m002 first thoughts and impressions

[twobits]

It would be nice if it had an infrared output so it could emulate remote controls.
It would be nice if it had rf support that let it use the same rf keyboard as the link,
as well as imitate that keyboard to the link.
It would be much better if it charged through a usb cable.
It would be nice if it had usb host support to be able to use a usb keyboard with it.


It seems to run pretty hot, have fairly  short battery life per charge, and not support sleep/hibernate?

The specs posted seem off from the model I have.... 

The processor is a 300Mhz one, and the memory slot is microsd not sd.  The box also claims 11n support
but my 11n network is 5Mhz so I can't test to see if that is right.

Seems a pretty neat device for the price but I wonder how practical it will be for long term use still.

[JoeBorn]

It would be nice if it had an infrared output so it could emulate remote controls.

yes, we've been talking about just this feature.  No firm plans yet, but we're figuring it out.

It would be nice if it had rf support that let it use the same rf keyboard as the link,

I see this happening either through an IR dongle receiver and above IR output or via Wifi, I can't see adding proprietary 2.4 GHz (or bluetooth frankly)

It would be much better if it charged through a usb cable.

agreed, we'll try to get this in a future version

It would be nice if it had usb host support to be able to use a usb keyboard with it.

I think as a controller, this is a bit far afield for where we're going with the device.

It seems to run pretty hot, have fairly  short battery life per charge, and not support sleep/hibernate?

the slatedroid firmware does much better on the heat, power and battery life.  Try flashing with that, and see what you think.  go to the Wiki Page[url] for a link and instructions.

The specs posted seem off from the model I have.... 

The processor is a 300Mhz one, and the memory slot is microsd not sd.  The box also claims 11n support
but my 11n network is 5Mhz so I can't test to see if that is right.

This was bad information from the factory, we've updated now, sorry for misleading folks.  We posted what the factory gave us in good faith not realizing it was wrong.  I'm really sorry about this and will, of course, accept any returns for anyone that was mislead and wants to return the unit.  We'll waive the normal return period and pay for return shipping, etc.

[twobits]

Some things I found:

Docs for the SoC chipset: http://www.wuala.com/jbw9/pub/android/m002/docs/DS_WM8505_071.pdf


Most of the kernel sources and the u-boot sources: ftp://ftp.gpl-devices.org/pub/vendors/Wondermedia/WM8505/


Seems my crosscompiler toolchain is not compatible with the binary object files present though.  Need to try and sort that,
as I have a custom kernel built, but can't link it yet.

[twobits]

the slatedroid firmware does much better on the heat, power and battery life.  Try flashing with that, and see what you think.  go to the Wiki Page[url] for a link and instructions.

I will have a look at that.  I also have started an attempt on making my own firmware package for the device.  Mostly
strippping the applications I don't want etc...   also trying to make a new kernel, but hit some snags on that already.

Ordered a microsd card today, so can't flash it yet anyway.

[JoeBorn]

Docs for the SoC chipset: http://www.wuala.com/jbw9/pub/android/m002/docs/DS_WM8505_071.pdf


Most of the kernel sources and the u-boot sources: ftp://ftp.gpl-devices.org/pub/vendors/Wondermedia/WM8505/

But none of the Android source, right?  The firmware you are going to build will just be Linux?

[twobits]

Not at that link, but android source is easy enough to get,   but I will at first be layering in the existing binaries.  Don't yet have a need to to rebuild any of the android parts.  The firmware will be Android though.

[JoeBorn]

well, I'm very eager to follow along, I'll be happy to help document it, I know others will be interested in a guide.  As you probably know, there's been much more activity on the mailing list on this, but I'll be monitoring both and attempting to cross post as appropriate.

[geekosupremo]

The device is pretty nice. The resistive screen was the hardest part to get used to. The best way I've found to use it is to grab my wacom stylus. I can use my finger well enough, but it gets a little touchy around the keyboard. It often will type "l" when I really want it to backspace.

Which reminds me, is any one else noticing that the insertion cursor doesn't seem to always be at the end of the word?

[JoeBorn]

have you tried calibrating the screen?

I'm not sure I've noticed a lot of inaccuracy from the resistive, I'm not sure.  I have a heck of a time typing on the screen of my samsung epic and that's capacitive.  I can't use a stylus there because its capacitive, thankfully, I have a physical keyboard on that device.

[geekosupremo]

Joe,

I did calibrate the screen, and that seemed to help, but it still would not give me quite the right key all of the time. It may also have been the angle I was trying to work from, or me being impatient and not giving it enough time to process my key presses. I know I'm horribly spoiled by my (original model) iPhone. In any case I'll keep working with it. I'm sure we'll come to an understanding of each other.

[grrcracker]

so i picked the m002 for my father for x-mas, he purchased a link and we spent thanksgiving figuring out how to use his new toy. i decided that this device would be an excellent addition to the link as a wireless xmbc controller. i received the m002 today and was surprised to find that it did not have boxee, xmbc , or vlc on it. so i went digging. i found that the m002 that i had was rooted (thanks) i just could not find a firmware that would work on it. after an intensive search i found that the mercury version did not work with the 2.0. this is the version that you need to use

http://www.slatedroid.com/eken-m002-firmware-development/8279-[-piece-software-flashed-device-expand-its-functionality]-m002s-2-0-plus.html

just download the file, unzip, and place the entire unzipped file onto your card (make sure the device is off). turn it on and it automatically load on your device. very easy. this also gives you full access to the market so you can get all the wifi remotes boxee, xmbc, vlc, and (shhh) roku too. 

[tapatti]

Link's broken.