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Archive for September, 2011

Seven-inch tablet targets point-of-sale applications

September 30, 2011

X2 Computing announced a seven-inch tablet that runs Linux or various Windows flavors on a 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor. The ruggedized X2372 has up to 2GB of RAM and 64GB of SSD (solid state disk) storage, a resistive touchscreen with 1024 x 600 pixels, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, plus options including an encrypted PIN pad and a three-track MSR (magnetic stripe reader), the company says.

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ARM-based vehicle PC has integral touchscreen

September 30, 2011

Portwell announced a Linux- and Android-compatible in-vehicle computer equipped with a 5.7- or seven-inch touchscreen and a 416MHz Marvell PXA270 processor. The PTH-1070A includes four serial ports and two USB ports, one or two CompactFlash slots, plus available non-volatile RAM and CAN bus options, according to the company.

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Revised seven-inch Galaxy Tab is thinner, lighter, and faster

September 30, 2011

Samsung announced a replacement for its original seven-inch Galaxy Tab Android tablet, upgraded with a dual-core 1.2GHz processor. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is faster, thinner, lighter, and adds HSPA+ service — plus, it should be inexpensive, considering the competition from Amazon's $200 Kindle Fire and HTC's Flyer (about to be slashed to $300).

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Has Amazon just Fire-forked Android?

September 30, 2011

Amazon's Kindle Fire may not be an iPad killer or offer cutting-edge features, but it could prove to be a big headache for Android tablet and e-reader vendors, analysts agree. Meanwhile, others debate whether the Fire's customized UI represents a true fork of Android, and argue over whether its cloud-oriented Silk browser is a breakthrough in mobile multimedia or an unprecedented invasion of privacy.

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‘nanoRISC’ module offers 1GHz speed and multiple video outputs

September 29, 2011

MSC Vertriebs announced a 2.75 x 2-inch SOM (system on module) packing a 1GHz Samsung S5PV210 processor, up to 1GB of RAM, and up to 4GB of flash storage. The nanoRISC-S5PV210 offers 10/100 Ethernet, USB 2.0 host and client ports, multiple serial ports, plus RGB, HDMI, and TV graphics interfaces, according to the company.

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Point-of-sale handheld has multiple readers, printer, GPS

September 29, 2011

Viewat announced a handheld computer for point-of-sale (POS) applications, complete with integral smart card and magnetic stripe readers. The EFT-POS VPOS53 has a 1GHz Texas Instruments AM3715 processor, 320 x 240-pixel touchscreen, 256MB of RAM and 512MB of flash storage, plus both a GPS receiver and a GSM/GPRS/EDGE/CDMA cellular modem, according to the company.

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First Tegra 3 ‘Kal-El’ Android tablet coming from ZTE

September 29, 2011

ZTE is preparing two Android tablets, including a seven-inch “T98” model built on Nvidia's five-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, code-named “Kal-El.” Meanwhile, Asus announced a rugged, Tegra 2-based seven-inch Asus Tough-ETBW11AA model with Android 3.2 and 1280 x 800 resolution on Japanese carrier KDDI, and the Motorola Xoom finally got its LTE 4G upgrade on Verizon.

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Tiny Cortex-A8 module gains Linux development support

September 29, 2011

Timesys announced embedded Linux development support for two Logic PD embedded modules incorporating Texas Instruments' 1GHz DM3730 processor. The LinuxLink offering supports Logic PD's Torpedo System on Module (SOM) — which at under one square inch is billed the industry's smallest embedded module — as well as the larger, more feature-rich DM3730 SOM-LV module.

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Nokia preps Linux-based Meltemi OS for feature phones, says report

September 29, 2011

Nokia is developing a new Linux-based “Meltemi” operating systems to replace Symbian on its feature phones, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, more details have emerged on the Linux Foundation's MeeGo-derived Tizen project, which also gained a bit of industry support beyond co-sponsors Intel and Samsung.

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Mini-ITX board uses AMD G-Series processors to support dual displays

September 28, 2011

Ibase announced a Mini-ITX motherboard that supports AMD's G-Series T56N and T48N processors clocked at up to 1.65GHz. The MI958 supports up to 8GB DDR3 memory, offers PCI, PCIe, and mini-PCIe slots, provides dual display capability, and offers a variety of other internal and external ports, according to the company.

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Toshiba’s seven-inch tablet ups ante on screen resolution

September 28, 2011

Toshiba announced a seven-inch Android 3.2 tablet featuring an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and a 1280 x 800-pixel resolution typically found on 10.1-inch models. The Thrive 7″ Tablet offers 16GB or 32GB of storage, microSD and HDMI connections, five- and two-megapixel cameras, and a full complement of wireless features — except for cellular support.

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Microsoft taps Samsung for Android royalties

September 28, 2011

Microsoft has reeled in what could be its largest patent fish yet, now that Samsung has agreed to sign a cross-license agreement related to Android in a deal stressing the companies' partnership on Windows Phone. Microsoft will receive royalties for Samsung's Android-based mobile phones and tablets, such as the new Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet scheduled for release on Oct. 2.

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‘Tizen’ project to combine MeeGo, LiMo projects on HTML5 foundation

September 28, 2011

The Linux Foundation (LF) and LiMo Foundation announced an HTML-focused open source embedded Linux project steered by Intel and Samsung that incorporates components from MeeGo, the smartphone-oriented LiMo spec, and the carrier-backed Wholesale Applications Community interoperability standard. The LF's MeeGo project promised to help transition developers to “Tizen,” which will span multiple device types when it debuts in 2012.

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Amazon spins color Kindle tablet, plus three more E Ink devices

September 28, 2011

[Updated, 10:55 a.m.] — Amazon was widely expected to announce a Kindle-branded tablet today, and it did — also revealing three additional Kindles, two breaking the magical $100 price barrier. The $200 Kindle Fire has a seven-inch color IPS (in-plane switching display), “cloud-accelerated” Silk browser, dual-core processor, and 8GB of flash storage, while the $150 Kindle Touch 3G, $99 Kindle Touch, and $79 Kindle all include six-inch E Ink screens and either 2GB or 4GB of flash.

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EBX boards pack dual-core Atoms

September 27, 2011

WinSystems announced a pair of EBX-format SBCs (single board computers) featuring dual-core Atom processors plus PC/104, PCI/104-Plus, and Mini PCI expansion connectors. The EBC-C384-D has a 1.8GHz D525 processor and up to 4GB of RAM, while the fanless EBC-C384-S has a 1.66GHz N455 and up to 2GB of RAM, according to the company.

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