Genesi and Freescale are offering free systems with Linux board support packages (BSPs) to developers with innovative proposals for developing on Freescale's new netbook-oriented i.MX515 system-on-chip (SoC). The i.MX515 Developer Program is now open for proposal submissions for developing on the ARM Cortex-A8-based platform. (more…)

French mobile stack developer and LiMo (Linux Mobile) Foundation member Purple Labs announced 2H 2008 revenues of 11 million Euros (~$14.1M), quadruple its revenue in the first half of 2008. (more…)

[Updated, Feb. 5] — Personal navigation device (PND) vendor Garmin and AsusTek (Asus) have merged their smartphone development efforts. The “Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60” will run a proprietary operating system (OS), but the companies say they will evaluate Linux, Android, and Windows Mobile for… (more…)

Altera announced two new FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), and has upgraded its Linux-compatible FPGA design toolkit. The Quartus II 9.0 toolsuite adds support for the new Stratix IV GT and Arria II GX FPGAs, adds an SSN analyzer tool, and debuts a ModelSim Altera Starter Edition simulation engine. (more…)

Timesys is offering a support subscription for Freescale Semiconductor's PowerPC-based MPC8313E communications processor and associated RDB (reference design board), pictured at left. The “LinuxLink” subscription for the MPC8313E helps developers exploit chip features such as gigabit Ethernet, High-Speed USB 2.0, and… (more…)

A fabless semiconductor company in India is sampling two Linux-compatible, ARM9-based system-on-chips (SoCs) for consumer-grade networking and storage appliances. MosChip's MCS8142 and MCS8144 SoCs offer PCI Express, gigabit Ethernet, TCP/UDP/IP offload engines (TOEs), and a display controller option, the company says. (more…)

Facing a financial storm, Motorola plans to focus its smartphone efforts on Google's Android, and put Windows Mobile on the back burner until 2010. The beleaguered cellphone manufacturer will postpone Windows Mobile development until version 7 is released next year, said Motorola in today's conference call. (more…)

Free Electrons has posted 32 free videos from last November's CELF Embedded Linux Conference Europe (ELCE). Additionally, the company says it will work for free to get any drivers or BSPs (board support packages) it is hired to create merged into the mainline Linux kernel. (more…)

Myka is shipping an embedded Linux device that downloads, stores, and plays BitTorrent media files on an attached TV. Available in 80GB, 160GB, and 500GB models, plus a Developer's Edition with a 1TB disk, the Myka appliances offload BitTorrent peer-to-peer duties from a PC. (more…)

VMware is offering a free (LGPL-licensed) client for use with its VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) thin client technology. The VMware View Open Client lets users access personalized, data center-hosted desktops from “almost any” device, VMWare claims. (more…)

A developer of open source VoIP recording software is readying an embedded VoIP recording appliance. The OrecX VoIP Recording Appliance combines OrecX's Oreka TR Total Recorder application with a 1U, Linux-based, rack-mounted server aimed at the small-to-medium business (SMB) call-handling market, says the company. (more…)

Asus is taking pre-orders for a netbook based on Intel's second-generation netbook platform, the secret-shrouded N280/GN40 chipset. Early product specs confirm that the second wave of netbooks are likely to offer faster graphics and lower power use, along with room for much, much larger batteries. (more…)

VDC Research Group announced the winners of its 2008 “Platinum and Gold” awards, which rate the non-product characteristics of computer board vendors targeting embedded systems. The Embedded Board Vendor Awards draw from user ratings of issues such as price, availability/delivery, technical support, and reliability, says the research group. (more…)

[Updated: 11AM] — D2 Technologies is shipping a WiMAX mobile-phone reference design based on Linux, with Google Android and Windows CE/Mobile flavors to follow in Q2. The “dual-mode” design can mix and match WiMAX, WiFi, and cellular radios, and uses a Texas Instruments OMAP-based processor. (more…)

Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES) is shipping a short-form XMC module based on Freescale's dual-core, PowerPC-based MPC8640D processor. Targeting military applications, and available with extreme temperature range support, the XPedite5102 ships with BSPs (board support packages) for Linux and other popular… (more…)