Manufacturer NewsBy News Reporter

Philips 28-inch 4K Ultra HD Monitor Debuts

New Philips UltraClear Display makes images and graphics come alive The PhilipsUltraClear Display debuts today, combining 4K UHD high resolution with a color depth of 1.07 billion colors to deliver brilliant performance, screen clarity and detail with four times the resolution of Full HD. Whether you require extremely detailed information for CAD-CAM solutions, use 3D graphic applications or are a financial wizard working on huge spreadsheets, this Philips display will provide UltraClear 3840×2160 pixel images to meet the visual demands of the most sophisticated power user. The 28-inch monitor (model 288P6) is also ideal for those seeking superb onscreen clarity and color accuracy for personal applications, and includes built-in stereo speakers for multimedia and MHL technology for easy mobile device […]

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Corsair Cherry MX RGB Mechanical Switches Debut at CES 2014

The MX RGB Project: 100% mechanical keyswitches with per-key 16.8 million color backlighting in the most amazing gaming keyboard you’ve ever seen. At CES 2014, California-based Corsair and Germany-based Cherry Corp. are debuting the “MX RGB Project” gaming keyboard. The technology showcase , based on a Vengeance K70 gaming keyboard fitted with new Cherry MX RGB keyswitches, gives gamers a first look at the vast customization and game enhancing benefits of per-key 16.8 million color backlighting. In the second half of 2014, Corsair will bring the concept to life by launching the world’s first Cherry MX RGB-based gaming keyboards. The new keyboards promise to give gamers all of the precision, feel, and reliability of Cherry MX-based Corsair gaming keyboards enhanced […]

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spz 01 Antec SPZero Bluetooth Wireless Speaker Review
AccessoriesBy Joe Gulczinski

Antec SPZero Bluetooth Wireless Speaker Review

Antec Mobile Products (A.M.P.) is a division of Antec, a market leader in PC hardware. A.M.P. designs devices that not only change the way people experience life through their mobile devices, but do it in a style that it is attractive and durable. Benchmark Reviews has recently had the opportunity to examine one of A.M.P.’s latest products, the SPZero: a Bluetooth portable speaker with it’s own proprietary speaker driver.

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ML04 31 SilverStone ML04 Milo HTPC mATX Case Review
CasesBy Tom Jaskulka

SilverStone ML04 Milo HTPC mATX Case Review

Benchmark Reviews was recently given the chance to sample the Milo ML04 HTPC micro-ATX case from SilverStone. Possibly an under-appreciated corner of the PC case market, a good home theater case can provide a subtle home for some powerful components. With computers making a gradual shift from the office to the living room and form factors steadily decreasing in size, HTPC cases can offer a home for an older, re-purposed office machine or a sophisticated enclosure for a dedicated media box. Part of the entry-level Milo series designed to offer the full size features of the Grandia series in a smaller size, will SilverStone’s SST-ML04B fulfill the special requirements of an HTPC platform? Why not just use any old computer case and set it in the living room? Let’s take a look and find out if the ML04 is a better option.

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CM Storm MECH Angle 2 CM Storm MECH Mechanical Keyboard Review
PeripheralsBy Hank Tolman

CM Storm MECH Mechanical Keyboard Review

If you haven’t heard, yet, mechanical keyboards are making a comeback in a big way. Nearly every peripheral manufacturer out there has line of them. But why are we going back to mechanical keyboards, which were popular in the early days of computing and then fell out of style? Should you consider investing a mechanical keyboard? They are typically more expensive than what we might consider a normal, or common keyboard. In this article, Benchmark Reviews takes a look at one of Cooler Master’s CHERRY MX Brown Switch mechanical keyboards, the CM Storm MECH.

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Roku TV Announced at 2014 CES

Roku Inc. today announced Roku TV, a new generation of Smart TVs designed to give consumers a simple entertainment experience in a complex connected world. The company plans to license the new reference design platform and software stack to manufacturers to build and distribute Roku TV models. TCL and Hisense are the first partners and Roku will show their Roku TV models tonight at Pepcom’s Digital Experience media event. “I’m very excited about our partnerships with TV manufacturers and the first Roku TV models planned for release this fall from TCL and Hisense.” TCL is the third largest global TV manufacturer in the world and shipped nearly 12 million TVs in 2012, accounting for five percent of the worldwide TV […]

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Philips 27″ Gaming Monitor with NVIDIA G-SYNC Released

Advanced Philips gaming display that eliminates tearing, stuttering and lag debuts at the 2014 International CES The Philips 27″ Gaming Monitor with G-SYNC debuts today bringing a stunning visual experience and ultra-smooth play to gamers looking for a serious competitive edge. This advanced Philips gaming display (model 272G5DYEB) delivers revolutionary performance through NVIDIA G-SYNC, a new technology that synchronizes display refresh rates to the PC’s GPU, eliminating screen tearing and minimizing display stutter and input lag. With G-SYNC, images display the moment they are rendered, scenes appear instantly, objects are sharper, and game play is smoother.

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Seagate Backup Plus FAST High-Capacity Storage Device Launched

Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) today introduced Backup Plus FAST portable drive; the world’s first portable 4TB storage device, providing twice the capacity and speed of existing external portable drives. This new Seagate® Backup Plus FAST drive features a superspeed USB 3.0 interface to deliver transfer speeds up to 220MB per second, making it the perfect companion for a field photographer or filmmaker looking to quickly move large files to backup. “With Backup Plus FAST, Seagate has taken a very mature product category and has delivered innovative enhancements to address the real world challenges of our customers,” said Scott Horn, vice president of global marketing for Seagate. “The performance and capacity of this new portable drive is beyond that of […]

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LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2 Portable Storage Solution Debuts

Today, LaCie announced the Little Big Disk Thunderbolt™ 2 at the 2014 International CES® Show. The new LaCie Little Big Disk, one of the first storage solutions enabled by Thunderbolt 2, is the fastest portable storage solution on the market. It delivers speeds up to 1375MB/s, which is several times faster than any mobile USB 3.0 hard drive. In addition to its industry-leading performance, LaCie worked with designer Neil Poulton to bring a cutting-edge look to the product. For the first time, the Little Big Disk features a sleek, black finish to its fully aluminum enclosure. Perfect for no-compromise video professionals, the new LaCie Little Big Disk permits streaming and editing of 4K or 3D video while in the field […]

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Seagate Backup Plus Slim External Hard Drive 2nd Gen Announced

New Dashboard Software Adds Support for Mobile Devices Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ:STX) today announced the second generation of its sleek external storage lineup, Seagate® Backup Plus Slim. With a svelte compact design and superspeed USB 3.0 interface, the Backup Plus Slim drive is the ideal storage solution to aggregate and back up valued photos, videos and other files despite being spread across numerous devices, social networks and personal computers. This new offering includes the backup software, Seagate Dashboard, which made the first generation of Seagate® Backup Plus drives so popular. The Seagate Dashboard software provides an easy one-click backup solution, but can also be set as a scheduled backup up as needed. Additionally, the Dashboard software will back up Facebook […]

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TRENDnet TPL-420E2K Powerline 1000 Adapters Announced

TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today from the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, is excited to announce a new Powerline 1000 or Gigabit class of Powerline solutions, with the launch of the Powerline 1000 Adapter Kit, model TPL-420E2K. “Powerline 1000 effectively doubles the speed and possibilities of Powerline networking,” stated Zak Wood, director of global marketing of TRENDnet. “TRENDnet’s TPL-420E2K is designed to easily handle multi-HD streams in a busy connected home.” TRENDnet’s TPL-420E2K is built around Qualcomm’s QCA7500 chipset and delivers Gigabit class networking over existing electrical lines. The backbone of Powerline 1000, or the HomePlug AV2 standard, is Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Powerline technology. For the first time, Powerline products use […]

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LG ULTRA HD TV Lineup to Debut at CES 2014

Company to Showcase Highly Anticipated Models with Upgraded Picture and Sound LG Electronics (LG) will unveil a comprehensive ULTRA HD TV lineup at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from January 7 – 10, 2014. Last year, LG won over the crowds with a collection of ULTRA HD TVs equipped with advanced features and enhanced picture quality. At this year’s CES, the company will raise the bar once more, highlighted by the world’s first 21:9 aspect ratio CURVED ULTRA HD TV (Model 105UC9) with a screen measuring a remarkable 105 inches diagonally. “Our newest ULTRA HD TV offerings are going to turn a lot of heads at this year’s CES,” said In-kyu Lee, Senior Vice President and […]

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LaCie Fuel Wireless Hard Drive for Apple Devices Launched

Today, LaCie announced Fuel: a go-anywhere wireless hard drive for iPad®, iPhone® and Mac®. Without requiring Internet access, the LaCie Fuel™ adds 1TB of external storage capacity to compatible mobile devices. Users can store up to 500 movies, 160,000 songs or 190,000 photos, and share them with up to five devices at a time. What’s more, AirPlay® compatibility means users can easily stream movies onto the big screen via Apple TV® or music to compatible speakers. WIRELESSLY EXPAND YOUR IPAD The LaCie Fuel lets users access enormous media libraries right from their iPad. With 1TB of storage at their fingertips, they don’t need to pick and choose what they load onto their mobile device. Not only does the LaCie Fuel […]

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TRENDnet TEW-818DRU AC1900 Extreme Performance Wireless Router Launched

TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today announces from the 2014 International CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, the extreme performance AC1900 Dual Band Wireless Router, model TEW-818DRU – which offers unmatched performance, powered by a 1 GHz processor, high power radio amplifiers for extended wireless coverage, and Gigabit Wireless AC networking speeds. The TEW-818DRU is designed to provide the optimum wireless experience in a busy connected home. TRENDnet’s TEW-818DRU creates two extreme performance wireless networks – an ultimate performance 1.3 Gigabits per second (Gbps) Wireless AC network, to connect all Wireless AC devices over the fastest wireless speeds available today; and an extreme performance 600 Megabits per second (Mbps) Wireless N band, to connect everyday wireless devices […]

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ATC SCM40 VER.2 HI-FI Passive Monitor Floorstanding Loudspeakers Unveiled

Lone Mountain Audio, the U.S. distributor for ATC, Acoustic Transducer Company Consumer Hi-Fi products at CES 2014 will demonstrate ATC’s new Hi-Fi Passive SCM40 V2 Floor-standing Loudspeakers featuring designed and built tweeters, and its new stylish curved cabinetry system for medium size stereo and multi-channel applications in their Venetian Suite 29-227. The new second generation SCM40 (V2) features ATC’s new SH25-76 tweeter with a ATC’s renowned 75mm/3” Soft Dome mid-range and a 164mm, short coil – long gap (under hung) bass driver housed in a new curved laminated cabinet system. The three-way design and inclusion of the Soft Dome mid results in excellent clarity, even at high drive levels with bass heavy source material. It gives wide, even dispersion resulting […]

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NanoTech LumaForge Nuvola NP-1 Streaming Media Player Announced

Complete Solution for the Acquisition, Processing, Delivery and Enjoyment of 4K Content Features the Nuvola NP-1 4K UltraHD Streaming Media Set-Top Box NanoTech Entertainment (OTCPINK: NTEK) announced today that it has partnered with LumaForge LLC to provide consumers with a cost-effective pipeline for the delivery of VP9 compressed 4K content streamed through the Nuvola NP-1(tm), the world’s first streaming media player that supports 4K Ultra HD movies and videos. Because of its massive file footprint, getting 4K content to consumers efficiently and cost-effectively has been difficult for studios and distributors. VP9, Google’s open-source, royalty free video compression standard, reduces video file sizes-and the associated bandwidth requirements-without any reduction in quality or patent royalties to pay. “There are two critical enabling […]

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Conary Enterprise iPin Laser Presenter for Samsung Galaxy Smartphones Debuts

Conary Enterprise is pleased to announce that the iPin Laser Presenter for Samsung Galaxy smartphones is debuting at International CES 2014. The iPin is a tiny, Galaxy-powered laser pointer that comes with its own slide-controlling app. This delicately designed device can turn a Galaxy into a professional presentation device in a matter of seconds. Conary invites all visitors to come see the iPin firsthand at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), South Hall 3, booth #31854. The iPin will also be on display at the COMPUTEX d&i Awards booth (#21944) in LVCC South Hall 1. Low Profile Design and Effortless Transport Unlike similar devices, the iPin sits nearly flush with the phone surface, and can be turned on and off […]

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E FUN Nextbook Android Tablets Introduced

Features Include Android Jelly Bean 4.2, Google Play, Narrow Frame Bezel, and More E FUN, a consumer electronics designer and manufacturer of fun, easy-to-use lifestyle products, is debuting its first quad-core Nextbook Android tablets at CES 2014. The Nextbook 8 and Nextbook 10 tablets feature Android Jelly Bean 4.2, Google Play, and new, narrow frame bezels. The 2014 line of Nextbook Android tablets will be on display at CES in South Hall MP25055, January 7-10. “We are thrilled to launch our 2014 line of Nextbook tablets with enhanced features at CES,” stated Jason Liszewski, managing director and VP of sales for E FUN. “2013 was an extremely successful year for the company and now with the addition of quad core […]

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RV04 Fr34 SilverStone Raven RV04 Case Review
CasesBy Tom Jaskulka

SilverStone Raven RV04 Case Review

Today Benchmark Reviews will be looking at the lastest Raven enclosure from SilverStone, the Raven SST-RV04B-W. Since the RV01, the Raven series served as the “experimental” arm of the SilverStone chassis lineup; testing out unique ideas like a 90-degree rotated motherboard orientation and exotic applications of materials in a line of enclosures that had the extreme looks (and performance) to match. The RV04 forgoes the vertical orientation of the motherboard in previous Ravens and instead rotates it yet another 90 degrees. Utilizing a cooling design inspired by the impressive micro-ATX TJ-08E, the ATX Raven RV04 uses two 180mm AP fans in a slightly more traditional format – well, as traditional as a Raven case can be…

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Amped Wireless AC1900 WI-FI Router and Extender Launched

New Line-Up of Amped Wireless Products Combines Award-Winning High Power Technology with the Ultra-Fast Wi-Fi Speeds of AC1900 to Deliver Up to 10,000 sq ft of Gigabit Wi-Fi Coverage Amped Wireless, the leading manufacturer of high power, long-range wireless solutions for the home and office, today unveiled its family of next-generation long-range AC1900 Wi-Fi products. The 802.11ac wireless standard is the world’s fastest Wi-Fi, providing gigabit Wi-Fi speeds that allow for web content to download faster, large files to synch quicker, and for HD media to transfer to multiple sources at once with ease. With its new line, Amped Wireless introduces cutting-edge high power technology to provide up to four times more Wi-Fi range and speed for its customers. “We […]

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Razer Adaro Headphone Series Debuts

Four New Audio Products in the Adaro Line Boost Sound and Functionality Beyond Gaming Razer™, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, software and systems, today announced the Razer Adaro series, a new line of headphones designed for personal entertainment. The new audio lineup will initially feature four models: bass-heavy earphones, analog stereo headphones, Bluetooth® headphones and DJ-style headphones. Each member of the Razer Adaro family is designed with a heavy focus on durability, comfort and uncompromised sound quality for music listening. The Razer Adaro series marks the company’s latest venture into the personal entertainment audio space. The Razer Kraken and Electra, two of Razer’s best-selling headphones, were tuned for music, as well as gaming. “Making technically advanced headsets to […]

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Torus Power TOT Max Toroidal Isolation Power Conditioner Introduced

The new Torus Power TOT Mini and TOT Max are the most affordable models in the Torus line. TOT is an ultra compact stand-alone power conditioner with a unique angled chassis profile that enables rack, desktop, or in-wall mounting. Delivering convenient, point-of-use power conditioning that dramatically improves the performance of audio, video and control systems for a wide variety of applications, TOT is now available with either 7A or 15A configurations for the US market and a 3A and 8A models for International use. The TOT Series employs Plitron’s NBT noise filtering technology to restore incoming power to its clean original state, protecting valuable systems from voltage sags, brownouts and surges. Plitron toroidal isolation transformers provide triple shielding for ultimate […]

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Samsung GALAXY Camera 2 Smart-camera Launched

Featuring an Android platform and a lightweight retro design, the GALAXY Camera 2 allows avid photographers to capture and share even more, with superior quality and speed Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd announced the GALAXY Camera 2, a successor to the award winning GALAXY Camera which combines the quality imaging of a high end camera with sharing capabilities and an intuitive design to match the most up-to-date smartphones. The GALAXY Camera 2’s revolutionary technology, which includes an upgraded 1.6GHz Quad Core processor and the Android platform makes it faster and easier than ever for users to shoot, edit and share high quality images with friends and family. With a lightweight, retro design, the GALAXY Camera 2 is the ideal option for […]

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Thecus_N2310_NAS_Network_Storage_Server_L_Front_34_01
NetworkBy Bruce Normann

Thecus N2310 NAS Server Network Storage Review

The Thecus N2310 Network Attached Storage Server is a product that is breaking new ground for the NAS market. Power to the people, NASes for the masses, whatever you want to call it, the N2310 is about driving the cost of NAS ownership down. Thankfully, Thecus recognizes that no one wants a NAS that runs slow, or one that doesn’t have modern features like mobile access. So, the N2310 is all about providing the lowest-cost, technically-acceptable solution. That’s a fine line to tread, and many companies have tripped over themselves trying to do that. Benchmark Reviews has tested quite a few NAS products in the last few years, and we’re in a good position to evaluate how well the Thecus N2310 meets its mission statement.

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