11/06, 1:45pm
ARM Eagle to be multi-core, 28nm
ARM president Tudor Brown at a presentation on Friday provided early details of his company's next-generation architecture for smartphones and other handhelds. Nicknamed Eagle, the processor design will focus on speed and come with a multi-core main processor, "high-end" graphics and better security against hardware-related attacks. Power use will be kept down by using GlobalFoundries' new 28 nanometer process and should get more efficient still when the assembly process shrinks to 22 nanometers.
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11/05, 3:10pm
Tegra 2 may go dual-core, use ARM9
A source today claims the sequel to NVIDIA's Tegra mobile processor could muster double the performance of the original. The new chip is purported by "high ranking" industry contacts to be switching from an ARM7 architecture to the much newer ARM9 and also to use a dual-core design. Combined with improvements to the graphics core, the updated Tegra would be roughly twice as fast overall.
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11/03, 6:50pm
Company changing focus following layoffs
The One Laptop Per Child Association, the manufacturer behind the OLPC notebooks, has axed its plans to build a dual-screen XO device, according to an Xconomy interview with the group's founder and chairman, Nicholas Negroponte. The second generation notebook, originally announced in May of last year, has been scrapped as OLPC instead focuses on adapting the first-generation XO with updated internals.
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11/03, 3:00pm
NVIDIA may make end-run around Intel
Broadpoint AmTech analyst Doug Freedman today revived talk of NVIDIA making its own x86 processors in a new research note. He claims that the graphics company has been recruiting "extensively" from employees of the one-time chip designer Transmeta and is using these to speed along one or more unknown designs. It may also not need to use Transmeta-like code translation as many of the original x86 architecture patents lose their effectiveness.
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11/02, 8:20am
Hacked netbooks out of Snow Leopard beta
Apple may have taken out support for Atom processors in its latest beta seed of Mac OS X 10.6.2, one user says. Those testing it claim Apple has changed support in a way that breaks compatibility with the small Intel chips, including their ability to enter sleep mode through an unofficial extension. If it reaches the final build, the move leaves those making "Hackintosh" systems with little choice either to stay with 10.6.1 or else to wait for an unofficial fix.
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10/30, 8:40am
ASUS chief confirms sub-$200 Android PC
ASUS chief Jerry Shen at an investor conference late yesterday said his company should have an Android-based smartbook on shelves by early 2010. Reversing earlier doubts about a market for such a system, Shen says a portable based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chip and the Google mobile OS should be the first "secret weapon" for the company and will likely cost just $185. The price is roughly half what most builders charge for an Atom-running netbook.
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10/28, 11:30am
Apple may see future Atom as too hungry
Apple has flatly rejected Intel's Moorestown Atom platform for being too power-hungry, a rumor claims today. Unnamed industry contacts say Intel reportedly approached Apple on its own to suggest the ultra-mobile platform but that the Mac creator rejected it outright due to power concerns. According to the Fudzilla source, Apple needed idle power consumption about ten times lower than what Moorestown can manage.
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10/21, 1:00pm
Cortex-A5 nearly ready for phones, PMPs
ARM used its presence at TechCon3 today to unveil a new processor architecture built to speed up lower-cost handhelds. The Cortex-A5 is about twice as power-efficient as older budget designs but shares many of the same foundations as fast processors like the Cortex-A8 found in the iPhone 3GS, including the NEON vector instructions that boost media and some other tasks. It can work either as a very low-power single-core design or scale up to quad-core for more demanding devices.
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10/21, 11:15am
ARM Mali 200 tech demo
ARM at the TechCon3 expo starting today will begin showing working examples of its Mali graphics core. The design is now known to be much faster than most existing mobile graphics and, even with the basic single-core Mali-200, can render modern-looking 3D in 720p at 30 frames per second. In many cases it can use 4X antialiasing to clean up the image without a performance hit.
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10/21, 8:30am
Dell Streak MID will support multi-touch
Dell's rumored media tablet has been confirmed today by a leak from Vietnamese source Tinhte. To be called the Streak, the device will be almost exclusively controlled by a 5-inch, 800x480 capacitive touchscreen and should not only use Android 2.0 but support multi-touch gestures, including pinch to zoom. It should have 3G onboard and will even support calls, though the size means this will be a secondary role.
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10/19, 9:30am
Livescribe Pulse gets 2GB, 4GB models
Livescribe on Monday added two new capacities to its Pulse smartpen lineup. Customers can now opt for a 2GB or 4GB model, in addition to the original 1GB smartpen. The devices can also now be had in titanium and sport an ARM9 processor and the ability to save audio and handwritten notes through sync. The 4GB model can hold 400 hours of recorded audio or a combination of audio recording or even applications that will soon be available through a Livescribe Application Store.
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10/15, 4:35pm
Keyboard-free Nokia N920 leaked in photos
What appears to be a keyboard-free version of Nokia's as-yet-unreleased N900 smartphone has been spotted on the Internet recently. While the image is not official, it reveals the handset will have a larger, 4.13-inch capacitive touchscreen display and no hardware keyboard. The N900, in comparison, uses a 3.5-inch resistive (pressure-based) touchscreen with 800x480 resolution.
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10/13, 6:50pm
Nintendo said due to use next Tegra chip
Nintendo's next-generation DS may be powerful enough to rival the current iPod touch in terms of power if a purported source is accurate. Contacts at BSN say NVIDIA has won a contract with Nintendo to use a variant of the Tegra chipset in a future handheld. Which model would be used is unknown, but it's still expected to be a single-chip design and may be a second-generation Tegra rather than the existing component.
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09/22, 7:55am
Samsung 1GHZ ARM Cortex-A8
Samsung this morning unveiled a pair of components that could give smartphones 1080p video playback and capture. The S5PC110 (not pictured) is based on ARM's faster Cortex-A8 architecture but can run at 1GHz even in the tight space of a smartphone; the feat is achieved through a 45 nanometer manufacturing process that keeps it relatively cool and power-efficient. Running it past even the 833MHz of earlier chips lets it decode and record 1080p video at a full 30 frames per second, including with HDMI 1.3 output of the image at full resolution.
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09/18, 4:40pm
RAmos 1080p Android tablet debut due next week?
Chinese portable multimedia player maker RAmos will soon release an Android-powered mobile Internet device that will have the capability of playing back 1080p high-definition videos, according to a recent Pocketables report. The official release is expected to come at a press event on Friday, September 25th, with the device based largely on, if not simply a rebadged version of, the Rockchip Android-powered MID concept spotted last month.
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09/16, 8:10am
ARM preps 2GHz Cortex A9
ARM this morning said it as developed a 2GHz, dual-core version of its Cortex-A9 architecture. The new design is intended to be built on a newer 40 nanometer (nm) manufacturing process and so achieves the added speed without consuming much if any extra power versus slower parts; ARM estimates just 0.25W per CPU. The design is pitched as ideal for particularly fast home devices that still need either to fit into tight spaces or to use little energy.
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09/15, 3:05pm
Archos 5 with Android official
As promised, Archos today launched its first-ever device to use a smartphone-class OS. The Archos 5 Internet Tablet still uses Archos' own more developed interface for media playback but takes advantage of Google's platform for more advanced web browsing, e-mail, and true third-party apps. Speeding this along is a new app portal known as AppsLib that carries Android apps written with the Archos 5 in mind or reformatted for its input, such as Deezer for Internet radio or ThinkFree Office for Microsoft Office document viewing (and later editing).
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08/26, 4:10pm
Rockchip shows Android MID
Chinese chipmaker Rockchip has made good on its promise of introducing an Android-powered device using its CPU, with this unnamed mobile Internet device (MID). The 5-inch touchscreen concept is powered by the company's RK2808 chipset that can decode 720p high-definition videos. The hands-on videos reveal a well-rounded interface that sports an on-screen keyboard, the ability to browse the web and have multiple windows open at the same time.
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08/26, 9:40am
Nokia ARM-based smartbook
Nokia may add a second netbook PC to its lineup besides the upcoming 10-inch Booklet 3G, according to unofficial sources from cellphone makers in Taiwan. They reported on Wednesday that the second netbook will reportedly be based on an ARM processor, like so many of Nokia's smartphones. The Digitimes insiders claimed Nokia may contract Compal or Foxconn to build a device that would fit Qualcomm's "smartbook" label but which would not arrive on store shelves until sometime in the middle of 2010.
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08/24, 9:55pm
Jobs Devoted to Tablet
Apple chief Steve Jobs has spent "almost all" his time since his return to work developing the heavily rumored tablet device, according to sources close to the company. Those "people familiar with the matter" tell the WSJ that the executive is committing a level of attention to the project not seen since the original iPhone's development. The sheer control has reportedly been a shock to some workers, who during Jobs' roughly six-month medical leave had some relative freedom on projects.
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08/24, 12:50pm
NVIDIA Tegra Media Pad
NVIDIA general manager of mobile Mike Rayfield today hinted at a future Tegra-based device in coming months in a video interview (seen below) that may hint at links to Apple. The executive told Hexus that an unnamed company is developing a "media pad" that would have 3G and a touchscreen between 7 and 13 inches in size that would be based on the chip. No indication was given as to the feature set other than the entertainment focus.
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08/23, 11:40am
Zune HD Apps Confirmed
A weekend demo campaign at Best Buy stores has inadvertently betrayed Microsoft's plans to offer third-party app support for the Zune HD. A visitor briefly given control of the player by a representative has captured footage (shown after the jump) of a conspicuous "apps" menu item alongside music and made it clear the production player can download and install third-party software. The in-store unit's Wi-Fi was "blocked," however, and made it impossible to enter that section and see whether a true store is available and what titles are complete.
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08/10, 9:10am
Dell Phone Imminent
Dell's first smartphone could be unveiled within the next 48 hours if a purported source is accurate. The tip, likely coming from Asia, mentions to TechCrunch that the device should be made public for Chinese customers within the next day or two. Information is admitted as "thin," but it's also claimed that sources for Asian product launches have normally been accurate.
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08/04, 4:10pm
Dell 5in Tablet Rumor
Dell's return to handhelds in the US may be led by a mid-size device with an unusual sales strategy, one rumor maintains. A "well-connected" source in the industry for Wired says it would have a 5-inch touchscreen but would be based on Intel hardware, likely an Atom chip, rather than the ARM architecture normally used in phone-class devices. Rather than insist on a full price, though, Dell would give the tablet away for free in return for agreeing to a content subscription; users would agree to take books or "other media" that would be viewable on the tablet.
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08/03, 4:55pm
Snapdragon
A variety of smartbooks and netbooks integrating ARM-based Snapdragon and Tegra processors are scheduled to ship later this year, according to a DigiTimes report. The devices are being produced by several companies such as Acer, Foxconn, Pegatron, Compal and Inventec.
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07/27, 4:40pm
Pegatron Pre-powered PC
Pegatron, a subsidiary of ASUS, has built a prototype netbook that uses the same ARM Cortex A8 chip on its Freescale iMX515 CPU that's in the Palm Pre smartphone. In the nameless netbook, however, the chip is clocked at 1GHz rather than the 600MHz in the Pre. While the clock speed is lower than that in the majority of Intel Atom-powered netbooks, the Pegatron netbook's CPU is capable of playing back 720p HD movies and supporting 3D games.
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07/27, 8:30am
Samsung 1GHz ARM CPU
Samsung today unveiled a new ARM processor that could show the direction for future smartphones. Nicknamed Hummingbird, the design uses the same Cortex-A8 architecture as the chip in the iPhone 3GS but clocks at 1GHz, significantly higher than the 833MHz of its previous best. The feat is accomplished both by a smaller, more energy-efficient 45 nanometer process as well as partly customized circuits designed to handle the load.
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07/24, 10:10am
NVIDIA netbook is Firefly
The previously promised NVIDIA netbook, which spawned a prototype built by Mobinnova, will be called the Firefly, according to a recent SemiAccurate report. The nettop will reportedly be powered by the Tegra chip that is also being used in Microsoft's Zune HD, and unnamed netbook manufactuers claim a September launch date. The Tegra chip itself is already known to be delayed beyond NVIDIA's own 2008 timeframe, however, and has cast doubts on the new timeframe.
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07/08, 7:45am
Google Chrome OS
Google early today staked out its claim in full computer operating systems with word that it would launch its own. Chrome OS is meant "initially" for netbooks and relies solely on web apps; while Linux underneath, all software is just an instance of the Chrome web browser running in a custom windowing system. The approach not only keeps a small app footprint but sandboxes any content to prevent malware attacks from spreading. Importantly, nearly any Chrome OS app should also work in a truly standards-based web browser regardless of platform.
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06/30, 12:30pm
Flash for all Android
Bsquare today said it has developed a port of Adobe's Flash plugin for most Android phones. While officially coming first to the HTC Hero early next month, any Android device running Android 1.5 or later on an ARM-based processor should support the extra features. The addition should let those phones with enough performance play Flash videos in the browser rather than in a separate container like Google's YouTube app. It should also render websites much in the same way as desktop versions.
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06/29, 4:45pm
Dell Android Touch Device
Dell's rumored smartphone may only be an Internet-capable handheld, a leak today says. A contact for the Wall Street Journal supports the belief that an Android-based touchscreen device is in the works but that it won't have phone features. It should be slightly larger than the iPod touch and would instead focus on Internet access.
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06/26, 4:05pm
Android in Nokia netbooks
The most recent unofficial report regarding a rumored Nokia netbook has it being released in 2010 and using the open-source Android operating system from Google. According to Lazard Capital Markets analyst Daniel Amir, Nokia will sell the devices via wireless carriers, like it currently does with its cellular phones. In a research note issued on Friday morning, Amir said conversations with device manufacturers have confirmed this information, though he expects Nokia will face stiff competition from the established PC makers in the class.
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06/24, 8:25am
HTC Hero
HTC at a press event this morning launched its third-generation Android phone in less than a year. The Hero is designed as a web- and music-focused phone with a touchscreen-dependent design like the Magic but is even more compact. Its key, however, is a new interface known as Sense: like TouchFLO, it offers quicker access to calendars, contacts, the time and the weather as well as a quick launcher for the phone dialer. These are all accessible as Android-standard widgets.
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06/24, 7:40am
iPhone 3GS iSuppli Costs
Apple's newest iPhone actually costs slightly more to make than the older version in spite of the more modest update, iSuppli says. The iPhone 3GS' total bill of materials amounts to $178.96 for a 16GB model, or slightly more than the previous $174.33 of the 8GB iPhone 3G. Some of the cost difference is attributed to recent rises in the prices of NAND flash memory; although 16GB costs less to make than it did a year earlier, a small rebound due to economy-driven supply cutbacks means Apple has had to absorb some costs to double its storage.
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06/23, 11:45am
Intel Nokia Partnership
Intel and Nokia today struck a multi-year deal to develop a new form of mobile device processor architecture. The two have few details but hope to produce pocketable hardware which is nonetheless in a "new class" rather than a smartphone or even a larger system like a netbook or notebook. They intend to work together on multiple mobile Linux projects related to the architecture, including the oFono cellphone OS as well as Nokia's Maemo, Intel's Moblin and components they intend to share, such as Mozilla's browser technology.
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06/23, 7:45am
Nokia May Use Intel Chips
A last-minute leak this past evening would have Nokia use Intel processors for the first time in some of its devices. One unnamed source for Bloomberg claims that an announcement could come as early as this morning from Intel senior mobility VP Anand Chandrasekher that it has landed a deal to supply chips to Nokia. What this would entail isn't evident, though it would almost certainly involve a variant of the Atom processor and likely wouldn't be a complete replacement of Nokia's line.
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06/22, 10:45am
ARM chips coming to LG TVs
Known for its processors in portable electronics devices such as Mobile Internet Devices and smartphones, chipmaker ARM on Monday announced a partnership with LG that would have the latter integrate ARM products into its digital TVs. This includes both ARM's ARM11 MPCore multi-core processor, which offers LG the option to implement single or multiple SMP cores, as well as the ARM Mali-200 and Mali-400 MP graphics processors that should support both true 1080p resolutions and web browsing. Integrating these chips into the TVs obviates the need for a set-top box.
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06/19, 7:45am
iPhone 3G S Teardown
A teardown of the just-launched iPhone 3G S by RapidRepair this morning has revealed that Apple is using a processor capable of HD video and otherwise more than what Apple has enabled. The disassembly confirms the existence of a 600MHz ARM processor, Samsung's S5PC100, based on the much more advanced Cortex A8 platform. However, official specifications (PDF) show that the chip could run at 833MHz and that, while Apple officially limits video recording to 640x480, the full-speed component could not only play but capture 720p.
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06/17, 8:35am
Zune HD Uses Tegra
NVIDIA staff are now known today to have confirmed that the Zune HD uses a Tegra processor at its heart. Mentioning the feature to PC Perspective at Computex, the graphics company has made its first deal for the use of Tegra in a major product and is necessary for the Microsoft player's namesake HD video playback. The all-in-one processor offers hardware acceleration of video and can consume just 150mW of power at full speed, giving it battery life like a regular media player in spite of the demands of 720p video playback.
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06/16, 8:55am
Dual Core A9 and iPhone
ARM has teased the future of the iPhone and other smartphones with added early details for its first dual-core mobile processor design. The Cortex A9 will shrink the manufacturing process from the 65 nanometers used on the single-core Cortex A8 used in the iPhone 3G S to 45 nanometers, letting it add the extra core without significantly affecting the power draw. Although it consumes more energy at peak, the smaller process and multiprocessing should ultimately lead to longer battery life.
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06/01, 11:25am
Qualcomm Snapdragon 1 3GHz
Qualcomm upped its stake in the mobile space today with an upgrade to the Snapdragon line of mobile processors. The QSD8650A jumps from the previous 1GHz to a new 1.3GHz but is also Qualcomm's first 45 nanometer processor; it's about 30 percent faster than its predecessor but simultaneously uses 30 percent less average power than earlier parts. Video performance in 3D and elsewhere has also been given a boost, the company says.
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05/22, 11:20am
iPhone 2009 Next-Gen CPU
The next revision of the iPhone should be characterized by a dramatic increase in processing power, an alleged scoop by veterain technology writer John Gruber says. He refers to "informed" sources who say the iPhone will jump from its existing 412MHz clock speed to 600MHz but adds that a change in architecture should lead to a disproportionately larger increase in performance. Similar to the leap from Intel's 80486 design to the Pentium, the change is large enough that the difference should be more than the 50 percent gain implied by the clock rate increase.
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05/21, 10:10am
Apple ARM Cortex Job
Apple has posted a job listing that hints at the company's future hardware direction for the iPhone, iPod touch and possible other devices. The position for a High Perform/Low Level Programmer asks for someone familiar not only for programming assembly-level code for ARM processors, which Apple already uses in its handhelds, but for the NEON vector math units used in the newer Cortex architecture for the mobile chips. Apple is especially concerned about experience with vector math and particularly values anyone with additional knowledge of vector units through general CPUs, such as Intel's SSE or the AltiVec units found on PowerPC G4 and G5 cores.
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05/01, 2:40pm
Palm Foleo Revival Rumor
Palm is reportedly poised to revive its canceled Foleo companion as a webOS device, an investor note from Global Equities Research says. Analyst Trip Chowdhry claims to know that the design will largely be similar to the original concept on the outside but will use webOS and serve as a true, stand-alone computer. By using an ARM processor and a Qualcomm Gobi chipset for 3G, the Foleo remake would get 8-10 hours of battery life while still having Internet access most anywhere.
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05/01, 1:15pm
Windows 7 on ARM chips?
Windows 7 may eventually be capable of running on ARM processors, suggests the company's CEO, Warren East. The operating system is expected to become common on netbooks, a consequence not only of new features such as touch support but lower system requirements than Windows Vista. Windows has so far, however, been almost exclusively limited to processors based on Intel architecture, blocking ARM's mobile-oriented CPUs.
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04/28, 8:10am
Averatec Android Netbook
Averatec is poised to make a significant change to its netbook strategy with Google's Android as its likely foundation, based on an interview with company chief Tae-Hyun Cho. While not naming it explicitly, he indicates to CNET that the TriGem sub-brand's upcoming 10-inch system will have a "surprise" OS that is a "merger of cell phone and PC technology;" Android is one of the few platforms to match the description. The design itself will also be more noticeably upscale and, in a teaser shot, is seen as particularly thin.
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04/22, 3:45pm
SkyNote $100 Android PC
Known for making Skype headsets, Chinese company SkyNote is teasing with its prototype Alpha 680 netbook based on Google's Android platform. The device is conceived more as a larger smartphone-class device and has features that reflect the change: the screen is just 7 inches and has a resolution of 800x480, while the ARM11 processor clocks at just 533MHz. The 128MB of RAM can be doubled, while the 1GB of storage space is upgradeable to 4GB.
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04/20, 9:40am
iPhone HD Rumor
Apple is reported today as phasing out its video cables in what may be a sign of a broader move to HD video-capable iPhone and iPod touch devices. An unnamed source for PhoneNews claims that resellers are being told both the Apple Composite AV and Component AV cables are being scrapped in favor of a single cable pack that, like the Xbox 360's component cable, has both the component and composite (RCA) cables on a single line and would let users hook up to both HDTVs and standard-definition sets by purchasing one pack.
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04/18, 12:35am
OLPC XO-1 Goes to VIA
The One Laptop Per Child project tonight said it would overhaul the XO-1 with a major internal upgrade. The Gen 1.5 update will drop the AMD Geode processor that has been used since launch and instead use a VIA C7-M with a clock speed that varies between 400MHz and 1GHz depending on the amount of heat. By making the swap, OLPC also gets a new chipset that adds 3D acceleration, HD video decoding and surround sound. The combined design is meant to consume no more energy than the current XO-1 while active but to use less power while idle, run faster, and (through component cost drops) ultimately reduce the price.
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04/06, 8:05am
Android tablet and T-Mo G2
T-Mobile intends to use Google's Android not just as a phone OS for its upcoming G2 but also in general computing devices, according to multiple sources. The New York Times this morning claims to have obtained documents which show both a home phone and a tablet computer in line for early 2010. It's not specified which companies would make either device, though the home phone would have a dock and a second charge-plus-sync peripheral.
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