Test Center Roundup: Hot New Products For September 2010

Acronis Launches New Backup & Recovery

Acronis, Woburn, Mass., a provider of backup, recovery and security solutions, said its Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 Online is now available as a successor to the company's Acronis True Image product line.

Backup & Recovery 10 is designed to provide centralized management of all backup and disaster recovery solutions in an enterprise, spanning Windows and Linux environments. The launch includes Backup & Recovery 10 Advanced Server Edition for VMware, Microsoft's Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer and Parallels' virtual environments, as well as targeted versions for Windows servers, Microsoft Small Business Server and local management of Linux servers.

The solution is based on Acronis' disk imaging and bare metal restore technologies, the company said.

Acronis has based pricing on a per-machine basis: $49.99 for workstation (250 GB); $499 for server (1 TB); and $1,199 for virtual machines (2 TB.) Free trials are also available

NEC Unveils 46-Inch LCD

NEC Display Solutions, the Itasca, Ill.-based display maker, has taken the wraps off a 46-inch, ultranarrow LCD display -- the X462UN -- which it said is designed for video wall configurations in professional digital signage solutions.

The display is an upgrade from the X461UN, which NEC launched in 2009. The company says the new 46-inch display provides "full connectivity" during product implementation, and provides EdgeComp technology -- a feature that improves brightness uniformity.

Among other things, the display provides 1,366 x 768 native resolution; 3,000:1 contrast ratio; 200 watts of power consumption and fewer than 2 watts in standby; supports landscape and portrait modes; and supports SNMP and a real-time clock that provides for scheduling powering up and down for energy savings.

The unit will be available this month with an estimated street price of $4,699, including a three-year limited warranty.

Samsung Shows Off Pair Of 'MFMs'

Samsung Electronics America, Ridgefield Park, N.J., said it has launched two new lines of "multi-function monitors" (MFMs) that combine a PC monitor and HDTV.

Samsung said the new lines, the 30 Series and the 90 Series, allow for simple switching back and forth between PC and television uses. They are built with two HDMI inputs to connect to more than one HD device and allow for integration with memory stick, media players and digital cameras via USB connection.

The 90 Series LED includes HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution; 5-millisecond response time; 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio; Dolby Digital Plus; remote control and a 24-inch display. The 90 Series will be available this month and will be priced at $419.99, Samsung said.

The 30 Series includes the same resolution and response time; 70,000:1 contrast ratio; Dolby Digital Plus; remote control and either 21.5-inch, 23-inch or 24-inch displays. The 30 Series is now available through the channel and is priced between $269.99 and $329.99, depending on size.

Plustek Touts New Document Scanner

Plustek, Cerritos, Calif., said its new SmartOffice PS286 Plus document scanner -- part of a new product lineup that includes portable scanners, sheet scanners and network video recorders for IP cameras -- provides higher performance and more network scan functionality than previous editions of the product line.

The SmartOffice PS286 Plus scans 50 images a minute, can scan to FTP via DocAction, and scans A3-sized documents via internal image stitching, Plustek said.

Bundled with the SmartOffice PS286 Plus is ABBYY FineReader Sprint, which allows for creation and management of searchable PDFs. Plustek has list-priced the device at $449.

Openbravo Hits SMB Space With ERP Technology

Barcelona, Spain-based Openbravo, the open-source ERP software company, has made available a version of the solution that's targeted specifically at small and midsize businesses.

Openbravo QuickStart 2 is a rapid-implementation Enterprise Resource Planning solution, which the company says provides "steamlined implementations" of a dozen core business process flows, including Order to Cash, Procure to Pay and Bank Statement to Bank Reconciliation functions. Openbravo said it will offer subscription-based pricing and noted the solution can be deployed in a cloud environment. It provides setup wizards and preconfigured content, among other things.

QuickStart 2 also incorporates Openbravo's new Advanced Payables and Receivables Management module, a complete, purpose-built payment management system with an enhanced user experience that provides clear cash-flow visibility, and fully automates and audits all payment and bank reconciliation processes.

The company, which is venture-capital-backed, sells the solution through its partner network.

Emerson Network Power Boosts Liebert UPS Line

Emerson Network Power, Columbus, Ohio, has introduced its Liebert GXT3 uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in 5-1kVA models, the company said. The product lets VARs and IT departments put higher power into smaller footprints without degrading performance. The company said the GXT3 is available in both rack and tower form factors and comes with hot-swappable internal batteries that provide four or more minutes of life at full load. The GXT3 comes with the Liebert IntelliSlot Web Card that provides SNMP for Web-based monitoring and management. It ships with a Microsoft Windows-based configuration and can be customized for testing.