Android-x86 project has been working on porting Android OS to Intel and AMD Desktop PC and Laptop, and just about a week after Android 4.3 has been released in AOSP, the project’s team has already managed to provide an Android 4.3 x86 test image for desktop and laptop, probably helped by the recent push by Intel to have Android device powered by x86 processor. The test build (20130725) is based on Android 4.3 release (Jelly Bean-MR2 branch), and they’ve modified parts of the code to make it work with x86, especially on x86 tablets and netbooks. What’s impressive is that most of features appear to work, and they’ve almost managed to add some additional features. The key features in this release are Upgrade to the latest kernel 3.10.2 to support more drivers. Upgrade Mesa OpenGL ES library to 9.2-devel branch to support hardware acceleration for AMD Radeon and Intel chipsets (not […]
$480 Hewlett-Packard SlateBook x2 Is an Android Tablet/Notebook Hybrid Powered by Nvidia Tegra 4
Although not really designed for this purpose, Android has been used in devices such as set-top boxes, netbooks and mini PCs for a while, mainly in Chinese products, but recently Hewlett-Packard has announced an All-in-One PC running Android 4.2. The company is persevering its Android push on “legacy” computing devices with a 10.1″ Laptop / Tablet hybrid powered by Nvidia Tegra 4, and running Android 4.2, called SlateBook x2 (Full name: SlateBook x2 10-h010nr). Here are the specifications of this laptop: SoC – Nvidia Tegra 4 (T40S) Quad Core processor @ 1.8 GHz System Memory – 2GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM Storage – 16 GB eMMC + Multi-Format Digital Media Card Reader Display – 10.1″ diagonal WUXGA LED-backlit touchscreen display (1920×1200) Connectivity – 1×1 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth External Ports: 1x USB 2.0 on base 1x HDMI on base 1x Headphone-out/microphone-in combo jack Keyboard – Full-size island-style QWERTY keyboard Battery: 2-cell […]
ARM TechCon 2013 Schedule – ARM Servers, Internet of Things, Multicore, Hardware and Software Optimization and More
ARM Technology Conference (TechCon) 2013 will take place on October 29 – 31, 2013, in Santa Clara, and the detailed schedule for the event has just been made available. In the previous years, the conference was divided into Chip Designs day (1 day), and the other 2 days were reserved for Software & System Design, but this year it does not appear to be the case. Whether you’ll be able to attend the event or not, it’s worth having a look at what will be discussed there in order to have a better understanding of what will be the key ARM developments in the near future in terms of hardware and software. There will be around 90 sessions categorized into 15 tracks: Accelerating Hardware Development – This track explores the resources, tools, and techniques that designers can employ to quickly bring hardware to market. Topics include multicore design, ARM IP, […]
$149 Hardkernel ODROID-XU Octa Core big LITTLE Development Board
Just a few days after noticing code for ODROID-XU in hardkernel repository, the company has now launched ODROID-XU development board powered by Exynos 5410 octa core processor with 2GB RAM, USB 3.0, and more for just $149 (as long as you order in August, $169 after that). Here are ODROID-XU hardware specifications: SoC – Samsung Exynos5 Octa Cortex-A15 and Cortex-A7 big.LITTLE processor with PowerVR SGX544MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 RAM Storage – micro SD slot, eMMC 4.5 connector Video Output – micro HDMI + MPI LCD interface and Touch screen I2C ports (IPEX-40PIN) Audio – micro HDMI, headphone jack, MAX98090 Audio Codec Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet via USB 2.0 (LAN9730) USB – 1x USB 3.0 Host, 1x USB 3.0 OTG, and 4x USB 2.0 Host Expansion Header – 30 pins (GPIO/IRQ/SPI/ADC) Misc – PWM connector for Cooler, Power Supply – 5V/4A (Plug specification is inner diameter 2.1mm and […]
Panasonic Unveils KX-PRX120 Android 4.0 DECT Phone
Panasonic has just introduced KW-PRX120 a cordless phone (DECT) running Android 4.0 on a 3.5″ display. It just looks like your smartphone, but you can only use it within your home. KW-PRX120 specifications and features: Display – 3.5 inch TFT colour LCD (HVGA) with capacitive multi touch screen Connectivity – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS Camera – 0.3M pixel Front Camera Battery – 1450mAh Li-ion Battery Storage – microSD / microSDHC Card Slot on Handset USB – micro USB Charging Port Phone features: Incoming/Outgoing Call Barring to help minimise unwanted or nuisance calls Caller ID, Caller ID memory Answering Machine (40min) Key Finder accessory (Optional) Up to 6 handsets (Optional handset or GAP supported DECT handset) can be registered The company did not mention details about the processor, RAM, or storage in the device, but it comes with Google Play, so you’ll be able to install (most of) the apps you’re alreading […]
$219 Kwikset Kevo Bluetooth Low Energy Dead Bolt
With RFDuino, BLEDuino, SensorTag, etc…, we know have several low cost Bluetooth Low Energy development boards / kits, however there are just a few Bluetooth SMART peripherals available right now, although many are currently being developed. One application of BLE will be the ability to use your phone to interact with objects around you, and Kwikset has just done that with its Kevo BLE Deadbolt that can be pre-ordered for $219 on Amazon with delivery scheduled by the end of October 2013. All you need to do is to load Kevo mobile app unto your iOS or Android smartphone to turn it into an electronic key (eKey), and unlock the deadbolt by simply touching it with your finger without having to remove the phone from your pocket or purse. That looks highly practical, but at the same time very unsafe, so let’s have a look at some others features of […]
Linaro 13.07 Release With Linux Kernel 3.10.1 and Android 4.2.2
Linaro 13.07 has been released with Linux Kernel 3.10.1 (both baseline and stable versions), and Android 4.2.2. It’s summer time, so activity seems to have slowdown a bit, yet improvements have done to LAVA with the first LAVA Multi-purpose Prove (LMP) setup, and Linaro has released build with Linux 3.10.1, Ubuntu Raring, OpenEmbedded (ARMv8), and Android. For the very first time, there’s even an Android 4.2.2 community build for HiSilicon K3V2 hardware (HiSilicon Hi4511 development platform). Here are the highlights of this release: LAVA LAVA Core VExpress A9 test images no longer use the master image’s boot loader Support added for interactive bootloader commands. Support for OpenID / Crowd added for LAVA. LAVA Master images updated on images.validation.linaro.org LAVA Multi-node – Multi-Node support has an initial implementation which can support communication between nodes under test via the use of a GroupDispatcher. LAVA Lab Capabilities – LMP (LAVA Multi-purpose Probe) prototypes […]
Texas Instruments Releases Android App for SensorTag and Publishes Bluetooth Low Energy Training Videos
Texas Instruments Sensortag is a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) development kit with 6 sensors (IR temperature, humidity, pressure, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer) mainly destined at mobile application, which I recently tried in Linux. Until now, only it was only officially supported in iOS and Windows, but a few days after the release of Android 4.3 which adds Bluetooth Low Energy support, Texas Instruments quickly worked to release an Android App for their BLE devkit. The annoying part is that the Android app is only available as a Windows executable (SensorTagAndroidApp-0_9_0-windows-installer_2.exe), so you’ll have not choice but to use Windows to uncompress the files. Yet the installation goes as follows: Copy the SensorTag.apk file (SensorTag_0_9_0.apk) to your Android 4.3 device Enable installation of apps from unknown sources (Settings -> Security -> Device Administration -> Unknown Sources) Open file manager and launch, locate the .apk file and install the app by clicking the […]