Within five years, thirty-eight percent of mobile phones will incorporate “control surfaces” such as touchscreens and touchpanels, according to ARCchart. The wireless research and consulting firm expects control surfaces to increasingly replace buttons and scrollwheels, in part because they replace mechanical parts and… (more…)

Speech synthesis specialist Cepstral LLC has announced a toolset aimed at helping users synthesize their own voices. The Web 2.0-based VoiceForge tools are said to enable users to capture or “bank” their own voices, after which the company's lightweight, embeddable text-to-speech software can synthesize their voice saying anything at all. (more…)

[Updated Feb. 21] — The market for outsourced standard or customized “embedded integrated computer systems” (EICS) will grow 64 percent from 2005 to 2010, to nearly $6 billion, fueled by standards like AdvancedTCA, VME, and CompactPCI, VDC forecasts. The finding comes from VDC's latest analysis of EICS shipments in six vertical markets. (more…)

A company offering low-cost remote access equipment based on uClinux has embraced a popular open-source network and device monitoring package. OpenGear says its gateways and console servers now enable managed service providers to offer customers an affordable monitoring solution based on Nagios. (more…)

Fabless chip-vendor Redpine Signals has introduced a semiconductor platform for devices requiring Mobile WiMAX functionality. The Lite-MAX low-power mobile platform offers all features of the WiMAX Wave-2 profiles, and comes with reference drivers for Linux, Windows CE, and Windows XP, according to the company. (more…)

Lippert Embedded Computers recently released three new single-board computers (SBCs) with support for embedded Linux. One is an EPIC format SBC based on Pentium/Celeron M processors, while the other two are PC/104-Plus modules supporting a choice of Pentium M or Geode LX800 processors. (more…)

The Mono Project on Feb. 20 announced that it has developed a Visual Basic compiler that will enable software developers who use Microsoft Visual Basic to run their applications on any platform that supports Mono, such as Linux, without any code modifications. (more…)

Wind River, one of the world's top embedded software providers, has acquired a real-time Linux distribution and patented hard-real-time technology from FSMLabs Inc. The acquisition will help Wind River penetrate new and emerging markets requiring extremely tight timing constraints, including the vast, emerging market for low-cost, single-core feature phones, according to the company. (more…)

IBM has published the following new technical articles, tutorials, and downloads on its DeveloperWorks and AlphaWorks websites. They cover a range of interesting (though not necessarily embedded) technical topics, primarily related to Linux and open source system development. (more…)

Faraday Technology Corporation (FTC) is shipping a development platform aimed at simplifying the development of ARM-based structured ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) for embedded devices. (more…)

When it shipped its N800 Internet Tablet, Nokia redressed nearly all of the earlier 770's shortcomings, writes Eric Bangeman in a detailed, well-written online review at ArsTechnica.com. (more…)

Neoware debuted a new version of its Linux-based thin client OS this week, at the LinuxWorld Expo in New York. NeoLinux 4.0 features enhanced security, easier integration and management, and an optional PC-style user interface, according to the company. (more…)

FIC has announced an on-sale date for its Neo1973, expected to be the first low-cost, high-volume phone with a user-modifiable Linux-based operating system. Additionally, the OpenMoko project building open-source software for the phone has published a wealth of technical resources. (more…)

French bluetooth accessory specialist Com One is readying a portable WiFi clock-radio powered by a 2.6.15-7 kernel and the Familiar Linux distribution. The battery-powered “Phoenix IP Radio” is based on an Intel PXA270 (Bulverde) processor, and goes on sale direct to consumers next month. (more…)

RadiSys is shipping a toolkit that lets developers combine Linux with its OS-9 RTOS (real-time OS), in embedded systems based on RadiSys boards and Intel Core 2 Duo processors. (more…)