marvell

Nvidia still has a lot to prove in the mobile market

Nvidia may be flying high on its tablet wins, but it still has a long way to go before it can call itself a real mobile player.

The Santa Clara, Calif., company, traditionally known for making graphics processing units found in computers and game consoles, has been counting on its Tegra mobile chip to help offset weakness in its core PC market. So far, it hasn't been enough. Nvidia is showing up in many tablets, but its presence in smartphones is minimal. In addition, the bulk of Tegra sales are for a couple of tablets, the Google Nexus 7 … Read more

The Disney Way with acquisitions

"The Disney Way" often refers to the Disneyland employee handbook, which introduces staff ("cast members") to the values that embody Disney. But it should also refer to Disney's habit of making bold acquisitions and turning them into home runs.

The Walt Disney Company just sent shockwaves through the entertainment, tech, media, and finance worlds with its $4 billion blockbuster acquisition of Lucasfilm, the creators and owners of the "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" franchises. Lucasfilm has also provided the visual effects for countless blockbusters, including "The Avengers" (a Disney … Read more

Ethernet makes way from home to car

The increasing complexity of automotive systems, from diagnostic sensors to infotainment components, creates a need for more robust data networking. Two companies, Micrel and Marvell, recently announced a means of using Ethernet to address at least part of this issue.

Since the 1990s, cars have employed the CAN bus standard to send data between sensors and engine controllers. However, more airbags and the addition of safety technologies such as vehicle stability control tax the capabilities of the CAN bus standard's 1 megabit per second data rate.

To move forward, companies are looking at developing more robust networking capability in … Read more

'Avengers' DVD to hit Target stores with 90-minute bonus disc

Avengers fans will soon be able to grab the popular movie on Blu-ray and DVD at Target stores, with a little bonus added to the action.

Starting September 25, the retail outlet will be selling the blockbuster film for $32.99. For that you get both the Blu-ray and DVD edition in one single package.

But Target is throwing in a bonus disc called "Building a Dream: Assembling the Avengers." The extra 90-minutes of footage will show how the original Iron Man, Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America films were developed, forging the array of mighty … Read more

X-Men pinball delivers mutant mayhem

Stern Pinball has officially started churning out the X-Men pinball game it hinted at back in June.

The machine comes in three different flavors. The base model is the X-Men Pro ($5,699) and includes a backglass graphic with all the X-Men mutants crammed together in an explosion of awesome.

Then you have the two X-Men Limited Edition machines ($7,999) which include a few extra playfield options, such as a motorized "Ice Slide" ramp, pop-up Night Crawlers, color-changing LEDs, and a magnetic spinning disc that basically rules. The two versions of this machine include an edition with … Read more

Action figures immortalized in artsy lamps

Take a look at this eccentric array of action figure lamps by U.K. firm Evil Robot Designs. They feature painted pint-size superstars from geeky films, video games, and comic books.

Each of the six lamps in the collection has an ear-catching name like Alien Nation and Forbidden Planet. It would take paragraphs to list all the characters integrated into the 2-foot fixtures, but some notables (not mentioned in the photo captions) include Mysterio; Green Goblin; evil xenomorphs from the "Alien" movie series; He-Man; Bunnygirl "Suzumiya Haruhi"; and many more. … Read more

Marvell intros 802.11ac-enabled all-in-one chip for mobile devices

Since the beginning of the year, Broadcom has been the only provider of 802.11ac chips, which it calls 5G Wi-Fi, made to power routers, such as the Buffalo AirStation WZR-D1800H and other Wi-Fi clients. The playing field has changed a little now with Marvell announcing today a chip of its own, the Avastar 88W8897.

Marvell's new chip is slightly different from those offered by Broadcom. First of all, the Avastar 88W8897 combines 802.11ac, Near Field Communication (NFC), and Bluetooth in one die, providing more options for mobile devices. Secondly, this chip offers 802.11ac in the 2-by-2 (… Read more

Marvel creates superhero for boy with hearing aid

I defy you not to be moved by this.

Yes, you might be a nerd who is only moved by machines and impossible superheroes.

But here is a small hero, 4-year-old Anthony Smith from Salem, N.H. Anthony wears a hearing aid. He was born with several chromosomal abnormalities. He doesn't have a right ear. He can only hear a little from his left, so he wears a hearing aid.

He calls the hearing aid Blue Ear. But he got fed up wearing it. Why? Because superheroes don't wear hearing aids. They might have been blind, like Daredevil, … Read more

Like Phoenix, Marvel gives digital coupons a second chance

A Marvel digital-comics sale in January came with an unusual perk: a $5 coupon for a print comic book. As a lead-in to its Avengers versus X-Men story starting in April, Marvel is giving the coupon a second chance to power up both digital and print comics sales via its iOS (download) and Android (download) comics apps.

"The coupon bumped [digital comic] sales about 25 percent," David Gabriel, senior vice-president of sales for Marvel, said in a phone interview yesterday. Peter Phillips, the general manager and senior vice-president of the Marvel Digital Media Group, added that it was &… Read more