Category: Tradeshows

Cideko $139 (MSRP retail) Android Set-top-box

Posted by – March 2, 2011

Cideko is showing their Android Set-top-box with support for up to 1080p YouTube, and their interesting high-end remote control design with built-in keyboard, accelerometers, infrared and gyroscope.

$60 Android Cortex-A8 Set-top-box

Posted by – March 1, 2011

Shenzhen Ider Technology is showing two designs for Hummingbird ARM Cortex-A8 powered Android Set-top-boxes. One even has a built-in 2.5″ hard drive compartment. This type of box could potentially soon run Google TV experience OS!

Nintendo 3DS is awesome!

Posted by – March 1, 2011

My first time playing with the Nintendo 3DS! This is going to popularize non glasses 3D screen for the first time! The 3D experience is actually awesome, it’s impressive, it works! I just wish Nintendo would install Android Honeycomb on this device and do something like the Playstation Suite, provide all their games legally to the Android platform. They should also make a 3G/LTE-enabled modem add-on for the 3DS to allow for online gaming outside of WiFi hotspots, and they should do a games subscription model, $10/month to access all the games as downloads, including new level upgrades and online gaming for all games.

3Gnet $70 Android Set-top-box

Posted by – March 1, 2011

This one could run the Google TV for ARM OS, it’s a Skyviia ARM9 based Android Set-top-box, with 3 USB host, up to 1080p video playback support, the UI is being worked on. They also have a Ziilab ARM Cortex-A8 version to be available for about $20 more.

Bresser MID-7, 7″ 3G Android Tablet

Posted by – March 1, 2011

This one is a Rockchip RK2818 based, resistive Android tablet, sold about 299€ with 3G built-in.

Netronix 9.7″ Freescale i.MX51 Android Tablet

Posted by – March 1, 2011

Netronix is one of the major e-ink based e-reader makers from Taiwan, they are now also making Android LCD tablets. This one is basically as good as an iPad, with exactly the same LG 9.7″ capacitive LCD as on the iPad1, but it can be sold at half the price, around $250.

Yifang M707, Android Tablet with infrared pen input

Posted by – February 28, 2011

Yifang is a Chinese manufacturer of Android tablets, after having acquired Israelli pen input company pegasus, they now have integrated that technology into the side of one of their Android tablets, when combined with a nice leather case, it makes a very interesting Android powered tool if you can think of being productive scanning your handwritten notes onto Android and use that in real-time somehow. For example, the notes could be broadcast onto a digital whiteboard in real time, notes could be shared online. The price of the whole bundle could be below $199 at retail, as said in the video, the infrared pen input components adds about $40 to the price. This device has the Rockchip RK2818 Android 2.1 for now and will be upgraded to Rockchip Rk2918 Gingerbread/Honeycomb when that one is available within a couple of months.

Worlds First Honeycomb Laptop at CeBIT 2011!!!

Posted by – February 28, 2011

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is worlds first Honeycomb laptop, it looks fantastic. Honeycomb is awesome on laptops! This proves it! The Honeycomb web browser is fast! While the Asus Transformer combo might feel a bit heavy, that’s also because the keyboard dock includes a full battery, doubling the battery runtime of this Honeycomb laptop to 16 hours of use!

Asus Eee Pad Memo Tablet and MeMic Bluetooth Phone Remote

Posted by – February 28, 2011

Qualcomm Dual-core MSM8260 1.2Ghz based, with a 7″ 1024×600 capacitive touch screen, built-in capacitive stylus, they also plan to offer a Bluetooth Phone Remote device with a fancy transparent screen, check it out.

LG C550 Optimus Chat

Posted by – February 28, 2011

LG’s most affordable Android phone with slide-out keyboard at $199/199€ unlocked (out of contract), it has a 2.8″ capacitive touch screen and is also Qualcomm ARM11 MSM7227 600Mhz based.

LG P350 Optimus Me, 2.8″ Android Phone

Posted by – February 28, 2011

To be released now for around $179/179€ unlocked (out of contract), has a 2.8″ capacitive touch screen, camera, using the Qualcomm ARM11 MSM7227 600Mhz processor. It’s one of these affordable new Android phones from LG.

Look forward to my CeBIT 2011 video coverage this week

Posted by – February 27, 2011
Category: CeBIT, Archos

A crowded exhibition hall during CeBIT 2000.

Image via Wikipedia

Starting tomorrow, I will be posting here upwards 50 videos of the best ARM powered devices to be shown at this CeBIT Hannover Germany, one of the worlds biggest consumer electronics trade shows. This is my 8th consecutive CeBIT doing video-blogging. Yup, I started video-blogging from consumer electronics trade shows at CeBIT 2004 (you can see my CeBIT video archive for 2004-2009 at techvideoblog.com). If you have any tips you can write them here in the comments, click on Submit News at any time, or send them to my email charbax@gmail.com

Here are some of the topics that I expect to find at this show:

1. Chrome OS devices, does Google find it appropriate to let the laptop and desktop makers start to display ARM Powered Chrome OS laptops and similar devices? Recently it has been leaked that the ARM cortex-A8 i.MX51/53 Powered Acer DXH241 monitor will come with built-in Chrome OS, letting all monitor makers add Chrome OS for below $50 in ARM Powered component costs. Though it is also likely that Google may want to delay Chrome OS devices release a few more months and do some kind of big Chrome OS device unveiling at some other event.

2. Is it time for the International ARM Powered Google TV unveiling yet? Samsung usually has gigantic booths at CeBIT, will they show their Exynos ARM Cortex-A9 Powered Google TV there already? Because of the international media rights issues, and Google’s issues with getting TV rights within the US market even, it may be Google waits for Google I/O in May or so to unveil more on that.

3. Anyone to launch Honeycomb, Chrome OS and Ubuntu compliant ARM Powered laptops, as nice or nicer even as the Toshiba AC100 (which recently got the Froyo upgrade)? Tegra2 is getting very popular, and other Cortex-A9 platforms are ramping up traction, as all major laptop makers have big booths at CeBIT, I will be looking for them showing off ARM Powered laptops.

4. More and better Android tablets. I will be bringing you videos on all the best new Android tablets, including filming the news from the Archos booth where I think that they will show more than the Arnova 10 and Arnova 8 that I just recently filmed.

5. I’m hopeful Panasonic will unveil a new compact HD camcorder to be the equivalent to a Sanyo HD3000 with better optics, better compression, WiFi/Bluetooth features and more, because I’d like to upgrade my camcorder to something like that. Panasonic recently unveiled camcorder designs similar to the Sanyo Xacti.

And much much more. Subscribe to my RSS feed, add my RSS feed to your Google Reader, subscribe to my YouTube channel, follow my Twitter.

MWC 2011 Highlights: My best MWC11 videos and the most important topics!

Posted by – February 22, 2011

I filmed and posted 75 videos from this years Mobile World Congress, I hope you enjoy watching some of those! Here are the highlights, the best topics of this show, making this possibly the most awesome trade show ever for ARM devices!

1. The Cheap Android Smartphone revolution
Yuhua Teltech sub-$200 4.3″ Touchstone
ZTE Sub-$200 4.3″ Skate, ZTE showed all the way down to $99 for 3.5″ ZTE Blade
– Huawei showed Sub-$150 Android
– Samsung showed sub-$200 phones such as the Sub-$200 3.5″ HVGA Galaxy Ace, Sub-$175 3.31″ QVGA Galaxy Fit and Sub-$150 3.14″ QVGA Galaxy Mini.
– MediaTek powers Sub-$80 Android Smartphones, that price is boxed in store! (excluding reseller margins): For example the Sub-$80 3.2″ QVGA 2G AnyData ASP320-Q
– ST-Ericsson showed their ARM Cortex-A9 Single Core U4500 platform to power Sub-$100 Smartphones within a year from now! The goal is Nexus One performance, longer battery runtime for Sub-$100 within a year from now!
– ST-Ericsson showed their current Sub-$100 U6715 ARM9 468Mhz range of phones, such as K-Touch W606, Acer beTouch E130, Coolpad W711 and the GHT Maestro, these are selling downwards $100 unsubsidized right now on the worldwide market.
– Alcatel One Touch

These are some of the cheap unsubsidized prices (boxed in store, no contracts needed, excluding reseller margins) for the cheapest Android Smartphone ARM SoC platforms that were shown last week at this Mobile World Congress:
Taiwan based:
MediaTek at less than $100
– Infomax Communication at $80-90
China based:
– Leadcore Technology at $80-105
– Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics at $90-105 (I filmed Rockchip at CES)
US based:
– Qualcomm MSM7227 ARM11 ships in the largest amount of cheap 3G Android phones that are about to sell for as low as $100-120
– Broadcom is planning such solutions also to be priced at $100-120

The Cheap Android Smartphone revolution is a HUGE deal, it means a Billion more people might afford to get Internet access and mobile personal Internet features in the next couple of years or so. And this means a potential HUGE disruption of the carrier/manufacturer Smartphone industry, as more and more European and US consumers are going to choose Sub-$100 Android phones without the need for 2-year contracts anymore, those phones can be used on pre-paid and even using unlimited free VOIP over 3G or LTE data-only services pretty soon.

2. Honeycomb, the first real Tablet OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
– Motorola Xoom (Xoom at CES)
LG Optimus Pad
Malata’s upgraded Tegra2 tablets (designs used by ViewSonic, Interpad, Hannspree etc..)
– My Interview with Honeycomb Chief Designer Matias Duarte: He confirms Honeycomb has no minimum hardware requirements, this means, ALL ANDROID TABLETS, even ARM Cortex-A8, even all existing Archos, Samsung, Dell tablets, even 256MB RAM, even the cheaper Rockchip 2808 and 2818, even Telechips, all may be getting Honeycomb firmware upgrades. It’s certainly an important detail to find out how much Google engineers are planning to be involved reaching out to each of these lower cost ARM SoC platform providers in porting the Honeycomb to all these cheaper and already released Android tablets platforms once the Tegra2 devices are out, the source code and the UPGRADED CDD (Android 3.0 Compatibility Definition Document) is instantly released. Honeycomb Holographic UI elements might be disabled on cheaper hardware that have less processor, memory and graphics acceleration. This should happen and get fully explained by Google Engineers within a few days! Honeycomb is not only for $800 tablets.

Froyo for current Android tablets is just as good as iOS on iPad. Since Donut SDK are Android apps supporting medium density screens (= tablets). Honeycomb is simply the first time a high-end ARM Powered tablet OS has really been designed and optimized for tablet use. Playbook and WebOS may look nice and similar, but they have no ecosystem (nobody can compete with open and free), I expect HP and RIM will be forced to simply use and build on Android within months.

3. New ARM Cortex-A9 processors shown for the first time
– Texas Instruments OMAP4430 in LG Optimus 3D, 3D Parallax Barrier is actually awesome for video games! Look for Nintendo 3DS turning this into a big deal in the coming weeks and months
– OMAP4430 in the Blackberry Playbook, watch my video interview with RIM about Android Dalvik Engine support on the Blackberry Playbook
– Samsung Exynos with Mali-400 in Samsung Galaxy S2, it may get all the Atrix 4G features through the Mobile High-Definition Link connector, watch my interview on that
– Qualcomm MSM8660 in HP Touch Pad, watch my video showing 1080p 3D capture and playback on MSM8660
ST-Ericsson launches A9500 ARM Cortex-A9 Dual-core with Mali-400 development board for $200
ST-Ericsson launches U4500 ARM Cortex-A9 Single-core with Mali-400 for Sub-$100 Android Super Phones

4. First talk on Quad-core, Cortex-A15, next gen processors, arriving fast!
Texas Instruments OMAP Product Manager Brian Carlson talks OMAP5
– Qualcomm announced Quad-core 2.5Ghz,
Freescale talks i.MX6 Dual-core and Quad-core
Nvidia talks Quad-core, in products in August
ST-Ericsson talks ARM Cortex-A15 and NovaThor
– Broadcom announced ARM Cortex-A15 project

5. HSPA+ and LTE platforms launched
– ST-Ericsson launched Thor HSPA+ and Thor LTE platforms
Verizon showcased LTE, many of the new phones about to support this.
Novatel Wireless launched LTE Mifi

Google Android pins collectors, slides and a flash mob at Mobile World Congress 2011

Posted by – February 22, 2011

Google’s booth at Mobile World Congress was the most action packed, they generated a craze in people collecting Android pins that were spread all over the trade show, many people tried to get as many of the Android pins as possible, on the last day of the show, many people were going crazy exchanging them.

Android Native Code SDK for advanced Game Development

Posted by – February 22, 2011

HyperDevBox is a development company based in Tokyo Japan, developing games exclusively for Android. They are presenting Spectral Souls for Android, the first tactical RPG game for Android and explaining how the Android Native SDK is being used to run native C or C++ code, there is no Java code at all in the game.

Mobile Multi Display system by UMIC-RWTH of Aachen University

Posted by – February 22, 2011

Combine many tablets and smartphones into one big touchscreen. In this demo, 3 iPhones and 2 iPads are combined into one big touch screen. Any other Android smartphone or tablet can also be used. You can find more informations here: graphics.rwth-aachen.de

Metrogroup shows app for retail orders, NFC for supermarkets

Posted by – February 22, 2011

Basically, if you have a store, restaurant, hotel, you can use this smartphone app to order more stuff automatically.

Device Anywhere, testing applications

Posted by – February 22, 2011

Device Anywhere provides test center service for app developers, carriers, service providers to test apps and services accross all the devices using some kind of standard for testing. Basically they make it automatic to test stuff across all devices that people use on the market, to test and see what features may work more or less well.

Verizon launches LTE network

Posted by – February 22, 2011

Verizon is ramping up launch of LTE in the USA, they have LTE dongles for laptops out right now, in this video they show prototypes of devices with LTE that are coming out. They are suggesting 1080p video can be streamed using this network technology.

Novatel Wireless 4510 LTE Mifi

Posted by – February 22, 2011

Notavel Wireless is one of the leading makers of Mifi devices for 3G and they are now making LTE based Mifis to be supporting upwards 2-5mbitps upload and 5-12mbitps download speeds or more. The new Mifi has an eink display to show status and comes with more of the built-in applications on the Mifi OS that Novatel Wireless provides an SDK for.