VIA WonderMedia helps bust the sub-$80 tablet mark

In a country like India where the number of consumers is just mind-bogglingly huge and the number of people with income to spend on gadgets in only increasing, mass-producing a device and making money off volume sales with a low price-point is seeing previously unheard of price barriers busted open.

The new "Ira" tablet "features 7 inch resistive display, 800MHz VIA WonderMedia ARM SoC , Wi-Fi connectivity, 2GB internal memory, 512MB RAM, 3G modem support via USB, 3.5mm audio jack and a 2800 mAh battery. It is being sold at Rs 4,000."

Rs 4,000 is just $78 USD. I bought a tablet with a very similar spec about 18 months ago for $280. Incredible!

VIA Labs USB2Expressway featured in Digitimes

An exploratory article in Digitimes has exposed the smart idea behind VIA Labs' USB2Expressway technology. As the article explains, although the uptake of USB 3.0 in the consumer segment has been impressive, the embedded and industrial markets haven't made the switch quite so readily. The VIA Labs USB2Expressway targets the reasons behind this and offers a compelling solution.

"USB2Expressway applies VIA's USB 3.0 Enhanced HUB concept and unique, independently-developed U3TT chip technology to the "one to many" control model used in many industrial control sectors, providing ample bandwidth of 480Mbps to every USB 2.0 device connected downstream of the hub. USB 2.0 devices used to only be able to share the bandwidth provided by the USB 2.0, so even when no devices were using the USB 3.0 hub's bandwidth, the connections just sat idle. As Hsu explained, VIA's unique design means that USB 2.0 devices on its USB 3.0 Enhanced HUB can now use the up-to-5Gbps of USB 3.0 bandwidth. This makes it possible for every USB 2.0 device on the hub to access the full 480Mbps, markedly boosting device performance."

VIA x86 processor shipments down

Shipments of VIA's x86 processors were down to 80 000 in the last quarter of 2011, according to figures released by IDC. Despite this, VIA is battling on, continuing to hold a strong market share in embedded systems using for thin clients and signage.

"Despite challenges, Via will continue to compete in the PC market, Rau said. One of Via's parent companies is Formosa Plastics Group, which has deep pockets and could provide a cash flow for Via to continue competing, Rau said. Via's future is embedded computing, in which the company has a notable market share, Rau said. In a typical quarter now, Via ships about 400,000 to 500,000 processors designed for embedded systems, such as thin clients and digital signs."

[Source].

VR-Zone takes a closer look at VIA's USB2Expressway

Intrigued by the VL811 hub that VIA debuted at CES back in January, VR-Zone have taken a closer look at how the technology works and what speed increases can be expected from USB 2.0 devices. Essentially this chip sits on a USB hub controller PCI card. If USB 2.0 devices are plugged in to this USB 3.0 hub the bandwidth gets shared and so although the USB 2.0 devices can't and won't operate at USB 3.0 speeds, they will operate at their maximum speed with no slowdowns. Read on for a full explanation.