François Simond (“Supercurio”) has created a “Voodoo Carrier IQ detector” app that detects the presence of Carrier IQ — the “diagnostic” firmware that can monitor every keystroke made on most Android devices and many other smartphones. Since Carrier IQ was exposed earlier this week, both its vendor and carriers have denied they're tracking users, but legal experts say it may be violating several laws.

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Acer announced a new 10.1-inch tablet, initially featuring Android 3.2 but due for an January upgrade to Android 4.0 in January. The Nvidia Tegra 2-based Iconia Tab A200 is slightly leaner and lighter than the earlier 10.1-inch A500, also adding a USB 2.0 host port, but it lacks its predecessor's HDMI port and rear-facing five-megapixel camera.

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Advantech announced a fanless automation computer that offers an optional PC/104+ expansion slot. The UNO-1170A/AE is equipped with an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM and 512KB of battery-backed static RAM, CompactFlash and hard disk storage, and external and internal USB ports, the company says.

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Norco announced an EPIC form-factor SBC (single-board computer) aimed at low-power embedded applications. The EMB-4670 is equipped with an Intel Atom E620 processor — with a lowly 600MHz clock rate, but a TDP of only 2.7 Watts — and offers Mini PCI Express, PCI Express, and PC/104 expansion, plus a wide range of I/O that includes CANbus.

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Samsung announced volume production of SSDs (solid state drives) that offer a Mini-Serial ATA (mSATA) form factor, 6.0Gbit/sec. SATA, and capacities up to 256MB. Meanwhile, Seagate revamped its Momentus XT hard disk/SSD hybrid, similarly goosing interface speed and doubling flash memory cache to 8GB.

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Ronetix announced five computer on modules (COMs) whose ARM926-based Atmel AT91SAM9 supports Android, Linux, and Windows CE. The I/O for the five SAM9-CM modules varies slightly depending on which of the AT91SAM9G15/G25/G35/X25/X35 processors is incorporated, but all offer 400MHz performance, 128MB or 256MB of DDR2 SDRAM, 256MB of NAND flash, and 4MB or 8MB of SPI flash, says the company.

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[Updated, 10:48 a.m.] — As favorable reviews and promises of device support pile up for Android 4.0 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”), it has received an early CyanogenMod9 port to the Samsung-built Google Nexus One and Nexus S phones. Meanwhile, ZiiLabs released a video of Android 4.0 running on its new Jaguar tablet reference platform, and Embedox posted another of ICS running on Variscite's OMAP4460-based VAR-SOM-OM44 module.

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Kontron announced a COM Express Compact module that features Intel's dual-core Atom D525 processor, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, and the ability to work in temperatures ranging from -40 to 185 deg. F. The microETXexpress-PV-XT includes PCI and PCI Express expansion, gigabit Ethernet, LVDS and VGA video outputs, eight USB 2.0 ports, and three SATA ports.

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HCI announced an Android-powered infotainment terminal for hospital patients, enabling users to browse the web, communicate with staff and patients, and view customized content as well as watching TV. The RoomMate Generation III devices come with 22-, 26-, 32- and 42-inch screens, plus Ethernet, serial, USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and various remote control accessories.

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Congatec announced a COM Express module that offers a Type 6 pinout and a choice of four different Intel “Sandy Bridge” processors. The conga-TM67 offers up to 16GB of DDR3 memory, has eight USB 2.0 ports and four SATA ports, supports VGA, LVDS, and DDI (digital display interface) displays, and has multiple PCI Express expansion lanes, according to the company.

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Samsung has begun sampling its first ARM Cortex-A15 processor, aimed at high-end tablets and capable of supporting resolutions up to 2560 x 1600 pixels. Scheduled for production in 2Q 2012, the Exynos 5250 is equipped with two Cortex-A15 cores clocked at 2GHz, providing what the company says is four times the graphics performance of its previous top model.

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The PCI-SIG (PCI Special Interest Group) says the next generation of its PCI Express I/O technology will run over copper at twice the speed of the current version. PCI Express 4.0 will move data at 16 gigatransfers per second (GT/sec.), according to the organization, which says the spec won't be finalized until at least 2014.

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OK Labs announced a Genivi Linux and Android-ready “OKL4 for In-Vehicle Infotainment” (IVI) hypervisor, designed to keep infotainment and telematics environments separate despite running on the same processor. Meanwhile, Wind River announced a deal with IVI provider Clarion to use its Wind River Platform for Infotainment in an Android-based system.

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Avalue announced a 3.5-inch single board computer (SBC) equipped with AMD's dual-core 1GHz G-Series T40E or 1.6GHz T40N processors. The ECM-A50M has up to 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM, a CompactFlash slot, VGA and HDMI connectors with dual display capability, and an optional touchscreen interface.

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Lenovo announced three dual-core Android gadgets destined for China: a five-inch LePad S2005 I smartphone, a seven-inch LePad S2007 tablet, and a 10.1-inch LePad S2010 tablet. In the U.S., meanwhile, AT&T announced the 4G LTE-ready LG Nitro HD smartphone, featuring a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and a 4.5-inch display with Galaxy Nexus-like 1280 x 720 resolution.

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