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Plextor announced three SSDs (solid state disks) that support 6Gbps SATA and are claimed to be more than three times faster than previous offerings. The M2 Series devices offer 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB of storage, and provide reads of up to 480MB/sec., the company says.
Myriad Group AG today announced a Dalvik virtual machine claimed to let Android apps run on non-Android platforms. Myriad posted a video showing “Myriad Alien Dalvik” running Android apps on a Nokia N900, and said the software will be available for MeeGo later this year.
Sprint and Kyocera Communications are readying the first dual-touchscreen Android smartphone. Equipped with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor running Android 2.2, the Kyocera Echo offers dual 3.5-inch WVGA touchscreens that can be combined to form a single 4.7-inch display, or can be split — with apps running either independently or in an “optimized” mode with complementary functions.
The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) has announced a new embedded version of the DisplayPort interface standard aimed at tablets, netbooks, notebooks, and all-in-one desktop PCs. Intended to replace LVDS, the Embedded DisplayPort Standard (eDP) version 1.3 offers a new Panel Self-Refresh (PSR) that can save system power and extend battery life in portable devices, the organization says.
Dell's seven-inch Dell Streak 7 tablet boasts a fairly affordable price, plus a powerful dual-core Tegra 2 processor that delivers zippy performance. However, it needs Android 3.0, better battery life, and an improved screen and camera to keep up with the fast-running competition, says this eWEEK review.
TI (Texas Instruments) announced that in the second half of this year, it will begin sampling two OMAP5 processors based on ARM's Cortex-A15. The OMAP5430 and OMAP5432 will offer dual 2GHz cores, support for up to four cameras, HD video encode/decode in 2D or 3D, imaging up to 24 megapixels, and “PC-like” Internet browsing, the company says.
Phidgets is shipping a faster, more I/O-rich version of its Debian Linux-based single board computer (SBC) for sensing and control applications. The PhidgetSBC2 cranks up its ARM9-based Samsung SC32410 processor to 400MHz, boosts flash memory to 512MB, and increases USB connectivity to six ports, while still offering an Ethernet port, Wi-Fi adapter, and integrated PhidgetInterfaceKit 8/8/8 I/O board.
Computer Lab International (CLI) released a new Ubuntu-based Linux operating system for its MT2300 and ST6800 thin clients, which use Via Eden C7 processors clocked to 500MHz and 1.6GHz, respectively. The OS features Firefox, the CLI Device Manager, plus support for RDP, Citrix ICA 11, host terminal emulations, VNC client/server, and VMWare View4, the company says.
IT services firm Capgemini announced it will offer its utility customers an energy monitoring “In-Home Display” device based on an Intel reference design. Intel's “Home Energy Dashboard” design offers an Atom Z6xx processor, an 11.5-inch OLED capacitive touchscreen, plus ZigBee, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB connectivity and “an open software API.”
Open source cloud computing platform OpenStack — backed by NASA and Rackspace — announced a second release codenamed “Bexar,” offering stability enhancements, IPv6 support, internationalization, and more hypervisors. Meanwhile, Canonical will bundle OpenStack in its upcoming Ubuntu Linux 11.04, and announced a separate cloud-related deal with OpenStack partner Dell.
Axiomtek announced a 3.5-inch SBC that offers DDR3 memory along with Intel's Atom N455, D425, or D525 processors. The Capa801 includes CompactFlash and Mini PCI Express expansion, two RJ45 ports for gigabit Ethernet, six USB 2.0 ports, plus both VGA and LVDS video outputs, according to the company.
Radiomobile is now shipping two rugged, fanless vehicle computers based on Mini-ITX motherboards. The MCT 8200 has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and up to 64GB of SSD (solid state disk) storage, while the MCT 8500 steps up to a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, the company says.
Globalscale Technologies announced a new Linux-based mini-PC incorporating the Marvell SheevaPlug Plug Computer design. The DreamPlug offers a 1.2GHz Marvell Armada processor, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, dual USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and audio functionality, and uses less than five Watts, says the company.
Google showed off Android 3.0 on the Motorola Xoom, while confirming that this new “Honeycomb” release is only for tablets. The company also debuted a new Android Market Webstore, which enables app purchases and downloads via a web browser.
Datasound Laboratories (DSL) announced a compact “embedded controller” based on a 300MHz DM&P Vortex86SX CPU. The Icop VSX-6117 is just 3.14 x 1.96 inches, uses only 320mA at 5V, includes 128MB of soldered-on DDR2 memory and 2GB of flash storage, has a 10/100 Ethernet port, and includes EIDE and x-ISA expansion, according to the company.