leweb
Latest
Ubuntu gets its first smartphone deal, comes to high-end devices in 2014
Canonical's smartphone-sized Ubuntu distribution hasn't had an official device to call home since release, but it won't have to live that nomadic existence for much longer. CEO Mark Shuttleworth tells CNET that his company has just signed its first Ubuntu handset deal; the Linux variant should ship with higher-end smartphones sometime in 2014, he says. While Shuttleworth isn't naming this initial customer, he adds that Canonical is negotiating phone deals with four "household brands." It's too soon to say whether or not Ubuntu will get enough support to compete against other mobile platforms, but the agreement suggests that the publicity from the ill-fated Ubuntu Edge campaign is paying off.
Google's Eric Schmidt sees Google TV embedded in most new TVs by summer of 2012
Google big dog Eric Schmidt covered a lot of ground in his onstage interview at Le Web this year, but it wasn't all about iOS vs. Ice Cream Sandwich. It appears that Big G has big plans for Google TV, and the Executive Chairman foresees the platform proliferating to the point that "most" new televisions will have it embedded by the summer of 2012 -- that rumored switch from x86 to ARM must be going well. That strikes us as an awfully lofty goal given it's light market penetration thus far, but with Samsung still on board the Google gravy train and others waiting in the wings, Schmidt just may be right. However, until we see just how many sets are packing Google TV at CES, our skepticism remains -- check the interview itself and another video after the break that encapsulates just how we feel on the matter.
Eric Schmidt: 'Android will be bigger than iOS'
Eric Schmidt was addressing the crowd at Le Web in Paris and recounted a tale when an Android user asked why apps were often written for iOS first, and then ported over to Google's OS. His response? "My prediction is that six months from now, you'll say the opposite." After the uncomfortable silence had died down, he added that Android's "open" model meant the company had volume on its side -- and volume is what he feels will attract developers. He added that Ice Cream Sandwich would redress Android's device fragmentation and the sheer number of hardware makers would ensure that 2012 would be Google's year. At which point, everyone in the audience probably went back to their iPads to read Twitter.
Atom-based PsiXpda UMPC gets handled on video
Remember that retro-looking PsiXpda UMPC we spotted earlier this month? Turns out it looks just as old school in person. That said, we're still curiously attracted to the device, which sort of resembles an enlarged Touch Pro2 with a pinch of 1997 mixed in for good measure. The device was whipped out in the wild over at the LeWeb conference in Paris, and we were told that it was rocking Bluetooth, 3G WWAN, 1GB of RAM and a 16GB SSD, and we also learned that Windows XP was chosen due to its ease of integration within a corporate environment (though Ubuntu, Jolicloud and a host of other Linux-based operating systems can and will work). The QWERTY keyboard underneath is backlit in nature, the CPU is a 1.1GHz Atom and the removable battery is good for 2.5 hours of usage (with WiFi on) or 4 hours if using it offline. Hop on past the break for a peek of it in action, but keep the £500 price tag in mind before getting too excited. [Thanks, Charbax]
