Moblin™ Zone

Intel's Atom™ processor and the Moblin™ Project were in the spotlight at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where more than 2,500 technology companies introduced more than 20,000 new products. Big tech companies like Novell, Samsung, Dell and MSI are among those on the cutting edge of mobile and embedded technologies who were announcing and showing products and services that make use of Atom™ and/or the Moblin™ Project offerings.

Intel Atom Developer Program (IADP)
Intel officially announced its new Intel Atom Developer Program. IADP is a full featured program sponsored by Intel that provides developers with everything they need to create and then sell their MID applications to consumers using millions of Intel Atom-based devices. IADP comes with a framework that makes it easy to deliver new applications to consumers, because developers don't have to start from scratch. Companies and developers who become members of the IADP get access to technical updates and the latest versions of the IADP software development kit, and members are also eligible to submit their applications to be sold through the new Intel AppUp* store (see below for more information). This makes it easy for developers to quickly complete the applications that consumers are looking for, and easily market those applications, with a built-in business model that allows developers to keep up to 70% of the revenue from sales of their products.. Developers can also submit application components that other developers pay a fee to use in creating applications.

Intel, Industry Partners Unveil App Store Plans for Popular Netbook Computers
In concert with the IADP, Intel announced the beta version of its new software store, AppUp*. The Intel AppUp store makes it very easy for consumers to download and purchase applications, first for netbooks, but in the future for all kinds of handheld devices as well as televisions, appliances, and future products from Intel. AppUp comes pre-installed on Atom netbooks from Samsung, ASUS and Acer, but other users can download and install a small client application that manages future downloads from AppUp. The store offers entertainment, media, and productivity applications submitted by IADP member developers, all in a user-friendly familiar environment. Most applications are priced at $9.99, but some IADP developers offer their applications free of charge in hopes that buyers will upgrade to the full version (also available in the AppUp store) for a fee. The beta store will host applications for both the Microsoft Windows and the open source Moblin-based operating systems, the first operating systems to target the popular netbook computer category powered by the Intel Atom processor. Over time, Intel and its partners expect to expand the stores to include applications for the large categories of handheld CE devices, smartphones, consumer electronic appliances, TVs and other devices based on future Intel processor families.

MSI Ships First Netbook Powered by SUSE Moblin from Novell
MSI, a tech company specializing in the design and manufacture of motherboards, graphics card, add-on cards, servers/workstations, iPC, barebones, communication devices, CE products, notebooks, car infotainment products, and all-in-one PCs, announced that it intends to become the first OEM to sell a fully-supported Intel Atom processor-based netbook running Moblin-based technology to consumers. SUSE Moblin will come preloaded on the MSI U135 netbook. MSI's netbook offers a rich Internet experience with integrated e-mail, multimedia and Web browsing capabilities. Building on the latest innovations from the open source community and hardened by Novell and Intel, the MSI U135 netbook gives customers nearly all-day computing capabilities with long battery life and low power consumption built-in. While the MSI U135 was on display at CES, it won't be available to the general public until sometime in February 2010.

Samsung Shows Off N127 Netbook Running SUSE Moblin from Novell
Watch out, MSI, it looks like you're not the only company planning an Intel Atom processor and Moblin-based netbook release. At this year's CES, Samsung of Korea was spotted displaying one of its N127 Netbooks running SUSE Moblin. The computer sports a 10.1 " inch display, is powered by an Intel Atom Z series processor, and features USB, VGA, Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi, a card reader, and a built-in web cam. Consumers in India and Russia will be the first to get their hands on this machine, which has received good reviews from the tech trade publications. If all goes well, expect to see the N127 pop up in retail stores some time in the future.

Dell's Mini 10v running Ubuntu Moblin makes a sneak appearance at CES
Dell is already selling its Mini 10v netbook, running Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition and had it on display for the benefit of developers, early adopters and enthusiasts. You can pick it up at the Dell.com website for under $300. The Mini 10v features a 160GB, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA hard drive, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, and of course, the Intel Atom N270 processor. The 10v with Moblin was on display at CES where it met with good reviews from the trade. Dell says it is using an early version of Ubuntu Moblin in order to speed the product to market, but customers can expect updates in the near future. In the meantime, Dells emphasizes, the Mini 10v with Ubuntu Moblin is only for "Linux enthusiasts, developers, and early adopters."

In light of these announcements and offerings, and the fact that over 30 million netbooks have been sold worldwide, it's obvious that these ultra-portable machines running Moblin Linux continue to be very much in demand. Keep looking for new innovation and expansion into new mobile markets from Intel and its partners through the rest of 2010.

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