android
ZiiLabs Unveil Jaguar Tablets
It seems that ZiiLabs has put together a couple of tablet devices which they have named Jaguar, in anticipation of the Computex 2011 which will be held in Taiwan this week. The tablets were created to show off the ZMS-20 and ZMS-40 StemCell media processors which they hope will catch the eye of several manufacturers. These StemCell processors are based on the ARM Cortex A-9 platform and come in a dual-core (ZMS-20) and quad-core (ZMS-40) version, both clocking in at 1.5GHz
There will be two sizes available for viewing, a 7-inch (1024×600) and 10.1-inch (1280×800) display and both will be featuring front and rear facing 5MP cameras. Check out the full press release after the break.
ZiiLABS Announce JAGUAR Family of Android 3.X Reference Platforms
Modular Tablet Reference Designs Enable OEM’s to Meet the Growing Demand for Innovative Next-Generation Android Tablets
Singapore – 26th May 2011 – ZiiLABS, a pioneering media processor and platforms company (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Creative Technology Ltd), today introduced its JAGUAR family of high-performance, energy-efficient Android tablet reference platforms. The modular 7″ and 10″ tablets are designed for the latest Android 3.X compliance and leverage the superior performance, low-power consumption and rich-feature set of the latest ZiiLABS ZMS-20 and ZMS-40 StemCell Processors.
Engineered for high-quality, connected and immersive tablet computing, the JAGUAR platforms enable OEMs to meet the growing demand for next-generation Android tablets that deliver stunning 1080p high profile video playback, immersive OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics, high-quality HD video calling and a rich desktop browsing experience including Adobe Flash Player.
Based on a motherboard concept, the JAGUAR allows an OEM or ODM to bring to market their own Android 3.X tablets in the shortest possible time. The JAGUAR platforms combine the sleek Industrial Design templates (ID), proven high-speed system design and peripheral modularity required to enable OEMs and their ODM partners to innovate and differentiate critical components such as the LCD display, touch controller, cameras, ID and modem connectivity.
JAGUAR reference tablets based on the ZMS-20 will be shown in the ZiiLABS suite (Grand Hyatt Hotel Taipei, Grand Room, #1137) at the Computex 2011 tradeshow in Taipei, Taiwan between 31 May and 4 June. The ZMS-20 features 48 StemCell media processing cores and dual 1.5GHz ARM Cortex-A9 MPCores.
“As consumer demand for a wide-range of smarter, more connected tablets increases, so do the OEMs’ needs to innovate while also shrinking their time-to-market” said Hock Leow, president of ZiiLABS. “The JAGUAR platform combines our deep understanding and experience working on consumer devices and tablets with our ZMS processors, reference platforms, software and certification know-how to deliver a state-of-the-art platform that minimizes the complexities of introducing next-generation tablets.”
“Timing is everything and a frenzied land-grab is taking place in the tablet computing market,” said Sim Wong Hoo, Chairman and CEO of Creative Technology. “Android 3.X and ZMS-20 are designed and engineered specifically for this new and exciting tablet market where growth is expected to approach 100 million next year. The JAGUAR platforms based on ZiiLABS’ ZMS-20 and ZMS-40 processors push performances to a new level that the world has never seen before and OEMs and ODMs can leverage this with JAGUAR to quickly stake a sizeable claim in this explosive market.”
Existing JAGUAR based tablet designs will be able to take advantage of 6 GHz of quad-core computing by migrating to the compatible quad ARM-Cortex-A9 based ZMS-40.
JAGUAR Platforms – Key Features* Powered by ZiiLABS ZMS-20 and ZMS-40
o Dual and Quad Core 1.5GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores with Neon
o 48 and 96 core floating point StemCell media processors
* Robust Android BSP and Middleware
* Designed for Android 3.0+ Compliance
* Modular Motherboard Design to enable OEM/ODM Customization
* Wide-angle 7″(1024×600) and 10″ (1280×800) LCD options
* Capacitive and Resistive LCD touch options
* Up to 2GB high-speed 64-bit memory
o High performance and low-power LPDDR2-800 for super high memory bandwidth of 6.4GBytes per second
o DDR2/DDR3 for low cost
* 5MP rear and HD front facing camera as standard
* Wi-Fi b/g/n, 3G/4G/WiMax and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
* GPS, accelerometer, digital compass and gyroscope
* Stereo speakers and dual Microphone array
* Up to 64GB internal storage
* USB 2.0 port
* SDHC Card sl
* Extended battery life with robust dynamic power management
* Instantaneous On featureAvailability
The JAGUAR Android reference tablets are sampling now. For additional information and to arrange meetings at Computex visit: www.ziilabs.com
The Fairphone 2 was first unveiled in June earlier this year, where this particular handset carried a modular design while featuring majority of its components that have been sourced from conflict-free mines. It seems that this particular handset that you can purchase with a clear conscience has begun to ship to those who happen to live across Europe.
Fairphone announced in a blog post, “It’s been almost two years in the making, and some of the earliest buyers have been patiently waiting since July to receive their new phones. As community manager, I want to personally welcome the new batch of Fairphone owners to our community.” The initial 1,000 units are tipped to ship this month, before the other pre-orders follow in January 2016.
In terms of hardware specifications, the Fairphone 2 will run on a Snapdragon 801 chipset, has a 5″ 1080p screen with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP camera, with Android 5.1 Lollipop in tow. It will be a dual SIM capable handset with a microSD memory card slot and plays nice with 4G LTE networks, retailing for approximately €525 a pop.
It looks like the upcoming flagship model from Xiaomi will feature NFC support, at least based on a document that was released by China UnionPay. Just in case you are scratching your head and wondering who China UnionPay is, they happen to be the only domestic payment gateway supplier and card organization, and hence, to see them offer detailed support concerning the newly released NFC-based payment system points to the very real possibility of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 featuring NFC capability.
After all, the Xiaomi Mi 3 was also mentioned on the list, which so happens to feature NFC, and there is no mention of the Xiaomi Mi 4 which does not come with NFC. Still, such a new payment system would be the ideal tool to see the reintroduction of NFC to the flagship model.
OnePlus did make an announcement in the previous month that the Ceramic variant of the OnePlus X will be released on November 24. True to their word, they did exactly that – although only a pitiful number of units were made available, and not only that, this was through a charity auction. Thankfully for the rest of the masses who are on the lookout for this device, it has gone on sale officially already.
Needless to say, this particular variant is available only by an invitation, although do bear in mind that standard OnePlus X invites are not good here – you will still need to snag yourself a specific Ceramic variant invite before you make a purchase. OnePlus is also on the lookout to offer additional methods of picking up this smartphone, although no further details were revealed.
The OnePlus X Ceramic will be available only in select markets, where among them include Europe, India, and Hong Kong. To date, we do know that OnePlus had made only 10,000 units of the handset available. A case of the early bird getting the proverbial worm here?