creative | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 30 Mar 2023 10:02:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png creative | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Creative Releases Aurvana Trio Wireless Neckband Headphones https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/christopher-nohall/creative-releases-aurvana-trio-wireless-neckband-headphones/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/christopher-nohall/creative-releases-aurvana-trio-wireless-neckband-headphones/#respond Wed, 22 Jul 2020 11:40:56 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=478107 This week, Creative announced the Creative Aurvana Trio, sporting a triple-driver system, including a ‘balanced armature super tweeter' for what promises to be a ‘rich and detailed' wireless audio experience.  Creative's Aurvana Trio Wireless headphones features three drivers, as implied by the name. The “Balanced Armature Super Tweeter” is designed to “deliver detailed highs” and the …

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This week, Creative announced the Creative Aurvana Trio, sporting a triple-driver system, including a ‘balanced armature super tweeter' for what promises to be a ‘rich and detailed' wireless audio experience. 

Creative's Aurvana Trio Wireless headphones features three drivers, as implied by the name. The “Balanced Armature Super Tweeter” is designed to “deliver detailed highs” and the “Balanced Armature Mid-Range Driver” is said to support “natural mid-range playback”. Last, but not least, the “Bio-cellulose Dynamic Woofer” is said to be capable of delivering “rich, deep, and accurate bass.”

Creative's new headphones feature Bluetooth 5.0, aptX HD, aptX Low Latency and AAC audio codecs that, according to the company, helps users to enjoy “high-resolution wireless audio”. The headphones are also built to accommodate those who like watching Netflix or gaming on their phone, utilising “Qualcomm aptX Low Latency codec” for reduced audio-visual delay. The Aurvana Trio Wireless is able of delivering up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Creative's Aurvana Trio Wireless Neckband Headphones are available to order at Creative's website for £89.99.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Do you use Neckband Headphones? Is it convenient and easy to use or do you feel that it's somewhat cumbersome? What are your thoughts on the new Aurvana Trio Wireless from Creative?

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Creative announces SXFI Gamer Headset https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/christopher-nohall/creative-announces-sxfi-gamer-headset/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/christopher-nohall/creative-announces-sxfi-gamer-headset/#respond Fri, 10 Jul 2020 13:21:32 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=476402 Creative is well known for its audio products, ranging from sound cards to headsets. This week, Creative is adding to its gaming headset lineup with the SXFI Gamer Headset, featuring a ‘Battle Mode' and ‘CommanderMic'.  The new SXFI gamer headset expands on what previous generations already have achieved, but also includes a new “BATTLE mode” …

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Creative is well known for its audio products, ranging from sound cards to headsets. This week, Creative is adding to its gaming headset lineup with the SXFI Gamer Headset, featuring a ‘Battle Mode' and ‘CommanderMic'. 

The new SXFI gamer headset expands on what previous generations already have achieved, but also includes a new “BATTLE mode” – an audio profile for FPS games that is designed to enhance environmental imaging, audio cues, and distance projection. Creative's SXFI gamer headset also comes equipped with a “CommanderMic” that is wired through a Kevlar-reinforced USB cable and topped off with an RGB light design.

“After we successfully created Super X-Fi, which critics have hailed as the holy grail of headphone technology, we did not rest on our laurels. We went ahead and spent a great deal of effort and resources to further improve Super X-Fi, especially targeting the gaming sector. The BATTLE Mode is here, and together with the CommanderMic and other features, the SXFI GAMER truly embodies the culmination of our very best technologies in a gaming headset.”, said Creative's CEO Sim Wong Hoo.

The SXFI gamer headset is available to buy at Creative's website for £114.99.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: What are your thoughts on Creative's new SXFI gamer headset?

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Creative Sound BlasterX G6 Review https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/andrew-munro/creative-sound-blasterx-g6-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/andrew-munro/creative-sound-blasterx-g6-review/#respond Thu, 23 Jan 2020 13:10:27 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=447150 This tiny package promises to change your listening experiences of gaming, media and music forever

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Creative are known for making excellent audio products and more for gamers. Everyone has built in soundcards on their motherboards and these are good enough right? Well Creative think you’re wrong and that’s why they’ve made the Sound BlasterX G6 external USB sound card. This tiny package promises to change your listening experiences of gaming, media and music forever. Can this little box really have such a huge impact? We find out.

Specifications:

  • Dimensions 111 x 70 x 24 mm
  • Weight of 144g
  • Virtual 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound
  • USB 2.0 Bus powered via included cable
  • Dolby Digital decoding available only via an optical connection via the included optical cable
  • DAC (digital to analog converter)
  • Dynamic range: 130dB A-weighted
  • Direct mode sampling rate up to 32-bit and 384 kHz
  • ADC (analog to digital converter)
  • Dynamic range 113dB A weighted
  • Sampling rate mic-in/line-in/optical-in up to 32-bit and 192 kHz
  • Output impedance 1 ohm
  • Headphone impedance 16 – 600 ohms
  • Xamp discrete headphone amplification, which means both audio channels (left and right headphones) are amplified individually for more detail
  • Scout mode gives you a tactical advantage by enhancing in-game audio such as footsteps, weapon switch or reloading sounds

You can purchase the Sound BlasterX G6, from Creative for £109.99, HERE!

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

Pros:

  • High quality audio.
  • Works with almost every device.
  • Easy to set up.
  • Very simple to use.
  • Sound Blaster Connect software is easy to use and has plenty of customisation.
  • Scout mode works well.

Cons:

  • Logo is the wrong way around in my opinion.
  • Price point could put some people off but you get what you pay for here.
  • 3.5mm headphone and microphones input only.

KitGuru says: In our opinion the Sound BlasterX G6 is well worth buying if you use headphones and want to step up your audio game!

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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Creative SXFI Amp Review (with E-MU Teak headphones) https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/dominic-moass/creative-sxfi-amp-review-with-e-mu-teak-headphones/ https://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/dominic-moass/creative-sxfi-amp-review-with-e-mu-teak-headphones/#respond Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:45:11 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=409079 It's a tiny new amp from Creative, designed to give you a completely new way of listening to music

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Audio and headset manufacturers have long been trying to recreate surround sound through a pair of stereo headphones. In fact, there's a whole catalogue of different software standards all trying to give you that immersive experience – think Dolby Surround, DTS 7.1, THX Spatial Audio and so on. Creative has chosen to go another route, however, with its Super X-FI (SXFI) Amp – a hardware solution that is designed to offer the ‘listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system' … but through your headphones. Is it any good?

After the KitGuru team got hands-on with the Creative SXFI Amp back at CES 2019, we have been testing the amp at our labs for the last couple of weeks and can today present our full review. As this is a review of the SXFI Amp and its ‘holographic audio' experience, we obviously need some headphones to use it with, and Creative also supplied the E-MU Teak closed-back headphones for our testing today.

Specifications:

Audio

  • DAC: AKM AK4377
  • SNR: Up to 120 dB
  • SUPPORTED INPUT FORMAT: 2.0/5.1/7.1 channel, 24 bit/96 kHz
  • THD + N: Up to -110 dB (0.0003%)
  • IMD: < 0.0022%
  • CROSSTALK: < -75 dB

Amplification

  • GAIN: 3X
  • MAX POWER (16 ohm): 425 mW
  • MAX POWER (32 ohm): 370 mW
  • MAX POWER (300 ohm): 51 mW
  • MAX POWER (600 ohm): 26 mW

Connectivity

  • PC / Macs: Windows 10 Creator's Update (ver. 1703), macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Linux
  • CONSOLES: PS4, Nintendo Switch
  • MOBILE: Android 7.0 and above only
  • USB: Low-jitter Asynchronous USB UAC2, No drivers required

Physical

  • PRODUCT TYPE: Wired
  • CHASSIS: Aluminium Unibody
  • FINISH: Matte-Black Fine-Textured Anodized
  • DIMENSIONS: (In mm) 9.7 (D) x 17.5 (W) x 67 (H)
  • WEIGHT: 15 g
  • CONNECTOR: (Input) USB Type-C , (Output) 3.5 mm TRRS jack

Be sure to check out our sponsors store EKWB here

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MSI Prestige Photography Competition from Shoreditch UK https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/laptops/kgstorm/msi-prestige-photography-competition-from-shoreditch-uk/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/laptops/kgstorm/msi-prestige-photography-competition-from-shoreditch-uk/#respond Sun, 10 Feb 2019 11:18:48 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=403555 MSI held their first ever photography competition last weekend in the Techspace in Shoreditch. The room was kitted out with strobe lights, various props, professional models, cameras, laptops and some very tasty looking cupcakes. Amateur and professional photographers alike were invited to attend to shoot the best picture.

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 Shoreditch, a little over a decade ago was a dangerous and violent part of east London, but today its one of the trendiest spots and home to many startups and creatives alike. Techspace provided MSI with a workspace for people to flex their creativity in their latest competition.

MSI held their first ever photography competition last weekend in the Techspace in Shoreditch. The room was kitted out with strobe lights, various props, professional models, cameras, laptops and some very tasty looking cupcakes. Amateur and professional photographers alike were invited to attend to shoot the best picture.

Instead of clocking the CPU/GPU to the limit for maximum in-game framerates, the concept here is to create a lightweight, long-battery-life design tool that will enable creative people to be more productive. Think ‘Apple with a Windows OS’.

Inside TechSpace, there were 2 shooting areas (plain white background and a living room environment), plenty of lights, windows, cupcakes and coffee. The centrepiece for the creative shoot was the PS63, which comes with this baseline specification:-

  • CPU: Intel Core i7-8565U
  • GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 620
  • Display: 15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), IPS
  • Storage: 512GB SSD
  • RAM: 16GB DDR4
  • Weight: 1.65 kg (3.6 lbs)

To really display the power of the laptops they had the entrants shoot images of the models in the various settings and then edit them then and there on the P-series laptops. It was incredible to see what people were able to create on the day, and the laptops certainly seemed up for the challenge.

MSI are also holding a Global challenge for the rest of this month, you can find the details on the MSI website HERE

Good luck to you all!

Winners will be announced Friday the 15th February at 3pm.

Kylie

Ahenk

Luca

Alis

Theresa

 

Max

Robin

Raye

KitGuru Says: For the dozen or so young creatives that came along, it was a really interesting event. It’s unusual to be able to experience the entire creative workflow – from set up to capture to final output – using the new kit and with experts on hand. Really hope this becomes a regular slot in the calendar.

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Creative launches OMNI speaker at IFA 2017 – shows HALO https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/andrzej/creative-launches-omni-speaker-at-ifa-2017-shows-halo/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/andrzej/creative-launches-omni-speaker-at-ifa-2017-shows-halo/#respond Thu, 31 Aug 2017 09:40:40 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=345724 OMNI is a brand new WiFi speaker from Creative, that allows multiple speakers to be controlled in separate rooms using an app that supports Apple's Siri and Google now, via Bluetooth. The units are about 20cm high, will launch into retail channels around October at just over £100 per unit. KitGuru was first to the …

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OMNI is a brand new WiFi speaker from Creative, that allows multiple speakers to be controlled in separate rooms using an app that supports Apple's Siri and Google now, via Bluetooth. The units are about 20cm high, will launch into retail channels around October at just over £100 per unit. KitGuru was first to the booth, so here's the exclusive skinny.

“Powerful audio, with great quality and support for all the major streaming platforms is what OMNI offers”, explained Steffen Haeupl. “There are 4 high-performance drivers in each speaker unit, with 2x 1.5″ for mid and high-frequencies as well as 2x powerful, force cancelling units for punchy bass”.

“Where necessary, we have integrated rubberised seals, covers and buttons to ensure IPX4 weatherproofing”, he explained.

Everything is brought together using the Sound Blaster InterConnect Mobile App.

Here are the key specs:-

  • Height: 20cm
  • Weight: 460g
  • Peak Power: 12 watts
  • Battery: 8 hours (Bluetooth)
  • Bluetooth Audio Codecs: AAC, SBC
  • WiFi/Streaming Codecs: MP3, WMA, WAV, ALAC, AAC+, FLAC, APE, OGG
  • Weatherproof Rating: IPX4 Splashproof
  • UK launch price £109

The Creative HALO speaker includes lighting and follows similar design choices that we've seen in other recent RGB products from Creative.

For fun, we're expecting another product shortly that might help KitGuru readers get up early on frosty mornings.

KitGuru says: Cool design, great range of connectivity/codec options, would be nice to see retailers getting a little more competitive on pricing and hitting the psychologically appealing £99.99 mark.

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You can watch every Bob Ross episode on Twitch right now https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/you-can-watch-every-bob-ross-episode-on-twitch-right-now/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/you-can-watch-every-bob-ross-episode-on-twitch-right-now/#respond Fri, 30 Oct 2015 09:16:28 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=273580 Twitch might be almost entirely known for its gaming streams making it one of the most popular video sites in the world, but that isn't all new owner Amazon want to restrict it too. To that end, Twitch Creative was born: a platform within Twitch that lets viewers watch artists of all types painting, sculpting, …

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Twitch might be almost entirely known for its gaming streams making it one of the most popular video sites in the world, but that isn't all new owner Amazon want to restrict it too. To that end, Twitch Creative was born: a platform within Twitch that lets viewers watch artists of all types painting, sculpting, carving and any number of other artistic endeavours. To celebrate the launch of this new platform and Twitch's partnership with Adobe that made it happen, it's streaming every episode of Bob Ross's The Joy of Painting.

bobtwitch

That's a lot of Bob Ross too, as the man was well known to complete entire seasons of his long running painting show in just a few days. There's 403 in total, and while after a couple of days Twitch has certainly ploughed through a lot of them, there's still more than six days worth of shows to get your teeth into if you fancy relaxing or learning some wet on wet painting techniques too.

It's proving a popular stream as at the time of writing there are just shy of 45,000 people enjoying his sultry tones and brush strokes and more than 400,000 have checked in over the last 48 hours. They're also enjoying the new Bob Ross Kappa emote too, which is showing up with an impressive frequency.

The new Twitch Creative platform has introduced a new tagging system too, to help people categorise their work. Whatever their activity, they can add a little tag for #drawing, or #painting, which should make it easy to find the type of creative endeavours that you want to watch.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Although I don't see Twitch Creative being as popular as its gaming channels, it's an interesting idea that helps separate it from other sites like Youtube which have much more of a general content spectrum.

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Adobe still leads the way in Rip Off Britain scores https://www.kitguru.net/professional/design-create/jules/adobe-still-leads-the-way-in-rip-off-britain-scores/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/design-create/jules/adobe-still-leads-the-way-in-rip-off-britain-scores/#comments Sun, 01 Dec 2013 10:52:54 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=165199 After running this morning's story about Crucial's inexplicable $50 bump for an SSD drive price when it gets sold to Brits, we got a timely reminder that there is one company that rips hard and faster than anyone else in this industry. KitGuru checks the sums before declaring Adobe the winner. While Crucial can try …

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After running this morning's story about Crucial's inexplicable $50 bump for an SSD drive price when it gets sold to Brits, we got a timely reminder that there is one company that rips hard and faster than anyone else in this industry. KitGuru checks the sums before declaring Adobe the winner.

While Crucial can try to claim that shipping etc might make a couple of dollars difference to the price of its drives in one part of the world or another, the ‘download pricing option' from Adobe means that not even that defence is available.

Maybe it's the cost of providing software in a different language?

Nope – no luck there. When the Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, they are carrying on a tradition from England in the 1500s – and they do it in English.

KitGuru has tried – and failed – to find a logical reason why Adobe software should be even $1 more expensive in the UK than it is in the USA.

The differences are WAY more than the sales taxes of any modern government, so we have focused on the numbers presented by Adobe on its various sites – for DOWNLOAD VERSIONS ONLY – so there are no material/postage costs.

Here's the comparison:-

Numbers will fluctuate +/- 20% with various taxes etc, but the differences here are WAY outside even that kind of movement. Impossible to explain.
Numbers will fluctuate +/- 20% with various taxes etc, but the differences here are WAY outside even that kind of movement.  They are impossible to explain.

.
KitGuru says: It's lucky that Adobe doesn't have a monopoly on this kind of content creation software. Oh. Wait.

Comment below, in the KitGuru forums or join us online over at Facebook.

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Wavemaster Stax Speakers Review https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-announcement/mikey/wavemaster-stax-speakers-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-announcement/mikey/wavemaster-stax-speakers-review/#respond Wed, 01 May 2013 07:35:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=133309 Having started to create multimedia speakers for PC systems in Germany many years ago, Wavemaster is a relatively new brand to UK consumers – but they are aiming to make a splash with a series of headphone and speaker launches in 2013. We have been sent a set of Wavemaster Stax speakers – aimed squarely …

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Having started to create multimedia speakers for PC systems in Germany many years ago, Wavemaster is a relatively new brand to UK consumers – but they are aiming to make a splash with a series of headphone and speaker launches in 2013. We have been sent a set of Wavemaster Stax speakers – aimed squarely at the entry level 2.1 market that has been dominated for many years by brands like Logitech and Creative. 

The first thing that grabs your attention when you open the Wavemaster Stax box is the styling on the tweeters. The sub-woofer is pretty much as you would expect, a lump of bass-boosting-box, but the mini tweeter towers are gorgeous.

It is worth pointing out that these Wavemaster speakers have no connection to the famous, ultra high end oriental STAX headphones and amplifiers.

Wavemaster-Stax-Box-KitGuru

All 3 speakers also feel comfortably heavy in your hand.

While there won't always be a 100% correlation between physical weight and the amount of volume a speaker can deliver, there is normally a strong link. Why?  Well think about it this way: If you're a manufacturer in the Far East and you know that you might have to ship goods around the world, then you will spend some time thinking about ways to reduce the weight of your goods – because that can reduce shipping costs and increase profitability. These speakers have a positive ‘heft' to them. A good early sign in our book.

The tweeters are also articulate, in the sense that they can swivel on their base – allowing you to direct your music directly toward your ears.

Control over volume – plus additional access points for headphones, line-in or microphone – comes in a neat desktop control unit. The cable is a decent length and should allow you to create a neat work area.

Features:-

  • Satellite: 2 x 2.54 cm full-range speaker with Mylar membrane.
  • Subwoofer: 12.5 cm long-throw woofer.
  • Integrated amplifier: 3 channels.
  • Output power (RMS): Subwoofer 22 watts, 2 x 10 watt satellite.
  • Frequency Response: Subwoofer 30-150 Hz Satellite 150 Hz – 20,000 Hz.
  • Cable remote control for: ON / OFF, volume control, headphone jack, separate line-in and microphone ports.
  • Designer satellite speakers: adjustable metal stand and wall mounting.
  • Subwoofer: Wooden casing with bass reflex technology, Bass level control and power switch.
  • Internal Power Supply: 230 volts.
  • Connector: 3.5 mm stereo jack or RCA.
  • Dimensions (WHD): Satellites are 100 x 205 mm and the Subwoofer is 185 x 263 x 232 mm.
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Creative Sound Blaster Z Sound Card Review https://www.kitguru.net/components/soundcard/simon-telford/creative-sound-blaster-z-sound-card-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/soundcard/simon-telford/creative-sound-blaster-z-sound-card-review/#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:30:11 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=123118 The Creative Sound Blaster Z Sound card is part of the new flagship series of Sound Blaster and features the multi-core Sound Core3D audio processor and beamforming microphone. There are three models in the Sound Blaster Z range; the Z, the Zx and the ZxR. A beamforming microphone is made up of, in short, two …

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The Creative Sound Blaster Z Sound card is part of the new flagship series of Sound Blaster and features the multi-core Sound Core3D audio processor and beamforming microphone. There are three models in the Sound Blaster Z range; the Z, the Zx and the ZxR.

A beamforming microphone is made up of, in short, two omni directional microphones at both ends of the device. The beamforming feature then creates an area (from the projected beam of each mic) in front of the subject and captures the sound within, attenuating anything out of the area. This is great for reducing background noise and combined with Creatives' CrystalVoice should give excellent vocal pick-up.

Specifications

Audio Processor: Sound Core3D
Audio Resolution: 24-Bit
Digital Audio Convertor (DAC): Cirrus Logic
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) (20kHz Low-pass filter, A-Wgt): 116dB
Maximum Playback Quality: 5.1 : Up to 96kHz
Stereo Direct: Up to 192kHz
Frequency Response @96kHz: 5.1 : Up to 96kHz
Front Channel Out : 10Hz to 45kHz
Rear Channel Out : 15Hz to 45kHz
Center Out : 10Hz to 45kHz
Headphone (33 ohms): 10Hz to 45kHz
Frequency Response @192kHz (Stereo Direct Only): Front Channel Out : 10Hz to 88kHz
16-bit to 24-bit Recording Sample Rates: 8,11.025,16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48, 96 (kHz)
16-bit to 24-bit Playback Sample Rates: 8,11.025,16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48, 96, 192 (kHz)
Maximum Recording Quality: Up to 24-bit/96kHz
I/O Ports (Main Card): Headphone : 1 x Amplified 3.5mm jack
Speaker Out : 3 x 3.5mm jacks(F/R/C-Sub)
Line / Mic In : 1x shared 3.5mm jack
Optical Out : 1x TOSLINK
Optical In : 1x TOSLINK
600 Ohm Amplified Headphone Output: Maxim MAX97220A
Included Acesssories: Beamforming Microphone
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Intel gets Creative with latest acquisition https://www.kitguru.net/components/jules/intel-gets-creative-with-latest-acquisition/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/jules/intel-gets-creative-with-latest-acquisition/#respond Fri, 23 Nov 2012 07:31:34 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=116335 Over the past few years, Intel has been acquiring a series of technologies and patents that will, it hopes, position it better for 3-5 years down the road. Alongside operating system technology and – more famously – McAfee in the software/security area, Intel has now purchased Creative's clever bits for $50m. Which brings it some …

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Over the past few years, Intel has been acquiring a series of technologies and patents that will, it hopes, position it better for 3-5 years down the road. Alongside operating system technology and – more famously – McAfee in the software/security area, Intel has now purchased Creative's clever bits for $50m. Which brings it some cool mobile 3D stuff. KitGuru considers the implications of Intel developing graphics differently from Apple.

While AMD and nVidia continue to slug it out in the desktop graphics space, mobile giant Apple uses PowerVR technology from the old VideoLogic team (now Imagination Technologies) from Kings Langley in Hertfordshire. Intel draws on that same experience set – which will make it harder to show that Intel is different from Apple down the road (should it decide that separation is useful in the phone/pad/pod space).

While there's no certainty that this acquisition will be Intel's last, the chip giant must feel it's close to a ‘full house'. Two years ago, Intel bought Infineon's Wireless Business which could give Atom-based phone solutions access to the US markets in 2013. Now it has its own graphics technologies (derived from the old 3D Labs workstation thinking – which started in 1994).

Creative's graphics drive (branded ZiiLabs) also has powerful ties to ARM – AMD's new partner – so it will be interesting to see what (if anything) Intel draws from that pool of expertise.

In 1999, Intel paid 3DLabs $7.5m for use of its existing patents. The new deal appears to include $20m for all its patents and another $30m for the UK-based boffins. Creative itself bought 3DLabs in 2002 for $170m – so it's not looking like the world's best ever investment.

As Capo Otellini exits stage right, his legacy includes buying Intel into a whole heap of new technologies - with the final cherry on the cake being the Ziilabs' innovations. It's a different kind of thinking - acquisition - how will Otellini be remembered?

KitGuru says: As Intel and AMD position themselves for a future where demand for £1,000 desktop systems dries up considerably, both are making steps toward affordable, low power, ‘used everywhere' systems that seem likely to produce the bulk of the world's computing revenue in the future. A future which Intel may now be able to render a little nicer. In low-power-consumption 3D.

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