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NanoNote Goes Wireless
dvdkhlng writes "Even though completely copyleft, the NanoNote hand-held platform failed to get the attention of many due to its low specs and the lack of wireless connectivity. The objective to keep things open had its price, and wireless technology is a mine-field of patents and NDAs. Now, a few gifted hackers designed an add-on card to bring wireless to the NanoNote. It's not what you would expect; WLAN compatibility was sacrificed, going for the less encumbered IPv6 over the 802.15.4 standard instead. The resulting dongles won't win a prize for the highest bandwidth, but excel at simplicity, energy efficiency and manufacturability. Want to see the ugly details? Designs, source code and production documentation are published under open source licenses."
Is the device really that small as the picture comparing it to a coke can suggests? I really can't think of a practical use for this form factor.
cause you cant find the thing for sale anywhere
besides if you could would you? I mean I might give up to 40 bucks for this toy that will end up in the junk bin a year later
If it runs Linux and comes with a USB port, what was stopping people from simply popping in one of those wifi-card usb things?
I think I gleaned the true meaning of your blather.
Im a hobbyist, and i still don't see the point of this thing where there are far more useful devices for less out there.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
The problem, as stated, is that it lacks wireless capability, which is something that is largely the point of portable devices. By not supporting a protocol that users can find (how many people do you know with 802.15.4 connections in their homes?) they haven't solved that problem. This creates a larger obstacle to getting the product into the hands of users, which is their primary goal, yes?
If you're not going to make a compelling portable product, why not make a compelling non-portable product that doesn't have the costs and constraints of trying to be small, portable, and battery powered?
No, I'm pretty sure the only insane asshole involved is you.
Arduinos solve problems and are successful, despite being nice hardware. SheevaPlugs solve problems and are successful.
If people want to design and play with these for the fun of it, more power to them, but it's poorly conceived and will never be very successful at reaching the hands of hobbyists and they shouldn't be surprised when they fail. As I told the other gentleman, if they're dedicated to open hardware, they'd be better off creating open hardware for desktops where they wouldn't have bad space, heat, and power constraints rather than poorly duplicating functionality of something that most people carry around already.
From their wiki: http://en.qi-hardware.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_in_Nanonote
This section shows the availability of Wi-Fi connectivity in Ben NanoNote.
Up to now, Ben NanoNote is able to use Wi-Fi devices based on the KS7010 Wi-Fi chip from KeyStream.
KeyStream was a small Japanese startup (about 30 people) focusing on mobile Wi-Fi chips, their first and only main product being the KS3021 RF chip and the KS7010 Wi-Fi baseband chip. They were acquired by Renesas in April 2009, and are now continuing as the KeyStream brand inside Renesas. The technology will probably appear in other Renesas chips in the future.
Known users of these chips are:
Microsoft Zune 30, and probably other Zune models as well
Spectec SDW-821 full-size SD (SDIO) Wi-Fi card
Spectec SDW-823 microSD (SDIO) Wi-Fi card
(note that all other Spectec Wi-Fi cards use MTK Wi-Fi chips without Linux drivers!)
Looks like the Spectec SDW-823 goes for about $30-40 on Amazon.com. And the drivers are all GPLed, so...
While the hack they posted above is really neat, if you want it to "just work" then WiFi is available.
The product's full name is the Ben NanoNote.
Interestingly, "ben" is also the measure word used in Chinese for books, which speaks to the usability of this device as an e-reader.
wo you san ben shu --> I have three volumes of books.
wo you yi ben NanoNote --> I have a NanoNote.
3D Printing Tips and Tricks at Zheng3.com
If people want to design and play with these for the fun of it, more power to them
Except your post basically comes off as "they should never have bothered, because they're dirty zealots and it's been done better by others and I don't find it interesting."
it's poorly conceived
How so?
will never be very successful at reaching the hands of hobbyists
It's been around since 2009 at least and hasn't died yet. Maybe it is, and you're just making things up?
As I told the other gentleman, if they're dedicated to open hardware, they'd be better off creating open hardware for desktops where they wouldn't have bad space, heat, and power constraints
Maybe the goal was to have a singular portable device not dependent on any other platform, that was completely open. In fact, I believe that was the goal. They seem to have succeeded.
rather than poorly duplicating functionality of something that most people carry around already.
Which generally aren't open in multiple ways. I defer to my earlier snark.
"a practical device it does not appear to be."
A practical device is PRECISELY what it is.
It is designed for embedded systems and low-cost distributed networks.
Tell me what is your definition of the word "practical"?
It runs the software that you write
Most end users aren't interested in writing software.
If you're satisfied with the software that vendors throw at you or allow you to obtain via their managed app-store
At the moment, this appears to describe most end users. And without a distinct feature that appeals to a lot of end users, don't expect to see this device on store shelves. And without store shelves, don't expect to be able to buy this device with cash.
In three years, all those new Android SmartPhones will be discarded for something new, and the millions of old ones can be repurposed as educational tools for people in materially poor countries. So we can write educational software for Android *now* and just assume the networkable platform will be free in three years to essentially anyone anywhere wanting education. More on that idea:
http://listcultures.org/pipermail/p2presearch_listcultures.org/2009-November/006250.html
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
Guess what? It still has low specs, and it still lacks wifi. I'd never heard of the NanoNote, and I'd never heard of 802.15.4. Now they're combined into a single product that no one will be interested in. I guess that's an improvement, right?
"A week in the lab saves an hour in the library"
Well, I don't find it a compelling device, but nonetheless I can think of a few uses for it. If someone gave me one, I'd be tempted to:
Those are three applications it would appear to be more than adequate at. I wouldn't be inclined to use it as the eBook reader others have mentioned - the lack of an eInk screen and the poor resolution/size kinda works against that.
My major reservations are not your's. I don't think the "Costs the same as a smartphone on contract" thing is reasonable, given it clearly doesn't (unless the contract is for a dollar a month or something!) But, on the other hand, if you want an Android tablet, there are things like this that cost less than the device and are genuinely more capable. What would make me pick the NanoNote over the Archos? Well, in my case, I wouldn't buy either, which means I'm not really qualified to address the question. And I think the same applies to you too.
It's an inexpensive device, it appears to have a certain amount of flexibility, it's not ideal, but it's a form factor worth playing with. I'd give it a second look if:
I think all of the above are quite possible, so I'll watch the platform with some interest.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
It's not worth a hundred bucks considering what you can get under a hundred bucks these days, e.g. http://www.dealextreme.com/p/7-touch-screen-lcd-google-android-2-2-tablet-pc-w-wifi-camera-tf-arm-v5-349-79mhz-70053 or perhaps http://www.dealextreme.com/p/7-0-tft-lcd-android-2-2-via-8650-cpu-wifi-umpc-netbook-white-349-79mhz-2gb-3-usb-sd-lan-70761.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
You can get a very capable Android cell phone from any of the major providers for under $100 these days. I've not been under contract since 2006 or so and I was able to get one with a second generation snagdragon processor and unlocked world capability for $150, but I'm also on a small provider that actively tries to avoid being evil.
It might be OK for the three applications you listed but I think you'd be disappointed by the media that the CPU can support and by how clumsy playing games would be on that tiny of a keyboard. But all of those things are true of my cell phone too, which I carry pretty much everywhere I go because it actively improves my life. If something's going to have a similar form factor to a phone, it has to give some reason to carry it in addition to the phone.
The only thing that makes this really distinctive is that the hardware is completely open, which only affects the user experience by giving a very, very small minority of people a happy glow.By doing this project badly, they're hurting their own cause.
These things have been out for two years or so and sold 1000 units (according to the claim on wikipedia). I wouldn't hold your breath on high resolution eInk. On the other hand, in two years or so you'll be able to get a fairly capable 7" Android tablet with everything you wanted (albeit with ethernet off a USB dongle) for around $200. Maybe 5" as well, although I don't know if that form factor will take off.