AMD announced an updated SDK (software development kit) allowing programmers to tap into the GPUs (graphics processing units) of its A-Series (“Llano”) processors. Meanwhile, the Khronos Group released version 4.2 of its OpenGL specification, and AMD and Nvidia have both pledged support for it.

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Axiomtek announced a fanless embedded PC that packs a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and is intended primarily for railway applications. The tBOX320-852-FL has dual 2.5-inch drive bays, one externally accessible, plus a CompactFlash slot, two Mini PCI Express slots, and gigabit Ethernet ports with locking M12 connectors, the company says.

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Team Tiny Core announced a new version of its small-footprint, in-memory Linux desktop distro. Tiny Core 3.8 includes faster shutdown, updates to the BusyBox tool collection, improved searching, and the ability to re-download non-installed extensions, among other enhancements.

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Elektrobit Corp. (EB) announced a Android reference platform for vertical-market smartphones and tablets. The EB Specialized Device Platform is available now with a Texas Instruments OMAP3 processor — an OMAP4 version is coming next year — and a 4.0- or 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen, plus a wide variety of wireless and sensor options including 4G LTE.

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Sharp announced a seven-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel “Galapagos A01SH” tablet running Android 3.2 on an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor — and its FCC approval suggests it's eventually destined for the U.S.. Meanwhile, the Toshiba Thrive “Honeycomb” tablet has received a sleep-and-resume bug fix, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 got a “magazine-like” TouchWiz UI update.

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Sprint will begin offering a WiMAX 4G-ready Android 2.3 phone for just $100 on Aug. 21. The Samsung Conquer 4G features a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 screen, plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and optional mobile hotspot capabilities, says the carrier.

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VisionMobile released a report evaluating the relative openness of eight open source projects, and found Google's Android project to rank the lowest at 23 percent, compared to leader Eclipse, at 84 percent. One trend that emerged is that more mobile-oriented projects — like Android, Symbian, and MeeGo — tend to be less open than broad-based projects such as Mozilla, Linux, and Eclipse.

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ComScore's second-quarter U.S. smartphone study shows that Android went up two percent in June to 40.1 percent share, while Apple's iOS remained steady at 26.6 percent. Meanwhile, Jumptap released a study comparing usage state-by-state, showing iOS' strength in New England and the upper Midwest and Android's greater popularity in the South and West.

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Klaus Knopper has released version 6.7 of his Debian-based live-CD Linux distro. Again employing the LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment), it is also said to include version 3.3.3 of the LibreOffice suite, the Chromium 12 web browser, and a new version of ADRIANE (Audio Desktoop Reference Implementation And Network Environment) for partially-sighted users.

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Linux creator Linus Torvalds weighed in on the debate over the controversial GNOME 3.0 desktop environment, recommending that someone fork the “unholy mess.” Meanwhile, version 4.7 of the rival KDE environment has arrived with new touchscreen and OpenGL 2.0 support, and Netflix is said to be working on a Linux port.

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Stealth Computer announced a mini PC with a dual-core Atom D525 processor, a 55GB solid state disk (SSD), plus both Mini PCI Express and ExpressCard/34 slots. The LPC-125LPM works in temperatures ranging from 14 to 140 deg. F and via DC power ranging from 10V to 26V, according to the company.

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Just a few days after Pandigital began selling a $170 Nova and $180 Planet tablet at BestBuy and Amazon, respectively, it introduced a third seven-inch Android tablet called the Star, for $160. What's more, the company disclosed that all three tablets include ARM Cortex-A9 processors, representing a price breakthrough for products based on the technology.

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Pierre Cardin is shipping a seven-inch Android 2.2 tablet billed as “the … first designer tablet.” The Pierre Cardin Tablet PC offers a 1GHz Samsung “Hummingbird” processor, a front-facing webcam, Wi-Fi, and a tailored carrying case, and sells for 275 U.K. Pounds ($449).

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Lanner announced a rugged vehicle computer that includes a GPS receiver and the ability to operate on power ranging from 6 to 30VDC. The LE-5xxx runs fanlessly with a dual-core Intel Atom D510 processor, resists shock and vibration, and includes both Mini PCI and PCI-104 expansion slots, according to the company.

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Axiomtek announced a rackmountable, 1U network appliance that runs Red Hat Linux on Intel Atom D410 or D510 processors and provides six gigabit Ethernet ports. The NA-320R includes both hard disk and CompactFlash storage, accepts up to 2GB of RAM, and has a PCI Express Mini Card expansion slot, the company says.

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