Re: [Mx7community-general] Info available on www.softfield.com

[Eric B. <ebr...@ea...>]

Aschwin Marsman wrote:

>I still have a lot of questions:
>- What's the external size? Same as VR3?
>
That was implied in an earlier msg on the Agenda list, but it would be 
nice to see actual measurements. One of the principle reasons I prefer 
my VR3 over my Zaurus is the size and shape. The smoothed corners of the 
VR3 just fit so much more nicely in my pocket.

>- How solid is the case?
>- How about the LCD lines, that's how my VR3D got unusable.
>
Agree! Durability is a major problem with the VR3. I'm on my second one 
now due to the LCD lines. The first one lasted about 1.5 years before I 
gave up on it, but it really should do better than that.

>- What's the battery life? Batteries recharable without
>  the need to take them out of the MX7?
>
This is a crucial point. On these DRAM-based systems, losing the 
batteries mean losing everything in memory (as opposed to the VR3 which 
keeps everything in Flash, so rebooting doesn't lose saved data). It's 
another reason I don't rely on my Zaurus.

>- Is it possible to replace the kernel? Using which tools?
>
I assume so, primarily due to similarities with the Zaurus. This is a 
Flash-based system, so there must be a way to re-write the Flash. The 
process hasn't been documented yet though. On the Zaurus, you can either 
load the new system into a CF card and reboot, or download over the USB.

>- Is there an X server available that can run on the MX7?
>
Way too early to tell. Even the Opie project for the Zaurus still uses 
Qt instead of replacing it with X.

>- Which toolchain is needed, is it freely available?
>
For non-commercial development the Qtopia development tool are freely 
available.

http://www.trolltech.com/download/qtopia/index.html?cr=1

The ARM version of gcc is of course free. Here's some info on setting it up:

http://www.splitbrain.org/index.php?x=.%2FZaurus%2FDevelopment%2FCrosscompiler

Eric