By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

UPDATE: Editor’s note: Corrected typo in battery life of Asus Eee PC 900, and error in screen resolution of Asus Eee PC 701. Thanks to our readers for the heads up.

THEIR product may sound like a cross between a shriek and a car screech but Taiwanese firm Asustek shook up the ultra mobile PC (UMPC) business last year by launching the Asus Eee PC 701. While it is technically not a UMPC, the Eee PC proved to be a most convenient and marketable device in this market segment.

Barely a year after the launch, Asus wants to take on the UMPC market again by launching the Eee PC 900, which only has a few differences from the previous model except for bigger RAM (1 gigabyte on the 900 series compared to 512 megabytes for the Eee PC 700 series) and a higher-capacity solid-state drive (SSD), a feature that makes the device even more appealing as it lengthens battery life compared to regular hard disks with moving parts. Both the 900 and 700 series still use 900-megahertz Intel Celeron-M processors. The first Eee PC models have 2GB and 4 GB SSDs while the new Eee PC 900 has 12GB and 20GB models.

Here’s a video of Vivian Hung, Eee PC product manager for Asustek Asia Pacific, showing the new Asus Eee PC 900.

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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

CANON has recently introduced a new line of camcorders aimed at spurring video enthusiasts to go high-definition. T

Canon’s new HD camcorders are the mid-level HF100 and the higher model HF10. Both feature AVCHD (advanced video codec high definition) recording at 1920×1080 pixels (2 megapixels) and record sound in 2-channel Dolby Digital. The two also have a solid-state drive of up to 16 gigabytes, one of the first camcorders to use internal flash-based memory storage. Likewise, the to also have separate SD card or MMC card slots that could accommodate high-capacity flash cards.

Here’s a video interview I conducted with Canon Southeast Asia assistant systems manager for Consumer Imaging Mohamad Yazid Bin Ali, who gave a demo of the HF10.

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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

DESPITE the almost non-existence of high-definition signals in the Philippines, Samsung is expecting that the growing demand for audio-visual equipment would push their latest product lines that are geared toward the HD market.

Samsung is already introducing its first Blu-ray standalone player to complement its widescreen displays. HD refers to high resolution digital image processing, usually by LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs, plasma panels and some projectors. Current broadcast signals are still in analog standard resolution, normally at 480p (progressive) and an aspect ratio of 4:3. However, HD can produce better images of up to 1080p with 16:9 aspect ratio.

Samsung Philippines president Spencer Shim said he is confident the company will be among the key drivers in the HD space, citing its performance in the Asian region where it said it had sold about 600,000 widescreen displays in 2007.

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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

SEAGATE and Creative are the only two Singaporean IT brands that have name recall in the Philippines. However, an upstart firm wants to join its Singaporean brethren.

Axioo International is the latest OEM (original equipment manufacturer) notebook to enter the somewhat saturated laptop market. Nevertheless, the company is confident that there is a market for their product in Asia, including the Philippines.

Here’s a video interview I conducted with Axioo International managing director Stephen Lim, who talks about the Singapore-based company’s decision to launch its laptops in the Philippines.

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By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

CHILL. Blossom. Streak.

Can you imagine calling your Dell notebook by those names?

Apparently, these are the new names of three of the eleven colorful notebooks unveiled by Dell Inc., as it announced that it is entering the Philippine consumer market.

Where did they get the names? Evan Williams, Dell consumer sales and marketing general manager for South Asia, said he is not sure how these names came to be. But he’s sure that they were partly influenced by Dell’s “risky move” of relying on consumer feedback when designing their products.

Check out this video interview I conducted.

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