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3M has invested in Pixel Qi, a manufacturer of power-saving displays that are viewable in bright sunlight. The deal — whose terms were not disclosed — suggests the unusual transflective screens could finally become widely available, after several years' delay.
The Linux Foundation took down several of its sites, including Linux.com, after discovering suspicious activity on its servers that's apparently related to the Trojan recently found on Kernel.org. The Linux kernel is not affected, but users who have registered on other Linux Foundation sites likely had their personal information stolen, the nonprofit foundation warns.
Intel has tipped upcoming support for Android 2.3x (“Gingerbread”) on its Atom E6xx processor and denied rumors it is discontinuing support for the MeeGo project. Meanwhile, HTC is said to be considering acquiring its own operating system, but Samsung says it won't be acquiring MeeGo, say two other industry reports.
Ubuntu derivative Bodhi Linux was released in a version 1.2 that moves up to Linux 3.0. Bodhi Linux 1.2 advances to a fresh new version of the lightweight Enlightenment 17 window manager and version 0.4 of the lightweight Midori web browser, and features improved documentation and a variety of new desktop themes, says the project.
Ford and open source software/hardware provider Bug Labs say they'll collaborate to let developers create modules for the automaker's “Sync” in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system. The jointly created “OpenXC” research platform will utilize hardware add-ons called “BugBases” and “BugModules,” as well as the cloud-based “BugSwarm” service, according to the companies
Aaeon announced an 18.5-inch panel PC that looks and works like an overgrown tablet. The ACP-5815 has a capacitive touchscreen with two-point multitouch, a choice of Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, CompactFlash and hard disk storage, a Mini PCI expansion slot, plus an optional camera and RFID reader, according to the company.
Advantech announced a single board computer (SBC) that runs Windows CE 6.0, Linux, or Android on a Texas Instruments OMAP35x processor. The PCM-C3500 has either 128MB or 256MB of RAM, can include 2GB of flash storage, has four serial ports and four USB 2.0 ports, and features an Ethernet port with RJ45 connector, according to the company.
A Google document revealed via Oracle's Android-related patent infringement suit against the company shows favoritism toward Motorola and Verizon, Foss Patents blogger Florian Mueller has charged. Yet both HTC and Samsung,as well as T-Mobile and Sprint, have also been graced with “pure Google” devices, other analysts note.
Huawei is launching a 3.8-inch Impulse 4G smartphone on AT&T, offering Android 2.2, 4G service, and a five-megapixel camera for a record-breaking $30 plus contract. Meanwhile, Kyocera teamed with Sprint to announce a three-inch, Kyocera Milano smartphone with Android 2.3 and a 3.2-inch camera for $50 plus contract.
Intelligent systems — embedded devices featuring connectivity, high-performance CPUs, and high-level operating systems — already outnumber PCs, servers, and mobile phones combined, IDC says. Moreover, the market for these products will double in units and revenue by 2015, the research firm adds.
Chumby is readying a Linux-based IPTV set-top-box that can be remotely controlled by a Wi-Fi connected Android device. Soon to be offered as an open development platform, NeTV is equipped with an 800MHz Marvell processor, and it will include both a Webkit browser that can overlay content on video and a personalized news crawler.
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang announced that mobile devices powered by his company's quad-core Tegra 3 processors will start hitting the market before the holiday season. Huang said the quad-core market will be dominated by Nvidia and Qualcomm, which is prepping its own “Krait” quad-core processors for release in 2012.
Google is helping HTC attack Apple in court, by furnishing mobile technology patents that take aim at iPhone functionality. Meanwhile, Microsoft nabbed two more major patent agreements with Acer and ViewSonic, related to tablets and mobile phones running Android and (in the case of ViewSonic) Chrome OS.
AMD added to its line of A-Series (“Llano”) processors with two dual-core desktop offerings that sell for $75 or less. The A4-3300 operates at 2.5GHz (CPU) and 444MHz (GPU), while the A4-3400 operates at 2.7GHz (CPU) and 600MHz (GPU), and both feature 160 Radeon Cores and 1MB of L2 cache, according to the company.
Kontron announced it will release its first computer on modules (COMs) based on single- and multicore ARM processors later this year. Featuring support for operating systems including Linux and Windows 8, the COMs will be followed up in 2012 by ARM-based single board computers, plus tablet, box, and HMI (human machine interface) PCs, says the company.