New Handheld Computer Is 100% Open Source

metasonix writes "While the rest of the industry has been babbling on about the iPad and imitations thereof, Qi Hardware is actually shipping a product that is completely open source and copyleft. Linux News reviews the Ben NanoNote (product page), a handheld computer apparently containing no proprietary technology. It uses a 366 MHz MIPS processor, 32MB RAM, 2 GB flash, a 320x240-pixel color display, and a Qwerty keyboard. No network is built in, though it is said to accept SD-card Wi-Fi or USB Ethernet adapters. Included is a very simple Linux OS based on the OpenWrt distro installed in Linksys routers, with Busybox GUI. It's apparently intended primarily for hardware and software hackers, not as a general-audience handheld. The price is right, though: $99."

Comments

No Proprietary Technologies?

[Revotron]

I thought the MIPS architecture was a licensed design... surely you can't call something 100% open source if even one component has to be licensed, can you?

Re:No Proprietary Technologies?

[Anonymous Coward]

While the official mips implementation designs are often not open source but rather proprietary licensed in a manner similar to ARM cores as you say, there are only four instructions the implementation of which are (or were - I think the relevant patent may have expired!) patent-monopoly-blocked in the mips instruction set. A cpu can get along just fine without them. While Loongson is now a mips licensee anyway, it originally was making "mostly mips compatible" cpus, missing those four instructions.

There therefore also exist opencores implementationsof "most of the mips instruction set" cpus.

Re:Open Pandora

[tepples]

Pandora's PowerVR GPU is proprietary.

OSS processor is here

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.opensparc.net/

Re:Open Pandora

[Dracker]

I know a lot about this device. I preordered one Sep. 30, 2008 and am about to receive it as they are finally shipping them.

There are a few problems with this device for thr purposes of a "100%" open source platform
-Philosophical: It's not 100% open. There are no blueprints available, and proprietary chips and interfaces (SD card reader, etc) inside. Furthermore, while the OS is open source, some drivers (wifi, analog nubs) are not.
-Practical: Even though they're finally in production, you'll probably have to wait a year to get yours if you order now. There are no large scale factories assembling them, it's done by the team behind the product (just a few guys) and any volunteers they can muster.

While an interesting device (and certainly one you can do a lot more with than the Qi) it's not really appropriate for a conversation about available 100% open devices.

Re:Kindle killer? Not yet but...

[dunkelfalke]

Get a used Toshiba E800, the device is very good for reading and quite cheap.

Re:This story contains one egregious error.

[maitas]

SPARC T2 has is 100% GPL Verilog.

Re:Open Pandora

[psbrogna]

I disagree with the assumption that only commercial software can innovate. Like Walt Disney "borrowing" fairy tales, commercial software often "borrows" from open source code. For example: ftp, rcp and rsh in Windows originally were ported from BSD. And how about all the hot features from FOSS web browsers being imitated by commercial browsers? Or KDE 4 features finding their way to Vista & W7?

Re:A couple of the potential uses

[hairyfeet]

I have to agree, hell even the price isn't that great, as for the same money you can pick up one of those 7 inch ARM based netbooks off of eBay, and those have Wifi and Ethernet. Just yank the WinCE off and put on Android or your micro distro of choice and you'd have a MUCH better hackable device than these.

Re:A couple of the potential uses

[evilviper]

Just yank the WinCE off and put on Android or your micro distro of choice and you'd have a MUCH better hackable device than these.

I think you've greatly underestimated just how difficult that step is...

Re:SD card?

[hedwards]

That's correct if you us an OMAP based chipset then TI would pick up the cost as part of their cost of production and pass the rest onto the customer.