SSD technology continues to improve beyond recognition – from the early SLC (Single Level Cell) drives exhibiting very poor capacity to cost ratios and the tendency of early Jmicron controller-equipped drives to stutter and pause, to current SSD technology as represented by the Silicon Power 64GB SSD showing off performance that exceeds regular mechanical hard drives’ in certain situations, while improving on the cost to capacity ratio.

There's not much to say about a plain black box - all the action is inside.                        

Yesterday, Sony Philippines opened their office doors to the media to introduce the latest addition to their popular, fashion-friendly VAIO PC line. Dubbed the VAIO P, the 2009 CES showstopper weighs just around 600 grams and can potentially slip into one of your pockets. But no, it’s not a netbook, at least according to Sony.

The sexy Sony VAIO PC line goes even sexier with the addition of the new P series.

Keen on mixing up performance with what’s supposed to be “green” cars, many car manufacturers have turned to electric power to build performance vehicles that can give regular petrol-powered cars a run for their money. For the buyer’s money as well, seeing how stratospheric the prices are for these electric exotics.

Asus wasted no time in greeting the new year with two new products – namely the Asus Eee Top and the Eee PC Model S101. Rumors have swirled around the internets for a long time regarding these products, with some hoping that these latest “Eee’s” will have something better up their sleeves than specification changes and an added feature here and there to differentiate them from the rest of their Eee brothers. Not to worry, as the Eee Top and the S101 both bring something very new to the computing paradigm, while still maintaining the major tenets of the Eee line – especially Ease of use.

                                              Asus is putting the letter "E" to good use - for new releases, a new "Emphasis" on fashion and ease of use.

Once upon a time a launch event centered around printers wouldn’t have gotten a lot of interest from this editor, but times change, and people learn. The recent Brother launch event was a double-punch knockout consisting of brand-spanking new digs at the Marajo Tower at the Bonifacio Global City, and the release of a handful of new multi-function copiers with A3-sized printing capability.

                                             Brother's brand-new showroom located at the Marajo Tower, Bonifacio Global City.

The usual impression we get from HP is that of quality and a certain level of “premium-ness” – be it when discussing features or price. Rightly so, as HP has spent years building up their reputation to the point that most customers will choose HP over other products, even if price premiums are somewhat of a burden. This is however not particularly true when it comes to expensive consumables, and the Philippines have long been a hotbed of vendors hawking “refill” and fake cartridges that proliferate among cost-conscious yet uninformed customers.

It’s that time of year again when one of the biggest computer technology events has come and gone, leaving in its wake a whole slew of must-have products. Better yet, some of these products are already available for order locally, or are nearly so. We have in our offices two of the most exciting products we could have asked for – the Asus branded GTX 285 and 295 graphics cards. We take a quick look at these card’s specifications and their positioning in the high-end market.

Nokia got together with a select group of media people last January 15 in a combination launch and round-table discussion. It was centered on Ovi, Nokia’s consumer brand for Internet services that is meant to connect the PC, phone, the internet, and thus the user him/herself to an interconnected web wherein information is easy to access and manage.

                                             The Ovi launch was held at Makati Shangri-La.

It’s been a trying time the past few weeks. I’ve been itching to finish up the three-way SLI rig that’s been tempting me from the corner of the eye all that time, only to be distracted by other, more pressing matters, as well as being sidelined due to “technical difficulties”. Nevertheless, I’ve been able to get some results, and the quite messy collection of power supplies, cables, and video cards have been humming along nicely.

                                            The whole, messy afair that nonetheless worked beautifully.

It’s always a fine and dandy thing to ramble on about specifications, features, and performance when the topic turns to laptops, but it does get a bit repetitive, unless the manufacturer hides a trick up its sleeves and delivers a truly unique product. In the case of Asus, they did this by going back to their production process and inserting something very natural and very unique – producing the Asus Bamboo U6 laptop as an end product.

                                            How's that for "green" advertising?

Samsung is wasting no time in filling in their “Beat Edition” product line, one of which landed on our laps in the form of the M3510 “Beatb” phone. Part of the “Live Loud” movement, the M3510 is being marketed as a music phone that will compete with other cellphone / music phone combination in the market, primarily the Nokia 5310, to which it bears a striking resemblance.

The aptly-named Tesla Motors have made a name for itself with wholly electric-powered sport cars that actually look good and are actually being delivered to customers. Now Tesla is making sure not to lose any momentum with their release of the Roadster Sport, a model that boasts of 0 to 60 mph times of 3.7 seconds while still retaining its predecessor’s fully electric powertrain. 

How’s this for mind over matter? Mattel, purveyors of Hot Wheels and Barbie, now has something to keep the mind as well as the hands occupied – the Mattel Mind Flex. While examples of mind-controlled (or more correctly termed, “physiologically-controlled”) gadgets have surfaced, the fact that Mattel, a mainstream toy manufacturer, is coming out with this product with no more fanfare than its regular release of varied Barbie costumes tells us something of the maturity of this technology. [Thanks to Engadget.com for all pictures]

The holidays have come and gone, and while a break from work is always a welcome proposition for most people, this particular reviewer was in a lamentable situation, as a long break meant a long separation from the gadgets and gear that never fails to stimulate the geeky adrenaline glands. It was thus a relief to find out that said reviewer has been assigned three items to take home and “review” – an LG mini component system, a triple-SLI rig in an Antec Skeleton casing, and the crown jewel of the three, a Sony Bravia 40” LCD TV with the newest 200Hz Motionflow technology.

Holidays are generally welcomed by most of the HWM people, with most of us looking forward to spending some time with family and friends. Some on the other hand, bemoan their separation from certain aspects of the workplace, in this case the lack of products to test and thrash. Thankfully (or maybe not), 2008 presented this particular editor the chance to bring home (temporarily of course) a couple of products to tweak and test – namely a Bravia LCD, a triple SLI rig, and an LG mini component.

                                             A glossy front panel is the perfect backdrop for the LG logo, as LG churns out more and more products.