Blockbuster has introduced the 2Wire MediaPoint digital media player, offering movie fans instant access through their television sets to thousands of titles from the latest movie releases to classic favorites.

The MediaPoint player is being offered free with advance rental of 25 Blockbuster OnDemand films for $99. After the initial 25 rentals, movies will be available for as little as $1.99 each.

The MediaPoint digital media player works seamlessly with any broadband connection, either wirelessly via built-in Wi-Fi or wired via Ethernet cable. The player uses progressive playback, not streaming, so the video quality is consistent irrespective of the internet connection. Movies can be played right away or saved to watch later. Additionally, the player supports HD video content and can be connected to HDTVs. It can be integrated seamlessly into home entertainment systems through composite cable, HDMI, component cable, or Toslink.

"The MediaPoint digital player, featuring BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND, is entertainment made easy. We are bringing Blockbuster, and the thousands of movies in our digital library, straight to customers' televisions," said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO. "The player is simple to use, delivers DVD quality video, and there's no monthly subscription commitment.”

Link: Blockbuster

Nokia has announced a smart home platform, Nokia Home Control Center, offering the basis for next generation security, smart home solutions and household energy management systems.

Nokia Home Control Center is based on an open Linux based platform enabling the home owner to build a technology-neutral smart home that can be controlled with a mobile phone, using a unified user interface. Nokia says it supports the most common smart home technologies, including Z-Wave. It allows third parties to integrate their own smart home solutions and services.

It will allow consumers to monitor and control their electricity usage, switch devices on and off, and monitor different objects, such as temperature, camera, and motion. In future, entire systems within the home can be connected to the Nokia platform. All solutions based on Nokia Home Control Center can be used through a smart phone or PC locally or remotely.

"We see there is growth potential in the smart home market", said Teppo Paavola, Vice President, Head of Corporate Business Development, Nokia. "The home of today has intelligence everywhere, but to date there has not been a solution that is interoperable with wide range of home systems that can easily be controlled. We believe that the mobile device is an ideal interface to control home intelligence, especially when the user is not at home."

Nokia expects the solution to become commercially available by the end of 2009.

Link: Nokia

According to a survey, more than 50% of all business travellers have confidential company data on their notebook and 65% do not take any security precautions at all against loss or theft. As the number of notebooks with sensitive data being stolen is increasing rapidly in recent years, Fujitsu Siemens Computers has offered its latest security package based on the latest anti-theft technology from Intel and Computrace.

The complex anti-theft protection, that uses the security solutions SystemTrack and DataProtect, meets the increasing requirements of its customers for effective security concepts and company data protection. It will be available as an option in select ESPRIMO Mobile models and in the Lifebook T5010 and Lifebook E8420.

The users are required to register their laptops with the Computrace Customer Centre. In case of a theft or a loss, the customer can report to Computrace Customer Center directly by telephone or online, just like the loss of a credit card. While the SystemTrack tracks stolen hardware in real time and detects its location as soon as the device is connected to the Internet or Intranet, DataProtect is used for particularly sensitive data.

The support desk can access the system and save the confidential data centrally in the system or completely delete the data. If the device is returned to the customer, he can remove the protection and boot the system again using a special password.

FSC says the anti-theft protection solution will be available in selected models from the first quarter 2009.

Link: Fujitsu Siemens

Toshiba has reinforced their memory card line-up with the launch of a 16GB microSDHC card. Toshiba further announced the addition of ultra fast read/write 8GB and 16GB SDHC cards to its line-up.

Weighing 0.4g, the 16GB microSDHC card supports class 2 SD speed with a maximum write speed of 6MB per second. It can store 270 hours of music at a bit rate of 128kbps.

All of the new SDHC memory cards comply with the SD memory standard Ver. 2.00. The two new SDHC cards support class 6 ultra fast read/write speed with a maximum write speed of 20MB per second.

Toshiba says the mass production of the new SDHC cards will start in December, while the production of new microSDHC card is slated to start in January 2009.

HP has brought the multi-touch technology to consumer notebooks with TouchSmart tx2.

Described by HP as the industry’s first convertible notebook PC with multi-touch technology designed for consumers, TouchSmart tx2 is build upon the touch innovation developed by HP for its TouchSmart desktop PCs.

The tx2 gives customers the choice to set aside the keyboard and mouse in favor of a more natural user interface - the fingertip. The HP MediaSmart software suite on the tx2 allows users to more naturally select, organize and manipulate digital files such as photos, music, video and web content by simply touching the screen.

With the ‘capacitive multi-touch technology,’ the tx2 enables the use of gestures such as pinch, rotate, arc, flick, press and drag, and single and double tap. The convertible design with a twist hinge allows consumers to enjoy the TouchSmart in three modes: PC, display and tablet.

Hp’s tx2 is powered by the AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor or AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor and is built on Windows Vista Home Premium. It offers a 12.1-inch diagonal BrightView LED display.

The HP TouchSmart tx2 is available for ordering in the U.S. with a starting price of $1,149.

Link: HP

Sultry star of Quantum Of Solace, Olga Kurylenko, is the kind of sexy Bond girl fodder that you would come to expect from the long-running series, but the actress, and her character, are anything but the status quo.

Asus has launched its latest and highest performing Intel X58gaming PC, the ROG CG6190.

The ASUS ROG CG6190 is the world’s first highest performing consumer desktop platform featuring Intel Core i7 CPUs and X58 chipsets to allow gamers to experience even higher levels of speed and performance. The Core i7 delivers 52% faster processing speed in 3D gaming applications than the previous generation Quad Core platform.

The Asus CG6190 can be configured with up to 12GB RAM and 4TB SATA HDDs. It supports both NVIDIA 3-way SLI and ATI CrossFireX graphics.

The CG6190 is equipped with a built-in biometric fingerprint scanner, a unique 2-kilowatts dual power system and customized liquid cooling modules for non-stop sustainability. The SupremeFX X-Fi Audio Card provides support for 3D nine virtual speakers.

The unique exterior design of the CG6190 is inspired by ancient and modern armor with both Eastern and Western influences.

There is no word on release date or pricing yet.

Link: Asus

Samsung has announced that it has started mass producing 256 GB solid state drives for use in notebooks and desktop PCs.

With sequential read rates of 220MB/s and sequential write rates of 200MB/s, these 256 GB SSDs offer highest overall performance in the personal computer industry. Erase cycles are a rapid 100GBs per minute, allowing the whole drive to be re-written much faster, when needed.

The new drive consumes 1.1 watts of power versus two or more watts for a comparable HDD, while delivering outstanding reliability and durability. Samsung claims the 256GB SSD launches applications ten times faster than the fastest 7200rpm notebook HDD.

"Getting our exceptionally high performing 256GB SSD in a notebook is analogous to having a 15,000rpm drive, without all of its size, noise, power and heating drawbacks," said Jim Elliott, vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.

Samsung says the 256GB SSD's advanced performance can be attributed to a new, optimized, single platform design consisting of a chip controller, NAND flash and special drive firmware developed by Samsung.

Link: Samsung

Logic3 has introduced a hybrid vacuum tube amplifier and speaker combo with ‘killer looks and rich, fearsome sonics’.

The amplifier and iPod dock are built into a single chassis. The amplifier has a steel body with a mirror finish, while on top, a steel cradle dock houses the iPod, leaving exposed valve tubes and a view meter that lights up in time to the music. The sleek piano black speakers are designed to complement the overall style. The speaker grills can be removed by user to show the drivers at work.

Logic3 promises 80 watts of clear and undistorted sound, as the hybrid vacuum tube amp balances out the sound of MP3 music files and eliminates noise distortion to deliver a warm harmonic sound.

The included remote allows users to control all of the Valve80's audio properties as well as iPod functionality. You can recharge & listen to your iPod, view iPod video content via component or S-video outputs. 2 x RCA inputs also allow the connection of other external audio devices.

The Valve80 is expected to be available in December for £299.

Link: Logic3

TiVo has teamed up with Domino's to offer its broadband connected subscribers the pizza on demand. Tivo subscribers can order pizza for delivery or pick-up, and track delivery timing, right from their TV sets using the TiVo service.

The subscribers can access their Domino's Pizza order from various advertising entry points on the TiVo user interface where they have to click on “Order Your Dominos Pizza Now.

TiVo subscribers can set-up a user name and password on Dominos.com so that they can simply log-in with a simple account number while placing the order. They can also enter their delivery address, build their pizza order right from the television set by selecting type of crust, toppings, and sauces, and get the pizza delivered by their local Domino’s Pizza.

Karen Bressner, Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales, TiVo Inc said, “With just a few clicks of the remote, TiVo users can pause their program, order a pizza, and then sit back, relax, and return to their favorite show without missing a single second. Now, TiVo delivers the absolute best television viewing experience…and a pizza.”

The new service is offered free to all broadband connected TiVo subscribers and supports both delivery and pick-up orders. Viewers are required to pay in cash when the pizza is delivered.

Link: Tivo

Toshiba Storage Device Division has introduced a half-terabyte HDD, the flagship model in MKxx55GSX series of 5,400 RPM, Serial-ATA (SATA) 3.0 Gb/s 2.5-inch HDDs.

Available in capacities from 500GB to 120GB, the super-quiet and durable series is targeted for integration into notebook PCs, sub- notebooks, small form factor and energy star PCs, game consoles, printers and external storage devices.

Toshiba claims the MKxx55GSX drives are nearly inaudible during operation, with some models performing close to the threshold of human hearing, due to advanced servo techniques combined with mechanical design of the drives.

"The acoustic performance renders these HDDs nearly inaudible, which is ideal for home entertainment applications, while the durability features appeal to mainstream mobile PC users. This family of products offers a comprehensive storage solution for integration into a wide range of applications," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing at Toshiba Storage Device Division.

The 500GB MK5055GSX achieves a 20 percent improvement in energy consumption efficiency during operation over previous generation 2.5-inch products. The new MKxx55GSX series also offers free-fall sensor (FFS) options to enable the HDD to respond to drop events, providing additional protection to mobile devices if they are disturbed during operation.

The pricing has not been revealed yet but Toshiba expects to begin shipping in production volumes to OEMs and distributors in December 2008.

Link: Toshiba

Vers has introduced the new Vers 1.5R radio/alarm clock for iPod. Finished by hand, each Vers system takes over a week to build and each one is unique.

Slightly more compact than the company’s Vers 2X system, the 1.5R is designed with wood selected from managed plantation sources, 100% post-consumer recycled packaging materials and energy-efficient components.

The precision digital tuner, large, backlit LCD, and 15 watt full range speaker give the Vers 1.5R big system features and sound quality in a surprisingly compact package.

"We have to give credit to our customers for the 1.5R idea," says David Laituri, co-founder of Vers. "They asked for a compact AM/FM/iPod sound system with the natural 'Vers sound,' so we built it for them. We think of it as a 'hybrid' design, since it's a great bedside sound system, but really works well in any room of the home."

It plays and charges all docking iPods (except generation 3 iPod). It comes with an 18-function IR remote. Users can choose to wake to AM/FM radio or to music in their iPod.

Available in Cherry, Natural Walnut, Dark Walnut, Bamboo, Black Gloss and White Gloss, Vers 1.5R is priced at $200 -$220 depending on the finish.

Link: Vers