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[Updated, 4:00 p.m.] — You might have thought it couldn't be done, but Intel has just popped out more Atom processors. The Atom E6xx is a system-on-chip (SoC) aimed at embedded applications such as in-vehicle infotainment systems for cars, smart grid devices, and IP media phones, while the Atom CE4200 is an upgraded SoC for set-top boxes (STBs) and smart TVs, according to the company.
At an Intel Developer Forum (IDF) keynote, Amino demonstrated a new MeeGo-ready set-top box (STB) while discussing its contributions to MeeGo's Connected TV reference platform. Due to ship in the fourth quarter, the Freedom STB is equipped with Intel's Atom CE4100 SoC, supports IPTV and traditional broadcast services, and offers both Adobe Flash 10.1 and Microsoft Silverlight.
Lanner announced a 3.6-inch single board computer (SBC) built around the single-core, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450. The VES-310 includes two gigabit Ethernet ports, four USB 2.0 ports, digital I/O (four in, four out), and a CompactFlash slot, the company says.
A Google executive has stated that Android 2.2 is not optimized for tablet computers, and that in particular, Android Market will not run properly on tablets. Meanwhile, the Android 2.2 based Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet will be offered by Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint, say reports.
Motorola announced that its rugged, Android 2.1-based Motorola Defy phone will arrive later this year on T-Mobile USA. Meanwhile, LG announced it is developing a series of Nvidia Tegra 2-based Android smartphones, T-Mobile is rumored to be doing the same with a “MyTouch HD” phone, and Motorola's touted “2GHz Android phone” actually uses a Tegra 2 with dual 1GHz cores, say various reports.
[Updated, 12:30 p.m.] — Intel kicked off this week's IDF (Intel developer forum) with details of its second-generation Core processors, previously code-named Sandy Bridge. Available “in early 2011,” the CPUs will provide visual performance rivaling discrete GPUs (graphics processing units), include dedicated hardware for video transcoding, and offer other architectural improvements including “next-generation” Turbo Boost technology, the company says.
At the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), Intel showed off Atom-based Google TV devices from Sony and Logitech. Meanwhile, Google confirmed Google TV is on schedule, and D-Link switched its Linux-based Boxee Box set-top box (STB) from an Nvidia Tegra 2 to the same Intel Atom CE4100 chipset used by the Google TV devices.
BCM announced a pair of panel PCs using Intel's dual-core Atom D525 processor. The 18.5-inch PPC18W-525D and 15-inch PPC15-525D support up to 2GB of DDR3 memory, include 2.5-inch hard disk bays and CompactFlash slots, and have two gigabit Ethernet ports and two Mini PCI Express slots apiece, the company says.
Wireless semiconductor vendor Broadcom announced yesterday that it has released an open source Linux driver for its latest 802.11n chipsets. The “still in progress” driver supports Broadcom BCM4313, BCM43224, BCM43225 Wi-Fi chipsets, enabling Linux distributions to include native support for these popular chips, says Broadcom.
Qnap Systems announced four new Business Series Turbo NAS (network attached storage) servers for SMB and corporate users, built around Intel's dual-core, 1.8GHz Atom D525 processor. The two-drive TS-259 Pro+ (4TB), four-drive TS-459 Pro+ (8TB), five-drive TS-559 Pro+ (10TB), and six-drive TS-659 Pro+ (12TB) all ship with 1GB RAM, RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, iSCSI support, and newly updated Linux-based firmware.
The number of subscribers to mobile WiMAX services will approach 59 million by 2015, an ABI Research report projects. However, growth has been impeded by a combination of economic and psychological features, the firm adds.
Parrot S.A. is shipping a hackable $300 “quadrocopter” flying drone that runs Linux on a 468MHz ARM9 processor and may be remotely controlled by an iPhone. The AR Drone uses Wi-Fi to receive navigation instructions and transmit video from one of its dual cameras, and it ships with an SDK for developing multiplayer augmented reality games.
BCM announced a Nano-ITX motherboard that includes a dual-core, 1.66GHz Intel Atom D510 processor and supports dual displays. The NX510D has Mini PCI Express and CompactFlash slots, two SATA ports, gigabit Ethernet, and is offered with an optional TPM (trusted platform module), the company says.
Google Android will become the No. 2 mobile operating system in the world behind Symbian, edging past Research In Motion and Apple's iOS in 2010, according to new numbers from Gartner. Meanwhile, fifth-place Windows Phone will recover only slightly in 2011, and falter thereafter, the research firm adds.
Portwell announced a COM (computer on module) based on the Qseven form factor. Targeting gaming, industrial, medical, and military markets, the PQ7-M104G features Intel Atom Z5xx processors, 2GB of RAM and a 4GB SSD (solid state disk), gigabit Ethernet, eight USB ports, and two SATA interfaces, the company says.