Samsung announced the first device equipped with Android 4.0 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”). The “Galaxy Nexus” offers a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 4.65-inch display with an impressive resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, an NFC (near field communication) chip, and compatibility with 4G LTE and HSPA+ networks.

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Advantech announced a COM Express Ultra module that employs Intel Atom E6xx processors and is able to work with third-party I/O controllers. The SOM-7564 has 1GB of soldered on memory, is offered with clock speeds ranging from 600MHz to 1.6GHz, supports dual displays, and has three PCI Express x1 expansion interfaces, according to the company.

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ARM announced a 28-nanometer MPCore processor claimed to offer five times the energy efficiency, one fifth the size, and 50 percent better performance than the Cortex-A8. The Cortex-A7 supports designs up to four cores, offers all the features of the high-end Cortex-A15, and will be deployed with the A15 in a “big.Little” SoC design that interconnects the two at 20 microsecond speeds.

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MEN Micro announced a ruggedized single board computer (SBC) using AMD's Embedded G-Series processors. The SC24 SBC offers up to 4GB DDR3 memory, 2×2 DisplayPort interfaces, and PCIe expansion, while the available AE51 extension board adds real-world I/O including gigabit Ethernet, SATA, and USB, says the company.

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Motorola Mobility announced the Droid Razr, a high-end Android phone whose Kevlar-reinforced case is just 0.28 inches thick. Aimed at Verizon's 4G LTE network, it features a dual-core, 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of flash storage, a 4.3-inch screen packing 960 x 540 pixels, dual cameras, and accessories including a new 14-inch Lapdock 500 Pro.

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Axiomtek announced a rackmountable, 1U network appliance that uses Intel Atom D425 or D525 processors and provides ten gigabit Ethernet ports. The NA-330 includes both hard disk and CompactFlash storage, accepts up to 4GB of RAM, and has a PCI Express Mini Card expansion slot, the company says.

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Advantech announced an industrial-grade Mini-ITX motherboard supporting AMD G-Series processors including the dual-core 1.65GHz T56N. The AIMB-223 board is equipped with up to 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM, plus PCI and PCI Express expansion, four SATA III interfaces with RAID support, and the usual mix of I/O including gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, and serial connections.

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Google has opened up the SingleTap payment system in its Google Wallet service, allowing consumers to pay for goods and redeem discounts and rewards in a single near field communication (NFC) transaction. Meanwhile, ABI Research forecasts that 78 percent of NFC-enabled handsets will ship with an embedded secure solution in 2016, and almost half will offer multiple secure elements.

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The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has launched a campaign claiming that Windows 8-certified PCs might prevent users from booting into Linux. The mandatory “secure boot” facility in the systems' Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) might better be called “restricted boot,” the organization claims.

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Avalue announced an 18.5-inch panel PC with capacitive multitouch capabilities and a dual-core, 1.8GHz Intel Atom D525 processor. The APC-18W5 is equipped with 1 to 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM, features IP55 liquid protection plus a operating range, and offers SATA, CompactFlash, mini-PCIe, gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, and serial connectivity, says the company.

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T-Mobile's HTC Amaze 4G is worth considering by serious shutterbugs who want a phone that can replace their everyday point-and-shoot, according to this eWEEK review. But, reviewer Nicholas Kolawkowski adds, don't expect its battery to hold out all day.

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T-Mobile and LG announced an oddball Android 2.3 phone that features both a 3.5-inch display and a secondary two-inch screen embedded in the middle of a split-QWERTY keypad. Designed for texting and social networking, the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon-equipped LG DoublePlay will be featured in the fifth annual LG U.S. National Texting Championship on Oct. 26.

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The Puppy Linux project announced version 5.2 of the legacy-PC friendly “Wary” version of its small-footprint Linux distribution. Puppy Linux 5.2 (“Wary”) features an SMP-optimized version of the Linux 2.6.32.45 kernel, an upgrade path to Xorg 7.6, an updated PuppyPhone 1.1 VoIP app, and a new PupCamera app for automatically detecting digital cameras, says the project.

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The HTC Jetstream lives up to its name with a fast, dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 4G LTE/HSPA service, a responsive, eight-megapixel camera, and a Scribe pen accessory. Yet with its $700 price, thick 0.51-inch profile, 25-ounce weight, and relative lack of ports, this tablet's a tough purchase to justify compared to several other 10.1-inch Honeycomb devices, says this eWEEK review.

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Ubuntu Server 11.10 is more compelling than as ever as a Linux distribution for cloud deployments, says this eWEEK Labs review. A lack of updated documentation and some other rough edges give pause, but the new Juju cloud deployment framework and tighter OpenStack integration should make “Oneiric Ocelot” a winner when it arrives in its LTS version in April.

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