Build Your Own Linux Powered Pda

[speculatrix]

ps: amusing thought... borrow Seiko Kinetic technology, so that shaking the pockpeng charges it up... thus when overclocking during games requires the most vigorous shaking to maintain charge

[Ferret-Simpson]

Most modern Digital Camcoders use batteries no larger than say that of the 5600.

Charging HAS to be internal, but the batteries need to be removable to deal with replacement in the future, so an external charger would be a simple add-on.

AA = VERY wrong shape. Either Digital Camcorder, or latest Zaurus is the way to go. We need at least 1800mAh in this system, because of the high-power requirements of the twin-cpu system, as one will always be active. Also, when running fully, Battery life is likely to be in the region of about an hour (With EVERYTHING on) with an 1800mAh batt, so less is most certainly NOT more.

Nah, they filtered most of the Open Proxies already.

[Ferret-Simpson]

Ok, first review of the mockup from the Ferret.

With this design, the controls are too easy to access externally, Even with a hold switch, they're likely to be continually operated in the pocket, which will wear them down.

It's a Phone display, not an MP3 display. XP (Ok Ok, it's both.)

Will sketch my case design, and show you.

So basically, it's a clamshell with wings. Only other notes to make. .  Where on the screen does the VOIP camera go? If the second TFT and the main TFT are on the same screen, since the second TFT is recessed and covered, isn't it going to be really thick? And with the Camera and second screen on the same panel, how tdo you go into portrait mode and have a camera viewfinder?

[danboid]

Shape-wise I want something very similar to the uni, size-wise something between the uni and a 6000 is what I'd expect we're looking at. I'd want those shoulder buttons to be comfortable if they're going on so we might have make it a bit more elliptical than the uni?

Its probably the harder design for DB to implement but I much prefer the clamshell PDA design over the very 'phoney SK3 style. I don't want crumbs and residue in my balls crack

[Lurker]

I have come across several digital cameras which use batteries with the same dimensions, voltage, and mAh as the EA-BL08/11, the unfortunate difference being that the terminals are reversed. Here is an example I just dug up with a quick googling:  link

[Ferret-Simpson]

That's fine!

After all, this is a new mobo, I'm sure DB can find the resources to flip the pins on the mobo batt. connector! GOOD WORK! XD

[Tom61]

What yau did with the zodiac is what i am talking about with the SK design, i like it as it works for many things

thanks for the photos, i hope to have some up soon. do you mind if i attach them to the wiki or do you prefer a link to them?
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Go ahead and post them to the wiki, I just used flickr because they automatically resize the images.

Did we ever decide concretely where the camera or cameras were going?

I believe Da_Blitz first suggestion was to have it just on the back, which would work good, as you could use one of the shoulder buttons as take picture, and another for video recording (like my camera has). There was a suggestion of a swivelling camera, which would work for both video conferencing and picture taking, but where to put it? Also, there was the suggestion of using a 640x480 camera on USB on the front screen, then a 2MPixel on the back, but that would mean two cameras, and added expense (plenty of bandwidth left after 802.11g on a internal 480Mbps USB2, so that argument isn't valid.) Then the rather odd suggestion of haivng a 2Mpixel camera next to the main screen, for video conferencing, then rotating the screen up and around for picture taking, which I don't like as I've dropped cameras too many times to be confortable having the main screen so exposed during picture taking.

[Da_Blitz]

the question is, where do i get these battries and how large (dimensions) are they?

it may seem simple but you have to remeber that its all going in a small package and i have to work the PCB around it.

until i can find a source for all the parts i cant go any futher. when i have them the work should get done quite quickly

[Da_Blitz]

Actually i thoght we were haveing the camera on the screen pointing at the user with the screen on the bottom acting as a view finder

as far as i know no ones mentioned putting the camera on the usb bus as we have a built in data port with image processing. there may have been refrences to a webcam but nothing more than that.. putting the camera in the hinge makes it alot easier and allows us to use better optics as we can have a longer "barrel" (not sure of the correct term). whereas with the camera in the screen we are limited by the fact that i want to keep that as thin as posible

the other option is to put it inside the silver plastic hinge (on the c3000) on the right or left and have it swivel so that you can keep the screen closed and still use the bottom as a view finder. the cool thing about this is you can then open the main screen and rotate the camera so it is pointic to the bak of the device and tilt the screen so it looks like a normal video camera, just a bit harder to hold

those battries look good. ill have to see if they are "smart" or not. its going to be dificult if we dont want to be tied to the one vendor but ill see if i can pull off a neat trick with the electricals to make it a bit more flexible

[danboid]

Amiga 1000 - Mainly designed by Jay Miner

PocketPenguin 0 - Mainly designed by Jay Coals (Coles)

Two machines linked by the Zaurus because the SL Z almost ran AmigaOS instead of Linux!

Strange eh?

[Da_Blitz]

very

[Ferret-Simpson]

And if someone else takes the bounty, or I learn to code, then the PocketPenguin WILL run AmigaOS, in the form of AROS: Currently needing developers to port it to ARM Linux Hosted.  And then afterwards, to ARM native.

On the screen hinge is also a good idea, but will mean that VOIP can only be used in Slate mode. . . (When the PP is open, it'll need to be at 30' - 45' from the keyboard, when closed, 90'.)

I don't think having perfect optics is too much of a worry, the average camera in a modern mobile phone is slim enough to go into our screen panel, and the 2Mp cameras take really quite good images. . . Any higher a resolution and our video-in bus won't be able to take it at a good FPS anyway. My normal digital camera is 2Mp, so if anyone needs more, just buy a DSLR. XP

I wish I had a universal to do a mockup the same way Tom did, but I don't so I might make a cardboard model in the next week or so.

How's work on the keyboard coming Stamp?

[lardman]

Looks cool  I'd be interested in something like this.

Regarding the screen size - is the 4" a diagonal or horizontal measure? I find the Zaurus screen (C750) too small (physically rather than in resolution terms) to be useful while the Nokia 770 is great (as was the Psion 5(mx)).

I'd also vote for not using Zaurus batteries - mainly because they seem to be hard (and expensive) to get hold of.

BTW Is the wiki down atm?


Si

[Ferret-Simpson]

If we had a device like a Nokia 770, it would be useless to everyone else. The system is a POCkETPenguin(Zero). If we started to increase the size with a large screen, we'd hit the problem that the system no longer fits in a pocket and would have to be renamed.

The Motherboard set is designed so it should be technically useable as part of a different device (We may need to make a second Laptop-Size Keyboard Panel available so that people can just swap the top board over to put it in a larger case design) Only problem is, you'll need to build your case to support the Motherboards, rather than doing it the other way around as we are doing in initial development. You'd also need to relocate the three Aerials (Wifi, Bluetooth, Phone) to different places in all probability. That's not hard though.

If you really want to, you could have your own case made, and just buy a motherboard set to include in your own device with a larger form factor, to which you could add a larger screen (This is the only place i can see you hitting problems electrically) with a higher res, a 2.5" hard Disk on the ATA port, a nice big 5200mAh battery that would keep the PDA running for huge amounts of time.

I find the 1" square screen in my wristwatch perfectly useable. If you need a larger screen, I think you should ask yourself which is more hassle. Scratchbuilding a SlatePenguinZero, (XP) or getting contacts.      

[lardman]

I can actually see . What do you use the 1" square for?

Certainly web browsing, watching videos and using spreadsheets/graphing programmes benefits from a larger screen.

I understand your concerns about a pocketable device, it's just that there's a balance to be struck between being so small that it's not really very useful, no matter how high the resolution, and so large that you leave it behind because it's inconvenient. From my point of view, the Nokia is a little too large, and the Zaurus a little too small.

Then again, this may just be my personal preference - I can't stand working on laptops as I find their screens far too claustrophobic (too small and not enough of them) compared to the 2 monitors I have attached to my PC.


Si