maemo.org - Talk - Freescale is gonna make ARM-laptop!

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- - Freescale is gonna make ARM-laptop! (https://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=26010)

Pegatron is gonna manufacture ARM-laptops!

Just saw this.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10...g=2547-1_3-0-5

Finally. I have been waiting for ARM laptops...

Quote from arcticle:

Quote:

Freescale has been working with Pegatron, a wholly owned Asus subsidiary, to develop a reference design that features the 1GHz ARM Cortex A8-based i.MX51 processor, Canonical's Ubuntu operating system, Adobe's Flash Player software, a new power management chip, and the SGTL5000 ultra low-power audio codec.

The ARM chip architecture-based i.MX51 processor is designed to enable "low-power, gigahertz performance netbooks at sub-$200 price points," according to Freescale, formerly Motorola's chipmaking arm.

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/200...ifications.jpg

Re: Freescale is gonna make ARM-laptop!

I hope they make it a convertible/tablet netbook, like the Fujitsu U820.

And, I hope both Maemo and Android get ported to it. In fact, I think it'd be a major mistake if the Maemo team doesn't figure out a way to get themselves on it. (android has a small list of things it would need to fix before I'd find it a viable netbook platform, that I've posted in all of the "android on EeePC" articles I've found, but it is do-able/fixable).

Of course, the best possibility, IMO, would be a convertible/tablet netbook that can fit comfortably in my gadget bag (say, about the same size as a Everun Digital Note), 1 or 2 USB Host/OTG ports, 1GB RAM, options for 8, 16, 32, or 64GB solid state storage, an SDHC card slot or two, wifi, BT (with support for at least DUN, PAN, FTP, HID, and BIP), internal PCI Express Mini card slot (with antenna wire available for those who decide to put in a WWAN card), USB Client for mass storage mode and charging, 8 hours battery life, portrait camera with flash and video capabilities (I don't care either way about a chat camera), DVI-I display port (or, possibly, Apple's new display port), internal microphone and external mic jack, 3.5mm headset jack (and built in speakers, of course), accelerometers for detecting screen orientation and movement when in tablet mode, Dpad and utility buttons on the sides of the screen (maybe "joystick" buttons as well, like OpenPandora, PSP, and Samsung Q1), and ports of Ubuntu Netbook Remix, Maemo, OpenPandora, and Android.

(and, ideally, a port of Maemo that can run Dalvik/Android and OpenPandora apps/games)

I'd buy that.

Re: Freescale is gonna make ARM-laptop!

With Ubuntu apparently planning to release a version aimed at the ARM platform and with a couple of 2nd and 3rd tier manufacturers working on low-cost (~$200) netbooks with long battery life this sub-group of devices just might become viable.

Something resembling the ($900+ !!) Vaio P (ie. with decently wide keyboard and screen) would make for a very portable system although well-built "traditional" netbook format would also be fine.

Next summer looks to be interesting time.

Re: Freescale is gonna make ARM-laptop!

I saw an article on the web just yesterday that did in fact say that Freescale was in fact making a UMPC processor, possibly Arm based, so your original comment was correct.

Re: Freescale is gonna make ARM-laptop!

yup, i edited the first post a bit