Intel is previewing its latest PC platform the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, codenamed “Gulftown” the first 32nm, six-core processor with 12 computing threads. The 3.33GHz processor will have 12MB of L3 cache, and 130W TDP. According to Intel, the processor will offer 30-50 percent performance gain over previous top-of-the-line quad core desktop processors. And reviews posted by websites like Hot Hardware, Anand Tech and PC Perspective add weight to that claim by calling the new Core i7 980X the fastest desktop processor available. Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition is priced $999 and systems based on the new processor should come to the market by end of this month.

Also, ZD net claims that Mac Pro based on the new Core i7-980x processor will be introduced on Tuesday, March 16th. The website posted that “Apple is set to revamp its high-end Mac Pro line, adding a hexacore Core i7-980x model to the lineup”. But our sources say that Apple won’t use the newly announced desktop processor in the Mac Pro lineup and will continue using Intel Xeon processors in the lineup. Apple is planning to update the Mac Pro lineup soon and will use Xeon server processors as they have done for past 4 years.

It was believed that Apple would start shipping the new iPad by end of March, but the company announced today they would ship the iPad few days later on April 3. Recently, analyst Peter Misek speculated that hardware issues might cause delay in iPad launch. However, John Gruber of Daring Fireball says software and not hardware was behind the delay. He wrote on this blog:

In other iPad related news, ChangeWave has published their latest research findings related to upcoming iPad launch. According to ChangeWave, even though Amazon Kindle  has a major head start with 68 percent market share, iPad is poised to profoundly shake up the e-Reader market. The survey by ChangeWave shows that Apple iPad will capture 40 percent market share within 90 days of launch and Kindles market share will fall from today’s high of 68 percent to about 28 percent.

ChangeWave says, “In short, while the iPad launch is likely to strengthen overall e-Reader demand, the survey suggests Amazon and its competitors could well find themselves relegated to playing catch-up within just a few quarters if they don’t preemptively move quickly to upgrade their own e-readers.”

It has been rumored that NVIDIA’s upcoming graphics cards based on Fermi architecture will outperform ATI’s top of the line graphics cards. And a video posted by NVIDIA lends some creditability to those rumors. In the video, synthetic test of Uniengine shows  that maximum frame rate of both GTX 480 and HD 5870 are almost same. However, GTX 480 offers much faster performance under high stress in DirectX 11 games. The NVIDIA card produced 40 frames per second under high stress, whereas ATI Radeon HD 5870 was only able to offer choppy 20 fps. According to Electronista, GTX 480 will be faster for games offering DirectX 11 features like tessellation to dynamically add details. Also, GTX 480 will have better support for general computing than ATI Radeon HD 5000 series, as Fermi architecture is designed to offer native hardware support for OpenCL and CUDA.

Apple today announced iPad will be available in US on Saturday, April 3 for WiFi models and in late April for WiFi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK in late April.

Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

“iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the US for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB.

NVIDIA today introduced next generation NVIDIA Ion graphics processor that delivers 10x faster graphics and up to 10 hours of battery life for Intel Atom netbooks. NVIDIA achieves combination of longer battery life and higher performance by using their new Optimus technology, which automatically selects the best graphics processor for running any given application – seamlessly routing the workload to either an NVIDIA discrete GPU or Intel integrated graphics.

The NVIDIA GPU paired with Ion 2 platform is GeForce G210, which will have 16-core for nettops and 8-core unit for netbooks. The Ion 2 will bring HDMI, 1080p Blu-ray playback, HD flash video playback and mainstream gaming on netbooks and nettops based on Intel Atom processors. Companies like Acer, Asus and Lenovo will start shipping systems using NVIDIA Ion 2 in April.

Drew Henry, General manager of GeForce and Ion GPU said, “If you want a netbook with the horsepower to play HD video and PC games, your only choice is ION. The new ION netbooks deliver an unbeatable combination of performance and battery life. We continue to raise the standard for what a netbook should be.”

The video below shows the performance difference between a standard Intel Atom netbook and a netbook using NVIDIA Ion 2 GPU.

Intel’s next generation processor architecture for laptop codenamed Sandy Bridge will be launched in Q4 2010. Intel hasn’t provided much information about the architecture but Hardmac has posted two small pieces of the information:

Intel will ship processors based on Sandy Bridge architecture by end of 2010.

Sony released cameras based on their new Exmor R back-illuminated CMOS sensor last month. According to Sony, the new sensor will allow better low-light photography, high-speed image processing, decreased power consumption and better HD video recording. The company has now published a paper highlighting the technological advancements made in designing the new image sensor.

In the paper, Sony says that Exmor R CMOS sensor was developed to offer high-speed imaging with lower sensitivity to noise ratio. And the new sensor offers sensitivity characteristics that are improved by approximately a factor of two from current front illuminated image sensors by adopting a newly developed back-illuminated structure.  Sony explains:

Sony says that in future back-illuminated CMOS sensors will offer even further improvements in speed and performance as they make it possible to use multi-layer metal wirings and arbitrary transistor structures. You can read the whole PDF of the paper here.

Along with Sony many other companies like OnmiVision are developing back-illuminated CMOS sensors for devices like cellphones and webcams, which would bring better image quality to those devices also.

V-MODA has launched Remix Remote in-ear headphone with integrated three-button remote and high fidelity microphone for use with devices like iPhone, iPod and Mac notebooks. The headphone features remastered drivers and redesigned soft silicone fittings to enhance ergonomic and audio performance for the users. The all metal construction and Kevlar reinforced cable increases durability while giving premium looks to the headphone.

"Great in-ear headphones are a result of a fanatical passion for the skill, art and love of music. We've spent years researching and fine-tuning our headphones alongside world-renowned musicians and DJs, and Remix Remote is our best product yet in terms of pure sound, rock solid durability improvements, ergonomics, and value," said Val Kolton, V-MODA CEO and founder, independent DJ and producer. "In our modern lifestyle we listen to our music on headphones more than at home, in the car or at clubs. It is my goal to recreate the sound and sensations of an epic sound system anywhere and anytime, fused with the fashionable design V-MODA is known for."

The V-MODA Remix Remote headphones are available now for $99.99 and you can get more information about the headphones here.

Ars Technica speculates that Apple has kept mum about their A4 processor, as there isn’t anything to write home about. Jon Stokes of Ars Technica believes that the A4 processor is based on ARM Cortex-A8 design and not the latest ARM Cortex-A9. He wrote:

He further adds A4 is almost like Cortex A8 SoC available on the market today, except A4 has even less hardware. A typical A8 SoC (image below) has infrared block, three UART blocks for serial communication, four USB blocks, keypad controller and other blocks. Whereas, iPad only requires blocks for 30-pin connector and multitouch input. Apple can just use UART and USB blocks removing other blocks from the chip design.

Jon also speculates that Apple probably ditched dedicated image processing blocks, as iPad comes without still or video camera. He says “with one 30-pin connector on the bottom and no integrated camera of any kind, the A4 needs a lot less in the way of I/O support than comparable chips”. The A4 chip is thus a combination of GPU, CPU, memory interface, security hardware, system hardware and few I/O controllers.

We agree with Jon that if Apple used Cortex-A8 design for A4 chip they would have decreased the number of I/O blocks to make the chip more efficient based on Apple’s needs for iPad. But we don’t believe that Apple ditched image processing blocks, because the camera is just one of the many functions image processing unit supports. Also if Apple is going to base their next generation iPhone on A4 like chip they can’t remove such an important part.

Many tech websites are also reporting that they have heard Apple is using A8 design for iPad, and most of our sources also agree. But one of our sources says that Apple might be using A9 core in the A4 chip, however he is not sure about the information.

Intel is planning to add two new Core i7 desktop processors and one Core i7 Extreme Edition mobile processor to the lineup. Intel’s first six-core desktop chip Core i7-980X will come in March and offer 3.33GHz clock speed, 12MB L3 cache and up to 3.6GHz Turbo Boost. The Core i7-980X would be top performing desktop chip for Intel and should cost around $1,000.

The second desktop chip that Intel will ship next month and which is already available on some European retailers is quad-core Core i7-930. The 2.8GHz processor will replace 2.66GHz Core i7-920 processor. It will offer 8MB L3 cache and 3.06GHz Turbo Boost. The Core i7-930 will be priced around $350 when it officially ships next month.

The top-of-the-line laptop processor Core i7-940XM will offer 2.13GHz clock speed making it the most powerful mobile processor from Intel. But the power hungry quad-core processor will have a TDP of 55W making it impossible to fit in most laptops. It will have 8MB L3 cache and 3.33GHz Turbo Boost mode. Intel will ship the Core i7-940XM in Q3 2010 priced around $1,000.
[Via Electronista]