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IDC projects that by 2015 “smart” embedded systems will use more than 12.5 billion processor cores — more than double the number that shipped in such devices last year, and six times as many as conventional PCs will be using. The report will be unveiled and discussed at the research firm's Smart Technology World conference, scheduled for April 19-20 in San Francisco.
Two days after officially announcing its “Oak Trail” Atom for tablets, Intel has tipped a smaller, more power-efficient successor code-named “Cloverview.” Separately, details of the chipmaker's 2012 “Ivy Bridge” Core CPUs have been leaked by a Turkish website.
MontaVista Software announced that MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition (CGE) 6.0 has been registered as compliant to the Linux Foundation's Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) 5.0 specification. MontaVista appears to be the first Linux distro to have registered for CGL 5.0, which was announced at the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit last week, offering advancements in everything from streaming media to security.
The CentOS community project announced CentOS 5.6, which clones the vast majority of features in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.6, including its full embrace of the Ext4 filesystem. Meanwhile, Red Hat will announce a new cloud application-building platform at its Red Hat Summit May 3, based on technology acquired when it purchased Makara last year, says eWEEK.
Stealth Computer announced a mini PC that packs Intel Core i7, i5, or i3 processors and includes a front-loading optical disk drive. The LPC-670 accepts input power from 12 to 20VDC, includes hard disk or solid-state storage up to 750GB, provides DVI-I and HDMI video outputs, and supports a variety of embedded operating systems, the company says.
HTC announced a 4.3-inch, dual-core 1.2GHz Android phone — initially heading for T-Mobile and Vodafone before going global. The HTC Sensation features a unique, contoured display, 768MB RAM, a full range of wireless features, a new HTC Watch video service, and an updated version of the HTC Sense featuring a “active lockscreen.”
Make Linux Software posted a video showing the “fastest ever embedded Linux boot.” The video shows a BeagleBoard equipped with a 720MHz TI OMAP3530 processor booting Linux 2.6.32 in an impressive 300 milliseconds from boot loader to shell — although the jury is out on just how useful the stripped-down 1.5MB image might be.
Texas Instruments (TI) announced an “OpenLink” project, which has released a battery-optimized, open source Linux wireless driver stack for mobile devices. The initial release will support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and FM communications on TI's WiLink WL1271/3 and WL1281/3 chips, running on the ARM Cortex-based BeagleBoard and PandaBoard boards under Ubuntu, MeeGo, and Android, says the company.
Doing its part to fight Android fragmentation, Cyanogen and his band of mobile hackers have released a modified version of Android 2.3.3 optimized for some 30 devices still awaiting carrier updates. CyanogenMod 7 (CM7) adds to Gingerbread with power-user features found in the previous Froyo version (CM6), and supports its first two tablets: the ViewSonic G-Tablet and Barnes & Noble Nook Color.
Datasound Laboratories (DSL) announced a rebranded version of an Aplex-manufactured box PC, adding a Firewire port, SPDIF, and optional TV-out. The ACS-2625 Box PC is equipped to run an Intel Core 2 Duo processor at up to 2.33GHz, and offers up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, two PCI slots, CompactFlash and SATA storage, dual-display capability, plus Ethernet, USB 2.0, and serial connectivity, says the company.
Intel has formally announced its “Oak Trail” Atom Z670 processor, touting 35 different design wins and a three-Watt TDP, along with a Z650 version for embedded devices. The chipmaker also said its 32nm “Cedar Trail” will be released during the second half of this year, featuring improved graphics and even lower power consumption.
The Acer Iconia Tab A500 “Honeycomb” tablet will be available for pre-order for $450 at BestBuy.com on April 14, with shipments scheduled for April 24. In other tablet news, the Wi-Fi-only Samsung Galaxy Tab is now shipping for $349, and Barnes & Noble (sort of) opened up its Nook Color e-reader tablet to Android developers.
GeckoSystems will show off its fourth-generation “CareBot” service robot at its “Mobile Robots in Motion” conference on April 13-14. Based on two dual-core Intel Atom-based Mini-ITX boards, with one running Ubuntu Linux and the other Windows XP, the latest CareBot features an updated GeckoMotorController 7.0 and a new GeckoImager 3.1 vision system based on Microsoft Kinect technology.
LinkedIn released the final LinkedIn for Android 1.0 app to help professionals view and manage LinkedIn connections. In other enterprise-related Android news, Google upgraded its security and device management programs for Android with three Google Apps updates, including a Device Policy update, a Google Apps Lookup app, and a Honeycomb tablet encryption feature.
Portwell announced a fanless, rugged in-vehicle infotainment and fleet management computer that measures only 7.72 x 5.74 x 2.13 inches. Equipped with a 600MHz Intel Celeron M processor, the PCS-8270 offers up to 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, a CompactFlash port, six USB 2.0 ports, and wireless modules including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and GSM, says the company.