Low power

Applications developers looking for a low power, small form factor computing solution that won't break the bank will no doubt appreciate the DreamPlug from Globalscale Technologies. Expanding on the company's GuruPlug system, the new low-profile plug computer is powered by a Marvell processor, has half a gigabyte of DDR2 RAM and a generous helping of onboard micro-SD flash memory to store the Linux kernel and root system files. Physical connectivity and expansion options include USB, eSATA, JTAG and UART and the unit also has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless capabilities. Read More

One of the very first energy efficient mini-PCs to catch my attention was CompuLab's fit-PC2 model, with an ultra-low-power Intel processor, a gigabyte of DDR2 memory and a 160GB HDD. Now, the company has jumped into AMD's camp for the forthcoming release of the fit-PC3, set to become the most powerful member of the company's line of miniature industrial PCs. It doesn't offer quite the same energy efficiency as the previous model, but there is up to 1.6GHz of processing power on offer, coupled with up to 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 2.5-inch SATA3 hard drive. Read More

Having full-blown computers linked to a central server delivering applications to office workers is so last century. More and more businesses are choosing to deploy thin-client or virtual desktop solutions, where much of the storage and processing needs are met at the data center. Advantages often include low power draw at the user end, low maintenance, and minimal desktop footprint. Chip PC's Plug PC cross-platform thin client or virtual desktop computer solution offers maximum load power consumption of just 3W, is about the same size as a pack of cards, and benefits from a processor architecture that provides the equivalent of 1.8GHz x86 processing power. Read More

MSI's Wind Top Professional and Entertainment All-in-One computers are to be joined by a new Classic model. The super quiet AC1900 is said to have low power requirements, and benefits from a high performance processor, good sized storage, Wi-Fi wireless connectivity and a DVD drive. Read More

The Jack PC from Chip PC Technologies offers a neat and novel thin-client desktop computing solution where the computer doesn't just plug into the wall, it is the plug in the wall. Running on power provided by the ethernet cable that also connects it to the data center server, the computer-in-a-wall-socket supports wireless connectivity, has dual display capabilities and runs on the RISC processor architecture – which gives the solution the equivalent of 1.2GHz of x86 processing power. Read More

Smart homes of the future will automatically adapt to their surroundings using an array of sensors to record everything from the building’s temperature and humidity to the light level and air quality. One hurdle impeding the development of such intelligent homes is the fact that existing technology is still power hungry and today’s wireless devices either transmit a signal only several feet, or consume so much energy they need frequent battery replacements. Researchers have now developed sensors that run on extremely low power thanks to using a home’s electrical wiring as a giant antenna to transmit information. Read More

The Eagle has landed. As portable devices sporting ARM's Cortex A9 1GHz powerhouse start to appear, the company has unveiled the next step in the evolution of its system-on-a-chip Cortex A architecture, the A15 MPCore processor. ARM-based chips currently provide the processing power for a host of mobile devices, from smartphones to tablets, and this latest development is claimed to deliver five times the performance of current solutions such as the Cortex A8, yet has a similar low energy footprint. Read More

Computing on the move has taken off big time. No longer bound by the shackles of a deskbound screen, we are now working on smartphones, playing on tablets and surfing on netbooks. We need such devices to be both powerful and low on power draw. The latest to answer such needs is Samsung, announcing its most recent foray into the world of mobile chip manufacture – Orion. The 1GHz ARM-based Dual Core chip supports various storage and memory configurations, is HD and 3D ready and has GPS included. Read More

A bunch of space-saving, ultra-thin LED monitors has just been announced by Acer. The trio of stylish LED displays benefit from a huge contrast range, brisk response times and a movie-friendly aspect ratio. The S1 series also has the green check-box covered with low power credentials and a manufacturing process which the company says does not use harmful substances. Read More