The drive promises decent performance from Intel’s first 20 nm NAND flash SSD. The drive is rated for up to 42,000 IOPS in 4kb reads and 52000 IOPS for writes. The drive also has 500 MB per second sequential reads and 450 MB per second sequential writes.

While Intel is bragging about a consumer friendly price for the SSD, its official pricing is unknown. The drive will be available in retail stores and online globally as of today.

In the run up to the highly anticipated launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 later today, the company has announced that it will be offering a free Media Centre Pack for Windows 8 Pro users for a limited time.

Microsoft revealed that the free Media Center Pack would be available from today until January 31st 2012, to consumers who purchase or upgrade to Windows 8 Professional.

If you are considering upgrading to Windows 8 today, you might be pleased to know that the upgrade for Windows 8 Pro (Pack) is available to purchase for $39.99 ($69.99 for disc version) until January 31st 2012  as well. Microsoft Stev ... Read more »

Dell has this week announced that their new Dell XPS 10 Windows RT Tablet is now available to pre-order starting at $500, with shipping commencing during December of this year.

The Dell XPS 10 Windows RT Tablet is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, and is loaded with Microsoft’s Windows 8 RT operating system.

Together with a 10.1 inch touchscreen, sporting a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, 32GB or 64GB of internal memory, and 2MP front-facing camera, a 5MP rear camera.

Other features include 802.11n WiFi, and Bluetooth connectivity, and Microsoft Home Office & Student 2013 RT already installed on the device. The Dell XPS 10 Windows RT Tablet 64GB model starts at $599.99, with other bundles available at $679.99 for a model with 32GB of storage a ... Read more »

The new Fujitsu Stylistic Q572 Windows 8 tablet, is equipped with a 10.1-inch IPS touchscreen display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, that also supports active pen inputs.

The Stylistic Q572 Windows 8 tablet is powered by a 1GHz AMD Z-60 dual-core processor, supported by up to 4GB of RAM and can be equipped with either a 64 or 128GB solid state disk (SSD).

Other features of the Fujitsu Stylistic Q572 Windows 8 tablet include Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, front facing 0.9 megapixel camera and rear facing 5 megapixel camera. Together with a microSD card slot, HDMI connection, 2 ... Read more »

Microsoft has today confirmed that their new Xbox SmartGlass companion application will officially launch as an integrated part of their new Windows 8 operating system later this week.

The new Xbox Smart Glass companion application will be a new addition to the Games section of Windows 8 as well as devices running Windows RT. Watch the video after the jump to see how SmartGlass has been designed to function.

Xbox SmartGlass is a free to download application which has been designed for Windows 8 and RT tablets and PCs, Windows Phone 8, iOS and Android devices, and converts them into smart second screens capable of controlling the entertainment on your Xbox 360 console. Microsoft explains:

"And we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible. In the future, new ... Read more »

Microsoft has announced a new version of Microsoft Office 365, it will be called Office 365 University and will be designed for students, and it will launch in the first quarter of 2013.

Microsoft Office 365 University Edition will retail for $79.99 for a four year and two computer user license, or as Microsoft points out about $1.67 a month for Office 365 and its cloud tools.

Microsoft Office 365 University Edition will have the following features.
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher;

20 extra gigabytes of storage on Skydrive, for a total of 27 gigabytes. Every Skydrive user gets 7 gigabytes for free.

60 Skype ‘world minutes’ per month. This will be nice for students studying abroad, and could provide a gateway to getting more Sk ... Read more »

In the run-up to the launch of Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system, LG has this week unveiled a couple of new additions to their range in the form of the new all in one Windows 8 V325 PC, together with their new LG H160 Windows 8 sliding tablet.

The new LG all in one desktop PC is equipped with a 23 inch touchscreen display, that supports 10 finger multitouch gestures, and is powered by a Intel Core i5 processor, supported by NVIDIA GeForce GT640M graphics providing support for 3D viewing.

The Windows 8 LG V325 PC is also equipped with a dedicated TV tuner which enables the system to be used as a stand-alone TV when required. Without the need to boot the PC into its Windows 8 operating system.

LG’s H160 Windows 8 sliding tablet is equipped with an 11.6 inch LCD IPS touchscreen display providing 178 degree viewing angles, together with 1 x USB, 1 x HDMI port, microSD card ... Read more »

Gigabyte has announced a new addition to their range of tablet devices this week, with the unveiling of the new Windows 8 S1082 tablet. Which is equipped with a 10 inch 1366 x 768 pixel capacitive multitouch display and is expected to go on sale on October 26th, when Microsoft launches its new Windows 8 operating system.

Gigabyte’s latest Windows 8 tablet is powered by a Intel 1.1 GHz Celeron 847 dual core processor, support by up to 8GB of RAM, and can be fitted with either a 500GB HHD or a 256GB solid state disk (SSD).

Other features of the new Gigabyte S1082 include 2x USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, and an SD card slot. When the Gigabyte S1082 arrives on October 26th its is expected to be priced between $600 – $800.

Gigabyte is ... Read more »

In a surprising reveal Toyota has unveiled a concept skateboard prototype which is equipped with a Microsoft Kinect motion sensing camera and a Windows 8 tablet.

The new concept has been created by Toyota to demonstrate the technology that the car manufacturer may possibly be integrating into its vehicles in the future.

Using the Kinect camera and Windows 8 tablet riders can control the speed of the skateboard by the motor using just hand gestures ,and movements in front of the Kinect motion sensor.

"You’re moving your hand, and you’re controlling the motor,” says Jason Schulz, Toyota Motor Sales strategic partnerships manager. "We’re taking it out of the virtual and making it real. That’s pretty fantastic.” ... Read more »

Over the weekend Microsoft released a new video campaign for its Windows 8 operating system, which will be launching later this month on October 26th, 2012.

Now Microsoft has released the first video advert for its new Surface Tablet, which will also be running their new Windows 8 operating system once officially launched. Watch the video after the jump to see it in action.

Unfortunately the advertising doesn’t unveil any specific details about the hardware within the new Microsoft Surface Tablet, but it does show a gl ... Read more »