Category: Miscellaneous

Apacer has released AH175, a OTG Dual Interface flash drive that works with any Android phone that supports OTG functionality. The drive has both normal size and micro USB connectors both of which make use of USB 2.0 technology.

As expected the Apacer AH175 is backwards compatible with USB 1.1. It comes in 8, 16 and 32GB capacities. It has a loop that lets you to use it in a chain.

For those who do not know about USB OTG, it lets you use your smart phone as host to a flash drive – just like your PC. This one has micro USB on one side as mobile phones have micro USB ports and not full size USB port. It shall be noted that there is no performance difference between the two.

Self encrypting storage devices are on the rage right now as more and more companies and government institutions adapt these devices. SanDisk wants to make full use of this opportunity and has churned out X300S, a M.2 2280 single sided SSD that can be used with any laptop or desktop. It comes in five capacities 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB and 1 TB.

SanDisk X300s specifications

Form Factors: 7mm 2.5-inch Cased, M.2 2260
Capacities: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Interface: SATA Revision 3.1 (6 Gb/s) backward compatible to SATA Revision 2.0 (3 Gb/s) and SATA Revision 1.0 (1.5 Gb/s)
Sequential Read/Write: Up to 520/460MB/s
Random Read/Write: Up to 96/80k
Endurance (TBW): >40 (64GB), >80 (128GB-512GB)
Latency Read/Write: 55/65μs
Active Power (W): 0.12
Slumber(mW): 80 (64GB-256GB), 90 (512GB)
DEVSLP(mW): 5.0 (64GB), 5.0 (128GB), 5.0 (256GB), 6.5(512GB)
Weight(g): 2.5” 7mm Cased: 51 (64GB-128GB), 55 (256GB-512GB); M.2 2280: 7 (64GB-512GB)
Operating Temperature: 0 C to 70 C
Non-operating Temperatures: -55 C to 85 C
Operating Vibration: 5.0 gRMS, 10 – 2000 Hz
Non-operating Vibration: 4.9 gRMS, 7 – 800 Hz
Operating/Non-operating Shock: 1,500 G @0.5 msec half sine
Certifications: FCC, CE, UL, ULc, TUV, KC, BSMI, ACA, VCCI

No matter which capacity you get, you will benefit from its AES 256-bit FIPS 197 certified hardware crypto engine that encrypts everything stored on the disk. The SanDisk X300S is 2.5 inch type which means you can use it in your laptop too.

While you can use software side encryption on any storage device, it is always painfully slow. The M.2 ones as expected, do not come with any cases.

Both Onda V975i and V819i come with Android operating systems but according to the latest reports the company will be releasing an update that will allow the users to run Windows 8.1 OS on it.

It is totally possible to run either of the operating systems on it as both Onda V975i and V819i run on x86 architecture which are supported by Windows 8 and Android OS. 

Onda V819i

Display: 8-inch display with a resolution IPS WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels),
Processor: 4-core, 64-bit Intel Atom Bay Trail-T
RAM: 2 GB,
NAND Memory: 16 GB + micro SD slot,
Camera: 2-megapixel,
Camera: 5-megapixel
Communication: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB port,
Battery: lack of data,
System: Google Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with ONDA UI 2.0.

Onda V975i

Display: 9.7-inch display with a resolution IPS WQXGA (2048 x 1536 pixels)
Processor: 4-core, 64-bit Intel Atom Bay Trail-T
RAM: 2 GB,
NAND Memory: 32 GB + micro SD slot,
Camera: 2-megapixel,
Camera: 5-megapixel
Communication: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB port,
Battery: lack of data,
Thickness: 8.5 mm
Weight: 495 g
System: Google Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with ONDA UI 2.0.

The upgrade will come in the month of May. The reason is that Intel is giving away free processors to tablets based on Intel bay trail t-series.

Asus has collaborated with Kingston to create its first solid state drive. Normally companies start with basic features but Asus has come with a new feature called SATA Express interface.

Slated to be released in May, the Asus Hyper Express SSD with SATA Express supports Serial ATA (SATA) and PCI Express (PCIe) devices. It comes with multiple PCI express lanes as pure PCI Express connection to the storage device that allows doubling the speed of SATA easily.

In theory you will be able to get speeds of 1,969 MB/s. This SSD is basically a RAID 0 array made of two mSATA storage devices encased in a 2.5 inch case. Future models will come with 2x M.2 SSDs instead of mSATA drives for even better performance and capacity.

Sony has released three portal hard disk drives PSZ-HA1T, PSZ-HA50 and PSZ-HA2T that look tough and rugged. All of them look and feel the same but have different storage capacities and of course price tags.

PSZ-HA1T, PSZ-HA50 and PSZ-HA2T have 1TB, 500GB and 2TB storage capacities respectively. Price start for $270 / €197 for the 2TB model.

Continue reading Sony PSZ-HA2T HA50 HA1T Specifications, Rugged and Waterproof Hard drives

Luxottica Group, the company behind Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglass brands has partnered with Google to make connected eyewear similar to Google Glass. This is a massive milestone for Glass program that been exclusive to members of Explorer program and have paid USD 1500 for the eyewear.

Most probably the Ray-Ban and Oakley will add style to the technology and make it more friendly to the consumers. Also this way the search engine giant will have access to Luxottica’s 5,000 retail locations to distribute the new eyewear.

Continue reading Ray-Ban, Oakley To Make Glass eyewear