Everybody's jumping on the Eee PC bandwagon

We like the ASUS Eee PC as much as anyone else, but does this US$499 (S$598) mini-notebook really need its own line of third-party branded accessories?

A-Data, a Taiwanese company that calls itself "The Global Leading Brand of Memory Products", is introducing two Eee-PC-branded accessories, a USB flash drive and an SD memory card.

A-Data says: "One of the limitations of ASUS' Eee PC is the limited storage," and while the 8GB SD card is already double the capacity of the Eee PC's standard built-in 4GB SSD hard drive (other options are available), you could really use any brand of card in the system's SD card slot.

The same could be said of the 8GB USB memory stick, although the Eee-PC-branded version does include a white leather strap, if that's your kind of thing.

No word on US pricing or availability yet--but everyone we know treats USB keys and SD cards as commodity products, so we don't expect a big market for upsell versions. Although the Eee PC has become such a cult hit, so we can't rule it out.

We'll give the final word to one of our ASUS contacts, who wearily told us recently that he was going to get "Eee PC" tattooed on his forehead, because that's all anyone wants to talk to him about lately.

Via Crave CNET

X-mini Max to launch end April

You've got to give it to the XM-I guys. Barely three weeks after we reviewed the prototype, the Singapore-based team went back to the drawing board, made a few crucial tweaks, and will now roll out an improved version. The commercial launch may have been pushed forward from March to end April (we're told April 28 for Singapore, tentatively the UK, Australia and Ireland after, but no firm dates for the rest of Asia yet). But that's a good thing since we like the fine-tuned version much better.

Improvements now include a thicker, higher-quality tweeter in place to address the issue of the strident top range and muffled mids that we encountered in the prototype. As a result, the sound reproduction is fuller and comes much closer to the original X-mini Capsule Speaker's warm tones. The stereo cord is now also retractable, a relief from the original eyesore, and allows for a longer connection as well.

Unfortunately, the only item that won't be realized with the initial rollout is the speaker stand, which was previously intended to be integrated into the packaging. Instead, XM-I has opted to go with a simple casing for the first 20,000 units to avoid further delays, and may introduce the speaker stand box packaging after. The X-mini Max will be available in matte black, white and red, at US$48 (S$68) when it launches.

Photo credit: Damian Koh/CNET Asia

GreenPeace, GreenPeace on the roll, who's the greenest of them all?

Green seems to be the new black, as more companies discover the importance of an environmentally friendly image to their profit margin. But it's just too easy to give lip service or start half-hearted initiatives simply for the sake of good press. GreenPeace, a non-profit environmentalist group, dug deep into the green initiatives of various tech companies to discover which brands actually walked the walk.

The top winners are Samsung and Toshiba, though both companies would have taken second place if it wasn't for the fact that Nokia lost a point due to corporate misbehavior in its taken-back and recycling scheme, as well as the fact that its Russian and Indian staff were not informed of such a scheme at all. Though Sony sits in the fourth place, it's VAIO TZ laptop series has been declared the greenest laptop of them all, as it is totally free from beryllium.

If you feel strongly that all companies should adopt a strong environmentally friendly stand, vote with your wallet and walk away from the worst offenders (Philips and Nintendo) in the tech business.

Via Wired

Even fans are going solid-state

Moving parts seem to be going the way of the Dodo. Harddisks, with its rotating platters and swivel reader arm, were the first to go solid state. With no mechanical movements involved, these drives not only save power, but are less prone to damage and makes almost no noise.

Now, CPU fans are following the trend as well. The internal fan of the system is possibly the noisiest part of a machine, generating enough sound to annoy especially when the processor is going full blast. Thorrn Micro Technologies, maker of the RSD5 fan, has created what may be the first such solid-state device in the market. Despite being only a quarter of the size of its mechanical equivalent, it is up to three times more effective. The underlying technology is similar to ionizing air fresheners, using ions to push air molecules and hence generating wind.

Who knows, perhaps in the near future we can even customize heat vents to generate a cool howling sound for a gaming laptop, or a soothing breeze in an ultraportable.

Image credit: Thorrn Micro Technologies

X-mini Capsule Speaker to go wireless next

The folks at Singapore-based XM-I Company are one very busy team. Besides readying a stereo edition of their current bestselling (mono) X-mini Capsule Speaker, they've disclosed to Crave Asia that they are working on a next-gen iteration that will go wireless.

Whether this will run on Bluetooth or radio frequency is still on the cards. But it's at least something for X-mini fans to look forward to, particularly those who'd like nothing better than to toss away the existing cables. Not to mention that X-mini owners can now boast of their excellent taste in products, since the X-mini and its stereo sibling both recently picked up the prestigious Red Dot Distinction Award for product design excellence for 2008. Not bad at all for a tiny outfit.

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