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ARM Holdings and Globalfoundries have released new details of their upcoming, 28-nanometer HKMG (high-k metal gate) version of the Cortex-A9 processor. Entering production during the second half of this year, the device will improve performance by 40 percent, slash power consumption by 30 percent, and double standby battery life, the companies announced.
Sony Ericsson announced two compact, scaled-down members of its Xperia X10 Android smartphone line. The Xperia X10 Mini and the QWERTY-keyboard equipped X10 Mini Pro both offer Qualcomm processors clocked to 600MHz with 2.5-inch QVGA touchscreens, five-megapixel cameras, HSPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, aGPS, and Android 1.6, says the company.
Synology America announced a two-bay member of its DiskStation network-attached storage (NAS) family that can expand via an optional seven-bay expansion enclosure from 4TB to up to 14TB. Aimed at small-to-medium businesses, the DiskStation DS710+ runs Linux on an Intel Atom D410, and supplies gigabit Ethernet and USB connectivity.
Intel and Nokia are merging their open source Linux operating systems to create a MeeGo OS, designed for mobile devices ranging from handhelds to netbooks. Hosted by the Linux Foundation, MeeGo builds upon the core from the Intel-backed Moblin technology and adds Nokia's Maemo middleware elements, as well as Nokia's Qt application framework.
Texas Instruments (TI) says it is now sampling its OMAP4 mobile application processors, using dual-core versions of ARM's high-end Cortex-A9. The chipmaker is also showing off the Linux- and Android-compatible Blaze, a development platform that sports a pico projector, dual 3.7-inch displays, three cameras, an HDMI output, a compass, plus a barometer and a bevy of other sensors.
Motorola announced an Android smartphone with a 3.1-inch touchscreen, pinch-and-zoom, a touchpad, Adobe Flash Lite, Swype predictive input, and the MotoBlur UI layer. The rubber-gripped phone will be called the “Quench” in unnamed markets around the world, but will be offered exclusively in the U.S. by T-Mobile as the “Cliq XT.”
The LiMo Foundation added Adobe, Else Ltd., MobiTV, and SRS Labs as new members to its open source Linux mobile phone consortium. The foundation also announced the “imminent availability” of the new R3 release of the LiMo Platform, adding location-based services (LBS) and contact management features.
French consumer electronics firm Sagemcom has joined with Belgian software company SoftAtHome to collaborate on an MPEG4-ready HD set-top box combining IPTV, satellite, and terrestrial delivery. The “Universal Set Top Box” offers DLNA-compliant content sharing, removable storage, and an open Linux SoftAtHome development environment.
NEC Electronics announced an ARM Cortex-A9 version of its Linux-ready EMMA Mobile series of multimedia system-on-chips, and it's also shipping a Linux/Android hardware/software kit for its earlier EMMA Mobile 1. The EMMA Mobile/EV SoCs can play 1080p video, and come in single-core (EV1) and dual-core (EV2) versions, the latter equipped with 2D/3D graphics acceleration.
HP has tipped an Android-based netbook, heading for the Spanish carrier Telefonica, according to several reports. HP's Compaq Airlife 100 is said to run a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked to 1GHz, with 16GB of flash storage and a 10-inch 1,024 x 600 touchscreen.
Intel says it is now sampling new Xeon processors specifically aimed at embedded, networking, and storage applications. The Xeon C5500 and C3500 CPUs range from a single-core processor with a 23-Watt TDP, to a quad-core processor with a 85-Watt TDP, and include an integrated I/O hub, the chipmaker says.
Garmin-Asus announced a multi-touch enabled Android version of its navigation-focused Nuvifone smartphones for the European market. The Nuvifone A50 appears to have similar specs to the earlier Linux-based Nuvifone G60, but adds a comprehensive suite of Google apps, as well as new styling and a touchpad.
T-Mobile has introduced a third version of its HTC-manufactured MyTouch 3G Android phone. The MyTouch 3G 3.5mm features more memory, a 3.5mm jack, an updated music player, and the Swype text-input software, which enables input via swiping motions across an onscreen keyboard, says T-Mobile.
NetGear announced a Linux-based 3G mobile router developed in collaboration with Ericsson. The NetGear MBRN3300E 3G Mobile Broadband Router combines an internal 3G radio, an 802.11n WiFi access point, an Ethernet swtich, and four Ethernet ports, sharing 3G bandwidth over WiFi and Ethernet, says the company.
Ksplice announced the availability of a subscription service that updates Linux servers with upgrades and security patches without rebooting. Based on an MIT-bred utility that has been considered for merging into the Linux mainline kernel, Ksplice Uptrack is claimed to reduce costly downtime, and speed installation of security patches.