Mobi Press

Here we go again. Like the Moblin operating system before it, Linux-based MeeGo will be merged out of existence.

MeeGo will become Tizen, Intel announced today.

"Intel joined Linux Foundation and LiMo Foundation in support of Tizen, a new Linux-based open source software platform for multiple device categories," the company said in a statement. "Tizen builds upon the strengths of both LiMo and MeeGo and Intel will be working with our MeeGo partners to help them transition to Tizen."

The initial release of Tizen is expected in the first quarter of 2012, enabling the first devices in the market mid-2012, Intel said. The operating environment will support smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, Netbooks, and in-vehicle infotainment devices, Tizen said on its Web site.

Tizen development will be open and led by a technical steering team composed of Intel and Samsung.

The Tizen project, hosted at the Linux Foundation, will "offer" an operating system and a "robust, flexible standards-based HTML5 and WAC Web development environment."

With Apple now on the record about an October 4 iPhone event, analysts are reaffirming their prognostications about the phone's hardware--and adding an item or two to a growing list of specifications.

Chris Whitmore, Deutsche Bank Equity Research, said in a research note Monday that he expects an iPhone 5 with aluminum unibody construction, better camera, and a slightly larger screen size. No big surprise there.

Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw, said on Tuesday he expects better graphics silicon--not unlike the big performance increase that Apple boasted about for the iPad 2.

Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster probably had the most intriguing speculation this this week, saying today he expects speech-based features for the iPhone.

So, without further ado, here are the iPhone 5 upgrades expected:

    * More memory: Possibly 1GB of memory, twice the amount in the iPhone 4.
    * Higher-resolution camera: likely 8-megapixel versus current 5MP.
    * Near-Field Communication (NFC): for virtual wallets. Possible but not certain.
    * Voice control: speculation says new tech will allow voice navigation.
    * Improved graphics: similar to Imagination's PowerVR SGX543 graphics silicon used in the iPad 2.
    * Dual-core Apple A5 chip: a virtual certainty that the iPhone 5 will get a boost in chip performance.
    * iOS 5: new iOS with iMessage, tabbed browsing and lots more.
    * 3G: Qualcomm chipset that will allow connection to both CDMA and GSM networks.

The Omnia W, the first Samsung phone using Windows Phone Mango, will get more marketing support under this deal.
(Credit: Samsung)

Microsoft and Samsung Electronics said today that they had struck a cross-licensing agreement, avoiding the potential litigation that has plagued most technology companies.

Under the deal, Samsung has agreed to pay Microsoft royalties for technology used in its Android-based tablets and handsets. In addition, the companies agreed to work together to further develop and market Windows Phone devices.

The deal represents a rare example of compromise in an industry where lawyers have been the preferred weapon. Over the past few years, Microsoft has been more aggressive in extracting licensing agreements with electronic manufacturers using any kind of smartphone technology. It previously struck a similar deal with HTC.