Agam Shah
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Acer adds horsepower to Chromebook with Intel Broadwell chip
Acer is pumping more horsepower into its Chromebook C910 with an optional Intel Core i5 processor based on the Broadwell architecture.The laptop, which has a 15.6-inch screen, has been available with Core i3 or Celeron processors. The Core i5 processor will add more application and graphics performance to the laptop.Intel’s Core chips based on Broadwell are also used in Google’s high-end Chromebook Pixel, which was announced last week starting at $999 with a Core i5 processor. But the Acer Chromebooks are reasonably priced by comparison, and the C910 with Core i5 is priced at $499.99.Chromebooks are targeted at those who do most of their computing on the Web; an Internet connection is needed for most applications.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Intel doesn’t want Curie wearable computer making fashion statements
Intel wants wearable device technology to be inconspicuous, so it’s making its Curie wearable computer available through a button-sized board or as part of a chip package. The Curie, slated to ship in the second half of the year, was first shown at CES in the form of a button-sized computer on Intel CEO Brian Krzanich’s suit. The almost invisible Curie had technology that could read heart rates, and transfer the data wirelessly using Bluetooth. Blending technology discreetly into wearables is Intel’s goal with Curie, which will go into a wide range of tiny coin battery devices that can run for days and months without a recharge. The wearable computer is for non-technical customers, such as companies outside of the IT industry, that want to plug and play technology into devices, clothes and accessories.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Intel to ship built-to-order Xeon D chips in second half
Intel will start offering custom chips based on the Xeon D starting in the second half of this year, making it easier to tailor servers to process specific workloads.Intel this week announced Xeon D chips for servers, storage and networking, but the four- and eight-core chips have a fixed set of components and features. The built-to-order chips later this year will be tailored to customer specifications, and to needs in storage, networking and web serving.For example, Intel will be able to customize chips to include components such as FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays), which are reprogrammable chips used for specific tasks. For example, Microsoft uses FPGAs in servers to boost the accuracy of search results in Bing. Bringing FPGAs inside Xeon D could make the chip more versatile.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Qualcomm’s Raspberry Pi-like computer has wireless capabilities
Raspberry Pi has inspired many board computers, and Qualcomm is now offering one of its own with a range of features never before seen in the low-price end of the market.The DragonBoard 410c is an uncased computer a little larger than a credit card, with all the important components on one board. With Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, location tracking and 64-bit Snapdragon chips, it offers many capabilities not yet available in other low-cost boards.Qualcomm is best-known for its smartphone and tablet chips, but the board could be used to make robots, drones and wearables. The chip maker’s high-end developer boards have been used to develop self-learning robots.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Qualcomm’s Raspberry Pi-like computer has wireless capabilities
Raspberry Pi has inspired many board computers, and Qualcomm is now offering one of its own with a range of features never before seen in the low-price end of the market.The DragonBoard 410c is an uncased computer a little larger than a credit card, with all the important components on one board. With Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, location tracking and 64-bit Snapdragon chips, it offers many capabilities not yet available in other low-cost boards.Qualcomm is best-known for its smartphone and tablet chips, but the board could be used to make robots, drones and wearables. The chip maker’s high-end developer boards have been used to develop self-learning robots.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Google, Aopen’s new Chrome desktops targeted at digital signage
Google’s Chromebooks are popular in educational institutions, but the company is now looking at digital signage as the next big market for Chrome OS computers.The company has partnered with Aopen to develop a rugged Chromebox mini-desktop and two Chromebase all-in-ones designed to dynamically display information and advertisements.Google has been targeting the commercial market for a while. Chrome desktops are being tuned for videoconferencing and for use in classrooms. However, Google’s Chromeboxes haven’t found much adoption as desktops, and Chromebases have largely failed as all-in-ones. They could get a new lease of life in the digital signage market.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Six things to know about the USB 3.1 port in the new MacBook
Apple is challenging laptop users to adapt to fewer ports with the bold design of its new 12-inch MacBook, which has just one USB 3.1 port and a headphone jack. Apple laid out a similar challenge with its first MacBook Air in early 2008, which had just one USB 2.0 port to connect peripherals and a micro-DVI port to connect monitors.But the faster USB 3.1 port is significant because it will also be used to recharge the MacBook, as well as to connect to a wider variety of peripherals such as monitors, external storage drives, printers and cameras. The MacBook is one of just a few devices to carry the new USB port.USB 3.1 can technically transfer data between the host computers and peripherals at maximum speeds of up to 10Gbps (bits per second), which is two times faster than the current USB 3.0. The USB 3.1 port in the new MacBook will initially transfer data at 5Gbps, but expect that number to go up as the technology develops. There’s also excitement around the MacBook’s USB Type-C cable, which is the same on both ends so users can flip cables and not Continue reading
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HP embraces open hardware designs with Cloudline servers
Hewlett-Packard is following in the footsteps of Facebook and Microsoft in embracing open hardware designs with its new low-cost Cloudline servers.Cloudline servers are no-frills cloud servers that break away from proprietary technology HP uses in its popular Proliant servers. The servers are HP’s first based on industry standard specifications defined by the Open Compute Project, which was founded by Facebook in 2012, and Open Networking Foundation, which was formed in 2011.The use of low-cost, bare-bones servers is growing among Internet service providers like Google and Facebook, which are looking for a cheap and efficient ways to upgrade hardware in data centers. Cloudline gives HP a chance to pursue that customer base, said John Gromala, senior director of hyperscale product management.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Robots to get more processing muscle with Intel’s Xeon D chips
Intel’s Xeon server chips dominate hardware in data centers, and now they could also end up powering robots on factory floors.The new line of Xeon D chips, announced Monday, are designed primarily for servers and network appliances, but as industrial automation grows, Intel believes the chips can all add processing muscle to robots that handle complex manufacturing tasks.Simple robots that do mundane work can run on basic, low-power processors, but faster chips are being plugged into advanced robots for more sophisticated tasks.Xeon D is the first server chip from Intel based on the Broadwell architecture. It’s already being used in PC chips, but it’s graduating to servers, appliances, and now perhaps robots.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Intel’s Skylake chips to appear in tablets, PCs, servers
Intel has revealed more details about its next-generation chip code-named Skylake, indicating it will go into a broad range of tablets, PCs and servers. Intel has hailed Skylake as its most important chip architecture in a decade and now says that it will be used in mainstream Core i3, i5 and i7 PC processors as well as Xeon server chips.+ See our full coverage of MWC 2015 + The first Skylake chip is expected to be Core M, designed to be used in Windows as well as Android tablets and hybrids.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Momentum grows around Microsoft’s Windows 10 for phones
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 OS hasn’t taken the world by storm, but its successor, Windows 10, is off to an encouraging start even before its release.Only a handful of Windows 10 handsets were on display on the show floor of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, but with some device and chip makers announcing their intentions to support Windows 10 on smartphones, that could translate to many more handsets becoming available by year end. Microsoft has said that Windows 10 will provide a more consistent user experience across smartphones, tablets and PCs. A technical preview of the OS is already available, with the final version expected to reach handsets later this year. Some handsets, but not all, running Windows Phone 8.1 will be upgraded to Windows 10.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Intel CEO Krzanich: What we’re doing to succeed on smartphones
Intel has done well in PCs and tablets, but success in smartphones has eluded the chip maker for years. Cracking the challenging market is the next big task for Intel CEO Brian Krzanich , who is chasing an aggressive strategy to get its mobile processors into more handsets.At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, Intel rebranded its Atom line with an easier-to-remember naming scheme for various models in the product family, to increase market visibility of the processors. The company also introduced the new Atom X3 chip, which will initially go into smartphones, and Atom X5 and X7 chips, which will be in tablets.A few handsets with the Atom X3 chip, code-named Sofia, were shown at Mobile World Congress. Sofia is the result of a speedier chip development strategy formulated by Krzanich to make Intel more competitive in smartphones. Krzanich sat down with the IDG News Service to talk about smartphones, wearables, services and the company’s plans in new markets. Below is an edited version of the transcript.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Intel CEO Krzanich: What we’re doing to succeed on smartphones
Intel has done well in PCs and tablets, but success in smartphones has eluded the chip maker for years. Cracking the challenging market is the next big task for Intel CEO Brian Krzanich , who is chasing an aggressive strategy to get its mobile processors into more handsets. At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, Intel rebranded its Atom line with an easier-to-remember naming scheme for various models in the product family, to increase market visibility of the processors. The company also introduced the new Atom X3 chip, which will initially go into smartphones, and Atom X5 and X7 chips, which will be in tablets.+ ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD Follow all the stories from Mobile World Congress +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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A quick hands-on with Cherry Trail: screaming graphics for tablets
Intel’s Cherry Trail Atom chips are almost here, and if you’re in the market for an Intel-based tablet the future looks bright.We briefly got our hands on what could be the first Cherry Trail tablet shown publicly—an 8-inch prototype from Intel running Android with a variety of apps and games installed. The graphics in particular stood out.The game “Real Racing 3” took some time to load, but when it started the display kept pace easily with the fast-moving visuals. A previous Bay Trail chip in an Asus Transformer Book T100 struggled with demanding games, showing how far the Atom X5 and X7 chips, as they’re known, have come.The tablet wasn’t connected to the Internet, so we didn’t get a taste of the Wi-Fi speed or how fast cloud applications will load. But other local apps fired up quickly. The tablet had USB 3.0 and HDMI ports and a audio jack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Microsoft, Intel team on low-cost Windows 10 phones
Right now you can't buy Windows-based handsets that run on Intel chips, but that will change later this year with the mobile version of Windows 10. Microsoft's recent Windows Phone OSes worked only with ARM-based processors from Qualcomm. Though Windows 10 will also work on ARM systems, compatibility with Intel x86 chips breaks that exclusivity. The Windows 10 mobile OS will run on handsets and so-called phablets powered by Intel's upcoming Atom X3 chips, code-named Sofia, announced by the chip maker at the Mobile World Congress trade show. Devices with the X3 chips will be priced from under US$75 to $249. The X3 chips will also be offered in Android handsets.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Intel rethinking tablets with new Atom X5, X7 chips
Intel hopes to reignite excitement in tablets with its new Atom chips code-named Cherry Trail, which will be in devices in a few months. The chipmaker wants to eliminate tablet usage hassles like fumbling for wires and typing in passwords with its new Atom X5 and X7 chips, which are being announced at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona. Tablets with Cherry Trail will be priced from US$119 to $499, and have screen sizes from 7 to 10.1 inches. Asus, Lenovo, Acer, Dell, Toshiba and Hewlett-Packard will ship devices with Atom X5 or X7 chips in the first half this year.+ See our full coverage of MWC 2015 +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Qualcomm puts silicon brain in flagship Snapdragon 820 chip
Qualcomm wants to help future mobile devices learn about their users, by putting cognitive computing capabilities into its next mobile microprocessor, the Snapdragon 820. The chip will provide mobile devices with some brain-like learning capabilities by incorporating features from Qualcomm’s Zeroth platform. Mobile devices built with the Snapdragon 820 will be able to learn about users over time, picking up human activity patterns and anticipating actions. Putting the machine learning features on the chip, rather than in the cloud, will make mobile devices more personal and more useful than they are today, said Derek Aberle, president of Qualcomm, in a news conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Qualcomm puts silicon brain in flagship Snapdragon 820 chip
Qualcomm wants to help future mobile devices learn about their users, by putting cognitive computing capabilities into its next mobile microprocessor, the Snapdragon 820. The chip will provide mobile devices with some brain-like learning capabilities by incorporating features from Qualcomm’s Zeroth platform. Mobile devices built with the Snapdragon 820 will be able to learn about users over time, picking up human activity patterns and anticipating actions. Putting the machine learning features on the chip, rather than in the cloud, will make mobile devices more personal and more useful than they are today, said Derek Aberle, president of Qualcomm, in a news conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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MediaTek wants to put its chips in Chromebooks
Most Chromebooks today are running Intel processors, but chipmaker Mediatek wants to change that as it sees an opportunity to expand its market beyond Android tablets and smartphones.MediaTek’s new high-performance mobile chip, the Helio X10, already supports Chrome OS, said Kevin Jou, vice president and chief technology officer at MediaTek, in an interview on Sunday ahead of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Besides powering Chromebooks, the chip is also a fit for other thin-and-light laptops and hybrid laptop-tablets, he said.Chromebooks are growing in popularity as a low-cost alternative to Windows PCs for users who do most of their computing while online. Most Chromebook applications require Internet connectivity, though more applications are moving to offline functionality as well.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Lenovo brings 64-bit Android to $129 tablet
Tablets running 64-bit Android haven’t been out for long but prices are already set to fall fast.Lenovo’s 8-inch Tab 2 A8 will ship in June starting at $129, with a 64-bit version of Android 5.0 and a 64-bit quad-core processor from MediaTek. It was one of three tablets Lenovo announced ahead of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.Sixty-four-bit tablets have a few advantages. They can support more memory and therefore make light work of multimedia-intensive apps such as games, as well as apps that use encryption for security. More 64-bit Android apps are in development, so a 64-bit tablet also provides some future-proofing.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here