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Synology announced a high-end model in its line of NAS (network attached storage) devices targeting small- and medium-sized business. The DS1511+ has a 1.86GHz dual-core processor, room for up to five hard disk drives and 15TB of storage, two gigabit Ethernet ports, and compatibility with two external storage units, according to the company.
IBM announced what appears to be a breakthrough in its development of “racetrack” memory, which stores data by manipulating the magnetic state of regions — magnetic domain walls — within nanowires. The “radically new” storage technology could result in storage devices with the speed and reliability of flash memory, along with the low cost and storage capacity of magnetic disk drives, the company says.
Samsung will announce a new Android-based PMP (portable media player) at next week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), according to an illustrated report by the Samsung Hub website. Running Android 2.2 (“Froyo”), the device will have a four-inch screen and other specs similar to the Galaxy S line of phones, but without cellular connectivity, the website says.
CompuLab announced an ARM Cortex-A8 COM (computer on module) with up to 256MB of RAM, 512MB of flash storage, 10/100 Ethernet, plus integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Linux-ready CM-T3517 comes with Texas Instruments (TI) Sitara AM3505 or AM3517 CPUs clocked at up to 600MHz, has a touchscreen controller, and includes a camera interface, according to the company.
Google released a list of ten tips for those using Android 2.3 (“Gingerbread”) on its Nexus S. The tips, some of which may work on other devices, were accompanied by a list of four keyboard tricks and 14 interesting applications.
One in five of U.S. adults surveyed said they plan to own a tablet by 2014, giving Apple, Android and the latecomers plenty of time to duke it out over market share.
Trinity Audio Group is now selling a MeeGo Linux-based tablet bundled with version 5.0 of its Transmission audio platform for musicians. The $700 Indamixx 2 offers a 10.1-inch touchscreen, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 2GB of RAM and 260GB of storage, plus the Renoise tracking and sampling application, according to the company.
The oft-maligned MotoBlur UI “skin” that Motorola adds to many of its Android phones may get a makeover, thanks to a holiday acquisition. Motorola has acquired Zecter, a startup with assets for syncing and streaming content, and says it will apply the technology to MotoBlur.
Ambarella is sampling a Cortex-A9 based system-on-chip intended to bring Android phones 1080p60 resolution and 3D video capabilities. By combining a dual-core, 1GHz Cortex-A9 processor, a 533MHz ARM11 processor, image and video DSPs, and a 3D graphics engine, the iOne SoC offers multistream encoding for live video streaming, simultaneous still photography and HD video recording, and HD telepresence, says the company.
Bsquare says it is now shipping a smartphone reference platform for developing Android applications using the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. The Snapdragon Mobile Development Platform (MDP) for Android is built around the 1GHz MSM8655 Snapdragon, and offers a 3.8-inch WVGA multitouch screen, a 12-megapixel camera, plus a full array of wireless radios and sensors, says the company.
Research and Markets has released an Open Source/Linux Development report claiming that 67 percent of open source developers spend at least part of their time working on non-work-related open source projects. Other results from the report, based on a recent Evans Data survey, include the finding that 65 percent of open source developers earn under $100 per open source project.
A Google Android engineer publicly defended the relative ease with which Android phones can be rooted, arguing that the loopholes used by modders do not reflect flawed Android security defenses. Besides, carriers and handset makers who lock down their devices are begging for rooting exploits, writes Nick Kralevich in his blog post.
The ZigBee Alliance announced a new standard touted as a milestone in allowing IR (infrared) remote controls to be replaced by more modern RF (radio frequency) equivalents. “ZigBee Input Device” includes native support for multitouch and gestures, the ability to define special functionality, and mechanisms for updating devices that are already in the field, the group says.
A Verizon Tweet suggests that several Android smartphones optimized for its 4G LTE network will be unveiled at CES Jan. 6. Meanwhile, Sprint's WiMAX-based 4G network is expanding to several more cities, the WiMAX Forum claims WiMAX will reach more than a billion users next year, and AT&T is buying spectrum from Qualcomm for a planned LTE rollout.
Wind River announced a partnership with Chinese telecommunications firm Via Telecom to develop low-cost Android phones using Wind River Platform for Android. It's said the “Kunlun” reference platform will enable OEMs to offer sub-$100 CDMA phones using Via Telecom's 3G EVDO Rev. A and 1xRTT modem, phone board, and telephony software.