Hasta La Gadget!

Tired of your BUGBase lagging out while you’re trying to set up that crazy homebrew alarm system? Hope is on the way in the form of BUG 2.0, Bug Labs’ next-gen development platform that moves up to a Cortex A8-based OMAP3 core from the original BUGBase’s ARM11. The processor bump isn’t the only change, though: they’re announcing full support for running BeagleBoard apps and — get this — Android. That means that you won’t necessarily need to be locked into Bug’s own development environment for doing your thing, and obviously, folks already familiar with Android development should have a much easier time making the transition. Even better, the base maintains backward compatibility with existing BUGmodules, so most of your current investment won’t be for naught — save the old base, of course. Price and availability are yet to be announced.

Continue reading Bug Labs intros BUG 2.0 platform with faster processor, Android support

Bug Labs intros BUG 2.0 platform with faster processor, Android support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a long, long while since we’ve seen any life from the OMAP4 labs at Texas Instruments, but with the sudden resurgence of the tablet, now seems just about right for the company to start showcasing the platform’s prowess once more. TI is expected to have a mind-bending showcase at Mobile World Congress later this month, but Slashgear was able to get a sneak peek at what’s to come at the outfit’s Dallas office. The device you’re peering at above definitely piqued our interest, as it’s some sort of twin-screened handheld that can actually support a third independent display courtesy of an integrated pico projector module. We’re told that OMAP4 will bring along dual 1GHz ARM A9 cores, patently ridiculous battery life figures (145 hours of MP3 playback with a 1,000mAh battery) and support for 1080p output via HDMI. Naturally, TI has no intention of ever bringing this piece of hardware to market, but it’d certainly love if some other firm stepped in and did so. Here’s hoping we’re overrun by potential suitors in Barcelona — given that the show kicks off on Valentine’s Day, we’d say the timing would be just about perfect.

TI’s OMAP4 prototype drives three independent displays without breaking a sweat originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you weren’t aware, Synaptics dabbled in the touchscreen handset game way back in 2006 with the Onyx concept, before phones like the LG Prada and Apple’s iPhone came along and proved the idea so convincingly. However, Synaptics thinks innovation has stagnated since, and has girded itself once again to attempt another trend-setting concept. This one’s a bit more wild: the “Fuse” involves contributions from Alloy, TAT, Immersion and Texas Instruments, and includes squeeze, tilt and haptic interaction. The big idea is to approach single-handed and no-look operation on a touchscreen handset, no small feat to be sure. The result is a pure kitchen sink of sensors, including a touchpad on the back of the phone, touch and pressure sensitive strips along both sides of the phones, dual haptic feedback motors, a 3-axis accelerometer and of course a new-generation Synaptics touchscreen in front. The TI OMAP 3630 processor powers the TAT Cascades 3D UI Engine which attempts to contextualize UI interaction with perspective tilts and fancy motion, and the haptics feeds back to let you know where your finger is on the screen — an attempt to emulate feeling out the correct nub for keypad orientation on a button phone. We’ll have to play with it to find out if Synaptics is really on to something, but even if the Fuse isn’t the next best thing, we could certainly see somebody using some of these sensors to improve existing handset interaction. Check out a quick video after the break.

Continue reading Synaptics Fuse concept handset puts a new squeeze on touchphone interaction

Synaptics Fuse concept handset puts a new squeeze on touchphone interaction originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there’s one thing wireless networking developers have been clamoring for, it’s the ability to take their reference platform mobile. Extremely mobile. TI’s apparently heard this cry, as it’s just introduced the eZ430-Chronos, a fully-capable wireless dev platform contained entirely within a sports watch. Yeah, it’s just about the geekiest thing we’ve ever seen, and at $49 it’s even kind of a steal — especially since it doubles as a heart monitor out of the box. Looks like we’ve got a new super-nerd stocking-stuffer of choice.

TI introduces the eZ430-Chronos development platform… and sports watch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember this chart? It’s interesting for a number of reasons, but I want to highlight that all present day Android phones use virtually the same Qualcomm application processor, all based on a sluggish 528MHz ARM11 core. Blech.

I’ve got nothing against Qualcomm, but a big reason most Android phones feel slow is because they’re running on slow hardware. The ARM11 core was first announced in 2003. It’s old and creaky, and it’s used so frequently because it’s cheap. But the basic rules of chip design mean that things are about to change fast.

Continue reading Core Values: The silicon behind Android

Core Values: The silicon behind Android originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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