Today’s topics include Samsung’s new feature-packed Galaxy S8 phone that comes with a higher parts price tag; Microsoft’s test drive of a replacement for its popular Wunderlist app; Linux Foundation’s introduction of Edge X Foundry; and Violin Memory’s resurrection after finding a private equity buyer.
Samsung has packed its latest Galaxy S8 smartphone with components costing $43.34 more than those inside its last standard flagship phone, the Galaxy S7, as it continues to add features to attract more buyers.
The parts tally for the new Galaxy S8 was revealed through a recent device teardown and report by research firm IHS Markit, which determined that the total parts list in the S8 adds up to $301.60, while manufacturing costs add another $5.90 per phone, according to the April 20 report.
Wayne Lam, principal analyst of smartphone electronics for IHS Markit, told eWEEK that the parts value in the latest Samsung S-Series phone line continues a pattern his company has seen since the start—with each iteration increasing the value of parts inside the devices.
It appears as if the clock is ticking for users of the popular and highly regarded Wunderlist app. On April 19, Microsoft released a preview version of To-Do, a task management app inspired by Wunderlist.
The company acquired 6Wunderkinder, the German maker of the popular Wunderlist app, in 2015. Now, nearly two years later, Microsoft is getting ready to pull the plug on the app that started it all in favor of To-Do.
However, currently To-Do has only a two-star rating out of a possible five stars in the Apple App Store although it is faring a bit better with a 3.7 star rating at the Google Play store. By comparison, Wunderlist currently carries a 4.5-star rating in both the Apple App Store and Google Play app marketplace.
A new internet of things project was launched this week by the Linux Foundation—EdgeX Foundry. Dell is contributing its Fuse IoT code base as the initial code for EdgeX Foundry, providing an open framework for IoT interoperability.
Philip DesAutels, senior director of IoT at the Linux Foundation, told eWEEK that with its common framework, EdgeX aims to help solve some of the current challenges of IoT deployment. EdgeX provides developers with a plug-and-play infrastructure to create edge solutions.
At this point, there is already at least one company that has Fuse-enabled devices. IoTech is the first company announcing products based on EdgeX, with many others announcing support, DesAutels said.
Violin Memory, one of the true pioneers in the all-flash array market, had been waiting nervously for months, wondering what the future of the company would hold. Finally, the answer came.
Violin Memory filed an SEC affidavit April 21 that explained its emergence from bankruptcy announced last December, then revealed on April 24 that it had completed a restructuring and sale process to Quantum Partners LP, a private investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management LLC.
Details of the transaction were not released. Violin will retain its proprietary intellectual property, customer base and professional team. The private fund will handle the business of the company.