Samsung introduces Arduino-like open development platform named ARTIK

Samsung has introduced a new compact development board system for developers interested in making products for the booming “Internet of Things” category. It’s called Artik, and it’s essentially an Arduino-like platform that’ll equip developers with the sensors and tools needed to prototype internet-connected devices.

Artik isn’t very special in that regard, save for the fact that it’s an open platform with no proprietary bits holding you back. Samsung Artik also emphasizes the use of wireless communication sensors where many Arduino boards don’t.

Samsung will have three different modules available at launch depending on what you’re yearning for:

• ARTIK 1, the smallest IoT module currently available in the industry at 12mm-by-12mm combines Bluetooth/BLE connectivity and a nine-axis sensor with best-in-class compute capabilities and power consumption. It is specifically designed for low-power, small form- factor IoT applications.


• ARTIK 5 delivers an outstanding balance of size, power and price-performance and is ideal for home hubs, drones and high-end wearables. It incorporates a 1GHz dual-core processor and on-board DRAM and flash memory.


• ARTIK 10 delivers advanced capabilities and high-performance to IoT with an eight-core processor, full 1080p video decoding/encoding, 5.1 audio and 2GB DRAM along with 16GB flash memory. The Samsung ARTIK 10 includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE and ZigBee connectivity and is designed for use with home servers, media applications, and in industrial settings.

Unfortunately the platform isn’t quite ready for general availability just yet, though developers interested in trying it out in the early going can apply for Samsung’s Alpha Developer Kit right here.

[via Samsung Artik]

 

Dish and T-Mobile are considering a merger, and John Legere would be named CEO of the new pact

T-Mobile is trying to get swept off their feet by a company willing to take on their burdens, and a new candidate has arrived. The Wall Street Journal reports Dish and T-Mobile are in talks about a possible merger deal.

The talks are only in the “formative” stages, according to them, so there’s nothing concrete being planned just yet, but the fact that the two sides are talking is still quite a big deal. The deal stands to be lucrative for both sides.

Dish Network has been trying to swallow up a carrier for a few years now, with a failed attempt at Sprint and Clearwire being their biggest highlights. Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s plans to to sell themselves off to another carrier or any telecommunications company in need of a solid cellular division are well documented, particularly in 2011’s failed merger between them and AT&T.

For its part, Dish was interested in T-Mobile even before the AT&T deal failed. The company expressed their interest in taking a swing at T-Mobile if they were still on the market after antitrust investigations and trials, so you could say this has been a long time coming.

We’re not sure how the market would react to such a proposal, but we can’t seem to draw up a scenario where the Justice Department would shoot it down on fears of anti-competition and antitrust. Neither company has a significant stronghold in their respective industries, so fears that the merger would create a monopoly would seemingly be unwarranted.

One interesting detail Wall Street Journal did pick up on was that John Legere would be named CEO of the new company should they join forces, while Dish’s CEO Charlie Ergen would serve as chairman of the board.

We aren’t surprised the company would want Legere at the head of the beast considering he has turned T-Mobile around in a big way these past couple of years. He’s also the sort of edgy and bold CEO companies yearn for in this day and age (particularly due to his strength in appealing to the common consumer).

“Plans” are all they have right now, though, and there’s likely a lot of details to hammer out before we see anything official. Heck, it’s just as likely that they might call the whole thing off before they even get to inking some legal paper.