On Friday 30 July 2010 11:04:10 Arun Khan wrote: > On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:29 AM, Vivek Varghese Cherian > > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Another picture of the so called device. > > > > http://androidos.in/2010/07/35-android-tablet-is-here-in-india-pr > >ice-can-go-down-to-10/ > > > > The site says > > > > 'According to the details,the tablet will come in three versions > > of 5, 7, and 9 inches display. It will be packed with 2 GB RAM > > memory, wi-fi connectivity, USB port and powered by a 2-watt > > system to suit poor power supply areas. It will laso have apps > > like internet browser, PDF reader, video conferencing facilities, > > open office, sci-lab, media player, remote device management > > capability, multimedia input-output interface option, and > > multiple content viewer.' > > Wow! That is a lot of functionality. > > > Some more specs can be found here, > > > > http://news.softpedia.com/news/Indian-Government-Unveils-Quite-Po > >werful-10-Tablet-148828.shtml > > I hope the designers and GoI releases the full spec under some kind > of "open hardware" lic. and set it free (in the same spirit as the > TCP/IP networking stack). > > Let innovators across the globe contribute and make it a kick ass > product.
As an aside, Creative (soundwallas) developed an ARM based device with some neat multimedia innards. The device never scored a design hit. If the IIS/IIT profs managed to locate a similiar nearly dead silicon manufacturer, they could proly get a very lowcost BOM. Assembling the device is not difficult, even with BGAs. Requires a regular kitchen oven and can be done in your kitchen. Regarding design specs, there are innumerable open designs available, including hawkboard and beagle board. Designing the schematic is almost trivial. Desigining the layout is only a little more laborious. Fabricating a four layer PCB is not difficult either but is an economy problem for small volumes < 500. Also a 4 layer board would be relatively big. Inorder to make it compact, the pcb would have to be 6 layer probably with bilind/buried vias. This makes the pcb more expensive, ie volumes of < 1000 per lot will be expensive (i have been getting mails from chinses vendors for volumes as low as 10 though). However no black art involved in any of the above, except the costs. The roadblock will be the LCD. If the specs say video playback, the lcd will require a fast refresh. Which drives the cost up. A 5" display in large volumes will be about $8. Speculation, speculation, speculation. I am dying to read some real info. And i hope it does not turn into con like the nano first 1.000 units will be $35 (already booked by Kapil Sibal), rest will be $350. If they pull this off, the whole team should be awarded Bharat Ratnas. -- Rgds JTD -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
