouse certainly looks the part with sweeping lines and aluminium buttons, but its stunted shape means users with larger hands will find it difficult to hold. It is also moulded for a right hand, so left-handed users won’t be happy.

The receiver is nearly as long as the mouse itself, making it slightly bulky, but it does mean you don’t have to carry a USB memory key as well. It works over Bluetooth or standard RF wireless but annoyingly, it’s only possible to use the memory if the mouse is connected over Bluetooth or the wire - if it’s in RF mode, the memory can’t be used.

The mouse does feel sturdy and the laser sensor means the pointer glides smoothly and accurately. The four-way scroll wheel is smooth and effective, but the position of the two programmable buttons under the user’s thumb means it’s too easily to press them by accident. We also found that both the mouse and receiver are too chunky to be easily transportable, which with the other flaws makes the mouse’s price seem high.

Samsung has announced a new digital photo frame that can be connected to a computer and used as an extra display.

The SPF-83V connects to the computer via USB, so a second video output is not needed. Samsung, which already produces USB-connected monitors for business users, told journalists in Suwon, South Korea, that the small display would be useful for applications such as instant messaging.

The frame can connect to wireless networks, and can automatically download and display photographs from sites that provide updates in the RSS format used to update many blogs and podcasts.

It is also unusual in having a traditionally shaped screen. Unlike most digital frames, which use a widescreen shape, its 800×600 pixel display will show photographs from the vast majority of digital cameras without the need for cropping.

Samsung expects digital photo frames to become increasingly popular over the next few years, with a predicted market of 4 million frames worldwide in 2007 growing to 12.4 million in 2010.

Yun Ho Ha, Senior Vice President of Samsung’s Visual Display Division, said that photo frames had an “emotional appeal” as “they allow people to share their photos containing valuable moments with friends and families”.

No price was announced, but the SPF-83V is expected to cost around £170.

Sony has underscored its environmental commitment with the launch of a Graphic Splash Eco Edition range of notebooks.

The notebooks are part of Sony’s Vaio FZ line and are available in four designs: Caribbean Water, Clay Earth, Spotted Life and Bloom.

Sony has promised to donate one per cent of the price of each notebook to non-profit organisations working to preserve the environment via an alliance of businesses committed to creating a healthier environment.

The electronics giant is also offering rebates to consumers who trade in used PCs. Customers can bring their old PCs to a Sony Style store to be recycled and will be issued with a credit toward a new Vaio notebook.

The Vaio portfolio uses packaging comprised primarily of recyclable materials, and components that comply with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive which are free of materials such as lead. Sony also offers a battery recycling programme.

The Vaio Graphic Splash Eco Edition notebooks are available in limited quantities and start at about $1,400.

A green addition to the ever fabulous sony laptop brand is the eco edition vaio. The brand has gained even more customer attention than seen for any other laptop brand. Before the over whelming success of the said brand, toshiba laptop had held the biggest consumer equity in the market.

Intel will officially launch its 45nm Penryn processors on 12 November with a heavy focus on the enterprise.

The chipmaker will release 12 quad-core and three dual-core Xeon processors for servers, as well as a Core 2 Extreme chip for high-end PCs.

Additional models for desktop and notebook PCs are scheduled to follow by the first quarter of 2008.

Penryn chips will run 15 to 20 per cent faster on average than their predecessors, according to Boyd Davies, general manager for Intel’s server platform.

Intel is focusing on the server market because business users have the highest performance demands.

“A lot of the advanced chips that we deliver appeal to the sever market,” Davies told vnunet.com.

“It makes a lot of sense for our most advanced product to show up in the enterprise and enthusiast segments first.”

Intel also plans to introduce three new server chipsets. The firm currently offers chipsets for regular servers and blade servers.

The new line-up has two chipsets for rack-mountable and blade servers for enterprises, a single-socket chipset for small businesses, and a dual-socket chipset for medium businesses.

The biggest change is found in the 5400 chipset that targets the high-performance computing space. Intel has increased the clock speed for the Front Side Bus, allowing faster data transfer between memory and processor.

The chipset also offers a ’snoop filter’ that reduces bus traffic by monitoring data coherency. The chipset will offer a 50 to 60 per cent performance boost for high-performance computing applications, said Davies.

Intel had to overcome a significant design hurdle with its 45nm chips. As transistor sizes continue to shrink, chip components become so small that energy starts leaking through them, leading to a dramatic increase in overall energy consumption.

Intel revealed in January that it would start using Hafnium and other so-called High-K materials to achieve a reduction in power leakage. The technique allows Intel to keep using current-generation production techniques.

A consortium that includes IBM, AMD and other chip makers also claims to have succeeded at producing energy-efficient 45nm processors, but will not start shipping products until next year.

Intel’s Penryn launch allows the chipmaker to reclaim the x86 performance crown from AMD.

Launched in September, AMD’s quad-core Barcelona processor out-performed Intel’s quad-core Xeon on several benchmarks. The largest gap showed on a benchmark for floating point calculations which are often used in scientific applications.

Floating point has traditionally been one of AMD’s strong points. Intel revealed at its Developer Forum in September that Penryn would achieve a floating point score of 89.8, up four per cent on AMD’s 86.3.

The latest versions of 45nm Penryn chips have already been adopted by acer laptops after the market leader of innovative ideas apple laptops. The new technology offers the speed which is 20 to 25 percent faster than the offered by the predecessor dell laptops and is compatible with all the makes of the desktop PCS as well as with any notebook computer.

I’m a big fan of Alienware’s product. That’s why, eventhough its products are not available in my country, I keep on subscribing onto its newsletter, just to find out the company’s latest creation. Well guys, yesterday, Alienware announced the release of Hangar18, a High-Definition (HD) Entertainment Center. This all-in-one home theatre solution lets you watch HD movies, record your favourite TV show in HD format, and playback your MP3 song collection with superb quality, thanks to its onboard 5.1-ch surround sound amplifier. Moreover, you can also download media content directly from the internet and store it onto Hangar18’s 2TB HDD for later viewing or wireless streaming over home network to your PCs, mobile devices, or media extenders. Wonderful, isn’t it?

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Evergreen presents EG-D2500CX, a compact DVD player that can take care of your DivX, JPEG, WMA, MP3, and DVDs collection. It is PAL/NTSC Zone Free and support CPRM (Content Protection for Recordable Media) as well. Moreover, the player measures at just 224 x 230 x 50mm and can be purchased for just $55 which is quite affordable.

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The VSX-517 (7.1ch) is the successor of Pioneer’s VSX-516 (6.1ch) amplifier. Along with an extra output making it a total of 7 (100W each), the unit also offers support for Dolby, Dolby Digital EX, NR, and DTS sound processing. Additionally, it can play MCACC, MP3, WMA, and AAC audio formats, as well as direct playback from a USB disk. Nice.

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JVC unveils three new HDTVs (32, 42, and 47-inch) under its LH805 series. All of those TVs support Full HD resolution along with IPS 10-bits technology that provides 120 fps and two HDMI (1.3) outputs. Nice! The price is ranged between €2,140 ($2,800) to €2,840 (3,800).

One more pic after the jump.

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