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Ibase announced a half-size CPU card that combines Intel's popular Atom N270 processor with seldom-seen PISA connectors. The IB825 includes up to 2GB of RAM, two SATA ports, two gigabit Ethernet ports, four serial ports, and a Mini PCI Express slot, the company says.
White space networking received a vote of confidence June 29 in the form of a $12.8 million investment in Cambridge, U.K.-based Neul. The company — which is participating with Microsoft and others in ongoing tests — also announced “NeulNET,” said to be the world's first production white space radio system.
Microsoft has entered into its second Android-related patent agreement this week, with tablet maker Velocity Micro. The deal, involving unspecified royalties, follows others with General Dynamics Itronix and HTC.
Google launched its long-anticipated foray into the social networking world with a Facebook alternative that focuses on more nuanced social sharing. Available initially as an app on Android Market, Google+ offers features that lets users sort friends into separate “Circles,” set up “Sparks” discussion forums, and “Huddle” to quickly set up a group date.
HTC's Evo View 4G is now available on Sprint's 4G WiMAX network, and it's a dandy device for taking notes, says this eWEEK review. The Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” tablet is only seven inches, but it's fueled by a 1.5GHz Snapdragon, offers zippy 4G, and features a versatile stylus interface that's nicely integrated throughout the tablet.
Cisco Systems has announced an app ecosystem for its Android-based Cius tablet. Marking the company's entry into a crowded landscape, “AppHQ” will focus on IT managers and professionals, according to the company.
The 4G LTE version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is now available for pre-order on Verizon, but won't ship for four to six weeks. Meanwhile, hackers have loaded a version of Ubuntu Linux they call “Tabuntu” onto the Tab 10.1, enabling users to access both this and Android simultaneously.
T-Mobile unveiled an Android 2.3-based 4G slider phone with an advanced camera. HTC's MyTouch 4G Slide is equipped with a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 3.7-inch, WVGA touchscreen, and an eight-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, “zero” shutter lag, a backside illuminated sensor, and a wide aperture f/2.2 lens, says the carrier.
Acer began accepting pre-orders for its Wi-Fi only AC700 Chromebook for $350 on Amazon.com. Following Samsung's $430 Series 5 Chromebook — and again based on Google's Chrome OS — the AC700 notebook offers the same dual-core Intel Atom N570 processor, a slightly smaller 11.6-inch display, 2GB of DDR3 memory, a 16GB solid-state disk, a multi-card reader, and a webcam.
The Thunderbolt technology created by Intel and Apple received a stamp of approval from Sony, whose svelte new Vaio Z notebook uses it to add discrete graphics externally. Meanwhile, Apple has begun selling a six-bay RAID system manufactured by Promise, along with a $49 Thunderbolt cable.
In its upcoming “Interlagos” and “Valencia” Opteron chips for servers, AMD will offer a feature called TDP Power Cap. The technology, designed to let users reduce power usage while minimizing the performance consequences, could find a home in future AMD-powered embedded devices too.
Phoronix has identified the Linux power regression problems it previously noted in Linux 2.6.38 as being related to Active-State Power Management (ASPM) code for PCI Express — and has published a workaround. The problem, which can result in low battery life with Ubuntu 11.04 and Fedora 15, have been confirmed by Tom's Hardware Guide.
Google's Andy Rubin says Android is now being activated on 500,000 smartphones and tablets each day, with 4.4 percent week-to-week growth. Meanwhile, new rumors claim Google's next Samsung-built Nexus device will run “Ice Cream Sandwich” on a TI OMAP4 processor and be called Google Nexus Prime.
The Sabayon community released version 6.0 of its Gentoo-based Linux distribution, moving up to Linux 2.6.39.1, but opting for GNOME 2.32.2 and KDE 4.6.4 desktop environments instead of the controversial GNOME 3.0. Sabayon 6.0 adds support for the Btrfs filesystem, switches to LibreOffice 3.3.3, and updates to version 1.0 of its Entropy package manager.
Microsoft has continued to push its patent claims into Android territory by signing a patent agreement with General Dynamics' rugged device subsidiary Itronix. The agreement provides broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Android devices, says Microsoft.