Aava Virta Android handset to be the first shipping Moorestown smartphone

Daniel Carey Jun 4, 2010 Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Us Mobile, Mobile Software, Press Release

We’ve already seen a tonne of Moorestown powered slates and handhelds at Computex, but what about all those Moorestown powered, Android based smartphones? Our hopes have been continually dashed (especially after LG cancelled the GW990), however, we’re once again looking on the brighter side of life thanks to the Aava Virta. With its simple yet sophisticated Android core, and a handful of Intel silicon this thing’ll be ready to fly when it’s released later this year (Q3 to be precise). Spec wise it’s running a Moorestown processor, a 3.8-inch capacitive display (864 x 480), quad band EDGE radios, WiFi, Bluetooth, a microSD slot, and finally a 5-megapixel camera. Interestingly enough, besides the folks at Aava, no one actually knows what this thing looks like. Nevertheless, we will say, if it looks as half decent as the render above, then they’ve definitely made a winner. Press release after the break.

Aava Mobile Announces ‘Virta Android SDK’ for Developing Android on Intel® Atom™ Processor Based Platforms

Hardware-Enhanced SDK Speeds Development of Android App’s for Intel-Based Devices

Taipei (Computex 2010) — June 2, 2010 —- Aava Mobile (www.aavamobile.com) today announced Virta™ Android, a hardware-enhanced software developer kit (h-SDK) for Android developers wishing to write applications for smartphones and tablets running the newest Intel® Atom™ Processor Z6xxx Series based platforms (previously codenamed “Moorestown”). The Virta Android is a fully functioning x86 smartphone that comes pre-loaded with a tailored Android SDK ported to Intel Atom processors.

Aava Mobile created Virta Android to give application developers a real-world device for development and testing. Virta Android is cross-compatible with all current Android SDK software and comes with a capacitive touch screen, accelerometer, GPS, haptic feedback, and video/still camera. Virta Android includes a GSM/EDGE quad band and WCDMA triple-band (band I, II and V) modem, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and all antennae connectivity for complete platform and application testing. The Virta Android is the only phone factor SDK for developing and testing Android platforms and applications to run on Intel Atom processor based devices.

The Virta Android h-SDK was created in cooperation with Intel and has been validated and hardened for Android by Wind River. “Developers require a stable and feature-complete development platform to achieve fastest time to market. Aava Mobile licensed the Wind River Platform for Android to meet developers’ needs by offering a reliable software foundation that is highly optimized for the Intel-based device’s baseline capabilities,” said Chris Buerger, senior director of product management at Wind River.

Application developers Ixonos and Teleca are already using a beta version of Virta Android. “We’ve found Aava’s SDK to be very stable and compelling experience while the addition of a functioning smartphone as part of the SDK enables us to test UI and usability issues in a real world setting,” said Andrew Till, vice president of solutions marketing at Teleca.

Virta Android h-SDK Availability:
Aava Mobile’s Virta Android h-SDK for developing ‘Android on Intel Atom Processors’ can be pre-ordered today by visiting http://www.aavamobile.com/cdk-pre-order.php. The h-SDK is slated to ship in Q3 of 2010.

Aava Mobile x86 Reference Design:
Aava Mobile’s x86 smartphone reference design answers consumers’ demand for more powerful mobile devices that still fit in a pocket and can last an entire day on one battery charge. Current smartphone designs use under-powered chips that conserve battery life, while netbooks and tablets are more powerful but drain batteries quickly and lack the instant-on software experience. Aava Mobile’s reference design is based on the Intel Atom Processor Z6xx Series.

Links:
- Image downloads & video: http://www.aavamobile.com/downloads.php
- Hardware features and specifications: http://www.aavamobile.com/specs.php
- Media interest: http://www.aavamobile.com
- Pre-order Virta Android h-SDK: http://www.aavamobile.com/cdk-pre-order.php

About Aava Mobile:
Aava Mobile was founded in 2009 by a team of engineering wizards with a strong background in mobile phone development who wanted to build an open-source mobile device platform for the OEM/ODM market. Aava Mobile’s open devices harness the creativity of developer communities and provide the flexibility to OEM/ODMs and mobile operators to incorporate their own user interface, content and services to differentiate their devices from competitors. More information can be found at www.aavamobile.com.