All-in-one PCs, ATMs, gaming machines, and other embedded devices could be set for a price cut, thanks to a new motherboard format being promoted by Intel. “Thin Mini-ITX” boards, set for broad availability in mid-2011, will bring standardization to products that previously required custom solutions, the chipmaker says.

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Wind River is expanding its On-Board Program, which provides board vendors with the Linux and VxWorks software tools, documentation, and training they need to develop, test, and validate Embedded Development Kits. The more-diversified program now lets vendors bring Wind River Test Management-based BSP validation in-house, among other benefits, says the Intel subsidiary.

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Even in the reflected light of the impressive new dual-core, dual-camera iPad 2, the Android 3.0-driven Motorola Xoom tablet holds its own, says this eWEEK review. Although the price is steep and optimized apps are hard to come by, the Xoom's zippy multitasking, a slick Honeycomb interface, well-crafted cameras, long battery life, and an impending 4G upgrade help make the tablet a winner.

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Saab Automobile unveiled an Android-based in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) concept supported by an open API and app store. The “Saab IQon” system is equipped with an eight-inch touchscreen, provides streaming multimedia, navigation, and on-board storage, and offers API access to more than 500 sensor signals that can be remotely relayed back to Saab dealerships.

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Kontron announced a COM Express Compact module with AMD Embedded G-Series processors, ranging up to a dual-core 1.6GHz T56N. The Kontron microETXexpress-OH features gigabit Ethernet, six PCI Express lanes, ten USB ports — two of them USB 2.0 — plus multiple display options including HDMI.

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Congatec announced a COM Express module that includes Intel's Atom E6xx processors and support for a -40 to 185 deg. F operating range. The Conga-CA6 includes up to 2GB of soldered-on memory, an optional solid state disk up to 32GB, and support for dual displays, according to the company.

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Google will soon pull dozens of “DroidDream Trojan” malware apps from its Android Market, which is now getting hit by malware that has previously targeted third-party app stores. Also this week, a compromised version of the “Steamy Windows” Android app has shown up on a Chinese third-party app hosting site.

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iWave Systems announced a COM (computer on module) based on Freescale's i.MX53 SoC (system on chip). The Linux- and Android-ready iW-Rainbow-G11M includes not only the 1GHz, ARM Cortex-A8 processor, but also 1GB of DDR2 RAM and 16MB of flash storage, according to the company.

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The Linux Foundation announced that its Intel-backed Yocto Project, which develops open source tools for Linux-based embedded systems, will align and merge technology with the OpenEmbedded community known for its Linux build system. The Linux advocacy organization also announced new partners in the Yocto Project, including major embedded Linux semiconductor manufacturers and software development firms.

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New Jersey can be proud of its nerdy Congressman Rush Holt, the only lawmaker who managed to beat IBM's Linux-based supercomputer Watson at a mock Jeopardy tournament on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, IBM has stated it will not apply Watson to the general search market to compete with Google and Microsoft's Bing, but will instead focus on medical diagnostics, among other applications.

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Texas Instruments announced several Linux-ready system-on-chips (SoCs) with multiuser HD conferencing and analytics capabilities. With ARM Cortex-A8 cores and TI DSPs, the high-end TMS320DM8168 can power up to three simultaneous 1080p60 frames per second (fps) video streams, or 12 simultaneous 720p30 streams, while the more power-efficient TMS320DM8148 supports a single 1080p60 fps video stream or three simultaneous 720p30 video streams, says TI.

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Via Technologies announced a new chip it claims is the world's most power-efficient dual-core processor. The Eden X2 runs fanlessly, is compatible with 64-bit instructions, offers an out-of-order x86 architecture, and provides hardware-based data encryption, the company says.

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Xilinx announced its first application processors in the form of Linux-ready, dual-core Cortex-A9 system-on-chip (SoCs) that offer FPGA functionality. The Zynq-7000 devices integrate dual 800MHz ARM Cortex-A9 cores with 28nm-fabricated, low-power programmable logic derived from the Xilinx Artix7 (Zynq-7010 and Zynq-7020) and higher-end Kintex-7 (Zynq-7030 and Zynq-7040) FPGA technologies.

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AMD has been touting its “Fusion” line of “accelerated processing units” — devices incorporating x86 CPUs along with graphics on a single die. But now the company has announced three G-Series processors that are distinctly un-fused: aimed at headless embedded applications, they save power by leaving the graphics out.

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Despite Nokia's Qt-free plans to adopt Windows Phone 7, its Qt Software subsidiary released a high-level “Qt Quick” UI stack and other upgrades. New releases include an incremental 4.7.2 upgrade to the cross-platform Qt development framework, plus Qt SDK 1.1, Qt Creator 2.1, and Qt Mobility 1.1.1, following last week's alpha release of a Qt for Android (“Necessitas”) port.

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