Thursday, June 11, 2009
ASUS gets first WHQL motherboard certification for 32-bit Windows 7
ASUS Tek Computer announced this week that they have become the first motherboard manufacturer to obtain WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) certification for 32-bit Windows 7. ASUS’ P5Q PRO and P5Q SE PLUS have received the coveted seal of approval. The company is expecting other models to be certified soon.
Hardware undergoes specific tests by the manufacturer and stringent testing by Microsoft before being allowed to use the “Compatible with Windows 7″ logo. To ensure that ASUS motherboard users “will enjoy a complete and flawless Windows 7 experience when the operating system is officially launched,” ASUS is striving to obtain certification for its entire line of motherboards.
The Windows 7 Logo Program is supposed to ensure that companies who are awarded the use of the logo have products that are reliable and compatible with Microsoft. Companies that meet the requirements get to use the logo, and benefit from the market recognition, and consumer confidence it supposedly brings to a product.
For now, Microsoft has only blessed ASUS’ two models. One is the P5Q SE PLUS, with an Intel Core 2 Extreme/Intel Core 2 Quad, or Intel Core 2 Duo Processor; the Intel P45/ICH10 chip set; Gb LAN, with a 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 graphics slot. Its memory stands at 16GB, DDR2 1200 MHz. The front side bus (FBS) is 1600 MHz. The second winner, the P5Q PRO runs the same CPU, FSB, LAN and memory. Its chip set is the Intel P45/ICH10R, and the graphics slot is 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16.
ASUS also was joined this month by DTS thereby incorporating the Surround Sensation Ultra PC into their P5Q Turbo and the latest M4 Series. The partnership will entertain users with a surround effect from just two speakers or even headphones. DTS was founded in 1993 and pioneered in multi-channel audio. They’ve expanded their repertoire to include home theater, car audio, PC and game console products. More recent products involve DVD-Video, Blu-ray Disc and Surround Music software.
In addition to motherboards, ASUS is also involved in a broad spectrum of products from PC components to complete solutions including desktops, smartphones, PDAs, broadband communications products, LCD monitors and notebooks, notably the Eee PC. The huge company has over 10,000 employees and revenues of $8 million. They probably know how to cash in on today’s WHQL certification.
Best Buy launches first Palm Pre marketing page
The folks over at Palm’s ad agency Edelman, are clearly staying right on top of the Palm Pre rumor mill. In the past week, Geek.com had a story about the Pre’s wireless battery charger arriving at Best Buy on June 7th and over at Precentral’s forum, there are comments about Sprint and Palm sending email invitations to a contest all about winning a Pre.
In other news Treonauts has a story about Best Buy’s Palm Pre marketing page. We did some checking and found Best Buy’s Pre page and then drove to our local Best Buy mobile store and asked a friend behind the counter what was happening. She confirmed that employees were being trained on the Palm Pre specifications and accessories. She also said that the accessories were scheduled to arrive between June 5 and June 10. When we asked what she knew about the Palm Pre smartphone launch date–her comment was that talking specifically about that product was not worth the grief from corporate management.
Boy Genius Report claims that Bell Canada will be getting their first shipment in August. BGR also showed photos of the Palm Pre boxes which originally came from a Chinese website.