AMD (NYSE:AMD) today announced revenue for the second quarter of 2012 of $1.41 billion, net income of $37 million, or $0.05 per share, and operating income of $77 million. The company reported non-GAAP net income of $46 million, or $0.06 per share, and non-GAAP operating income of $86 million.

"Overall weakness in the global economy, softer consumer spending and lower channel demand for our desktop processors in China and Europe made the closing weeks of the quarter challenging," said Rory Read, AMD president and CEO. "We are taking definitive steps to improve our performance and correct the issues within our control as we expect headwinds will continue in the third quarter as the industry sets a new baseline. We remain optimistic about our core businesses as well as future opportunities with our competitively differentiated next-generation Accelerated Processor Units (APUs). Our recently launched Trinity APU continues to gain traction with customers. We are committed to driving profitable growth."

You could soon have NVIDIA Tegra 3 processors running entry-level PCs. COM (computer-on-module) and IPC (industrial PC) designer Kontron developed an NVIDIA Tegra 3 system board in the slim mini-ITX form-factor (170 mm x 170 mm), which is compatible with most ITX/ATX cases. The board has most common PC peripheral interfaces, and is fit to drive an entry-level PC. The KTT30/mITX from Kontron features an NVIDIA Tegra 3 SoC, with 4+1 ARM Cortex-A9 cores clocked at 900 MHz and GeForce ULP graphics. The GPU is fit to drive 1080p displays with H264 MPEG-4 encoding/decoding acceleration. Display outputs include HDMI 1.4a (up to 1920x1080 pixels), and LVDS 24-bit (up to 2048x1536 pixel @ 18bpp).

The Kontron KTT30/mITX packs 2 GB of DDR3L memory. For storage, it has an mSATA 3 Gb/s port, two SD card slots, and a bootable eMMC slot. Two mPCIe slots and a SIM card slot (for 3G HSDPA) handle on-board expansion. System interfaces include two RS232 (serial/COM), three USB 2.0. Apart from 3G HSDPA, the board supports gigabit Ethernet. For audio, there's 2-channel analog and multi-channel digital (S/PDIF) audio outputs. The board draws power from a 2-pin DC input. The board should be able to run most distributions of Linux for ARM (including Android and Chrome OS), and technically should also be able to run the upcoming Microsoft Windows 8 RT operating system.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today announced the VIA ARM DS (Digital Signage) system.

Developed for the Android operating system, the VIA ARM DS is an all-in-one system-ready solution for managing dynamic displays for cost sensitive high volume segments where high performance video and connectivity are paramount for enhanced customer engagement. Applications range from kiosks, POS systems, video walls, and menu boards to TVOIP, cloud streaming, and Out of Home Advertising across a broad spectrum of retail, hospitality, education, and entertainment environments.

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) today announces that it is the first hardware manufacturer to support the Windows 8 Hardware Program for its entire product line. Including all ECS motherboards, graphics cards, and AIOs currently on the market, ECS' products are optimized to take full advantage of the improved speeds, capabilities and features with the most anticipating technology Microsoft Windows 8, allowing users to fully experience its unique operating system.

After the success of Windows 7, this year Microsoft has revealed it's another masterpiece-Windows 8. Apart from the old-known operating system, Windows 8 has brought up a brand new image beyond your imagination.

NVIDIA posted a statement following last week's interactive session lead by Linus Torvalds, at a Finnish University, which didn't end too well for NVIDIA. The audience complained to Torvalds about lack of consistency between features available to Windows and Linux, and NVIDIA's stubbornness to help the community come up with alternative solutions to get the advertised features (such as Optimus) to work. NVIDIA's statement focuses on exactly that, consistency of features across platforms, and states that it is one of NVIDIA's priorities.

The statement by NVIDIA doesn't refute any of what a member of the audience complained about. There is still no proper Optimus feature made available by NVIDIA to Linux users, but a reminder that NVIDIA recently made changes to its drivers that makes interface with an alternative system software made by various open-source communities, the Bumblebee Project, easier. Said the statement "While we understand that some people would prefer us to provide detailed documentation on all of our GPU internals, or be more active in Linux kernel community development discussions, we have made a decision to support Linux on our GPUs by leveraging NVIDIA common code, rather than the Linux common infrastructure. While this may not please everyone, it does allow us to provide the most consistent GPU experience to our customers, regardless of platform or operating system."

The statement follows:

Today at an event in Hollywood, Microsoft unveiled Surface: PCs built to be the ultimate stage for Windows. Company executives showed two Windows tablets and accessories that feature significant advances in industrial design and attention to detail. Surface is designed to seamlessly transition between consumption and creation, without compromise. It delivers the power of amazing software with Windows and the feel of premium hardware in one exciting experience.

AMD today announced it will integrate a new security solution into its future products to meet the increasing need to provide consumers and businesses with secure access to their content and worry-free online transactions. Through a strategic technology partnership with ARM, AMD will integrate the established ARM TrustZone technology into future Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) via a system-on-a-chip (SoC) design methodology. This industry-first collaboration will help accelerate broader ecosystem support by aligning x86 hardware with the world's most broadly-adopted mobile security ecosystem.

By adopting the industry-standard approach to security that TrustZone technology embodies, AMD and ARM will provide a consistent approach to security spanning billions of Internet-connected mobile devices, tablets, PCs and servers − whether they are powered by ARM processor-based solutions or AMD x86 APUs. AMD plans to provide development platforms that have TrustZone security features on select APUs in 2013, expanding further across its product portfolio in 2014. In a presentation this week at the AMD Fusion Developer Summit 2012 (AFDS), AMD Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Mike Wolfe described AMD's vision to advance computing security by enhancing AMD's existing security technologies. This is expected to include developing a platform security processor using an ARM CortexTM-A5 CPU that features TrustZone technology, to monitor and help protect against malicious access to sensitive data and operations at the hardware level.

Today at the AMD Fusion Developer Summit (AFDS), global technology leaders came together to announce the formation of the Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundation. The HSA Foundation is a non-profit consortium established to define and promote an open, standards-based approach to heterogeneous computing that will provide a common hardware specification and broad support ecosystem to make it easier for software developers to deliver innovative applications that can take greater advantage of today's modern processors.

AMD, ARM, Imagination Technologies, MediaTek Inc., and Texas Instruments (TI) are the initial founding members of the HSA Foundation. The companies will work together to drive a single architecture specification and simplify the programming model to help software developers take greater advantage of the capabilities found in modern central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), and unlock the performance and power efficiency of the parallel computing engines found in heterogeneous processors.

HARMAN International Industries announced availability of a new line of Harman Kardon headphones that deliver a performance destined to impress music lovers and longtime fans of the innovative and legendary audio brand. The Harman Kardon headphones include five options: two sound-isolating in-ear models tailored specifically for iPhone use and three on-ear and over-ear styles - including a wireless Bluetooth and noise-cancelling model - for music lovers seeking a refined industrial design true to Harman Kardon's rich acoustical heritage.

Harman Kardon, which introduced the world's first stereo receiver in 1958, is synonymous with beautiful sound and attractive design. Pulling from a heritage of acoustic innovation, the Harman Kardon headphones incorporate optimized drivers that produce accurate bass even at low volumes, whereas many competing models today artificially exaggerate bass or treble. The distinctive rectangular shape of the in-ear, on-ear and over-ear headphones mirrors the back case of an iPhone, highlighting a design meant to pair with an iPhone, iPad or iPod.

VIA listed the US $49 Android mini-PC (APC) system board for pre-order. The product sold out in a few hours following staggering demand. VIA announced that all pre-orders will be shipped starting early-July, and the company is working hard to make the product available through local distributors around the world, to eliminate shipping costs to the end-users. Announced the APC back in May, the APC is a neo-ITX system board that can fit into most ITX and ATX chassis, and can be powered both by external 2-pin DC input, and internal 4-pin ATX input. The board seats an ARM-based SoC, which drives Google's Android 2.3 operating system, modified for conventional PC interfaces.

SteelSeries, the leading manufacturer of premium-quality peripherals, and partner Major League Gaming (MLG), the world's largest competitive video game league, today introduced the SteelSeries Sensei MLG Edition Gaming Mouse. As the official, licensed mouse for Major League Gaming, the SteelSeries Sensei MLG Edition brings competitive players the best-in-class hardware as well as a color design and surface that was chosen in cooperation with the MLG community - based on interviewing visitors at the MLG Winter Championship in Columbus. Key features include a 32-bit ARM processor that allows for advanced SteelSeries ExactTech calculations to be done directly on the mouse, easy driverless setup at tournament computers via an on mouse LCD display and menu, and the newest, premium-quality sensor, which increases the CPI to 8,200 and 16,400 DCPI. Attendees at the MLG Spring Championship in Anaheim, CA, June 8-10 will be the first to get an advanced look and can pre-order the sophisticated mouse which will be available beginning this August for $99.99 / €99.99 MSRP.

German gaming peripherals manufacturer, ROCCAT Studios, will unveil one of the most powerful gaming devices ever - and successor to the world famous Kone[+] - with the sneak preview of the ROCCAT Kone XTD Max Customization Gaming Mouse at the E3 expo in Los Angeles and the Computex expo in Taipei on June 5.

Extending the already formidable capabilities of the legendary Kone[+], the XTD is powered by an impressive performance package loaded with the latest 8200 DPI Pro Aim R3 laser sensor, a 32-bit Turbo Core V2 72MHz ARM MCU processor, and the world's most advanced Tracking & Distance Control Unit - all working in clockwork unison to deliver world-beating battle ability. It also features a new mega-tough, ultra-precise scroll wheel designed to let gamers give every command with absolute accuracy.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient computing platforms, today unveiled the $49 APC Android PC system.

Powered by a WonderMedia ARM processor, APC integrates memory, storage, and a full set of consumer I/O features in a small footprint Neo-ITX motherboard that can be connected to a TV or monitor. The system also features a custom build of Android that has been optimized for keyboard and mouse input, and comes with a browser and a selection of preinstalled apps.

For those waiting for the $200 FXI Cottoncandy Android-driven PC on stick with no concrete availability in sight, its competitor already took shape. Discovered on trading and B2B portal AliExpress (from Alibaba), the MK802 is an Android 4.0 PC on a stick, which is priced at US $74 a pop ($70 a piece in >5 quantities). Measuring 88 x 35 x 12 mm, and weighing less than 200 g, the device is powered by a 1.50 GHz AllWinner single-core ARM SoC.

Compared to the Cottoncandy, there are a few things you'd have to do without. To begin with, the MK802 doesn't have an HDMI standard connector sticking out, which lets you plug it directly to TVs, instead it has a mini-HDMI port, so you'd need an HDMI cable. The device packs 4 GB of storage, which can be expanded by a microSD. Connectivity includes one full-size USB 2.0 ports, a mini-USB, with USB host support; and 802.11 b/g WLAN, which makes it an ideal internet-TV device.

Devon IT, Inc., a leading provider of thin client and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) software and hardware solutions, today announced the FX1 thin client, a dual digital display thin client featuring an ARM-based system-on-a-chip (SoC). The FX1, built around the DM8148 ARM applications processor from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI), is designed to provide users with an advanced, high-performance thin client at a low price.

"We're seeing widespread interest in the ARM SoC processor for the thin client platform segment, signaling high demand from a variety of industries," says Joe Makoid, President, Devon IT. "It's a cost-effective solution for the delivery of improved performance and energy efficiency in an enclosed, fanless system. Leveraging the high-definition user experience capabilities of Citrix HDX, the FX1 provides an excellent experience for demanding users who require multi-monitor support and high-definition video at a low cost."

HP today announced powerful business products packed with energy-efficiency, security and performance features designed to meet customer needs across industries such as healthcare, retail, and media and entertainment.

Among the products announced for businesses are:

• The powerful HP t410 All-in-One (AiO) Smart Zero Client, featuring new and innovative one-wire Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology while still providing outstanding multimedia performance and a true PC-like experience.
• The highly customizable HP RP7 all-in-one retail system with a sleek and stylish design that fits into a variety of retail settings.
• The HP L6015tm and L6017tm Retail Touch Monitors with multitouch projected capacitive screens for retail and hospitality environments, and the HP L6010 non-touch Retail Monitor for use as a customer or associate-facing display.
• New high-performance HP Z220 Workstations and HP EliteBook Mobile Workstations, packed with reliable and professional-class features.

TSMC today announced its 28 nm high performance ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core processor test chip achieved 3.1 GHz performance under typical conditions.

The TSMC 28 nm HPM (high performance for mobile applications) process technology that achieved these results addresses applications requiring both high speed and low leakage power. Using various design signoff conditions, ARM A9 at TSMC 28HPM delivers performance speed range from 1.5 GHz to 2.0 GHz, suitable for mobile computing, and up to 3.1 GHz for high-performance uses. With its wide performance-to-leakage coverage, the 28 nm HPM process was developed for devices targeting networking, tablet and mobile consumer product applications.

Although at a much "smaller" scale, Raspberry Pi did to mini computers what iPad did to tablets (wake up a nearly dead product segment), and now a section of the market likes computers to be as small and potent as the ARM-driven Raspberry Pi. Although at a different end of the price and performance spectrum from the Raspberry Pi, Intel has reason to believe its NUC mini computer could achieve market success. NUC (Next Unit of Computing) is a mini box computer for the retail channel, which is roughly the size of a modern wireless router, but as powerful as a mainstream laptop.

The NUC owes its computing power to Intel Core i3/i5 "Sandy Bridge" dual-core processors (probably in the BGA-1023 package), with Intel HD 3000 graphics, and dual-channel DDR3 memory (SO-DIMMs). The logic board measures 100 x 100 mm, and has all the essential connectivity crammed into it, including umm...10 Gb/s Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, 802.11 b/g/n, and HDMI with multi-channel HD audio. This board is smaller than VIA's NANO-ITX (120 x 120 mm) form-factor. The rest of the ABS plastic enclosure's volume is spent housing the cooling assembly. Informed sources predict that while the NUC won't be priced in the hundereds or thousands of Dollars, it most certainly won't be priced at $25. A starting price of $100 seems realistic.

Applied Micro Circuits Corporation today announced the world's first web server implementation running on a 64-bit ARM v8-compliant processor. This demonstration of an open-source web server application represents another critical milestone for X-Gene, AppliedMicro's "Server-on-a-Chip" solution designed to power next-generation cloud-computing data centers and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO). It also represents the first 64-bit ARM development vehicle for the ecosystem community that will aid in the acceleration of server system development.

Since first announcing X-Gene in October of 2011, AppliedMicro has evolved the initial multi-core server-on-a-chip (SOC) implementation to a full-scale server running real applications. This enables OEMs, ODMs, Cloud Service Providers, Independent Software Vendors and other development partners to conduct early stage performance benchmarking and software development in parallel with silicon development.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced the industry's first quad-core application processor built on the High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power process technology. With unprecedented performance capabilities exceeding 1.4GHz based on the ARM CORTEX A9 quad-core, the powerful, yet energy-efficient Exynos 4 Quad, allows system-level architects to integrate maximized power efficiencies into smartphones and tablets which enables double the processing power at a 20 percent lower power bill over its predecessor, the 45nm process-based Exynos 4 Dual.

"The quad-core processor offers phenomenal multitasking abilities surpassing any single or dual application processor. Since all the cores must share a single battery, the power management and efficiency in the limited battery capacity are indispensable for mobile computing devices," said Taehoon Kim, vice president of System LSI marketing, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics. "Given the diverse functionalities consumers are demanding from their mobile devices today, the Exynos 4 Quad meets those high-performance needs while keeping power consumption very low."

With a new line of Atom processors optimized for low-power devices, and Microsoft's touch-optimized Windows 8 operating system, the Wintel (Windows+Intel) alliance aims to reduce the stranglehold that Apple iPad has over the tablet market, all the way down to 50 percent. The duo also aim for this to happen as relatively early as by mid-2013. What makes this an ambitious claim by Wintel alliance, is that while iPad currently holds over 70 percent of the tablet market, it's not that Wintel tablets hold the remaining 30 percent. A bulk of iPad alternatives are tablets running Google's Android operating system, and ARM processors. It would be interesting to see the outcome of this Mexican-standoff in the making (between Windows+Intel, Android+ARM, and Apple iPad), at the end of 2013.

AMD and Google are locked in a race to buy out MIPS, an application processor architecture designer competitive to ARM. AMD comes from a decades old presence in the microprocessor industry, while Google is a satrap with smartphones, tablets, and other mobile computing devices thanks to its Android operating system. With Microsoft opening up to ARM architecture with Windows 8 RT, it is in Google's interests to hedge its bets on an alternative machine architecture to both x86 and ARM. The easiest way to that is buying out MIPS and funding development of powerful processors based on it. For AMD, it's a bid to stay competitive in the low-power processor market as Intel began making inroads to smartphone processor market.

NVIDIA, along with Qualcomm, is reportedly in talks with foundries other than TSMC, for manufacturing of its new 28 nm chips. Despite the fact that TSMC is ramping up its 28 nm capacity at a breakneck pace, NVIDIA is seeing a shortage of production that could affect its competitiveness. An interesting revelation here is that NVIDIA has begun sampling its GPUs on Samsung's 28 nanometer fab process. Samsung uses this process for contract-manufacturing of ARM application processors. Other foundries with proven 28 nm manufacturing capability include UMC.

With launches of new-generation GPUs by NVIDIA and AMD, and new ARM application processor designs by various industry players, TSMC is under pressure to ramp up its production capacity for its new 28 nanometer note. DigiTimes research suggests that this ramp-up is going at a faster rate than older processes such as 40 nm and 65 nm nodes (when those were new). Digitimes Research analyst Nobunaga Chai claims that the 28 nm node started generating revenues in Q4, 2011, and sales ratio reached 5% in the following quarter. It is anticipated to see TSMC significantly ramp up its 28nm production capacity later in 2012, Chai believes.

ARM today announced the availability of a high performance, power-optimized quad-core hard macro implementation of its flagship Cortex-A15 MPCore processor.

The ARM Cortex-A15 MP4 hard macro is designed to run at 2 GHz and delivers performance in excess of 20,000 DMIPS, while maintaining the power efficiency of the Cortex-A9 hard macro. The Cortex-A15 hard macro development is the result of the unique synergy arising from the combination of ARM Cortex processor IP, Artisan physical IP, CoreLink systems IP and ARM integration capabilities, and utilizes the TSMC 28HPM process.