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Ubuntu sponsor Canonical says that Ubuntu 10.10 is now available pre-loaded on three Asus Eee PC netbooks: the 1001PXD, 1011PX, and 1015PX. Meanwhile, System76 announced a dual-core Intel Atom N570 version of its Ubuntu 11.04-powered Starling netbook, as well as a new 15.6-inch “Pandolin” laptop that runs Ubuntu on an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor.
Toshiba has announced that its 10.1-inch, Tegra 2-based Thrive tablet will ship with Android 3.1 on July 10, starting at $429. Meanwhile, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 will ship on Verizon and T-Mobile with Android 3.1 on June 8, according to reports — although another rumor claims the Samsung launch will be delayed due to bugs.
HP is actively considering licensing its WebOS operating system to other manufacturers, according to industry reports. “It's not correct to believe that [WebOS] should only be on HP devices,” HP CEO Leo Apotheker was said to have told an audience at AllThingsD's D9 conference.
Ricoh announced a new Ricoh eWriter Solutions (EWS) business unit, with a tablet-based document management platform for enterprises that want to move paper processes online. The “eWriter Solutions” platform combines back-end eWriter Workflow Services for forms management with a Linux-based, 9.7-inch Ricoh eQuill tablet — featuring an E Ink Pearl screen and a five-megapixel camera, says the company.
Via Technologies announced a Mini-ITX motherboard for digital signage, offered with an optional S3-based graphics module with quad-display support. The Via VB8004 motherboard offers a choice of 1.2GHz and 1.6GHz Via Nano E-Series processors with up to 4GB DDR3 memory, supports HDMI, LVDS, and DVI displays, and provides PCI Express, gigabit Ethernet, USB, serial, and SATA connectivity.
Texas Instruments (TI) has goosed the clock speed and graphics of its ARM Cortex-A9 SoCs (systems on chip), offering dual CPU cores running at up to 1.8GHz. The OMAP4470 DirectX 9-capable Powervr SGX544 graphics, can run three displays at up to 2048 x 1546 pixel resolution, and supports Android, Linux, and the newly announced Windows 8, the company says.
After relatively slow early sales, Asus, Motorola, and Samsung have reduced their Android tablet manufacturing plans by about 10 percent, according to a JP Morgan analyst. Meanwhile, the rumored Amazon.com Android tablet could sell 2.4 million units in 2012 without significantly cannibalizing the company's Kindle e-reader sales, according to a Piper Jaffray analyst.
In a surprising move, Oracle handed over the source code for OpenOffice.org to its erstwhile adversary, Apache. In the process, the open source office productivity suite is also switching from GPL to Apache licensing, reducing the chances of any reconciliation with forked rival LibreOffice, which has been supplanting OpenOffice on Linux desktop distros.
Atmel Corp. announced that its popular ARM9-based SAM9G45 and SAM9M10 system on chips (SoCs) are now compatible with Android 2.1. Atmel also announced the availability of an Android board support package (BSP) for Atmel's SAM9M10-G45-EK boards, and Mentor Graphics is helping to provide optional vertically focused GUIs for the BSP.
A new Embedded Vision Alliance (EVA) industry group announced its founding members and launched its website devoted to promoting embedded vision technology in applications ranging from digital signage to automotive vision systems. Founded by BDTI, along with Xilinx and IMS Research, the 16-member group includes semiconductor manufacturers Freescale, Nvidia, and Texas Instruments.
As expected, AMD used a morning press conference in Taipei to announce its tablet-specific Z-Series processors — the first of which is the dual-core Z-01, with a 5.9-Watt TDP. The chipmaker also reviewed branding plans for its A-Series “Llano” processor for notebooks, shipping this month, and previewed downsized APUs (accelerated processing units) it plans to release later this year.
Google has removed 26 apps from Android Market that contain malware called DroidDream Light, capable of stealing a significant amount of personal data. Meanwhile, Google has caught flak over its quiet removal of several game emulators from Android Market, with some observers saying the emulators are legal while other suggest Google may be caving to pressure from game console companies.
Android represented 36 percent of U.S. smartphone share through April, 10 points higher than Apple iOS, but down a point from March, says Nielsen. The research firm also says Android users download more data than iPhone users, while Distimo reports that Android Market has significantly fewer paid apps than Apple's AppStore — and that it's earning less money for developers.