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Motorola and Intel to hold September 18th event

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Aug 292012

Motorola today announced a joint event with Intel to take place on September 18^th. As is often the case, the invitation and its tag line “Let us take you to the edge” shed little light on what could be announced.

Back at CES, the two companies announced a new partnership focused on Intel-powered smartphones and tablets. At the time, Motorola indicated that it would launch its first Intel Medfield-powered Android phone in the second half of the year. Are they about to make good on that promise?

Motorola-Intel September 18th event

The “#motoedge” hashtag suggests that the device could be called the Motorola EDGE.

A rendering leaked back in February may be a clue as to what we can expect at the event.

First Intel-powered smartphone to launch “later this week”

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Apr 182012

Intel Intel yesterday announced its first-quarter earnings with revenues coming in at US$12.9 billion, operating income at US$3.8 billion, and net income at US$2.7 billion. On the investor call that followed, CEO Paul Otellini announced that the first Intel-based smartphone will launch “later this week.”

As for who could introduce this first, there are a couple of likely suspects. It could be India-based Lava with its XOLO X900 with 1.6GHz Atom Z2460 processor and a 4.0-inch display. Another possibility is Lenovo with its K800, sporting a 1.6GHz Atom Z2460 processor, Android 4.0 and a 4.5-inch display. ZDNet has its money on the former with Lenovo to follow next month.

Whether we see these in North America any time soon also remains to be seen.

Other Intel partners include Motorola, Orange, and ZTE but they’re not expected to release their devices until later this year. Intel is also having a “continuing dialogue” with both Apple and Samsung (and likely others) but these have yet to yield any announcements.

Would this Japanese Intel ad convince you to buy an ultrabook?

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Apr 092012

An increasing number of ultrabooks are hitting the market but they’re not exactly setting sales records just yet. See if you can resist buying an ultrabook after seeing this Intel ad:

If you want to sing along, here is the translation:

Ultra Ultra Ultra Ultrabook
The new era is coming…
For capable people
Ultrabook
For progressive people — Ultrabook
Ultra Ultra Ultra Ultrabook, INTEL

Brilliant or sheer lunacy?

Read more: Intel Japan (Source: Gizmodo)

Motorola to unveil Intel Medfield-powered Android 4.0 smartphone at MWC?

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Feb 252012

A leaked image obtained by PocketNow suggests that Motorola and Intel could unveil an Intel Medfield smartphone at Mobile World Congress. The device could also be Motorola’s first smartphone to be powered by Android 4.0.

Rumoured Motorola Intel Medfield Android 4.0 smartphone

The report adds that the device will run a new version of Motorola’s Motoblur user interface and will sport an instant-on camera capable of 15 frame-per-second burst capture. Unfortunately, there are no other details about the device yet.

Motorola has not planned any events at MWC so the unveiling honours may fall to Intel instead. It is scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday, February 27^th so all should be revealed then.

Samsung bada merge with Tizen still undecided

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Jan 172012

Samsung bada Samsung today clarified a report that it was merging its bada operating system with the Intel-backed Tizen initiative. A final decision has not been reached according to a company statement sent to AllThingsD:

“Samsung and other members of Tizen Association have not made a firm decision regarding the merge of bada and Tizen. We are carefully looking at it as an option to make the platforms serve better for customers. As Samsung’s essential part of multi-platform portfolio, bada will continue to play an important role in democratizing smartphone experience in all markets. Samsung will also support open source based development and continue to work together with other industry stakeholders.”

Samsung has had some success with bada (about a 2% global smartphone market share in 2011) so it may still be trying to decide whether going it alone would be more beneficial.

The first version of Tizen, itself a merger between Intel’s Moblin and Nokia’s Maemo platforms, is expected in Q1 2012 with the first devices to use it expected to follow in mid-2012.

Read more: AllThingsD (Source: The Verge)

Future Wintel tablets to sell between US$599 and US$899?

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Jan 162012

The price of upcoming tablets powered by Intel processors and Microsoft’s Windows operating system appears set to remain substantially higher than that of other tablets. Citing “sources from notebook vendors,” Digitimes reports that neither Intel or Microsoft are so far willing to reduce their prices on processors and Windows licenses. The outcome could be that Wintel tablets could sell for between US$599 and US$899.

As already seen with a number of tablets such as the HP TouchPad and RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook, customers are unwilling to buy what they perceive as overpriced tablets. With competition only heating up, WinTel tablets are likely to end up facing the same challenge. And the competition knows it. For example, at CES, ASUS teased the MeMO ME370T, an upcoming quad-core ARM processor, Android 4.0, 7-inch tablet that will sell for US$249. Apple, the dominant tablet manufacturer, is also rumoured to continue selling the iPad 2 at a reduced price once the iPad 3 is launched.

Given that both Windows and Intel processors are also used in PCs, a move to drop prices in a bid to help them sell better would force the companies to match those prices for that significantly larger space, threatening their overall revenues and gross profit margins.

Both companies have some tough choices ahead of them…

Samsung bada merging with Intel-backed Tizen project

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Jan 152012

Samsung bada Samsung’s internally developped bada mobile operating system is is being merged with the recently announced Intel-backed Tizen operating system. Tae-Jin Kang, Senior Vice President of Samsung’s Contents Planning Team, indicated during CES that “We have an effort that will merge bada and Tizen.” Once completed, Tizen promises to be fully backwards compatible with bada. Both bada and Tizen developers will also be given the same development tools, including SDKs and APIs.

Intel announced Tizen this past September. Samsung had been announced as a lead development partner. The project incorporates technologies from the MeeGo platform and is also supported by the Linux Foundation and LiMo Foundation.

Kang adds that bada could still be deployed in a number of lower-powered phones but he also expects “at least one to two” Tizen-powered Samsung devices to be launched this year. While “Tizen will not become Samsung’s main operating platform anytime soon,” it could eventually power a lot more devices.

While bada has had limited exposure in North America (both Bell and Rogers offered the Wave back in 2010), it still managed to make up about 2% of the global smartphone market in 2011. This put it above Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

CES 2012: Intel and Motorola sign mobile partnership

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Jan 112012

Motorola Mobility Intel and Motorola yesterday announced a new partnership that will see Motorola develop Android devices powered by Intel Atom processors. The “multi-year, multi-device strategic relationship” will cover both smartphones and tablets.

“When great silicon and software technology meets great mobile and design innovation, amazing things can happen,” said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. “Our long-term relationship with Motorola Mobility will help accelerate Intel® architecture into new mobile market segments. We expect the combination of our companies to break new ground and bring the very best of computing capabilities to smartphones and tablets, which in turn will help to create powerful new experiences that connect and enrich people’s lives wherever they may be.”

Motorola expects to ship its first Intel-powered Android phone in the second half of the year. It will use Intel’s new Medfield, Atom Z2460 processor.

We are likely to learn much more about this upcoming device (and hopefully others) at next month’s Mobile World Congress.

LG to launch Intel-powered smartphone at CES 2012?

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Dec 302011

LG Electronics According to a report by the Korea Times, LG could unveil an Intel-powered smartphone at CES 2012. The device would run on Intel’s Medfield system-on-a-chip (SOC).

“LG Electronics will produce Intel’s first Android smartphones that use Intel’s own mobile platform. The device will be shown at the CES,” said a top-ranking executive.

Dominant in the PC market, Intel has struggled to establish itself in the mobile space. This may not change according to another LG executive who asked not to be identified. This person suggested that LG would not release such a device and is simply promoting this reference device because of ” huge subsidies from Intel.”

LG and Intel partnered up to deliver a smartphone running Intel’s Moorestown chipset a year ago but the device never made it to market. Originally scheduled to be released in mid-2011, it was eventually cancelled due to “a lack of marketability.”

Source: TechCrunch

MeeGo makes way for new Linux-based Tizen operating system

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Sep 282011

Intel today announced that it will join forces with the Linux Foundation and LiMo Foundation to support a new Linux-based open source software platform for multiple device categories called Tizen.

The standards-based Tizen project will be hosted at the Linux Foundation and offer an operating system and a robust, flexible standards-based HTML5 and WAC web development environment within which device-independent apps can be produced. Tizen builds upon the strengths of both LiMo and MeeGo and Intel will be working with our MeeGo partners to help them transition to Tizen.

Tizen will support a number of device categories including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks, and in-vehicle infotainment devices. A technical steering team composed of Intel and Samsung will lead the development.

The first version of Tizen should be available in Q1 2012 with the first devices to use it expected to follow in mid-2012. Given Samsung’s involvement, will we see Samsung devices powered by Tizen?

What do you think Tizen’s chances are?

Samsung to take control of MeeGo mobile OS?

Posted by Jerome Skalnik 1 Response »

Sep 052011

MeeGo When Nokia turned its back on MeeGo after the release of the Nokia N9, Intel stepped up promising to continue development of the mobile operating system for other potential hardware manufacturers. But there has been little interest, prompting rumours that Intel would halt development to focus instead on Android and Windows Phone 7. Without commenting on the rumours themselves, Intel said that it remained committed to MeeGo and would continue to “work with the community to develop and help meet the needs of customers and end users with open source.”

A new rumour now suggests that Samsung might take control of MeeGo. Citing three sources, the German-language Netbook News reports that Samsung will take over the future development from Intel but provided few additional details.

Samsung already supports three mobile operating systems: Android, Windows Phone, and its own internally developed Bada. As with its rumoured (and quickly dispelled) interest in HP’s webOS, it’s not clear what it would gain from taking control of MeeGo, a platform that has little market share. One possibility is that there are elements of MeeGo that it wants for its own Bada operating system.

Polar Mobile to develop 80 applications for MeeGo tablets

Posted by Jerome Skalnik Comments Off

Jun 222011

Polar Mobile

Polar Mobile yesterday announced that a deal with Intel that will see it launch over 80 applications for MeeGo-based tablets in 2011. Intel, which developed MeeGo with Nokia before the latter decided to instead focus on Windows Phone, wants to ensure that there is a good selection of apps available to support MeeGo tablets about to hit the market later this year.

“Intel is excited about the fantastic line up of great content that working with Polar Mobile’s platform brings to Intel AppUp center. Their track-record in launching high-quality apps for top-tier media companies globally and ability to scale quickly is phenomenal,” said Scott Apeland, Director, Consumer Services Division, Intel. “We look forward to working with Polar Mobile to provide our consumers with these compelling apps.”

Polar Mobile has struck similar deals with Microsoft and RIM in the past. It agreed to build some 500 Windows Phone 7 apps and about 150 for RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

There has been little news to date on MeeGo tablets. Nokia yesterday launched the Nokia N9, its first MeeGo smartphone, but is not believed to have plans for a MeeGo tablet. Some rumours have suggested that LG and ZTE might develop such tablets but there have been no official announcements yet.