JOIN USMicrosoft allies with ARM for tablet
Microsoft plans to design Windows operating system compatible with chips designed by ARM, an Intel rival and dominant producer of chips for smartphones and tablet computers.
Microsoft’s move is the latest major win for ARM, which is making huge strides in mobile computing and announced that graphics chipmaker Nvidia will begin designing central microprocessors for computers based on ARM architecture.
High-powered, low-battery chips made by ARM dominate the smartphone and tablet markets, and are featured for instance in Apple Inc’s iPhone and iPad. Microsoft’s operating software for mobile devices — Phone 7 — already supports ARM processors, but the new version of Windows would mark a shift in its core operating software for computing.
RIM plans 4G tablet device
Research in Motion (RIM) has announced plans for 4G version of its tablet device with Sprint Nextel.
RIM provided a hands-on demonstration of PlayBook, a seven-inch touchscreen tablet that will go head-to-head with Apple’s iPad when Wi-Fi-only version ships, likely in March. The PlayBook — which sports fast dual-core processor weighs less than one pound.
Samsung, LG unveil slim TV
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics trotted out bigger and thinner 3D TVs. as they laid out plans to expand their lineups further to spur demand for a nascent technology that has seen weak sales so far.
Global major TV makers are betting aggressively on 3D and Internet-connected televisions as intense price competition in the flat-panel market erodes profitability.
AT&T plans 20 new phones
AT&T Inc announced four times as many smartphones as it did this time a year ago, backed heavily by Google Inc’s software, highlighting its quest to lessen dependence on Apple Inc’s iPhone.
AT&T executives said at the Consumer Electronics Show it would introduce 20 high-speed smartphone models in 2011, including a dozen Google Android devices.