From X-bit Labs: Intel Corp. this week announced final name for the next-generation Thunderbolt technology that boasts 20Gb/s bi-directional transfer speeds over copper wires. The Thunderbolt 2 will not only improve speeds, but will also enable display of ultra-high-definition video in 4K resolution (3840*2160 or similar). The new technology will create a new class of devices that will include PCs, displays, external storage solutions and so on.

At the video geekfest National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in April, Intel announced plans for an important advancement in Thunderbolt technology – the upcoming controller codenamed “Falcon Ridge” running at 20Gb/s, a doubling of the bandwidth over the original Thunderbolt. Named Thunderbolt 2, this next generation of the technology enables 4K video file transfer and display simultaneously. It is achieved by combining the two previously independent 10Gb/s channels into one 20Gb/s bi-directional channel that supports data and/or display.

Current versions of Thunderbolt, although faster than other PC I/O technologies on the market today, are limited to an individual 10Gb/s channel each for both data and display, less than the required bandwidth for 4K video transfer. Also, the addition of DisplayPort 1.2 support in Thunderbolt 2 enables video streaming to a single 4K video monitor or dual QHD monitors. All of this is made possible with full backward compatibility to the same cables and connectors used with today’s Thunderbolt. The result is great news for an industry on the cusp of widespread adoption of 4K video technologies.

“By combining 20Gb/s bandwidth with DisplayPort 1.2 support, Thunderbolt 2 creates an entirely new way of thinking about 4K workflows, specifically the ability to support raw 4K video transfer and data delivery concurrently. And our labs aren’t stopping there, as demand for video and rich data transfer just continues to rise exponentially,” said Jason Ziller, marketing director for Thunderbolt at Intel.

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From CNET News.com: HTC's popular One smartphone might be getting squished a bit.

Estonia-based site Forte.delfi.ee posted several pictures on Wednesday of what it claims is the long-rumored HTC One Mini. The device, it says (and the pictures corroborate), has the same basic design as the larger HTC One, but comes with a slightly smaller 720p HD screen measuring 4.3 inches. The standard HTC One comes with a 4.7-inch display.

According to Engadget, which was first to report on Forte's find, the smaller device has a 720p display, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. A 4-megapixel camera is also reportedly included.

The HTC One has been a key driver of growth for the handset maker. Last month, HTC announced that it sold about 5 million units worldwide in its first month of availability. The device's popularity has helped spur renewed interest in HTC products and boosted the company's financial performance to its highest point in 11 months.

Forte didn't say when the HTC One Mini might launch, and until the company confirms it's actually that device, the report should be taken with a grain of salt.

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From DailyTech: Samsung has announced a new rugged addition to the Galaxy family: the Galaxy S4 Active. The Galaxy S4 Active has an IP67 rating for dust and water protection, and is also fully sealed against water damage for up to 30 minutes at a depth of up to three feet. The smartphone’s earphone jack is even water resistant to keep water from damaging the phone without having to use a plug or flap to cover it (a la the Sony Xperia ZR).

The Galaxy S4 Active uses a 1.9 GHz quad-core processor (2GB RAM) and a 2600 mAh battery for power. The LCD measures five-inches and is full HD resolution with 443 ppi. The screen of the smartphone is also designed to be usable in cold weather while you're wearing gloves.

The smartphone supports GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, and runs Android 4.2.2 for the operating system. Internal storage is 16 GB and a memory card slot allows for storage expansion.

Other features include an eight-megapixel rear camera that can record video and take still shots. The camera even has an Aqua Mode to enhance your ability to take video and still images underwater.

The device also supports Air Gesture technology allowing users to change music tracks, scroll web pages, and accept a call by waving a hand over the screen.

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From DailyTech: Dell announced big changes to some of its flagship laptops and desktops at Computex in Taipei today -- and even introduced a few new peripherals to sweeten the pot.

Dell said the updates affect its XPS line (XPS 27, XPS 8700 and XPS 12), its Latitude line (Latitude E6540) and its OptiPlex line (OptiPlex 9020).

The XPS 27 All-in-One PC now features a Adobe RGB Quad HD display, which allows users to experience more vivid multimedia. The XPS 8700 and the XPS 12 have gained speed upgrades, where the XPS 12 alone has received a 63 percent overall performance increase. The XPS 12 is now 1.6 times faster and has two more hours of battery life from the previous generation (now 8 hours and 43 minutes).

The Latitude E6540 has received a major security boost with a FIPS 140-2 certified TPM and Dell Data Protection, which features malware protection, file-level encryption and advanced authentication.

The OptiPlex 9020, which comes in four form factors, can now be cloud enabled with the Dell Cloud Desktop feature. This feature, powered by Dell Wyse WSM, is a fully incorporated desktop and application virtualization technology.

The XPS 27 AIO and XPS 8700 are available today, but the XPS 12 convertible laptop, Latitude E6540 laptop and OptiPlex 9020 desktops will be here in "the coming weeks."

Dell also announced a few new peripherals, including the 21.5" Touch Monitor S2240T (with full HD resolution) and two new multifunction printers: the B1165nfw and B1265dfw. Both desktop printers offer wireless networking capabilities and document management software with the ability to print, scan, copy and fax. Another printer -- the B1163w, a 3-in-1 multifunction printer -- will also make its way to the public in August this year.

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From X-bit Labs: Creative Technology has announced the new Creative Senz3D interactive gesture camera, introducing an immersive multi-dimensional gaming, video conferencing and voice control experience for PC enthusiasts and early adopters. The cam uses technologies co-developed with Intel Corp. and relies on software development kit designed by the latter.

Creative Senz3D combines advanced depth sensor technology with a camera and dual array microphones to deliver a new multi-dimensional interactive experience. Its 3D sensing technology is able to enhance facial recognition and also extract a person's image for various applications.

Users can play PC games using hand and finger gestures to control and interact with characters and environments. In addition to a variety of games and applications that ship with the Creative Senz3D, users will experience a robust bundle of software which enables interactive video conferencing, voice control of a PC, creation of video blog environments, and much more.

"As long time innovators in the PC space, we are excited to join forces with Intel to introduce an entirely new way for people to interact with their PCs – a way that appeals directly to the senses. The Creative Senz3D provides a glimpse into the future of PC interaction, whether you're playing casual games using hand gestures, searching the Internet and interacting with social media by using voice commands, or video conferencing with more quality and customization than ever before," said Long Chye Low, general manager for audio and video at Creative.

Beyond the included software bundle, future unique and compelling applications are currently under development via an engaged community of developers who are working to further define how people interact with the PC. The interactive gesture camera was initially made available to developers in conjunction with the Intel perceptual computing software development kit (SDK), 11 000 copies of which have been downloaded. This community is already at work to create new applications using the SDK for the Creative Senz3D that will be available on-line at Intel AppUp center.

"Perceptual computing will reshape how people interact with their devices by adding human-like senses, making computing experiences natural, intuitive and immersive. The Creative Senz3D camera enables new interactive experiences including finger-level gesture articulations, speech interface, face tracking, and amazing new visual applications developed on the Intel Perceptual Computing SDK. We are excited to work with Creative to bring the promises of perceptual technologies to market," said Mooly Eden, senior vice president of Intel.

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From X-bit Labs: Although Intel Corp.’s Pentium and Celeron processors have addressed very entry level markets for around seven years now, they featured the same micro-architectures as high-performance chips. As it appears, Intel’s new low-cost/low-power Silvermont micro-architecture is so efficient that eventually could power Pentiums and Celerons in addition to Atom-series products.

“Because of the advancements and flexibility of the ... Silvermont microarchitecture, we can customize the Bay Trail feature sets and develop variants of Bay Trail that will power a new crop of computing products at a variety of price points,” said Kathy Gill, a spokeswoman for Intel, in a conversation with IDG News Service.

As is known, the first breed of platforms based on Silvermont will include Bay Trail-T (tablet), Bay Trail-M (mobile) and Bay Trail-D (desktop) versions. If Bay Trail-T will likely continue to carry Atom brand, then the other chips will be available under the Celeron and Pentium brands, brining low-cost/low-power micro-architectures into a more expensive product segment.

Intel Pentium brand is twenty years old, whereas the Celeron is fifteen years old. For seven years Intel’s top-of-the-range microprocessors carried Core brands and then Core i brands. Nonetheless, customers continue to like the good-old microprocessor names. Thanks to usage of modern micro-architectures, both Celeron and Pentium have so far offered “good enough” levels of performance. However, Silvermont, which is designed to be low-power and inexpensive, may not be enough for complex productivity and multimedia workloads.

“We have Celeron and Pentium products today based on our Ivy Bridge microarchitecture; we are not ready to disclose additional details on Haswell plans at this time. […] The goal is to offer our customers the broadest selection of form factors, features and experiences at a range of price points,” said Ms. Gill.

It should be noted that Intel did not say that there will be no Celeron and Pentium products based on high-performance micro-architectures going forward.

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From CNET News.com: Lenovo told its shareholders in a statement Tuesday that it's in talks with a smartphone maker to engage in a possible joint venture.

"The Board would like to inform the shareholders of the Company and potential investors that the Company is in preliminary negotiations with a party in connection with a potential joint venture transaction," Lenovo wrote (PDF). "As at the date of this announcement, no material terms concerning the Potential Transaction have been agreed and the Company has not entered into any definitive agreement in relation to the Potential Transaction."

The business-speak aside, Lenovo confirmed that the other company is "a party on smartphone business." Whether that means it's a smartphone maker or some other firm is unclear.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Lenovo has had designs on increasing its presence in the smartphone market. And it seems that nearly every time those rumors crop up, they're followed by a report claiming to come from a "source" that suggests Lenovo was considering making a bid for BlackBerry.

In January, when such a report surfaced, Lenovo CFO Wong Wai Ming wouldn't confirm that his company was in talks with BlackBerry, but he did acknowledge that Lenovo was "looking at all opportunities," adding that executives would have no problem making a deal "if the right opportunity comes along that could benefit us and shareholders." That was followed in March by a comment made by Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing, who said that Lenovo was open to acquiring BlackBerry.

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From DailyTech: HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) had good news and bad news on Monday.

The good news for the embattled Taiwanese OEM is that it appears to be pulling back from the edge of fiscal ruin. Its May revenue hit NT$29.0B ($971.5M USD unaudited) versus NT$91.4B ($3.06B USD) for the first four months of the year. The sharp jump in revenue comes as sales of the HTC One heat up. Overcoming production difficulties, glowing reviews helped drive 5 million sales of the 1080p Android handset on its first month on the market.

The revenue numbers are almost back to where HTC was in 2012 (NT$30.0B or $1.00B USD), early in the company's slump. The May sales mark was nearly triple the abysmal February 2013 sales low of NT$11.4B ($381.3M USD).

The potentially bad news is that the company has lost another executive, the latest in a string of high profile departures. This time the casualty is Chief Operating Officer Matthew Costello, who spent less than three years at the firm. Mr. Costello is being shuffled to HTC's Europe office where he will serve as an executive advisor.

The phonemaker listed the reason for the shuffle as "personal family reasons". Over the past two years HTC has also lost its finance, design, and marketing chiefs.

HTC's vice president of engineering and operations, Fred Liu, will be taking on Mr. Costello's responsibilities, expanding his role. Mr. Liu is a veteran, having been with HTC since 1998 and serving as a VP since 2006.

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