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Aava Mobile reveals Virta 2 smartphone development kit, we go hands-on
When we met with Finnish startup Aava Mobile today, they pulled out the same old prototype phone... then, to our great surprise, dropped a brand-new device right alongside to show us how their Moorestown-based ambitions have grown. This is the Virta 2 reference design, which will ship to developers soon, with the same basic hardware inside but a few important tweaks. First of all, you'll note that's MeeGo on this screen, not the droid we were looking for, but that's because the development kit can switch between operating systems by merely swapping out the microSD card. Whereas the original prototype had a thin, flimsy shell, the Virta 2's gone downright rugged, ditching the iPhone chrome for a more durable gunmetal frame, and there's a full compliment of sensors (compass, accelerometer, ambient light and proximity) alongside quad-band radios, WiFi, Bluetooth and a pair of cameras for your video chat testing needs. At €1900 (roughly $2393) per unit, the dev handset isn't exactly cheap, but where else are you going to get an Atom Z600 to play around with? Devices ship late August or early September, and Aava expects the platform (but not this exact handset) to see commercial availability next year. Find preorders at our source link, if you've got the bankroll. %Gallery-97354%
Aava Virta Android reference platform will be the first shipping Moorestown smartphone
Sure, Intel might not be planning for Moorestown-based smartphones to hit the market for at least another six months, and the LG GW990 might have died a quiet death, but that's not stopping Aava from getting right in the game with its Virta Android, an Atom Z600-based reference smartphone designed for developer testing. Slated to ship in Q3, the Virta features a Moorestown processor, a 3.8-inch 864 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, quad-band EDGE radios with AT&T 3G support, WiFi, Bluetooth, a five megapixel video camera, and a microSD slot. We're assuming the shipping version will look a lot like the prototype Aava device we've been seeing for a while now, but Aava has some fancier renders up on its site, so we'll see what happens and how much this costs when this thing arrives.
Engadget Podcast 195 - 05.07.2010
You'd think that Michael Gartenberg would bring a tone of civility to the Engadget Podcast, but his practical approach to tech thought simply causes rage in the hyper-inflated egos of Josh and Nilay, who both live in a world where teenagers simply do not exist. Don't miss it.NOTE: We had a few recording issues, please bear with us. They won't kill you. But if they do, don't say we didn't warn you.Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay PatelSpecial guest: Michael GartenbergProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Rock And Roll All NightHear the podcast00:01:30 - Microsoft Kin One and Two review00:05:00 - Kin available online starting tomorrow, in Verizon stores on May 1300:30:00 - Survey says: most teens don't have a data plan, almost all send texts00:40:00 - Confirmed: BlackBerry two-way sync for Gmail is now live00:48:05 - Intel's Atom Z6xx series isn't targeting Windows Phone 7, but 'full Windows experience' still an Atom priority00:53:00 - Intel reaches for the 'smartphone zone' with Moorestown-based Atom Z6, comes up shorthanded00:58:25 - Apple under preliminary antitrust investigation over iPhone, triggered by complaint from Adobe01:15:40 - Engadget wins the People's Voice Webby in Consumer Electronics, and you can win a Droid Incredible! Subscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Intel's Atom Z6xx series isn't targeting Windows Phone 7, but 'full Windows experience' still an Atom priority
As many times as Intel has tried and failed to shoehorn its way into the phone arena, you'd think it'd want to pimp as many notable platforms as it possibly could -- but strangely, Windows Phone 7 is notably absent from Intel's fact sheet on the just-announced, smartphone-focused Z6xx series of Atom cores. Instead, the wording of the paperwork clearly spells out that Android and MeeGo / Moblin are the focal points right now, which is leading everyone to wonder whether Intel's looking to steer clear of Microsoft's mobile strategy altogether. Granted, Microsoft's focus is clearly on ARM right now with its Qualcomm partnership having been announced back in February, but we're sure it wouldn't take too much pressure from Intel to get an x86 build of Windows Phone out there if these guys really wanted to play ball. We reached out to Intel to get some clarification on the issue and got this in response: "Intel's goal is to ensure we offer our customers a choice of software that runs best on our processors. Yesterday's announcement was focused on Linux OSs, however our strategy is to also support a full Windows experience on Atom as we do with Menlow, Intel's first generation atom chip for mobile devices and Pinetrail, Intel's chip family for netbooks. Stay tuned." What's getting us here is Intel's seemingly careful phrasing: "full Windows experience on Atom." Does that mean that Intel wants to keep Atom up in the Windows 7 end of the horsepower spectrum and avoid Windows Phone for the foreseeable future? It seems like a tough sell to say that Android is playing in an entirely different ballpark than Windows Phone is, and we're not sure that Intel can effectively argue that distinction -- but hey, with the Z6xx series' iffy power consumption stats, maybe it's for the best. [Thanks, R2V2]
