Processor manufacturer Freescale Semiconductor has announced a reference design for tablet PCs that the company believes will make products feasible at a cost of $200. The first demo devices are to be exhibited at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, which is due to start on Tuesday. They offer a 7-inch display, run on Freescale's i.MX515 ARM processor, and include Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth.

The open-source Linux operating system is seeing major growth in the mobile and embedded space, especially in the smartphone market. Handset makers and mobile carriers are adopting open-source software because it significantly reduces licensing and development costs and also provides higher flexibility.

The battle to position Linux on the desktop has always been tenuous. Because the OEM relationships and marketing dollars will always promote the proprietary solutions.

However, the advancement of mobile devices and the major shift to cloud based data storage and applications delivery means that the "desktop" space is perhaps no longer an area worth fighting to gain a share.

At this year's Mobile World Congress(MWC) in Barcelona, while Microsoft announced its Windows Phone 7 Series this week, a number of other companies are announcing their new Android-based devices. The open source Android OS devices, which range from mobile phones and notebooks, to tablets and Internet Devices, include updates to popular well known handsets and several new mobiles.

About five years ago, it was clear to me that personal computers would disappear… in our pockets. Along many other analysts, I could see computers getting smaller and smaller, and mobile phones getting busier and busier. Eventually, my dream-prediction said, it wouldn’t quite be “one computer on every desk” but a much more exciting “one computer in every pocket, and one monitor/keyboard paid on every desk”.

Six degrees of freedom (6DOF) devices allow for movement in three axes, tilt in two axes, and rotation in the third. Some of these devices look like small joysticks -- for example, the SpaceNavigator. These devices are typically used for computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and other 3-D applications. With a new programming library, you can now also use them with Linux applications.

With Linux being used as the foundation for numerous smartphone and mobile internet devices, it is tempting to suggest that this movement is going to open the doorway to desktop Linux. Tempting, but not accurate.

I applaud Canonical for pushing Ubuntu beyond the desktop — up onto servers, and down onto mobile devices. But I’m starting to wonder: Can Ubuntu really gain traction on Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)? Or put more bluntly: Does the world really need another mobile device operating system?

Dell is planning to release a bevy of ARM-based mobile devices, according to what Engadget says are leaked company documents. The devices include four Android-based phones, two Android tablets, and the company's first Windows Phone 7 device, the website says.