I purchased the original O2 XDA as soon as it was released and some of my wishlist has been fulfilled by HTC with the XDA II. With MSN Messenger, Outlook and Pocket Word I found that there was little need for a laptop and use of my desktop also reduced... equally there are numerous reasons why I am glad to find some dedicated XDA developers...
Wishlist for XDA III starts with:
1) UMTS... 3 should contract HTC to do this as soon as a dual tranciever becomes small enough, the XDA would make a great video phone platform and would give 3 the best PDA phone on the market. I would immediately choose 3 over 02 (or any non-3G operator) if this were the case... however O2 wins at the moment as GSM/GPRS are ample for email and IM.
2) Video out (so I can hook it up to eyewear or an external screen) my next goal when I upgrade to the XDA II. Also... it should be video out at higher resolutions such as 640x480 enough for XDA III and ideally later to 800x600 ++ etc... and why not ask for firewire NVidia style graphics processing, a few gigs of RAM and a Lenslet optical DSP too while on my long term wishlist!
[okay update is scrap the Lenslet Optical DSP - it turned out to be a TI DLP essentially] - And guys I like the new look but you have squished some of the message topics so where does this belong - Hacking it isn't quite right - I'm talking rebuilding it, I only got one reply this month and it wasn't really relevant
[Actually scrap PDAs altogether... with eyewear (and a wearable PC) looking at a piece of Augmented Reality (AR) paper and holding an e-pen is going to be better than anything a PDA can ever offer (sorry HTC) e.g. 24 bit colour with 3D graphs and images that rise out of the page on a full A4/Letter sized PDA that folds up and fits in your pocket and cost $5 for 500 sheets. No contest]
Anyone feel free to send on the XDA III ideas to HTC though... the glasses may be many years away :-(
3) The usual form-factor miniturization requirements... HTC have done well to get slightly smaller with the antenna and still pack so much more punch. Equally though when this device's width and height can be miniturised to approach the screen size it won't have any trouble competing in the regular handset market (and should clean up [okay I take that back too] - so this should be a key goal). Actually Microsoft should simply dump Stinger and put the money into R&D at HTC and its component suppliers to get the components and the XDA smaller quickly.
4) A flip up phone numeric/alpha keypad that covers 80% of the screen while in phone mode showing just phone status and number dialed on the screen *and* that then flips back about 180 degrees and perhaps folds out left and right to reveal a good qwerty keypad on its reverse... this would be most useful for speed/finger dialing in the numeric mode (which is impractical/slow on the original XDA) and also is necessary for texting with SMS and on MSN Messenger (something I think the device will increasingly be used for by corporate users now that Microsoft has released its real time communications server products)
This keypad should also fold fully back another 180 degrees into the back of the XDA III and automatically disable the keys in this configuration so the device can still function as a normal pen based PDA without anything activating or getting in the way. Would need some re-engineering to work with the current location of the ports and MMC slot etc... and may need to fold left or right etc... instead of up/down but I will leave that up to the HTC engineers to work out. I am sure it can be done and other phones are already doing at least part of this function. Also may need to create a special TFT that allows partial back-light to save power when in 'phone' use mode and the rest of the screen is covered and not in use (or maybe not?... expect it will depend on battery useage/production cost vs benefit user scenarios and testing - again over to you HTC).
5) Ability to replace the face-plate covers to style the device would be good but ideally will be best done when the form-factor reaches a stable size if want to make a recurring consumer market/revenue from them as Nokia does... so may be best to leave this one to XDA IV or V. (I came up with a way to prevent 3rd parties from creating unlicensed face-plates and make them much more valuable but that is another story and best left out of the wishlist at the moment for IPR/legal reasons).
6) A thumb control panel on the side of the device that is interchangeable left or right to cater for left-handed/right-handed 'one-hand' operation. This is something Sony has done relatively well with their jog-dial on phones which I understand they hold a patent on... it serves the same function as the wheel on a standard Microsoft intelli-mouse (spelling?). However most other manufacturers seem to have missed that a wheel is not optimal for a thumb to move and a four way tilt-switch (sort of like a better Toshiba laptop pointer) with the appropriate software controls to handle 'acceleration' through a list would work equally as well as a wheel... best shown diagramatically (hoping font is fixed width - ok ignore dots as the message board has removed spaces and I have dinner waiting so aren't going to bother putting nbsp HTML tags in):
Handset (e.g. XDA III) as seen profile from the right hand side standing vertically (e.g. screen to the left):
...........................Scroll UP list
...................................../\
Back/Cancel/Left........< X >...........Right/Forward
.....................................\/
.........................Scroll DOWN list
X - marks the Activate/Call/Fire key (e.g. push in/down)
Ugly but makes sense hopefully.
(controls would flip when the attachment was slid/plugged in on the lefthand side for left handed use)...
(Also thinking that using the two sides of the XDA to slide different control panels in would achieve what the iPaq tried to do but which was too bulky with the 'sleeve'. E.g. someone might want to put a thumb-print reader on it etc... actually that should just go as standard where the X button is above!!! That should give HTC some fun!)
The side-panel 'pointer' idea above is a carry-on invention from a controller I came up with back on the Amiga 500 which I called a Turtle (it simply combined a tilting shell - the joystick - on top of a mouse. It was more to stop having to change plugs at the back of the Amiga than for any other reason back then but I realised later it would have allowed the same control as an intelli-mouse (if Workbench had had the software controls built in...) for scrolling based on rocking the shell forward/back/left/right). For a phone the concept is slightly different but I have tested out all usable scenarios on paper with the 4 way tilt-switch plus 'click' push for one-handed phone operation and it would be a very useful addition to the side of the XDA to allow scrolling up and down and moving left and right (particularly when using Pocket Internet Explorer since most websites are not optimised for it yet and the width of the page does not fit on the screen requiring excessive pen based scrolling. Also Back/Foward and Up would allow page/folder browsing controls similar to those on IE and Windows Explorer). Also I think it would be most handy for getting through contact/number lists rapidly when needed in one-hand operation just as the Sony phones allow now. When voice commands are added that will allow the XDA to browse say to a given URL hands free but it will still need a one-handed control button like this as it would be a pain to keep having to say 'scroll down', especially on a bus or in a public place (noting that the current multi-directional controller allows this but is not ideally located for one handed operation).
7) Secure authentication at the hardware level and a smart card reader slot to allow bank and payment cards to be used for direct debts. This would allow something for O2 or 3 that I originally thought of in Cambridge for Rational to reduce their licensing costs... but it works equally well the other way around and involves charging for the use of applications on a per-use or per-feature use basis rather than as a package. This would provide operators with the incentive to pre-load the XDA with the very best software available and to do OTA updates of it to ensure users were always happy... I would like this mostly because it would allow some predictability in the size of the bill at the end of each month, traffic seems like a primitive way to charge and per-useage/feature would be preferrable... 'User Pays' is probably the best term... (equally well if you don't use it because a given piece of software sucks, I don't want to have to pay a software license fee to find this out). In any case it should force the right motives for mobile/PPC software vendors and could create a 'best-of-breed' software product set for the XDA based on the financial incentive of getting the best software for each user so they 'want' to run up a bill (sic). It could be done with both Java based and MS/PPC based products and it is probably best done in partnership with Microsoft at the OS level as I heard they are working on some kind of billing system already and didn't want to work with Geneva on it.
8) Okay, some other simpler ideas... the controller mentioned above could act as a good volume control during a call or during music playback as it is more 'analogue' to touch and control (don't know why Microsoft still hasn't put an analogue twist-style 'digital potentiometer' on the PC keyboard for volume and similar functions) however it is preferrable to the pointer finger located click-button approach on many phones which is distracting to use during a call. I should have mentioned above the four-way thumb-push/tilt thing needs to have a nice 'feel' - it could concievably be a graduated push/pull/tilt control that startes with easy movement (for gross initial control) and then becames harder for precision... I think though it might be too small for force-feedback :lol:
9) So that is a requirement also - XDA III should come pre-loaded with good software... taking the per-usage billing model (and interchangeable or pre-built on multi-coloured face plates) it should be possible to brand the XDA as more than just a silver corporate device. I think it has the potential to be *the* key device leading on to becoming a wearable PC. One version should also be branded as a games machine with all the latest games on it and little features in the game like buying an upgraded weapon could make the operator a tiny fee, another device aimed at corporates (with partnership deals to allow for per-industry/company specialisation) and why not do a household style one for men/women to use in the kitchen to get recipies, as a shopping list to get groceries etc... Thinking about it probably the biggest market would be to do a stripped down version that focuses on MSN Messenger and sell it to school-kids charging 2-5 pence/cents per message... it would save parents from having to buy a separate PC for the kids. Or keep it full-featured and tailor it to school work so that it becomes a must-buy for all kids and gets part funded by the govt... pre-configured with maths/homework programs, teacher contacts and course calendar etc... Could actually be good at University level also since my XDA was the first device I have had that actually did handwriting recognition to the point I could take proper notes. In any case ... 'pre-configured' is a term that should be applied to XDA III.
10) Thinking of uses once it has UMTS... it could become *the* key platform for interactive TV around the house and office... after all interactive TV is valuable only when you want to 'do' something and most of the time I'm doing things I am not in front of a TV set. It would be great for example to have a 'ruggardised' version of the XDA that I could use in the electronics workshop, dad's wood workshop or in the garage... actually the more I think about it Microsoft needs to do something to get integrated video in the Internet Explorer window rather than on Media-player on the Pocket PC... plus with schematics (SVG) etc... so someone can get an engine assembly diagram etc... or more relevant here, I'd like to get an XDA 3D cut-away, schematic and wiring diagram so I can make my own video-out now.
11) That also means the little camera on the XDA II should really next time be mounted on the top of the XDA III with a swivel camera that 'flips' the picture depending on whether it is facing towards the screen and user or away from it towards an object. My Sony Vaio (PC1XA model if I recall correctly) had this and it was a great feature allowing recording of the other participants at meetings or self-videoing for conferencing with Netmeeting.
12) The addition of the camera in this swivel configuration would also allow gesture based controls now that the xScale processors are getting suitably fast enough to allow such recognition tasks - ideally I'd rather have a 3D version of myself sent across on a video conference based on a model that was adapted to match my facial expression but that was looking awake and good no matter what hour it was... :shock:
Bar-code recognition software could be added to the household version when adding up the shopping or equally for the supermarket themselves to do stock and inventory control, etc... That was another thing the Sony Vaio had in a rather primative form... perhaps also the res of the camera would need to go up for XDA III.
Any other ideas for the XDA Wishlist please post them here and we can trade them with HTC in return for them opening up their data on the device...
Also I am interested to hear from anyone who is working with configuring the XDA I or II as a wearable with alternative I/O. Goal: eye-glasses mounted screen and to take the infrared detection used on some video camera eye-pieces (I read about this in popular science in the 80's so the patent must be close to expiring) to detect where the eye is looking and mount this on glasses along with a screen... I have a couple of ideas to act as left/right mouse click and have found some ways to make it practical such as using ultrasonic sound emitters instead of having to have those terrible little buds in my ear all the time for hands-free. These aren't really 'speakers' as the ear lobe will hopefully act as the speaker where the ultrasonic waves hit it and (entirely depending on how small these emitters can me made) I am hoping that they can also be mounted on the stem of the glasses frame just in front or behind the ear (or both to do some 3d fx). As such the emmitters will ideally not need to go inside the ear and will act as the replacement of an earpiece. Ultimately I would like to get this also detecting incoming sound and perhaps working as a selective noise-reduction device by using the processing power of the PPC (oh yeah that was the other thing... better DSP capabilities in the XDA III - using DSPs more may also help reduce the form-factor as Sony did with the Clie).
I've got to go eat dinner, upon re-reading some of the above may need clarification. Please post any replies or queries here... Keen to hear from software/hardware developers who might want to work on wearable I/O based applications that push the current hardware...
[changed to - keen to hear from anyone who wants to build new hardware designs since the current lot a too slow]
Buchanan
so in other words youd like a nokia 6600 crossed with p800 lmao
If only they could skip the STUPID integrated f***ing camera!!! I'll have to stick with the my XDA I until there's someone smart enough to skip the camera as most of the companies I work for will not let me carry a camera on their premises.
Why not fill the space with a few hundred megs of RAM, a wifi and UMTS circuits instead?
/b
And add in a Siemens SX1 for good measure!!
Detachable Camera
Bamse... good point the camera in the XDA III wishlist *should* be a 'detachable' rotating camera (shipped as standard) and then problem solved. Also someone in another discussion mentioned varying quality of cameras in an unrelated example but equally it would be nice to be able to upgrade to a better quality CCD if one wanted... there must be an aftermarket accessories opportunity here for HTC.
Equally oneday there will need to be some form of corporate over-ride to switch camera functions off as you walk into restricted R&D/IP areas etc... but probably have to wait for more refined CPS technology or some kind of agreed standard to activate/deactivate it before this is feasible. Ok big-brother or not, add in a GPS to my XDA III wishlist and link it up to things like the clock so when I get out of the plane in a different country it automatically (or upon prompt) changes the display clock to match the current zone (keeping me a link to 'home time' as well).
having detachable cameras are crap as you have to plug them in and then take photos meaning you cannot capture a thing in an instant and also it means you might loose it hence it being built in makes life more simple!
...ok!! here is what I want...
i want a MICRODRIVE slot!!
if not, somethin with 10+gigs of storage!
lots of music and videos and games u know! :twisted:
oh! and since the DO make a small (pda size) printer via IR.
why not a scanner!? just as small, for business cards, this way i can scan all my contacts, on the go. without having to carry all them business cards with me.
and... maybe a joystick? thru the com port?? for my Arcade Style games u know... TURJAH 2, SIBERIAN STRIKE X, RAY MAN
You got a point also Gazzaman2k - HTC will just have to ship one with and one without... hence request to sell 'Pre-configured' to match different users needs as mentioned above... optimal would be to put it in a different face-plate... you don't lose those too easily...
Still think it should be rotating though and at the top... 3rd and 4th option on rotating would be a folded away position so no one could see the camera and facing 'up' to the top of the device so it could take video of meetings (like the Vaio) if the device was lying flat on the table top.
Cheers Ntabikha
> i want a MICRODRIVE slot!! if not, somethin with 10+gigs of storage!
Yes, I was thinking that something that could store video is a must. Last night I was thinking more about the ultimate eye-glasses... two other ideas that have probably already been thought of elsewhere are... camera to go on the bridge of the glasses or could have two for 3D recording with one on each side of the rims. Also could have stereo mic setup in the same way... but key really is to then be able to store a whole day of events so 10gigs plus is needed and a really good DSP geared to towards realtime AV compression (see Lenslet for the ultimate DSP - it needs miniturisation but doesn't everything).
[Change - Lenslet Optical DSP (www.lenslet.com) is actually not ultimate but they still have a good idea and optical DSPs will be good eventually. However the current implementation is really dependent on Texus Instruments technology. If Lenslet focused on building the inverse chip to the DLP - e.g. a DLD or Digital Light Detector of the same scale as the DLP then that would give them a sustainable market... to do this the energy of the reflected laser could be used to charge a small plate coupled to the silicon (e.g. activate one transistor) and then have a digitally controlled 'earth' (a second transistor) to clear the result at high 'clock speeds' (their terminology not mine - but idea is 'synchronization with the laser array' to allow energy reduction to avoid unwanted activations). With the DLP as the reflector (the digitally controlled 'lens' in their diagram), a DLD and smaller laser arrays a large array Digital Optical DSP will be feasible (and Lenslet will have something long lasting to sell)]
> lots of music and videos and games u know!
There is a really elegant solution for delivering this but at the moment it is being badly (and illegally) implemented and I am not going to advertise the guys who are doing it. Needless to say it is still cheaper to ship 10 gigabytes of data around the world with a postage stamp than through any wireless network.
> oh! and since the DO make a small (pda size) printer via IR.
> why not a scanner!? just as small, for business cards, this way i can scan all my contacts, on the go. without having to carry all them business cards with me.
Or combine the idea Ntabikha... make a miny inkjet and scan head that works as the user rolls the device across a piece of paper Nah... actually I can see the smudges already!
[Got the ultimate fix to this - no need for a flat scan head again]
> and... maybe a joystick? thru the com port?? for my Arcade Style games
USB drivers for games... will probably need standardizing by MS... you could just use a standard USB joystick then (pending standard slot configurations)... However I would rather have a data-glove and head orientation 8) I will need to find space now for where to put a gyro on my glasses.
[removed the tilt switches - gyro can easily be configured to do same function digitally]
Cheers
Ntabikha - just thought... if the CCD is good enough on the camera you don't need a scanner to capture your business card information... OCR off a bitmap image of the card might do it.
yea, but is there OCR for pda?? :?
> yea, but is there OCR for pda??
Someone is bound to be working on it somewhere... just checked Omnipage (now scansoft) they show mobile text-to-speech etc... so they are bound to port Omnipage eventually... perhaps if they aren't onto it yet then someone has just won themselves a job at Scansoft!... guess the main thing preventing it so far is that up until the XDA II the RAM and processor requirements were possibly limiting factors... although omnipage ran fine on a 486 DXII 66 so???
A few more thoughts for the XDA III+ Wishlist...
i) Improvement of pen digitiser over original XDA... pressure sensitivity to allow Fractal Painter type drawing.
ii) Again not yet sure what the XDA II has as a belt attachment clip but the XDA I case I got was much too bulky... the good part was the clip that was quick release but secure the rest of the time. So less bulk (may have already been solved).
[found a really good way to mount wearables that is comfortable and ideal for the centralisation of processing 'on the body' - The XDA and all other formfactors I've seen are way off base]
iii) I mentioned video out but better I/O all round is going to be the key to this becoming a good wearable [sic].
On the subject or wearables I have been trying to envisage life once 'augmented reality' is possible through having an inline screen on my glasses. Essentially a walkman/iPod is already augmented reality in the audio senses however I think this whole field is going to be able to be moved forward much further and could create a whole range of jobs for many web/tech workers who are currently feeling the pain after the dot.com bubble.
Firstly I was in the kitchen and imagined the information that could be made available when doing cooking or cleaning tasks... if the cameras had detection of other spectrums beyond that of our eye we could perhaps view where the bench needed cleaning most or when pots can detect the properties of food reporting things like 'too sweet' - 'just right' etc... there is also the standard stuff like bringing up iTV video of recipies being prepared and also I realised warning lights and those sort of things become less necessary on devices since if one looked at the kettle it could simply show a status with the words 'on' or 'hot' or 'off' etc... above it. Of course this would either need the recognition of the kettle or some way to know where the kettle was in relation to the user but the possibilities are there and potentially [definitely] life improving.
I also remembered where I had seen the camera on the bridge of the glasses before... it was in Mission Impossible when Ethan Hawke showed that Jim was still alive in the train and at some time earlier in the movie was used too [have moved to stereo - bridge now houses other things]. I was thinking of uses for this sort of eyewear too when I was on a bushwalk yesterday and climbed up onto a cliff overlooking the interior of the gorge but still within it. I really wanted to know what was behind the next hill and thought that with digital terrain modelling if I had been able to see an overlay semi-tranparent picture (augmented reality) of the view 'through' the hill it would have made my sight-seeing all the more enjoyable. I also thought as it was dense bush climbing up the hill that it would be cool to have the gyro/compass on the headset provide bearing data across the top of the virtual screen (of course GPS could do the same but perhaps not perfectly in real-time) and track markers could also pop up [found out these are not really necessary] when and where the path changed. It would be neat also for recognising features as one passed through the geography, telling the history of the place in the period one wanted to know about or providing details of the local amenities upon demand/command. In any case the need for the eyewear is enormous and would render most screens obsolete... or provide a screen wherever one wants one like wherever a picture frame is a different picture could be provided for each viewer, etc... (Bill Gates ought to like this because he owns the digital rights to many pieces of art - give me a call Bill ).
I also thought that the eyewear with knowledge of its location removes the need for holographic projection since if several people were looking at the same 'virtual object' through their eyewear then it could appear as solid as the projection onto the eye allows [came up with a great way to 'turn night into day and day into night' in effect].
So summary is I think augmented reality is going to be far more entertaining than virtual reality (sort of like that bit in The Beach were Leonardo is bounding through the forest in computer game mode) and the cost/benefit of eyewear is going to save the wasted production of millions of screens and create massive revenue potential for tourism and interactive TV applications that will have a real impact on quality of experience and quality of life. The educational possibilities are fantastic too... a child could learn three+ languages by having their portable recognise objects and teach them the name for it in each language etc...
[gone way beyond the above examples now - found out a health reason for AR too, kids under about 8 get alterations in their visual perceptive abilities if they spend too long in total VR emersion. AR solves this]
Two other things... if Microsoft doesn't move in this direction quickly and tries to slow down the release of such technology (as has been their strategy or default action with the release of the PC OS in some cases) then I don't mind if it is done on Linux... as long as it gets done. Any Linux or MS guys feel free to comment here too [no one has offered any comments in this area - I have moved on to find (better) mass parallel hardware, optics is not going to cut it in the next 5 years either].
Finally I think perhaps HTC could hold the key to moving these devices forward faster, just as Sony has improved the capabilities and usability of PalmOS... there is no point waiting for new OS releases if you can bundle other software onto a device with Telecom operators and move it forward faster... it will have to happen anyway because charging for traffic isn't going to be viable for long. [clarification - that was in reference to PDAs as becoming handsets - generally now thinking that silicon can't cut it for the uses I am now looking at with the glasses - that is not to say that handsets don't have a few years yet but the technology is dog slow and being painfully slowly released - Take the Mobile Explorer browser for example in WinCE, the programmable API version of this is clearly intended not to allow the same functionality as the Microsoft IE application itself on the PocketPC (I can see the devious thinking of separating it). This is just plain infuriating because if MS wasn't deliberately slowing down the development of the browser it could be modified to be the universal window on a PocketPC for any app - e.g integration with video overlays/3D/SVG etc, that's all a browser is, a window with greater API functionality - as such this restriction has forced me off the whole platform (early)... e.g. other factors such as output resolution/speed/memory are also looming]
Another thought just reviewing the posts above... there must be a massive incentive for 3G mobile operators in getting the eyewear working as well. And as regards the storage of video then if it was being transmitted from the glasses camera to the XDA and then to a 'video storage account' at the 3G operator then they will be making much more money than today and the Pocket PC won't need a massive harddrive... those 3G license costs may then well have been worth it. If the CCD on the glasses is good enough it would also provide the potential for billions of 'Kodak Moments' and solve the issue of the guy above who said he likes to just point and click (and spontaneous photos are often the best in my experience). It still leaves the problem of how to shut the camera off in sensitive environments in companies or like in Greece where you can't photograph airports and military bases but location based 'permission' (usually on in most places) would solve this... it could bring a whole new meaning to the words 'pay-per-view'.
Any 3G people please comment also... propose doing the eyewear as 'open hardware' (like open source but with hardware). Contributions welcomed. [okay stuff 3G, no responses. I have found a much faster delivery mechanism in any case with no need for large scale base stations. Rupert Murdoch give me a call you will love this one ]
Where are the super techs on the photo at the front of this site (XDA electronics gurus) ???... please reply with thoughts and technical problems to achieving the above [that was in relation to original video out on the XDA - forget it]. I have a way to get a really high-res screen on the glasses but again will require miniturisation... am thinking that overall timeframe before these become mainstream cost effective is in the order of 10 years [7 years] but with HTC and 3G operator backing it could happen sooner as the cost of the device can be subsidised in return for long-term account sign-up. I am ready to sign up for 3G with this now... [if you want something done... you know the rest] there will be many others! Handsets will still be necessary [actually they aren't - people will be able to pick up a virtual phone from infront of them, no handset required] although under this model they will become 'part' of an 'on body network' [changed] (and perhaps it will be beneficial to move the high energy transmitters away from the head and down to the hip etc...) [solved].
Again thoughts called for on this and most welcome... [still are - please post here]
One more thing...
Upon reflection last night I also thought the ultrasonics on the ear piece mentioned at top are more likely going to have to come out over the ear with a small 'sub-stem' off the stem of the glasses but this will also help pre-detection of the sound to do noise cancelling (I had been thinking some kind of off-spectrum 'optical pre-detection' but it may not be feasible and may be possible and cheaper to achieve with a mic. Depending of course if the cancelling can be done with a DSP and still beat the sound to the ear lobe via the ultrasonic waves to achieve a cancellation on the ear skin itself [okay this is the way - it will work but serious miniturization of the emitters is required]). The theory is good but I still haven't found who is building the emitters [found] or how large they are [massive] and it will largely depend on that if the whole idea is feasible or not... otherwise the concept seems ok and would be much better than current bud earphones. If the 'sub-stem' and frames of the glasses were flexible it would also allow someone to have their head on the pillow and watch a movie/listen to music. Currently my bud-earphones cause my ear to get really sore when using my walkman to listen to the radio at night which is my favorite time as usually there are less ads (I really hate ads [clarification for Rupert - I hate pop up ads - I don't mind signage, packaging or sponsorship (especially in the arts) - not so sure about sponsorship in education but the jury is still out]
[Key factor is going to be safety - there is a cute ad on TV in NZ at the moment which I think was inspired by a music video I saw years ago... in the latter a milk carton went wandering around, in the ad a little yoghurt container greets the person when they come home and it is really cute... such things would be fine on the glasses where they don't make people trip up by appearing to scuttle under their feet but Saatchi and Saatchi or the real Saatchi's are going to love this medium better than TV - I'm imagining everything augmented now and traffic safety can be improved and all sorts of beneficial things - there will never be any need for interactive TV as it was envisaged in the late '80s early '90s and all this hype about WebServices is really a matter of just hooking up an improved Yellow/White Pages - or Universal Directory - and Digital Library to the glasses - of course you can read the output in a book and jump instantly to the right page).
Zaurus Competitor
Microsoft needs a competitor for the latest clamshell zaurus PDA as a realistic goal. Can someone argue for or against an XDA III that is basically a Zaurus running Windows 2003 with java and camera and GSM. Can anyone enlighten me on whats wrong with the latest zaurus and how MS can improve on that design? Thanks! :lol:
Lack of replies and needs a dedicated site
:x :idea: Moving sites... NE1 interested search Google :shock:
8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
Buchanan
bamse said:
If only they could skip the STUPID integrated f***ing camera!!! I'll have to stick with the my XDA I until there's someone smart enough to skip the camera as most of the companies I work for will not let me carry a camera on their premises.
Why not fill the space with a few hundred megs of RAM, a wifi and UMTS circuits instead?
/b
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I read somewhere that the xda 2 camera is removable - is this true?
the motorola symbian 3g device have 2 wab one to use for video calls and one on the other side to take snaps with
would asume since cams are becomming more and more std
soon they'll be on milk!
it's not too expensive to put 2 in
what about 5.1 surround support! in xda3
I am putting forward the following premise:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
"You can enjoy the joys and wonder of Android without spending a fortune...!"
I now intend to see if this is true!
Thread Purpose:
Provide a discussion area for those of us who are financially impaired, like myself, but want to experience the joys and wonders that tablets and android might hold...
At the moment the thread may also touch on android on mini-tablets (which might also make calls...) and larger tablets (with keyboards...hdds...lcd monitors etc) simply because on a shoestring budget you have to make do with what you have.
I hope to explore ways in which you can use Android it in new and interesting ways without paying out massive amounts on expensive hardware.
I'm not sure if it is totally achievable or not, but I'm sure it will be interesting to find out what you can do for less compared to the expensive options which are out there.
Idea's, comments, thoughts, discussions are all welcome.
The more unusual and interesting the better!
Thread Structure:
This first post will provide an index and links to the main discussion points/topics on the thread.
[Will see how this works!]
Periodically I shall post a new topic to discuss.
23March2011 - Topic One : Show Me The Droid
Method One: Using your existing laptop or PC
Method Two: Using the android emulator (also on your existing laptop or PC)
Method Three: Using your existing phone
29March2011 - Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part One: Justifying the purchase
Part Two: Android From The Box
Part Three: Passing the grade? (A-E)
Part Four: Passing the grade? (Continued...F-J)
12April2011 - Topic Three : Low Level Basics
Part One: Oh ADB Debugger!
Part Two: The Root Of It All
Part Three: Backups, ROMs and Flashbacks
Part Four: First Time Flasher! (added 1stAug11)
27June2011 - Topic Four: Low Level Interfacing
Part One: Android RS232 I/O
22Sept2011 - Topic Five: Development Tools & Tricks
Part One: Screenshots & Remote Control
Part Two: Scripts & Shortcuts
Side Topics
04May2011 - Side Topic: The Future! Quad core and beyond
02June2011 -Side Topic: Multi-Touch Technology - with No Touch Screen!
Q&A:
crevlthe: Are most apps up-sized to fit the resolution of tablets?
[I'll keep updating this thread every few days]
- please post comments, thoughts and ideas anyway, particularly if topic related.
I would love to hear about peoples thoughts and ideas
(simply reference Topic X:Method X/Step X etc if you want to comment on one item in particular).
Enjoy!
Small Print:
For the following posts I shall try to reference the source websites where possible, however apologies if I get this wrong, please feel free to pm me or post on the thread with any corrections and I'll amend the entry. Regarding images, where possible I shall try to use my own images, but at times this may not be possible. If you find I have used your image and you do not wish it to be used, then simply let me know and I'll change it. Where possible I shall state where the images have come from.
Clearly, the details in the thread are purely discussion and while I try to make them as accurate as possible I can not guarantee this. Damage or loss may occur by following some/all of the instructions, so if you do, do with care and at your own risk, I take no responsibility for your actions.
Topic One : Show Me The Droid
Before you can do anything with Android, you probably want to see it!
This topic will outline various ways you can "get at the driod" without spending anything.
Method One: Using your existing laptop or PC
This was the first way I got to play with Android (a long while ago), and that is using an Android live CD. I used something similar to the live CD from http://www.android-x86.org/ (images taken from site), which allows you to boot your computer with Android.
You can burn the image on to a CD/DVD and boot it cleanly or you can use a virtual machine and boot within that.
With a little bit of legwork, and a compatible computer you can boot from a USB key so you can carry your droid with you.
You can even install it, even dual boot, if you are brave!
While this is a simple and very cheap option (at most it should cost a CD/DVD to burn on), there is one slight problem...most computers don’t have touch, gravity sensors etc etc!
You have a number of options if you are seriously wanting to use this more:
1. You can continue to use the mouse (at least they seem to have a cursor now!)
2. You could probably make use of a large touch-pad (can be expensive, but cheaper ones are around)
3. If you have a small screen you could try adding a touch screen (8-10” touch screen overlay can be quite cheap but you will need to install it yourself and that can be tricky and will risk damage).
Perhaps this method could be interesting to try out as a low cost GoogleTV platform, but there would need to be some work done regarding the control method. Someday I may look into this option in more detail...
Microsoft Kinect not been plugged into to android yet???
Anwser: Yes it has! Ok, shame I don’t have one.
Topic One : Show Me The Droid
Method Two: Using the android emulator (also on your existing laptop or PC)
Of course for the developers out there, there is always the Android emulator which comes as part of the Android development package. Each time Android update the SDK (software development kit) for the latest release of Android, the emulator is updated to run the newest version of Android (this is often the source of early ROMs).
This does allow you to play with the latest Android version as soon as it is out, so you can get a feel for what features are improved etc and you can try out different versions to get an idea about the differences between them. You don't even need to install anything more than the Android emulator SDK if you don't want to write any code, as you can run the emulator separately to the development environment.
However, not only does this have similar control issues (except maybe that you get “soft-buttons”) but it is quite slow even on a fast machine.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
The advantage of course is it opens up a whole world of development options. The google developer site provides instructions for getting set up. Once you’ve jumped through the hoops, you can try it out by having a go at the various tutorial applications.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
Again this is something I may look at in more detail another time (such as getting setup, exploring what you can do with it and perhaps some simple development steps).
Topic One : Show Me The Droid
Method Three: Using your existing phone
You might just have that elusive Android device already, you just don't know it yet!
Clearly this option will vary wildly on the type of device you have and how in-depth you are willing to go. I’ve not managed to find a full list of devices which do support running android but it is safe to say that the “list” is growing all the time.
For me, my Phone is a Windows Mobile Phone, the HTC Blackstone, it’s quite an old device (in relative terms) but it has a good screen (3.8", 480 x 800) and modest processor (528 MHz ARM 11).
Fortunately for me, the XDAndroid group support this device, so I was able to make use of one of the many Android builds on the forums. I’m not quite sure what the current status is of this project, it seems although device specific threads have stopped, there are Android builds going up to 2.2.3...which I’ve had working on my device.
For the blackstone, running android is fairly pain free, since you install the files to your sd-card and if things don’t work out, you just delete them. One key component I required, was ditching (swapping) my class-6 SD card for a slower one (yes, slower!), once I’d switched to a class-2 one, android was up and running nicely.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
However, don’t get too excited yet, as many of the builds will have features which don’t work yet, such as Bluetooth support, camera and in-call voice (you can spend a long time getting the right mix of files for your device to get all these working) and many 3D accelerated games won't work. A lot of progress is being made here (I’ll go into this in more detail another time). Some issues you can live with and some you can’t. Also, if your device (like mine) is not a total powerhouse then you can expect things to run at less than optimal speed. Overall, don’t expect to be replacing your OS with an all singing all dancing Android one this way, unless you have decent device to start with.
All is not lost! By using one of the many dual-boot apps (they simply show a splash screen as soon as possible on power up) allow you to quickly select between your normal Windows Mobile OS and the Android one.
i.e. Gen.Y DualBoot by yozgatg
(Click Image For Larger Version)
This means you can keep a build of Android (or several if you wish) on your SD card and have a play with Android from time to time.
Personally I think this is an excellent option, even if the results aren’t perfect and it’ll probably cost you a fair bit of time experimenting, but the results are totally worth it.
I might revisit this in more detail if people would like me to. Hopefully I can learn a little more about the internals of how it fits together and provide a post on that.
For HD2 users (and some other phones), who are just too spoilt for choice, they can also install Android to their NAND (internal memory). This means they can totally replace the Windows Mobile OS on their system with Android, and because the device is fast, it apparently runs well enough to do so.
Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part One: Justifying the purchase
First off, the most important bit for this topic, how much does it cost?
I managed to get (buy) it for $90 (£56), including free shipping (limited time special offer).
Note:
I would not recommend this tablet at it's "normal" price of $130, since there are other tablets in that price range which are clearly better.
However, for me, the lower price was key here.
To put it in perspective, the Samsung Tab 7 Inch was £500 here - or $800!
The specs:
Code:
Model: Haipad M701
CPU: Telechip Tcc8902, 800MHz (ARM11)
OS: Android 2.1
RAM: 256MB
ROM: 2GB
Screen: 7 Inch Resistive (800 x 480px)
Ext Ports:
9v Supply
3.5mm Audio
Mini Usb (OTG Host) - hopefully will support Mass Storage devices
HDMI
TF (MicroSDHC)
Size: 192 x 114 x 15mm
Weight: 330g
Extra Details:
Gravity Sensor
Android Market
Adobe Flash (not supported)
Camera 0.3Mp
Wifi 802.11 b/g
My thought process regarding the purchase is this:
1. I really want an Android tablet, I’ve been look at them for months (in fact probably just after the iPad came out). In all that time I’ve lusted after tablet after tablet, but each time it came down to the cost, and the fact that I simply did not have $200/$250/$300 laying around. Throughout that period the number of tablets available have ballooned, the capabilities and specs too. I found myself looking at the affordable tablets, and then looking at the next one up (hdmi), then the next one (10” screen) and then the next one (multi-touch), until I’d priced myself out of my purchase.
2. With the advent of the tegra chips and honeycomb, the price of admission has been bumped slightly (I’d say you are starting at $300 for a low end one (quality of the screen/touch is be compromised - Advent Vega)) - previous to that an A8 based tablet, such as the A81 for around $200-250 was a good deal. To be a serious contender for anything which comes after honeycomb (for the tablet branch), and gaming platform that is developing (of which Cordy is the thin end of the wedge), the power step provided by the Tegra family is a must.
3. Back when I first started looking at tablets, I was in fact considering a very similar device (the X10 and the G10, of which the Haipad M701 is fairly similar).
4. Aside from wanting to use the latest and greatest releases from Android and games etc, there is a need for more modest requirements to be met. Can a basic tablet do this, I intend to find out?
These "modest" potential uses would be:
A: Replace/supplement a poorly designed portable Toshiba DVD player for in-car use, which in my opinion was probably the worst product I’ve ever purchased (despite the quite promising spec sheet) - although obviously I may need to revise this status soon!
B: A Doodle pad, something which my phone gets commandeered for quite often by my off-spring. So a slightly larger screen would be useful for this.
C: Simple Web-browser, most of the time only a quick check on the web is needed, so this may be more helpful than firing up the laptop (which being a work one, dislikes my wifi and network most the time).
D: Music player, either from connected memory for in the car or perhaps from the network.
E: eReader, I’ve read a few books on the Blackstone’s 3.8" screen, so a larger screen would be helpful.
F: Require a device with camera and HDMI at minimum, since this will hopefully provide more options to experiment with (1st build of Android on the blackstone, didn’t have camera support which ruled out things like google goggles etc).
G: USB Host (mass storage), I am hoping that the device will allow me to use external storage devices via the usb, this would be very handy for dealing with camera pictures and videos etc.
H: USB Device keyboard support, I find it very annoying that the Blackstone has no h/w keys, this seriously limits what you can do with it (such as emulation programs etc) as there is no easy way to control things.
I: RS232 Support: Although I seriously doubt it, it would be really useful to get RS232 monitoring running on the device.
J: A development platform for writing android software on and to learn about android.
In Summary:
Overall, aside from the video/USB requirements, I hope that I am not being too ambitious for this device, but clearly I probably am. If/Once I get the device, I shall evaluate it against these requirements and also see what other uses I can put it to. I don’t expect the device to manage all of the uses above (particularly out-the-box), but hopefully it an fulfill at least some of them (even if it takes some custom firmware/modding or even some custom hardware to achieve this) I shall be happy.
For all I know, the tablet may well never turn up...and if it does it could be next to useless (i.e. next to that Toshiba DVD player...). As it happens, one review of a similar device was “expensive paper weight”, I’d estimate it about the weight of a medium sized cup of coffee (without the cup), so might be useful for when we get the fans out in the office this summer.
My purchase timeline:
Purchased tablet on 17th March (estimated delivery 10 working days).
Item shipped on 18th March (estimated shipping 15-20 days).
“Departure from outward office of exchange” 22nd March - Left the source country.
Received item 28th March!
Overall Delivery time: 11days (7 working days).
In return for the excellent shipping, I can say that the item was from PandaWill.
Out of the box review coming soon!
Thread has moved from "General" to it's new home in "Android Software and Hacking General". At first I didn't plan for it to be Android exclusive but as it turns out, it is, so hello to all on this thread.
I am very new to Android, so please be kind!
I hope this thread can be a beginners introduction of some kind, let me know if there are errors or if you would like more information on parts etc.
Regards.
Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part Two: Android From The Box
Packaged in a retail box:
(Click Image For Larger Version)
- Tablet (thankfully)
- 9volt 1.5Amp Output Power Supply (US plug)
- US to UK plug adaptor (a nice touch, clearly they take notice of the shipping address)
- 2x USB Cable (mini USB to USB male, short mini USB to USB female)
- Basic set of ear phones
- Product dimensions measure exactly as stated in the spec (I’d previously printed out picture of the screen to 1:1 scale based on the measurements).
Although I didn’t expect to get an HDMI cable, I didn’t expect the HDMI port to be a mini one, so it would have been helpful to have included one here (or at least an adaptor).
(Note: The USB car adaptor is not for it and did not come with it, but I thought it helps as a guide for size - it won’t charge by USB).
Charging:
(Click Image For Larger Version)
The first thing I did was to plug the tablet in for a charge, there are two reasons for this. Firstly to check that the power supply is functional and safe (i.e. does not over heat) and secondly for the battery.
If the battery is at a low level, you have to treat it carefully - particularly if was in storage (as it will gradually lose charge over time). Li-ion batteries if drained below their bottom limit, will “crash” their voltage, this causes a lot of damage to the battery and it may never recover fully (or in attempting to do so it may cause excess heat == bad news). You should always avoid switching any device on when the battery is in this state, so always charge just in case before trying to switch on (most electronics should refuse to turn on, but best not to count on it).
For this reason I was pleased to find that the battery was charged to approximately 60-80% (I guess) which is around the recommended storage/shipping level. Also the charger or tablet did not burst into flames, which was nice too!
Turned On:
Switching on the device, immediately the screen shows a colourful splash screen, then some linux penguin/mole, before displaying the normal android boot. Instantly I am pleased that the screen is working! I am also impressed that the screen quality, brightness and colour look quite good.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
60 Seconds later and Android has booted!
I would be interested to know if this is particularly fast or slow (my only comparison is booting the Blackstone Android from SD, which takes about 4 mins). For me, 1 min seems fast enough, certainly as fast as starting windows mobile. For normal use, the device can be put to sleep with the main ([]) button, which is instant on and off.
Screen was already calibrated, and the normal start-up wizard ran for Android.
Pre-Installed Software:
Aside from the standard stuff, you get ES File Explorer, Meridian Media Player, Skype (I’ve not tested that yet), SkyFire Browser, Aldiko eReader, QuickOffice, YouTube App and Android Market. The pre-installed Android Market worked fine, and I was downloading new apps in seconds. There are also some Chinese apps which I’ve not tried, but overall, there is everything to on there to get you started off and enough for you to use it directly out of the box.
Aside from some demo pictures and a video, there was also some video which I guess was taken when they tested the unit, it is a good sign that they appear to have taken the time to check the unit works, calibrate it, check things like the camera are functional etc (not sure if this was Pandawill or the manufacturer, but it was within an office so I suspect the former). At 0.3mp, the front facing camera clearly isn’t amazing, but in reasonable lighting it is good enough to see the subject in question quite clearly (one thing though is it is mirrored - guess for skype use (if that works)).
Out Of The Box Impression:
Overall initial impressions are, the screen appears to be pretty good for the money. Colours are slightly more washed out than a more expensive screen, but not overly so. The resistive touch screen does take a firm-ish touch to use, but again, not overly more than other resistive touch screens.
The size and weight of the unit appears to be nicely balanced, it is easy to hold in a single hand (for an adult) while using it with another (or thumb typing and holding either side). The outside bezel is just the right size that, if you need to, you can hold the edge with your thumb without touching the screen etc. The plastic housing, which is rigid and feels solid, makes the unit feel quite good quality. The piano black finish of the back (like a psp) does attract fingerprints however the screen itself doesn’t, which is great.
Although it was never going to be the fastest Android experience, however the unit does seem to keep up with the operating system fairly well, definitely fast enough to be usable.
The unit feels nice and appears to work well, so far excellent value for money.
Next time I shall evaluate the tablet against my requirements and see how it fares...
Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part Three: Passing the grade? (A-E)
Crunch time! How does the low cost tablet fare when lined up against my expectations and needs?
Meeting My Requirements:
A: Replacing A Portable DVD Player
Viewing photos, videos and listening to music from the pre-installed samples was easy and the units response was reasonable. There was good video playback of the 720p sample (I expect this was encoded to suit the device obviously), and the photo browser did a nice job of displaying and sorting through the photos. Sound was ok, by no means hi-fi standard but enough to listen to over moderate background noise (sound as good as the DVD player - but can’t really say this is hard). This will take a bit more investigation to determine what formats are supported and from where (local storage, microSD, flash stick, HDD, network, internet etc etc). However, even if videos need to specifically encoded as long as they can be played from a mass-storage device (or at a push the SD card), this should meet this requirement fine (did I mention the old DVD player is terrible...).
B: A Doodle Pad
It took no time at all for my offspring to try this, safe to say the unit passes this test with flying colours. One huge improvement is that the Blackstone touch sensitive call buttons etc were not in the way any more. Still to find the perfect app for this:
On Windows Mobile its My Note by MyLostBlog which is a good balance between clear interface and function (I still prefer 2.1 over 2.6).
(Click Image For Larger Version)
On the DS, Art Academy is favourite (although what it has in features, it lacks flexibility). Also Flip Note is worth a mention, I would love to find a similar app on Android.
Art Academy (art software) / Flipnote (animation program)
(Click Images For Larger Versions)
At the moment the star for Android is AutoDesk’s SketchBook Mobile (perhaps a little complex for younger children to fully do everything but easy enough for them to use and enjoy most of the features, excellent for adult use too!). AutoDesk’s app shows the quality that is possible with Android (although at the expense of lag free response on this particular device), I’m still very impressed and the 7 inch screen makes it all the more enjoyable.
C: Simple Web-browser
First off the lack of flash is annoying, but there is at least “some” flash support (I assume flash lite) from the Skyfire Browser, and even the google browser when it came across an embedded YouTube video it directed it to the YouTube app to play.
Browsing is reasonable, the wifi signal is probably below normal, but if you have a good signal, the browsing speed as comparable to my phone (for me the google browser appeared to be faster, but that might have been down to my wifi signal at the time). Here, multi-touch or at least the dual-touch of the later M701 models would be useful, as Pinch-to-zoom would be helpful. At least with the 7 inch screen the need to zoom in and out all the time is reduced (also I’m sure by experimenting with different browsers and settings the perfect balance will be achievable). It will never replace the desktop for web-browsing, but it is fine for quick searches etc.
Google Browser / Skyfire Browser
(Click Images For Larger Versions)
D: Music player
I’ll hold judgement on this until I find a more flexible app, since I had problems navigating around my music and playing it by folder unless it was on the SD card (I was only using some files I had available, I’m sure it is a lot simpler with correctly tagged albums). Once playing the music though, it managed ok (although it did experience issues if you attempted to “multi-task” and load apps etc while music was in the background - although that may have been the app I was using and/or fiddling around with the usb connections). The quality isn’t the best I’ve heard, but it is sufficient. I think overall, with the right app, the unit will perform this task without issue.
E: eReader
Just by trying the pre-installed Aldiko application, it is clear to see that this unit is great for reading. The text was very clear and easy to read with plenty of text visible and even on the smallest font setting (point 10) you can easily read without issue. The g-sensor rotates the screen as required (hopefully there is an option to turn it off - for reading while laying down [Yes, there is a setting for android generally]). The screen is slightly shiny so would suffer in direct sunlight, however it is reasonable for reading in average lighting. I also tested with a pdf, which displayed ok using QuickOffice, but features such as re-flow (available with Adobe’s reader) would definitely help to fit things on the screen.
[Update: Once I've installed Adobe reader, pdf's are very easy to read, although the lack of resuming where you left off means you have to keep track of page numbers yourself (this is no different to the Windows Mobile version).]
CONTINUED BELOW...
Congrats!
Really great post
enotar said:
Congrats!
Really great post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I should be adding some more later on today.
I'm open for suggestions for topics etc.
Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part Four: Passing the grade? (Continued...F-J)
Meeting My Requirements (Continued...):
F: Camera & HDMI
As I previously mentioned the camera is not very good, but since it is front facing (it’s located to the right side of the ([]) button) it clearly is not suitable for taking snaps etc. Using google-goggles, the images are just about usable, but it appears the google-goggles app can’t take the pictures directly (you can import pictures which then allows you to take photos using the standard app and open them).
(Click Image For Larger Version)
[Android Logo taken with camera]
I’ve just tested the HDMI (I’ve managed to get a mini-HDMI cable) and after enabling the output via the settings page and restarting, the screen correctly displayed on the TV. Films and games do look good on the TV, although some adjustment to the alignment would be useful. Although you can output in either 1080p and 720p, the resolution is matched to the device 800x480 (although I might be wrong for direct video output), also from first impression, 1080p is lower colour depth than 720p output.
G: USB Host
Ideally the USB connection for host/OTG would be it’s own full size female usb socket (i.e. a normal USB socket) but instead you need to use the USB cable provided which converts the miniUSB to a USB socket. Tested with microSD card reader, flash memory stick (4Gb Kingston), the Blackstone (in mass-storage mode) and even 2.5 HDD which worked even without extra power (I was surprised at this as it is only a generic enclosure with a random laptop drive, however I did not try this with a low battery just in case that did damage). All of which appear under the /scsi/ directory. So far I’ve been unable to find how to “unmount” the drives (you can unmount the sd-card and the internal nand memory via the settings but not the OTG device), so when you disconnect you get “USB Device unexpectedly removed” message.
H: USB Device keyboard support
Using the same OTG cable, plugging in a keyboard was easy and seamless (it just works straight away). In fact, I tested this using a Logitech wireless Keyboard and Mouse and both worked perfectly (aside from the fact the keyboard is about 5 times the size of the tablet). I also tried another USB keyboard, which in the past I've noticed does not work when within DOS on a PC (where the Logitech does), this did not work, but I suspect this is simply the keyboard being slightly unusual. Keeping an eye out for a small and cheap keyboard now.
I: RS232 Support
I attempted this just out of interest but not really knowing what to look for can’t be sure it did anything. I don’t expect this to work without some serious work, but will see what can be achieved if anything. The reason for this is that many low level electronics projects can be controlled/monitored using RS232. In addition to this, I’ve also tried a bluetooth dongle (it has no bluetooth built in), and LAN adaptor, clearly they didn’t magically start working (no doubt the build does not have the correct drivers installed etc), but this is something I will look into.
J: A development platform
At a basic level, I can copy over built APK (android application) files and install them, even the ones which I had issues with on the Blackstone work fine on the device. Developing applications and working directly with the tablet is possible (will look at this in more detail another time), as a development device it is ideal.
The not so good...
Hardware Interfaces:
The single OTG mini usb port is annoying, it would be help to connect more than one device etc and not need to use an adaptor cable.
The mini HDMI, again would be good not to need a special cable for this (at least would have been useful to know ahead of time).
Buttons...no physical home or volume buttons, this does make things difficult sometimes (I believe there are software solutions for this, or options to re-map the keys).
Out-Of-Box mapping is: ([]) is power/screen key, right-side of rocker (with Home Icon) is the menu key, left-side of the rocker (with menu icon) is the back key! Once you get used it, it may be the best layout anyway, will need to experiment.
No Usb charging, from a pure ease of use point of view this would be very helpful, but most tablets don’t support this.
Sticking out of the SDHC card (puts the card at risk of snapping) - later version of this tablet this doesn’t stick out.
Obviously multitouch, bluetooth etc would be nice, but we know that.
The Grey Grey market:
This device “IS” a fake...Real Haipad vs. Fake
I can’t work out though if the unit functions any worse than a real one, all I know is, this one functions better than I was expecting and I’ve not found anything which the originals (if it is a fake) did which this doesn’t (so far).
I've now confirmed this with Pandawill, that the tablet is OEM, not a HaiPad original (at least they 'fessed up to it!). Considering it was sold as part of their own "Fight Against Internet Crime" promotion due to their recent DOS hack attack, it is a little naughty but as you can probably tell by now, I am still very happy with the device, no matter it's origin (but glad it was discounted). Also, the device does function as described by the specs, so other than the manufacturer the rest of the listing is accurate.
The only real issue is that new firmware will be a problem since I can't be sure if it will work or not.
Not all joy and perfection (I’d be mad to expect it):
Most applications appear to work, however, I’ve found that Angry Birds has issues with the surface texture graphics (the text which shows the menus/scores - a pain, but the rest of the game is playable). Apparently later versions such as Rio work fine, this just appears to be a feature of the telechip processor and does this for all HaiPad M701. Since I am not obsessed about Angry Birds (I can stop any-time I want, no really I can...) I can live with it. Also Raging Thunder 2 isn’t playable since I can’t see the menu blocks to select anything, I guess for the same issue.
Most games appear to work fine, such as Air Control, TurboFly 3D (lags sometimes, but not surprisingly since its full-on 3D graphics), Waveblaster (works very nicely, with G-sensor working), Pacific Wings (no g-sensor control). The G-Sensor doesn’t work on some games, but fortunately most have alternative options if that is the case.
It's a mixed bag for games, but fortunately I never intended games to be it's main use and I am quite happy with decent puzzle games etc anyway.
Overall - "A solution for now, but not the future":
The unit runs an ARM11 at 800MHz, with 256RAM, lets face it, it will never do all the graphical gymnastics that the Nvida Tegra 2 processors will perform and doing all but the very basics will probably leave it out-of-breath. Such a device is no laptop or even netbook replacement, but much like the iPod touch, it is a media player with many bonus features (& on a much better budget).
I’m sure as time passes (probably not long either) more and more applications will leave this type of low cost tablet behind, with the pace of processor development at the moment this should really be no surprise at all. But for now, the market is open and the apps are flowing, so I’ll sit back and enjoy them!
Topic Three: Low Level Basics
Part One: Oh ADB Debugger!
One of the first steps in getting properly connected to your devices innards is to ensure you are able to use the ADB (Android Debug Bridge).
The ADB is command-line terminal which allows you to directly control the device and file system of the device (or emulated device) from a PC or MAC.
On the face of it you might wonder why the ADB is of much use, the answer is that it allows a direct route to the entire file system as well as providing debug access directly on target as well as monitor log outputs as programs run. Overall it is similar to ActiveSync for windows mobile. Another reason to have this working is that if your device fails to boot, something messes up your system or say the touch-screen fails, you can use ADB to access everything on the device and also re-flash it. Also you will probably need ADB to root your device (more on that later).
There are a number of guides available for setting up ADB, so I won’t go into detail on them. Personally I followed Google’s own developers guide for setting up the Android SDK (Software Development Kit) since I also intend to write Android software and the ADB is part of that.
However, after a quick search, the following guide appears to cover most of the details.
The UnLocker - How To: SetUp ADB/USB Drivers for Android Devices.
For my device, the ADB driver needed some fiddling around with, since windows would not accept the driver was for my device [Editing the ini file and adding the VID and PID of the hardware didn't help me].
Eventually I found the following (following a tip from SlateDroid): The app PdaNet appears to supply suitable drivers.
I also recommend adding the location of ADB to your system path, so that you can call it from any command-line location.
Once the drivers are installed, check that when the device is connected (and debugging is enabled via settings) that typing “adb devices” from the command-line shows a device).
C:\> adb devices
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF device
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If you want to write software using Ecilpse you’ll also want to check that it can connect and deploy applications directly to the device for testing.
Within the Ecilpse, under the run menu select “Run Configurations...”, within the Target Tab, the “Deployment Target Selection Mode” must be set to “Manual”.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
This enables the “Android Device Chooser” to prompt when you attempt to run/debug from Ecilpse.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
Build and run your application or a test one and it should now run directly on your device.
There are also a number of GUI apps around which make use of ADB to provide easy ways to manage applications, transfer files etc all without needing to mount and unmount your sd cards to and from the device. At the moment I’ve started using DroidExplorer, even from initial impressions it is clear the features are quite extensive (you could probably write about 20 guides on how to use all of it correctly).
an excellent article overall.
question about the tablets: are most apps up-sized to fit the resolution, or are there a large variety of apps natively designed to run at the bigger resolution?
crevlthe said:
an excellent article overall.
question about the tablets: are most apps up-sized to fit the resolution, or are there a large variety of apps natively designed to run at the bigger resolution?
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This is an interesting question!
Although my tablet is WVGA which is the same as the blackstone (so I can't test this directly!).
You'd need a much higher resolution device to go beyond the officially supported resolutions, (obviously Android 3.0 supports more).
From what I've read and from doing some app development, apps should scale to fit the screen (if programmed correctly). I've read that some apps don't scale for some tablets, what the root reason is for this, I wouldn't know, since the support is there in the API.
Basically, the android sdk provides various ways to describe the layout of your screens, and they encourage you to use ones which describe them in terms of proportional amounts (for the Linear Layout) or in terms of position of items i.e. to the left of item A (for Relative Layout) etc. The other layouts all work along the same lines, i.e. you don't worry about the size of the screen and calculate each position by hand like you do with windows mobile etc, it is all determined by the API.
You can see the different layouts code here and if you find the ApiDemo APK (I'll post if you like) you can view them. However, you can break all the rules and still use the Absolute Layout, where you return to the good old days of x,y co-ordinates. Even then you can use a values which are relative to the screen size and pixel pitch (see Difference of px, dp, dip and sp in android..) so there really is no reason to hard-code it.
As for graphics, I've not done this yet, but I know this handled if you use "9-patch" png files...they describe them here.
The idea here is that the black pixels around the edge allow the designer to say which bits are fixed size and which bits can be stretched to fit etc. It is a really tidy way to do it I think. Imagine how you'd have to do it otherwise if you created a button image with an icon on which would need to be resized to fit!
Oh, there are also provisions to provide low-res, med-res and high-res versions of the graphical resources, so again everything should scale nicely and look good without the need to scale everything all the time. There shouldn't be any need as such for "large" versions of apps, unless the developer wants to change how the app works by making use of the extra space or if they want ensure the "small" version takes up less space. I'm not sure how it determines which resource to use etc or if they all get installed etc, I've not looked into it.
So as long as the designer of the app has done all this correctly then it "should" scale correctly to whatever resolution. Of course, to claim this is true, they would need to test all resolutions. Fortunately you can manually create high-resolution emulated devices so it can be done but that is not the default.
[Now you mention it though, I shall ensure I test any apps I create at least once in high-resolution, it sounds like a good idea!]
I think this might have been why the retina display didn't make it to the iPad2, it would have required app developers to produce yet more app versions to deal with it and re-do the graphics yet again. Unfortunately I don't know anything about how iOS deals with these things, but you don't get the standard sized app in the middle of the screen or a x2 type option as you do with iPads.
Thanks for posting the question, hopefully it answers it (in theory anyway).
Topic Three: Low Level Basics
Part Two: The Root Of It All
I looked and looked for this information but I couldn't find the clear answers I wanted regarding rooting, so here is the info I was after.
What is ROOT, do I need it?
Rooting your device is not essential, for most the things you do with a tablet you will not need root access. Rooting is the process by which you enable “Root” access to the system’s low level files and hardware, this is achieved by enabling “super user” [Linux term for the highest level access which has higher level permissions to files than a normal user (like an Administrator)] access.
In most cases, apps will access hardware and files through the Android API, but in some cases they may need better control of the hardware than the API allows or access to files which are normally locked.
For this reason these applications require “root” access, typically apps which take screenshots (I assume to allow access to the screen data) and backup programs (I expect to allow access to all your files) are such programs.
Am I Rooted?
One thing I had trouble working out was working out if the device was rooted already or not. The quickest way to find out is to try to use an app which requires root access, if you device isn’t rooted it will tell you.
A good way is to download “Terminal Emulator” from the market (or direct from the author) . Then type: su which stands for Super User! (if your device is correctly rooted the “$” will change to “#” (ideally it will also prompt you for permission to enter superuser mode first - see SuperUser.apk below)).
Other signs you are rooted is to look for the “su” file in /system/bin/ but this will not confirm if the file is set to be executable correctly or in some cases different names are used to make it harder for unwanted apps to locate it.
Can I break/brick my device by ROOTING?
Actually ROOTING the device shouldn’t really cause any problems (since all you are really doing is installing a file which allows you to grant “Superuser” access). However, since ROOTING (by definition) allows entering into “Superuser” mode, this mode does allow you make much more serious changes to the system than you would in a “Normal User” mode (which is the whole point!), so clearly there are some risks involved while in this mode (and you may want to consider how this fits with your warranty). If your device isn’t open, then I suspect the main risk is getting your device into an unlocked state so that you can perform the root process first (since my tablet was not locked in anyway, I don’t know about this aspect).
Once ROOTING is complete, you don’t remain as a “Superuser” but any application is able to use it if they require. For this reason, the Superuser.apk application is typically installed, which detects when a request for “superuser” permissions are made and allows you to accept or reject the request.
The ROOTING process itself is reversible, which you may wish to do if you need to return your device for repairs etc.
How to root?
There are many guides and methods, but I shall take one specific to my tablet (posted by OffWorld on androidtablets.net) and explain each step in detail, since none I found explain what it is you are doing.
First you need to get the latest su and superuser.apk files from here.
Now, connecting the device to your pc, open a command prompt and type:
adb devices
Adb will respond hopefully with your list of devices:
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF device
This confirms your device is attached and adb is able to communicate correctly.
Command 1:
adb shell mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
This runs adb (the terminal program to your device) and mounts the specified folders with read/write access.
Command 2:
adb push su /system/bin/
This sends the “su” program to the location on the device (note this assumes have the “su” in the same directory as you are running adb from). You can confirm this by navigating to the location on your tablet and see that the file has been transferred.
Command 3:
adb shell chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
This changes the permissions of the “su” file you’ve just transferred [details about chmod].
By using the command: adb shell ls -l /system/bin/su you can see the permissions.
We’ve changed the permissions from -rw-rw-rw- to -rwsr-xr-x, this allows the file to be executed.
Command 4:
adb push Superuser.apk /system/app/
This installs the Superuser.apk package on the device. This is important since this app allows you to control superuser access, rather than just allowing any program to obtain “superuser” rights.
Command 5:
adb shell reboot
Restarts the device.
Following this process, you will have the SuperUser application installed and applications will request Superuser access if they require it.
Note:
You may find for screen capture programs you need to allow permissions automatically or you may only end up with screenshots of the permission screen! Yes that's how I got the above one...
Excellent topic ! i've got the same pad and was wondering if you did find out a good way to completely backup the firmware. I've used Titanium but that's not a complete dump.
JiePieWie said:
Excellent topic ! i've got the same pad and was wondering if you did find out a good way to completely backup the firmware. I've used Titanium but that's not a complete dump.
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Welcome to Xda!
That was going to be my next topic.
I've just been focusing on my WM development stuff at the moment (new RSSTab in the works), but will return to the tablet after I am done.
I'm not quite sure the best way to back it up yet, I was planning on trying out the ClockMod route, trouble is I'm quite new to it, so a little cautious about doing it before holidays.
I hope to try out some low level interfacing using the usb at some point too, as I've got a development board to play with.
Side Topic: The Future! Quad core and beyond
This time next year, Rodney...
Just saw this, and thought I would share here!
ASUS planning quad-core Tegra 3 tablet
See the two videos which are on the linked page...
Yes that is 2560x1600 resolution, hopefully to go into a 10" retina display.
Simply said, the future of these chips look rather interesting to say the least (no doubt are related to Sony's NGP).
Looking at the video, what we will be able to do with mobile devices will be rather impressive. Combine that with the new touch and perhaps kinect type control technologies as well as improvements with battery capacity/recharge tech, improved clear & colourful screens and things are shaping up nicely.
Boy are we going to have some fun hacking the innards out of them!
It is easy to see that for me, I've made the right choice by not spending lots of money on an impressive and expensive tablet at the moment. Since I'm happy to wait for a better tablet and until then I can have fun playing with my basic one.
Let just hope that the manufactures come up with a decent device, that is able to be hacked and perhaps might even be half decent out-of-the-box.
What is next? Who knows!
It's interesting really since I think that phones are quite close to the point where they have about as much processing power as they need** (perhaps with the exception of ones which include extra connectivity to HDMI/pico projector, keyboards etc). When they are subjected to the confines of a 3.8"/4" screen, you start to hit the limits of usability rather than processing power. Tablets have given the hardware room to stretch it's legs a little and show us what it can do!
**I'm not saying they won't need more in future, but I think perhaps an upgrade won't be as essential or spectacular, as it once was, until they evolve to the next form of course. I suppose the ultimate progression though is the usability of something like a tablet or pc but packaged in the form of a phone or smaller device in some form or another.
The software needs to catch up now though, we need better multi-core programming techniques, far far better privacy protection, and better stability overall. Thankfully hardware gives us the grunt to do this, it just needs to develop and improve to the point where coding can be done at the highest level of abstraction (which allows time to be spent on creative aspects rather than low level code details).
If you want to look even further, the prospect of re-programmable hardware is getting closer. This is where all the single purpose chips (such as video decoders) are replaced/supplemented by ones which can be re-programmed. Not only does this allow for codecs etc to be updated while still keeping the advantage of hardware decoding/coding (i.e. realtime without loading the main processor or drawing lots of power), but some applications could in-theory call in dedicated processing for specific tasks allowing for some amazing performance when performing complex and processor intensive tasks.
Fun times are a-coming!
Bright things are ahead for our fondle blocks, I don't even care too much if they are android or ipad or something else, as long as we can buy it (without selling a leg or two - ok, not iPad then!), program it, play with it and push it to it's limits and beyond!
Side Topic: Multi-Touch Technology - with No Touch Screen!
ZeroTouch 'optical multi-touch force field' makes a touchscreen out of just about anything
I wonder how much this costs to produce, quite a nice solution and ideal as a add-on to current screens. Depending of the cost of each infra-red and LED module it hopefully won't be too much. Imagine getting it fitted to your coffee table at home!