Android on ARM "very snappy," analysts say

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Android on ARM "very snappy," analysts say — Android running on ARM-based "smartbooks" looks "very snappy" compared to Windows 7 on an Intel Atom, Gartner analysts are said to have declared. Meanwhile, according to another industry report, Garmin-Asus says it will ship an Android-based Nuvifone smartphone by year's end. ...

Middleware supplies VoIP/video telephony for ARM devices

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Middleware supplies VoIP/video telephony for ARM devices — Trinity Convergence has extended its mobile VoIP/video middleware software to enable a wide range of embedded devices with IP telephony and video. The Linux-compatible VeriCall Communicator is available in voice-only and voice/video versions targeting ARM-based devices such as video doorbells and surveillance systems, says the company. ...

Palm's Linux phone "exceptional," says reviewer

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Palm's Linux phone "exceptional," says reviewer — The reviews appear to be largely positive for the Palm Pre, with eWEEK lauding its "exceptional design, aesthetics and usability." Both the smartphone and the Linux-based WebOS stack live up to their billing for ease of use, but battery life is a problem, says eWEEK. ...

Tutorial explores GNU ARM toolchain for Android

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Tutorial explores GNU ARM toolchain for Android — IBM DeveloperWorks has published an introductory tutorial on using the GNU ARM toolchain under Linux, using Android as the example. Author Bill Zimmerly provides an overview of the ARM architecture and toolchain, shows how to install the toolchain, and then describes how to write and test a simple ARM/Android program. ...

MIPS to release Android source code by August

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com MIPS to release Android source code by August — MIPS Technologies announced that source code for the Android port to MIPS released by Embedded Alley last week would be made publicly available within 60 days. MIPS also joined the Open Embedded Software Foundation consortium supporting Android, and announced that VioSoft will support the MIPS/Android platform with its Arriba tools. ...

Palm's Linux smartphone debuts

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Palm's Linux smartphone debuts — As promised, Palm's Linux-based smartphone went on sale Saturday, available exclusively for Sprint networks, says eWEEK. Early reviews have been favorable, although analysts worry about the lack of software and the ability of Sprint to effectively market the Palm Pre (pictured), says the story. ...

Hypervisor spins virtual Android

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Hypervisor spins virtual Android — Jun. 04, 2009 — Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs) is shipping an Android version of its Linux-compatible OKL4 hypervisor. "OK:Android" is an off-the-shelf, paravirtualized version of Android that enables Android to run as a guest operating system (OS) in a secure "hypercell" alongside another phone OS, says the company.

Android invades more netbooks, smartphones, and -- Moblin?

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Android invades more netbooks, smartphones, and -- Moblin? — Jun. 04, 2009 — At this week's Computex show, Intel demonstrated Moblin running Android apps in a simulator. Meanwhile, Android phones were confirmed by Acer and Garmin-Asus, Acer announced an Android version of its Aspire One netbook (pictured), and Asus provided a brief glimpse of an Android netbook, reports say. ...

Google unveils Android 2.0

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Google unveils Android 2.0 — Jun. 03, 2009 — Google demonstrated an early version of Android 2.0, codenamed "Donut," at the Google I/O developer conference, and handed out free unlocked Android Dev Phones (pictured), says eWEEK. Android 2.0 adds integrated local and web search, handwriting gesture UI, Google Translate, and text-to-speech features, says the story. ...

App stores to rule smartphone roost

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com App stores to rule smartphone roost — Jun. 03, 2009 — Application stores and services will drive the smartphone market in the coming years, say reports from Ovum and In-Stat. According to Ovum, mobile apps will help make the Linux/Java-based Android the fastest growing smartphone OS by 2014, giving it an 18 percent share of a $406.7 million market. ...

Android port to MIPS completed

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Android port to MIPS completed — Jun. 02, 2009 — Embedded Alley (EA) announced it is has completed its port of the Linux/Java-based Android platform to the MIPS architecture. The Embedded Alley Development System for Android-based Devices initially targets devices ranging from set-top boxes (STBs) to industrial equipment running the MIPS-based RMI Au1250 processor.

Qualcomm spins 1.3GHz Snapdragon

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Qualcomm spins 1.3GHz Snapdragon — Jun. 01, 2009 — Qualcomm has announced a new 45-nm fabricated entry in its "Snapdragon" family of chipsets, targeting smartphones and a newly announced category of small-scale netbooks called "smartbooks." The QSD8650A includes an ARM-based, 1.3GHz applications processor, 2D/3D graphics accelerators, and "up to 30 percent lower" power consumption, the company says. ...

Qualcomm snaps to with "smartbook" push

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Qualcomm snaps to with "smartbook" push — Jun. 01, 2009 — Several companies will announce low-power netbooks this week incorporating Qualcomm's ARM-based, Linux-compatible Snapdragon processor, which is being upgraded to a 45nm, 1.3GHz "QSD8650A" version. Qualcomm and rival Freescale, which manufactures the netbook-ready i.MX515, are both branding netbooks based on their ARM-based SoCs as "smartbooks."

Google predicts 18 Android phones this year

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Google predicts 18 Android phones this year — May 28, 2009 — At the Google I/O Developer Conference yesterday, the company announced that it expects at least 18 Android phones to ship in 2009, according to an industry report. Google also announced that it will launch part two of its Android Developer Challenge contest in early August. ...

Android leaps to rugged handheld, and more phones

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Android leaps to rugged handheld, and more phones — May 26, 2009 — SDG Systems is shipping a version of its ruggedized Trimble Nomad PDA that runs Android 1.5. In other Android news, photos of an Android-based, AT&T-destined HTC "Lancaster" smartphone have appeared on the web, and another report says that China Mobile will soon sell HTC's Magic phone. ...

Simulator runs Android apps on Ubuntu

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Simulator runs Android apps on Ubuntu — May 26, 2009 — Canonical demonstrated a prototype version of an execution environment for Ubuntu that lets it run Android apps, says an industry report. The environment acts like a simulator, and is based on the Xorg X Window environment, says the story. ...

Modular open source phone runs OMAP3x SoC

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Modular open source phone runs OMAP3x SoC — May 20, 2009 — Open source hacker community GizmoForYou is shipping a Linux hardware/software kit for building a modular touchcreen smartphone. Based on the OMAP35x-based Gumstix Overo Earth single-board computer (SBC), the Flow phone offers modules including GPS, 3.5G cellular, Bluetooth, WiFi, and a camera, says the group.

Palm Pre's price and launch date target iPhone

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com Palm Pre's price and launch date target iPhone — May 20, 2009 — Palm says its Linux-based Palm Pre smartphone will debut on the Sprint 3G network on June 6, priced at an iPhone-like $200, says eWEEK. However, the Pre is going to require substantial developer support before it beats the iPhone, eWEEK quotes a Gartner analyst as saying. ...

USB display technology heading for Linux

clipped from www.linuxdevices.com USB display technology heading for Linux — May 15, 2009 — Linux users should soon be able to use USB-connected monitors that incorporate DisplayLink's chips. DisplayLink has released Linux versions of its USB monitor source code under LGPL, and has partnered with Novell and the Linux Driver Project to develop drivers for desktops and mobile devices. ...