Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

I don't know who are "they". If you mean the manufacturer (smartdevices/hhtech/whatever), then I believe they do not, and they are happy with compile time selection of device.

If you mean Mer developers, I think that I am the most interested in working on the kernel, and it is in my plans to get the same kernel working on both platforms. But I do not have a Q7, and I don't even know if the Q5 kernel source we have really works on Q7, or is only has some preliminary support.
Even without this work mer can work on Q7, either with the kernel that comes on the device, or with the source we have compiled for Q7 (or with source for Q7 assuming we can get it, if it is different).

I think discussing the Q7 in this thread makes sense, so it is reasonable to ask the thread starter or a moderator to rename the thread.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

I do not completely agree. I believe that even with the same resolution, the larger screen will allow for using smaller fonts, and thus be more suitable than then Q5/NITs at home. Such usage also reduces the importance of a long battery life.

I agree that as a mobile device, it probably is not as useful, though you should recall that it has much larger battery.

I do not believe in lost in the middle. Every usage pattern has a different optimal size. Every size has a usage patter for which it is optimal.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

I thought the 7" eee had to go because it was a MID display in a netbook case. A friend of mine had one, and the small screen in the (comparatively) large shell was silly. OTOH A properly executed 6-7" MID could be interesting, though (see Archos 7), the sofabook as I called it in the other thread :)

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Sorry, but I still respectfully disagree with you guys. If the resolution doesn't go up, it's a ripoff in my opinion. I think you'll be unhappy when other stuff in a 7" form factor pass you by. I still say wait. 7" 800x480 is now for hobbiest's only, not for your primary reading gadget.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

IIRC, 7" with 800 x 480 is quite near from most of the dedicated eBooks readers, am I wrong ? At least this one have colour ...

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Being someone interested in SmartQ5 and who would run Mer on it, what is the hardware feature support status?

Sorry, I think thats been answered recently but I lost it in the noise.

As a slightly different spin on that: Would it be possible to have a table on the mer wiki showing what features are supported per platform, both hardware and software? Two examples, 1) OpenGL ES support is mentioned in random places, does Mer support that, and 2) the previous question about Flash.

The SmartQ5 tempts me quite a bit hardware wise and I'll be willing to help with Mer to get it to where I want software wise.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

The bar has just been reset to 3.5" (9cm). Anything 800x480 that's larger than say 5" (12.7cm) is dead for me in a handheld. Remember, we're currently using 4.1" (10.5cm) and it's near perfect.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

The Fujitsu Lifebook U810/U820 is a 7" convertible tablet (I wouldn't call it a netbook though, too expensive... it's usually lumped in with the UMPCs). It has always been intriguing to ,me... just wish it ran something other than Windows.

(just went to look it up... I was wrong, it's a 5.6", not a 7"... and the resolution is 1024x600)

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

when i see these resolution discussions, i keep wondering how small pixels can be before they are wasted...

also, with things still being bitmap sized, upping the pixel count on a physically small screen can make interface elements bothersomely small...

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

At the pricepoint the Q7 is at, it still serves a number of good purposes:

- a decent sized reader of novels and A4 pdfs
- a dictionary and encyclopedia
- a quick reference web browser
- photo viewer/slideshow
- basic xvid and mp3 player

As and when e-ink readers drop down to the USD100 range or the feted apple tablet arrives, then this device will be irrelevant but until then it certainly does have its niche

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Wifi is working (not for me, I have a faulty device).

I don't know if anyone used bluetooth, since it is connected to USB, so you need to change to host mode in order to use it. It should work, though, as it is simply a USB bluetooth device, and Linux supports those.

The CPU has video acceleration, and it is supported. It can play a 4000Kb/s encoded 768x576 resolution divx video at full speed.

The CPU has 2D/3D acceleration support, and the details needed to write a driver are available, but no one wrote a driver yet. This I plan to do, but it will probably take a long time.

Of course, LCD, touch, audio, buttons, SD, etc. are working.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Some good news:

We will get 10 developer rebates of 33 USD through a distributor in Singapore, so it will be possible to get a Q5 for 99 USD.

There will be more information later but the rebates will be assigned based on 10 best proposals dedicated to improve Mer with focus on SmartQ5/7 usage and your estimated skill in fulfilling the proposal.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

stskeeps, how do we submit a proposal ?
Not sure my PM has been activated on this site yet

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

I can confirm that. I used a 7" pre-netbook (Kohjinsha SA1) in parallel to my tablets for a while, and I could display considerably more information at a time on the larger screen, especially in the browser, although resolution was the same.

PS: which is why I'm none too enthusiastic about the even smaller screen in the leaked "N900" specs...

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

fpp ... Same idea for me ...

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Hi,

I have just received a Q5 and a Q7 from China. I have managed to get Mer running on the Q5 with no trouble using the excellent instructions (thanks) and I have got a WAP wireless network running too. I Also got QT embedded running so things are shaping up well as that is part of my final goal.

I am somewhat confused about the bluetooth though. Is it built in or is it via a usb dongle? All of the blurb implies it is built in but I cannot find it - it seems odd as it is even mentioned on the side of the box - (Bluetooth) V2.0 + EDR - Do the brackets mean it is supported but not supplied?

The Q5 only has a Mini B USB connector - I have never seen a bluetooth dongle with a mini B connector? (does such a thing exist? - Google failed me on that one!)

The Q7 (which I have not really played with much at all yet) comes with a type A blue tooth dongle (it has a type A socket as well as a type B) but there was nothing like that in the Q5 Box.

It seems odd that they would make a point of promoting bluetooth on the Q5 if there is no practical way of using it?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Question to Mer on Q5 users about hardware keys.

How do you think the hardware keys should be configured?

Lets call the Q5 keys (in order): Power, Minus, Menu, Plus.

My current configuration is:

Power is the same as in N800/N810
Menu is Shift
Minus is F8 (Zoom out).
Plus is F7 (Zoom in).
Menu+Minus is F4 (Menu in Mer)
Menu+Plus is F6 (full screen in Mer).

Can you think of a better configuration? What are the most important hardware keys in your opinion?

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

The Q5 has an internal USB bluetooth device. In order to use it you need to switch USB to host mode, which also switches the mini-b connection, so you can't have bluetooth and connect to a PC at the same time. Unfortunately, I can't try that, as my device has faulty wifi hardware. I don't know if anyone tried it in Mer yet.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Thanks, I'll look into that and let you know

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

I think Menu should be full screen (since it is in the same position as the fullscreen key on N800), and then Menu+Plus should be Shift so:

Power is the same as in N800/N810
Menu is F6 (full screen in Mer)
Minus is F8 (Zoom out)
Plus is F7 (Zoom in)
Menu+Minus is F4 (Menu in Mer)
Menu+Plus is Shift

Come to think of it, I think we should call the Q5 keys (in order): Power, Minus, Fullscreen, Plus

like on the N800

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Yes that works fine - Thanks for the pointer.

If anyone else is interested this is what I did to get the bluetooth running.

# echo 1 > /sys/devices/platform/hhtech_gpio/usbhostpwr_en
# echo 1 > /sys/devices/platform/hhtech_gpio/usbotgdrv_en
# modprobe ohci-hcd

# dmsg
........
ohci_hcd: 2006 August 04 USB 1.1 'Open' Host Controller (OHCI) Driver
s3c2410-ohci s3c2410-ohci: S3C OHCI
s3c2410-ohci s3c2410-ohci: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1
s3c2410-ohci s3c2410-ohci: irq 47, io mem 0x74300000
usb usb1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
hub 1-0:1.0: USB hub found
hub 1-0:1.0: 2 ports detected
usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using s3c2410-ohci and address 2
usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Bluetooth: Generic Bluetooth USB driver ver 0.3
usbcore: registered new interface driver btusb

# hciconfig
hci0: Type: USB
BD Address: 00:15:83:15:A3:0C ACL MTU: 672:4 SCO MTU: 48:1
UP RUNNING PSCAN
RX bytes:1077 acl:0 sco:0 events:41 errors:0
TX bytes:424 acl:0 sco:0 commands:41 errors:0


Just what I wanted, now I can connect to my bluetooth GPS :)

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

@aerod
When you have accumulated enough experience and have the time, please post a review of how you feel the Q's compare to the N8x0's.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

The fullscreen is not in the same place on the N800/N810, they finally fixed it. Fullscreen on the N810 is separate, and +/- is a single rocker. (This is apparently how the 770 was -- no clue why they broke it on the N800.)

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

sure, I'll be more than happy to do that.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

For good measure, can you tell what supplier you used, to get a list of "safe" suppliers - and ideally method of payment

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

I got them from http://www.eletroworld.cn/

I paid by Paypal as it worked out cheaper than using Western Union in the UK and I figured PP may offer me a little more protection.

I payed a total $403.4 all in which is pretty good really. The goods arrived after about 1 week. I got lucky and avoided paying any Duty or VAT (The guy at customs must have been asleep) - I was very impressed with the communications from the guy in China, he never seems to sleep!

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Right, OK then, more or less grouped together on the top is more accurate. I guess I've been thinking of the N800 since the Q5 seems like an imitator of that rather than the N810, but said N800/N810 out of habit.
I don't know why you say broken/fixed, seems like a matter of individual preference to me.

In any event, not relevant to the issue raised which was configuration of the hardware keys.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Interesting!

Craig(one of the Pandora devs) sells them in his webshop for 129.99 British Pounds incl. VAT

http://www.gbax.com/smartq5.html

:)

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

That's not much more than I would have paid if customs had been on the ball. I would have probably gone that way rather than risk the import from an unknown supplier had I known, although I did want both the Q5 and the Q7 for evaluation.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Right, I've put up a page for the SmartQ device developer rebate programme.

See http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Proposals/...oper_Programme and please read it through - the weights indicate where we would like to see improvements. Feel free to add proposals :)

Do note that this rebate is only for Mer team members (it is a formality to be signed up) - without membership the proposal will be ignored when it's evaluation time.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

woot, now if the Q7 shows up there also...

hell, there is some other cool stuff in that store, ill have to bookmark it! :D

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

[£129.99]

I assume $403.40 is Singapore dollars? And that all the prices I've seen are that? Cos USD403 is £253 at today's rates (according to Google); whereas SGD403 is £174. Hmm, so that still doesn't work.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

No, I am talking US Dollars, but I think I know the source of your confusion. Don't forget I purchased both the Q7 and the Q5 for $403US, which, based on your Google exchange rate, I make £139 for the Q7 and £114 for the Q5. That was including postage and money transfer costs, so the £129.00 Inc VAT + P&P would be about the same as I should have paid had I only purchased a Q5 and been charged VAT by customs - I hope that clears it up.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Yeah, I realised as I was just getting in to bed that you said elsewhere you'd got both. I thought about coming back downstairs, taking a computer out of standby and posting, but decided "nah" ;-)

Thanks for the clarification though.

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Man, if only someone made a little, pocketable, hand held computer with wireless Internet access and desktop-like web browsing so you could carry it with you everywhere and even plop it on your bedside table at night. That would have been handy.

(If anyone needs me, I'll be hiding under my desk. Shh! Don't tell Jaffa!)

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

It'd be even better if it had a fast, decent processor like an OMAP3430, though...

It would, but I dunno if I would be able to trust it to still have any battery left in the morning. I'd probably end up putting it on charge downstairs at night: it'd be useful on my commute as well (I guess), so I'd want to make sure it was charged for that.

Damn, foiled again my small pieces of wood!

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

One charger by the bed, one by the computer.

Hell, get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-276959-C.../dp/B000QGF8OQ

or a generic equivalent, and the computer is the charger...

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

So, is Mer working on q7 or not...
Should a stay with ubuntu and ldxe or try E17?

is it easy for none hacker to compile a Smartq7 optimized ubuntu (what do a need and there can i read up on it). I have installed Gentoo (and other distr.) on my pc so i do know a little. (or just a optimized mplayer, codecs and znes, supertuxkart)

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

Check out the new Smart Q5/Q7 support page at http://www.eletroworld.cn/nb/SmartQ_service.htm

This page provides links to quick start guides, firmware (Chinese), language packs, using Mer (v.013)/Windows CE/Android on the SmartQ, etc.

I'm impressed with how open and responsive e World is being to early adopters.

I've received confirmation that my order has shipped and I'm looking forward to receiving it in the next week.

[Oops! One too many http:// in the link.]

Re: Moses SmartQ 5
 

interesting, reading the Q7 quickstart guide, it seems they have put the alt key feature (drag window around while holding down the button) on the bottom side button...

hmm, same deal with the Q5...