In December 2013, Toshiba announced the acquisition of OCZ Technology, Inc. for $35 million. Several weeks later, Japanese giant completed the acquisition and rebranded the company “OCZ Storage Solutions – A Toshiba Group Company”. This brand continued to exist until recently, when Toshiba moved to streamline its branding position on the market. We got in touch with the OCZ PR team to learn that “OCZ Storage Solutions – A Toshiba Group Company” is no more, with the parent company positioning “OCZ” as its sub-brand, similar to the branding segmentation between Kingston and HyperX, or Micron and Crucial. OCZ will continue to exist as an independent brand, wholly owned
OCZ Gaming Unveils Streamer Sponsorship Program
Gaming is one of largest, if not becoming the largest form of entertainment, and last several years witnessed the rebirth of PC gaming, as gaming consoles cannot keep up with the system demands of new games. As such, the way to advertise to new audiences is shifting, with a barrier of entry becoming so attractive that anyone with the right mindset and dedication can do it. Over a decade ago, I met Jonathan Wendel, who went on to become a first pro-gamer to earn over a million dollars, and creating a successful collaboration with different hardware vendors with his ‘Fatal1ty’ brand (Abit, ASRock, Creative Labs, OCZ etc.). Now,
PREVIEW: OCZ’s RevoDrive 400 Looks Like a Great SSD
Ever since the company got acquired by Toshiba, OCZ Storage Solutions focused on more performance for the enthusiasts and expanding the market share in the fast-growing segment of enterprise storage. On CES 2016, OCZ introduced several new products, basing them on NVMe PCI Express Gen 3 standard. For the enthusiasts, OCZ launched RevoDrive 400 Series. Unlike RevoDrive 350 (which featured non-removable memory on the add-in PCIe card), the all-new RevoDrive 400 now comes as an M.2 form factor product with an additional PCIe x4 add-in card – very similar to Kingston’s HyperX Predator. By moving to M.2 form factor, RevoDrive 400 can now be installed not just in desktop, but
From HPC to HTPC: Can HTPC Become Your Main PC?
In the world of computing, the big iron – workstations, servers and HPC, were my main focus for the most of the past three decades. However, something on the opposite end of the spectrum from HPC, the kind of uber-mini desktop device, even smaller than HTPC – attracted my attention. This miniature box platform, using laptop CPU and chipset platforms & integration, but desktop peripherals and connectivity, is called many names: from NUC (Next Unit of Computing) by Intel, whose ex-desktop mainboard division is in charge is this product line; to Gigabyte’s BRIX line, likely named in the honor of their ex director and our
CES 2015: Toshiba Unveils New Wireless Charging Chip
Toshiba announces the development of a new wireless power receiver IC, which is claimed to be capable of even faster wireless mobile device charging.
Outdoor Chargers, Toshiba HDD, Sony Strategy: The Headlines in Japan for Dec. 19
Here is the daily roundup from Japanese consumer tech and tech business websites for December 17, 2014.
Bandai Namco, HP PC, Toshiba Scanner: The Headlines in Japan for Dec. 18
Here is the daily roundup from Japanese consumer tech and tech business websites for December 18, 2014.
Face Analyzers, Graphics Tablets, Frame Rate Tech: The Headlines in Tokyo for Dec. 16
Here is the daily roundup from Japanese consumer tech and tech business websites for December 16, 2014.
Toshiba Tablet, Acer PC, Sony TV: The Headlines in Tokyo for November 19
Here is the daily roundup from Japanese consumer tech and tech business websites for November 19, 2014.
Top Five Notebooks of 2014
With the holidays approaching fast many people will be getting new notebooks this holiday season, we give you our pick for the top 5.
Japan Cyberpolice, Hitachi Batteries, 4K Christmas: The Headlines in Tokyo for November 14
Here is the daily roundup from Japanese consumer tech and tech business websites for November 14, 2014.
Playstation Vue, Firefox Party, Toshiba’s driving chip: The Headlines in Tokyo for November 13
Here is the daily roundup from Japanese consumer tech and tech business websites for November 13, 2014.
Toshiba Aims At Entry-level Segment With Satellite Radius 11
For a notebook that retails for under $400, Toshiba’s Satellite Radius 11 offers a lot of features.
PC Market Sees Resurgence in EU and US, Shrinkage in Asia
The global PC market has essentially been flat for the third quarter of this year, but Europe and the US are bright spots, indicating that the PC is strong
Toshiba’s Clerk Robot Talks With Sign Language
Toshiba takes its visitors to a trip down the uncanny valley with its new sign language robot.
Toshiba Launches 15nm NAND Flash Chip Samples
Toshiba (TYO: 6502) has announced the roll out of its very first 15nm NAND flash memory chip. The chips are already available for sampling starting this October, with the first 16GB version chips to be shipped first and the rest of the other size versions to follow shortly. This new NAND flash memory chip utilizes both the flash memory chip and its controller in a single board. Toshiba claims that this optimization technique promises an overall increase in its data transfer speed (8% read, 2% write), as well as making the chips around 26% smaller compared to its predecessors. Its updated interface also boasts a significant increase in speed,
Toshiba Curtails Consumer PC Business
Toshiba (TYO: 6502) has announced the scaling down of its consumer PC business to give more focus on its general business-to-business operations. This decision is in response to the company’s need to secure and stabilize its overall business structure, and as a result around 900 employees from the PC business division will be laid off. In accordance to the change and restructuring of its business operations, the Japanese electronics giant will be shifting more towards corporate-targeted services, such as provision of enterprise hardware like workstations and business-use mobile devices, as well as technology-based client solutions. Part of the plan also includes of the corporation’s extension of
Why Chromebooks Aren't big in Japan
Chromebooks have finally made it to Japan, but can the Google (NASDAQ: GOOG)-powered notebook stay in the Land of the Rising Sun? Despite its standard distribution in Europe and the United States, Chromebooks had just recently come to the shores of Japan. Even Google wasn’t thrilled at the idea of selling Chromebooks in Japan until recently, after Toshiba (TYO: 6502) unveiled Japan’s very first Chromebook a few months ago. The big question here is why. Why aren’t Chromebooks that big in Japan? One commentary on a Japanese blog may explain why, and the reason is at the heart and core of what Chromebooks really are. The
Yet to be Announced OCZ ARC 100 Solid State Drives Make Appearance Online
OCZ has yet to give its upcoming line of ARC 100 SSDs the official unveiling, but it looks like two retailers have beat OCZ to it. First spotted by Legit Reviews, both Amazon.com and Scan.co.uk have posted drives in the series online for pre-order. Drives in the series will be available in 120 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB capacities and are capable of sequential read speeds of 490 MB/s and reach write speeds 430 MB/s (400 MB/s for the 120 GB model) and 80,000 IOPS. The SSD series sports a 2.5-inch form factor, a Barefoot 3 M10 controller and 19nm MLC NAND chips supplied
SanDisk to buy FusionIO for $1.1 billion, Consolidation Continues
SanDisk and FusionIO have entered into an agreement where SanDisk will purchase all of FusionIO and its assets to the tune of $1.1 billion in cash, once again continuing the consolidation of the NAND flash market into fewer bigger companies. This announcement is likely a response to Seagate’s recent acquisition of the NAND flash division of Avago which included the SandForce controller division. However, the real truth is that FusionIO is not anywhere near a consumer flash storage company and most of their customers are professionals or enterprise while most of SandForce’s products are consumer focused. I’m sure SanDisk would have loved to buy both