Nokia has introduced three new handsets (which will be available in October) into the mid-range market and they are the Nokia 6120 Classic, Nokia 6500 classic and Nokia 6500 slide.

The Nokia 6500 Classic is a 9.5mm thin phone that features dual band 3G technology and quad band GSM for worldwide roaming. It also comes with 1GB of internal memory as wekk as a 2 megapixel camera with dual LED flash. It also uses a unified mini-USB connector for charging, handsfree and syncing. The 6500 Slide on the other hand coems with a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss Optics, as well as autofocus, dual LED flash and 8x optical zoom. Finally the 6120 Classic is a HSDPA enabled phone which comes with a 2 megapixel camera, 4x digital zoom flash and panorama mode.

The phones will be available from all Nokia dealers by October and estimated prices will range between RM1000-RM1800. 

Read on for the phone specifications. 

Motorola has released its MOTO Q 8, an all-in-one device that merges business with pleasure. It features a full QWERTY keyboard, and combines business productivity applications via Windows Mobile with multimedia entertainment. From stereo Bluetooth wireless technology, rich audio sound, a 1.3 megapixel camera, fast Internet connections, convenient WiFi through optional miniSDIO card connectivity and the ability to view and edit Microsoft Office documents from anywhere in the world 2,3 -- Motorolas claims that there is no need to compromise when you can have it all in one device.

The MOTO Q 8 is available in the market with a RRP of RM1,799 and is distributed by authorised distributor Brightstar Distribution Sdn Bhd.  

Read on for the specifications. 

The World Cyber Games 2007 Malaysia Championship concluded on 9 September 2007 with new champions to represent Malaysia in the Grand Final at Seattle, USA in early October.

The following were the winners in the respective category and they will represent Malaysia at the Grand Final of the World Cyber Games 2007, Seattle, USA:

* FIFA Soccer 2007 - Rinie Bin Ramli aka [W|nDs]si_jali

* Need for Speed: Carbon - Sophian Shahirul aka FoRza

* StarCraft: Blood War - Foo Ming Keet aka JamesFoo

* WarCraft III: Frozen Throne - Yan Meng Choon aka Paul Yan

* Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars - Goh Wen Loong aka [r0r1]Alpha

* Half-Life: Counter-Strik - Team Hybrid (Graham Matthew Chin Sie Weng, Sanjay Ananthrajah, Surendran Selvarajah, Leong Khaw Jin and Abdul Azim Bin Yazid)

Head over to Multiplay for the full coverage. 

Whether they’re having another day at the office or enjoying downtime at home, Windows Live Messenger users are now just a click away from exploring a virtual world as Microsoft Casual Games partners with GoPets Ltd to launch GoPets on Windows Live Messenger.

Inhabited by pets that owners can create and customise, the virtual GoPets world on Windows Live Messenger offers an environment to explore, casual games to play, groups to join and countless ways to express individuality. The relationship between Microsoft and GoPets Ltd brings about the unique integration of a virtual world into an instant messaging (IM) service.  

“GoPets on Windows Live Messenger takes instant messaging to the next level of 3-D interactivity,” said Barrie Ooi, Regional Product Manager for Microsoft Online Services Group SEA. “Teaming up with GoPets enables us to provide the Windows Live Messenger network with this new social networking experience.”  

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.0 has hit off the coast of southern Sumatera at around 7.10pm local time. The tremors have been felt across the Klang Valley area as well as some parts of Johor, according to our forum members. Reports from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta have confirmed the quake, and a tsunami warning has been issued. More reports coming up as soon as we get them.

D-Link International, the world's leading supplier of network products, unveils the newest member of the Network Storage range  - the D-Link 2-bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-323). It offers all of the essential features required to share documents and files across the network. "The DNS-323 expands our range of network storage equipment that provides the industry's latest technology at an attractive price. At the same time, it protects past investments through interoperability with existing network equipment," said Mr George Wong, Marketing Director of D-Link International Pte Ltd.

Cost Saving and Investment Protection

With Serial ATA and RAID support, the DNS-323 supports up to 2 internal Serial ATA drives for maximum compatibility. RAID 1 technology ensures that important files are backed up regularly to mirrored hard drives while a built-in FTP server makes accessing stored files over the Internet easy.

The D-Link DNS-323 is available through authorized retail, reseller, and distribution partners at the Suggested Retail Price of RM599. Current promotion price is RM499 while stock last.

Apple Inc. has reported that it has sold its one millionth iPhone on Sunday, just 74 days after its introduction ahead of its expectations to hit the mark by the end of September.

Interestingly this came less than a week after CEO Steve Jobs apologized for cutting the price of the iPhone. Those who bought the phones early were annoyed at Apple for announcing a price cut barely 3 months from the phone's launch. They will however receive credits amounting to USD$100 from Apple.

The 8GB iPhone which originally sold for USD$599 was reduced to USD$399 while the 4GB version which sold for USD$499 will be phased our completely. So Apple now that you've reach your sales target, when will you be launching it over here?

Seagate has launched nine new products, which focus on data security and increased capacity to meet the explosive worldwide demand for all types of digital content. Among the innovative products are new Maxtor storage solutions that provide simple and automatic backup, encryption and a “bare metal system restore” – all featuring updated industrial designs.

Seagate also announced the first 1 terabyte (TB) hard drive with full disc encryption for strong data security; capacity increases of up to 60GB for the Seagate D.A.V.E. (Digital Audio Video Experience) technology platform, and up to 1TB for its DB35 Series hard drives for DVRs and home media centers and the SV35 Series digital video surveillance hard drive. 

The products launched included Seagate’s new Maxtor OneTouch 4 family which consisted of the Maxtor OneTouch 4, the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus, and the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini. The new releases also included Seagate's • Barracuda FDE hard drives, Momentus 5400.4 hard drives and the Cheetah 15K.6 hard drive.

Logitech has launched its Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks. The mouse’s plug-and-forget nano-receiver provides highly mobile notebook PC and MacBook users with a mouse that simplifies life on the road. Because the USB receiver is so small and is nearly flush with the notebook, people no longer need to constantly plug and unplug it when moving from place to place.

To maximize productivity, the VX Nano mouse features the MicroGear Precision Scroll Wheel. When the wheel is in hyper-fast scrolling mode, people can fly through long documents with the flick of a finger. To shift to the precise, click-to-click scrolling mode, people need only press and click the scroll wheel.

The VX Nano will have a suggested retail price of RM299.00. 

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) today introduced the Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ processor, the world’s most advanced x86 processor ever designed and manufactured and the first native x86 quad-core microprocessor. Designed from inception for the most demanding datacenters, Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor-based servers from global OEMs and system builders can deliver breakthrough capabilities to customers in a time of dramatically escalating performance-per-watt emphasis.

Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors with AMD’s revolutionary Direct Connect Architecture introduce innovations that go beyond four x86 processing cores on a single die of silicon. Critical considerations for today’s most challenging business requirements inspired Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor innovations: energy efficiency with a 50 percent increase in integer and floating-point performance, enhanced virtualization performance, and investment protection via a customer-centric approach enabling non-disruptive transitions from dual- to quad-core within the same power and thermal envelopes to help keep infrastructure costs down.

“Today marks one of the great milestones in microprocessor achievement as AMD again raises expectations for industry-standard computing,” said Hector Ruiz, chairman and chief executive officer, AMD. “We’ve worked closely with our customers and partners to design a new generation of processing solutions embodied by today’s Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor – a four-way winner in performance, energy efficiency, virtualization and investment protection. Early customer response has been extremely positive.” 

 Microsoft’s premier and largest annual conference Tech.Ed SEA 2007 was officially opened today, and will once again be the learning and training centre for some 2,300 technopreneurs, IT administrators, software developers, and software architects from more than 30 countries. Themed “Turn doing your job into making your mark,” this edition of Tech.Ed aims to sharpen focus on core and critical IT and programming skills that will enable developers to get technical training, information and resources to help them build, deploy, secure, mobilize, and manage solutions.

Microsoft Corp.’s Southeast Asia President Chris Atkinson

At the official opening of Tech.Ed SEA 2007, Microsoft Corp.’s Southeast Asia President Chris Atkinson said that the decision to bring Tech.Ed back to Malaysia was based on the robust and vibrant growth of the software economy in Malaysia. “Microsoft is delighted to bring Tech.Ed back to Malaysia this year; from the number of participants who have signed up for the conference it is quite clear that it continues to be recognised by our partners as the premier industry conference for the ICT industry. Tech.Ed is not merely about introducing new Microsoft technology and software, but also sets the next wave of the technology agenda which makes it an event developers and IT professionals around Malaysia and the Southeast-Asia region look forward to," he said.

Tech.Ed SEA 2007 will feature 120 breakout sessions across seven key tracks, namely Windows Infrastructure; Office, Messaging, and Collaboration; Systems Management; Enterprise Data Management; Architecture & Team Development; Developer Technology; and Web Development & User Experience.  

Intel Corporation has unveiled the industry’s first quad-core processors specifically designed for multi-processor (MP) servers running applications requiring uncompromised performance, reliability and scalability. The six new Quad-Core Xeon 7300 series processors can deliver more than twice the performance and more than three times the performance per watt over the company’s previous generation dual-core products. They complete the company’s speedy transition to its innovative and energy-efficient Core™ microarchitecture. This platform’s energy-efficient performance, coupled with enhanced virtualization capabilities, will enable customers to significantly lower their total cost of ownership.

The energy-efficient 7300 series includes frequencies up to 2.93GHz at 130 watts, several 80-watt processors and a 50-watt version optimized for four socket blades and high-density rack form factors with a frequency of 1.86GHz. The Intel 7300 chipset with Data Traffic Optimizations provides a balanced platform design with several new technologies that enhance data movement between the processors, memory and I/O connections.

By delivering the benefits of the Intel Core Microarchitecture with quad-core performance and Intel Virtualization Technology to these high-end servers, Intel is providing customers with an ideal platform for virtualization and server consolidation. In addition to twice the cores, the 7300 series and Intel 7300 chipset offer up to four times the memory capacity of Intel’s previous MP platforms, enabling very large consolidation ratios that can reduce space, power and operation costs. 

The Malaysian Qualifiers of the World Cybergames Championship or WCG kicks off in Mid Valley today and will end by tommorow. Come on over to check out our local gamers compete with each other and vie for a place in the grand finals in Seatlle, USA. There are also various booths dedicated to gaming and gaming hardware setup all over the hall. Remember to head down to the Lowyat.NET booth and get your LYN t-shirts. Read on for more pictures on the event.

Also check out Multiplay for live updates on event scores, pictures and on the site updates from WCG Malaysia. 

Nokia recently unveiled the Prism collection, its latest range of mobile phones aimed at style-conscious consumers. The Prism collection consists of the Nokia 7900 Prism and the Nokia 7500 Prism, handsets which combine individual style and state-of-the-art technology.

Nokia Prism collection is highlighted by cutting-edge colors, materials and graphics. Its signature diamond-cut design, featuring sharp angled lines, geometric patterns and graphic light-refracting colors, ensure these models stand out in the mobile phone market.  

The Nokia 7900 Prism is not yet available in the market whereas the Nokia 7500 Prism is now available in the market at a recommended retail price of RM1049. 

BenQ Corporation is pleased to announce that it has commenced its new operation following successful completion of the spin-off plan to separate its branded and manufacturing business. BenQ, a branded company after the separation, will continue to sell and market products under the BenQ brand name.

BenQ will remain headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. The company has a paid-in capital of NT$3.62 billion with revenue expected to exceed NT$100 billion in 2009. At the initial stage, BenQ will be 100% owned by Qisda Corporation. Qisda will gradually reduce its shareholdings in BenQ while BenQ explores options for strategic partners and investors.

With a total of more than 2,000 talents from over 40 nationalities, and branch offices in 28 countries worldwide, BenQ will continue to market products that contribute to the company’s mission of Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to Life. BenQ products are available in 100 countries; its product portfolio includes digital projector, LCD monitors, LCD TVs, digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop PCs, storage devices, media and human interface devices such as mice and keyboards.