Finland-based Navicron has introduced Linux-based hardware and software reference designs for smart wireless devices. Navicron's FusionSoftware stack and Freescale-MX31-based FusionPlatform reference hardware are said to be designed for smartphones, Internet tablets, automotive computers,… (more…)

Mizi Research announced an “ultra low-cost” mobile phone reference design based on its Linux-compatible phone stack. The Korean firm says it is collaborating with an unnamed manufacturer to develop a complete hardware/software design that will take as little as three months to bring to market. (more…)

A Canadian firm will soon announce a phone whose plaid case spells “Debian” in Morse Code. Developed by Koolu, whose CTO is Jon “maddog” Hall, the touchphone-based “W.E. Phone” runs Google Apps on top of the Android Java stack on top of Debian. (more…)

MontaVista's Mobilinux 5.0 Linux implementation for mobile phones was named a finalist in EDN Magazine's 2008 “Innovation Awards” for the semiconductor business. (more…)

Intel will reveal technical details about its forthcoming Silverthorne SoCs for mobile devices at a chip conference this week. Based on a new micro-architecture with an in-order instruction pipeline, and built on 45 nanometer technology, the x86-compatible chips will use a tenth the power of Core2 “ULV” chips, Intel says. (more…)

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), researchers are testing a Linux-based automotive telematics system intended to reduce traffic congestion. CarTel is a distributed, GPS-enabled mobile sensor network that uses WiFi “opportunistically” to exploit brief windows of coverage to update a central… (more…)

Intel and Micron have announced high-speed NAND flash memory technology claimed to be five times faster than current products. Currently being sampled by Micron in an eight-gigabit single-level cell (SLC) version, the high-speed NAND will be generally available later this year, according to the companies. (more…)

Taiwanese network-appliance system integrator AR Infotek has announced a multimedia embedded computer that runs Linux. Based on an Intel 915GM chipset, the Pipal 6002 includes a 2D/3D graphics accelerator that supports MPEG2, and is designed for digital signage, POS, and automation control. (more…)

The Mozilla Foundation has released prototype user interfaces (UIs) for its upcoming mobile version of Firefox, and is seeking comments. While not final, these UIs could easily be incorporated in the final product, according to a blog post by Mozilla developer and project lead Doug Turner. (more…)

This hands-on review looks at a small, silent, inexpensive PC based Via's slowest, lowest-powered chip. The Icop eBox-4300 is small enough to piggyback on VESA-compliant monitors, yet actually performs well enough under Linux for desktop use, says reviewer and small-PC enthusiast Eric House. (more…)

[Updated Feb. 5] — Hewlett-Packard (HP) is debuting two Linux-based networked attached storage (NAS) devices for the consumer/SOHO market. Based on a storage family from Marvell's MediaVault 88F518x family (codenamed “Orion”), the low-end Media Vault appliances come in single- (mv2100) or dual hard drive (mv5100)… (more…)

Philips spin-off NXP Semiconductors and French mobile Linux phone stack firm Purple Labs have teamed up on a sub-$100 3G phone hardware/software reference design. The Purple Magic runs Linux and a telecom RTOS on a single ARM9 core, thanks to embedded virtualization technology. (more…)

A Research and Markets study says that the market share for mobile Linux in Asia will increase in 2008. The study also predicts that smartphones will continue to grab mobile-phone market share, and will represent 22 percent of the Asian mobile market this year. (more…)

This hands-on review looks at a small, silent, inexpensive PC based Via's slowest, lowest-powered chip. The Icop eBox-4300 is small enough to piggyback on VESA-compliant monitors, yet actually performs well enough under Linux for desktop use, says reviewer and small-PC enthusiast Eric House. (more…)

Motorola has responded to the news earlier this week that rival Nokia plans to purchase Trolltech, long-time supplier of the graphical development framework used in Motorola's Linux phones. (more…)