Google launched an online bookstore, which it says will allow free or paid access to more than three million titles. The eBookstore will support ePub and PDF formats, allow access via web browsers, and will be accompanied by free apps for the iPhone and Android devices.

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Google will unveil the first Chrome OS netbook on Dec. 7, according to industry reports, which also gave advance hints of today's Android 2.3 release. Meanwhile, the latest ComScore report shows continuing advances for Android in the U.S. market where was said to have moved to 23.5 percent share, with Samsung taking the lead in Android handset sales.

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Habey announced a 1U, barebone server featuring Intel's dual-core 1.8GHz Atom D525 processor, starting at $260. Able to run on 25 Watts, the EPC-6566 offers up to 2GB of DDR3 RAM, PCI Express and PCI expansion, dual HDD bays, two gigabit Ethernet ports, plus serial and USB connectivity, says the company.

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Later this month, HP will launch a Linux-based all-in-one PC in India. The HP DreamScreen 400 is said to offer an Intel processor and an 18.5-inch touchscreen, as well as an India focused custom design and user interface inspired by interviews with 2,600 Indians.

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Portwell announced an entry-level, rackmountable network appliance featuring Intel's Atom D510, D410, or N450 CPUs. The CAR-1000 comes with six gigabit Ethernet ports, hard disk or CompactFlash storage, a Mini PCI Express slot, and a reset button for quickly loading default settings, the company says.

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Canonical's Ubuntu One personal cloud service for Ubuntu 10.10 users has expanded its reach beyond Linux with new iOS, Android, and Windows clients. Ubuntu One's beta Windows client is off to a solid start, but work remains if Ubuntu One wants to overtake Dropbox, says this eWEEK Labs review.

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Kontron announced a mini-ITX motherboard that offers both solid capacitors and a choice of soldered-on processors from AMD. The KT690/mITX (BGA) provides “an increased level of robustness,” support for up to 16GB of DDR2 RAM, plus PCI, PCI Express Mini, and Mini PCI Express expansion, the company says.

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Google Hong Kong released a preview video of Android 2.3 showing new UI elements and voice command enhancements, says an industry report. Meanwhile, a Nielsen study says that Android is gaining on Apple's iPhone as the second-most desired smartphone among U.S. consumers, while Royal Pingdom says iOS still leads in worldwide mobile traffic, according to eWEEK.

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Embedded software vendor Mentor Graphics, which supports Linux, Android, and Nucleus OS, has acquired “certain assets” of GNU-based toolchain vendor CodeSourcery, Inc., including Sourcery G++ and Sourcery VSIPL++. The deal essentially amounts to an acquisition of CodeSourcery, as the appointment of its CEO Mark Mitchell as director of embedded tools at Mentor demonstrates.

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Axiomtek announced a PICMG 1.3 single board computer (SBC) that supports Intel Xeon, Core i5/i3, and Pentium processors. The SHB105 offers up to 8GB of unbuffered ECC DDR3 memory, PCI Express and PCI expansion, six RAID-enabled SATA connectors, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, and 12 USB 2.0 ports.

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The latest Linux Kernel Development report says mobile developers are increasingly driving kernel contributions. Even as Red Hat, IBM, and Novell continue to dominate Linux kernel development efforts, the increasing popularity of Linux and Android on mobile devices has encouraged more contributions from companies like Nokia and Samsung, says the report.

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Motorola Inc. announced it will split into two companies on Jan. 4, separating the “Motorola Mobility” division that makes Android smartphones from the “Motorola Solutions” division responsible for enterprise handhelds running Windows Mobile. The separation will benefit stockholders, customers, and employees alike, the company claims.

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ZT Systems announced what it says is the first commercially available ARM-based development platform for the server market. The Ubuntu Linux-based R1801e 1U rackmount server employs SSD (solid state disk) storage and eight ARM Cortex-A9-based computer-on-modules (COMs), providing 16 600MHz cores while using less than 80 Watts, the company says.

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Coby Electronics announced a seven-inch Coby Kyros Tablet MID7015 Android tablet for $250, and Linsay's seven-inch Tablet A-1A tablet is selling on Amazon.com for approximately $200. Meanwhile, a rash of negative reviews of low-cost Android tablets has led pundits to worry that the tablets' bad reputation could stifle more compelling Android competitors due in 2011.

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Ibase announced an in-vehicle PC designed for video capture or digital signage applications. The I-VC5 accepts four channels of video input, sports eight serial ports and ten USB 2.0 ports, and has both dual Mini PCI Express slots and a PCI-104 slot, the company says.

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