EOMA-68 PC-on-a-card goes dual-core, supports Debian Linux, has new accessories in the works

Rhombus Tech's EOMA-68 project involves cramming all the key components of a PC onto a small board out the size of an old-school PCMCIA card. Then you can slot that card into a desktop, laptop, or tablet dock to function as the brains of a computer, and when you want to replace or upgrade you can just swap out the card for a new one.

One of the first devices expected to use an EOMA-68 card is the upcoming Vivaldi "Flying Squirrel" tablet which will run a Linux-based operating system with the KDE desktop environment.

Up until now the team's been working with EOMA-68 cards featuring relatively slow Allwinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 chips. But now there's a new version which has a faster Allwinner A20 processor.

The A20 chip is a dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor with dual-core ARM Mali 400 graphics. It's still not exactly a speed demon, but it's a big step up from the A10.

Allwinner's new chip is also pin-to-pin compatible with the A10 though, which means that the new dual-core EOMA-68 cards are virtually identical to the single-core versions. They just have faster chips.

There are also plans for a model based on the Allwinner A31 quad-core chip, but that version requires a new design since it's not pin-to-pin compatible with the other models.

One of the developers behind the project has posted a video showing a bit of what the new dual-core card can do. It's running Debian "Wheezy" Linux and the Midori web browser, and the system seems reasonably responsive — especially when you consider it's a full-blown desktop GNU/Linux operating system running on an inexpensive, low-power ARM-based processor.

In related news, Rhombus Tech is working on designs for a new "Micro Engineering Board," which is basically a dock that lets you use an EOMA-68 card as a full-fledged desktop computer.

The dock has SATA, Ethernet, and USB connectors, a 5V power supply, and GPIO pins. Plug in an EOMA-68 card, power cable, mouse, keyboard, hard drive, or other peripherals, and you've basically got a desktop computer.

On the card itself you'll find a micro HDMI port, microSD card slot, and microUSB cable for hooking up a monitor, storage, and more.

At a time when it's becoming normal to buy a whole new computer or tablet every few years rather than upgrading existing hardware, it's interesting to see someone taking a modular approach.

While the desktop dock is pretty nifty, the idea behind EOMA-68 is that you'll be able to upgrade tablets, notebooks, and other devices just as easily as a desktop PC by simply upgrading the card. Of course, that's assuming your keyboard, display, and other components are worth saving.

A notebook or tablet can accumulate a lot of wear and tear over the course of a few years, and now that we've finally moved past the point where every single device ships with a 1366 x 768 pixel display, a tablet you buy today might not have a screen you want to use a year or two from now — so you may want to upgrade more than just the CPU and memory.

But while the EOMA-68 project isn't necessarily going to appeal to everyone, it's at least as interesting from a technical standpoint as the work being done by the folks behind the Raspberry Pi project. It just gets a lot less attention.

EOMA-68 PC-on-a-card goes dual-core, supports Debian Linux, has new accessories in the works is a post from: Liliputing

Sceptre makes TVs smarter, louder with Android-powered SoundBar SB301524W

There are plenty of cheap Android boxes that let you run apps, surf the web, and stream internet video on a TV. But most tend to use HDMI output for the audio, which means they pretty much use your TV's speakers for sound.

Spectre has another solution: They've basically built an Android 4.0 mini PC into their latest SoundBar. With the SoundBar SB301524W, you can improve the sound on your 40 inch or smaller TV while also running Android apps on the screen.

The Spectre SoundBar SB301524W sells for about $300, and features stereo 18W speakers and a 35W subwoofer.

Audio inputs include RCA and 3.5mm jacks, and the device a number of EQ presets including music, movie, and game modes.

There's also an HDMI port which lets you send video to your TV. The device supports resolutions ranging from 480i to 1080p.

The SoundBar SB301524W has a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 single-core processor, ARM Mali-400 graphics, 1GB of RAM, and 4GB of built-in storage, as well as an SD card slot, 2 USB 2.0 ports (with support for up to 2TB of external storage) and support for DLNA.

As Android TV devices go, Spectre's new SoundBar doesn't seem to be the most powerful. But it's probably one of the best sounding.

via Engadget

Sceptre makes TVs smarter, louder with Android-powered SoundBar SB301524W is a post from: Liliputing

BlackBerry PlayBook is never getting BlackBerry 10 software update

That's all folks. BlackBerry has confirmed that it won't be releasing a BlackBerry 10 software update for its 7 inch tablet.

Despite the fact that the BlackBerry PlayBook already runs software that looks a lot like BB10, CEO Thorstein Heins says the company has't been satisfied with the way the new operating system performs on the tablet.

It's possible that we could eventually see new tablets from BlackBerry that will run the latest software. But at this point, the PlayBook is stuck in the past.

When the BlackBerry PlayBook launched in 2011, the company tried to charge an iPad-like $499 for the device. These days you can pick one up for around $100.

That's not to say the tablet is useless. There are tens of thousands of apps available for the PlayBook, including many Android apps that have been repackaged and submitted to the BlackBerry World store.

And the built-in apps aren't half bad. The PlayBook comes with a pretty decent mobile web browser and video player, and the multitasking system is pretty slick, letting you view live previews of any app while it's running — you can even watch a video in a tiny thumbnail from the multitasking screen.

But if the falling prices of PlayBooks and the company's decision not to release a new model are anything to go by, the company's first tablet wasn't exactly a success story for BlackBerry. So it's not shocking to see that the company hasn't bothered to optimize the new BB10 software to run on it.

That means that apps which developers write for new phones like the BlackBerry Z10 or Q10 won't necessarily work on the PlayBook.

It's still sad news for existing PlayBook owners who had been hoping for an update. Maybe BlackBerry should soften its stance on jailbreaking and make it easier for users to install unmodified Android apps again. It's been a while since we could do that with a PlayBook tablet, but somehow I doubt we'll see official support for that kind of activity anytime soon.

via TechCrunch

BlackBerry PlayBook is never getting BlackBerry 10 software update is a post from: Liliputing

CyanogenMod 10.1 for the HTC One XL returns, breathes new life into last year's phone

Before the HTC One, there was the HTC One X (and XL, and S, and V… I think someone forgot to tell the company what "one" means). Launched a few months before the Google Nexus 4, last year's crop of HTC smartphones featured good displays, speedy processors, and nice design, if you don't mind a polycarbonate case.

I picked up an HTC One XL featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, a 4.7 inch, 720p display, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage last year, and a year later it's still a pretty great phone.

But I'm not a fan of the HTC Sense software that comes with the phone (with the possible exception of HTC's camera app), so one of the first things I did was start installing custom ROMs such as CyanogenMod.

Unfortunately, official releases of CyanogenMod for the HTC One XL and a number of other devices stopped a few months ago in response to an intellectual property dispute — and that left me with a working, but occasionally sluggish build of Android for my phone.

This week nightly builds of CyanogenMod for the HTC One XL returned, and they're better than ever. It can be a bit of a pain to upgrade from earlier firmware, but if you take the trouble you'll have a device which feels almost as zippy as a Google Nexus 4.

 

While you couldn't download official builds of CyanogenMod 10.1 for a few months, lead developer h8rift and others were working behind the scenes on something that would not only circumvent the intellectual property issues, but would also dramatically improve performance.

Now you can grab new nightly builds of CyanogenMod 10.1 for the HTC One XL "Evita" from the CyanogenMod download page, and they're based on a newer 3.4 kernel. This is similar to the kernel used for the new HTC One and some other devices, and that means that most new features developed for this year's flagship phone for HTC should also be available for last year's model.

I went through the process last night, and my HTC One XL has never felt faster. There's not necessarily a difference in terms of raw processing power — but the user interface is smoother, it takes less time to load apps or switch between running apps, and the phone even seems to boot or reboot more quickly.

At the moment it takes a little longer than it used to for the screen to turn on once you hit the power button, but that's a small price to pay.

Unfortunately installing the new builds of CM10.1 can be a bit of a pain. Make sure to read through the development thread at xda-developers before getting started, but here's the basic outline of what you need to do:

• S-Off your phone
• Re-lock your bootloader if it's unlocked (this might not be strictly necessary if you have S-Off, but it's what I did).
• Update to the 3.18 RUU (this will replace your operating system, bootloader, and recovery)
• Flash TWRP or CWM recovery
• Download and flash the latest nightly build
• Download and flash the latest gApps

If you've already rooted and installed a custom recovery on your device, it's also a very, very good idea to backup your device using CWM or TWRP before you get started. I'd also recommend backing up your apps and data using Titanium Backup. You can then restore all your apps after updating, otherwise you'll need to reinstall apps one at a time and you may lose some data associated with those apps.

While I was able to perform most of the above tasks with the help of an HTC One X All-in-One Toolkit, some commands didn't seem to work automatically so I had to enter them manually in a command prompt. So if you're not comfortable working with adb and fastboot commands, you may run into trouble upgrading.

The good news is that it's relatively difficult to brick a device, and even if you end up with a boot loop (your device gets stuck at the boot screen), you should be able to get into fastboot by pressing and holding the volume down and power buttons to turn on the device, and from there you can boot into recovery and restore from any backups you've made.

CyanogenMod 10.1 for the HTC One XL returns, breathes new life into last year's phone is a post from: Liliputing

Foxconn smartwatch prototype syncs with an iPhone, shows Facebook, phone updates

As smartphones get bigger (and presumably more inconvenient to pull out of your pocket when you just want to check the time or weather), a growing number of companies seem to be betting that smartwatches are the future of mobile devices. While you can still use your phone for in-depth web surfing, messaging, or more, the idea is that you can pair a watch with your phone wirelessly and view some info just by looking at your wrist.

The latest entry into the smartwatch space comes from Taiwan's Foxconn — a company best known for manufacturing Apple products such as the iPhone. But the company's new smartwatch prototype isn't an Apple product… it's just meant to work with one.

Pair the watch with an iPhone and it'll show updates including call information and Facebook posts, among other things. It also taps into the latest trends in portable fitness devices by measuring a user's heartbeat and other vital stats.

Apple's expected to introduce its own smartwatch at some point as well (and people have been turning iPod mini devices into smartish watches for a while anyway).

This wouldn't be the first time Apple entered a market where it wasn't the first player though. The company was hardly the first to produce a portable MP3 player, a smartphone, or a tablet. But Apple pretty much dominates those spaces these days. So I doubt Apple executives are afraid of competition from Foxconn, Pebble, or others.

What remains to be seen is whether smartwatches will one day be as popular as smartphones… or devices for "hobbyists," like Apple TV boxes.

via Engadget

Foxconn smartwatch prototype syncs with an iPhone, shows Facebook, phone updates is a post from: Liliputing

MintBox 2 coming soon: Tiny Linux Mint desktop PC with Core i5 for $599

CompuLab and Linux Mint are getting ready to launch a new line of tiny desktop computers designed to run the Linux Mint operating system. Last year they teamed up to launch a line of MintBox devices with AMD processors, but the new models will have faster chips, more storage, and a much longer warranty.

The MintBox 2 should be available soon for $599.

According to the Linux Mint blog, the new model will be powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, offering about 4 times the performance of last year's best model.

The MintBox 2 will feature 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and dual Gigabit Ethernet ports.

And while last year's models came with a 1 year warranty, the MintBox 2 has a 5 year warranty.

There are still a few things we don't know — like whether the Core i5 chip is a Haswell processor or an earlier chip. But since CompuLab specializes in small desktop computers that use passive cooling, Haswell seems like a pretty safe bet.

You could probably build your own Linux Mint computer for less than $599, but it probably wouldn't be as small or quiet, and it wouldn't come with a 5 year warranty.

via FanlessTech

MintBox 2 coming soon: Tiny Linux Mint desktop PC with Core i5 for $599 is a post from: Liliputing

Reports: SmartQ U7 tablet with built-in projector is a surprisingly decent video player

Smart Devices introduced a 7 inch Android tablet with a built-in projector last year, and now that the SmartQ U7 is available in the US, a handful of reviews are starting to pop up. While the basic tablet specs are nothing to write home about, GigaOm's Kevin Tofel and TIME's Jared Newman both seem moderately impressed with the projector, which lets you mirror your tablet screen on a wall or ceiling — assuming you're in a relatively dimly lit room.

The SmartQ U7 has a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, a TI OMAP 4 dual-core processor, and up to 8GB of storage. It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, supports WiFi and Bluetooth, has a capacitive toucshcreen display, front and rear cameras, and a HDMI output.

But it's the projector that really makes the tablet stand out. It features a tiny Texas Instruments DLP chip, and Smart Devices managed to add the projector without making the tablet all that thick or heavy. The tablet measures 7.9″ x 4.6″ x 0.56″ at its thickest point, and weighs less than 13 ounces.

The 35 lumen projector isn't super bright. But in a room with the shades drawn you should be able to watch a video, read a website, or view a game shining on a wall. The dimmer your room, the brighter the image will look — especially if the tablet is far away from the wall.

Held about 6 feet from the wall, the SmartQ U7 projects an image that's about 50 inches across, but you probably won't see it very well unless you're in a dark room. Move the tablet a bit closer to the wall and you can get a 40 inch screen.

Unfortunately, the projector only shines an 854 x 480 pixel image. So while you can sort of pretend you have a big screen TV, it's not exactly a high-definition viewing experience.

In other words, it's an interesting way to share the experience of gaming or watching videos without having people crowd around to stare at your 7 inch tablet screen. But honestly, everything will look much sharper on your screen than on the wall, which means if you don't plan to use the projector often you could probably find a similar tablet for half the price.

Smart Devices sells the SmartQ U7 in two configurations:

• SmartQ U7 with 8GB storage, 1 GHz TI OMAP 4430 CPU for $299
• SmartQ U7H with 16GB, 1.5 GHz TI OMAP 4460 for $349

You can also pick up the 8GB model from PandaWill for just $260.

Reports: SmartQ U7 tablet with built-in projector is a surprisingly decent video player is a post from: Liliputing

Lilbits (6-27-2013): Creeping toward Ubuntu 13.10

Ubuntu 13.10 isn't due out until October, but one of the nice things about open source operating systems is that most of the development takes place in public. (I know, Ubuntu's been getting some flak for working on skunkworks projects, but let's ignore that for a moment).

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you can take early builds of the next-generation of Ubuntu for a spin any time you like. Just don't expect them to be bug-free.

Technically the main branch of Ubuntu doesn't do alpha builds anymore, but the first alphas of version 13.10 for a whole bunch of Ubuntu variants launched today.

Here's a roundup of tech news from around the web.

• Ubuntu isn't doing alpha releases anymore, but Kubuntu, Lubuntu, and others released 13.10 Alpha 1 today
  You can't download an alpha build of Ubuntu 13.10 today, but you can get Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, or other spins in fresh new alpha builds. Or you could just grab the latest Ubuntu 13.10 daily release. Just don't call it an alpha. The final builds are due out in October. [Phoronix]
• Ubuntu 13.10 to ship with Mir display server as default
  Canonical has been working on a replacement for the aging X.org display server that ships with most GNU/Linux operating systems. Rather than using the Wayland solution that's picking up steam, Ubuntu 13.10 will use Canonical's own Mir system, although it'll fall back on X when proprietary graphics drivers are needed. [Web Upd8]
• Imagination announces MIPS CPU roadmap, with support for low-power chips with up to 6 CPU
  It's easy to forget that x86 and ARM aren't the only games in town when it comes to the chip space. Imagination (which bought MIPS recently) has been working hard to remind us, and the roadmap for its upcoming 32-bit and 64-bit "Warrior" chips shows where MIPS is headed. [Imagination]
• Skype is bundled with Windows 8.1
  Microsoft bought Skype a few years ago. If you've been wondering what the company's big plans for the communication software are, Windows 8.1 is the answer. Gone is the Windows 8 messenger app, and in its place is Skype. [The Verge]
• Selfoss is an open source, self-hosted RSS reader with desktop and mobile web views
  Another day, another solution to the life-without-Google Reader problem. This one looks pretty nifty, assuming you have a server to set it up on. [Selfoss]
• Feedly plans to add support for OPML export
  Speaking of Google Reader replacements, Feedly has just announced it will add OPML export capabilities, giving users a way to migrate off the service if the need arises. Once this and the upcoming search feature are complete, I'll be a pretty happy camper. [Feedly]
• Chinese Galaxy S4 clone even copies the hands-free features
  Chinese companies have been producing knockoffs of popular phones, tablets, and just about everything else for ages. But the NO.1 S6 doesn't just look like a Samsung Galaxy S4. It also copies one of the more unusual features, letting you interact with the phone by waving your hand over the screen without touching it. [GizmoChina]

You can keep up on the latest news by following Liliputing on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Lilbits (6-27-2013): Creeping toward Ubuntu 13.10 is a post from: Liliputing

TrickDroid ROM lets you turn a standard HTC One into a Google Edition device

Google now sells versions of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 which come with stock Android software (and no HTC Sense or Samsung TouchWiz features). But you don't need to buy a phone straight from Google to get that experience.

Independent developers have already started to take the software from those phones, tweak it a bit, and offer it up in custom ROM form. If you have an HTC One smartphone with an unlocked bootloader, you can already install a ROM based on the Google Edition software.

It's called TrickDroid 1.0.0 GE, and you can find details at the xda-developers forum and download links at the TrickDroid website.

Developer Torxx made a few minor changes to the code, but for the most part this ROM lets you install the same software you get from a Google Play Edition phone on a standard HTC One.

It strips all of the HTC Sense software, including the HTC camera app, BlinkFeed widget, and support for the IR port. But it gives you support for Google features such as the ability to shoot "PhotoSphere" pictures.

There are already plenty of custom ROMs based on Android Open Source code available for the HTC One, but this is one of the first that's based on software that Google and HTC optimized for the device.

It's likely we'll see many more custom ROMs based on the Google Edition versions of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 soon.

via Android Community

TrickDroid ROM lets you turn a standard HTC One into a Google Edition device is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day (6-27-2013)

One of my favorite tips for finding a cheap laptop is to wait until the manufacturer announces the next-generation model. Now that Lenovo's IdeaPad U330 ultrabook with a Haswell processor is on the way, prices for the IdeaPad U310 with an Ivy Bridge chip are dropping fast.

Right now you can pick up a new model of this thin and light laptop from Lenovo for as little as $529. A touchscreen version costs $90 more.

You might not get the same battery life or full HD screen you get with the newer model, but you get a pretty good portable notebook for a pretty good price.

Here are some of the day's best deals.

• Lenovo IdeaPad U310 13″ ultrabook for $529 and up – Lenovo
• Refurb Asus Q200E 11.6″ touchscreen notbeok for $300 – Rakuten
• Refurb Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T 11.6″ notebook for $269 - Daily Steals
• Refurb Toshiba Excite 10 tablet w/Tegra 3 for $200 – TigerDirect
• PC game bundle w/Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs, Just Cause 2 for $24 – GameFly(coupon: GFDJUN20 )
• PNY 128GB USB 2.0 flash drive for $45 after rebate – TigerDirect
• Free MP3s: RadioHead live from 1995 – NoiseTrade

You can find more bargains in our daily deals section.

Deals of the Day (6-27-2013) is a post from: Liliputing