Re: This is serious competition.
 

I missed this the first time:

What?! The first implementation? Ohhh, it is the 3440, not the 3430.

Hm, I was looking at the TI pages for the OMAP3430 (the RX-51) and OMAP3440 (Archos).

It seems that the primary difference between the two chipsets is that the 3440 has some specific optimization for HD video playback, which would make sense for an Archos device.

Re: This is serious competition.
 

Until now there was no clear competition for nokia. There wasn't another portable mini laptop in the sub 500$ scene. But now others are coming into this market and it will be increasingly difficult without some sort of innovation. And for god's sake leak some pictures to sustain the enthusiasm.

Re: This is serious competition.
 

I think this is just another foot-print device (5") used as a phone cum Internet Tablet in the Android world.
I do think with such a large device, it will have some kind of usage of the phone with all the necessary BT profiles to be able to use it hands-off with a BT device and not have to hold this monstrosity to the ear.

And true - while we all do crave a lot of internal storage, a Hard disk is hard the appropriate way to make a portable device these days (though I understand cost wise this might have made sense).

I still think Archos will still remain more of a multimedia centic device (the 500Gb hard disk says so, add the HD capable Omap3 chip too as a indicator) more than a useful, handy internet tablet or a tablet phone.

Re: This is serious competition.
 

I think Fremantle is more interesting because they're the only OS in this marketspace that is aiming for the second group (with a suitably flashy, friendly interface) but with an infrastructure that makes the first group happy, too.

I get the impression that Nokia is finally going to put some of its "mobile phone industry leader" muscle behind this release. Unlike the current Maemo devices, Fremantle isn't going to be a geek toy.

But we'll see.

Re: This is serious competition.
 

When.....

we have been waiting for ages.... while other companies announce new products... we are still waiting.

Re: This is serious competition.
 

Fremantle will have to be a HUGE departure from the previous editions of Maemo for this statement to be reasonable, IMO. There is nothing about, say, Diablo, which would lead me to believe that Nokia has made a reasonable nod toward the second group.

Re: This is serious competition.
 

I think that's exactly why a HD is a reasonable choice for their device. They're looking at movie storage specifically, and media player capability in general, I would guess. Thus, a comparably priced SSD would be insufficient in storage space, compared to their other products.


For me, a 500GB HD would make it a rather useful "bring ALL of my data with me" device. Access it via Android apps while I'm on the road, access it via Ubuntu or Mac (or even Windows) apps when I plug it into my computer. Assuming they'll make that 500GB hard drive readable via USB (the OS data for Android isn't exported via USB when you plug it in, just the microSDHC card, so it's a somewhat reasonable question... I can guess what they'd do, but it'd just be a guess).

Re: This is serious competition.
 

When?

Maybe Feb 16th, or maybe later, who knows. Not a big deal, although I'm dying to see some pictures and/or video myself. We know it's coming this year, probably this summer, maybe a bit later...

Re: This is serious competition.
 

General Antilles summarizes what we know here. The new Maemo device is really shaping up to be great.

Re: This is serious competition.
 

I've seen those before. They answer "useful", not "usable". The 2nd group is going to want usable, not just useful.