VIA and WindRiver team up to take on sub-$100 Android smartphone market

The USA will have sold the most smartphones ... mainly Apple and RIM phones ... in the world in 2010, but that will be the last year for which that can be said. Cheap smartphone sales in emerging markets like China and India are where the most growth is at. Most sub-$100 handsets in China are still based on an older Mediatek platform and they're not smartphones, but Android, combined with new hardware platforms, is driving the price of smartphones down.

VIA Telecom and WindRiver have joined forces to offer a platform called Kunlun, which, they say, will allow manufacturers to sell fully featured smartphones for under $100, and still make a decent profit. The features of phones using this platform include the Android OS, 3G EVDO, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM radio, camera, touchpad, keyboard and microSD slots.

Can't wait to see a smartphone with a VIA inside logo on it! Source: EETimes

VIA is first to the post with certification for USB 3.0 NAND Flash controller

VIA Labs, one of the VIA companies under the big VIA umbrella, has just got one of it's product designs certified by the USB-IF, the USB Implementation Forum, as a USB 3.0 NAND flash controller - the first USB 3.0 controller to be certified for NAND flash.

"The comprehensive suite of tests conducted as part of the USB-IF Compliance and Certification Program ensures that certified devices are interoperable and backwards compatible with existing USB devices, while also offering the speed and power enhancements of the new USB 3.0 specification.

Moreover, the VIA Labs VL750 packs this SuperSpeed punch within a single chip controller, eliminating the need for a second bridge chip and enabling more compact, more power efficient and more cost effective Flash drives. "

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VIA's USB 3.0 controller gets super interface

Just when you thought USB 3.0 couldn't get any better than it already is, VIA and American Megatrends (the AMI BIOS guys), are bringing better power management, pre-boot support and network sharing options to the VIA VL800 USB 3.0 host controller.

"The eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI) architecture provides a new industry standard for interfacing to USB devices, and delivers the extensibility necessary to meet today's needs for speed, power savings, and virtualization support. With greatly improved protocol efficiency, xHCI enables platforms to become more power efficient without sacrificing performance. xHCI and UEFI enable robust USB resource management and add support for native USB device sharing across virtual machines.

AMI's BIOS module provides essential support for the new architectures, and allows customers to begin utilizing USB 3.0 in the pre-boot environment."

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Remember the promised sub-100 tablet? It's here!

When was it? Around January this year I think that a slew of articles hit the American IT press about VIA's Wondermedia chip's impending arrival in the US market in tablets that would cost US$100 or less. Finally, one product is actually available. The Maylong M-150 features a VIA Wondermedia VM8505+, 256MB RAM, Wi-Fi, SD card slot, Ethernet port and USB. It's a handy 7-inch touchscreen and it also comes with a stylus.

Compared to the iPad it's smaller and weighs less and one would presume the screen is not as lovely as the iPad's. It also runs Android, which is not such a bad thing since there are heaps of great Android apps, but it's an older version of Android and the rumor is that it can't beupdated.

The device is being brought to US consumers via Walgreens, a store I was previously unfamiliar with. It looks to be like our version of Priceline - although bigger (of course!).

The odd thing is that they're not selling the tablet in stores, just via their website. All up it costs you US$104.98 with home delivery. So when you're logged in to get your prescriptions filled online you can also pick up a tablet ... er tablet PC that is!

Sadly, Walgreens don't ship to Australia ... damn ... aren't we the 51st state of the US!!? (not)

VIA Wondermedia finds itself inside shrunken Apple iPad wanabe

When VIA's VP of marketing did the rounds earlier in the year to promote VIA Wondermedia's chips being used for sub-100 US dollar tablets, he didn't mention this one from ... who is it from? Like many Chinese manufacturers who release tablets that clearly resemble the iPad, when news and photos of them finally reaches English language media, their names are often absent from the picture.

This lovely looking tablet is a bit smaller than the Apple iPad, having a 7-inch screen and there are a few other glaring differences as well. Inside is the VIA 8505 chipset, 256MB memory and 2GB flash storage. It run a slightly older version of Android, v1.6.

I spotted this over at the English language shanzai.com site but traced it back (from their listed source) to this Chinese language site which interestingly, right at the very end lists a contact number for a Mr Li who can supply you with them! I wonder if he'll ship to Australia?

VIA Labs releases new USB 3.0 controller for NAND flash drives

USB 3.0 portable drives are becoming pretty easy to get in Australia now and very reasonably priced. Those drives are mainly laptop size SATA drives with a USB 3.0 capable connection. USB 3.0 is much faster than SATA, so those designs are not full taking advantage of USB 3.0 speeds. This new controller from VIA is for NAND flash drives.

"The VIA Labs VL750’s four channel design dramatically improves data throughput over dual or single channel designs by offering more bandwidth and improved parallelization. “VIA Labs is ahead of the pack by some distance when it comes to offering a complete USB 3.0 eco-system that now includes host, hub and NAND flash controller products,” said David Hsu, Associate Vice President, VIA Labs, Inc. “The VIA Labs VL750 will pave the way for fast, affordable, and large capacity flash drives of 32GB or more. Large files will become infinitely more manageable with most transfers completing in just a few seconds.”"

In some ways USB 3.0 is ahead of the time and products like the VIA Labs VL750 bring the technology into partnership with forms of storage that really push the boundaires of what we're used to in portable storage.

VIA's StrongBox utility re-released

VIA's processor have in-built security tools in their core which allow them to process security encryption in hardware not software. VIA's approach to getting this excellent feature in use has been to release example software for their customers. Once such example is the VIA StrongBox. This nifty little tool allows any system with a VIA processor in it (be it a netbook, notebook, desktop or tablet) to create virtual drives on their system that are password protected.

VIA have just released new versions of the utility which support Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. There is a 32 bit version and a 64 bit version. You can grab free copies here.

VIA's own tablet design?

The coverage that I read from last week's Computex trade show seemed to have VIA carrying on about the tablet PC designs that their VP had taken around to US media the week before (see my earlier posts). Expert Reviews, however, have images and information about a VIA "tablet design".

VIA is no stranger to putting out prototypes of new device segments. They were the first out with a netbook platform, although it was called something else ... the OpenBook I think? Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that a VIA prototype ARM based 7" tablet is out there. Sadly, the one that Expert Reviews got to see didn't even power up.

"To make things more interesting, Via is also aiming for a bargain $199 price point too, but this is more than the $100-$150 that was hinted at just a few weeks ago.

Via also had some words on Intel's attempt at low power with its Moorestown hardware. It said that x86 won't cut it against ARM in the ultra mobile space."

Two mystery Android tablets

For the last couple of days I have shown you some of the cheap tablets that VIA has been busy promoting leading up to Computex - Android devices with WonderMedia chips inside. But there are two models on the list for which not much is known.

The G-Link A8 looks like it has a considerably small screen than the iPad - unless they are very large hands.

The FirstView PC707 (second picture) has that Appley look although the screen seems to be a bit more widescreen-ish.

But that's about all I can tell you. I'll keep my eye out on the Computex coverage.

Eken's 8" Android tablet

Pictured above is the Eken M003 tablet. It would be pretty hard not to concede that it's been inspired by the iPad ... but it's a different beast ... er, kitten ... large cat maybe.

The Eken M008 has an 8 inch screen which is slightly larger than the 7 inch norm for most tablets, but smaller than Apple's 10 inches. It's an LCD full color screen. It supports 32GB of storage via an SD card slot. Inside you'll find a WonderMedia chip. It run Android (of course!). It's said that it will cost about USD 230 and apparently you can get it in pink, black or white.


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Eken M001

When WonderMedia issued their Press Release about cheap Android based tablets, they also put a whole bunch of photos on VIA's Gallery site of examples. So I thought I'd take a look at a few.

The image above is of an Eken M001 tablet. Inside is a WonderMedia PRIZM MW8505 @ 600MHz. It has a 7 inch display, which seems to be more popular with almost all tablet manufacturers, other than Apple. It's only got Wi-Fi connectivity but it does support up to 32GB of SD storage and has 2GB built in flash. Here's a video with more info:

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WonderMedia brings diversity to the tablet market

As I reported several times last week, VIA's VP of marketing was doing a tour of US journos with some Android tablet PCs in his back pack. The official WonderMedia Technologies, Inc. version of the message has been issued as a Press Release now - with an invitation to view the tablets at the Computex trade show being held in Taipei this week. The booth and room numbers where you can catch WonderMedia are the same as VIA's, demonstrating how closely the two companies work together.

The message of the Press Release is the same as that of the media tour last week ... that the WonderMedia PRIZM and Android are a customizable and highly suitable platform for tablets that is not being lost on Chinese manufacturers.

"Dubbed SmartTouch, the combination of the multimedia-optimized, power-efficient WonderMedia PRIZM SoC and Google’s popular Android software stack offers the ideal platform for system designers to build innovative, affordable, and highly usable tablet devices around."

VIA Labs Demos World’s First 4-Port USB 3.0 Host Controller

With glamorous tablet PCs, netbooks and a well known and diverse range of embedded products, it's easy to forget that VIA is a chip company. Many of the chips they design provide great features ... but kind of mundane. A bit like bread in a diet ... a staple. USB chips are a bit like that. We all expect them on every motherboard and in every device. We kind of forget that someone develops them, manufactures them, and sells them. VIA do.

They've just announced the VIA Labs VL800 which is a 4 port USB 3.0 Host Controller. Apparently there are only 2 port controllers on the market so far, so this is good stuff! The four ports are all on the one chip.

"Not only will desktop PC systems featuring the new VL800 host controller be able to transfer huge amounts of data back and forth from several devices simultaneously, but with support for the USB Battery Charging Specification the PC’s USB ports can also be used to power and charge peripheral devices such as flash drives, hard drives, video cameras and mobile phones."

In Australia, at the moment Gigabyte are dominating the market with motherboards because they have USB 3.0 ports on them. Everyone wants USB 3.0 on their new systems and distis and SIs are dumping older stock that only has USB 2.0. After that, we'll start seeing a demand for more ports and the VL800 looks to be a great contender.

Five VIA Android tablets due out in 2H 2010

VIA's VP of marketing, Richard Brown, is obviously on some sort of tour of media in the US, as snippets of his conversations with top journalists are dominating this blog this week. He's on a tablet rampage, this time Slashgear reporting that five models from unkown manufacturers are said to be hitting the market in the second half of this year, all priced between USD 100 - 150.

Chris Davies from Slashgear notes that " ... given the price bracket Brown has indicated, we’re not expecting them to legitimately go up against Apple’s iPad. Instead, we’d expect something more along the lines of Freescale’s recent tablet reference designs, which have resistive touchscreens and prioritise simple web access and multimedia playback." I think this comment hits the nail on the head. Any non-iPad tablet is being compared to the iPad but there are so many other ways to offer a tablet-ish experience, and dare I say it, probably better ways.

VIA a dark horse in the ARM camp

The Wall Street Journal's tech editor Don Clark has joined the chorus of journos watching the Android tablet space in the lead up to Taiwan's Computex trade show. Whilst Apple are enjoying the limelight with the iPad - aptly and amusingly described in The Age as a device that must be teflon coated since not even legitminate critisisms seem to stick - an untold number of smaller Chinese manufacturers have been busy pumping out smaller Android based tablets, many of which are expected to debut at the show.

These tablets, according to VIA's VP of marketing, Richard Brown, will hit an all-time-low price point of USD 100. It's a captivatng deal. Who cares if it's not as big or responsive as the iPad, for USD 100 it's a bloated eBook with Google Android apps. VIA is helping to pitch the new Android tablet game since their WonderMedia ARM solution could be their chance to shine.

Clark notes that the "Taiwanese company is usually known as the distant third-place runner in a race with Intel and Advanced Micro Devices in the market for an altogether different kind of microprocessor, the x86 variety used in PCs. But Via also has a unit called WonderMedia Technologies that has licensed ARM designs, and has already placed them in some simple, inexpensive tablet machines from Chinese manufacturers shown off last week in a visit to San Francisco by Richard Brown."

I can just picture them as items sold at Aldi, can't you?

VIA relishing Chinese tablet market

The New York Times technology blogger, Ashlee Vance, has been visited by VIA's VP of marketing, Richard Brown, who brought along a couple of slate or tablet PC samples from China. They're about half the size of Apple's iPad, notes Vance, and they run Android OS. The blog doesn't specify what VIA chips are in these devices but I'm tipping it's the WonderMedia PRIZM.

Whilst Chinese manufacturers building cheap products is not a new story, Brown asserts that the new tablet category is giving opportunity for Chinese manufacturers to hit the big time in the US.

“This is a new market, and China is going to make it happen,” Mr. Brown said. “It certainly remains to be seen, but I think completely new brand names will come out of this tablet market.”

He notes that these Chinese manufacturers have been making smartphones for years now and they're ready to bring out innovative products that "lead rather than follow."

Vance sounds mildly impressed with the samples, although he had a few misgivings about responsiveness and a clunky interface. But Android will mature as time goes on. VIA's WonderMedia PRIZM is a platform that is no doubt easily accessible to Chinese manufacturers and like Android, is open to customizing designs around it.

WonderMedia chip in cheap but impressive tablet

WonderMedia ARM chips first made their debut in smartbooks, a device category that has pretty much gone the way of the dodo. The device category that in a way is replacing the smartbook, is of course the tablet, spurred on by Apple's iPad. Digital Arts Online has reported on a USD 140 "slate device" that's full of useful ports, a 7" display, accelerometer, Wi-Fi and more. It's only got 2GB of storage built in but it's also got an SD memory card slot so you can add an extra 32GB. Not bad for the cost of a decent jacket. It's made by EKEN who are OEM/ODM developers - so hopefully some bright spark nabs the design, brands it and brings it to Oz.

SmartStream

I've had a chance to look over the new WonderMedia SmartStream product a bit more now. I've gotta say that it's a great idea and I only wish that more information was available.

Basically, it's a little unit that plugs into your TV and connects wirelessly to a PC, even if the PC is not in the same room. It has a USB port which you can use to install a wireless keyboard/mouse so that you can then control the PC (using the TV as its monitor).
Although movie and TV show makers don't like it, a lot of people download files and watch them on their PCs. A lot of people actually sit at their desk watching these files because not many people have an extra PC in their lounge room. This sort of device solves that issue.
Unfortunately it's only available in China at the moment.
Hey WonderMedia - don't forget about Australia! I'm telling you ... this product would sell like hot cakes here!

S3 shows off new card for embedded devices

S3 graphics last week used the Embedded System Developers' conference to show off an upcoming product that the audience of that conference would be interested in ... a fanless card that brings DirectX 10.1, HD video decoding and all the mod-cons in outputting options, to any embedded application.
"The S3 Graphics Chrome eH1 gives users the perfect balance of immersive graphics performance and high-quality HD Video, while only using a high-speed, high-throughput 64-bit DDR3 memory bus interface. Display connections come in a combination of the VESA compliant DisplayPort standard, HDMI, dual-link DVI, and CRT for versatile range of display attachment options.

DirectX® 10.1 and OpenGL 3.1 applications on Microsoft® Windows® and Linux platforms can be implemented using the Chrome eH1 board to speed up 3D apps, non-gaming rendering software, and other visual processing functions. Additional graphics API support includes OpenGL ES 2.0 for embedded graphics and OpenVG 1.1 for 2D vector graphics, giving the eH1 board complete support of the latest graphics software stacks found in Windows, Linux, Android and other real-time operating systems.

The Chrome eH1 incorporates a high performance ChromotionHD™ 2.0 video processor unit (VPU), advanced filtering, and clear-image post-processing to perform ultra smooth decoding of MPEG-4/AVC (H.264), MPEG-2, and VC-1 for HD video. To further enhance operation for fanless applications that demand cool-and-quiet operation, the Chrome eH1 features PowerWise™ technology for Green Computing to “Reduce the Heat” without compromising performance, features, or quality."

WonderMedia PRIZM Brings the PC to the TV, No Strings Attached

WonderMedia, a subsiduary of VIA's that makes a system on chip called the PRIZM that has been found in a few smartbook designs, has announced a product that lets you stream HD quality media content from your PC to your TV, controlling it from your TV - and all without wires!

"Taipei, Taiwan, 22 April 2010 - WonderMedia Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of feature-rich system-on-chip platforms, today announced the WonderMedia SmartStream. Based on the WonderMedia PRIZM system-on-chip (SoC), SmartStream is a low latency, cost effective Wireless Display (WiDi) device that uses Wi-Fi or Ethernet to allow a user to view and control a PC on their television.

Unlike other WiDi solutions that can only be used with high-end PCs from specific vendors using specific components, or those using proprietary solutions such as wireless HDMI that require an additional device on the PC side, SmartStream works with any modern PC and is able to scale its performance to provide optimal results for any given computer’s configuration.

A small accessory connected to the TV, WonderMedia SmartStream offers two-way communication between the PC and the TV. While most WiDi solutions can only control content on the TV via the PC, SmartStream allows it to be controlled from the TV side, meaning it’s not necessary for the PC to be in the same room as the television.

“SmartStream marks the end of having to drag cables across a room to connect up a projector or TV to your PC,” said Tzumu Lin, President and CEO, WonderMedia Technologies, Inc. “With more and more people getting their HD video entertainment online, here’s a way to watch it and control it on your big-screen TV from the comfort of your living room sofa.”

For more information on the WonderMedia SmartStream, please visit:
www.wondermedia.com.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=49

WonderMedia SmartStream Availability
SmartStream solutions are currently available in Taiwan and Mainland China retail channels through HiPlus. Please see www.hiplus.com.tw/up/up_product.html for more details.

About WonderMedia Technologies, Inc.
WonderMedia is a leading fabless SoC company that develops sophisticated, feature-rich solutions for today's fast-emerging networked multimedia applications. With advanced audio, video, networking and connectivity technologies, the highly power-efficient WonderMedia PRIZM platform enables innovative and compact web-centric devices for the converging cloud computing, communications and content environment.

Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, with strong support teams in Shenzhen, Beijing and Silicon Valley, WonderMedia’s business strategy builds on its rich experience in technology and open-system platform development to help its customers build innovative, unique and affordable multimedia systems. www.wondermedia.com.tw "

Welcome

I already run two blogs about products created and manufactured by VIA Technologies, Inc. - or at least products that feature VIA chips. VIA is a Taiwanese R&D company who compete on many levels with the "big boys" of tech, Intel and AMD. Like Intel and AMD, VIA manufacture x86 processors. Their focus, for at least ten years now, has been on low power consumption and affordability. If you've followed the story from the beginning then it seems like a slow progression, but over those ten years, the qualities that VIA has strived for in their products, have become in demand. Like netbooks, for example, and other mobile Internet devices - you need a processor that has low power consumption to give you the best battery life and devices that don't heat up and burn your lap or hands! And in the embedded scene, VIA's wide range of tiny platform designs like the Mini-ITX, Nano-ITX, Pico-ITX and Em-ITX, give as many features as possible on the smallest real estate possible, with the lowest power consumption possible and the least heat output as possible. So my two blogs follow the netbook craze and the always innovative embedded computing from VIA - both with an Australian focus.
But as I follow VIA, I often find that there is news that doesn't fit into either of these categories very neatly. Part of this is because VIA has a lot of subsiduary companies doing interesting things, like S3 Graphics and WonderMedia. It's those type of miscellaneous VIA activities that I'll follow in this blog - with an Australia focus when there is one.