Alternative Design For The Ppz, To solve all issues. Options

[Ferret-Simpson]

I think the biggest issue so far, has been that of the keyboard. Feel free to disagree.

Everyone and their grandmother has had their own idea of what they want from this. I've been after a keyboard similar to a Universal or Clamshell Zaurus, some have wanted chorded keyboards, some folding belkin-style keyboards, some just want a slate.

How about just MAKING a slate, without a keyboard. I propose that a separate keyboard is produced, however the heck anyone wants it, that connects to a port on the bottom of the device. You can have it on a cable, folding, with a Zaurus-style hinge on it so that it folds over the slate part. Whatever. You could either use a USB/M-USB connector, or attach it to the internal keyboard pins, (As long as they're capable of hotplugging.) What you'd end up with is a thicker display unit, and a thinner keyboard that you could flip out. You could carry a blooming Sun Type 6 130 odd key USB model instead, if you felt like it.

In fact, put the ATA connector on the same port and put the hard disk in the keyboard. That'll bulk up the keyboard a it, slim down the base unit, and let you decide again whether you want a 2.5GB notebook drive (With an external PSU or LARGE extra battery) a 1.8" CF-type Microdrive, a 60GB iPod drive, or a 256MB Flash card. Whatever floats your boat.

[Da_Blitz]

i guess the usb audio idea is really somthing that popped into my head as a "no direvr writeiing" solution, the audio capabilities and routing on the iMX.3 are very nice (very very nice, you can redirect streams betwean inputs and outputs with no cpu overhead, you attach the devices and route the audio between them as required) however wrieing a driver would be a challenge

that said the zune uses the same chip so when we se a linux on zune port we would get free drivers

the headphone usb thing seems to be a slightly modified connector as weell, i personnaly wonder if therre is a mini a & B version otherwise we would need a seperate poort for host and client. i do however like the idea

now for things i am backing down on
7.1 Sound. i think that its better served as a usb device externnally, thats not to say i wont give it a go. it just means i have a fall back plan
joystick/roller ball. basically depends on the thickness oof the keyboaard and layout. however i think the new design has enough flexability that there may be better ways to inculed it (external module or just use a sixaxis controller (pS3 contreller) over bluetooth)
camera: as this is more a serios device i dont really see a problem in dropping it

there is a reason for leaving the pads for an image sensor in however, mainlly it allows for a high speed ADC to be connected (up to 50Mhz, an posiblly 24bit) so if anything comes of that GPS in software stuff i have been keeping me eye on that would be the way to do it. or if someone needs an image sensor or whatever reason