| News Archive (1999-2012) | | | 2013-current at LinuxGizmos | | | Current Tech News Portal | | | About |
Android is regularly blasted for fragmentation, but most Android smartphones and tablets use similar builds, screen sizes, and resolutions, according to a study by app analytics firm Localytics. Currently, 73 percent of Android smartphone app sessions use Android 2.3, with 23 percent at Android 2.2, while 41 percent originated from 4.3 inch screens and 22 percent from four-inch screens, says the study.
LinuxDevices' publisher, Ziff Davis Enterprise, has been acquired by a Californian company — as yet undisclosed, but rumored to be Foster City-based QuinStreet. Future plans for the site have not yet been announced …
German manufacturer Golden Delicious has begun shipping a hackable open source smartphone that runs a variety of Linux software, including a newly optimized Openmoko distro. The Openmoko GTA04 is available as a finished phone or as a board that slips into earlier Openmoko Neo Freerunner GTA01 and GTA02 cases, providing an 800MHz Texas Instruments DM3730 processor and a full range of sensors and wireless features.
Peek has discontinued its low-cost, email-and-texting service but is challenging hackers to “build something great” with the leftover handhelds, according to The Verge. The Peek devices include a 2.5-inch screen, a QWERTY keyboard, an ARM7-based processor, and a GSM cellular modem, according to the company.
HTC announced a fix for a vulnerability that lets hackers view and access Wi-Fi security information on nine of its Android phones. The fix is available via an automatic software upgrade, though some users will have to update manually.
Congatec announced a COM Express module that offers a Type 6 pinout — for VGA, LVDS, and DDI (digital display interface) display support — and a choice of six soldered-on Intel “Sandy Bridge” processors. The Conga-TS67 offers up to 16GB of DDR3 memory, has eight USB 2.0 ports and four SATA ports, and has multiple PCI Express expansion lanes, according to the company.
EMAC announced a SODIMM-sized computer-on-module (COM) that runs Linux 2.6 or Windows CE 6.0 on a 600MHz TI ARM Cortex-A8 processor and can be purchased with a carrier board. The SoM-3517M offers up to 512MB of RAM, 1GB of NAND flash and 4GB of onboard eMMC flash, and I/O including Ethernet, four serial ports, three USB 2.0 ports, and CAN bus.
Eurotech announced a new member of its Catalyst computer-on-module (COM) family, this time based on Intel's 32nm “Cedar Trail” Atom processors. The Catalyst CV supports clock speeds up to 1.6GHz, DDR3 memory up to 4GB, 10/100 Ethernet, eight USB 2.0 ports, and four PCI Express x1 interfaces, according to the company.
Red Hat has extended the life cycle of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 and 6 from seven to 10 years. Meanwhile Linux kernel insider Greg Kroah-Hartman has left Red Hat rival SUSE to join the Linux Foundation as a new fellow, where he joins a select group that includes Linux creator Linus Torvalds.
NTT Docomo announced a pair of 4.3-inch Android 2.3 smartphones whose styling, user interface, and content all have a Disney theme. Both have dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP4430 processors, but the “Disney Mobile on docomo F-08D” is clocked to 1.2GHz, offers HD resolution, and has a 13-megapixel camera, while the “Disney Mobile on docomo P-05D” offers 1GHz performance and a 960 x 540-pixel OLED screen.
MEN Micro announced a ruggedized, EMC- computer-on-module (COM) that uses the rugged ESMini form-factor and supports Intel Atom E600 processors at up to 1.6GHz. The MM2 offers up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, provides expansion options including PCI Express, CAN, and I2C, and supplies I/O including gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, and SATA.
Tilera announced the general availability of its RISC-based 36-core Tile-Gx36 and 16-core Tile-Gx16 system on chips (SoCs), clocked up to 1.5GHz. The Tile-Gx36 delivers more than 40Gbps of L2/L3 packet forwarding performance while using 25 Watts, and both it and the Tile-Gx16 are supported with Linux-ready PCI Express evaluation systems, the company says.
Digi International announced a ZigBee-based home energy gateway that runs Linux on a Freescale i.MX28 processor. Compliant with the upcoming Smart Energy 2.0 standard, the “ConnectPort X2e for Smart Energy” enables ZigBee devices on a Home Area Network (HAN) to communicate with an energy service provider, says the company.
AT&T says it will begin pre-sales of Samsung's Galaxy Note mini-tablet/smartphone on Feb. 17 for $300 plus contract. To be hyped during the Super Bowl via video shot on its own eight megapixel camera, the Android 2.3-based gadget features a 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED display, a 1.5GHz, dual-core processor, and a stylus.
Motorola's Droid Razr Maxx is a power-packed follow-up to the company's Droid Razr handset, says this eWEEK review. Now available on Verizon Wireless, the 4.3-inch RazrMaxx zips along with a 1.2GHz, dual-core processor and 4G LTE, and positively astounds with its 3300mAh, all-day battery.