3 engineers from http://www.allwinnertech.com talk about how they are using Linaro, what they are looking to get from Linaro, how they want to work with Linaro at the Linaro Connect Q2 2012 conference.
Category: Favorite companies
Forbes: Display Industry status/history Interview
Check out this interview on Forbes.com with Sriram Peruvemba CMO at E Ink Holdings. Here are some quotes from the interview:
The big five in the LCD industry based on 2011 revenues are Samsung, LG, CMI, AUO and Sharp. It costs upwards of $1B to build a TV-class LCD factory in Asia. A state of the art Gen 10 LCD factory might cost upwards of $3B if built today. In the past few years, the industry has been more in the red than in the black. Margins in the display business tend to be razor thin, particularly in consumer applications.
So what makes LCDs rule? There is one spec that LCD has that beats every other technology, and when I mention this to a room full of engineers, they think I have crossed over to the dark side. This spec is called “price,” which is the most important spec for displays.
Take your favorite TV or mobile phone, the display is what catches your attention. A significant portion of the purchase decision for a TV, Monitor or GPS unit is based on the impression created by the display, yet the average consumer has no idea who made the display. Being an ingredient display brand in the consumer electronics industry is very tough, I can tell you this from personal experience.
Highlights from my 2 weeks of video-blogging at 4 conferences in Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Guangzhou China
Posted by – April 27, 2012
During these past 2 weeks, I posted 122 videos from my trip in China. Thanks for watching! I have now returned back in Europe. Here are the numbers of videos that I posted from each conference:
Hong Kong Trade Development Council
– Shenzhen Electronics Fair (April 10-11th): 21 videos
– China Sourcing Fair (April 12, 15th): 32 videos
– HKTDC Electronics Fair (April 13, 14, 16th): 36 videos
– Canton Fair (April 18th): 11 videos
– Videos filmed at the Shenzhen Electronics Market, at Shenzhen company headquarters and at Shenzhen Factories: 22 videos
Here are the trends from these conferences looking at the number of videos that I filmed in each trending chip provider category:
1. Boxchip AllWinner A10 and A13 ARM Cortex-A8 with Mali-400 GPU. 24 new videos filmed. Before this trip, I only had 3 Boxchip related videos on my site, Boxchip has now exploded in popularity among Chinese device makers. It offers a beautifully smooth Ice Cream Sandwich experience for a really low cost. This cheap ARM Cortex-A8 SoC with Mali-400 GPU acceleration for Android 4 ICS might be key to make this solution now very popular: $63 no-name from Shenzhen Market, $47 capacitive Boxchip A13, Aipad Wacom, $120 9.7″ iPad-like, $79 1024×600 7″ IPS from Daza Electronics, FirstView, $85 10.1″ Laptops from Sunlike, $80 1024×600 7″ and $57 WVGA from Bmorn, Boxchip in Game players by Yinlips, $59 A13 from T Link, 1024×600 compact 7″ from Avaid, $49 resistive, Ochang, Yones Toptech, GDB, $60 Apical, $64 Eken, Rocat, Sanxo, 10″ Laptop by Kinstone, 7″ Laptop by Kinstone, 4upad, Yamay.
2. Rockchip RK3066 Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 with Quad-core Mali-400 GPU. My Interview with Rockchip about RK3066. The initial benchmarks I’ve heard about on RK3066 place its performance very high. There are already a range of prototypes with RK3066 inside being shown by a whole range of Rockchip partners. Here are my first RK3066 videos: $128 10.1″ 1280×800 by Alldocube, Pipo 10.1″ and 9.7″. Expect lots new RK3066 devices to be released quickly. The SoC and price difference between this and ARM Cortex-A8 solutions may make this one very popular even for cheap/affordable implementations out of China.
3. MediaTek MT6575 ARM Cortex-A9 with SGX531 GPU. MediaTek looks to dominate the low-cost Android smartphone market out of China. Last year, it was the ARM9 based MT6516 (as in my FG8 phone that I used as my main phone for 9 months until I upgraded to a Galaxy Nexus this February) that only supported 2G Dual-sim, which they then upgraded to the ARM11 based MT6573 with 3G dual-sim about 6 months ago, but now the MT6575 is a single-core ARM Cortex-A9 with full Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich support. The MT6575 is likely going to have a huge influence on the new higher performance yet still cheap Android phones to come in the next weeks and months out of China. ICS on sub-$150 5″ WVGA MT6575 Dolphin A80 phone (2), ICS on 5.2″ Hyundai H950 MT6575, $142 Galaxy Nexus clone with MT6575, Zopo ZP100 with MT6575 selling now for $174 street price in Shenzhen (I bought one, I’m waiting for the ICS release within days/weeks), Amoi dual-battery MT6575, sub-$140 5.2″ MT6575 by Daza Electronics, Quality Industrial MT6575, $75 3.5″ MT6575 by Orient and a bunch of companies showing MT6573 solutions: Yooe/Runtong MT6573 7″ Tablet, Long Ten Jie, Sharing, Begin, Dynamax, Vinus, Pusite, Zivi, J8000 and X20i, Zhongyi, Goal, LGTD, Migo, Zhenai waterproof.
4. Rockchip RK2906 ARM Cortex-A8 without HDMI for cheap. As with the Boxchip A13 without HDMI, Rockchip now also releases a new lower cost ARM Cortex-A8 skew without HDMI called the RK2906. The thinking might be that many people in China and worldwide do not have a HDMI or do not need the HDMI output, so they may as well design the SoC without HDMI to save another $2-$5 on the bill of material for the device. I’ve found it in the $49 Rk2906 7″ capacitive tablet by Sawink. Rockchip also launched the RK2908 (also featured in my Rockchip interview video) for cheaper ARM Cortex-A8 Set-top-boxes only.
Processors that I have not yet seen or noticed a lot of on this trip but who may have imminent devices that may quickly gain significant market share out of Shenzhen based device makers:
AmLogic announced their AML8726-MX Dual-Core ARM Cortex-A9 design. I think I’ve been hearing about a Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 coming from Telechips. But those can not yet be sighted at the fairs as far as I know.
A bit can be seen featuring the ST-Ericsson U8500 and low-cost skew U8410, I expect several more devices to be shown soon out of China featuring these. Also offering potentially great value Dual-Core ARM Cortex-A9 for smartphones and connected tablets. I think ST-Ericsson wants to position their Dual-core Cortex-A9 to compete with Single-core Cortex-A9 solutions.
Broadcom can be found just a bit. Sprodcom was showing some.
I hear rumoring of impending Freescale i.MX6 devices, up to quad-core but I guess possibly also great value lower priced Single and Dual-core devices to come.
Renesas announced their MP5232 1.5Ghz Dual-core Cortex-A9 with integrated LTE modem back at Mobile World Congress. But I have not yet found devices featuring that. I wonder if they plan to regain Chinese makers interest with a faster low-cost successor to last year’s EV2 533Mhz Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9.
Qualcomm seems to have upgraded the MSM7227 with skews that use the new faster ARM Cortex-A5 instead of the previous year’s ARM11. I am not sure if I have noticed that on this trip. I get a bit confused as they still call it MSM7227 or MSM7225, they add a T or an A at the end, I forget which is the new Cortex-A5 design.
Telechips also has a new Cortex-A5 processor which I first saw in March at CeBIT in the Valueplus Tizzbird HDMI stick, but I am also not sure if I have seen any other devices on this trip using that yet.
Pixel Qi announces 2048×1536 better-than-iPad3 screen, with 100x lower power consumption
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
Related articles
- Pixel Qi teases ultra-frugal Retina Display rival (slashgear.com)
- Pixel Qi: our new screen better, lower-power than new iPad (electronista.com)
- Pixel Qi promises retina-quality low power displays (liliputing.com)
- Next generation Pixel Qi screen said to have Retina display-like resolution, significant power savings (theverge.com)
- Pixel Qi promises tablet displays that meet iPad 3 quality – and draw much less power (venturebeat.com)
- Pixel Qi Says Next-Gen Displays Meet or Beat iPad 3 Screen Quality (hardware.slashdot.org)
Pipo shows 10.1″ and 9.7″ RK3066 Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 tablets at the HKTDC Electronics Fair
Posted by – April 23, 2012
Pipo is showing some of their newest Rockchip RK3066 Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 based devices, that are coming to increase the performance of the low-cost tablets coming out of China.
Joyplus shows 7″ and 10″ Tablets with Pixel Qi displays
Posted by – April 16, 2012
Category: Tablets, Exclusive videos, Members Content, Telechips, China Sourcing Fair, Pixel Qi, Android
Joyplus continues to show their Pixel Qi tablet prototypes.
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InHand Hydra-T3 Ruggedized 7″ Pixel Qi tablet released
InHand releases their new Hydra-T3 ruggedized 7″ Pixel Qi tablet. It runs on the Texas Instruments DaVinci DM3730 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 and 800MHz TMS320C64X+™ DSP, up to 1GB DDR2, up to 16GB eMMc Flash, the Pixel Qi LCD screen is the 7″ 1024×600 built using a chemically strengthened resistive touch screen layer (I wonder how readable this resistive Pixel Qi implementation is). Having been tested through the military specs MIL-SPEC, MIL-STD-810G, MIL-STD-461F it can support extreme temperature, fluid contaminates, solar radiation, fungus, immersion, shock and vibration. It uses a 37WHr redundant 3.7V Lithium Polymer battery for up to 10 hours of battery life. It can run Android 2.3, Ubuntu 10.10 and Windows Embedded Compact 6.
This tablet seems to compete with the Orchard Inc Toughlet which is also a ruggedized 7″ Pixel Qi tablet for military and industrial use. The military and the industry must be very eager to use the Pixel Qi screen for tablets outdoor readability, low power consumption as soon as possible.
Read more about this new Pixel Qi tablet at: inhand.com
Source: InHand press release
Archos 101 G9 Turbo 1.5Ghz for $259 on Woot.com today only
Posted by – March 17, 2012
Only today, the Archos 101 G9 Turbo 1.5Ghz is being sold for $259 at http://sellout.woot.com/
It’s basically better than the iPad3 and for half the price! Here are some of the reasons I think it’s better than the iPad3:
1.5Ghz Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 vs 1Ghz Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9, Kick-stand, HDMI output, full sized USB-host port for 3G/4G/LTE dongle (for now only 3G is on the market for Europe/Asia), that full sized USB host can also be used for USB Keyboards/Mice/Hubs/Hard Drives etc, second USB-host through Micro-USB with adapter, Samba/Upnp file streaming, full codecs up to MKV 1080p high profile full bitrates with up to DTS audio (meaning any video you download from the Internet just works natively), Android Ics Cream Sandwich runs on it and is open unlike iOS (meaning you can install any app you want through any app store you want and customize the OS as you want), the 1280×800 10.1″ capacitive screen is decent although the next generation of 10.1″ 1920×1200 screens are coming (obviously for more expensive prices), etc.
Found via: carrypad.com
Archos G10 xs, Archos Elements and Arnova 50€ announced
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
Sources:
Related articles:
- Archos Teases G10 XS Tablet With Ultra-Thin Steel Chassis (techcrunch.com)
- Archos will launch Gen10 premium tablets this year (liliputing.com)
ARM Cortex-M0+ announced, to power the Internet of Things
Posted by – March 13, 2012
Here’s the press release:
CAMBRIDGE, UK – March 13, 2012- ARM today announced the ARM® Cortex™-M0+ processor, the world’s most energy-efficient microprocessor. The Cortex-M0+ processor has been optimized to deliver ultra low-power, low-cost MCUs for intelligent sensors and smart control systems in a broad range of applications including home appliances, white goods, medical monitoring, metering, lighting and power and motor control devices.
The 32-bit Cortex-M0+ processor, the latest addition to the ARM Cortex processor family, consumes just 9µA/MHz on a low-cost 90nm LP process, around one third of the energy of any 8- or 16-bit processor available today, while delivering significantly higher performance.
This industry-leading combination of low power and high performance provides users of legacy 8- and 16-bit architectures with an ideal opportunity to migrate to 32-bit devices, thereby delivering increased intelligence to everyday devices, without sacrificing power consumption or area.
The Cortex-M0+ processor features enable the creation of smart, low-power, microcontrollers to provide efficient communication, management and maintenance across a multitude of wirelessly connected devices, a concept known as the ‘Internet of Things’.
This low power connectivity has the potential to enable a range of energy-saving and life-enhancing applications from sensors to wirelessly analyze the performance and control of domestic or industrial buildings, to battery-operated body sensors wirelessly connected to health monitoring equipment. Current 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs lack the intelligence and functionality to deliver these applications.
“The Internet of Things will change the world as we know it, improving energy efficiency, safety, and convenience,” said Tom R. Halfhill, a senior analyst with The Linley Group and senior editor of Microprocessor Report. “Ubiquitous network connectivity is useful for almost everything – from adaptive room lighting and online video gaming to smart sensors and motor control. But it requires extremely low-cost, low-power processors that still can deliver good performance. The ARM Cortex-M0+ processor brings 32-bit horsepower to flyweight chips, and it will be suitable for a broad range of industrial and consumer applications.”
The new processor builds on the successful low-power and silicon-proven Cortex-M0 processor which has been licensed more than 50 times by leading silicon vendors, and has been redesigned from the ground up to add a number of significant new features. These include single-cycle IO to speed access to GPIO and peripherals, improved debug and trace capability and a 2-stage pipeline to reduce the number of cycles per instruction (CPI) and improve Flash accesses, further reducing power consumption.
The Cortex-M0+ processor takes advantage of the same easy-to-use, C friendly programmer’s model, and is binary compatible with existing Cortex-M0 processor tools and RTOS. Along with all Cortex-M series processors it enjoys full support from the ARM Cortex-M ecosystem and software compatibility enables simple migration to the higher-performance Cortex-M3 and Cortex-M4 processors.
Early licensees of the Cortex-M0+ processor include Freescale and NXP Semiconductor.
“We’re excited to further strengthen our relationship with ARM as a lead partner in the definition, and first licensee of the smallest, lowest-power ARM Cortex-M series processor yet,” said Dr. Reza Kazerounian, senior vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Automotive, Industrial & Multi-Market Solutions group. “The addition of products built on the Cortex M0+ processor will make our fast-growing Kinetis MCU line one of the industry’s most scalable portfolios based on the ARM Cortex architecture. With the ability to reuse code, higher performance and improved energy efficiency, the Cortex M0+ processor will enable designers to transition from legacy 8-bit and 16-bit proprietary architectures to our new Kinetis devices, without sacrificing cost and ease of use benefits.”
“NXP is the only MCU vendor to have adopted the complete ARM Cortex-M processor series, and we’re excited to be able to add the Cortex-M0+ processor to our portfolio,” said Alexander Everke, Executive Vice President and General Manager of High-Performance Mixed-Signal businesses, NXP Semiconductors. “We have already proven the success of our Cortex-M0 processor portfolio with over 70 part types shipping in high volume today, this new Cortex-M0+ processor further accelerates our momentum into the 8/16-bit market.”
“The Cortex-M0+ processor is yet another demonstration of ARM low power leadership and its commitment to drive the industry forward towards ever lower power consumption,” said Mike Inglis, EVP and GM, Processor Divison, ARM. “With our expertise in low-power technology, we have worked closely with our Partners on the definition of the new processor to ensure that it can enable the low-cost devices of today, while also unlocking the potential benefits delivered by the Internet of Things.”
Supporting ARM Technology
The Cortex-M0+ processor is ideally suited for implementation with the Artisan® 7-track SC7 Ultra High Density Standard Cell Library and Power Management Kit (PMK) to fully capitalize on the ground-breaking low power features of the processor.The Cortex-M0+ processor is fully supported from launch by the ARM Keil™ Microcontroller Development Kit, which integrates the ARM compilation tools with the Keil µVision IDE and debugger. Widely acknowledged as the world’s most popular development environment for microcontrollers, MDK together with the ULINK family of debug adapters now supports the new trace features available in the Cortex-M0+ processor. By utilizing these tools, ARM Partners can take advantage of a tightly coupled application development environment to rapidly realize the performance and ultra low-power features of the Cortex-M0+ processor.
The processor is also supported by third-party tool and RTOS vendors including CodeSourcery, Code Red, Express Logic, IAR Systems, Mentor Graphics, Micrium and SEGGER.
Related articles
- Arm unveils 1mm x 1mm 32bit chip: “years of battery life” (bbc.co.uk)
- ARM chip to power connected fridges and clever lighting (techradar.com)
- Flycatcher computer chip could soon connect fridges and forests to internet (guardian.co.uk)
I’m on the BBC (on YouTube)
Posted by – March 13, 2012
Rory Cellan-Jones from the BBC interviewed me at Mobile World Congress last week about my Motorola Kopin Golden-i Augmented Video-blogging system. By the end of the year, thanks to the fast moving world of Technology, we’ll all be walking around with compact wearable computers, augmenting our reality, it’s going to be awesome!
Appear, Kopin Golden-i Software provider, won 2nd price at CeBIT
Posted by – March 10, 2012
Category: Wearables, Smart Glass, Software, Exclusive videos, Texas Instruments, CeBIT, Kopin, Windows
Based at the Kista Science City, Mobile City in Stockholm Sweden, Appear talks about integrating their industrial systems software into the Motorola Kopin Golden-i headmounted computer. Here at CeBIT they talk about how people working in the railway, airports etc industries can use the Golden-i in the next level of their augmented reality system.
Joyplus shows Pixel Qi 10.1″ and 7″ tablets at CeBIT 2012
Posted by – March 9, 2012
Joyplus is working on using the Pixel Qi 10.1″ 1280×800 (for now, only showing the 1024×600 glossy in a prototype) and they are showing the 7″ Pixel Qi 1024×600 on a resistive touchscreen prototype.
Found via: netbooknews.com
Archos G9 ICS Firmware update released
Posted by – March 8, 2012
Archos now releases the Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich firmware update on their website for their OMAP4 based 8″ and 10.1″ Capacitive Android tablets of the Archos G9 series. Here’s some more information about the firmware update: http://store.archos.com/docs/Android%204%200%20Update%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
You can download the firmware update at Archos.com
Here’s the changelog:
Version 4.0.4 – March 8th, 2012
Initial Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3 firmware release
MediaCenter Video: support for MKV3D on TV with automatic switch to best 3D mode
MediaCenter Video: allow to disable system notifications in video player
MediaCenter Video: collection of VOB files from DVD are now gathered into a single movie item
MediaCenter Music: integrate Music control panel in Lock Screen
MediaCenter info dialog: allow to edit the name used for performing the Movie and TVShow online search
File Manager: display a notification when file copy continues in background
File Manager: improved drag and drop support
File Manager: new option to prevent indexing of some storage/sdcard folders by multimedia library
Applications: more robust video conferencing support (Google talk, Skype etc.)
USB file transfer: a samba server is now activated on the tablet when using USB network tethering for easier file transfer on non Windows based hosts
Archos widgets: new USB network tether widget
External Keyboard: french layout has been expanded to handle AtlGr keys for special symbols
Accessories: Xbox gamepad support
You can discuss this firmware update in the forum: http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=63669
I’m interviewed on DRadio Wissen, German National Radio
Posted by – March 1, 2012
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
Eric Schmidt at Mobile World Congress 2012
I didn’t actually interview him. But here’s the official 1-hour keynote video. I think Eric Schmidt takes the role of kind of being the President of the Internet. He talks for connecting the next 5 billion people to the Internet through $20 ARM Powered devices as soon as possible. He talks about lowering the price of Internet access in developing countries. He talks about the amazing time in technology that is now.
ARM TrustZone at Mobile World Congress 2012
Posted by – February 28, 2012
ARM is showing the latest implementations of ARM TrustZone. This can be the secure and easy way to authenticate logins, payments, money transfers on the Internet.
Google Booth at MWC 2012, Archos, Tablets and Phones on Display
Posted by – February 28, 2012
Here are some of the phones and tablets rotating at the back of the Google Booth at Mobile World Congress 2012, between the free smoothies and the slide.
Archos sells more tablets than Asus and Acer, has Europe’s number one sub-400€ tablet market share
Posted by – February 16, 2012
Archos worldwide revenues increased 106% in 2011 compared to 2010. For the tablet sales in Europe, Archos is the second biggest tablet maker tied to Samsung. For the sub-400€ tablet market in Europe, Archos is the number one. Archos yearly tablet sales in Asia has exploded 464% going from 4,4M€ to 24,9M€ in revenue.
Think about it for a second. Archos is a 250-employee company based in Paris, and they are the European leader for the sub-400€ tablet market, they are virtually tied with the Samsung tablet sales in Europe and they are far in front of giants like Asus, Acer, Motorola, Toshiba, LG, Huawei, ZTE, HTC tablet sales in Europe.
Archos revenue from US sales “only” increased 57% year/year from 18,2M to 28,6M, my theory is because Archos has to prioritize where to spend their cash for production and distribution. Just as the Samsung Galaxy S2, Galaxy Note were released in Europe and Asia before the USA, Archos also has to choose to prioritize shipments to the European and Asian market, some markets also where Archos may be able to extract larger margins and satisfy resellers more evenly (a US reseller constantly having to be out of stock gets angry..). Over the past 3-4 months, monitoring the forums at http://forum.archosfans.com one can see hundreds of messages of American consumers being somewhat dissapointed not being able to buy the latest Archos G9 series of tablets, and due to Texas Instruments OMAP4460 1.5Ghz Processor being delayed, Archos can only really start shipping that promised 1.5Ghz tablet speed since recently. Also to consider, Archos has yet to annonce a 3G/4G/LTE USB Stick carrier for the US market, as the US market isn’t compatible with the rest of the worlds open unlocked 3G/HSPA+ SIM card USB stick system (I do believe some carrier, at least an MVNO should soon be allowing Archos provide a USB stick compatible with their network).
Consider this, Archos is a 250-employee company, with currently their record yearly revenue at 171,4 Million Euros ($224.669 Million). Apple has 60400 employees and a 2011 revenue of $108.249 billion. That means Archos makes 481 times less revenue than Apple. Yet, Archos manages to be second largest tablet seller in Europe behind Apple and tied with Samsung.
My theory is that if/when a company like Archos can get access to more cash, they can increase the mass production of their products and I think Archos has no problems selling out of all of their inventory, pretty much regardless of the worldwide region. The likely upcoming Socialist French President Francois Hollande (likely to be elected April 2012 instead of Nicolas Sarkozy) can make it a National priority to use State cash to invest in promising high-tech companies like Archos, France can heavily and rapidly invest in Archos to help Archos grab even more worldwide market share in a tablet market analysts predict to more than double again in 2012 compared to 2011. More investments can create a situation where Archos can expand R&D and Marketing/Sales efforts in Paris, thus upgrading firmwares even faster, developing new hardware skews faster, optimizing manufacturing and BOM techniques faster, something Archos can use to increase the value for money even faster making it even easier to sell all stock regardless of volume produced. With significantly more cash for more production, faster R&D, I believe Archos can grow and be the French high-tech company to seriously compete with Apple worldwide.
The Android tablet market has exploded in 2011. I believe the daily Android tablets activations worldwide has now overtaken the iPad2. The regular stack of analysts will only demonstrate that when they estimate Q1 2012 tablet sales in early April. I base my estimation on the fact most major latest Android tablets were released not before December 2011 (Archos G9, Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Motorola XyBoard, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, etc), thus counting since December 2011 (and not October 2011 as the latest analysts have) positions Android tablets even more favorably against the iPad2. If you count the Samsung Galaxy Note as a tablet (which most analysts aren’t), it’s even more obvious that Android tablets daily activations have overtaken the iPad.
With excellent value for money in Archos ICS-capable tablets, such as the $279 Archos 101 G9 Turbo 1.5Ghz, the $229 Arnova 9 G2, the $199 Archos 70b Internet Tablet and the $149 Arnova 7b G2, all of them imminently fully running Ice Cream Sandwich, (all those are MSRP prices, street prices can be 20-30% lower than MSRP with volume) I believe Archos is well positioned to continue their growth in tablet market share. It’d be awesome to see Archos find the time to also provide an OMAP4460 1.5Ghz 7″ Kindle Fire killer (at around $249) and a 5″ Galaxy Note killer (at around $199) tablet with USB 3G/4G/LTE stick support as my favorite tablet sizes are 7″ jacket pocket sized and 5″ pants pocket sized.
Revenue for the fourth quarter 2011
| In M€ non audited | Q4 2011 |
Q4 2010 |
Var (M€) |
Var (%) |
| EUROPE | 46,3 | 24,6 | 21,7 | 88% |
| ASIA | 8,7 | 2,2 | 6,5 | 300% |
| USA | 10,2 | 8,8 | 1,3 | 15% |
| TOTAL | 65,2 | 35,6 | 29,6 | 83% |
Total revenue for 2011
| In M€ non audited | 2011 | 2010 | Var (M€) |
Var (%) |
| EUROPE | 117,9 | 60,7 | 57,2 | 94% |
| ASIA | 24,9 | 4,4 | 20,5 | 464% |
| USA | 28,6 | 18,2 | 10,4 | 57% |
| TOTAL | 171,4 | 83,3 | 88,1 | 106% |
Yearly revenue (Million €)
2009 : 57,9 ($76M)
2010 : 83,3 ($109.5M)
2011 : 171,4 ($224.7M)
Source: Archos Q4 2011 earnings press release on abcbourse.com, boursier.com, easybourse.com and investir.fr
