TechPowerUp is back with another chance for you to win some groovy PC hardware, in partnership with AeroCool. Up for grabs are an AeroCool XPredator X3 Devil Red chassis for the top spot; an XPredator X1 chassis for the second; a Touch 2100 touchscreen fan-controller and front-panel replacement for the third; and Strike-X X-1000 fan-controllers for two winners. To participate, all you have to do is "Like" our Facebook page (if you haven't already), and fill in a short entry form. Good Luck!

For more information, and to participate, visit this page.

ASUS is excited to announce immediate availability of the VivoBook S500 in North America. ASUS VivoBook S500 showcases an attractive, durable, and portable 15.6" design that includes a 3rd generation Intel Core processor for excellent multitasking performance, touch enabled high-definition display, ASUS SonicMaster audio, and hybrid SSD/HD drive options.

ASUS VivoBook S500 is designed with stylish aesthetics, true-to-life sound, and instinctive touch capabilities via the highly responsive multi-point HD touch panel or the oversized touchpad incorporating ASUS Smart Gesture technology. It is ideal for the increasingly cloud-based nature of computing with seamless connectivity options and a slim form factor for easy mobility. True 2-second instant on resume from sleep mode provides near-instantaneous access to Windows 8 and its energy-conserving design allows standby for up to two weeks.

MultiTouch Ltd, the world leader in interactive display systems, has announced its latest technology, Enriched Reality. With the new technology, MultiTouch's MultiTaction series of displays are able to detect every object that interacts or is placed on the system.

Enriched Reality is based on MultiTouch's proprietary Computer Vision Through Screen (CVTS) technology and uses 2D optical markers for real-life object detection to uniquely identify any object attached to a marker. In addition to this, Enriched Reality supports blob tracking which recognizes all basic geometric shapes including circles, triangles and rectangles.

LG Electronics (LG) is introducing its 2013 collection of IPS monitors, featuring new concepts such as UltraWide, ColorPrime and Touch 10, perfectly matched for entertainment, professional applications and touch-based interaction, respectively. All three models, which will be unveiled at next week's 2013 International CES, employ LG's advanced IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology to deliver exceptional picture quality and raise the bar for displays this year.

"LG has focused on blending highly specialized functions with stellar IPS technology. These three monitors will push boundaries and reshape people's expectations," said Il Geun Kwon, Senior Vice President and Head of the IT Business Unit at LG Electronics' home entertainment unit. "The UltraWide, ColorPrime and Touch 10 offer solutions for nearly every task imaginable, whether it's watching the latest blockbuster movie, performing graphic design tasks, or anything in between. With this diverse range of creative and highly advanced products, LG has definitely set the tone, and the pace, for 2013."

MultiTouch Ltd has announced the launch of 42" and 55" MultiTaction Cell multitouch displays, fully integrated with Windows 8. The new MultiTaction Cell 42" (MT420W8) and 55" (MT550W8) with Embedded Windows 8 on Intel Core i7 are the first large-format displays available with a built-in touch user interface –and the first to support simultaneous use of unlimited touch with hands, the new Windows 8 native pen tracking and real life object interaction.

The addition of Windows 8 makes MultiTaction an even better proposition for clients seeking large integrated Windows 8 devices particularly suitable for use in public spaces. The new MultiTaction Cell displays allow clients to use applications from the Windows 8 store, with both 42" and 55" models running applications compatible across smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs.

Ahead of its December launch, Lenovo gave us a sneak peak of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook on its website. The 14-incher retains the essential design of its August 2012 launched predecessor, with the addition of Windows 8 Pro, a multi-touch screen, and a screen-resolution marked "HD+," which most probably is 1600 x 900 pixels. No other details were revealed. We don't expect the new X1 Carbon to deviate from its formidable system specs, which includes Core i5 "Ivy Bridge" with vPro processor, GeForce graphics, and SSD/HDD storage options.

Over the past month, AeroCool unveiled six new products featured in its mainline and Strike-X brands, including the Strike-X XPredator Devil Red and White Editions, Strike-X Air, and Mechatron Black Edition cases; Silent Master 200 mm fans, and Strike-X X-1000 fan-controller. AeroCool made an addition to the lineup, the Touch-2000 fan controller, and made all products available through retail channels in the US.

The Touch-2000 is a 2-bay fan-controller. It is characterized by a brushed aluminum bezel, and a large LED display, with feather-touch buttons. The Touch-2000 supports a maximum of five channels with 25W maximum output per channel. In addition to five fan speed channels, the controller supports temperature monitoring from five thermal probes that can be stuck to key components such as heatsinks, hard drives, etc., for real-time monitoring. The color scheme of the LED display can be changed among 7 options. Overheating alarms can be set. The Touch-2000 also doubles up as a 2-port USB 3.0 (standard header) and audio (HDA header) front-panel, to help with cases that lack the ports.

Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, today announced details about its upcoming Windows 8 mobile PC and All-In-One product lines. Building on its leadership position in the PC and tablet market, Samsung is bringing premium computing power, elegant design and an intuitive user experience to its PCs along with seamless convergence across devices, thanks to Samsung AllShare Play. In addition, Samsung offers a range of unique applications across devices including Samsung Quick Starter, and exclusive S Pen apps such as S Note and S Memo.

“Samsung has seen extraordinary growth in the mobile PC category over the past few years, and we’re now taking our success to the next level by connecting the PC to other devices in the home or office through our convergence technology, Samsung AllShare Play,” said Mike Abary, senior vice president of consumer IT product marketing at Samsung Electronics America. “The launch of Windows 8 provides an inflection point in the evolution of the PC. Samsung has always focused on pushing the boundaries of design to create truly remarkable products that consumers and businesses want. We’re confident that we will continue to lead the future with our thoughtful, powerful approach to the computing experience.”

In addition to the VivoBook X202 and TAICHI 21 seen last week, ASUS is gearing up to release another 11.6-inch notebook running Microsoft's Windows 8. Seen below is the Q200E, a 0.9-inch-thick machine with an aluminum casing that features an 11.6-inch touchscreen, a 1.4 GHz Core i3 processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive, integrated graphics, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a webcam, one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, and an HDMI output.

The Q200E is backed by a one-year warranty and costs $549.99.Source: Liliputing

Yet another ASUS-branded Windows 8 mobile PC has went up for pre-order this week and it is a 0.8-inch-thick ultrabook boasting a 14.1-inch (1366 x 768) touchscreen. Named VivoBook S400, ASUS' creation runs Windows 8 Home Premium (64-bit) and features a 1.7 GHz Core i5-3317U processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 24 GB SSD, a 500 GB (5400 RPM) hard drive, Intel GMA HD graphics, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, an HD camera, plus one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports.

The VivoBook S400 costs $699 and will ship on October 26.Source: Notebook Italia

For those put off by TAICHI 21's second display and its price tag ASUS has introduced a simpler, but still touch-enabled, and Windows 8-loaded, laptop, the VivoBook X202. Priced at $599, the X202 is 0.9-inch thick, it runs Windows 8 Home Premium, and features an 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) LED-backlit touchscreen, a 1.8 GHz Core i3-3217U processor, 4 GB of RAM, Intel GMA HD graphics, a 500 GB hard drive, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, a 0.3 megapixel camera, a 3-in-1 card reader, one USB 3.0 port, an HDMI output, and a 2-cell battery (battery life is up to 5 hours).

The VivoBook X202 is available for pre-order and is set to ship on October 26.

Today Logitech announced a new lineup of products designed for easy and intuitive navigation of Windows 8. Available later this month, the Logitech Wireless Rechargeable Touchpad T650, Logitech Touch Mouse T620 and Logitech Zone Touch Mouse T400 are each specifically designed to work with the Windows 8 touch interface.

"This new family of products takes the traditional mouse functionality you're used to and optimizes it for the navigation experience offered by Windows 8," said Mike Culver, vice president of brand development for consumer computing platforms at Logitech. "Our new mice and touchpad replicate the touch-screen experience that you've grown accustomed to on smartphones and tablets. With Windows 8 now offering up a similar touch experience, our products give you quick, easy and dynamic access to the core elements of the new interface."

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solution products, today announced its latest touch-enabled LED display – the TD2220.

The 22" (21.5" viewable) TD2220 display is equipped with advanced dual point optical touch technology featuring a hardened 8H level scratch resistant surface to ensure high touch accuracy and durability. With Full HD 1080p resolution, the TD2220 delivers excellent image quality for a variety of multimedia content, with a dustproof surface that is perfect for 2-point touch control, whether by finger, stylus, or even a gloved hand.

Today Logitech announced the next generation of its award-winning line of Harmony remotes, the Logitech Harmony Touch. This premium advanced universal remote gives you customization with an intuitive color touch-screen for unprecedented control of your home-entertainment system.

Designed to make finding your preferred entertainment as easy as possible, the Logitech Harmony Touch lets you add, remove and re-order up to 50 favorite channel icons from your respective cable or satellite provider right on its vibrant 2.4-inch color touch-screen. After simple online setup, you and your family can access all your favorite channels with a simple tap, swipe or scroll, removing the hassle of memorizing channel numbers and scrolling through lengthy on-screen guides. You can personalize the experience to quickly and easily find all of your favorite entertainment – from TV and movies to games and music – with one touch.

MultiTouch Ltd, developer of the world’s first modular multi-touch LCD screen for large-scale displays, today announced that its ground-breaking MultiTaction Cell displays have been used in the construction of the world’s largest multi-touch interactive wall. The wall, which comprises 24x 55” MultiTaction Cells, was built by UK-based Engage Production Ltd for a renowned global company providing advice on business advancement, and forms part of a fully integrated and unique communications facility.

The City of London-based client commissioned an ‘Executive Brand Suite’ that would enable communications through an array of state-of-the-art equipment, and showcase the rapid speed at which the consumer is changing as a result of the lightning-fast rate of technological development. The multi-touch wall is at the heart of this innovative build and at a whopping 9.9m x 2.1m – 3m high including the base – the sheer scale of the finished product is nothing short of breathtaking.

Now everyone can share exciting media experiences with VAIO Tap 20 from Sony. It's the fresh concept in home computing that's a tabletop PC and so much more.

Versatile VAIO Tap 20 is designed to leverage the intuitive ease of Windows 8, opening up exciting new possibilities to interact with apps and your media collection.

Portable, battery-powered VAIO Tap 20 fits right into any living space – from bedrooms and kids' play areas to the kitchen or garden. Lay it on a coffee table and let everyone join in games on the large multi-touch screen. Flip out the in-built stand and tilt VAIO Tap 20 at a comfortable angle for 'lean back' photo/movie editing by touch operation, browsing and entertainment. Or stand it upright and use as a fully-functioning desktop PC: it's easy to work on documents, surf or check emails with the supplied wireless keyboard and mouse.

Today at an event in Hollywood, Microsoft unveiled Surface: PCs built to be the ultimate stage for Windows. Company executives showed two Windows tablets and accessories that feature significant advances in industrial design and attention to detail. Surface is designed to seamlessly transition between consumption and creation, without compromise. It delivers the power of amazing software with Windows and the feel of premium hardware in one exciting experience.

The computer mouse was invented back in the 1960s, and with few exceptions it looks and works the same as it did back then...until now. Manhattan today unveiled a re-imagined mouse for the tablet generation: Stealth. With an ultra-sleek , contoured design, Stealth is a Touch Mouse that lets you access and interact with Web content from a PC or Mac with a simple tap or swipe of your finger...no clicking, no scroll wheel, no buttons.

The first two things you will notice about the Stealth are its graceful, slipper shaped body and elegant SilkTouch coating. The body of the Stealth is ergonomically engineered to eliminate wrist strain and position your fingers for optimal use while surfing the Web, checking Facebook or just about anything else. Meanwhile, the SilkTouch coating gives the Stealth a very sophisticated, upscale look and lets your fingers to slide gently along the mouse's curved surface.

Microsoft's Hardware team has today revealed some colorful new additions to its mouse offer, five fresh artistic patterns, for the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 and Arc Touch Mouse, and several limited edition shades, for the Explorer Touch Mouse and WMM 3500.

The added Artist Edition surfaces come from five new designers - Kenzo Minami, Stina Persson, Oh Joy!, Tchmo and Sally Zou, and are available here (Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Limited Edition Artist Series) and here (Arc Touch Mouse Limited Edition Artist Series).

As for the limited edition colors, they are Dahlia Pink and White for the Explorer Touch Mouse, and Aqua Blue, Citron Green, Cobalt Blue, Dahlia Pink, Flame Red, White and Black for the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500.

Wacom today announces Intuos5, the next generation lineup of tablets for professional photographers, designers and artists who wish to take their digital content creation to the next level. Superior new features include multi-touch gesture support for intuitive input, an Express View display to facilitate an efficient workflow and wireless capabilities for convenience and comfort. Combined with Wacom's renowned pen pressure and tilt sensitive pen, the state-of-the-art Intuos5 inspires creativity through an immersive experience.

With its ergonomic, ambidextrous design and bold new look, the slim-profile Intuos5 allows creative professionals to work in complete comfort. The professional matte-black, soft-touch finish and illuminated accents reflect a modern and durable design. To meet the workflow and workspace needs of Wacom's diverse professional customer base, Intuos5 models are being introduced in the Americas in three different sizes (small, medium and large) to accommodate creative preferences.

N-trig today announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to provide tablets with unparalleled pen and multi-touch performance and functionality. The combination of N-trig's DuoSense pen and multi-touch user interface with NVIDIA DirectTouch architecture boosts performance and enhances the user experience.

DirectTouch improves touch responsiveness by offloading a portion of the touch panel processing to the CPU cores in the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, the world's only 4-PLUS-1 quad-core processor with a fifth battery saver core. The architecture also simplifies the implementation of touch-based hardware and user interfaces, requiring less power while delivering more scalable performance.

Synaptics Inc., a leading developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications and entertainment devices, today announced support for NVIDIA's DirectTouch architecture for the tablet market. Through its engineering partnership with NVIDIA, Synaptics continues to address consumer demand for thinner and lighter tablet devices that deliver an enhanced user experience. By collaborating with NVIDIA on DirectTouch, Synaptics offers OEMs broad choices on tablet touch solutions, including the recently announced high-performance, single asic ClearPad 7300, the industry's premier large touch screen solution.

With industry leading system-level engineering expertise, global design and technical support centers and over 1 billion capacitive touch solutions in the market, Synaptics is uniquely positioned to help enrich the success of the DirectTouch architecture. DirectTouch is a new technology of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, the world's only 4-PLUS-1 quad-core processor with a fifth battery saver core.

Today Logitech, the world's leading manufacturer of mice, unveiled the Logitech Touch Mouse M600, a mouse featuring a touch surface that lets you navigate intuitively with your fingers.

"People are growing accustomed to using fingertip gestures to navigate on their smartphones and tablets," said Todd Walker, brand manager for Logitech. "In fact, for many people these gestures have become second nature. The Logitech Touch Mouse M600 reflects this evolution in how we interact with the digital world and extends to the computer what have become natural, intuitive motions."

Already announced in Japan, iiyama's ProLite T2451MTS touch-enabled monitor has now also been introduced in Europe. Set to reach EU stores as soon as next week, the T2451MTS features a 23.6-inch (TN) panel with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, two-finger and pen input support, a 2 ms response time, and a contrast ratio of 1,000:1 (DCR is 5,000,000:1).

iiyama's display also has a WLED backlight, a maximum brightness of 250 cd/m2, D-Sub, DVI and HDMI (x 2) connectivity, two 2W speakers, and is bundled with a stylus pen. The ProLite T2451MTS has a recommended price tag of 299 Euro but it can be found on pre-order @ 282 Euro.

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of computing, consumer electronics and communications solutions, along with EXOPC, today announced the EXOdesk, an interactive touchscreen desk. The companies will showcase the technology demonstration at CES 2012 as part of a strategic partnership.

Built by ViewSonic, the EXOdesk is a 32" 10-point touch tabletop that uses an HTML5 powered user interface created by EXOPC. The EXOdesk demonstrates an intuitive design aesthetic and supports gesture-based control of applications including productivity tools, social networking and games. The desk will be powered by an external PC configured with an Intel Core i7 processor, Intel's integrated graphics, and Windows 7.