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AT&T announced three 4G Android 2.2 smartphones supporting its HSPA+ network, led by Motorola's four-inch Atrix 4G, based on Nvidia's dual-core Tegra 2, which ships with 1GHz RAM and a docking laptop option with an 11.6-inch screen. The other phones are HTC's 4.3-inch, Snapdragon-based Inspire 4G, and a 4.5-inch Samsung Infuse 4G phone.
Qualcomm is buying wireless chipset maker Atheros for $3.1 billion, in a move designed to help the company grow beyond its traditional business as a technology supplier for mobile phones and deeper into such areas as smartphones and tablets.
AMD has formally announced its “Fusion” line of processors, which incorporate multi-core x86 CPUs and DirectX 11-capable GPUs (graphics processing units) on a single die. Now available on netbooks, notebooks, and desktops — including new offerings from HP and Toshiba — the chips will be featured in embedded devices and tablets later in the first quarter, the company says.
Zotac announced a mini PC featuring AMD's 1.6GHz, dual-core E-350, with support for HD video and DirectX 11-compatible gaming. The Zbox AD03 includes an integral slot-loading Blu-ray drive, both Wi-Fi and Ethernet, and is available either barebones or with 2GB of DDR3 memory and a 250GB hard disk drive, the company says.
Samsung Electronics announced what it says is the industry's first DDR4 memory module, using 30nm process technology. DDR4 will reduce power consumption by 40 percent and increase access speeds by about 30 percent compared to DDR3, the company says.
Via Technologies says it is now sampling a dual-core version of its 64-bit Nano processor. The Nano X2 provides out-of-order execution, VT CPU virtualization support, SSE4 instruction set extensions, and PadLock hardware security features, the company says.
EMC subsidiary Iomega announced a Linux- and Intel Atom-based “Iomega TV with Boxee” media server with network attached storage (NAS) capabilities and Boxee's IPTV software stack. The company also announced a Home Media Network Hard Drive Cloud Edition that works with a newly announced Iomega Personal Cloud service, and tipped an Iomega ScreenPlay DX HD Media Player.
Android powered 40.8 percent of smartphones purchased in the U.S. in the last six months compared to 27 percent for Apple iOS, although Apple still led in overall share at 28.6 percent, according to the Nielsen Company. Meanwhile, Samsung claims to have shipped 10 million Android-based Galaxy S phones, and Wirefly says Android dominated its online holiday shopping tally.
Google is allegedly mulling a periodical publication push for Android smartphones and tablets to challenge Apple's iTunes store for its iPad magazine and newspaper apps. The planned digital newsstand for Android, which follows up on Google's recently announced Google eBookstore, will offer more favorable terms to publishers than does Apple, says an industry report.
Sprint announced a mid-range member of its Evo 4G smartphone line, adding a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and providing a new Novatel MiFi 3G/4G mobile hotspot accessory. The Android 2.2-ready HTC Evo Shift 4G scales back to an 800MHz Qualcomm processor, 2GB of memory, 3.6-inch touchscreen, and five megapixel camera, and loses the original 4G's front-facing webcam.
Android is set to “explode” at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, with smartphones and tablet computers including a newly revealed HTC Shift 4G phone for Sprint and a four-inch smartphone/tablet hybrid from ViewSonic. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless is cutting the price of the Android-based Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet by $100 to $500, says an industry report.
Freescale Semiconductor announced an ARM Cortex-A9-based “i.MX 6” series of multicore system-on-chips (SoCs) it says will bring 3D HD video to tablets, smartphones, automotive infotainment systems, and other embedded devices. The single-core i.MX 6Solo, dual-core i.MX 6Dual, and quad-core i.MX 6Quad are all clocked at 1.2GHz and touted as delivering 1080p60 video decode, 720p60 encode, and 3D video playback at 50Mbps.
Apparently seeking mind share in advance of this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Intel is launching its “Sandy Bridge” processors. The “second-generation Core products” — all said to permit gaming and 3D HD video — include 15 new mobile processors, 14 new desktop CPUs, and ten different chipsets to go with them.
Toshiba will introduce a 10.1-inch Android 2.4 tablet that, like its earlier, troubled Folio tablet, runs on a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2, according to an AP report. The “Toshiba Tablet” will boost screen resolution and add few features not found on the Folio, including GPS and a second five-megapixel camera, says the report.
TV manufacturer Vizio announced an eight-inch, Android-based “Via” tablet and four-inch Via Phone. Meanwhile Verizon Wireless will introduce 4G-powered Android smartphones made by Samsung, Motorola, HTC, and LG Electronics — plus at least one tablet — and Asus is expected to unveil three Android tablets, including two convertible devices, say industry reports.