New Linux-based PDA due September 182
Bill Kendrick writes "LinuxDevices.com has a preview of a new Linux-based PDA due out next month. Some of you might recognize the form-factor; it's from Softfield, the folks who ended up with the rights to the first commercial Linux-based PDA, the black-and-white, MIPs-based Agenda VR3. Softfield's new model, the MX-7, sports a 200MHz CPU, full-color 240x320 display, 32MB Flash and 64MB RAM, an SD card slot, and Trolltech's Qtopia environment. All for $299 USD."
Hmm... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hmm... (Score:2)
Re:Hmm... (Score:2)
Phone vs. PDA (Score:2)
Simply put: IMHO I don't like the integrated phone/PDA's they are horrible, bulky, and down right inconvenient.
Now before anyone panics let me explain my otherwise irrational rational. When I think mobile ease of use I think a small hand held phone in my pocket as easy. However the display you see on the phone sucks. To be blunt, I cannot SSH from my phone. So the next best thing is a PDA.
My idea of a good mobile setup is a PDA in the car clove box ready to read mail, surf the web, and SSH to my home co
Not bad at $300 (Score:3, Interesting)
ID me. (Score:2)
I mean, Sony's Clies [sonystyle.com], while no
Re:ID me. (Score:2)
PalmOS and PocketPC models certainly don't have the best suite of built-in software for PIM and other stuff, but it sure is good enough to fulfill the needs of most PDA users. With the Zaurus, since there really aren't any 3rd party options for a PIM replacement or sup
What about Ogg? (Score:2, Funny)
ogg123 (Score:2)
I'm more concerned about wifi. My agenda was a nice little pda, or would be if I could use ethernet instead of PPP.
I'll be sticking with my zaurus until I find a pda with a usb host controller, everlasting power cell, or wifi range equivalent to my iBook's.
Wondering (Score:3, Insightful)
I mean I see major commercial titles hitting Palms and WinCE, if some ported to linux based PDAs, it might snowball into linux, well (get ready to mod me down, zealots), doing something useful for me besides routing packets to my Windows machines and Xbox.
Re:Wondering (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Wondering (Score:2)
Re:Wondering (Score:2)
Re:Wondering (Score:3, Informative)
why are people willing to use a proprietary gui? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:why are people willing to use a proprietary gui (Score:3, Informative)
umm....ever heard of opie [handhelds.org]?
Re:why are people willing to use a proprietary gui (Score:1, Informative)
Re:why are people willing to use a proprietary gui (Score:2)
How free(speech) does it have to be before you'll support it, exactly?
Actually (Score:3, Interesting)
Now, on my laptop, I've got an iceWM XP-styled desktop with: Mo
Re:Actually (Score:2)
But (Score:2)
For games, part of the holdback is the lack of hardware-software integration (driver issues) for the games. Handheld/palm devices shouldn't experience such a setback, as 2D graphics have been good on 'nix for awhile (though X could use some support for hardward 2D primitive drawing).
Perhaps (Score:4, Interesting)
garagegames.com [garagegames.com] provides the Torque Engine for only $100 a programmer. A number of quality games already exist for free or (more likely) as shareware at their site.
There are different libraries like PLIB, which as I remember was used for Tux Kart and other games.
Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be active websites for the community of GNU/Linux game developers. Usually the mailing lists are more active though. The websites look defunct which may make people think that nothing is happening.
As for productivity, yes, it is possible that more Linux-based PDAs will make people want to work on GnuCash and other such projects that are needed for productivity. I think that it might be a catch-22 in that demand for such apps would fuel development but development requires demand...The difference here is that if the hardware developers would hire programmers to actually MAKE the software in the first place, it would solve the problem.
Maybe not the most direct answer, but it is my $.02
Re:Perhaps (Score:1)
So far we pretty much just have Carmacks work to play under linux. So just getting the tools into the hands of serious dev houses is at least a step in the right direction.
Too bad the iDreama was just a wetDreama. A linux based commercial console could have been just the ticket to pave the way for professional desktop linux ports.
Though, the way I see it, PC gaming is dying a slow death any
Re:Perhaps (Score:3, Informative)
Agreed,
Agreed,
Wrong! PC gaming isn't dying! Have you seen counterstrike? Biggest online PC game out there. Biggest tournaments. How many people out there have won thousands of dollars on console games?
Graphics don't make a game, but they make a good one better. And with Doom 3 and half-life 2, PC games will get a huge boost in graphics and environment soon.
They may be diverging. Strategy games and 1st Person shooters are best on PC. As are flight sims. The only games that I think are completely be
Agreed (Score:1)
It is hard enough to make money on the Win32 platform. Publishers don't want to take a risk on Linux-based machines.
On the other hand, there is more to shareware than "homebrewed" stuff. There are professional quality games that are shareware by choice.
Re:Wondering (Score:1)
I always figured that was the reason they made the Linux/Java based PDA's. So that way it would recieve better acceptance and software companies would be more inclined to write a Java program that will work on a WinCE than just a Linux port.
New Linux PDA (Score:1)
Powermac G5, now this!. My Sony Clie PEG-415 and Tungsten W are now on sale...
I need to get back to work to make the big bucks...
Re:New Linux PDA (Score:1)
The only thing that seems good about this is that it's a bit on the inexpensive side. But it runs Linux, so it must be Great!
The agenda was nice but the Zaurus is useful (Score:5, Insightful)
The key to the Zaurus are the two expansion slots, the keyboard, and the fact it runs OpenZaurus.
It looks like the new Softfield PDA will have the SD slot (less useful than CompactFlash) and MAY in time be able to run OpenZaurs.
If it does, it will be a useful device, but you can already pick up a Sharp Zaurus 5500 for less than $300 (I paid about $280 for mine)
- Serge Wroclawski
Re:The agenda was nice but the Zaurus is useful (Score:4, Interesting)
And sold it a month later for $170. The SL-5500 is pretty much crap compared to almost any other PDA. I'd rather have a mono Newton or Psion screen than the pitiful excuse for a color screen that is found on the SL-5500. Let's pray to any and all gods that the screen on this MX-7 isn't as bad...
I now have a Zaurus C760- it's a great platform for running Squeak Smalltalk [squeak.org] and Dynapad [sf.net], especially with its 640x480 screen, but as a PDA, the entire Zaurus line is exteremely lacking.
Anyone know how fast this particular CPU is compared to a 206 MHz StrongARM? If it's any slower than the 206 MHz StrongARM SA-1100 (or the 400 MHz PXA250 XScale, which is about the same speed), it'll suck to run Qtopia and its apps on it. Qtopia is *slow*, especially on PDAs with the 400 MHz PXA250 XScale (SL-5600, SL-C700) or 206 MHz StrongARM (SL-5000D, SL-5500), but it's still kind of sad on the fast 400 MHz XScale PXA255 CPUs in the SL-C750 and SL-C760. You'd think you were using OS X 10.1 on a 400 MHz G3 sometimes...
Hey, read the article- CF (as well as bluetooth and a camera) will be an option. Yeah, more money spent, but at least there is the potential.
Re:The agenda was nice but the Zaurus is useful (Score:2)
Stop by in #zaurus on irc.freenode.net, plenty of people gripe about that screen... it is the same one throughout the 5000D, 5500, and 5600.
It is kind of funnily sad- Sharp makes the screen in the Zaurus models, including the crappy 5500 screen. But, they also make screens for
Re:The agenda was nice but the Zaurus is useful (Score:2)
I had an Agenda and I have a Zarus.
It's slashdot. I thought everyone who posts here had an agenda.
Re:The agenda was nice but the Zaurus is useful (Score:2)
Of course I power up an SD and CF card with it, but I consider that normal use.
It's made me remember/realize the one feature new PDAs need and that's wireless networking.
The Zaurus can use it's CF slot for that (and I do). It's too bad the new Agenda won't have one built-in
- Serge Wroclawski
Sweet! (Score:1)
My new plan (Score:5, Funny)
1. Find something non-Linux based
2. Make a linux version.
3. ???
4. Profit
SirLantos
Re:My new plan (Score:1)
Re:My new plan (Score:2, Insightful)
1. Find something non-Linux based.
2. Make an overpriced Linux version.
3. Watch everybody rave about it on
4. ???
5. Watch as established competitors outsell new Linux version.
Sad but true, at least at the beginning. Any PDA costing over $200 has a color screen and an mp3 player these days.
Re:My new plan (Score:2)
2. Make a linux version.
3. ??? ( = Charge a $100 Premium over the non-Linux version [amazon.com] )
4. Profit
I'd much rather these porting efforts concentrated on providing ports of the OS to inexpensive existing PDA's rather than trying to build their own hardware and then effectively charging a premium to run a "free" OS. I'll pay $20 - $30 to run Linux on my PDA - I won't pay $100.
syncing (Score:4, Interesting)
I own a Sharp Zaurus 5500, and I am not impressed with its syncing prowess. Luckily, I know enough to back up the whole PDA using 'scp', but that doesnt go for Joe and Jane.
I hope Multisync [sf.net] does on to become the defacto tool for synchronizing all kinds of handhelds, mobiles with email, calendar, address books, etc.
Re:syncing (Score:1)
Qtopiadesktop is useless coz it only serves as a backup...i cant use the addressbook in it when composing email in evolution, or can i?
Needs two slots... (Score:2, Insightful)
Think: camera & place to store pictures; WiFi card & place to store downloaded files.
Other than that, seems like YALP (yet another Linux PDA). Not that we couldn't use more of them...
Re:Needs two slots... (Score:5, Informative)
It seems it has a 140-pin expansion slot for other peripherals, like a CF adaptor, etc. Sounds like the "jacket" option of some iPaq models.
Re:Needs two slots... (Score:1)
Wasting an opportunity for innovation (Score:1, Flamebait)
Yeah, and IBM messed up with that too (Score:1)
As a recent pocket pc purchaser..... (Score:5, Insightful)
It looks atrocious (at this point) and doesn't have near the specs dell offers for the same price.
The fact that it's "linux based" doesn't send me into "I want one!" orgasms.
Re:As a recent pocket pc purchaser..... (Score:2, Funny)
Its Free.
Free as in 300 bucks!
People pay twice as much for half the machine if it runs OSX, why not transfer that to the PDA market?
What you need is a blitz marketing campaign with testimonials from tech-savvy individuals like tony hawk and ellen feiss.
Re:As a recent pocket pc purchaser..... (Score:1, Troll)
Except, of course, it'd be kind of the polar opposite of Apple's campaign. Ellen Feiss wouldn't be talking about switching from the beeping computer that didn't work right to one that did... Instead, she'd be like
"Well, so yeah, my dad bought this little computer... It think they call it like a pee dee aay. He says it means it is cool. So, I was like writing a paper for class in TextMaker, and I was going to save it to RTF and email it to my teacher and suddenly I was like- so Mr P
Re:As a recent pocket pc purchaser..... (Score:1)
Hopefully, the next version is a little easier on the eyes.
Which makes me wonder if PDA's will ever be "skinnable" like some cell phones are.
-carolyn
Skinnable PDA (Score:2)
Re:As a recent pocket pc purchaser..... (Score:2)
The Axim is a pretty nice little device. Probably the best color 240x320 screen I've seen on a PDA and SD/CF expansion. Hell, if you're not feeling zealous, you can still do most of that weekend Unix User Group show off stuff on WindowsCE/PocketPC as well as on Linux.
Re:As a recent pocket pc purchaser..... (Score:2, Informative)
Actually, if it's similar to the old VR3, the hardware design is really nice: the rounded corners make it easy to carry around, the screen protector works great, and the device is quite small.
Palm or PPC hardware looks flashier and more high-tech, but hardware like the VR3 is more usable.
Too expensive... (Score:5, Funny)
Please please please (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder if "Opie [handhelds.org]" will make an appearance in commercial hardware anytime soon... it started as a fork of the QTopia environment, and is coming along nicely. It would be really cool to have Opie become the standard palmtop environment.
Opie seems like a dead end (Score:1)
Areas where a Linux PDA could shine are gaming, inventory support, hospitals, instrument control, etc. But the developers of that kind of software simply are not going to make it open source, nor are their customers going to care whether it's open source or not. So, a GPL-only toolkit has no chance. Bu
Re:Opie seems like a dead end (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Opie seems like a dead end (Score:2)
This isnt the same thing as Harmony. The goal of the new libraries is to do things properly, not to emulate libqpe. Whether or not there will be a compatiblity layer for qtopia apps is undecided. This is all quite a ways off in the future though.
At first glance, X seems more convenient, but there are both signficant upsides and downsides. Font and screen handling are significantly better under X than in QT/embedded.
Want to be able to rotate or resize your screen on the fly? X can do it, QT/embedded can
Re:Opie seems like a dead end (Score:2)
I think that depends entirely on the toolkit; there is nothing in X11 that makes it intrinsically slower than Qt/Embedded.
It does depend on the toolkit, some are better then others. By no means is speed a big problem, I think it's fast enough to be usable but the current implentations of X on a framebuffer with common toolkits it was a tiny bit slower.
People keep making that argument, and I just don't think it holds. If there is a benefit to having a single toolkit, then people will start using only
Re:Opie seems like a dead end (Score:2)
Linux PDAs really needs GPS support (Score:4, Interesting)
FPU? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:FPU? (Score:2)
Re:FPU? (Score:3, Informative)
The only SOC device that *ever* had Floating point hardware was the 7500FE (99ukp dev board available from http://www.simte
$299+ (Score:3, Funny)
Only if you believe the marketing. More likely, it will be somewhere around $299 (PDA) + $699 (SCO license) + $50 (shipping and handling) + 15% (taxes) = $1205.20
Qtopia doesn't cut it (Score:5, Interesting)
Sure, it looks pretty nice and it has most of the functionality you might want in a PDA, but it is still significantly worse than either Palm or PPC. Some of the problems include badly thought out user interaction, wasteful use of the limited screen real estate (probably a result of being based on an adaptation of a desktop toolkit), and pretty excessive resource consumption by Qt/Embedded. And there is far less software available for Qtopia than for either Palm or PPC. If you want good PDA functionality, get a Palm.
On the other hand, as a Linux PDA for vertical apps, Qtopia-based PDAs also fall short: you are limited to the Qt toolkit and all the graphics and UI code from existing Linux apps require complete rewrites. You can't use any of the open source GUI tools you are likely used to (Tcl/Tk, Python/Gtk+, etc.). And if you want to write commercial apps, it's going to cost you (you can do commercial Palm development for free).
Linux PDAs will keep failing until their makers recognize that it is futile to compete with Palm and PPC head-on. Linux PDAs can thrive in the niche of providing portable little Linux machines, but that means not limiting the machines to running just a single GUI toolkit.
Re:Qtopia doesn't cut it (Score:4, Interesting)
Semantic distinction or SHARP marketing garbage? A little of both -- but indicative of SHARP's awareness of the problem you mentioned or taking on other PDA's in their own segment.
I use my Zaurus as a mini-workstation and network troubleshooting tool. And to play games, browse the web, take notes, SSH into servers....
For PDA stuff, I use a PDA
Re:Qtopia doesn't cut it (Score:5, Informative)
Indeed. This is true from both the user perspective as well as the developers- Qt/Embedded wasn't designed for use on PDAs, and it shows. I am talking about the API, not the way things look and feel, although that is certainly an issue as well. Qt/E was designed for a system with a mouse like its desktop counterpart, rather than for a stylus based system. This wouldn't be a big deal if TrollTech made the neccesary adaptations and changes to make for a system that worked well on both kinds of systems (there are Qt/E systems with mice and not touchscreens).
For instance, Qtopia has a simple character recognition system in which you write in a little box, ala Graffiti 1 or the Character/Block Recognizer in PocketPC. Developers have wanted to create a new input method that allows one to write letters anywhere on the screen, perhaps using the same engine, but not making you write in a little box. But nope, it appears to be next to impossible within the confines of Qtopia and Qt/Embedded due to the way the event loop works. This is just one example, but these things add up, painting a picture of an embedded GUI toolkit that really doesn't make much sense on a PDA.
And Qtopia/Linux does use an excessive amount of resources. For one, it's quite slow.
I have a Zaurus SL-C760. I just did some timing tests for launching applications, here are my numbers:
Calendar: 6 sec
Opera 6: 6 sec
Netfront 3: 4 sec
Hancom Word: 3 sec
Simple Calculator: 3 sec
And for comparison, I launched analogous apps on an iPAQ 3650. Mind you, the iPAQ has half of the RAM and about half of the CPU power as the C760.
Calendar, Word, PocketIE, Clock, Calculator: all > 1 sec
One way to get around the slowness of app launching on the Zaurus is a feature called "fast load." Basically, the system loads the application into memory and keeps it resident, even when you quit it. When you tap the app it appears to open, and the icon shows up in the taskbar. If an app has "fast loading" turned on, launching time is pretty similar to the PocketPC. Of course, for each app you have "fast loading" turned on, it uses up a MB or more, depending on the app. Turning on fast loading for Calendar uses 1.2 MB of RAM.
As far as memory requirements, the Linux+Qtopia combo uses up a pretty fair amount. On a fresh boot of my C760, with no applications in "Fast load" mode, 16 MB of RAM is used up. No application loaded. On a fresh boot on the iPAQ, WinCE is using up 3 MB.
As far as vertical apps, you may not be able to run GTK+ or Tk apps within the world of Qtopia, you can run X11 and these apps if you want. It negates any advantage percieved for Qtopia, but it's still an option. Then again, you can also run Tcl/Tk, Perl/Tk, X11 and other apps on WinCE without having to go outside the WinCE environment, so it depends on what your needs are.
The "Familiar" Linux distro and the Yopy PDA both use X11 and are thusly not limited to only one GUI toolkit. I myself would rather have one main GUI toolkit, but having options is always good. For me, consistency is more important, but even on WinCE/PocketPC- which is seen as a single toolkit environment can be host to other toolkits as long as someone does the port.
Re:Qtopia doesn't cut it (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Qtopia doesn't cut it (Score:2)
Nope, that wasn't the case in my tests. PocketPC does close apps if you actually close the app rather than using the smart minimize button. Not only did I start the app from a complete no-run state, I also ran each of the apps fresh after a reboot, making sure there wasn't any substantial DLLs loaded by one app and used by the next.
To further credit to PocketPC, I didn't do a full reboot on the Zaurus C760 for app timing, giving the Linux Zaurus a potential leg up, in the case that such libr
Can we say dork? (Score:1, Insightful)
Linux PDA? I don't get it (Score:2, Interesting)
Open source PDA operating system, OK I can see that. But why Linux? Seems to me somebody's just riding on buzzword cache without any regard to whether there's really any demand for a device like this.
Re:Linux PDA? I don't get it (Score:1)
To develop aplications right in your desktop with the same compiler, API and libraries you will have in your PDA.
Re:Linux PDA? I don't get it (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm very glad it exists but I do question the marketing dude's approval of such a device. Moreover I question the engineers since almost anyone that actually owns a zaurus will agree with the fact that it is not a consumer level dev
Re:Linux PDA? I don't get it (Score:1)
This argument was won many years ago, as far as GUI based systems are concerned. Multi-threaded GUIs are much more responsive than old cooperative multi-tasking systems. Try going back to an old cooperative multitasking system, and you'll notice an immediate difference.
Open source PDA operating system, OK I can see that. But why Linux?
The same reason Linux is being used for more and more interactive e
Re:Linux PDA? I don't get it (Score:1)
Re:Linux PDA? I don't get it (Score:3, Interesting)
I was looking into making a networked game for Palms. The OS just isn't designed for servers, or background tasks, or anything like that. A few simple tweaks [google.com] would go a long way to providing that, but even then "it just isn't possible to write a robust server app using PalmOS" [sourceforge.net].
This doesn't just affect games. This kind of limitation means you can't write generic apps that let a Palm reliably serve any ki
Dot Net Compact Framework (Score:2)
I guess it doesn't matter.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Not all that? (Score:1)
A day late and a dollar short (Score:1, Insightful)
My Tungsten C has a 320x320 screen. This "new" PDA has the "old" Zaurus screen.
At least they could have used the Zaurus SL-C700 640x480 screen.
The Real Question (Score:2)
Is this PDA going to actually come out, or is it more vapourware (like the original Agenda) or will it really, truly be available? It was a complete outrage what happened with the Agenda, when /. hyped the hell out of it, they took a bunch of orders and money and then did not deliver. I was going to buy one, and was glad I kept my money so they did not get it. So the question (beyond the unanswered question of what happened to everyone's money the first time) is will this "new company" actually deliver o
Re:The Real Question (Score:2)
Re:The Real Question (Score:2)
The original Agenda came out. You could buy it for a while from the original Agenda Computing, and can still from Softfield the maker of this new MX-7. The Agenda may have been a piss-poor PDA that suffered many long delays, but it was released and it was for sale.
The Delays IIRC were over a year, and a year after announcing it Slashdot announced that the company was no longer shipping to US customers (despite having a big backorder). Yes, some people got them, but I was left with the impression taht a
ugly (Score:2)
Where WiFi? (Score:1)
my $0.02
hmmmm.... (Score:1)
Does the price (Score:1)
Once bitten twice shy (Score:3, Interesting)
Idunno. I have a VR3d. My second one(broke the first one). A lot of software was developed for the VR3 and things were going great, but the hardware just wasn't up to snuff. Broken screens, buttons, lids, and the occasional projectile stylus were more than the developer community could stand.
This new one looks too much like the old one. A revamped power system, more memory, expandability, and the reduction of buttons are all improvements, but the biggest problem with the VR3 was the screen.I will not buy the newest linux-based PDA until I see improvements to the case. The days when I would buy a block of wood with a penguin on it have passed.
I also have an IPAQ 3150(running Familiar Linux) and a Zaurus SL5000d. The Zaurus is my favorite. Native Linux, expandability, and durability seem to be its strong points.
Linux PDAs Stink (Score:1)
Re:Linux PDAs Stink (Score:2)
-russ
if it is like the first in quality... (Score:3, Informative)
Dated? (Score:1)
My question (Score:2)
If I buy any normal FS/OSS based PDA (such as the Sharp Zaurus, or this one), can I *actually* wipe off everything that's on it, recompile all the software, and reinstall, in the same way as I could on a PC? To put it another way, if I want to add a progress indicator to GNU gzip, or make the error mes
Re:My question (Score:3, Insightful)
If you screw up you
gzip (Score:3, Informative)
Bored with my Zaurus (Score:3, Insightful)
Once the gee-whiz factor wore off, I was left with just that. A gee-whiz toy. I have yet to actually do anything with it.
When I had a Palm I used it daily. When I had a PocketPC, I got to reboot it every fifteen minutes and quickly dumped it. The Zaurus never has crashed on me, but I find myself leaving it at home more often than not.
I am going to get rid of the Zaurus soon and go back to the Palm platform. I got a lot more use out of their stuff. Sure, it might crash at the drop of a hat (though nothing like PPC2002 does) but at least Palm thought out the thing from the start instead of trying to be like everyone else.
Linux in a handheld is probably going to be very cool one day. Just not right now.
NetHack (Score:2)
No D-pad or joystick? (Score:2)
Re:sweet (Score:1, Funny)
Re:You dirty child molesting hippie potheads!!! (Score:1, Funny)