Photo: Adobe

Adobe’s had a very busy few months, releasing the critically lauded Creative Suite 5. But the big news has been around the future of Adobe’s Flash platform, with a certain high-profile tech leader saying the service is past its prime. Nevertheless, Adobe press on releasing Flash Player 10.1 for PC, with Android and other smartphones to follow soon behind, in addition to making some very bold predictions about the future of Flash.

PC gets to play first

Adobe Flash Player 10.1 is available on PC, Mac and Linux right now, with the Android version due to follow sometime in June and expansion to other mobile phone platforms a little later, too. Adobe description of its later player reads: ‘Flash Player 10.1 includes numerous media quality improvements and is ready to take advantage of upcoming media delivery technologies to provide new ways to deliver rich media experiences and create new business models’.

Bold predictions

Adobe also predicted that Adobe Flash 10.1 (and beyond, of course) would be available on over 250 million mobile phones come 2012. How’s that for a bold claim? In addition, the company’s soothsayers predict that 53 per cent of all smartphones sold in calendar year 2012 will have Adobe Flash built in. Confidence or hubris?

The question, really, is what is the probability of this? Given historical data, the chances are surprisingly fair. Adobe has entrenched market share and a massive chunk of the online video player market. Though Jobs has decreed flash a dying platform, users are clearly clamouring for it on their mobile phones. Furthermore, the prediction that H.264 as a stand-alone format will completely replace Flash’s .flv format is as yet unseen.

What do you think? Is Flash, with its historically resource intensive operability a good fit for mobile phones or is this overkill for a dying platform?

A-Data Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM module and flash memory products worldwide has come up with a new C902 Super Thin Mini USB Flash Drive.

With the advancement of technology, electronic devices are becoming highly sophisticated and smaller in size. A-Data Technology’s new C902 product, not to be mistaken with the Sony-Ericsson C902, is one of a kind. The capacity ranges from 2GB to 16GB. It is compact and weighs only 2 grams which facilitates to access or backup important data whenever and wherever needed. C902 offers additional software such as UFDtoGo unlike a regular USB 2.0 flash drive. UFDtoGo software provides PC-lock, data compression, Portable Outlook or Outlook Express or Windows Mail, favorites synchronization, Desktop, Folder to Folder and My Documents synchronization, multilingual user interface. It is available in 17 different languages.

The A-Data C902 is compact and data can be carried handily. The A-Data C902 has a trendy design and is very handy as it can be attached to a key chain or mobile phone. It is available in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB as required. The A-Data C902 is not only a storage device, but also a trendy statement. Combining practical functionality and trend-appealing design, the C902 reflects the unique taste for fashion.

Recently, Micron Technology Inc, a world leading provider of advanced semiconductor solutions has released its new suite of NAND software solutions called NANDcode to bolster the mobile device designers in implementing NAND technology into their applications. NAND is the main storage medium used in today’s handsets and is primarily used to store boot code, call logs, contact information, web caching, photos, music and other multimedia content.

The Micron’s NANDcode family of software solutions can be used with all major mobile operating systems including Windows Mobile 6, Linux, Symbian and others. This means the innovation can benefit every smartphone use, from the iPhone, to the G1 Google phone, to the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. The NANDcode software solution will offer the mobile designers better development process and they will be able to make better use of Micron’s ONFI-standard single-level cell (SLC) NAND technology. The mobile technology is advancing day by day. Cellular phones are not longer a simple bar type communication devices. Consumers expect laptop-like performance and features in their smartphones. So, it’s important to have a better NAND implementation.

To make the phones take full advantage of the Micron’s NAND the NANDcode family has got an advanced Flash Translation Layer (FTL) and flash drivers. The FTL is the key factor that will improve the NAND lifespan. Apart from this the flash drivers will now work hand-in-hand with the phone’s processor to improve the performance via data caching schemes and dual-plane operations. The NANDcode also features advanced security features.

Eric Spanneut, director of mobile memory marketing for Micron commented, “We have specially designed the NANDcode software to work with our flash memory, delivering better performance than competing solutions in the market. In addition to supplying customers with our trusted NAND technology and expertise, we are now also enabling mobile handset manufacturers to streamline their design process by utilizing Micron’s NANDcode software.”

Tags for this article: mobile, smartphone, software

Ever wanted to be a spy? Like almost everybody else, have you ever wanted to have a gadget that looks like something normal and inconspicuous but is actually full of secret tools? If yes, then Brando has got something really fascinating for you. The company has just released its Spy Pen exclusively for those who want to live their spy fantasies. In real life if you don’t get a stylish Tuxedo and Aston Martin loaded with missiles and killing gadgets you can at least grab the Spy Pen to hold the crowd around you.

Spy Pen is the latest member to join the Brando’s stealth devices family. Apart from being a normal pen it also packs a spy Pocket Audio/Video recorder, MP3 player and Flash Drive. You can secretly shoot video at 352 x 288 pixels in popular .avi format. It can also be used to record audio and offers a flash based storage capacity of 4GB. It is truly worthy of any James Bond movie. Moreover, you can also connect it to any computing machine sporting a USB interface and transfer exchange all the files between the two. The Spy Pen has got a built-in lithium ion rechargeable battery that can offer a working juice of 2 hours.

Because of its diminutive form factor the Spy Pen can be easily slipped into the pocket. It measures only 148 x 18mm and weighs just 43 grams. The outer body has given proper finish and shape and it looks like a glamour pen that is fit to show off in high profile meetings and gatherings.

Numonyx, a company formed as a result of joint venture between Intel and STMicroelectronics, has unveiled its new line-up of flash memory devices for consumer electronics such as mobile phones, USB drives, digital cameras, MP3 players and much more. The company has manufactured the Multi Level Cell chips using its latest 41-nanometer manufacturing process. These chips can be used in Solid State hard drives (SSDs), multimedia cards, memory cards and microSD flash memory cards. These MLCs are available in 16 and 32 GB capacities.

As the demand for smartphones and other portable computing devices increases, it becomes necessary to come up with high performance chips. Embedded MultiMediaCards or MMCs, like the Integral MMC 1 GB, and microSD cards are used in most of the portable devices. Numonyx has targeted its new MMCs for use in mobile phones, GPS navigators and set-top boxes and its microSD MLCs will be used in mobiles, cameras, cam-coders and similar devices. Numonyx’s MMCs are available in capacities ranging from 2GB to 32GB and the micro SD ranges between 2GB to 8GB. The company said that the samples of the new product line-up will be launched in January for device manufacturers. Hopefully, the new NAND flash memory devices will be far better than the existing ones.

Tags for this article: intel, memory, flash

You must have seen a variety of flash drives with different colours, shapes and designs imprinted on them but the two new entrants by LaCie will definitely make you feel distinctively amazed due to their coin shaped designed. That’s right, the two new flash drives called CurrenKey USB flash drives (where curren implies the currency) redefine the art and craft for portable memory drives completely. Unlike other rectangular flash drives, the CurrenKey USB flash drives incorporate a round shape for the first time and look exactly like a contemporary coin.

These are designed by the 5.5 designers exclusively for LaCie. The two CurrenKeys differ from each other with respect to colour, storage capacity and of course, price. One of them can accommodate 4GB of data and is available in bronze finish at a price of £19.99 whereas the other can hold 8GB of digital media and features a silver finish. You can get it at a price of £34.99. But both are obviously far behind the LaCie Brick Desktop Hard Drive 500GB in terms of storage capacity, although they make up for this deficiency with slimmer sizes, an interesting design, and low price. Both the flash drives can be opened by rotating the coin’s edge and plugged in to any Windows PC, Mac or Linux machine. Shock-proof, die-cast metal is used in making of these flash drives which gives it extreme endurance against hard drops, knocks and shakes. So you will never end up frustrated because of crashed data.

World class mobile phone chip designer, ARM has entered into a technical collaboration with Adobe recently. According to the new deal, the Adobe Flash Player 10 and Adobe AIR will be optimised for ARM powered devices that are set to launch in the near future. These devices will include lots of gadgets like smartphones, set top boxes, mobile internet devices, televisions, automotive platforms, personal media players and lots of other mobile computing devices. This technical innovation will be used for the ARM11 and CORTEX A-series of processors that use ARMv6 and ARMv7 architecture respectively.

This partnership of the two technical giants began because of the Open Screen Project by Adobe whose main objective is to deal with the current challenges in web browsing on a variety of screens by optimising the hardware acceleration. A majority of chipset manufacturers including Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Broadcom and NVIDIA use ARM11 and Cortex A-series of processors. These processors are found in most modern mobile phones, including the recently released HTC Dream G1 Google Phone that is powered by a Qualcomm processor. This broadens the scope of Adobe Flash player 10 as it indicates that the player will be optimized for the future smartphones. The combination of Adobe Flash player 10 with the hardware graphics and media accelerators will lead to unprecedented performance in web browsing on a variety of devices. This combo will initiate a new action packed odyssey in mobile computing in late 2009.

Tags for this article: mobile, nvidia, smartphones

SanDisk, the world leader in USB flash drives manufacturing, has come up with a new and innovative idea of producing Secure USB Flash Drives, which will not only store your data, but also protect it. The need for having such flash drives was felt when in July 2008 an administrator at the Harris County (Texas) Hospital District lost her USB drive containing sensitive data such as the personal details of customers. According to a study conducted by SanDisk, 77 percent of corporate personnel use flash drives for their day to day official work and there is no doubt that these flash drives are open to data theft.

SanDisk is now offering USB flash drives which provide security at various levels. Companies and individuals can choose any of them as per their requirements. The new flash drives, such as the Sandisk Cruzer Professional 2GB, features hardware-based data encryption, password protection, anti-malware detection, strong authentication, and central management. Following are the new drives which have great security parameters:

SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise: It is a password protected flash drive which implements access control on all the files and store them in hardware-encrypted, password-protected partition.

SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise Secure USB with McAfee Malware Protection: Similar to the previous one but it also offers automatic, device-resident malware scanning which keeps it protected against malicious code.

SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise FIPS Edition: It has got FIPS 140-2 level 2 certification for encryption. Instead of waiting for the users to secure their data it automatically imposes mandatory access control on the files and stores them in a secured partition having the strongest 256-bit hardware-based AES encryption.

Central Management and Control (CMC): It is a management console for the Cruzer flash drives which can be used for the setup, password recovery, data backup and drive termination.

SanDisk Cruzer Professional: Features security parameters that do not require management via CMC and deploys 256-bit AES hardware based encryption that is independent of OS, password protection and device lockdown.

Up until now you must have seen and tried lots of USB sticks for storing your data, but did any of them offer sufficient space to carry your entire DVD, audio, photo and media collection? I’m guessing no. But now it’s possible to accomplish this as Kingston, the world leader in USB drive technology, has launched its new USB 150 DataTraveler drive.

These new drives have an incredible storage capacity of 32GB. The drive is durable, light weight and carries a trendy sports look. It is made from hard plastic and available in an Orange colour with small white spots on it. At one end there is a protective cap for protecting the main USB interface from damage, dust and water, while back end has an eyelet that can be used to attach the supplied thread loop and connect it further to your key chain.

Despite being a somewhat large USB stick with measurements of 77.9mm x 22mm x 12.05mm, it is still a very attractive portable gadget with its large disk space. The Kingston DT150/32GB DataTraveler DataTraveler 150 32GB is a frontrunner performance wise too. The data transfer rate is quite good and satisfactory, while the small blue coloured LED adds to its style.