Category: Opinions

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! ARM Powered Chromebook launched by Google with Samsung Exynos 5 ARM Cortex-A15 on board, $249!!!

Posted by Charbax – October 18, 2012
Category: Laptops, Opinions, Samsung, Google, Chrome OS

The day has come. The ARM Powered laptop revolution is here. Chrome OS on ARM, not just any ARM, the fastest ever ARM Cortex-A15 from Samsung, Exynos5250, 2GB RAM, 16GB Flash storage. This announcement is of course pure awesomeness. So, I guess, Google wanted to wait for ARM Cortex-A15 for what they may think to be satisfactory ARM Powered web browser OS performance. Consider this has to support all plugins, native code, OpenGL web, extensions, advanced AJAX-heavy Javascript web apps, caching of web apps for full offline sync and web acceleration on slow connections, tons of simultaneous opened tabs for everyone to feel fully comfortable! Videos coming:

Google Official:

Gigaom:

Sundar Pichai at unveil event by ubergizmo (until Google posts the full official event video):

I’ll add more videos of it here as bloggers post them!

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brightsideofnews.com: Carriers boycot Windows Phone because of Skype, non-upgradeability and Nokia’s bad strategy

Posted by Charbax – July 14, 2012
Category: Opinions

I think carriers prefer Android mostly because it provides the most competitive hardware environment, with the best prices, the best hardware features and the best variety of components, styles, brands, choices for consumers and more. Tomi Ahonen of brightsideofnews.com writes:

The total Nokia Lumia line has been Osborned [announcement of a future product ahead of availability], not by Elop, but by Ballmer (…) by announcing no upgrade path to Windows Phone. (…) even after Nokia was brought in, today the combined market share of Windows Mobile and Windows Phone is down to 2% globally (with share still falling). (…) Ballmer says there won’t be a migration path for Windows 8 either. Your existing WP7 based smartphone is an expensive paperweight: you have to buy a new smartphone to enjoy Windows 8 – the Microsoft handset partners team has shrunk to four: Nokia, HTC, Samsung and Huawei. Three of them – Samsung, HTC and Huawei do the majority of their smartphones on Android.

(The dotted line is when Elop was hired to join Nokia and here is the second part of that slide, showing what I originally used it for, to explain the madness of the Elop Microsoft strategy:)

Stephen Elop admitted to the Nokia Shareholders Meeting that carriers don’t like Skype ‘of course’ and that some carriers have taken the step to even refuse to sell any Windows Phone based smartphones, explicitly because Microsoft owns Skype. (…)

And this was not just hitting Nokia Lumia smartphone sales, it was hitting all brands of smartphones running Windows. Elop explained further that for more than a year, Microsoft had tried to negotiate with the carriers to get some resolution about the Skype issue – with kind threats like ‘Skype will come in any case’ (unhelpful) and that after a year of such ‘persuasion’ there were exactly zero carriers who had taken Microsoft’s offer. (…)

This is about Microsoft now owning the hated Skype and being able to bankroll the biggest threat to the existence of mobile operators/carriers. (…)

The Windows dream of smartphones is now dying and money thrown by Nokia into this bottomless pit is money wasted.

The solution for Nokia I think is quite simple. Simply use Android now (2). With Android, Nokia can easily increase their sales by 50x within months. The same easy and obvious solution is the one for RIM. Just use Android like everyone else! Compete with your knowledge of hardware and services and don’t try to own or control the ecosystem! Don’t try to build AOL when everyone else is using the web!

My Google I/O (June 27-29th) predictions

Posted by Charbax – June 26, 2012
Category: Smart Glass, Opinions, Google

1. Nexus Tablet, 7″ preferably with Pixel Qi LCD to merge Tablets with E-readers. Keyboard dock for Chrome productivity.

2. Android Jelly Bean launched, feature major new features and integrates Linaro code talked about in my video Linaro improvements to Android 4.0.4 performance on the Pandaboard TI OMAP4430 platform for speed optimizations. Most important feature I think is the merger of Smartphone, Tablet, Google TV Set-top-box, E-reader, Chromebook with final fully optimized Chrome on Android on ARM, full Desktop/Laptop level Chrome on ARM Android browsing.

3. Google upgrades Cloud Computing platform to support and host php/mysql web apps such as wordpress, phpbb, mediawiki, Google hosts it for free with unlimited bandwidth when AdSense is used on every page.

4. Google Entertainment System (GES) is launched. It’s a layer to turn all Android HDMI/MHL devices and Set-top-boxes into full home console gaming machines that can rival Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft as home consoles. Consider Google to launch the Google Entertainment System for $49 with HDMI out only and up to $99 with a full Google TV HDMI input/output and IR blaster functionality. It’s ARM Powered, it’s powerful enough to replace your Desktop computer outputting a full Chrome browser on your HDTV/Monitor and using Bluetooth or RF keyboard/mice. It includes the new RF signal to manage Android@Home, thus turning your home into an intelligent connected platform. Consider it a sort of Nexus device to show how Google TV should be done, to show home Android@Home should be done, to show how Android can be used to challenge home consoles, to show how ARM Powered Chromeboxes should be done and to show how the Google Android Hub system for WiFi, White Spaces should be done.

5. Google+ launches major Recommendation/Personalization functionality. Consider the web will no longer be the same. You’ll have a totally new experience of web content through a new version of Google+ that is able to provide automatic streams for you based on the items you +1. Finally, the + in Google+ is going to be making full sense. Finally the +1 button is going to be used and everyone will instantly understand the meaning of using the +1 button, it is to teach Google what you like and have Google show you better content automatically. It’ll be absolutely revolutionary. A totally new way to surface quality on the web. You don’t need a lot of followers, you don’t need to be famous, you don’t need to be viral, soon after you post quality/original content on the web it can automatically reach the deserved audience. Who circles who will make less and less sense. HD Google+ Hangouts (up to 1080p high bitrates) are added as an enterprise on-demand perhaps paid feature.

6. Google may open up Android development process after Jelly Bean. Consider it Google opening up nightly Android advancements to the rest of the world and taking in more upstream suggestions for Android improvements from the open source community in General. As part of Google’s anti-fragmentation effort, Google can announce real-time collaboration in the development of future versions of Android, so new versions of Android reach more devices sooner using over-the-air upgrade systems worldwide. Expect Google to announce Android’s total daily activations number to be well above 1.5 million if all Android devices are included in the count, meaning not limiting the count to Google Certified devices, but also include all Chinese devices sold not only in China, also sold in India, Brazil and worldwide. Google can announce that Android tablets daily activations also have overtaken the iPad since December 2011, again if all Android tablets are included in the count, also including the millions of non-certified Chinese Android tablets such as the $55 Android ICS tablets featured in my video: $55 AllWinner Boxchip A13 Tablet Factory Tour

7. Google Project Glass to be released before the end of the year. It’s not just the Google reference hardware, it’s more importantly about a software layer on top of Android optimized for Augmented Reality usages to be used hands-free using any heads-up microdisplay including the Kopin Golden-i that I filmed and that I have been using since October last year: Motorola Kopin Golden-i at CES 2012 I think it’s just a layer of new APIs for Android apps to function well in a hands-free headmounted mode, using Google Voice Actions for voice-commands, using the accelerometer, compass, and all other usual sensors and thus simply providing an optimized Android Home Replacement and APIs for that. The first Google Glass compatible devices can be released from $199 to $499 before the end of this year.

8. Google’s Self-driving car system should be targeted as sub-$2000 add-on that can be added to any car. Just add some sensors and cameras to the roof of your car, and insert some electronics to the driving system of your car, and it should be turned into a Google Self-driving car. Google can announce partnerships with several major car makers to include the self-driving car functionality as a sub-$2000 option to several car models, to be shipping before the end of the year.

9. $199 ARM Powered Chromebooks launched. imagine it as nice as an Ultrabook, but for $199, running a full speed Chrome OS on one of the latest ARM processors, for example TI OMAP4470, Tegra3, Exynos4412, HiSilicon K3V2, Qualcomm S4, and more. 20-hour battery life. 100% security using ARM TrustZone. Speed is way faster than Intel Atom Chromebooks, browsing speed is comparable to any $1000 Ultrabook.

What else are you expecting from Google at I/O this year?

You can discuss this thread on Google+: https://plus.google.com/106075758531242552855/posts/Sx8ttoic3NJ

ARM and AMD partner for TrustZone security and for the future of Heterogeneous Computing

Posted by Charbax – June 17, 2012
Category: Opinions, AMD, ARM

This is not yet AMD announcing the licencing of ARM Cortex-A15, Cortex-A7, big.LITTLE, Mali-T658 and ARMv8, but it’s a big deal for ARM and AMD to jointly announce two new major partnerships in one week.

Read the news about AMD using ARM TrustZone ARM Cortex-A5 for security on future AMD Powered Laptops/Desktops

Read the news about ARM, AMD, TI, MediaTek, Imagination forming the new Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundation

Basically, ARM TrustZone (2) nears becoming the world standard to 100% safely replace online passwords and to securely authenticate everyone online. And ARM and AMD really want to make it easier for developers to use all chips on an SoC for attaining a maximum performance, thus enabling broad GPGPU compute etc.

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$85 Windows RT Licence, can they make it optional? (dual-booting free Android)

Posted by Charbax – June 17, 2012
Category: Opinions

Theo Valich reports on VR-Zone.com that sources at Taiwanese PC/Tablet manufacturers are complaining that Microsoft wants to charge an enormous $85 licence for Windows 8 RT on ARM. $85 can be nearly double the price of a completely smooth Android tablet hardware, and Microsoft wants to charge that $85 for the software licence?

I don’t mind Microsoft charging whatever they want for their proprietary software. The most important thing we need to demand from Microsoft and to demand from the industry is for these devices to be made available with Windows RT as only an option, something that the consumers must have the choice to not buy and to not use. Consumers should have the choice to pay $85 less and have the same hardware boot Android or Ubuntu for free. Consumers should basically buy an Android device and have the choice to “install” Windows 8 RT as an optional multi-boot function. Basically, Microsoft can put Windows RT up as a $85 paid app in the Google Play store.

If Microsoft does not like the idea of RT “simply” being an app on Android, they need to provide that choice in some type of multi-boot screen of some type. Let consumers type in their credit card infos and send the $85 to Microsoft if they want to have the option to boot into Windows RT and get the Microsoft Office, Metro and whatever else comes with that. Perhaps some keyboard shortcut or an OS switch hardware button should thus allow users to instantly switch to Android, to Ubuntu and to any other open or closed OS of their choice.

Forcing users to pay the $85 Windows RT licence should be unacceptable. It has been common practice on x86 for far too long and it needs to stop now with ARM. I actually think Microsoft can only gain market share on this new class of hardware if they accept and go with the multi-boot strategy. I think many consumers wouldn’t mind having Windows RT as a multi-boot option on their hardware but I think few consumers would actually demand being locked into only having Windows RT. Obviously, if Microsoft makes Windows RT a $30 option it becomes more popular, and if Microsoft makes Windows RT free and open source, then they’dd obviously maximize their chances.

And if people really want the Windows 8 style tile interface and use it on any cheap Android tablet they can already download and use a fake Windows 8 home replacement as I show in this video:

I’m being interviewed about how I started video-blogging and announcing a new feature for ARMdevices.net

Posted by Charbax – June 5, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Smartphones, HDMI Sticks, Exclusive videos, Opinions, Allwinner, MediaTek, Linaro Connect, Android

Here’s a 15 minute interview of me filmed by the Novacut guys using multiple high quality DSLR camera angles (you can watch it in 1080p!). I’m showing off some of the latest gadgets that I found in Shenzhen, I talk about why and how I video-blog from all the worlds consumer electronics trade shows since 2004, and I announce my next big feature on ARMdevices.net which is a $20/year Membership system to get access to buy all the best gadgets that I find at the trade shows all over the world, sourcing directly from the factories in Shenzhen and to get access to scans or pictures of the business cards of the people/distributors/suppliers that I video-interview (great for the buyers from around the world watching my videos and interested in having the best contact informations to the companies that I film). Look forward to the $20/year ARMdevices.net Membership system to be launched here in the days to come if I can find enough time to set it up while video-blogging here at Computex until June 10th.

Theo Valich, founder and editor in chief of Bright Side of News

Posted by Charbax – June 5, 2012
Category: Servers, Exclusive videos, Opinions, Intel, Computex

Theo Valich talks about his latest leak of Intel’s 2013/2014 Haswell processor specs, yup, Intel’s answer to the ARM threat is to crank up power consumption to 160W and 190 Amps he talks about his opinions on the industry, ARM vs Intel vs AMD etc.

Android at Linaro, the future, by Zach Pfeffer

Posted by Charbax – June 2, 2012
Category: Exclusive videos, Opinions, Linaro Connect, Android

Here’s 19 minutes with Zach Pfeffer, Linaro Android Tech Lead, talking about the future of Android.

Look forward to plenty new videos from Shenzhen, and the Linaro Connect conference starts tomorrow for a week

Posted by Charbax – May 26, 2012
Category: Opinions

Yesterday, I filmed 13 awesome new videos here in Shenzhen. But I booked into a little too cheap of a hotel with a 12kb/s upload internet connection so I’ll have to wait to upload those videos tomorrow when I arrive at the Linaro Connect Hong Kong conference. Please do check back. I’ve filmed the new VIA WonderMedia WM8850 ARM Cortex-A9 platform, AmLogic AML8726-MX, Rockchip RK3066, MT6575, i.MX6 Quad, I filmed an awesome new 7-minute video in a $55 7″ capacitive Boxchip A13 factory here in Shenzhen! All that and more coming up tomorrow.

Starting tomorrow, I will be video-blogging at the Linaro Connect Hong Kong conference. Where the worlds top ARM SoC software engineers meetup for a week talking about, deciding, working together on the next advancements in Linux on ARM. Let me know in the comments if you have some suggestions for what I should ask them about as they are working on the newest and latest most advanced Linux solutions on TI OMAP, Exynos, i.MX, ST-Ericsson and more!

The Inevitable Convergence, Exynos 4412 getting too powerful for just being in a phone, SGS3 needs to use MHL for ICS+Chrome OS+Google TV

Posted by Charbax – May 6, 2012
Category: Smartphones, Opinions, Samsung, Android, Chrome OS, Google TV

The new 32nm Exynos 4412 1.4Ghz Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 with Quad-core Mali-400 (probably cranked up at a higher frequency than before) launched by Samsung in the Galaxy S3 looks to be totally amazing. It may be one of the absolute fastest ARM Processors to date. That brings awesomely smooth and fast Android 4 ICS user interfaces on the gorgeous 4.8″ 1280×720 pentile Super AMOLED HD screen. And with advances in Android, new features using hardware acceleration, they’ll always find a way to put to use the extra performance. But if these newest ARM Processors now come with enough memory bandwidth to run a full Laptop as smoothly as using x86, if these newest ARM Processors can run 1080p Set-top-box user interfaces at 60fps on any 55″ HDTV, if these newest ARM Processors have amazing GPU power that can in theory run console quality games even on a 1080p HDMI, then why aren’t there accessories and docks to allow for that? Why didn’t Samsung announce a range of Laptop Docks and Google TV docks for the Galaxy S3?

Here’s my quick concept image for an MHL LapDock accessory that I’d like to see accessory makers sell on the market at $99-$149 depending on the quality/size, it should be similar to the Motorola LapDock 500 Pro but designed for MHL phones:

MHL enables a new market for LapDocks similar to the Motorola Atrix series, where you dock your smartphone and it powers your ARM Powered Chrome OS Ultrabook, Google TV Set-top-box and Home Console.

I think it is important to notice the huge leap in performance year/year of these latest and upcoming new ARM Processors. The new Exynos 4412 is nearly 2x more powerful than last year’s Exnoys 4210. Not just by the doubling of cores, that doesn’t actually double performance but more like increases it by 50% (at same frequency, and only for very multi-threaded tasks), the main thing is the smaller process node design, the increased memory bandwidth, cleverer memory bandwidth architecture also enabling a faster higher clock speed Mali-400 GPU. Basically what you are getting is 2x more performance for less power consumption, that’s pretty exciting and pretty kick-ass in my book. And we are not even yet arrived at the ARM Cortex-A15 which then again upgrades the performance even more!

Now all that is needed is for Google and the industry to merge Android, Chrome OS and Google TV. When you dock it in a Laptop Dock or Desktop Dock, it should switch to a full Chrome OS mode (or Ubuntu, not to forget Microsoft is welcome to add the Windows 8 app for $29.99 in the Google Play store. Or somewhat pre-install “Windows 8 mode” as a secured dual-boot when partnering with the smartphone maker). When you dock it to a Multimedia Dock it should switch to a full Google TV mode, maybe even with HDMI input and IR blaster if the Dock supports that, and also the new GPU is now near XboX 360 power even though it’s not yet the Mali-T604 and Mali-T658 which increases graphics even further next year.

The issue is Samsung and some others are maybe afraid to disrupt their own existing markets of selling Laptops, Chromebooks, Set-top-boxes and new 3DTVs with built-in Google TV, so maybe, just maybe, at the corporate headquarters of Samsung they fear the inevitable convergence. But if Samsung doesn’t want to promote the convergence that these new post-PC ARM processors enable, then competitors have a wide open door to use that for marketing. One little pocketable soon enough wearable device can now power all your productivity, content consumption and entertainment. The performance has arrived, it’s only a matter of someone deciding to start making, selling and marketing the new user interfaces that enable the full convergence.

Samsung Galaxy S3 may be the first smartphone with full ARM TrustZone support for enabling 100% security in everything online

Posted by Charbax – May 4, 2012
Category: Smartphones, Opinions, Samsung, Android

The newly announced Samsung Galaxy S3 may not only have an amazing new 32nm Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor with a new accelerated higher frequency Quad-core Mali-400 GPU offering perhaps the fastest ARM SoC in the world at the moment. Samsung may also have done the right choice to fully enable and activate ARM TrustZone through the MobiCore integrated security platform directly onto the Exynos 4412 SoC. The Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) is joint venture between ARM (40%), Gemalto (30%) and Giesecke & Devrient (30%) which is currently in the process of getting approval from the European Commission for European Wide mass adoption as the default secure mobile authentication system.

While ARM TrustZone has been talked about for a while, it being supported in many ARM Processors, as far as I know it hasn’t been activated on any of those processors yet, the full Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) ecosystem has not yet been implemented in a mass market phone. The idea is to provide a 100% secure system for mobile payment, enterprise productivity, mobile banking applications, online commerce and premium content services. I believe ARM TrustZone can even be used for a fast and easy 100% secure authentication on your phone every time you log-in to your Google Account, and I believe that you may even set it up to 100% securely authenticate you when you log-in to any Open ID or other username/password protected websites on the Internet, Facebook, Twitter and any others included.

Basically consider these usage scenarios:
1. E-commerce: You click to buy something online, no need to type in credit card infos. Your phone automatically turns on in safe mode (identifiable by secure LED light lighting up on the side of the phone), you type your 4 digit pin code, payment 100% secure activated, the web page automatically updates, no click needed, and says thanks for your payment.

2. NFC or Online Payments/Money transfers: Tap your phone with the person you want to give some money to, or click on payment link in email or elsewhere online. Your phone automatically turns on in safe mode (identifiable by secure LED light lighting up on the side of the phone), you type your 4 digit pin code, payment or money transfer 100% secure activated. Both receiver and sender automatically get confirmation payment or money transfer has happened instantly.

3. Securely log-in to your Google or other web account. Click to login. Instead of using Google’s current 2-step verification (code being sent by SMS or Android app), a new easier, better and more secure 2-step verification system is established using ARM TrustZone TEE. As soon as you click to login, you don’t even need to type your password in the web browser, your phone automatically turns on in safe mode (identifiable by secure LED light lighting up on the side of the phone), you type your 4 digit pin code, you are 100% securely logged into your Google account.

Etc. Same system for 100% securely logging on to corporate networks and applications. You can also setup different pin codes depending on the different class of applications. For example your important payment systems may have a different pin code than basic website logons.

The idea of the ARM TrustZone Trusted Execution Environment is that once that security LED light is turned on on your phone, you can be assured that what you see on the screen is the encrypted alternative OS environment to authenticate you and authorize actions that it then encrypts and sends back through the Android OS to the Internet. For example it displays “Paying $20 to X” as you enter your pin code and click OK or you click cancel if you don’t agree. Again using encryption. Using systems of 128bit encryption, in theory this system should be 100% secure. As long as users always make sure to check that the security LED light is on on their phone when they enter their pin codes and click for authorizations.

If implemented correctly, ARM TrustZone will not only much improve security online, it will also make authentication and authorization processes easier and faster online. With the Galaxy S3 and the correct implementation of ETT support throughout the Internet, the Chrome browser, Android, you may never need to remember usernames and passwords for all websites again, you just use the same few PIN codes on your phone to do all your authentications, authorizations and every type of secure authenticated activities on the Internet.

I am very excited about the upcoming mass adoption of ARM TrustZone, because I believe we are going to see an explosion of awesomely advanced applications for secure authentication, online payments, mobile payments and the feeling for users is going to be that they are soon going to trust using their phones to replace their wallets, passports, credit cards, and that people are going to have a tool to be able to trust any and every website, as those will never be able to see your passwords as consumers will always be protected by the normal set of consumer protections and that online scams, online security breaches will be a thing of the past. ARM TrustZone Trusted Execution Environment means the end of paper money, it means the end of ticketing, it means the end of credit cards, it means the end of membership cards, it means the end of usernames and passwords online.

Here is the press release:

G&D announces MobiCore® integrated security platform to support Samsung GALAXY S III in Europe

Munich, May 4, 2012 – Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) today announced that its MobiCore security platform will be integrated in Samsung GALAXY S III smartphones distributed in Europe. Thanks to MobiCore, the NFC-capable smartphone from Samsung will be the first mobile device to boast a protected area on its application processor in which security-sensitive applications can be securely run and downloaded dynamically. The MobiCore platform will provide a secure execution environment for mobile payments authentication, emails or corporate VPN access.

The first application installed in the Mobicore-protected area on the Samsung GALAXY S III is a digital rights management (DRM) application which provides digital content with effective protection against misuse. In addition, G&D’s Trusted Service Management (TSM) solution will enable organizations such as network operators and banks to install and customize additional security-critical apps in the protected area of the smartphone. Samsung GALAXY S III, with integrated MobiCore security platform, will be made commercially available first in Europe and will then be rolled out globally.

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Pixel Qi announces 2048×1536 better-than-iPad3 screen, with 100x lower power consumption

Posted by Charbax – April 23, 2012
Category: Displays, Opinions, Google, Pixel Qi

Pixel Qi is finalizing the deals with partners about sizes and quantities to produce their next generation ultra high pixel density Pixel Qi screens, with a new very low power mode that runs at a full 100X power reduction from the peak power consumed by the iPad3 screen. Pixel Qi claims to have a new architecture that matches the resolution of the ipad3 screen, and its full image quality including matching or exceeding contrast, color saturation, the viewing angle and so forth with massive power savings. Here is Pixel Qi’s power consumption versus the iPad2 and iPad3:

My opinion and suggestion for Google:
I’d like to see Google invest heavily in Pixel Qi for a 7″ 1024×600 screen to be mass produced for the rumored upcoming Nexus Tablet, providing it 20 hours battery life on an ultra slim form factor, with a very small bezel if they can make it have a plastics based screen, suitable for reading Google Books, suitable for outdoor use. Google should invest the money needed in bringing Pixel Qi to the mass consumer market. And then also Google can help bring the 2048×1536 9.7″ Pixel Qi screen to the mass Android tablet market.

The success of the iPhone and iPad is due to ARM Technology, but also to the investments Apple has made in using new screen technologies, Apple basically financed exclusivity for the 3.5″ capacitive screen when launching the iPhone and they bought an exclusive on the 9.7″ IPS screen for the iPad. Now also Apple invested the $2+ Billion getting an exclusive on the 9.7″ Retina screen. Google should do the same, not only invest heavily to optimize Android on all the ARM Processors, Google should also invest the money needed in new screen technologies such as Pixel Qi LCD and use that for their “Google Hardware” Nexus devices but then also instantly allow access to the new screen technologies to every other Android hardware maker.

Source: pixelqi.com/blog1

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Check back in the days to come

Posted by Charbax – April 21, 2012
Category: Opinions

I have many more videos from Hong Kong and the Chinese fairs to be posted here on http://ARMdevices.net in the days to come. I also am going to be announcing and launching some big new features of http://ARMdevices.net here soon. Check back!

Apple buys Facebook for $92.5 Billion, investors panic

Posted by Charbax – April 1, 2012
Category: Opinions

At 1:13PM Eastern Time, Apple Computers Inc announced that they have been in advanced talks for the past 3 months to acquire Facebook Inc of Santa Clara. The deal is about $69.1 Billion in cash and $23.4 Billion in shares. Apple Computers Inc CEO Tim Cook said:

We love what Facebook Inc has done with Social Networking and find it to be a perfect match to integrate with our iCloud and iTunes. If the European regulators approve of our plans to acquire Facebook Inc, we will integrated it Ping and the App Store. Our goal is to strengthen our position on cloud technologies through acquiring Facebook’s technology and talented workforce and together we plan to build a strong search competitor to Google.

At the news of this acquisition, Apple Computers Inc stock price was down 11.94% in after hours Japanese Nikkei tradings. Wall Street analysts are in shock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc chief analyst George Moignon had this to say:

We didn’t see this one coming. After Apple for the first time announced a dividend just 2 weeks ago, we were very surprised to hear this. We have been valuating Facebook Inc at $102 Billion because we believe in the value of their social graph. Yet we did not anticipate that Apple would spend nearly all of its cash and assets to buy the social network.

Baird Research analyst Colin Fritz reports:

After hearing this announcement, we have decided to recommend shorting AAPL stock. Our calculations demonstrate that over 90% of Apple’s current profits come from the sale of their ARM Powered devices, most importantly the iPhone 4S which currently represents over 80% of Apple Computers Inc’s overall profits. We would have thought Apple would invest their cash in owning Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean manufacturing capacity and blocking out the cheaper and better Android competition. We would have recommended Apple acquire Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron, that they acquire Sharp Display Inc and that Apple’s cash reserves could have allowed Apple to own a controlling share of Japan Display Inc and then block out cheaper and better Android competition from getting access to the latest screen technologies and that Apple could have tried to also get exclusives on more crucial hardware components of ARM Powered tablets and smartphones. But instead, we now hear that Apple has planned to spend most of their cash on purchasing Facebook, which quite frankly, we do not estimate to have that much value. We believe users easily can migrate over to competing social networks such as Google+, and that Facebook’s social graph actually is quite worthless.

What do you think of this announcement? Do you think Apple has a chance to build a Google search competitor now that they are announcing the purchase of Facebook? If this is not the right move, what do you think Apple should have done with their $100 Billion? What do you think Mark Zuckerberg is going to do with the $23.7 Billion cash that is his share of this acquisition?

Sony to launch the first ARM Powered Chromebook?

Posted by Charbax – March 24, 2012
Category: Laptops, Opinions, Chrome OS

According to some FCC leak and rumoring, it looks like Sony is about to release a new Chromebook and the FCC info may point towards it running on an ARM Processor! T25 is the leaked processor info, that sound like the Tegra 250 T25. I think the thinking was T25 is intermediary between T20 and T30, in between Tegra2 and Tegra3. Basically, I think, the hope should be that if it’s a Tegra2, that it has a new faster memory bandwidth and a higher clock speed compared to the “first generation” Tegra2 devices that were released back since the end of 2010!

The Dual-core TI OMAP4470 runs at 1.8Ghz, the Dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960 Krait S4 runs above 1.5Ghz, might it be that a new Dual-core Nvidia T25 processor also runs at similar clock frequency and might it be that the T25 has an improved memory bandwidth?

If Sony plans to have a target price for it around $199 for the 11.6″ version, with upwards 20 hours battery life, make it the thinnest, lightest, this can become one of the new top selling laptops in the world.

Source: laptopreviews.com via: engadget.com

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900,000 Rockchip RK2918 7″ Tablets purchased by Thailand’s Government for Education

Posted by Charbax – March 21, 2012
Category: Tablets, Opinions, Rockchip, Android

The 900,000 Scopad SP0712 Android tablets are going to be delivered before the next semester. The first batch of 50,000 tablets to be delivered within 15 days of the signing of the memorandum of understanding (which may mean 15 days from now).

The price per tablet is $82 and to be delivered by Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development. The Chinese Government had suggested four suppliers be considered for the deal including also Huawei Technologies Co, TCL Cooperation and Haier Information Technology (Shenzhen).

I don’t know if those have capacitive screens, what the battery life is going to be.

I think it’s crucial for the successful use of tablets in education for those to include a Pixel Qi LCD screen! Readability and very low power consumption are crucial features for these! Android tablets can become very successful tools for education, but they need to last 20 hours on a battery and not 5 hours! And the screens need to be as readable as paper! And the screen must be usable outdoors!

Not using Pixel Qi I think may be the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful educational tablet initiative! In rich countries, consumers don’t care much, because they always have enough power, they don’t care about reading and they are satisfied just playing video games on the devices, in rich countries, the tablets are just being used as entertaining gadgets for a bit of fun, nearly no productivity happens thus far. If you want to use tablets in education, you really carefully have to think about usability, battery life and productivity.

A $5 keyboard dock design can also be quite crucial for those to actually be usable for productive learning!! A built-in kick-stand I think is also pretty much compulsory.

The Pheu Thai Party promised during its campaigning ahead of last year’s election that, if voted in, it would give a tablet computer to every first-grade student nationwide.

Gp Cpt Anudith said the next step was to draft the agreement and forward it to the Office of the Attorney General for checks. The process would be finished before the end of this month, he said.

Chinnapat Bhumirat, secretary-general to the Office of Basic Education, said: “The G to G contract and MoU agreement are not that different, and the Chinese government will help us deal with the supplier and get as low a price as possible.”

Mr Chinnapat said the first batch of about 50,000 tablets would be sent to Thailand within 15 days of the MoU being signed. A team of 1,000 experts will train 15,000 teachers and supervisors nationwide on tablet use in early May.

According to Rockchip, here are the 3 key points for the Rockchip Tablet solution to win governmental tender projects:

1: RK2918 has the highest cost-performance for governmental tender projects;
2: RK2918 MID has already passed CTS certification from Google both on Android 2.3.5 and Android 4.0.3 version, which is the most important thing for governmental tender projects;
3: RK2918 has its good reputation for its well software-supporting service from Rockchip Electronics among its clients all over the world.

Source: bangkokpost.com

Archos G10 xs, Archos Elements and Arnova 50€ announced

Posted by Charbax – March 15, 2012
Category: Tablets, Laptops, Opinions, Rockchip, Texas Instruments, Archos, Android, Windows

Archos had an investors event in Paris today, they showed a teaser video for the next generation Archos G10 xs series:

The keyboard dock magnetic screen protector is awesome. But I’d like them to use the kick-stand and attach the thin keyboard dock like a Laptop in a way there’s a mouse pad that can be used. Archos has always innovated using Kick-stands, I hope they continue and I think using the kick-stand is the best way to make the thinnest, coolest ARM Powered Tablet/Laptop convertible. If possible the kick-stand angle can be adjustable. If you’re in an airplane and the space is limited, you don’t need to use the kick-stand, the tablet can rest against the seat that is in front of you. I think the keyboard should also fit behind the tablet when the keyboard does not need to be used. Preferably in a way so that the kick-stand can also still be used even when the keyboard dock is magnetically fixed behind the tablet.

Archos claims to have technology that makes G10 the thinnest tablet on the market. Something about patented paper-thin steel assembly technology. Archos has always been good at fitting huge battery capacity in extremely thin designs. I hope that Archos manages to make a deal with Pixel Qi and use the 10.1″ 1280×800 sunlight readable screen on this one. That’d provide for 20+ hours of battery life, sunlight readability, Kindle Reader competitiveness for reading and use for education and work, and it’d use much less power thus enabling a form factor and weight in the ultra-light class of 400-something grams for a 10″ tablet. Perhaps best to use Neonode’s IR touch technology instead of capacitive for least reflections and best readability.

For the processor on Archos G10, I think that one can expect either the OMAP4470 1.8Ghz Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 with SGX544 graphics or even the OMAP5430 with SGX544 graphics which can also run upwards 1.8Ghz in frequency or more. It depends if Archos plans to release the G10 already from mid-year or if they don’t plan to release it before the end of the year.

I don’t know if Archos will continue to sell that 3G Stick solution in G10. Maybe there is a way to allow for a modem module of any of the 3G/4G/LTE types to be manually added by the user, under full warranty, in some slot on the back of the device without it having to be through a USB host port. Maybe the multi-mode wireless modems are now so cheap, can even be included on the same CPU dye, that maybe they just included it by default even on the cheapest G10 tablet and provide just an unlocked SIM card slot on the side.

Archos did mention making one Windows 8 on ARM based Tablet/Laptop convertible by the end of the year. I hope they make sure to make it dual-boot the latest and greatest Android also.

Archos Elements brings Google Certified tablets at as low as 100€/$100. My guess is that Archos Elements brings the Rockchip RK30 Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 performance and higher capacitive screen resolutions than Arnova at extremely competitive pricing.

The new Arnova with Ice Cream Sandwich are going to be sold for as little as 50€/$50 at retail price!! My guess is 50€/$50 is the 7″ WVGA Dual-touch or single-touch resistive type with an RK2918 512MB RAM and Ice Cream Sandwich. It goes up to 150€/$150 retail price for what I think is probably the 9.7″ IPS capacitive RK2918 1GB RAM and Ice Cream Sandwich tablet. Basically with the new upcoming Arnova G3/G4 you get $49 basic alternative to the Kindle Fire and a $149 better-than-iPad1 tablet. Those are amazing low-priced targets for mass consumer retail Ice Cream Sandwich tablet pricing.

Archos is the top Android tablet seller in the major European markets, about equal to Samsung, in front of Asus, Acer, Motorola, Dell, LG, Toshiba and others. Archos CEO Henri Crohas sees a great opportunity to expand that lead with his company. Archos has announced a 32.9 Million € gross profit margin for 2011 on a yearly revenue of 171.4 Million €. They have announced an agreement to borrow upwards tens of millions of Euros more from one of the leading French banks Societe Generale (in exchange for stock guarantees, probably something similar to a capital increase, basically adding new stocks for cash to be used for the expansion) which Archos can use to further accelerate the mass production and mass distribution of their tablet series in the coming months.

You can discuss this post in the forum: http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=63964

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I’m interviewed on DRadio Wissen, German National Radio

Posted by Charbax – March 1, 2012
Category: Wearables, Smart Glass, Opinions, Texas Instruments, MWC, Kopin

In this Interview conducted by Moritz Metz broadcast on the German National Radio Network DRadio Wissen, I talk about Augmented Reality, Head-mounted wearable computing, the new user interfaces that provides. You can listen to the 5-minute audio Interview in English at: http://wissen.dradio.de/datenbrille-golden-i-internet-im-gesicht.36.de.html?dram%3Aarticle_id=15321

You can also listen the Interview Moritz Metz did with me last year at CeBIT for the same Radio station where I talk about my job as a video-blogger here: http://wissen.dradio.de/cebit-blogger-reist-gadgets-hinterher.36.de.html?dram:article_id=8810&dram:audio_id=11295&dram:play=1

Some of my expectations for Mobile World Congress

Posted by Charbax – February 17, 2012
Category: Opinions, MWC, Android, Windows

The MWC is the ARM conference, all the latest fastest newest ARM Processors are unveiled, all the biggest Smartphones of the year are demonstrated, the Smartphone and Carrier industry generating Trillions of dollars of yearly economic activity converges in Barcelona between February 26th and March 1st, expect the best video coverage to be posted right here on ARMdevices.net!

Please help me in getting well prepared for this event, send me an email with any tips for awesome things to be shown at MWC that you think that I should video-blog. You can also post here in the comments what your expectations are for MWC, interesting leaks and prediction articles to check out, please let me know what you think I should film in priority.

Here are some of the topics which I am looking forward to see:

– ARM Cortex-A15 demonstrated by Texas Instruments, Samsung. Maybe Nvidia shows Project Denver for the first time. ST-Ericsson may show it also. Does Qualcomm have an equivalent Mega-Krait on demo?

– Single-core ARM Cortex-A9 becomes a huge deal. I expect sub-$100 Cortex-A9 smartphones based on MediaTek MT6575 and ST-Ericsson U4500. It’s a big deal it brings performance to the sub-$100 unlocked smartphones market which can be hundreds of millions of phones per year.

– Samsung upgrades Galaxy Nexus up to OMAP4470 1.8Ghz. Samsung upgrades Galaxy S2 to Plus with latest Exynos4 at 32nm (Dual 1.5-1.8Ghz or Quad 1.2-1.5Ghz?). Samsung upgrades tablets with 1200p screens, newest Exynos, TI OMAP4470 and/or Nvidia Tegra3?

– Sony goes crazy on Android. Expect powerful and good looking Sony Xperia phones with latest screen and processor technology. Sony needs Android for its economic recovery. Expect a new range of Sony branded phones.

– Panasonic launches its ARM Cortex-A9 processor for other than Set-top-box/HDTV use? Maybe they use their dual-core for a Lumix phone. For people who care about the smartphone camera this is going to be good. Real point-and-shoot optics with a full Android smartphone integrated.

– Google acquires Motorola. Motorola announces new OMAP4460 1.5Ghz and OMAP4470 1.8Ghz phones and tablets with ICS. Makes Lapdock hardware system an open standard. Lapdock devices are now more powerful at Laptop productivity use than the Intel Atom netbook. Does Google use MWC to launch its Google Entertainment System for cheap Android@Home Hubbing, ARM Powered Google TV platform upgrade, new level of support for ARM Powered Native Code video-games and advanced ARM Powered Google Desktop software.

– LG aims very high, showing stuff even better looking than their LG Spectrum phone. Using fastest processors and latest IPS LCD HD screen technology. There is talk of Optimus 3D2 and X3.

– Huawei positions themselves as potential top challenger for smartphone volume of sales throughout the world. Launches the awesome OMAP4460 super slim P1S at (I guess sub-$300 unlocked) and shows their new Diamond series with even faster processor and even larger screen (I guess at sub-$400 unlocked). Also, launches range of low-cost sub-$100 Android phones with up to approx 4″ screen sizes and single-core ARM Cortex-A9 processing, thus near Galaxy S2 performance at sub-$100 unlocked pricing. Huawei wants to be one of the best value for price makers worldwide.

– ZTE does it like Huawei, cheap, good value, innondates the market with mid-range sub-$200 unlocked and sub-$100 low-cost.

– Microsoft shows off Windows 8 on ARM Tablets/Laptops convertibles, for the first time, journalists are allowed to actually play with it. They probably are going to give a thousand Windows 8 on ARM Tablets to developers at the conference. Expect Samsung, HTC, ZTE, Nokia to show Windows 8 on ARM Tablets/Laptops Convertibles. Microsoft announces plan to acquire Nokia.

– Toshiba ramps up their tablets. Toshiba shows a successor to the AC100 ARM Powered Laptop, this time OMAP4470 1.8Ghz or Tegra3, ICS with an awesome Chrome for Android support.

– HTC shows Tegra3 and Qualcomm Krait stuff. May expand Wildfire to approx 4″ screen sizes and Single-core ARM Cortex-A9 level of performance for the sub-$200 unlocked smartphones market.

– Fujitsu joins the Android market with a new slim Tegra3 smartphone.

– For expensive high-end, 720p is the new standard for smartphones and 1200p is the new standard for tablets.

What do you expect from MWC?

Google Wallet should use ARM TrustZone for 100% security

Posted by Charbax – February 13, 2012
Category: Opinions, ARM, Android

Google Wallet should rely on ARM TrustZone to make the pin code authentication system 100% secure. I filmed about ARM TrustZone a couple years ago. (I suggested this last May when Google Wallet was launched). The way ARM TrustZone works is to create a separate 100% trusted OS used just to enter the pin code on a hardware level separation, thus a little secure-mode light diode can light up when in it, the main purpose is to prevent software snoopers/fake logon screens etc. I expect something like this is enabled by the NXP PN65 security chip that Google has suggested using on the initial couple NFC-enabled phones on the market, but actually using ARM TrustZone is the best idea. I expect to see new ARM TrustZone enabled phones at Mobile World Congress in a couple weeks from now. Here’s a latest news item about ARM TrustZone for Mobile Wallets: ARM to add NFC mobile wallet support (NFCworld.com)

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