EFIKA ARM Smartbook?

[Simon Lyall]

Just wondering if anybody has got one of these:

https://www.genesi-usa.com/products/smartbook

It's an ARM based netbook for just $US 199 (plus shipping which isn't
specified).

The 100% solid state and lowish price appeals to me as an occasional
portable machine for holidays and conferences.

Has anybody got one and what is your experiences?

[Vik Olliver]

Post by Simon Lyall
https://www.genesi-usa.com/products/smartbook
It's an ARM based netbook for just $US 199 (plus shipping which isn't
specified).
The 100% solid state and lowish price appeals to me as an occasional
portable machine for holidays and conferences.
Has anybody got one and what is your experiences?

The problem I have with these things is that there is only 512MB RAM on
them. An A8 or A9 will take 1GB. Now, I know it's only a baby laptop and
that's fine, but running OpenOffice or Thunderbird in 512MB? It's gonna
be slow isn't it. Doesn't sound great for multi-tasking either.

Vik :v)

_______________________________________________
NZLUG mailing list ***@linux.net.nz
http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug

[Michael Hope]

Post by Vik Olliver

Post by Simon Lyall
https://www.genesi-usa.com/products/smartbook
It's an ARM based netbook for just $US 199 (plus shipping which isn't
specified).
The 100% solid state and lowish price appeals to me as an occasional
portable machine for holidays and conferences.
Has anybody got one and what is your experiences?

The problem I have with these things is that there is only 512MB RAM on
them. An A8 or A9 will take 1GB. Now, I know it's only a baby laptop and
that's fine, but running OpenOffice or Thunderbird in 512MB? It's gonna
be slow isn't it. Doesn't sound great for multi-tasking either.

(sorry for the late reply)

The Genesi people are a nice bunch. They gave away quite a few of
these at the Linaro summit six months ago and are heavily involved
with Debian:
http://seabright.co.nz/2011/02/07/efika-mx-shoutout/

The i.MX51 is limited to 512 MB. The i.MX53 is a bit better. I have
no trouble with Ubuntu Maverick on my 512 MB AC100 but I'm normally
only running Chromium, X-Chat, and a few terminals. Libreoffice runs
fine.

-- Michael

_______________________________________________
NZLUG mailing list ***@linux.net.nz
http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug

[Nick Rout]

Post by Simon Lyall
https://www.genesi-usa.com/products/smartbook
It's an ARM based netbook for just $US 199 (plus shipping which isn't
specified).
The 100% solid state and lowish price appeals to me as an occasional
portable machine for holidays and conferences.
Has anybody got one and what is your experiences?

One of the things i like a small laptop to take away with me is decent
video playing ability. I don't mind the small screen, but the abilty
to decode and play is good.

So when the web page says "Multi-format HD video decoder and D1 video
encoder (currently not supported by the included software)" makes me
wonder what exactly is not supported - just the encoder, or the
decoder too?

_______________________________________________
NZLUG mailing list ***@linux.net.nz
http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug

[Peter Butler]

Post by Nick Rout

Post by Simon Lyall
https://www.genesi-usa.com/products/smartbook
It's an ARM based netbook for just $US 199 (plus shipping which isn't
specified).
The 100% solid state and lowish price appeals to me as an occasional
portable machine for holidays and conferences.
Has anybody got one and what is your experiences?

One of the things i like a small laptop to take away with me is decent
video playing ability. I don't mind the small screen, but the abilty
to decode and play is good.
So when the web page says "Multi-format HD video decoder and D1 video
encoder (currently not supported by the included software)" makes me
wonder what exactly is not supported - just the encoder, or the
decoder too?

Looks like decoding (at 720p) is supported but encoding isn't yet. From
the FAQ:

Q: What are the specifications of the video codec?
A: The i.MX515 Video Processing Unit (VPU) supports video decoding of
H.264, MPEG4, MPEG2 and other compressed video, supported at bitrates
exceeding commonly available video files. Optimized software support of
audio formats and media containers is planned. Encoding of MPEG4 video
using the VPU is planned. Maximum supported video resolution is 720p for
decoding, limited by internal processor bandwidth only. Maximum
supported video resolution for encoding is D1 (roughly equivalent to DVD
resolution).

Cheers

Peter

_______________________________________________
NZLUG mailing list ***@linux.net.nz
http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug

[Nick Rout]

Post by Nick Rout

Post by Simon Lyall
https://www.genesi-usa.com/products/smartbook
It's an ARM based netbook for just $US 199 (plus shipping which isn't
specified).
The 100% solid state and lowish price appeals to me as an occasional
portable machine for holidays and conferences.
Has anybody got one and what is your experiences?

One of the things i like a small laptop to take away with me is decent
video playing ability. I don't mind the small screen, but the abilty
to decode and play is good.
So when the web page says "Multi-format HD video decoder and D1 video
encoder (currently not supported by the included software)" makes me
wonder what exactly is not supported - just the encoder, or the
decoder too?

Looks like decoding (at 720p) is supported but encoding isn't yet. From the
Q: What are the specifications of the video codec?
A: The i.MX515 Video Processing Unit (VPU) supports video decoding of H.264,
MPEG4, MPEG2 and other compressed video, supported at bitrates exceeding
commonly available video files. Optimized software support of audio formats
and media containers is planned. Encoding of MPEG4 video using the VPU is
planned. Maximum supported video resolution is 720p for decoding, limited by
internal processor bandwidth only. Maximum supported video resolution for
encoding is D1 (roughly equivalent to DVD resolution).
Cheers
Peter

too much "is planned"

Mind you, that doesn't necessarily detract from the machine if video
playing is not your thing.

_______________________________________________
NZLUG mailing list ***@linux.net.nz
http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug