Webpad pioneer spins Linux-based reference design

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Jun. 07, 2007

A pioneer in the mobile Internet tablet market is offering support to other devicemakers developing Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) based on Linux. PepperPad producer Pepper Computing says it plans to ship its Pepper Linux implementation this fall to multiple adopters of Intel's MID hardware platforms.

As a whole, for the past year, the personal computing industry has seemed preoccupied with finding the next level of miniaturization, now that laptops outsell desktops, while mobile phones outsell all other computing devices put together. Nokia seemed to launch the craze a year and a half ago, with its 770 Internet tablet. Microsoft and Intel followed with the UMPC/Origami concept. Intel took it a step further with the MID. Via parried with the NanoBook, Pico-ITX, and Mobile-ITX. Palm surprised with the Foleo, a kind of smartphone co-Pilot (pun intended). Asus threw a $190 3ePC into the ring.

Meanwhile, Pepper Computing has been quietly toiling away at perfecting the Linux web tablet appliance for more than four years. Its tablets run a simplified Linux-based OS oriented toward:

Home automation, with built-in universal remote control capabilities
Cooking, with a "Pepper Keeper" recipe card file system
Multimedia, with modern UPnP Control and Rendering agents
Communication, via VoIP, IM, and email clients
Coffee table browsing, with in-built WiFi and Firefox

Like many companies slightly ahead of their time, Pepper seems to have struggled at nailing down a solid business model. It launched the original Pepper Pad as a ready-to-manufacture reference design, later marketing a redesigned PepperPad 2 direct to consumers. A switch from ARM to an x86 architecture brought the PepperPad 3 followed by an OEM licensing deal with home appliance giant Salton. Now, Pepper looks set to try out the market for software reference designs for Intel-based MIDs.

According to Pepper, Pepper Linux was "designed specifically for the mass market of non-technical consumers." Touted features include:

User interface and graphics optimized for 4- to 7-inch LCDs
Power management for extended battery life
Automated WiFi and network configuration
"Maintenance-free" malware protection
Automated updates of applications and the OS
Licensed audio and video codecs
High-quality licensed full-Unicode fonts
Flash memory or disk footprint of under 500MB

Jon Melamut, Pepper's VP of business development, stated, "Pepper can provide the Intel MID ecosystem with a mass market solution that includes real Internet, Web and media access plus a fully-documented SDK today."

Pankaj Kedia, director of Intel's mobility group ecosystem, added, "Linux is well-suited to meet the requirements for MIDs from a footprint, power, and responsiveness perspective. Intel's low power processors and chipsets, combined with Pepper Linux, will enable our customers to deliver a compelling experience for the end user."

Availability

Pepper Linux will ship to device-makers this fall, Pepper said.

Meanwhile, Canonical is readying a version of Ubuntu for MIDs, while Asian Linux distributor Red Flag plans a MIDLinux offering.

-- Henry Kingman

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