PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Here’s our roundup of the latest hardware, components, peripherals and products from the tech and IT channel announced this week.
MSI VR BACKPACK PC
Unveiled at Computex, the idea of the backpack is to resolve VR cabling issues. So instead of gamers having to worry about cables between devices and the PC, the whole computer is worn in a backpack. The MSI VR backpack is thought to cost between $2,000 and $5,000 at launch. It uses a custom motherboard with i7 CPUs, an MXM GTX 980, and weighs about 5kg. The battery is 24 cells and derived from two GT 80 laptop batteries – this provides around 60-90 minutes of VR gameplay and up to five hours of non-gaming use.
ACER’S FIRST 4K HOME PROJECTOR
Acer unveiled its first 4K projector for home use at this year’s Computex show. The Acer 4K UHD V9800 home theatre projector has native 3,840 by 2, 160 resolution, UHD up-scaling, rec 709 colour gamut, sRGB mode, and the ability to operate at a low noise level of 20 dBA.
BBC MICRO:BIT
A mini-computer that UK schoolchildren have turned into watches, stepometers and musical instruments has now been released for general sale across the UK. The BBC micro:bit, which has been handed to 800,000 youngsters free of charge, can now be bought online. The device features 25 red LED lights that can flash messages and two programmable buttons that can be used to control games or pause and skip songs on a playlist. It can also detect motion and uses a low energy Bluetooth connection to interact with other devices and connect to the internet.
RAIJINTEK PASSIVE AIO LIQUID COOLER
PC components and accessories maker Raijintek demonstrated a passive liquid cooler at this year’s Computex. The closed loop AiO cooler has no moving parts. Instead, the heatsink warming up induces the specially formulated cooling fluid to flow around the loop. This means the system doesn’t require a pump, resulting in a more quiet operation and let chance of parts failure.
LIAN LI DK-04 STANDING DESK PC
Case manufacturer Lian Li has built a PC chassis/desk combo that can be lowered and raised for both sitting and standing positions. The DK-04 can house PC components in an aluminium tabletop. It has vents on the rear of the desk for the hot air to dissipate, and comes with eight expansion slots, up to ten hard drive bays and four USB 3.0 ports.
HP PRINTING SOFTWARE
HP has announced new mobile and business intelligence software to help business IT managers make their print environment more mobile, secure and productive. New offerings include mobile print software that makes printing from mobile devices to printers on a corporate network easy and accessible, as well as new business intelligence tools that help IT understand and optimise their printer fleets for better performance.
LOGITECH PARTY COLLECTION MOUSE RANGE
Logitech has introduced the 2016 Party Collection of mice. Inspired by the ‘80s Memphis style of design that emphasises bright, contrasting colours and graphic patterns, the festive Party Collection is an over-the-top mash-up of favourite things including watermelon, flamingos, popsicles and other energetic patterns. The mice last up to 12 months on a single battery, are compatible with Windows, Mac OS, Chrome OS and Linux. The range is expected to be available in June for a retail price of £19.99.
MOVER KIT: EDUCATIONAL WEARABLE FOR KIDS
The Mover Kit is an intuitive way for kids ages 8 and over to learn the fundamentals of electronics, programming and solve problems creatively. Created by Technology Will Save US, the kit can be built straight out of the box and enables kids to create their own apps.
DELL INSPIRON 2-IN-1 RANGE
Dell has announced a new line of Inspiron 2-in-1 devices, including the Inspiron 17 7000 2-in-1, the world’s first 17-inch 2-in-1 laptop. The completely refreshed 2016 Inspiron 2-in-1 line-up offers something for everyone, whether it’s a premium 7000 Series, a mainstream 5000 Series, or an entry-level 3000 Series, they are ideal for students heading back to school, aspiring entrepreneurs and families seeking an affordable solution to meet their everyday computing needs.
DYNAMODE SSD ENCLOSURES AND BRACKETS
Dynamode has introduced three new low-cost SSD enclosure products. The SSD-H-USB3.0 has a SuperSpeed USB3.0 hub of up to 5Gbps and an industry-standard 2.5” drive bay for almost any 2.5” SSD or HDD storage devices. The newly developed SSD-HDD2.5 gives extra functionality complete with the benefit of on-line, hot swapping capabilities as is the SATA interface standard. Fitting into almost any 3.5” drive single drive bay as found in the majority of desktop, gaming and server computers, the high density design allows up to two 2.5” devices to be fitted with ease. Lastly, the SSD-PCI is a non-conductive, plastic polymer design chassis which is designed to fit into almost any vacant PCIe slot as found in most systems today.
PANASONIC 7-INCH TOUGHPAD TABLET REVAMP
Panasonic has increasing the performance of its rugged Android tablet, improving the management capability and building in more business flexibility into the 7-inch Toughpad FZ-B2. Equipped with the latest Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Quad Core processor (2MB cache, 1.44GHz up to 2.4GHz) and running the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-B2 fully rugged tablet delivers a 32% performance improvement over its predecessor with an enhanced battery life up to 8 hours in the same lightweight (540g), slim (18mm), ergonomic and fanless design.
SYNOLGOY DS416PLAY UPGRADE
Synology has upgraded ita popular 4 bay ‘Play’ model, the DS416play, which is the successor of the DS415play. It is the first model in Synology’s Value series product line to adopt the Intel Celeron N3060 Dual Core CPU, with faster CPU frequency that can burst up to 2.48 GHz and comes equipped with 1GB DDR3 memory size. The Synology DiskStation DS416play is available worldwide with an RRP of £372.
STARTECH.COM THUNDERBOLT 3 TO THUNDERBOLT ADAPTER
StarTech.com has announced the availability of the first Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt Adapter on the market, which bridges new Thunderbolt 3 PCs to Thunderbolt & Thunderbolt 2 peripheral devices. This gives users the ability to connect their Thunderbolt 3 PCs to the broad ecosystem of Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 devices.
