Slashdot Mirror
Mobile Phone with PC running Linux 2.6
A8 writes "There is a new toy (aka the S101) around the corner from a German company called Road GmbH. Looks like the Nokia Communicator, but is a little PC with GSM, GPRS, IrDA, Bluetooth, WLAN -- you name it, running Linux 2.6/Qtopia! Sorry seems like the page is in German only." There are also versions based on the same hardware but running Windows CE and Symbian.
Here is the Goggle translation
-=test-sig_0.1.5(NoWhitespaceVersion)=-
who speak english.
S101/S101K
Technical features
Software
- standard applications
- GSM telephone with SMS/MMS
- PIM also
* Directory
* Appointment calendar
* Tasks
- pocket calculators
- dictating machine
- indication program
- MP3 Player
- PC synchronisation Ms Outlook
- remote ACCESS
- InterNet Browser
- email client (POP and IMAP), repeated accounts
- Office Viewer (Ms Word, Ms Excel, Adobe pdf)
[Customized applications]
- cryptology (only S101K)
- Business applications for direct access to firm servers
- Providerspezifi on-line services
[Operating system]
- LINUX Kernel 2.6.x
- Qtopia Graphic user interface
[Hardware]
- GSM telephone
* Display: LCD mono chrome 102x65 pixel
* Keyboard: 20 keys standard layout
* Acoustic output over earphones or free speech mechanism
- PC
* Display: Color TFT 640x240 pixel with Touchscreen
* Keyboard: 63 keys PC-compatible layout
- Diktiergeraet/Audioplayer
* 4 separate keys for control
* Rendition over loudspeakers/earphones
- camera (optional)
* 2 megapixels
Actual working time
- GSM telephone: actively 4h, standby 240h
- PC: actively 5h, standby 30 days (GSM telephone switched off)
Konnektivitaet
- wireless: GSM quadband (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz) with EDGE
* WLAN
* Bluetooth
* IRDA infrared modules
- wire-bound
* USB 2,0, mini USB socket
* SD Card base
* Power supply unit 5V DC, RK 1A
* Telephone Headset or stereo earphone
[Interior life]
- CCU Intel Xscale PXA 263 with 400 MHz
- memory 64MB RAM, 64MB Flash
- Akku lithium polymer 1500mAh, load time 3h
- vibration alarm
[General data]
- weight 210g inclusive Akku
- dimensions 128x60x25m
German commercial websites are required to publish address and phone number in a way which makes it easily accessible from every page. It's usually called "Impressum" or "Kontakt". The link is at the bottom of the page and leads to http://www.road-gmbh.de/impressum/index.html
Products have been announced for the fourth quarter of 2005.
Hans Constin is also director of Constin GmbH at the same address.
It might also rely on the geek factor, it seems to work for other devices as well.
Life is just nature's way of keeping meat fresh.
Hey, let's get this out in the open, shall we. The product was "announced" at the 3GSM World Congress, it don't exist, you can't buy it. Yet...
:-(
But the specs have been announced, you can email the company about pre-ordering, and it's getting some decent coverage. Plus the fact it looks pretty cool (the screen may have been photoshopped, but the model looks like a prototype).
Usually I like to give a product more than 72 hours before denouncing it as "Vapourware".
Now, about the 1400 Euro pricetag
"Any similarity between the hooting of a million eager monkeys and Slashdot is purely coincidental." -THEFLASHMAN
The US has GSM already, you just need to switch networks and/or move to another state.
But for a phone with these specs looking to release in almost a year's time, I'm surprised they're going with GSM rather than WCDMA, or is Germany that far behind in 3G rollout?
Good call Anonymous Moron...
There's no good Open Source mini-browsers like Konqueror Embedded, Dillo, or (GUI) Links2. Which is too bad, because the universe would colapse on itself if you used a non-open source browser (such as Opera) on Linux, just like every other embedded device ever made.
And you're sure to need good handwriting recognition on a device with a full keyboard... An on-screen keyboard (which most PDA users use) like xkbd couldn't possibly be good enough. And someone that wanted handwriting recognition couldn't possibly adapt one of the open source Linux OCR programs to suit this purpose...
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
It denotes the business structure, which is similar to that of an american LLC or Ltd.
It means limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit Beschränkter Haftung in German).
There is an "english" link at the top of the page - pointing to http://road-gmbh.de/en/index.html
A prototype of the device could be seen at Trolltech's both at the Cannes conference (3GSM) last week. While it sure looked like it was in heavy development, it was far from vaporware. The device was demonstrated to be operational as a cell phone and qtopia apps could be seen running.