Android Development On Playstation 3 - General Questions and Answers

Hello all,
This is most probably a silly question, but as I watch my Playstation 3 age and slowly grow irrelevant (debatable with bluray and whatnot), I was curious as to the possibilities of developing android compatible with its cell-processor architecture. Considering it is capable of having linux operating systems installed, I would not think that Android would be too far of a step from that. Anyway what would be the biggest hurdles and what would the limitations of such an operating system on this platform have? Thanks for your time!

Daxiongmao87 said:
Hello all,
This is most probably a silly question, but as I watch my Playstation 3 age and slowly grow irrelevant (debatable with bluray and whatnot), I was curious as to the possibilities of developing android compatible with its cell-processor architecture. Considering it is capable of having linux operating systems installed, I would not think that Android would be too far of a step from that. Anyway what would be the biggest hurdles and what would the limitations of such an operating system on this platform have? Thanks for your time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's not possible.. Yet..
Different architecture...

It might be possible but I am guessing it would take ages to understand the difference in the ps3's architecture, let alone start developing for it.
im pretty sure it wont be worth it though, since tons of time would have to be devoted to such a project, that in the end of the day might not even have any benefits.

Related

WebOS port to Android devices possible???

i dont have an andorid device or anything (yet) but its a known fact that the Palm Pre's OS (WebOS) which may turn out to be a success is run under linux as is the Android platform. Now im no programmer but from hearing that i might think that it could be possibly ported and it could be easier to do than Winmo
flame away if im totally nuts
but is it possible???
i think this is a good ? imo! It would be something to tinker with but since the phone just came out 1'st you would have to find somebody willing to dump the os
You're gay. Why can you think that ?
funbacon said:
You're gay. Why can you think that ?
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Talk about something that is completely uncalled for. Have you ever heard of constructive criticism or is that another concept that is lost in translation to you?
Gimpeh said:
Talk about something that is completely uncalled for. Have you ever heard of constructive criticism or is that another concept that is lost in translation to you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In his defense, he did say "flame away" I do agree with you though...not called for.
I think that it would be a difficult undertaking even if it is able to be done. I don't know if it can be done, however, I do know that IF it can, someone here at xda will do it.
mike21pr said:
i dont have an andorid device or anything (yet) but its a known fact that the Palm Pre's OS (WebOS) which may turn out to be a success is run under linux as is the Android platform.
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Click to collapse
WebOS is based on linux, but it's not linux any more than Mac OSX is unix. It's not easily transferrable by simply scraping the files out and dumping them on another device. Drivers have to be written for hardware and to account for buttons that the Pre/intended device does not have.
Android is easy to port because it's open, the source (which shows how the software works down to the smallest code) can be downloaded by anybody and tinkered with. Palm will not be releasing the source of WebOS to the community, so any hacking or porting is significantly more difficult.
Now, should it be attempted? At this point, probably not. If you want WebOS, jump on Sprint's dying network to grab one.
Personally, I don't see Palm making a comeback very well, especially if they've chosen Sprint as their premier network. As a former Sprint customer, I can certainly say that they're a sinking ship right now. Neither the Instinct nor the Pre will be able to raise them up again, they have to go further than just 'cool' hardware.
And as for WebOS, see where it stands in a few months. All news was quiet on more Android phones for about three months after it was released, but by then, the amount of applications (and the release of paid applications) and users gave the phone the momentum it needed. If WebOS obtains that kind of momentum, great, then it might be good to consider. But until it attains the kind of ubiquity that Windows Mobile or Android will hold, it's a bit of an early jump, no?
We might as well port the iPhone OS to the Dream.
jordanjay29 said:
We might as well port the iPhone OS to the Dream.
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NOOOOOOO i will break your phone if you do that, we bought these phones for their openess, not to be locked down by apple.
Not the mention that WebOS is build for an OMAP3 CPU, which has the ARM7 based architecture. So without the source, we may never be able to port it over properly.)
Is WebOS opensource? Or only the linux that it runs on?
ivanmmj said:
Is WebOS opensource? Or only the linux that it runs on?
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Click to collapse
The latter.
I don't think Palm is forward-thinking (or cash-flush) enough nowadays to open source webOS. This (as well as the whole one-foot-in-the-grave situation of the past five years) makes me think that despite webOS' flashiness, it may not have much longevity.
I wonder if Palm will license out webOS though. They have licensed out Palm OS in the past, so it's not out of the question. I don't think they can compete in the marketplace if they try copying apple with a single-licensee strategy. Not when options like Android, Symbian, and WinMo can be found on multiple devices from many manufacturers on many carriers.
Good idea. Just to give people an option is pretty cool.
funbacon said:
You're gay. Why can you think that ?
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Isn't it about time this guy gets banned? 90% of his posts are ripping on somebody or their work.
I'm all for another OS to get ported to the dream just for kicks, and to contrast how great and versatile android really is . I must agree with many above in saying it would be very difficult and a long way off if so.
Buster3616 said:
Isn't it about time this guy gets banned? 90% of his posts are ripping on somebody or their work.
I'm all for another OS to get ported to the dream just for kicks, and to contrast how great and versatile android really is . I must agree with many above in saying it would be very difficult and a long way off if so.
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i was thinking of porting android to the pre... made a post about this too.

[Q] Android App Emulator

I'm much like several of the people who bought TouchPads in the recent firesale. I absolutely love WebOs and the device in general but the thing that's bothering me is that the app selection is absolutely horrible! I know that there is an Android App Emulator on the PlayBook, is it possible for something like that to show up on the TouchPad? I love WebOS and I don't really want to give it up for only Android. I'm sure tons of people would really like something like this on their new Touchpads. Thanks!
Sounds like a great idea hmm...
I agree. I think that porting Dalvik to WebOS might be the best move to give us the Android apps and still let us easily use Linux, including ubuntu apps.
Well the problem would be the license..
lol...good point
license issues?
I thought it was opensource/freeware? How else could Cyanogen, etc., do what they do?
is it possible to port alien dalvik to the TouchPad? We should get some developers on this.
FAILHARD said:
is it possible to port alien dalvik to the TouchPad? We should get some developers on this.
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You took the words right out of my mouth!!
I'm actually trying to find developers for the exact same thing. It should be doable. Alien Dalvik was made in Qt which was ported to WebOS so in theory it's entirley doable. the only question is if there are any developers free to take it on that aren't currently working on a full Android OS port.
I'd really like to get a development team set up for this because alot of people would like to keep WebOS and just have a larger app catalog.
Yeah, exactly what I was thinking. We should look for a dev who could possibly have experience it Qt, though that's not completely necessary. If we gain more support, I'll post a dev thread.
I can't offer anything other than Beer/Pizza money but this is a great idea. WebOS is generally well reviewed and not looked at as a problem so much as a benefit. The OS is solid. The App Catalog is not.
Android Emulator :-D
I would love see a emulator on my TP. I would like to be able to place Android on the device I still much prefer the UI and design on WebOS even though Android is far more capable.
I'm happy to donate to this cause should someone take it up
alien dalvik is not open source, however, dalvik in general as well as the whole android os is under the apache license, this can be modified, forked and reworked (such as myriad turbo/alien dalvik) without having to release the source, its obviously possible... But you know what would be easier, porting android as a whole... Even dual booting would be easier.
Well the allure of this is having the superior Android app selection on the arguably better tablet experience of WebOS. If that were made possible - I wouldn't care about having Android on the device.
I couldn't agree more. As an OG Pre owner I love webOS but couldn't fight everything I can do with Android.
If I could get all my Android apps and keep my TP the way it is would be perfect.
The problem with porting Android right now is we have to use 2.3 which is for phones and not 3.2. I would rather either wait for ICS/4.0 for a port or just get the app market working.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App
That settles it there are enoght people interested in having a standalone WebOs android app emulator without having full android.. I'm starting a development thread, doing some preliminary work, and going to look for a few interested developers to work with on getting this going. My touchpad comes tomorrow so then i can really get into it..
Thanks Roto I was just about to do the same.
also, Roto post a link
Up. Beer on me
Here is the link to the development thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=16904876#post16904876
Failhard since you and I were the first to put in work on this idea i'd like you to help me head the project and find volunteer talent if you're up to it.
I took a look into what goes into a Dalvik port... it's TOTALLY doable just a matter of time and effort..
Unfortunately after i return to college in a week time will be in short supply for me so ALL help is appreciated!
I had never used WebOS before getting a tablet this last weekend. I have been an android fan for smartphones for now (I am willing to move to something better when it is available, otherwise stick to what works). I am a web designer/user interface designer and since starting using WebOS this last weekend, when it comes to the OS and its default apps that come with it, it is clear WebOS has the best user interface of the tablets (I used both iOS and Android OSes 1.5-3.2, Windows 7 tablets don't really count as a tablet OS and that is clear when using it on tablets).
The Android Emulator would be a great idea, but if you want quick development specifically for WebOS, we need to get a program created that can easily and painlessly port android apps to WebOS apps. Also it will take HP courting and reassuring the big players like Netflix, Hulu, Corporate IT Software Development companies that WebOS is viable and have continued support.
HP/WebOS only has a short amount of time to really establish itself. Next summer is rumored to be Windows 8 release and Windows 8 tablets coming. If Windows 8 can create a good tablet interface (WebOS is the one to beat imo atm as it has the number 1 interface), plus it's strong backing of games, program/application support and being able to integrate phone, xbox, tablet, and PC (Desktops and Laptops). Windows 8 is the biggest threat to anyone in the tablet market at the moment imo and they have been very successful in many of their endeavors as of late ("don't poke the sleeping giant" comes to mind, google and Apple have done that).
Due this short Window of time (pun partially intended), we have to establish WebOS as a main competitor to Google and Apple and prepare it for the onslaught of Windows 8. We need to work as a community to get things rolling and we need to push HP to court the big players in the industry to produce apps and content for WebOS and to continue further development on the operating system on their end. If we as a community and HP execute right, it will be a very exciting year coming up.

[Q] Developing an OS, help needed by developers

hey guys, well Iam a computer engineering student , and going to start my final year project, the project Iam going for is to develop an operating system universal enough that could run on almost any type of smartphones, i know that it is not a piece of cake , and developing everything from scratch would be impossible, according to me if i could develop a kernel level os in such a way that it is compatible with any kind of hardware , and for the application level layer i can modify android open source os, to start with i can use 2 smartphones ie one with android and other windows and somehow study the hardware they are using so that i can write a kernel in assembly language which is compatible with both,
i would like admins and developers to share there views and guide me with their opinions ..
osamaakadjob said:
... so that i can write a kernel in assembly language
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Click to collapse
I've done nothing but flash phones with android but I've done plenty with Microcontrollers and microprocessors in hardware and software development. From your statement you have a lot to learn if you think you can best a C compiler's optimised output with your own assembly... with some controllers its advised to stay away from assembly altogether unless you know that micros architecture inside out.
Not to mention the years of community development and testing of the existing linux kernels for the various platforms out there
dont really know how much you know about all of these stuff so from a 15 year old dev boy here is my advise(sorry if you know this just trying to help)
1)use two qualcomm devices(there are more of them than of other chipsets and are easier to dev to)
2)make it for now for single core phones(wp7 phones doesnt support dualcores and youll have a hard time if you use dualcore phones)
3)try to use old same manufacturer phones(in my personal view i would use two htcs...theyre just easier to dev....or in second case samsung)
4)good luck and prepare lots of coffee [youll really need it(said from an ubuntu dev)]
here are my ¢2 cents hope it helps
Sent from my €PΩ 4G TØU©H
Why not just mod Android? It's open source and a lot of the legwork has been done already. No need to reinvent the wheel.

On porting Windows RT to other ARM systems...

I don't see any other threads on this topic; there doesn't seem to be any serious discussion on porting Windows RT to run on non-official tablets and other ARM systems (raspberry pi for example).
It seems the main hurdle is that Windows RT requires an UEFI bootloader. Apart from a couple of development boards (ARM Versatile Express for example), there isn't any widespread ARM product that has this. Two things: what happens if one tries to boot windows rt from a UEFI capable development board? Second: if the first test shows some success, it would be worth the effort to write an UEFI emulation bootloader like Chameleon for x86.
Can someone with more experience chime in about possible complications and other issues to worry about?
I know it's been done; there are screenshots and such of Windows RT running on HTC HD2 (Leo) smartphone (which was released as a WinMo 6.5 device, but has had WP7, Android, Maemo, Ubuntu, and $DEITY knows what else ported to it).
That said, I don't expect it will be easy for the wide variety of devices. If nothing else, the drivers for all the hardware may be difficult to come by.
I see it. Has any more info come out of it? Was it just uefi emulation?
I want my Acer Iconia A500 to run windows rt. But no one started porting rt to any other Android devices.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app
(raspberry pi for example)
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Click to collapse
Raspberry Pi is using ARMv6, Windows NT works only on ARMv7 Cortex A9-MP.
I know it's been done; there are screenshots and such of Windows RT running on HTC HD2 (Leo) smartphone (which was released as a WinMo 6.5 device, but has had WP7, Android, Maemo, Ubuntu, and $DEITY knows what else ported to it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's running on HTC LEO by DFT team. It's not fake.
It seems the main hurdle is that Windows RT requires an UEFI bootloader.
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Click to collapse
It's not main hurdle, it's start hurdle. Actually there are much more things after that.
If we are talking about full working system or almost working system the next "hurdles" can be 10x times harder.
there isn't any widespread ARM product that has this.
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Click to collapse
BeagleBoard has UEFI bootloader AFAIK. we are used some useful information from there.
It's based on EDK2 kit, MAGLDR-UEFI also based on it as well Surface RT UEFI bootloader.
At the end you forgot the most important thing:
It's a question of legality. While Android and some other OSes are almost free and partially open sourced, Windows RT is closed source system and it's not possible legally install it to any device. System needs activation and etc. Ever information about it.
Some people may say at this point: "ha n00bs, true [email protected] never th1nk ab0ut that", "who care about MS?", "everything should be free"
, but truth actually is different. I am already noticed that
It's why DFT is so careful with spreading any information about that.
Cotulla speaks the truth. Installing RT to systems that didn't come with it means making copies of RT from some other source. Legally speaking, that's almost certainly going to be software piracy, and it's possible that MS would care enough about it to come after this site. That would be bad... This is one of the reasons for the strict anti-piracy rule here.
Cotulla said:
Raspberry Pi is using ARMv6, Windows NT works only on ARMv7 Cortex A9-MP.
Yes, it's running on HTC LEO by DFT team. It's not fake.
It's not main hurdle, it's start hurdle. Actually there are much more things after that.
If we are talking about full working system or almost working system the next "hurdles" can be 10x times harder.
BeagleBoard has UEFI bootloader AFAIK. we are used some useful information from there.
It's based on EDK2 kit, MAGLDR-UEFI also based on it as well Surface RT UEFI bootloader.
At the end you forgot the most important thing:
It's a question of legality. While Android and some other OSes are almost free and partially open sourced, Windows RT is closed source system and it's not possible legally install it to any device. System needs activation and etc. Ever information about it.
Some people may say at this point: "ha n00bs, true [email protected] never th1nk ab0ut that", "who care about MS?", "everything should be free"
, but truth actually is different. I am already noticed that
It's why DFT is so careful with spreading any information about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, by main hurdle I mean why there isn't much public work on it. I know it would be hard to port a system. And I did not know RPI is armv6 so forget about that. Obviously I understand the legality, but I'm not thinking about widespread releases. I'm looking more into what that dft team did which is just doing something to prove it can be done.
Well since TI demoed windows 8 RT on a TI OMAP 4470 system there has to be a build out there for it. I have a SmartQ X7 which also has the TI OMAP 4470/SGX544 chipset, I'd like to try Windows 8 RT on it as I am sure it would run quite well.
Here Engadget has an article about it.
So should be quite possible I'd think?
Sorry, by main hurdle I mean why there isn't much public work on it. I know it would be hard to port a system. And I did not know RPI is armv6 so forget about that. Obviously I understand the legality, but I'm not thinking about widespread releases. I'm looking more into what that dft team did which is just doing something to prove it can be done.
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Actually we never wanted to "prove that something can be done". We just doing our hobby in spare time.
Ever we run WP8 on old phone, it doesn't mean that MS faked all users. They had reasons and I understand them. Project was started long time ago before it was officially known that WP7 won't be updated to WP8.
From outside view it can look like we wanted to say "Hey MS lies, WP7 devices can run WP8!", but it's not
People look interested to view hobby results, as well we try to provide them some fun. like WP7 HSPL provided fun for ROM cookers, for homebrew apps developers, and those before provided fun for users who like to test new stuff and play with own phone.
Cotulla said:
Actually we never wanted to "prove that something can be done". We just doing our hobby in spare time.
Ever we run WP8 on old phone, it doesn't mean that MS faked all users. They had reasons and I understand them. Project was started long time ago before it was officially known that WP7 won't be updated to WP8.
From outside view it can look like we wanted to say "Hey MS lies, WP7 devices can run WP8!", but it's not
People look interested to view hobby results, as well we try to provide them some fun. like WP7 HSPL provided fun for ROM cookers, for homebrew apps developers, and those before provided fun for users who like to test new stuff and play with own phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you did was pretty awesome, and I also want to do it. Your work is yours so I'm not going to try to persuade you to give any info, but I want to get Windows RT running on other devices to show that it can be done (not to prove that Microsoft lied but to test my own (and anyone helping's) skills).
Porting to SAMSUNG GALAXY tab 2
Any idea, if it can be done porting to SAMSUNG GALAXY tab 2 ?
Does the hardware fits? As I read, I believe it's fits (like Microsoft surface ARM device).
What do i need to do?
Thanks in Advance!
Any news? I'm thinking about buying an terra 1001 pad :
https://www.google.nl/#hl=nl&sclien...94,d.d2k&fp=3cf597d2212ac5a5&biw=1366&bih=674
Man guys.. just get a Surface RT or Vivo Tab.
Wouldn't it be nice
Cotulla said:
Raspberry Pi is using ARMv6, Windows NT works only on ARMv7 Cortex A9-MP.
Yes, it's running on HTC LEO by DFT team. It's not fake.
It's not main hurdle, it's start hurdle. Actually there are much more things after that.
If we are talking about full working system or almost working system the next "hurdles" can be 10x times harder.
BeagleBoard has UEFI bootloader AFAIK. we are used some useful information from there.
It's based on EDK2 kit, MAGLDR-UEFI also based on it as well Surface RT UEFI bootloader.
At the end you forgot the most important thing:
It's a question of legality. While Android and some other OSes are almost free and partially open sourced, Windows RT is closed source system and it's not possible legally install it to any device. System needs activation and etc. Ever information about it.
Some people may say at this point: "ha n00bs, true [email protected] never th1nk ab0ut that", "who care about MS?", "everything should be free"
, but truth actually is different. I am already noticed that
It's why DFT is so careful with spreading any information about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, and to be honest the amount of work put into things needs, or should be paid for. Whether MS or Android. What would be nice? A source copy of RT to be paid for and used by any number of singular developers with the contention that MS will not support it, and have that announced publicly. Fact is, people complain when something doesn't work, and it is RARELY the person/manufacturer that they are blaming who are at fault. We as "Humans" give negative publicity out as if it is free candy, 99% of the time we have no real idea who actually is to blame, and forget how many mistakes we ourselves make. By "we" I mean the general public, not anyone or anything specific.
As for that...MS should release the sourcecode. It's a nifty OS and has the potential to be pretty amazing; not to mention the publicity would be good initially. AND...I have a few Tegras laying around I'd LOVE to dual boot with ! SO yes...go MS, give us source food? Don't be Apple
First of all this thread is really old, and probably should have been locked a long time ago.
wcparry said:
SO yes...go MS, give us source food? Don't be Apple
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Click to collapse
I really don't think you are going to see this happen, Windows has been closed source since 1985, I really doubt one day in 2013 they are going to wake up and say "oh, lets just opensource this stuff".
wcparry said:
I agree, and to be honest the amount of work put into things needs, or should be paid for. Whether MS or Android. What would be nice? A source copy of RT to be paid for and used by any number of singular developers with the contention that MS will not support it, and have that announced publicly. Fact is, people complain when something doesn't work, and it is RARELY the person/manufacturer that they are blaming who are at fault. We as "Humans" give negative publicity out as if it is free candy, 99% of the time we have no real idea who actually is to blame, and forget how many mistakes we ourselves make. By "we" I mean the general public, not anyone or anything specific.
As for that...MS should release the sourcecode. It's a nifty OS and has the potential to be pretty amazing; not to mention the publicity would be good initially. AND...I have a few Tegras laying around I'd LOVE to dual boot with ! SO yes...go MS, give us source food? Don't be Apple
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Click to collapse
Its essentially giving out the whole x86 Windows source code, this will never happen.. I believe
Here's a topic on windows RT recovery: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2079409
Maybe this can help in porting it to other devices.
We know about that thread... We have eyes.
Recovery images are useless for this purpose
--
gnidorah said:
Maybe go with windows ce (embedded) + bsp for concrete device instead?
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Click to collapse
Well, that wouldn't be RT then, would it? The point of this thread was wondering if RT could be ported to other devices not officially supported, not whether we can install any OS at all.

[Q] Ubuntu or Android for a 3rd world tablet-based education project?

Hi all
MY QUESTION
How much work is it to get Ubuntu working on a cheap tablet, (in terms of weeks and stress/reliability)? I'm about to spend a year writing tablet software that needs cheap hardware. If I find a capable Android tablet going cheap, is it reasonable to consider getting Ubuntu working on it, instead of restricting myself to the Android OS to use cheap tablets? Would Ubuntu C++ apps still kill performance? (Ubuntu will save me lots of development in other ways.)
ALL comments pleease, however brief and knee-jerk.
BACKGROUND (all feedback gratefully received)
I'm at the design stage of a project to use tablets to improve education in poor countries. Extremely briefly, the tablets will use elements of social media to enable children to collaborate remotely and asynchronously on projects, and game aspects to get the kids excited, who have probably spent the day working on the fields, and to welcome kids with special needs. The system will enable education to continue in complex emergencies, such as droughts and conflicts. Currently most kids drop out after grade one as the education they're offered is so poor. Tablets can support teachers and enable kids to get more out of their classroom and homework time.
The system needs some clever back-end engineering to operate a local social network if there is no internet connection. (I'm thinking something like NodeJS acting as both a p2p client and a server.) It also needs to run on cheap devices, if it is to be adopted by third world Ministries of Education.
I am currently torn between Android and Ubuntu for tablets. Android will presumably be the cheapest platform for the foreseeable future - tablets now go for as little as $40 wholesale. However Ubuntu for tablets now offers the ability to bring a proper IT education to these children, as they can learn office software, desktop OS, etc. Ubuntu also provides source code I can customize, eg, GCompris, Tux4kids, KDE and Epoptes. I can see Ubuntu on other tablets here, but it seems the Nexus 7 is the cheapest tablet I can currently get Ubuntu on and performance is still an issue. Is that fair to say?
I can write everything using C++ and OpenGL to squeeze as much as possible out of every processor cycle. I have been a developer for 15 years, but am pretty ignorant when it comes to hardware/OS level.
My alternative is using something like Titanium and Unity, (I don't think HTML5 will perform well enough), so I have a bit more platform flexibility, at the price of having to develop everything from scratch, and using technologies for the back-end stuff that aren't as ideal, (such as Android Java and/or Titanium JS). But perhaps that keeps more options open for me?
My feeling is I should go for Ubuntu, but the price needs to reliably reach considerably below $100 to become a nationwide system in a poor country.
Obviously any comments or thoughts on any aspect very gratefully received. Don't restrict your comments to my question - I want all your wisdom!
Huge thanks for reading all this and any contributions
Chris
Re-post
perhaps you would get more of a response if you made this a bit shorter, and re-posted on ubuntu.stackexchange.com, android.stackexchange.com, and programmers.stackexchange.com
Also, perhaps a little off topic, but have you considered using coffeescript? :cyclops:
Thought it might be a stackoverflow question, this forum is amazing for tablet OS dev though. As ever I blather on too much...people have complained in the past.
All three? Wouldn't that be bad netiquette?
That's kind of a tricky question because technology is always evolving and prices fluctuate so much that in a year you might be able to get a device for half the price. I'm not knowledgeable about the new Ubuntu options but if your gut says go Ubuntu, than do it.
Thanks, I'd love to say gut instinct served me well, and I'm all for intuition, but I wouldn't trust it enough to dedicate 6 months of development on its hunch. However these replies and the act of writing the question has crystallized my view a little so I now have more targeted questions.
found this excellent guide on the hassles of porting an OS to a new device...
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/Linux-For-Devices-Articles/Porting-Android-to-a-new-device/
and this
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/...droid-kernel-porting-from-one-device-to-other
So looks like a month, best case, with expert developers and a device well-known for being hackable. So to port ubuntu to a $40 device, I'm thinking three+ months, plenty of risk, and much pain.
Some other interesting posts:
A little gritty detail on porting kernels: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/...droid-kernel-porting-from-one-device-to-other
A tutorial on building (compiling, not developing) a kernel: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2110842
The best post I found on porting ROMS: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1941239
Porting modules from within kernels: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1751966
Porting cyogenmod, (a ROM, not a Mod, as anyone on this forum probably knows): http://forum.cyanogenmod.org/topic/15492-general-cyanogenmod-porting-discussion/
A new kernel developer: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2173411
A vocab for noobs like me: http://www.talkandroid.com/guides/beginner/android-rom-and-rooting-dictionary-for-beginners/
I was wrong. Ubuntu Touch is based on the CyanogenMod kernel, which is widely ported.
From Canonical's FAQ on the bits of CyanogenMod used: "The kernel and a few low level drivers for network, video, audio and some other hardware features are taken, all the higher level parts have been taken out. On top of this the whole Ubuntu is started in an chroot environment." ( https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/FAQ#How_is_Ubuntu_Touch_connected_to_Android.3F)
As a result it has already been ported to about 40 devices, and porting to a further 30 is work in progress, listed here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/Devices
CyanogenMod officially supports 172 devices, and unofficially supports another 59.
Officially supported devices: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Devices
Unofficially supported devices: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Unofficial_Ports

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