Swiss robot vendor K-Team is shipping a third-generation model in its flagship “Khepera” line. The Khepera III, which runs Linux on an optional ARM-powered add-in card, adds floor-roving capabilities, the better to support experiments in swarm behavior, K-Team says. (more…)

Zi Corporation says its eZiText predictive text input software and Decuma handwriting recognition software are available pre-integrated with Trolltech mobile phone stacks, including Qtopia 2.x, 4.x, and “Jupiter.” Zi's products were demonstrated on Trolltech's Greenphone at the ITU Telecom World show this week in Hong Kong. (more…)

Kontron is preparing a line of compact, customizable, multifunctional computers based on its mini-ITX motherboard family. The KIM (“Kontron intelligent mini-computer”) series will ship in February, 2007, in custom and standard configurations, powered by Intel processors ranging from the Celeron M to Core 2… (more…)

Pepper Computing's Linux-powered, x86-compatible PepperPad 3 continues to rack up rave reviews. CarryPad.com publisher Steve Paine calls the device a “hackable gem of a mobile PC,” while Pocketables.net publisher Jenn K. (more…)

O'Reilly has just released a new book on object-oriented (OO) programming. Head First Object-Oriented Analysis & Design — The Brain-Friendly Guide to Writing Great Software, Every Time, by Brett McLaughlin, Gary Pollice, and David West, shows developers how to analyze, design, and write “serious object-oriented software,”… (more…)

Enea plans to market a small-footprint TCP/IP stack add-on for OSEck, its compact RTOS (real-time operating system) for DSPs (digital signal processors). The “DSPNet” stack should enable DSP farms running OSEck to connect via gigabit Ethernet to heterogenous, distributed systems running Linux and other OSes, according to the company. (more…)

Taiwan-based e-book specialist eRead is shipping a Linux-based electronic book reader featuring an electrophoretic (aka electronic paper) display (EPD). The low-power, thin, light-weight Star eBook STK-101 can be used to read as many as 60 books on a single charge, the company claims. (more…)

Italy-based embedded board and system vendor Eurotech continues its acquisitive spree, announcing the purchase of Applied Data Systems (ADS), a Maryland-based manufacturer of board- and system-level embedded computers, for $42.5 million. Eurotech says it will continue to scout out acquisition opportunities in the U.S., U.K., and continental Europe. (more…)

Taiwanese systems integrator AR Infotek has built an “entry-level” 1U rackmount server appliance platform around an AMD x86-compatible embedded processor. The Teak 3258 is based on a passively cooled Geode LX-800 processor, and features soldered-down RAM, and two LAN bypass ports. (more…)

[Updated Dec. 14] — Taiwan-based e-book specialist eRead is shipping a Linux-based electronic book reader featuring an electrophoretic (aka electronic paper) display (EPD). The low-power, thin, light-weight Star eBook STK-101 can be used to read as many as 60 books on a single charge, the company… (more…)

[Updated Dec. 7] — Sony-contributed patches aimed at adding machine-specific features for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) have been merged into the stable 2.6.20 kernel tree. (more…)

Trolltech's Linux/Qtopia-powered Greenphone aims to provide a real (rather than emulated) hardware platform for mobile phone application developers to test their applications on. (more…)

Japanese mobile phone middleware specialist Aplix has formed a strategic alliance with MontaVista, and has taken an equity investment in the company. Aplix says its partnership with MontaVista will enable it to offer “fully integrated solutions” for all chipsets supported by MontaVista. (more…)

Taiwanese pop superstar Jay Chou launched Motorola's thin, Linux-powered Rokr E6 multimedia phone, at the ITU Telecom World tradeshow this week in Hong Kong. The fourth-generation music phone is just over half an inch thick (14mm), and features a 2-megapixel camera and business card reader. (more…)

SafeNet is shipping an “integrated IPSec VPN platform” software said to support VPN connections from next-generation mobile devices. QuickSec 4.1 Server and Client Toolkits helps developers incorporate the most current IPSec security standards, such as MobIKE, into carrier-grade security gateways, network routers, mobile VPN devices, and desktop VPN clients, according to the company. (more…)