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Lanner announced a low-end network appliance powered by the dual-core Intel Atom D510 or single-core D410 processor. The FW-7539 is equipped with four gigabit Ethernet ports with optional LAN bypass, dual USB 2.0 ports, and Mini-PCIe expansion, says the company.
Corporate types with small fingers will find much to like in Verizon's Android 2.2-based Motorola Droid Pro, says this eWEEK review. Most business users, however, will have trouble with the tiny keyboard, let alone the small screen, and would do better with a BlackBerry.
Advantech announced a fanless embedded PC that includes a dual-core Atom D510 CPU, dual hard disk bays, and CompactFlash storage. The ARK-5260 has four RS232/422/485 serial ports, parallel and PS/2 ports, plus both PCI and PCI Express x1 expansion slots, the company says.
Tablet computers based on Android will comprise 15 percent of the worldwide market in 2011, nibbling at Apple's iPad share similar to the way Android smartphones gained on the iPhone. That's the prediction from IMS Research, which adds that by 2015, Android tablets will have garnered 28 percent of the market.
Originally scheduled to ship tomorrow, Barnes & Noble's color e-reader is already arriving in customers' hands, the bookseller says. The Nook Color offers 8GB of internal storage, a microSD slot, Wi-Fi, and a seven-inch 1024 x 600 color touchscreen.
Qualcomm has shown off a new version of its Snapdragon chipset that will let handsets work with LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks as well as current 3G networks. Set to sample in 2011, the MSM8960 will also integrate Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and an FM receiver, according to a variety of reports.
Anders Electronics announced a diminutive COM (computer on module) featuring Marvell's 1.2GHz Armada 510 CPU. The Linux-ready CM-A510 offers functionality including 1GB of DDR3 memory, up to 512MB of flash storage, a camera interface, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, and onboard Wi-Fi, the company says.
Heralded by Linus Torvalds as a “huge improvement,” a 233-line kernel scheduling patch written by Mike Galbraith is making the rounds to rave reviews, reports Phoronix. Due for possible inclusion into Linux kernel 2.6.38, the “sched: autogroup” patch is claimed to reduce latency by a factor of 10, with noticeable improvements in 1080p video playback, according to “before-and-after” videos run at Phoronix.
Wind River announced that Arkoon Network Security will use Wind River Linux to develop its FAST 360 family of network security devices. Meanwhile, Wind River rival MontaVista Software announced it has joined the OpenSAF Foundation, which promotes the high availability middleware integrated into recent releases of MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition.
Smooth-Stone, which is looking to build ARM-designed chips for low-power servers, is changing its name to Calxeda. The company is hiring executives with backgrounds at such places as IBM, HP, Marvell, and Polycom.
Kontron announced a fanless panel PC for medical applications, prescribing both 10.4- and 15-inch versions. The Medi Client IIA includes a resistive touchscreen, an Intel Atom N270 processor, up to 2GB of RAM, CompactFlash or hard disk storage, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, and — on the 15-inch version — a CAN bus option, the company says.
Mentor Graphics is shipping a version of its Mentor Embedded Linux development platform supporting networking applications developed on NetLogic Microsystems' MIPS-based multicore, multithreaded system-on-chips (SoCs). The Mentor platform, which is available in a free “Essentials” version as well as a commercial version, supports the XLR and XLS families today, with support for the newer XLP processors planned shortly.
AMD's “Bobcat” core processor has had an unofficial coming-out party, thanks to benchmarks released by five different tech blogs. The 1.6GHz E-350 version whips a dual-core Atom CPU with Nvidia Ion 2 graphics, offering lower power consumption and even rivaling some of Intel's CULV (consumer ultra low voltage) processors, initial reviews suggest.
Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile announced a new “Isis” venture that will roll out a mobile commerce network based on smartphones embedded with near field communications (NFC) networking chips. Isis supporters include Apple and Nokia, as well as Google, which revealed this week that Android 2.3 will add support for short-range NFC wireless communications.
AT&T will launch the Samsung Galaxy Tab Nov. 21, selling it for $650 plus $15 to $25 per month for data, says eWEEK. Meanwhile, reviews of the device range from the openly dismissive to the cautiously praiseworthy, with a consensus emerging that this first major Android tablet might be just good enough to make a major dent in iPad sales.