New wallpaper for your BlackBerry PlayBook — QNX concept car 2013

Our good friend (and ace graphics designer) Michael Ball took some excellent photos of the new QNX technology concept car, just before it was shipped to 2013 CES. I thought this photo looked especially cool when displayed on my PlayBook tablet, so I converted it into a wallpaper that you can download from my Flickr page:



To download the wallpaper to your PlayBook:

1. Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulleroux
2. Tap the wallpaper.
3. A larger image will appear. Tap Actions, then tap View all sizes.
4. An even larger image will appear! Tap Download the Large size of this photo.
5. Your PlayBook will ask you to enter a file name. Type something meaningful, such as concept_car_wallpaper.jpg, and tap Save.
6. From the PlayBook home screen, tap Pictures, then tap Downloads.
7. Tap the wallpaper you want, swipe from the top of the screen and tap Set as Wallpaper.
   
   You're done!

Self-baking NAND flash memory promises to last longer — way longer

Don't get too excited, as no one is talking commercial availability just yet. But a memory manufacturer has developed a way to make NAND flash last more than 1000 times longer than it does today.

Let's rewind a minute. Each memory "cell" in conventional NAND flash has a limited number of program/erase (PE) cycles. Even a read operation weakens the charge that maintains the data bits. As a result, the NAND cells in your notebook, smartphone, thumb drive, or tablet can often handle only a few thousand PE cycles before they start losing bits. And who wants to lose bits?

Enter Macronix. Using a technique that briefly heats individual cells to 800C (yes, hotter than your kitchen stove), their innovative new NAND flash technology can handle 100 million PE cycles.

I must admit, my first reaction was "so what?". People go through mobile devices like potato chips, so do they really need flash memory that keeps running year after year? But then I thought, what if you're embedding flash in a car that might be on the road for 15 years? Or in an industrial control system that might be deployed once and never replaced? (The QNX OS can be found in industrial systems that have run for 15 or 20 years without a hardware upgrade, so this isn't an academic question.)

There's another reason why this is welcome news. As process size shrinks, so does the usable life of NAND flash. The new technology from Macronix may enable our future devices to offer much more memory, without the downside of a short lifespan.

I'm not an expert on flash memory, so please comment if you have further insight as to how this new technology could benefit future devices.

For more on this development, see the articles on Ars Technica and ExtremeTech.

Why do I work at QNX? Reason #3: We enable cool

My previous post focused on pride. Not the selfish kind (see hubris), but rather, the pride in contributing to a company that helps create things that matter, be they systems that deliver electricity to your home, the Internet to your home, or, in the case of emergency, an ambulance to your home.

But enough with the serious stuff. Let’s focus on some seriously cool stuff instead. I also like being part of QNX because we help people create things…

like this (Audi A8 MMI system):



and this (Solar Impulse solar-powered plane):



and this (JamMan guitar pedals; jump to 1:25):



and this (Asimov Lunar rover):



and, of course, this (I never leave home without one):



For more examples of cool (and important) QNX-powered stuff, check out this overview on the QNX website.

Stay tuned for next post: “I hate being bored”
Previous post: "We help make a difference"

 

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 aces HTML5 test

PlayBook OS 2.0 supports a lot of cool features, including a unified inbox, social media integration, and thousands of new apps. Not to be outdone, the team responsible for the PlayBook's browser have also upped the ante. In fact, the browser for OS 2.0 has become the top scoring tablet browser on html5test.com.

The PlayBook browser achieves a score of 354. The closest competitor, Firefox Mobile 10, comes in at 315.

To learn more about the HTML5 test and how scores are calculated, click here.
 

Porsche 911 concept car makes debut at Mobile World Congress

Here's another opportunity to see the Porsche 911 Carrera concept car in action. This time, it's from the floor of Mobile World Congress, where Derek Kuhn, QNX's VP of marketing, takes us on a tour of the car's coolest features.

Highlights include one-touch phone pairing, BlackBerry PlayBook integration, distributed media playback, high-def handsfree calls, and a dynamically reconfigurable digital instrument cluster. Roll the tape...


 

I'm downloading BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0

If you have a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, join me! And if you haven't seen the announcement yet, check out the press release. It contains lots of useful links and info, including a link to how-to videos.

New features include an integrated email client with a unified inbox, a built-in calendar that harnesses information from social networks, an updated BlackBerry Bridge app, and lotsa new apps and content.

Sorry, gotta go: Download is almost finished. :-)
 

(Yet) another video of the QNX concept car

I've already shared some videos of the new QNX concept car, which made its debut last week at 2012 CES. Here's another video of the car, from the Inside BlackBerry team, that is worth a watch.

Among other things, the video shows how the car can quickly pair with a Bluetooth phone, via NFC. It also shows how the head unit can seamlessly control the backseat tablets. Check it out:



Related posts:

• New CNET video takes you on guided tour of QNX concept car
  
• New QNX concept car is "on the verge"
  
• QNX drives home with a Best of CES award

 

QNX drives home with a Best of CES award

This is old news if you already saw my post on the QNX auto blog. But in case you haven't heard, QNX Software Systems has won a Best of CES Award, in the Car Tech category, for its recently announced QNX CAR 2 application platform.

QNX received the award yesterday, at an awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

For a glimpse of why the folks at CES think so highly of QNX CAR 2 (and of the QNX concept car designed to showcase CAR 2's capabilities), check out this video from CNET's Antuan Goodwin and the photos I posted earlier this week.


The new QNX concept car, which showcases the capabilities of the QNX CAR 2
platform, features one-touch NFC smartphone pairing, tablet-based rear-seat 
entertainment, ultra HD voice technology, and a reconfigurable instrument cluster.
 

New QNX concept car is "on the verge"

Yesterday, I treated you to an excellent video of the QNX concept car, taken by CNET reporter Antuan Goodwin. Well sit back down, because I've got another video that runs through even more of the car's features.

The new video features Jacob Schulman, a reporter for The Verge, and my inestimable colleague Justin Moon. Highlights include instant phone pairing; multi-node media control and playback; text-to-voice for email and text messages; high-def stereo hands-free calls; and voice control of the digital instrument cluster.


 

New CNET video takes you on guided tour of QNX concept car

This just in: Antuan Goodwin of CNET has posted a video walkthrough of the new QNX concept car, which showcases the many capabilities of the QNX CAR 2 application platform.

Antuan touches on all of the car's salient features, including one-touch smartphone integration, backseat entertainment, video streaming, rich app support, ultra HD voice technology, and the reconfigurable digital instrument cluster. Check it out:


 

CrackBerry posts first peek at OnStar RemoteLink for BlackBerry PlayBook

This morning at CES, CrackBerry.com met up with QNX's Andrew Poliak for a walkthrough of the new OnStar RemoteLink app for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

If you aren't familiar with RemoteLink, it provides a very cool and powerful connection to OnStar-equipped vehicles. From the convenience of your tablet or phone, you can access gas mileage, tire pressure, and other information in real time; you can even remotely start your vehicle and unlock its doors.

Cooler yet, the new version running on the PlayBook boasts a user interface built entirely in HTML5. But enough blather from me. Roll the tape...



Did you know? QNX is the core OS for the PlayBook, but it's also the OS for OnStar and OnStar FMW.

This post originally appeared on the QNX auto blog.
 

CrackBerry posts video walkthrough of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0

I may be biased, but I'm really looking forward to OS 2.0. It not only includes native email, but also lets you juggle multiple emails, and multiple email accounts, simultaneously. Mind you, there's a lot more to OS 2.0 than cool new email features. To get a taste of what's in store, check out this walkthrough with Jeff Gadway of RIM:



This video doesn't touch on everything that's new in OS 2. For additional features, check out the RIM press release, which provides a good overview.
 

Sneak preview of new QNX concept car!

A few minutes ago, QNX announced a new concept car, which it will showcase this week at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. Mind you, this isn't the company's first concept car. It has already created a couple of them, including a specially modified Chevrolet Corvette. If you ask me, the QNX concept team did a pretty cool job with the Vette. But this time, they went cooler.

Way cooler.

The new car, based on a Porsche Carrera, comes equipped with an array of features, including one-touch smartphone pairing, tablet-based rear-seat entertainment, high-definition hands-free calls, and a reconfigurable digital instrument cluster. But hey, you can read all that in the press release! So instead, let's take a virtual tour of the car, using some of the first available photos...

The door
To get started, hop into the driver's seat — but before you do, note the QNX logo deftly emblazoned on the driver-side door:



The cluster
Once you get behind the wheel, the first thing you'll see is the digital instrument cluster:



It's too bad I don't (yet) have a video of the cluster. Because if I did, you'd see how it can dynamically reconfigure itself — in response to voice commands, no less. It even communicates with the navigation system to display turn-by-turn directions. Cool, that.

The head unit
Now look to your right, and you'll see the head unit. Here is the unit's main screen, from which you can access all of the system's key functions:



And here's another screen, showing the system's media player:



The tablet integration
Now, I know you're just getting comfortable, but let's step out and take a bird's-eye view of the car. As you can see, it comes equipped with two BlackBerry PlayBook tablets to demonstrate backseat entertainment. But what you can't see is the very cool integration between the tablets and the head unit. For instance, the head unit provides front-seat control of the backseat entertainment — great for when you want to control what your kids are watching or listening to. Better yet, any device can play videos and music stored on any other device. The head unit, for example, could play what's stored on the right tablet, or vice versa. And it all happens seamlessly.



The cool stuff you can't see
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but these photos don't capture everything. For instance, the car also features:

One-touch Bluetooth pairing — Lets you pair a phone to the car simply by touching the phone to the car's NFC reader; no complicated menus to wade through

Conversational voice recognition — Lets you enter navigation destinations naturally, without having to use artificially constrained grammars

Text-to-speech integration — Can read aloud incoming email, SMS, or BBM messages

Ultra HD voice technology — Uses 48KHz full stereo bandwidth for clearer, better-sounding hands-free calls

The car also runs a ton of applications, including TCS hybrid navigation, Vlingo voice-to-text, Poynt virtual assistant, Weather Network, and streaming Internet radio from Pandora, NoBex, Slacker, and TuneIn.

The point
The point of the concept car isn't just to be cool, but to show automakers (and everyone else, for that matter) what's possible in next-gen car infotainment systems. More to the point, the car is designed to showcase the new QNX CAR 2 application platform, which introduces a new HTML5 framework to help automakers "keep their vehicles fresh with new content and features, address consumer demands for the latest mobile apps and services, and leverage a huge developer community." I'm quoting from the QNX CAR 2 press release, which also hit the newswire today. You can read it here.

The rest of the week
I expect the car will garner a fair amount of media coverage, so stay tuned: I'll post links as the week progresses. And while you're at it, subscribe to the QNX auto blog, which will also discuss what QNX is doing this week at CES.
 

New BlackBerry PlayBook Wallpaper — QNX Concept Car

I can't believe I haven't uploaded this one already. It's a shot of the QNX concept car, taken outside QNX headquarters.

At first, I thought the image might be too busy to serve as wallpaper, but I've grown to like it — I hope you do, too.



BTW, the car wasn't moving at the time, so I used some PhotoShop magic to evoke a feeling of movement.

To download the wallpaper to your PlayBook:

1. Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulleroux
2. Tap the wallpaper.
3. A larger image will appear. Tap Actions, then tap View all sizes.
4. An even larger image will appear! Tap Download the Large size of this photo.
5. Your PlayBook will ask you to enter a file name. Type something meaningful, such as qnx_concept_car_wallpaper.jpg, and tap Save.
6. From the PlayBook home screen, tap Pictures, then tap Downloads.
7. Tap the wallpaper you want, swipe from the top of the screen and tap Set as Wallpaper. You're done!

PlayBook videos from BlackBerry DevCon

Here's a passel of PlayBook videos from BlackBerry Devcon, held last week in San Francisco. Videos on new games and the über-cool Cascades platform bookend the set. In between you'll find interviews on three new apps: Box (cloud storage), Citrix Receiver (remote desktop access), and Evernote (note-taking).

Gaming on the PlayBook


Box (cloud storage app)


Citrix Receiver (remote desktop app)


Evernote for PlayBook (notetaking and archiving app)


And last but not least, a demo of the Cascades rich UI development platform:


For more videos from BlackBerry Devcon, including a replay of the general session, click here.

 

Three new PlayBook wallpapers: Timber wolf, sunrise, and fence

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: He's posted a wallpaper of a fence? Actually, it's one my favorites — a pleasant, symmetrical design that doesn't wear out its welcome.

In any case, here are my three latest PlayBook wallpapers, all posted on Flickr. See below for download instructions.

Timber wolf

Sunrise on the Bonnechere

My neighbour's fence

To download the wallpapers to your PlayBook:

1. Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulleroux
2. Tap on any wallpaper.
3. A larger image will appear. Tap Actions, then tap View all sizes.
4. An even larger image will appear! Tap Download the Large size of this photo.
5. Your PlayBook will ask you to enter a file name. Type something meaningful, such as cat_wallpaper.jpg, and tap Save.
6. From the PlayBook home screen, tap Pictures, then tap Downloads.
7. Tap the wallpaper you want, swipe from the top of the screen and tap Set as Wallpaper. You're done!

Download my latest PlayBook wallpapers!

It's taken me forever, but I've finally started to post full-size versions of my BlackBerry PlayBook wallpapers.

To download the wallpapers from your PlayBook:

1. Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulleroux
2. Tap on any wallpaper.
3. A larger image will appear. Tap Actions, then tap View all sizes.
4. An even larger image will appear! Tap Download the Large size of this photo.
5. Your PlayBook will ask you to enter a file name. Type something meaningful, such as cat_wallpaper.jpg, and tap Save.
6. From the PlayBook home screen, tap Pictures, then tap Downloads.
7. Tap the wallpaper you want, swipe from the top of the screen and tap Set as Wallpaper. You're done!

Here's what I've posted so far:

Star field

My friend's cat (actual wallpaper looks much snappier than this image)

Blackbird at sunset

I plan to post more in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Pimp your ride with FOTA

If you use a device like the BlackBerry PlayBook, you're already familiar with the notion, and benefits, of FOTA. In case you're wondering, that's short for Firmware Over The Air. (Still confused? Simply insert the word "Updates" after Firmware. The meaning becomes much clearer.)

Granted, FOTA isn't the sexiest acronym out there. But it's becoming an increasingly important one, especially in the field of automotive infotainment.

The problem, of course, is obsolescence. An in-car infotainment system might be super cool today, but can become super outdated in just 2 or 3 years. Imagine, for instance, if your infotainment system had smartphone connectivity, but could only talk to smartphones that shipped before 2010.

FOTA, along with good system design, offers a way to avoid this problem and to keep infotainment systems fresh with new features and services.

So why am I bringing this up? Because I just read a blog post by my colleague Andy Gryc on the growing role of FOTA in automotive. It's called Fill the Tank, Check the Oil, and Update the Software, and you can read it here.

 

BlackBerry PlayBook becomes first tablet certified for U.S. government

This just in: RIM has revealed that the QNX-powered BlackBerry PlayBook has received FIPS 140-2 certification, making it the first tablet certified for deployment within U.S. federal government agencies.

According to the press release, the PlayBook is the only tablet to achieve FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is required under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA).

Yes, I know, that's a lot of acronyms. But cool news, nonetheless!

For breaking coverage of this story, see the National Post, TheBerryFix, and CrackBerry.com.
 

BlackBerry PlayBook takes home Best of Show from FOSE conference

This just in: Government Computer News has announced that the QNX-powered BlackBerry PlayBook won the Best of Show award at the 2011 FOSE Conference and Exposition, an event dedicated to the government IT market.

The PlayBook also won in the handheld devices category.

According to the article, the panel of judges picked the PlayBook for its user interface, security, enterprise features, and government-friendly focus.

To read the full article, click here.

p.s. Thanks to RobertS for sharing this story with me.