[Updated Jun. 26] — Motorola and Kodak announced a cameraphone that combines Motorola's “ModeShift” interface with Kodak imaging technology. Available in China next month, and later this year elsewhere, Motorola's MotoZine ZN5 mashes up a 5-megapixel camera with a multimedia smartphone. (more…)

Google now expects Linux-based Android phones to ship in the fourth quarter instead of the second half of this year, according to a report. Reasons for the delays reportedly include language glitches, last-minute changes from Google, and issues over carrier branding. (more…)

Marseilles, France-based Nexvision has announced a network IP (Internet protocol) video camera design that incorporates the Texas Instruments (TI) DaVinci TMS320DM6467 processor. The Linux-based CamHD hardware/software reference design is equipped with an Altera Cyclone III FPGA (field-programmable gate array), and boasts a… (more…)

Embedded pioneer and MontaVista founder Jim Ready has clarified his company's marketing messages regarding the challenges of using Linux without commercial support in embedded systems. The clarification follows an attack by GreenHills CEO Dan O'Dowd, who opportunely misconstrued the messaging in order to ridicule embedded Linux in general, Ready suggests. (more…)

[Updated: Jun. 23, 2008] — Australian research group NICTA and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have developed a clarinet-playing robot that runs Linux. The “Robo-Clarinet” won first prize at the Artemis Music Orchestra competition for autonomous, embedded musical instrument performances. (more…)

India-based E-con Systems has announced a Marvell PXA270-based system on module (SOM) that sells for as little as $75. The SODIMM-sized eSOM270 comes pre-installed with Linux, includes 64MB or 128MB of RAM, and has a camera interface and a LCD controller, E-con says. (more…)

A style-conscious Samsung digital camera and personal media player (PMP) is built on a MontaVista Linux platform, it was revealed by a reader. Shipping since last year, the Samsung i70 features 7.2-megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom, and Samsung's ASR (Advanced Shake Reduction) technology. (more…)

[Updated 12:21] — Timesys won Best in Show at the 2008 Freescale Technology Forum (FTF) for its Online Linux Factory. San Juan Software won the other Best in Show for its ZigBee controller platform, and Nuvation won an award for an air-hockey-playing “Flexis AC Face-off” robot (pictured). (more…)

The Linux Plumbers Conference (LPC) has issued a call for proposals for its September 17-19 event in Portland, Oregon. The LPC aims to attract top developers to collaborate on Linux “plumbing” issues such as kernel subsystems, core libraries, and windowing systems. (more…)

Technologic Systems has upgraded the firmware for its quick-booting single-board computer (SBC) to make it boot even quicker. Equipped with a Marvell 500Mhz ARM9 CPU running Debian Sarge, the TS-7800 can boot Linux 2.6.21 from NAND flash in 0.69 seconds, claims Technologic. (more…)

MontaVista announced that its Mobilinux 5.0 Linux distribution for mobile devices has been optimized for the Freescale i.MX31 system-on-chip (SoC). The optimization brings the total number of Freescale processors supported by MontaVista distributions to ten, says the company. (more…)

Fujitsu Microelectronics America, Inc. (FMA) announced a mobile WiMAX chipset optimized for WiMAX peripherals for PCs, smartphones, and PDAs. According to Fujitsu, the 12x12mm Mobile WiMAX chipset offers a sub-0.5mA idle current, and supports Linux and Windows Mobile operating systems. (more…)

Freescale Semiconductor announced it is porting its Linux-compatible CodeWarrior development tools to the Eclipse open architecture platform. Freescale is also joining the Eclipse Foundation and will work with Power.org and Wind River on the Eclipse Target Communication Framework project, says the company. (more…)

Finland-based handset manufacturer Nokia announced that it has completed its acquisition of Trolltech. The Norwegian software firm's development talent — together with its Linux-compatible “Qt” application development framework — is likely to help Nokia improve its cross-platform support, and expand its presence in the Linux mobile device market. (more…)

Funambol announced a new $12.5-million funding round to promote its open-source, push email and personal information management (PIM) synchronization software for mobile devices. Meanwhile, the company is pushing forward with versions of its Linux-compatible software for the iPhone, Blackberry, AOL's IM, and soon, Android. (more…)