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Portwell announced a Type 6 COM Express module that supports “Sandy Bridge” Core i5 and i7 processors and ECC (error-correcting code) memory. The PCOM-B217VG-VI-ECC offers up to 16GB of RAM, two 6Gb/sec. SATA ports and two 3Gb/sec. SATA ports, multiple PCI Express lanes, plus both eight USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports, according to the company.
The WebOS-based HP Pre 3 smartphone is now available in Europe, and will “soon” be arriving in the U.S., says HP. Meanwhile, HP TouchPad sales are sluggish despite 20 percent price cuts on the tablets, and HP is now trying to push WebOS into cars and kitchen appliances, say two separate reports.
Samsung announced 2.5-inch solid state drives (SSDs) that feature 6Gb/sec. SATA interfaces, 500MB/sec. sequential read speeds, and 350MB/sec. sequential write speeds. Meanwhile, Intel said it will release new firmware for its SSD320 drives by the end of the month, fixing a bug that causes some to downsize themselves to a skimpy 8MB.
Wind River has updated its Linux distro with a graphics stack based on GTK, X.Org, the Qt framework, and Wind River Tilcon Graphics Suite. Wind River Linux 4, Update Pack 2 offers Linux Standard Base (LSB) certification, Carrier Grade Linux 5.0 registration, and Intel Atom and Texas Instruments AM3x Sitara and OMAP35x processor optimization, the company says.
Eager as it might be to promote Ultrabooks, Intel has reportedly drawn the line at cutting the price of is Core processors in order to promote the devices. It's the latest in a tug of war between the chipmaker and Taiwanese vendors, according to ongoing DigiTimes reports.
Habey announced a mini PC that packs a 1.8GHz, dual-core Atom D525 processor and a Nvidia Ion 2 GPU (graphics processor unit). The EPC-6568S stands just 1.8 inches tall, but it has room for two 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drives, two Mini PCI Express slots, and up to 4GB of RAM, according to the company.
The Genivi Alliance says the Linux Foundation's MeeGo In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) project is the fifth Linux distro that has been confirmed as Genivi compliant. Earlier this month, the open source automotive consortium announced a Genivi Compliance Program, listing Canonical's Ubuntu IVI Remix and Mentor Graphics' Embedded IVI Base Platform as compliant along with the more established MontaVista and Wind River IVI distributions.
New details have emerged about the 28nm followups to AMD's successful E-Series and C-Series processors. The “Deccan” platform will reportedly include “Wichita” and “Krishna” chips that include quad cores, support for 1666MHz DDR3 memory, and a “secure asset management unit” that offloads DVD and Blu-ray decryption from the x86 cores.
ViewSonic says it's now shipping a Intel Atom-powered tablet that lets users run Android apps without leaving Windows 7. The ViewPad 10Pro has a 1.5GHz Atom Z670 processor, 16GB or 32GB of SSD (solid state disk) storage, a 10.1-inch touchscreen with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, and up to eight hours of battery life, according to the company.
Google has agreed to pay Motorola Mobility an unprecedented $2.5 billion in reverse break-up fees if its $12.5 billion acquisition fails to go through, says a report. Meanwhile, observers are debating the value of Motorola's patents vs. the baggage of its ongoing litigation, weighing the impact on other Android OEMs like Samsung and HTC, and glimpsing an opportunity for Microsoft.
A new version of one of the world's most popular programming languages has been unanimously approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). C++11 will be “more natural … and as efficient as ever,” and will include a new standardized memory model, according to creator Bjarne Stroustrup.
Fusion Garage announced a 10.1-inch tablet and four-inch smartphone, both running an “Grid OS” operating system that's based on Android — and said to run its apps — but adds predictive features and a grid-like UI. Available for purchase now, the Grid-10 tablet features an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and 1366 x 768-pixel screen resolution, while the Grid-4 smartphone due later this year offers a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
Hot on the heels of news that it will be acquired by Google, Motorola Mobility announced a 1GHz, Android 2.3-ready “plus” version of a rugged phone it first released last year. The 3.7-inch Defy+ will go head to head with a 3.6-inch Samsung Xcover announced last week in Germany, since both handsets are said to offer IP67-rated resistance to water, dust, and scratches.
[Updated: 8 a.m.] — Google agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, a move to protect Android from rampant patent infringement litigation and give Google a hardware counterpart to Apple. The company remains committed to keeping Android “as an open platform and a vibrant open source community,” stated Google SVP Andy Rubin.
Today (Aug. 12) was the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the IBM PC. You probably heard that already — but here's why the decline of the personal computer could be a threat to democracy.