devices

A rather noteworthy firmware update arrived yesterday for the PlayStation Vita in Japan, just weeks before the device is set to debut in the U.S. on February 22.

Vita can now shoot MP4 video (1.5Mbps) at 640x480 resolution with supplementary audio-recording support up to 128Kbps AAC. This is not HD-quality by any means, but it will probably look above-average based on the strength of Sony's mobile-camera sensors. There's a note of an improvement to "Featured Photo," which now supports video content.

We also spotted an optional Content Manager Assistant app for Vita (available now in English for PC and Mac) that lets you run a system update and transfer and/or back up data between the Vita and a computer. … Read more

Spending on technology around the world managed to rise last year, despite economic woes in Europe and a severe hard-drive shortage, research firm IDC said yesterday.

Overall, IT spending rose just 5 percent in 2011, but that proved to be a healthy gain in the face of worldwide challenges.

The 5 percent figure was calculated using constant currency, a method that does not take into account fluctuations in the exchange rate. In U.S. dollars, the picture was even rosier, with tech spending rising by almost 9 percent last year.

A surge in demand for smartphones, tablets, and software kicked … Read more

If solar startups Alta Devices and Semprius were in the server business, one would be developing a deluxe high-powered server while the other would be stringing thousands of Linux boxes together. Both approaches, though, are showing promise at bringing the cost of solar power down.

Alta Devices today said it set the record for the most efficient solar cell, able to convert 23.5 percent of sunlight into electricity. The University of California at Berkeley spin-out said the efficiency mark, verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is a step toward commercializing its novel solar technology.

The company is making … Read more

To get in the mood for this one, I've put on an old favorite, a deep bass track by Dead Prez. It turns out the song's title, and main refrain--"It's Bigger Than Hip Hop"--applies to the power of music in a very literal sense as well.

The acoustical vibrations that are particularly pervasive in the heavy bass lines of hip-hop penetrate our bodies and can then be captured and stored as electricity to power implanted medical devices. Researchers out of Purdue have built a device, which they are unveiling at the IEEE MEMS conference in Paris … Read more

There's a case to be made for convergence devices, and for merging every product down to just one. The iPad, in many ways, has been that device for me: I travel light, I read or watch movies or play games or surf the Web on it. It's a security blanket and a thin catchall.

Still...I bought a Kindle. … Read more

Though Advanced Micro Devices will not be inside branded ultrabooks, it is making a play for that market. Will consumers care which chipmaker is inside?

The quick answer: yes, if you're price sensitive. "They'll come into a market behind Intel and then do what they do at a lower price," said Deron Kershaw, an analyst at Gap Intelligence.

Ultrabooks are skinny, light laptops that attempt to combine the portability of a tablet with the productivity of a laptop.

How low can AMD-based systems go? "Our...solution will enable a full featured, high-performance user experience well … Read more

Last year Apple managed to get 676 patents awarded to it by the U.S. Patent Office, and 2012 is showing no signs of Apple slowing down. In its latest application, Apple is proposing technology that would control a 3D interface using touch-free motion-based gestures on your iOS device.

The concept of controlling a device with motion is, of course, not a new one. Microsoft's Kinect has proven the technology to not only be practical and applicable, but popular as well. But that technology is for a gaming console connected to your television in the comfort of your home.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--We all want a peek at the future of electronics, and we all like to think that it's just around the corner. Often, it is. But let's not get past ourselves.

If there's one trend we've had enough of here at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, it's the "smart" product. Manufacturers can't help but throw the term around to describe virtually any electronic device that can transfer data to another. They also can't resist using the term to describe an improved user experience or new operating system.

I'm here … Read more

Quanta has sued Advanced Micro Devices over a defective chip used in an NEC laptop.

Quanta Computer, the world's largest contract manufacturer of laptop computers, sued AMD for breach of contract, alleging the chipmaker sold defective products, as first reported by Bloomberg.

The suit is centered on the ATI RS600ME, an integrated graphics solution, an AMD spokesperson told CNET. Integrated graphics chips include other circuitry and also act as a chipset, which supports the main central processing unit or CPU.

"AMD and its ATI Technologies Inc. unit sold chips that didn't meet heat tolerances and were unfit … Read more