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Eagerly waiting to change that drive password within the system BIOS on your fancy new X25-M G2 solid state drive? Good news, storage junkies -- today you can. After Intel saw its next-gen SSD launch party hit a snag with an off-the-wall quirk that could cause data corruption for those who altered or disabled a drive password within the system BIOS, the company has finally come forward with a firmware update that solves the dilemma, along with world hunger, "the economy" and an undisclosed amount of other universal pains. Hit the read link for instructions on how to update your drive, but don't blame us if every precious memory you've ever collected goes down in flames during the process. Just kidding.

Is there room in your heart for another Intel Atom based MID? Okay, for many of you there wasn’t room there for even the first such device, but if you’re still shopping around for a touchscreen handheld (and you don’t mind likely having to take a trip to China to pick it up) Tainell may have the device for you: the imaginatively titled T500 MID.
Not, it’s fair to say, the most attractive MID we’ve seen, the Tainell nonetheless packs a 5-inch resistive touchscreen in a casing measuring 6.1 x 3.5 x 1.0 inches. They’ve also squeezed in an Intel Atom Z510 1.1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 32GB SSD, together with WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G WWAN.

There’s a little surprise among the ports, too, as the typical USB, audio in/out and power are joined by a mini-USB and an HDMI socket. A 0.3-megapixel webcam round out the specs; unfortunately there’s no word on pricing from Tainell.

OCZ has announced another solid-state drive option today with their Agility series. It’s super fast and cost-effective, which is a hard balance to strike, yet somehow the company has managed to do just that.



The Agility series has a faster speed than the basic Solid series and is based on MLC or multi-level cell storage. In fact, the read speed can reach upwards of 235MB/sec and the write speed is about 135MB/sec. Not the fastest in the world, but pretty impressive nonetheless.

It can also withstand 80MB/sec for prolonged writing. This 2.5-inch SATA drive will work with just about any notebook or desktop computer. It’s available in several capacities including 30GB, 60GB and 120GB models. Pricing has not yet been revealed.

ITG’s xpPhone was one of the more curious prospects for Computex - something with the form-factor of a MID but resolutely intended to be used as a cellphone - and jkkmobile stopped by to check it out. The xpPhone certainly tries to fit in as much as possible: SSD up to 64GB in size, multiple wireless options including Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G and WiMAX, and an AMD mobile processor.

Contrary to our initial expectations, ITG didn’t cut down the number of buttons on the xpPhone’s keyboard; that’s perhaps because the device is considerably larger than we first envisaged. The 4.8-inch touchscreen is swaddled by a thick bezel, and as you can see in the video it’s a chunky device.

We can’t imagine holding the xpPhone to our head and using it as a traditional smartphone, but with a Bluetooth headset it might be more practical. An estimated five hours of battery life is always welcome, but we’re unconvinced overall; this seems a little too much like the jarring mash of device-types that has led MID sales overall to be disappointing.

ASUS have officially launched the Eee PC T91 convertible touchscreen netbook, and already the first reviews are surfacing. Based around an 8.9-inch display which can rotate flat onto the keyboard for slate use, the T91 runs Intel’s Atom Z520 CPU with 1GB of RAM, a 16GB SSD, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1. According to Pocket-lint, it’s a useful compromise between traditional Tablet PC functionality and netbook scale.

They praise the sturdy hinge, which apparently resisted their best efforts to twist it into submission, and the three user-modes on offer. As well as standard Windows XP Home, the T91 offers a quick-boot Eee Mode which allows for internet and Skype access within seconds, and a custom touchscreen-only GUI intended for finger use.

You can see the T91’s GUI in action in the video below [via AsusTablet]. Overall, they’re impressed, describing the T91 as a “welcomed diversion in design”. No word on performance from the Z520 CPU - which has proved disappointing in the Acer Aspire One 751 - but perhaps the touch focus of the T91 eclipses any interest in the 720p playback which so stresses the Atom chip.

The ASUS Eee PC T91 is apparently available in select markets now, priced at around £449 ($684).

Could someone please ping NEC and remind them that we’re drowning in Tegra, Ion and Snapdragon loveliness at Computex and Intel’s Atom N270 simple won’t cut it any more? NEC have announced a new netbook series, the LaVie Light BL300, using the N280 processor and a choice of HDD or SSD.

The BL300 range - comprising the BL300, BL310 and BL350 - all have a 10.1-inch LCD, with 1,024 x 600 resolution and a webcam, together with WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. They measure between 27.5 and 29.8mm in thickness, and are available in glossy white, red or black.

The BL300 has either a 160GB HDD or 16GB SSD, while the BL310 and BL350 seemingly have 160GB HDDs only. Battery life for the BL300/BL310 is roughly 4.2hrs, while the BL350 gets a bigger-capacity battery for up to 7.4hrs. One of the USB 2.0 ports on each machine remains powered even when the netbook is not in use, for charging external peripherals or PMPs.

Could someone please ping NEC and remind them that we’re drowning in Tegra, Ion and Snapdragon loveliness at Computex and Intel’s Atom N270 simple won’t cut it any more? NEC have announced a new netbook series, the LaVie Light BL300, using the N280 processor and a choice of HDD or SSD.

The BL300 range - comprising the BL300, BL310 and BL350 - all have a 10.1-inch LCD, with 1,024 x 600 resolution and a webcam, together with WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. They measure between 27.5 and 29.8mm in thickness, and are available in glossy white, red or black.

The BL300 has either a 160GB HDD or 16GB SSD, while the BL310 and BL350 seemingly have 160GB HDDs only. Battery life for the BL300/BL310 is roughly 4.2hrs, while the BL350 gets a bigger-capacity battery for up to 7.4hrs. One of the USB 2.0 ports on each machine remains powered even when the netbook is not in use, for charging external peripherals or PMPs.

A-DATA introduces at the CeBit 2009 its 512GB XPG 2.5-inch SSD, which is claimed to be the Highest Capacity SSD in the Industry, though we have seen PureSillicon’s 1TB SSD and Toshiba’s 512GB SSD before.

Features:

* Read up to 230MB/s Write up to 160 MB/s
* Interface: SATA I/II
* Operating Temp.: -10°C~70°C
* Shock Resistance: 1500G/0.5ms
* MTBF: 1,500,000 hrs.
* Dashing, durable, lightweight Aluminum casing
* Dimension: 100.0*70.1*9.2 mm (LxWxH)
* Weight: 85+/-1g