New devices bypass the PC

From...

By Matt Berger

SAN FRANCISCO, California (IDG) -- Companies making hardware and software for embedded systems that power a broad spectrum of devices, from handheld computers to industrial automation equipment, last week joined forces to bring new products to market at the Embedded Systems Conference here.

Lineo, which makes a Linux-based embedded operating system for a variety of devices, announced a new hardware partner that will use Lineo's Embedix Plus PDA software to run a new handheld device.

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InfoMart, based in Bangalore, India, has developed a device called the Kaii with the Embedix Plus PDA operating system, according to Lineo. Using a processor from Hitachi, the Kaii will run at 160 MHz and will be equipped with 64MB of RAM and 32MB of ROM.

Lineo, in Lindon, Utah, already has tuned its operating system to run on the Zaurus handheld from Sharp.

Lineo has also extended its embedded Linux operating system to run on an IBM PowerPC chip used in television set-top boxes, the company says. The Lineo Embedix software development kit and a board support package together will allow hardware makers to build such features as personal video recording and Web access into set-top boxes powered by the PowerPC chip.

Lineo will make the SDK available for $3,000, while the BSP is priced at $1,495. Both products are due for release in the second half of the year, the company says.

Let the music play

Cirrus Logic also announced new hardware and support from manufacturers. The Austin, Texas, chip maker released an embedded processor called the EP7312-90 last week that is based on designs from ARM. The chip is intended for use in home and portable music players. It is capable of allowing a device to record digital music files without the need for a PC, Cirrus Logic says.

Most portable MP3 players require a user to download music files from a PC, whereas Cirrus Logic says its new chip allows music to be recorded on a device directly from storage media such as a CD or Compact Flash card. Cirrus Logic's chip costs $12.25 when purchased in quantities of 50,000 units, the company says.

At least one company has announced that it will use the chip in a new device. Fullplay Media Systems, a manufacturer of digital music devices, announced last week that it will use the EP7312-90 in its Darwin Digital Jukebox, a home entertainment center device for storing, recording, and playing digital music files.

Several operating system and tool vendors put their software on a wider range of hardware at the show, including server appliances and television set-top boxes.

Metrowerks, an Austin-based software development tools maker, released a version of its CodeWarrior development environment tuned for building embedded systems for networked devices such as "smart" vending machines, Internet appliances, and industrial kitchen equipment. The CodeWarrior Development System, Embedded Network Edition, can be used to build software based on operating systems from Lineo, and processors from Motorola, which is the parent company of Metrowerks.

An evaluation edition of the tools is currently available for about $700. A full license for the tools costs $42,500, the company says.