As I am going to be video-blogging the latest advances in Linux on ARM at the Linaro Connect Hong Kong conference next week, I just landed a few days early so that I can now again video-blog the latest news out of Shenzhen. It’s appropriate for me to video-blog the latest news in Shenzhen, monthly don’t you think? In this video, I got the Zopo staff at the Zopo store on Hua Qiang Bei Shenzhen to update the firmware on my Zopo ZP100 MT6575 ARM Cortex-A9 based phone because I had a hard time figuring out how to do it looking at the Chinese-only http://bbs.zopomobile.com (see how they talk on that forum about a re-upload onto Youku of my original Zopo ZP100 video) ICS seems to be extremely smooth on the MediaTek MT6575, I’m going to ask Zopo in the days to come what they expect to do about reaching the European, US markets and worldwide with this phone. Check back in the days to come for the latest news from Shenzhen as I’m hearing about an upcoming Dual-core MediaTek MT6577 to be in an upcoming Huawei 4.5″ low cost super phone (the rumor is 1499rmb = $237), the i.MX6 is being worked on by Shenzhen based PCB design houses, Rockchip is very close to take large market share for tablets out of Shenzhen with their new Dual-core RK3066 platform. Check back on http://ARMdevices.net for a lot of new videos about those. Let me know in the comments what you would like me to film and do in Shenzhen. I have some big plans to finally do something about group buys (through reliable and trusted Shenzhen based device makers and sellers) and I plan to launch some new special features here on http://ARMdevices.net during the next days and weeks so check back.
Category: Android
FXI Cotton Candy availability status interview
boredatwork.com published this interview with FXI Tech about the status of shipments for their awesome Exynos4 powered HDMI stick product.
Something to do with FXI adding USB host to the design causing some of the delay. Hopefully they start shipping in Scandinavia this month, and to all other pre-orders during the summer. I’d like to see this form factor mass manufactured and sold for around $69 retail and not $199. See the TI OMAP4 powered Always Innovating HDMI stick alternative where it’s said the BOM cost for such a platform may be as low as $30.
Source: booredatwork.com
Opera Mini 7 and Opera Mobile 12
Opera is being used by millions of people worldwide. Here’s the latest in Opera Mobile browsers technology. Opera Mini provides Internet access to hundreds of millions of feature phone users throughout the developing world, emerging economies, worldwide, and Opera Mobile is likely the third party browser of choice for smartphones. As smartphones become cheaper and cheaper, feature phones may quickly get replaced by cheap smartphones, Opera mobile merges Mini and Mobile to provide server-side web page compression and fast rendering technologies for a growing number of users worldwide.
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
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
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.
Related articles
- Google Wallet should use ARM TrustZone for 100% security (armdevices.net)
- ARM, Gemalto and G&D form joint-venture to secure mobile devices, improve privacy (thenextweb.com)
The Shenzhen Speakers Factory
Is this my best video yet? This is a same factory that is soon going to switch to assembling MediaTek MT6575 Android Ice Cream Sandwich phones. I hereby offer you an exclusive look inside the assembly line, see the people that build your speakers in Shenzhen China.
In the part 1 of this Shenzhen Factory Tour, I enter the Shenzhen Factory, walk around the lobby and meeting rooms before walking over to a part of the assembly line.
$49 Boxchip A10 7″ resistive tablet available now
You can buy this tablet for $49 each at retail in Shenzhen, but it’s with a resistive dual-touch screen at that price. If you wait a month or two, the capacitive Boxchip A13 tablets will be at the same price or even lower.
ICS on 5″ MediaTek MT6575 Dolphin A80 phone
I run the Antutu and Quadrant benchmarks (comparing those with my OMAP4460 Galaxy Nexus) on this 5″ MT6575 Android phone that has just gotten the latest beta Android 4 ICS firmware loaded onto it in Shenzhen China. This prototype is just pre-mass production, and the ICS software for the MediaTek MT6575 is beta for testing. Mass production and full production software may be ready by the end of this month. Check back later for more news on this phone and on the performance of ICS on MT6575 devices as I expect to have this and other MT6575 samples to do reviews of the latest MediaTek ICS performance. http://www.yooe.com.cn is selling this phone for sub-$150 when bought in bulk. The MT6575 single-core ARM Cortex-A9 with ICS support is bringing quite good performance to the cheap new Android phones coming out of China.
Yamay shows Android tablets
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Long Teng Jie shows tablets and smartphones at the China Sourcing Fair
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iPhone4-clones on Qualcomm MSM7227 for around $100 in Shenzhen China
Bill from http://1pad.cn presents an example of the approx $100 iPhone4-clones being sold in China. They run on the Qualcomm MSM7227 processor platform, providing unlocked WCDMA 3G support. China also has more and more original devices such as the ZTE Blade being sold even less money unlocked with perfectly good capacitive screen and a smooth Android experience.
Shenzhen Sharing Technology shows phones and tablets at the HKTDC Electronics Fair
They are showing some 3.5″, 5″ MediaTek MT6573 phones and tablets.
AmLogic AML8726-MX dual-core announced
Here is the press release:
AML8726-MX Family Combines 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore™ processor and Multi-Core MaliTM-400 MP GPU to Provide Industry-Leading Performance, Low Power and Reduced System Cost.
SANTA CLARA, Calif.-April.09, 2012-Amlogic, a leading fabless semiconductor company providing solutions for advanced consumer products, today announced the availability of its newest high-performance system on chip (SoC) family, the AML8726-MX. These new SoCs are powered by a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor, a multi-core ARM Mali-400 MP GPU, Amlogic’s industry proven HD video engine, and advanced security technology. The AML8726-MX family supports a wide variety of open-source environments and provides processing power for state-of-the-art gaming, Over The Top (OTT) video playback, new app stores that are increasingly providing content and applications, and can be used at the heart of any connected display device.
Amlogic has been a leading supplier to the advanced application processor market for many years; the AML8726-MX reconfirms the company’s position. This new family of dual-core products includes advanced technology, such as ARM TrustZone® security technology and NEON™ SIMD technology to provide enhanced security, gaming, image and audio processing. During their development, a close cooperation with its partners allowed Amlogic’s engineers to design a hardened Cortex-A9 processor-based SoC operating at speeds above 1.5GHz while using a 40nm low power process. The AML8726-MX family provides Amlogic’s customers with one of the industry’s most cost effective yet highest performance solutions.
“We are pleased to introduce our 3rd generation Cortex-A9 processor-based devices and deliver a solution to the dual-core segment that would require many of our competitors to use a tri-core design.” said John Zhong, CEO of Amlogic. “Our new AML8726-MX family of processors sets the standard that others have to follow; yet again Amlogic has established itself as a market leader not only from an integration and power perspective, but also raw CPU and graphics performance. We are confident that the AML8726-MX family will maintain our leading supplier position to the connected display segment.”
“Amlogic has already established a reputation as an innovative supplier of ARM technology-based solutions,” said Mike Inglis, chief commercial officer, ARM. “The combination of the energy-efficient ARM Cortex-A9 processors and Mali-400 GPUs alongside Amlogic’s own IP and system design expertise has resulted in a SoC that enables a rich media experience. This is particularly suitable for Over The Top (OTT) delivery, 3D Gaming and other Internet applications, all of which are key to the future growth of the tablet, set-top-box and smart-TV markets.”
Amlogic’s new AML8726-MX chips are available now for sampling and AndroidTM 4.0.3 ICS OS-based reference development platforms will be available in late April 2012.
Highlights of the AML 8726-MX family include:◆A dual-core Cortex-A9 processor achieving over 7500 DMIPS of performance
◆Direct to panel connection with advanced scaling, de-interlacing and picture quality enhancement
◆Industry leading power management technology to extend battery life in mobile applications
◆The ability to run Android 4.0 (ICS), Linux 3.X, OpenGL ES 2.0
Connectivity options provided by the AML8726-MX include 10/100/1000 Ethernet, two USB interfaces, 3-in-1 Card Reader, Analog and digital video outputs, LVDS and TCON with backlight control, digital video and camera interfaces, software driver support for popular external WiFi chipsets.
Pipo shows 10.1″ and 9.7″ RK3066 Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 tablets at the HKTDC Electronics Fair
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.
Begin shows Phones and Tablets at the Canton Fair
Showing some MT6573 based phones.
Sowill Technology Park shows Freescale and AmLogic tablet designs
Out of the Shenzhen University, they are showing some tablet designs based on the Freescale and AmLogic processors.
4upad.com shows Boxchip A10 7″, 8″, 9.7″ tablets at the HKTDC Electronics Fair
They are showing a range of their latest 7″ $66, 9.7″ $138 and other tablets mostly based on the Boxchip A10 processor.
$140 5.2″ MT6575 Android phone by Daza Electronics at the HKTDC Electronics Fair
This is the new 5.2″ MT6575 Android smartphone design, it can soon support Android 4.0. It costs $140 when bought in bulk.
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Kinstone 7″ Boxchip ICS Laptop at the HKTDC Electronics Fair
512MB to 1GB RAM, for $73 in bulk, shown here at the HKTDC Electronics Fair. $11 more for capacitive.
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$100 10.1″ Boxchip A10 Laptop/Tablet convertible by Kinstone
This $100 ARM Cortex-A8 Laptop may be fast enough for a full Android/Chrome OS Laptop.
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