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Samsung announced four new Android 2.3 Galaxy smartphones, as well as a new naming scheme for the Galaxy product line. The new phones include the Galaxy W (3.7-inch, 1.4GHz), the QWERTY-enabled Galaxy M Pro (2.66-inch, 1GHz), the Galaxy Y (three-inch, 832MHz), and the keyboard-ready Galaxy Y Pro, according to the company.
Parrot is readying what it claims is the world's first Android-based car receiver for an October release. The Parrot Asteroid offers a 3.2-inch display, GPS-based location services, Bluetooth, optional 3G access to web services, a 4 x 55 Watt MOSFET amplifier, plus support for music sources including Internet radio and a built-in FM/AM tuner.
Intel, Freescale, and Marvell are being targeted in a lawsuit claiming they've infringed on a 1996 patent involving on-chip power management. The complaint by “Power Management Systems LLC” reportedly names Intel's Atom Z6xx, Freescale's i.MX515, and Marvell's PXA940 as relevant products, adding that the alleged infringement is not necessarily limited to these processors.
Qnap is shipping two desktop Turbo NAS network-attached storage servers with 3.3GHz Intel Core i3 processors, aimed at high-end SMB environments. The 10-drive TS-1079 Pro and eight-drive TS-879 Pro offer RAID, iSCSI, and SATA 6Gb/s support, plus dual eSATA ports, six USB ports (two of them USB 3.0), and dual gigabit Ethernet ports, with an option to add dual 10GbE ports.
Google announced a preview release of the Google TV add-on for the Android SDK, supported on Linux with KVM emulation. The add-on lets Android app developers start preparing their software for porting to Google TV, in anticipation of the Android 3.x “Honeycomb” IPTV platform that's expected to ship later this year.
Portwell announced a fanless vehicle computer that is claimed to boot in less than five seconds, thanks to Coreboot technology. The PCS-8277 has a AMD G-Series processor, two 2.5-inch bays for SATA devices, two gigabit Ethernet ports, and support for wireless networking plus a GPS receiver, according to the company.
Researchers have uncovered Android 2.3 malware known as “GingerMaster,” which takes advantage of a jailbreak exploit to gain root access and execute instructions from a remote server. Meanwhile, McAfee Labs says malware developers are focusing on Android more than any other platform — but adds that the number of actual threats found on smartphones in the wild remains small.
Ximea GmbH announced new “smart cameras” that include AMD G-Series processors and monochrome or color image sensors ranging from WVGA (752 x 480 pixels) to five megapixels. The Currera-G devices include flash storage, microSD slots, VGA and Ethernet ports, and isolated digital I/O, the company says.
Microsoft and China Standard Software Co. Ltd. (CS2C) announced a deal through which CS2C's Linux-based NeoKylin Linux Server distribution will be matched with Hyper-V Open Cloud architecture. The combined offering, which puts Microsoft in the unlikely business of selling Linux solutions, is aimed at developing cloud applications in China, and is expected to be deployed in the defense infrastructure, as well as industry at large.
Sony Ericsson announced a music-oriented Android 2.3 smartphone with a dedicated Walkman music button and “deep” Facebook integration. Due to ship in the fourth quarter, the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman offers a 1GHz processor, a 3.2-inch inch display with 480 x 320 pixels, a five-megapixel camera, a front-facing VGA webcam, plus Sony Qriocity music and video content services.
If Google were to make Android proprietary, with devices built exclusively by Motorola, it could earn $10.5 billion in profits by 2015, yet that still may not be worth it, says Piper Jaffray. Meanwhile, Google's Motorola acquisition should bolster Google TV, other analysts say.
AMD announced three additions to its E- and C-Series “Fusion” APUs: the 1GHz C-60, the 1.3GHz E-300, and the 1.65GHz E-450. All offer “all-day battery life,” DisplayPort++ and HDMI 1.4a support, and the ability to use 1333MHz DDR3 memory, while the C-60 and E-450 add a new Turbo mode.
Sales of the “discontinued” HP TouchPad have been brisk after its price was cut to as little as $99, and hackers are working overtime to port Ubuntu and Android to the WebOS-based tablet. Meanwhile, analysts speculate on who might acquire HP's WebOS operations, which include a 2,000-plus patent portfolio that one analyst says could recoup the cost of HP's Palm acquisition.
Wind River announced a new version of its Linux-ready, embedded device test automation software. Wind River Test Management 4.0 can now identify high-risk segments in production code, as well as focus testing solely on changes made between builds, among other new features, says the company.
After reporting poor third-quarter earnings, HP announced it plans to sell its industry-leading PC business and acquire U.K.-based Autonomy for $10 billion, a move that follows IBM's earlier transition to software and services. The news followed HP's announcement it would discontinue its smartphone/tablet OS — but some are speculating a Android vendor jilted by Google's Motorola acquisition might be interested in buying WebOS.