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Android and Chrome OS Will Likely Converge Over Time

Ryan Whitwam — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:00:17 -0600

In the wake of Google’s Chrome OS announcement last week, some have questioned the search giant’s software vision. Cofounder Sergey Brin popped in for a brief appearance at the event and made some interesting statements about the future of Chrome OS and Android. Brin said that Android and Chrome "will likely converge over time," but gave no indication of the form that might take. Indeed, the Chrome OS will reportedly have support for ARM based CPUs. Brin also talked up the similarity in the products’ code bases. Both are based on Linux and the Webkit browser rendering engine.

CEO Eric Schmidt also had something to say about Android and Chrome. The sheer murkiness of his statements is a little intriguing. Schmidt said that Chrome is for users on a real computer, a device with a keyboard and larger screen. However, he also said that Android’s real strength is its ability to run powerful PC-quality apps.

Cnet interviewer Molly Wood prodded Schmidt slightly about the possible overlap in the emerging Smartbook category. Schmidt was quick, yet broad in his dismissal saying, “let’s not prejudge what these things are best used for… our end users will ultimately judge.” Google seems to be waiting for queues from users to tell them how (if at all) these products will be integrated. So, post any thoughts you have in the comments.

Want Droid for your Job? It'll cost you an Extra $15 Per Month

Ryan Whitwam — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:18:30 -0600

We all rubbed our eyes in disbelief when Verizon announced they would be releasing a fully open handset, the Motorola Droid. Not only did it have WiFi, it had free GPS! This was not the Verizon we all knew. Some of the more pessimistic among us were waiting for the other shoe to drop, and now it has. A Verizon rep has confirmed that using the integrated Microsoft Exchange support in the Droid will mean an extra $15 fee each month.

This boosts the monthly cost of data to $45 instead of the standard $30. Verizon also plans to offer a $50 per month data-only plan for the Droid. Verizon indicated this fee just brings the cost in line with smartphone plans for corporate email seen on Blackberrys. "The Droid is primarily a consumer phone," said Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney.

All things considered, it may be a fairly minor point. Nevertheless, it seems like a very Verizon thing to do. If you were planning on getting the Droid, does this give you second thoughts? How many of you use Exchange accounts daily?

Better, Smarter, Cheaper Smart Phones with ARM

Ryan Whitwam — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:16:03 -0500

Chip designer ARM has announced a new version of its popular Cortex microprocessor. The new chip, called the Cortex-A5, will have the performance if the fastest current generation ARM11 cores, as well as reduced power consumption. ARM will be making the chip available for licensing later this year.

ARM designs microprocessors, then licenses the designs to manufacturing. Most cell phones currently use ARM chips, but ARM isn’t content with owning just that market. They hope the new chip will find its way into other products, possibly in direct competition with Intel. The Cortex-A5 is fast enough to run a laptop or netbook, though Windows does not currently run on ARM chips.

Cortex-A5 chips are expected to run at clock speeds in the gigahertz range, and draw only 80 milliwatts of power. This should provide better performance and power efficiency than upcoming Intel chips. The first products with the new design should begin showing up sometime in 2011.

Save Our Cellular Networks, LTE!

Bart Salisbury — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:54:12 -0500

It’s obvious that a gallon of milk won’t fit into a half gallon container. Same thing appears to be true for the short-term future of mobile communications: we are ‘pouring’ way too much of ourselves into a mobile communication system that isn’t capable of handling the flow. 3G mobile systems, it would appear, are in for some trying times.

The problem facing mobile phone carriers is pretty simple: smartphones are giving existing bandwidth a beating, especially by iPhone users; broadband pricing has been dropping as the market becomes more competitive, which encourages more use (especially with flat-rate plans); and 2G users are slowly, but surely, migrating into the 3G system. The outcome, according to a report by Unwired Insight, titled Will 3G Networks Cope?, there’ll be a 20-fold increase in demand over the next five years.

The solution Unwired Insight argues for is an accelerated implementation of the Long Term Evolution (LTE), or 4G network. LTE networks, which take advantage of scalable carrier bandwidths, have peak downlinks of 100 Mbps; uplinks of 50 Mbps, compared to 3G’s 14 Mbps downlink and 5.8 Mbps uplink maximums. (An upgraded version of 3G will boost downlinks to 42 Mbps, but that would only paper over a fairly severe gap.) Greater throughput will help to ease the load of all those smartphone users that have taken to browsing the web and viewing streaming media. Besides high throughput, LTE offers low latency, plug and play, and is compatible with existing GSM and CDMA architectures.

Problem is, mobile carriers are just beginning to put LTE to the test. Verizon appears to be ahead in the game, with testing taking place in Seattle and Boston. Deployment in 25-30 markets is expected in 2010.

If there is a bright side to all this LTE capable phones aren’t yet available. Kevin Fitchard, of TelephonyOnline, doesn’t expect to see these until 2010 at the earliest, despite iPhone rumors to the contrary.

Image Credit: smith/flickr

Marvell Launches its ARM-ada of Application Processors

Pulkit Chandna — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:42:29 -0500

Santa Clara-based chip maker Marvell has launched a new range of CPUs called ARMADA. Based on the ARM instruction set, the new processors will power “smartphones, smartbooks, consumer and embedded devices, and displays.”

The largest producer of ARM chips in the world claims its ARMADA chips will enable mobile devices to deliver PC-like performance. Support for Adobe Flash and Blu-ray functionality should also enable ARMADA-toting mobile devices to deliver a rich multimedia experience.

Based on their intended device segment, the new application processors fall into four different series: the ARMADA 100, 500, 600 and 1000. "Launch of the ARMADA family represents a watershed event in mobile computing,” said Marvell’s co-founder and VP, Ms. Weili Dai.

Michael Dell Confirms First U.S. Smartphone Coming in 2010 and Talks About Future Strategies

Justin Kerr — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:40:12 -0500

Apparently you just aren’t a real computer company these days unless you have your own smartphone, and Dell is finally ready to take the plunge. Details on the new Dell phone for the U.S. market are pretty scarce at the moment, but apparently it may, or many not be based on the Android operating system, and it will be released sometime in 2010. During an appearance at FiReGlobal today, CEO Michael Dell confirmed not just the existence of the device, but its importance to the company’s future.

“Mobility is absolutely the theme” Dell claims, and this will have a big impact on their PC business as well. “The only reason people buy desktops today is if you are concerned about price or power, otherwise, laptops dominate”. He also heavily downplayed the significance of the netbook market, predicting that the market share would level off at around 12 to 15 percent. “I think there is some disenchantment and user dissatisfaction…. After 36 hours, you say the screen is too small”.

As for carriers of the new Dell phone, he wouldn’t comment specifically on the AT&T rumor, but he did confirm that China Mobile will carry the launch device and would be the starting point for their entry into the market. As for their long term plans, Dell claims they have left the door open to pursue other platforms, and that future devices may not be Android based depending on how the mobile space plays out.

Perhaps they are waiting to see if Windows Mobile 7 actually catches up to the pack, as Dell traditionally enjoys a pretty cozy relationship with Microsoft.

(image credit: moconews.net)

Acer Dips Android Donut into Qualcomm Coffee

Ryan Whitwam — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:53:00 -0500

Thus far, every official Android phone has been running a 528MHz Qualcomm chip based on the ARM11 core. While inexpensive and prolific, they really aren’t very fast. In fact, the ARM11 chip may be holding Android phones back. The Acer A1 is breaking the mold, and not a bit too soon.

While previously leaked specs indicated its CPU would be running at 768MHz, Acer has now said it will have a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. It’s also rocking Android version 1.6, known as Donut. The upcoming smartphone is equipped with a 3.5 inch 800 x 480 display, and a 5 megapixel camera. It will also have an Acer branded cloud sync application.

Acer hasn’t released any additional specs at this time. No US carrier support has been talked about either. Even if we don’t see it in the US, it could set a new standard for Android handsets everywhere.

More Windows Mobile Smartphones Coming Our Way before Year's End

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:41:59 -0500

Microsoft had announced last week that Sprint, AT&T and Verizon have all committed themselves to the October 6 launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, now Digitimes’ trusted unnamed sources – the finest in Taiwan - have revealed that Microsoft has secured the backing of many other telecom carriers around the world, including NTT DoCoMO, T-Mobile, Orange, Softbank Mobile, SKT, Telstra and Telus.

According to Benjamin Tan, senior director of Microsoft's GCR Mobile Team Unit in China, there will be more than 30 smartphones running WinMo 6.5 by the end of this year. He told a congregation of reporters in China that the first batch of WinMo 6.5 phones will be supplied by 15 different handset vendors.

Digitimes added that HTC, Acer, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, and Hewlett-Packard are among the handset vendors backing the new mobile OS.

Image Credit: PhoneMag