I came across this news originally in a French post.
Then I went to the Wind River site for the press release.
This is the most interesting bit:
Pre-integrated third-party software, including existing Flash® technology from Adobe, OpenCORE™ mobile multimedia software from PacketVideo, firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updating and device management software from Red Bend;
My god! They’ve baked Flash into it!
And while the video part sounds exciting on the surface, it’s not.
Look at this chart [PDF link] from PacketVideo:
Click = big
No support for what everyone uses in real life: AVI, DiVX, XViD!
How long is it going to take all of these companies to wake up to what Archos realized from the beginning? Video matters!
What makes me think this is really for tablets are the two screensnaps Wind River provides:
Click = big
Click = big (Ironically, this JPEG is titled “coverflow” at their site!)
Of all the orientations they could have chosen to highlight for this press release, they chose landscape — what a tablet would primarily use.
Archos has had to devote a ton of engineering talent to getting Android to work well on its 5 Internet Tablet. What if they ditched that effort, went with Wind River’s foundation, and concentrated their talent on what differentiates their device from all others — the video playback?
It will be very interesting to see what happens with all of the Android mini-tablets that are due to be announced next month at CES and the year ahead.
Could “Wind River Inside” make the difference between quality devices that work well and Chinese efforts that simply slap Android into firmware and hope for the best?
Additional:
Archos 5 Internet Tablet (Android, 32GB SSD) In-Depth Review
How Industry Software Expertise is Helping to Solve the Android Fragmentation Dilemma
Previously here:
The Ugliest Fight Ever: Apple Versus Google
Barnes & Noble Nook Gets Trashed By Archos 5 Internet Tablet
Camangi WebStation Pre-Orders Are Go
Android OS/Archos 5 Internet Tablet Notes For Saturday November 28, 2009
Android OS/Archos 5 Internet Tablet Notes For Friday November 27, 2009
Syntron Android Mini-Tablet: 3G, 8.9″ Screen
Camangi Android Mini-Tablet: ePub Built-In
Android OS/Archos 5 Internet Tablet Notes For Monday November 2, 2009
The Coming Android Mini-Tablet Flood
Archos 5 Internet Tablet Notes For Sunday October 25, 2009
Dell Tops The Archos 5 Internet Tablet
Android OS Aldiko ePub Display Challenge
eBook Use On The Archos 5 Internet Tablet
eBook Notes For Monday, October 5, 2009
The eBook Test 