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AMD Moves Closer To Linux PDA

Posted by simoniker on from the portable-penguin-power dept.

Ryan writes "Mobilemag is reporting that AMD has advanced the prototype design of their current Linux-based PDA handheld, adding full-screen video capabilities, and completing work on the device's battery charger. The device is based on AMD's 400MHz Alchemy 1100 processor." However, "AMD has yet to find a hardware maker that has committed to bringing the Alchemy-based reference design to market as a commercial product."

4 of 123 comments (clear)

  1. Portable XviD player? by Sheepdot · · Score: 2, Interesting
    AMD sees the ability to play full-screen video as a key feature of the PDA reference design, Pompa said, demonstrating the design's ability to play full-screen video on a 320-pixel by 240-pixel screen with no screen artifacts and without the assistance of a graphics processor.

    Am I reading this properly? Can this thing play highly compressed AVI files or is this some sort of video compression specifically for a PDA?

    What about XviD?

    1. Re:Portable XviD player? by Dielectric · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Sure, you might be able to code up an XviD decoder. The Au1100 has an onboard graphics controller, and a pretty fast memory interface which is key. I've seen the MPEG decoding real-time on this processor and it works pretty well. This isn't their normal x86 processor, it's a low-power MIPS32 core.

  2. Another Linux PDA. by LordArathres · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Seriosly folks, how many Linux PDA's do we need. I mean we hear stories about them ALL the time and then they vanish. The problem is that they go away and the people who got them are now stuck with a PDA with no future upgrades. Maybe AMD can support such a device but I doubt it will be profitable. How many people here actually would buy this thing when it came out? I would not because I dont need one and the last PDA I bought I never used because it was bulky and hated carrying it around, I dont carry anything that doesnt fit in my pocket. I Linux PDA/Cellphone that is the size of a cell phone is what I need, I would buy that one.

    Arathres.

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    stainless steel
  3. Need... by Greyfox · · Score: 3, Interesting
    2 weeks battery life minimum.

    A "Keyboard" of some sort. None of that graffiti crap for me.

    EMACS.

    No, this isn't a troll. Emacs does everything I need it to do. Seriously. It's got all the PIM functionality in a well-integrated set of programs and it's easily extensible. And the MIT remembrance agent is way cool. Nothing else I've run across comes remotely close to its functionality.

    The Sharp Zaurus was pretty close to my needs except that the battery life really sucked.

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    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?