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Motorola to introduce eight OPhones on China Mobile next year, celebrate intensely
Motorola may be pinning its comeback hopes on the CLIQ here in America, but it obviously has some rather large plans for the world's largest carrier, too. An admittedly perplexing report has surfaced purporting that the creator of the iconic i776, er, RAZR, is fixing to distribute not one, not two, but eight OPhones to China Mobile next year. For those unaware, OPhone is an Android-based OS tailor made to operate on the aforesaid carrier and cater to its customers, and to date, quite a few other manufacturers have jumped on board over there. Sadly, no actual details about the eight Moto handsets were given, so it looks like it's just you, a cup of joe and your hyperactive imagination for the time being.
Qdeo Blu-ray test disc promises more nits to pick and adjustments to obsess over
Pristine transfers and favorite demo material aside, if you're an obsessive-compulsive videophile like us, one of the first discs you reach for after unboxing that new TV is a calibration disc. You know, the ones with the exciting test patterns and narration that empty a room really fast. Make space in your arsenal for one more of those riveting discs, because Marvell is bringing out its Qdeo Blu-ray disc to help you evaluate your setup, and with a focus on noise reduction, format conversion and image enhancement, this disc could be a good fit for modern systems that have the ability to stack tweak upon tweak at the player, receiver and TV. We'll admit that we're always a little leery of electronics manufacturers that issue their own test discs, but as long as no foul play is uncovered, it certainly can't hurt to have another choice on the market; some test patterns just work better for some people.
Android turns up on MIDs from Eston, SFR
Two more MIDs were spotted running Android recently, and the kids over at Pocketables were kind enough to clue us in on the developments. First off, Eston's MID-02 (also known as the M4301) is a dual Windows CE 6.0 / Android device that boasts a 4.3-inch touchscreen, a Marvell XScale PXA300 (624MHz) CPU, 128MB DDR-RAM, 256MB Flash (supports up to 16GB) and a screen resolution of either 480 x 272 or 800 x 480, depending on whose product page you believe. Apparently one of the company's main markets is Europe, so keep your eyes peeled if you're interested. And why not? The keyboard is "almost entirely in English." But that ain't all! There's also an interesting video making the rounds of the SFR's Intel-powered M! PC Pocket at least booting the open source OS -- not necessarily compelling evidence that the rumors are true, but if the French wireless carrier isn't developing an Android device of their own at this very moment, it isn't a stretch to believe that they're toying with the idea. See for yourself after the break.Read - Eston MID-02 slider runs Android and Windows CE 6.0Read - SFR M! PC Pocket caught on video booting Android
Heavily-backed WiGig Alliance to stream everything over 60GHz
Yes folks, we're back to the drawing board. Again. With a litany of wireless technologies floundering about and struggling to find real traction in the market, a cadre of market powerhouses have joined up to take wireless streaming to the next level -- or so they say, anyway. The newly formed WiGig Alliance aims to use unlicensed 60GHz waves in order to stream just about anything you can think of: HD video, images, phone contacts, instant messages, audio, etc. This "unified" approach differs from most other alternatives, which generally pick one niche (1080p video, for instance) and stick to it. If the more than 15 technology firms have their collective druthers, the WiGig specification will find its way into everything from set-top-boxes to telephones to home stereos, ready and willing to stream to other WiGig-enabled devices at a moment's notice. The group consists of household names such as Microsoft, LG, Dell, Samsung, Marvell, Nokia, NEC, Intel and Broadcom (just to name a few), and when we spoke to executives about the announcement, they told us that plans were to have the specification available to member organizations in Q4 of this year. The sad part is that this likely means we won't see shipping products with the WiGig logo for another year after that -- if we're lucky. We can't argue that some stability would be nice in this volatile sector; after all, we've been waiting for promising products like Belkin's FlyWire to ship for well over a year. The execs we spoke with couldn't speak on behalf of the partner firms in terms of what WiGig products were looming on the horizon, but as we alluded to earlier, the playing field is wide open. Honestly, we'd love for this to take off and finally give high-bandwidth wireless applications the support it needs to flourish, but as we've seen over the past few years, the road ahead ain't an easy one to walk. The full release is after the break.
The Nautiz X5 is the smartphone for your rough and tumble user on the go
Ever drop a phone and spend a few unpleasant moments cringing with anticipation of the flimsy shattering noise it will make when it ends its journey on the ground, battery asunder and various pieces scattered to the winds? We've all been there, which makes a rugged smartphone like the Nautiz X5 a little more appealing than it would otherwise be based purely on aesthetics alone. It's been rated IP65 (two marks higher than Sony's recent semi-rugged GXD-L64H1 LCD), meaning it's completely dust-proof and can stand up to a heavy shower, but also sports modern conveniences like a 3 megapixel camera with LED flash, a barcode scanner, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g, and a 3.5-inch VGA LCD through which you can get your Windows Mobile 6.1 on. All that is powered by an 806MHz Marvell CPU with 256MB of RAM, meaning it's not only beefy on the outside. No word on price or availability, but don't expect all that heft to come cheap.[Via Handheld Europe]
Marvell's SheevaPlug Linux PC fits in its power adapter
Marvell has the technology and the vision, and if the company gets its way the world will soon be overrun by lilliputian Linux machines. Hiding in wall warts and the like, these guys will begin quietly taking over tasks that we once relegated to servers and desktop machines. To this end, the company has just announced that they'll be making the SheevaPlug dev kit available. This is the platform that PogoPlug is based on, consisting of a 1.2GHz Kirkwood processor, 512MB flash storage, 512MB DRAM, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and USB 2.0. This bad boy supports many standard Linux 2.6 kernel distributions, and the whole thing plugs directly into a standard wall socket, drawing "less than one tenth of the power of a typical PC" while in use. Currently available for $99, the company says that it anticipates a price drop to $49 "in the near future."
LiMo Foundation gains another half dozen members at MWC
While Android is sure enjoying the spotlight underneath that HTC Magic display, the LiMo Foundation is quietly building an army to rule the mobile realm once and for all. Dramatics aside, the Linux consortium did manage to secure another six members here at Mobile World Congress including Telefónica SA, Aromasoft Corporation, Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications, Marvell Semiconductor, Opera Software ASA, and Swisscom. Of course, all these formalities really mean nothing if the group can't manage to get a reputable handset out the door, so for now, we'll say "congrats" and "hurry up, why don'tcha?"
Marvell announces 1GHz processor for tiny things that need big power
Everyone's heard of the Atom and its 1.6GHz worth of ubiquity providing the oomph behind many a netbook, and, while not directly targeting Intel's frugal juggernaut, Marvell may have itself a contender with the PXA168. It's an upcoming processor intended for mobile devices that's aspiring to speeds in the 1GHz and beyond range. While we're expecting it'll be most commonly found in smartphones and the like (particularly those from Asus), there's a chance these could show up in some low(er) cost netbooks, too, possibly helping to keep that race to the bottom going for a few more laps yet. [Via GadgetMix.com, thx Kamal]
ASUS said to be launching Android handset in first half of '09
We'd already heard that ASUS had been invited to join the Open Handset Alliance, and DigiTimes is now reporting that the company is, in fact, planning to launch an Android-based handset -- go figure. That phone, some unnamed company sources say, will roll out sometime in the first half of 2009 (we're guessing late first half), and could possibly be released in Taiwan first under ASUS' own brand before making its way overseas in the form of different "customized models" for various clients. Of course, any other details are non-existent at this point, but those same sources did also note that ASUS will be phasing out its use of the Ericsson Mobile Platform (or EMP) in its phones in favor of handset platforms from Qualcomm and Marvell, which is interesting insofar as that both Qualcomm and Marvell are members of the OHA, while Ericsson is not.
Meridian's $185,000 810 Reference Video System unveiled
Anyone even remotely familiar with Meridian will understand that it caters to the affluent sect. Anyone even considering disputing that fact need look no further than the recently unveiled 810 Reference Video System. This monstrous projector boasts ten full megapixels of resolution, a native 4,096 x 2,400 resolution, 3-chip D-ILA module, PKI Xenon light, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 4,000 lumens and a video processing box created by Marvell. Slated to ship in Q3, the PJ comes packaged with a long, short or medium-throw lens as well as a "motorized 2.35:1 anamorphic lens assembly for fixed height ultra-wide screen installations." Each unit also comes bundled with the 810 Reference Video Scaler "which connects to the projector with four parallel DVI-D cables, each carrying one quadrant of the image." Early reports suggest that even with all the fancy hardware, the $185,000 asking price may still be a bit high, so make sure you give this one a serious look before committing.[Via BigPictureBigSound]
Symbian Foundation adds another round of supporters
The Symbian Foundation's founding member list was nothing to sneeze at, featuring the likes of Vodafone, Samsung, LG, AT&T, and of course Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola -- but the initiative is getting even stronger here with the addition of a couple other major carrier players, a chipset giant, and a heaping handful of software firms. From the carrier side, 3 and America Movil get added to the list; Marvell joins Texas Instruments from the silicon side of things, and the app developers now include Aplix, EB, EMCC Software, Sasken, and TietoEnator. We're not going to lie, we're not familiar with some of these devs -- but when you're fighting juggernauts like Android and LiMo to win the hearts and minds of the open-platform public, you need all the ammo you can get.
Marvell announces "industry's first" 450 Mbps 802.11n chip
Chipmaker Marvell looks to have gone into full-on bragging mode today, with it announcing what it claims to be the "industry's first" 802.11n chip that operates at 450 Megabits-per-second. Dubbed the Marvell TopDog 11n-450, the chip is a 90-nanometer, 3x3 WLAN solution with three spatial streams, which the company helpfully informs us is more than eight times faster than plain old 802.11g 54 Mbps offerings, and 1.5 times faster than current 802.11n 300 Mbps options -- in theory, at least. What's more, the TopDog chip also promises a 500% range increase over 802.11g, and a still decent 160% increased range over other 802.11n solutions. While those numbers have obviously yet to be put to the test (by someone other than Marvell, that is), that detail should be able to be taken care of soon enough, as the chips are set to begin shipping in volume sometime next quarter -- and, of course, they'll be on display at CES as well.
Marvell chip claims to make PCs more energy efficient
Mark this down as a little out there, but a new Marvell chip claims to improve the efficiency of desktop and laptop power supplies by determining and then optimizing the amount of energy each particular application needs. Named a "power factor correction controller," the chip enables computers to comply with new Energy Star guidelines that require computers to use at least 80 percent of the energy supplied to power them. It's not the only chip out there that claims to improve efficiency using this method, although Marvell has already started producing the chips with the aim of hitting full volume production in Q1 2008, and seeing them in PCs thereafter.
ARM, six others join forces on Linux Mobile Computing platform
Just after Symbian announced that its future operating systems would support ARM SMP multicore technology, ARM has teamed up with six others to collaborate on a Linux Mobile Computing platform. More specifically, the firm has joined with Marvell, MontaVista, Movial, Mozilla, Samsung and Texas Instruments in order to develop a "Linux-based open source platform for next-generation mobile applications." Reportedly, the platform will eventually be released into the open source community, and it hopes to move swiftly in getting the goods into "Connected Mobile Computing (CMC) devices." And if you're wondering when you can get your hands dirty with it, ARM is hoping to release a full platform early next year and have equipped devices on shelves by early 2009.[Via jkkmobile]
Palm Foleo specification details begin to flow
As the rumored launch date of Palm's Foleo draws closer, it follows logic that the pieces would start to come together regarding the innards of this thing. Shortly after naming Wind River Systems as its preferred Linux provider, Palm is reportedly divulging details about the specifications to developers at the LinuxWorld conference. Under the hood will supposedly be goodies such as a 416MHz Intel / Marvell PXA27x processor, Marathon 2700G graphics accelerator with video output, 128MB of RAM "for holding currently running applications, and 256MB of non-volatile memory," a CompactFlash slot located behind the battery, an SD expansion slot (though some reports suggest SDHC works also), and WiFi support. Most intriguing, however, was the note that some developers at the expo were "given a unit already in its retail packaging" after attending a seminar about writing applications for the Foleo and "signing a non-disclosure agreement," which certainly leads us to believe that this gizmo will hit shelves sooner rather than later.
iPhone powered by Samsung, not Intel?
The iPhone (no, not that iPhone, or this one either) is powered by an Intel processor, right? Afterall, Steve Jobs told us all himself that one of the major reasons for making the switch to Intel was due to their sexy silicon roadmap. Well you, and pretty much everyone else would be wrong. The all seeing, all powerful iPhone -- just like the iPod -- is powered by a Samsung processor according to an Apple spokeswoman speaking to Reuters. FBR Research believes that the remaining major components are supplied by Marvell (802.11), Infineon Technologies (baseband), Broadcom Corp. (touch screen controller), and Cambridge Silicon Radio (Bluetooth). However, we won't know for sure until the iPhone undergoes the knife.[Via Ars Technica]
OLPC under fire for proprietary components
Over the last week or so, there's been a big storm a'brewin' in the whole One Laptop Per Child community. The short of it is that a couple of the big players in the open source community have their code twisted in a bunch. What's the problem? Well, it turns out that the Marvell 88W8388 WiFi chip (selected for the 2B1) has a unique ability to create an ad-hoc mesh network without using the CPU, which keeps the computer consuming as little power as possible. However, this chip choice doesn't really jibe with the whole free software ethos behind OLPC. According to The Jem Report, Marvell "refuses to allow OpenBSD and other free software operating systems to freely distribute firmware binaries that are necessary to use Marvell wireless devices." This situation has turned into one big nerd cluster-cat fight, pitting Jim Gettys, the VP of software for OLPC, against über-hackers Theo de Raadt (founder of OpenBSD and OpenSSH) and Richard Stallman (who needs no introduction). Gettys defends the actions of the OLPC by saying: "If anyones feels 'betrayed,' it is because they are ill-informed, and that uninformed, biased and intemperate people informed them incorrectly of the situation." To which de Raadt countered: "Jim is obviously very clever at convincing people that children need proprietary laptops (OLPC has a greater percentage of undocumented hardware than a Thinkpad from 3 years ago). It is easy for Jim to convince people these things because he doesn't care at all about the future maintainance of drivers. I do. And I think most of you also do." Wow, them be fightin' words -- we're pulling up ringside seats already.Read - The Jem ReportRead - Jim GettysRead - Theo de Raadt[Via Slashdot]
Marvell intros first combo WiFi / Bluetooth chip for portables
We wouldn't even think of buying a cellphone that didn't incorporate both WiFi and Bluetooth, so you better believe we were excited to learn of semiconductor manufacturer Marvell's new combo 802.11a/b/g - BT chip for portables, which is supposedly the first of its kind. The so-called 88W8688 -- which supports Bluetooth 2.0 and hardware acceleration for UMA, IMS, etc. -- has a footprint of less than 80-square-millimeters, or about half the size of current two-chip combinations. For consumers, this will mean smaller versions of all the gadgets we love, and most importantly for us, those super-functional-but-chunky smartphones that we feel naked without. Although the chip is currently shipping to select Marvell OEM partners, it has yet to announced which specific device categories will see the first implementations; our plea: get these puppies to HTC as quickly as possible!
Intel selling mobile chip unit to Marvell
The rumors of Intel searching for a buyer were circulating, and it looks like they were true: Intel is selling off their mobile chip arm -- responsible for the quite successful XScale group of processors -- to Marvell Technology Group for $600 million. With chips making notable appearances in Treo, Blackberry and HTC devices, and pulling in a reported $250 million in revenue last year, we're still scratching our heads as to why exactly Intel would want to get rid of such a successful portion of their business. We'd think powering smartphones would be a priority for Intel right now, but the word is that Intel will have an option to receive $100 million of the purchase price in Marvell stock, so they might not be out of the game entirely. The chip unit currently employs 1,400 people, and Marvell plans to retain the "vast majority" of them, so this move shouldn't be too traumatic for most parties involved. We just hope they keep up with the R&D to get us smaller, faster, cooler and cheaper chips on the regular.
