Intel Confirms It Helped Develop Google's Chrome OS

Intel has confirmed that it has been working with Google to develop the just-announced Chrome Operating System for netbooks, a potential competitor to Microsoft's Windows franchise.

Multiple operating systems already run on Intel processors, including Windows, Apple's Mac OS X, and Linux. Intel gave its Moblin OS to the Linux Foundation and has been working with the foundation to develop Moblin for handheld devices. Intel is also reportedly working with Google to put its Android mobile operating system on handhelds.

While the news of Intel's involvement in the Chrome OS may not be a threat to Microsoft's dominance of the PC market and its efforts to be the OS of choice for handhelds, the software giant isn't likely to be pleased that Intel has encouraged competition. Google's open-source, Linux-based Chrome OS is initially targeting netbooks. It will run on both x86 Intel and ARM chips, and Google is working with manufacturers Acer, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Toshiba and others to bring netbooks to market with the Chrome OS, which stresses speed, simplicity and security.

Intel's efforts to support multiple operating systems and smaller devices shouldn't be a surprise to Microsoft or others. Gartner has predicted PC sales will fall 11.9 percent this year, and Intel needs to encourage new markets outside its traditional PC focus. Netbooks are a growing market, as are handheld devices from mobile phones to music players.

In March, Intel announced a memorandum of understanding under which customers of Taiwan-based chip foundry TSMC will produce customized designs of Intel's Atom chip for embedded applications. Intel Executive Vice President Sean Maloney told financial analysts at the time, "I believe as we look forward to the next three to four years, more and more customers will need to embed full PC functionality into their devices."

The agreement with TSMC lets Intel compete with rival ARM, which has many processor-design customers that rely on TSMC to produce customized devices. Besides netbooks, Intel believes the package size and low-power envelope of its Atom chips make them ideal for in-car infotainment systems, eco-technology devices, and next-generation media phones capable of delivering communication services over IP. To be successful in these new markets, the chipmaker will need to focus on optimizing power use for devices that run off batteries.

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Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nf/20090710/tc_nf/67690

Tags: Google's open-source, Linux-based Chrome OS, netbooks, x86 Intel, ARM chips, manufacturers, Acer, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Toshiba, netbooks to market with the Chrome OS, Global IT News, Global IT and Business News,

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Google Attacks The Heart of Microsoft Directly

Google has taken direct aim at Microsoft’s core personal computer software business, with the announcement of a PC operating system to rival Windows.

The system, based on Google’s Chrome web browser, is designed for all classes of PCs, “from small netbooks to full-sized desktop systems”, and will be available in machines from “multiple” PC makers in the second half of next year, the company said.

Google also promised that the new software would solve many of the frustrations felt by users of Windows-based PCs, from slow start-up times to threats from computer viruses.

Google’s venture into the PC operating system business caps a steady move into software that has seen it encroach on to Microsoft’s turf. As well as a series of internet-based applications to rival Microsoft’s Office suite of software applications, those moves have included the Android operating system for mobile handsets and, last year, the Chrome Web browser.

Pushing those initiatives to their logical conclusion, Google said it would now extend Chrome to become a full PC operating system.

A number of PC makers had already started to explore using the open-source Android software on low-priced netbook computers – the fastest-growing category of PCs – and the announcement of the Chrome OS replaces that with a purpose-built piece of software that the company said would be better suited to PCs.

“We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better,” Google said in a blog note posted late on Tuesday in California.

Among the main attractions promised for the Chrome OS is much faster “boot” time to give users instant access to their e-mail and web browsers. That echoes a wider challenge to Microsoft from other software makers who have also targeted the slow start up times of PCs.

In other veiled attacks on the Windows operating system, Google added that users “want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them”, and that they “don’t want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates.”

Microsoft has faced considerable criticism over the slowness of its Windows Vista operating system, though the next version of its operating system, Windows 7, has already drawn good reviews for working far faster, particularly on low-powered, cheaper machines such as netbooks.

Google said the Chrome OS would first appear on netbooks in the second half of 2010, and that it was announcing the software now because it had already started discussions with hardware makers that wanted to use it in some their machines.

The new software, based on the so-called kernel, or core, of the open-source Linux operating system, had been designed to run Web-based applications such as those developed by Google itself, the company said, making it the first PC operating system developed from scratch for the internet age.

In another attack on one of the main pillars of Microsoft’s business, Google said developers would be able to write applications for the Chrome OS using standard web development tools – a challenge to Microsoft’s own developer tools business.

Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/86b864c0-6b87-11de-9320-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Tags: Google Chrome Operating system, Microsoft Windows, Chrome OS, Global IT News, Windows 7, PC’s, Google Android, Google Chrome Web browser, Technology, Software, IT, Web apps, Netbooks,

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Intel and Nokia Announce Long-Term Relationship

In a deal intended to strengthen Intel's push into the mobile computing arena, the Santa Clara chip maker and Finnish cell phone giant Nokia on Tuesday announced what they called a long-term relationship to develop new mobile devices.

Under the arrangement, the companies said they will work together on chip design and open-source software. Intel recently has entered that field with its Linux-based operating system called Moblin, designed to function on portable devices, and Nokia has a Linux-based operating system, dubbed Maemo. In addition, Intel will license some modem technology from Nokia.

However, executives with the two companies repeatedly declined during a conference call and a later interview to discuss what type of devices they might make and to what extent Nokia might use Intel's chips.

"We will talk about products when we are ready to talk about products, but that is not for today's discussion," said Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's ultra mobility group.

"There is a lot of room for innovation here, to really define what mobile can do," said Kai Öistämö, Nokia's executive vice president for devices. "It's a future full of different possibilities." After the announcement, Intel's stock rose 13 cents to $15.81 at the close of trading.

No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, and the two executives were evasive about when their collaborative discussions began. They said only that their companies have been doing joint research for several years. In May, Intel, Nokia and a number of other companies formed an association to promote rapid new wireless technology for shuttling data among computers, high-definition television sets and other devices in homes.

Although details about the agreement announced Tuesday remain vague, the deal suggests intriguing possibilities for Intel. Although the company's x86 microprocessors serve as the brains in most personal computers and servers, it sees the rapidly expanding market for mobile computing devices as one of its biggest growth opportunities. And the cell phone business, where Nokia is the world's biggest manufacturer, is an area Intel is especially keen to enter.

Intel, whose chips are not used in Nokia products, has so far been shut out of the cell phone market. That's largely because Intel's microprocessors use too much power to enable the phones to maintain sufficient battery life. Instead, cell phones use low-power chips based on technology developed by ARM, a small company in the United Kingdom.

Öistämö said Nokia plans to continue working with ARM-based chip makers. But Intel hopes to break into the cell phone market with future versions of a chip it introduced in March last year, called Atom, which uses less power than other Intel microprocessors and is relatively inexpensive. Moblin, one of the open-source software systems that Intel and Nokia will collaborate on, works well with the Atom chip, the companies noted in their joint press release.

What sort of devices the two companies might develop remains unclear. Nokia has been rumored this year to be considering making netbooks, which are smaller than laptops. Intel, whose microprocessors already are in laptops and netbooks, is promoting its chips for even tinier gadgets, including phones.

In their press release, the companies said they hoped to "define a new mobile platform beyond today's smart-phones, notebooks and netbooks." The deal drew mixed reviews from analysts.

"This is a compelling partnership," Jack Gold, founder of technology research firm J. Gold Associates, based in Massachusetts, said in a note to his clients. "We do not envision Nokia abandoning its core dependence on the ARM architecture in the short term, but longer term (two to three years) we expect Nokia to offer devices based on Atom." Gold added that "this collaboration could limit the impact Google's Android operating system will have on the netbook market."

But J.P. Morgan analyst Christopher Danely was less enthusiastic about the partnership, writing to his clients that "we don't expect much to come out of it."

While the deal "should help Intel in its quest to generate wireless design wins for its Atom processor," Danely concluded, "we continue to believe the deficiencies of Atom in power consumption, cost and software relative to other applications processors render it an uncompetitive product."

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_12672076?source=email

Tags: Intel, Nokia, Strategic Partnership, Jack Gold, Atom, ARM chips, Google Android, Christopher Danley, JP Morgan, Silicon Valley, Moblin, Santa Clara, Netbooks, Maemo, Global IT News,

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Google Android Steals The Show At Computex Taiwan

The Computex Taipei 2009 electronics show ended Saturday after a week-long display of new gadgets, including netbooks, ultra thin laptops made with new Intel chips and several surprises surrounding Google's Android mobile phone operating system.

 

The show's final numbers were down nearly across the board from last year, but not by much considering the global recession andfears surrounding the H1N1 swine flu.

 

An estimated 100,000 people visited Computex Taipei 2009 from around the world, down slightly from 106,517 last year, according to figures from the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). The totals include 32,178 international buyers, down from 34,685 last year and 1,712 exhibitors, down compared to 1,750.

 

The only figure that improved was the amount of booths rented, which rose to 4,498 this year, from around 4,000 last year. The 2008 comparison figures were taken from last year's closing press release from Computex, important to note because show organizers did not offer the figures on the 2009 press release, instead saying most of the 2009 numbers were up between 1 percent and 5 percent over last year.

 

A TAITRA official was unable to immediately explain the discrepancy in the figures. Chinese companies at Computex's first ever China pavilion complained deal-making was slower than they had expected. Chinese network equipment maker Shenzhen Yichen Technology Development found 30 percent to 40 percent more buyers at the show last year compared to this year, a representative manning the company's booth said on the last day of Computex.

 

The representative blamed the economic downturn for what he said was a smaller turnout at the exhibition than last year. The aisles of Chinese company booths were empty compared to other areas of the exhibition. This was the first year Chinese companies were officially welcomed at Computex, though JCG was one of a group that attended last year by registering as Hong Kong-based companies. Political differences between Taiwan and China have kept the presence of Chinese firms to a minimum in the past, but growing bonds between people in both places has turned out to be a boon for business.

 

Over 130 Chinese companies had booths this year, according to TAITRA. One first-time exhibitor, southern Chinese laptop vendor and designer Guangzhou Darling Industrial, also perceived a low turnout. The company did not secure the four to five business partners it expected to find, said a representative at the company's booth. The company also hoped to form partnerships with companies from outside Taiwan, but Taiwanese businesses were the main attendees, she said.

 

The company has not decided if it will attend next year, she said. Some companies blamed the sluggish global economy for the apparent lack of deals, while other said fear of the swine flu may have kept potential buyers away.

 

Taiwan put several measures in place to guard against swine flu, including hand wipe stations at the front doors of the exhibition areas and infrared scanners capable of detecting fevers via heat that international airline passengers had to walk past on their way to passport control.

 

The number of new gadgets and announcements did not show any signs of slowdown from last year. Computex served as a coming out party for Google's Android mobile operating system in devices outside the smartphones for which it was designed.

 

Mobile phone chip maker Qualcomm showed off a previously unannounced version of Asustek Computer's Eee PC based on its Snapdragon processor and running the Android OS. Asustek pioneered netbooks and has used other Linux OSes in its netbooks in the past, but prior to Computex it had almost completely changed over to Microsoft Windows XP, which is the most popular OS for netbooks.

 

The new Eee PC also lacked the Intel Atom microprocessors that have become ubiquitous in netbooks. Instead the device, which is thinner and lighter than current members of Asustek's Eee PC netbook lineup, uses a Snapdragon chip with a 1GHz ARM processing core. The chips use less electricity and give off less heat than Atoms, so the mini-laptops they're in do not require cooling systems such as heat sinks or fans.

 

Qualcomm, Freescale Semiconductor and Texas Instruments call the devices smartbooks. The smartbooks on display at Computex looked a lot like netbooks, with 10-inch screens and full keyboards, but they can run for eight hours on a three-cell battery, compared to two or three hours for a netbook with a three-cell battery.

 

One potential benefit of the devices aside from their long battery life is easy connectivity to mobile phone networks for wireless Internet surfing. But one downside is that since they use ARM microprocessors instead of x86 processors such as Atom, they will miss out on the huge library of software made for x86 chips, though software can always be revamped to run on the ARM processors.

 

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) also showed off a smartbook running Android, on chips from Texas Instruments.

 

Acer may become the first company to put out a netbook with Android in the third quarter of this year if it can beat some rivals, such as China's Guangzhou Skytone Transmission Technologies, which has said its Android netbook is undergoing final testing.

 

What's unique about Acer's new Aspire One netbook with Android is that the processor inside is an Intel Atom, not an ARM-based chip. Acer worked with a Taiwanese Linux distributor to port Android over to x86 processors, a first for the OS.

 

Not to be left out, MIPS Technologies worked with software developer Embedded Alley to port Android to the MIPS chip architecture, which the companies also showed on devices at Computex.

 

Several other companies displayed their first-ever Android-based gadgets, including Inventec Appliances, which showed a smartphone and handheld computer and Kinpo, which displayed a handheld computer. Other vendors such as BenQ, Micro-Star International (MSI) and Garmin-Asus vowed to catch up with Android-based products of their own.

 

There were a number of other notable devices shown off at Computex, including thin, light laptops created around Intel's CULV (consumer ultra low voltage) microprocessors from every major Taiwanese producer, such as Acer's Timeline laptop series and Asustek's U-series.

 

New netbook designs were on show, including Gigabyte Technology's TouchNote T1028 netbook running Microsoft Windows 7 and sporting a 10.1-inch touchscreen that swivels around and folds down to transform it into a tablet PC. Other netbooks and nettops with Nvidia Ion graphics chips inside were available at several booths, while e-book devices were also out in force.

 

One nice aspect of Computex is that unlike other trade shows that show off concept devices and cutting edge technologies that may never make it to market, the majority of what's shown in Taipei is on store shelves ahead of year-end holidays.

 

Tags: Computex Taiwan, Taiwan, ECS, Intel, Acer, Global IT News, Taipei, Google, Google Android, BenQ, Kinpo, Asustek, Inventec Appliances, netbooks, Nvidia, nettops, Gigabyte Technology, Garmin-Asus, smartphones, MIPS Technologies, computer chips, MIPS chips, Aspire One notebook, linux, android netbook, intel atom, shytone transmission technologies, Computex Taipei 2009, Taiwan External Trade Development Council, TAITRA, snapdragon processor, Shenzhen Yichen Technology Development,

 

Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090606/tc_pcworld/computexattendancefallsbutandroiddazzles_1

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