Google Unveils Android 5.0 Lollipop, Nexus 6 Smartphone, Nexus 9 Tablet, and Nexus Player

Android L is now formally known as Android Lollipop. Since Google already released Android L preview a few month ago, we already know what’s new in Android 5.0 Lollipop with key changes including material design user interface, ART replacing Dalvik, better battery management, 64-bit support, etc… Google also announced three hardware platforms running Android 5.0: Nexus 6 Smartphone, Nexus 9 Tablet, and Nexus Player (Android TV) Motorola Nexus 6 Smartphone Hardware specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 quad core Krait 450 processor @ 2.7 GHz with Adreno 420 GPU System Memory – 3GB RAM Storage – 32 or 64 GB eMMC – No micro SD slot Display – 5.96” 1440×2560 AMOLED display (493 ppi). 16:9 Aspect ratio. Connectivity – 802.11 ac 2×2 (MIMO), Bluetooth 4.1, NFC Cellular Network (nano SIM): North America: GSM – 850/900/1800/1900MHz CDMA Band Class – 0/1/10 WCDMA Bands – 1/2/4/5/8 LTE Bands – 2/3/4/5/7/12/13/17/25/26/29/41 CA DL Bands […]

MEEGO-T01 HDMI TV Stick Supports Android, Windows 8.1, and Ubuntu/Linux

ARM based HDMI TV dongles have been available for over two years, mostly running Android, but the community has managed to install Linux desktop operating systems such as Ubuntu or Debian on these tiny gadgets with some limitations. But now that Intel is making low power SoC for tablets, at least one company has decided to make an HDMI TV stick powered by Intel “Bay Trail-T” Z3735F/G quad core processor, which can run Android, Windows 8.1, and Linux based desktop operating systems such as Ubuntu. Meegopad MEEGO-T01 (aka APM-D01?) hardware specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F / Z3735G “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics (2W TDP) System Memory 1 GB DDR3L-1333 for Z3735G (32-bit up to 5.3 GB/s) 2 GB DDR3L-1333 for Z3735F (64-bit up to 10.6 GB/s) Storage – 16 or 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video […]

Mele PCG03 Intel Quad Core mini PC Sells for $49 and Up (Factory Price)

Mele is currently showcasing a mini PC powered by Intel Atom Z3735D quad core processor at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, and the company has started taking OEM orders for $49 (MOQ 1000) for the barebone model without memory. Mele PCG03 Specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735D “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics System Memory – Optional 1 or 2 GB DDR3 Storage – Optional 16, 32, or 64 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 1.4, VGA and Composite (RCA), Audio I/F – HDMI, Stereo RCA, optical S/PDIF, and MIC and earphone jack. Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi USB – 2x USB 2.0 host Power Supply – N/A The box will run either Windows 8.1 or Android. I’m a little confused to what “barebone” means for this type of mini PC because the DDR3 […]

Android L x86 64-bit Developer Preview Emulator Image Released

Several weeks ago Linaro posted instructions to run Android L ARM 64-bit in QEMU which takes some efforts to setup, and at the time lacked OpenGL support (not sure about the status now). Google has now releases their own 64-bit Android L preview image for the x86 emulator, and hopefully they’ll release a 64-bit ARM image and NDK sometimes in the near future, as 64-bit mobile devices are expected for Q1 2015. That means developers can now test the 64-bit version of their apps build for x86 using Google emulator. Java only apps should most probably work without issues, but apps relying on native code (C/C++/assembler) will certainly require a little bit more work.  The latest Android NDK (r10b) support 64-bit code, and apps can be built with x86_64 build target, or using APP_ABI=all64 in Application.mk. 64-bit support increases addressable memory space, provides a larger number of registers, and new instruction […]

The Egg is a Tizen Based Portable Touchscreen Cloud Server (Crowdfunding)

If you like the convenience of cloud storage, but are wary of privacy implications, and/or are not satisfied by the file download/upload transfer rate, a new device called The Egg might be what you are looking for. It’s a tiny Wi-Fi enabled cloud storage server, powered by an Intel Atom processor and running Tizen, with up to 256 GB storage that you can carry in your pocket, with your data being fully private and always accessible, and there’s also a touchscreen display to let you watch and share your media files. Egg technical specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Processor @ 2.0 GHz System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage –  64, 128, or 256GB eMMC Connectivity – Wi-Fi a/b/g/n (client / access point), Bluetooth 4.0 USB – Micro USB 2.0 type-AB for charging and file transfer from phone, camera, computer… Display –  2.4” Multi-Touch capacitive touch TFT, 240×320 resolution, 262K colors […]

$50 Intel Edison Board for Wearables Features an SoC with a Dual Core Atom Processor, and a Quark MCU

Intel announced the Edison board for wearables applications last January at CES 2014. When it first came out, it looked like an SD card, but the board look has now drastically changed. Nevertheless, the important point is that Intel Edison is now available, together with various development kits, and runs Linux (Yocto built), as well as an RTOS. With the official release, we’ve also got the full specifications: SoC – Dual-core, dual-threaded Intel Atom (Silvermont) processor (22nm) processor @ 500 MHz and a 32-bit Intel Quark micro-controller @ 100 MHz. Includes 1GB LPDDR3 PoP memory System Memory – 1 GB LPDDR3 (PoP memory) – 2 channel 32bits @ 800MT/sec Storage – 4 GB eMMC (v4.51 spec) + micro SD card connector Connectivity –  Dual band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (Broadcom 43340) with either an on-board antenna or external antenna, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x micro USB connector I/Os: 2x UART  […]

Intel Reference Design Program for Android Promises Devices with Firmware Updates Tracking AOSP for 2 Years

If you’ve ever bought a low cost Chinese smartphone or tablet, you must know you can’t really expect firmware updates, especially with a different Android version. For example, if you’ve purchased an Android 4.1 phone or tablet a couple of years ago, more likely than not, it’s still stuck to the same version. Intel intends to change all that by launching the Intel Reference Design Program for Android. Yes, Intel has provided reference designs in the past, but this program goes further, especially with regards to Android support, and firmware updates. This is the way it all works: Manufacturers can choose a set of pre-qualified components to build their Android device. Intel will provide a single Android image that works with the drivers to support all components. Intel will take care of GMS (Google Mobile Service), and CTS (pre-)certification for their customers. Intel has committed to provide updates within 2 […]

Quad Core Android Tablet for $47, Wintel Tablet for $65

When I think about $50 tablets, I think about 512MB RAM, 4GB flash, 800×480 resolution display and so on… But there’s currently a 7″ quad core Android tablet (eZee Tab 7Q11-L) that sells for $46.99 on BuyinCoins including shipping, which has some slightly better specs with 1GB RAM, 8GB flash, and a 1024×600 resolution touchscreen display. Here are the specifications listed on Buyincoins: SoC – Action Semi ATM7029B quad core Cortex A5 class processor @ 1.3Ghz with PowerVR SGX540 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND flash and micro SD slot up to 32GB. Display – 7″ multi-touch capacitive touch screen with 1024 x 600 resolution Video Output – micro HDMI Audio Output – 3.5mm audio jack, speaker Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional? Bluetooth (RTL8723AS-VT) Camera – 0.3MP front camera Sensors – Accelerometer, “automatic steering display screen”, G-sensor Misc – Volume +/-, power and home buttons […]