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Ben NanoNote
A Ben NanoNote held on the palm of a hand
ManufacturerQi hardware,Sharism At Work Ltd
TypeHandheld computer
Release dateEarly 2010[1]
Operating systemCustom edition ofOpenWrt
CPU336 MHzXBurstJZ4720
Memory32[2]or 64 MB lowSDRAM
Storage1SDHCslot, 2048 MB internalNAND flash
ConnectivityUSB 2.0, and IEEE802.15.4WPAN(as accessory)
Websiteen.qi-hardware.com/wiki/Ben_NanoNote

TheBen NanoNote(officially theBổn NanoNote)[1]is apocket computerusing theLinux-basedOpenWrtoperating system.Anopen-source hardwaredevice developed byQi Hardware,it has been called possibly "the world's smallest Linux laptop for the traditional definition of the word.".[3]In addition, the Ben NanoNote is noteworthy for being one of the few devices on the market running entirely oncopylefthardware.[4]

The computer takes its name from the Chinese character běn ( bổn ), translated as "an origin or the beginning place."[5]

History

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Originally the hardware was developed by a third party as a digital dictionary. After the effort of several Qi Hardware developers, the design was freed asopen source hardwarewhile usingfree and open source software.

The product used to be manufactured byQi hardwareand Sharism At Work Ltd. As of 2011, more than 1,000 units had been sold.[6]

Software

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The device is shipped with theOpenWrtsoftware stack; the custom compilation includes a graphical menu called gmenu2x, with other graphical and command line applications available from the menu.[7]

OpenEmbeddedis also available through theJlimedistribution.[8]The Pyneo software stack, a Debian-like distribution aimed for mobiles has been ported.[9]TheMIPS architectureport ofDebianLinuxcan be run on the NanoNote.[10]Additionally there is NanoNixOS, a cross-compiled distribution based on theNix package manager.[11]

Reception

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After the 2010 introduction of the Ben NanoNote, reviewers praised its small size and low cost (US$99), but also criticized the device for its initial lack of anynetworkingcapability and for its extremely modestdata storageandRAMcapabilities in comparison to other contemporary devices.[4][12]

Product development

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Because the device lacked wireless connectivity, implementing this was one of the first goals for the Qi Hardware movement. This add-on, the Ben WPAN, was developed byWerner Almesberger,[13][14][15][16][17]and mainly consists of anIEEE 802.15.4subsystem, made up of two boards: a USB dongle (ATUSB) connected to the computer and another card connected to the SDIO port of the device (ATBEN).

All source code, documentation and test procedures, software and hardware schematics are available undercopyleft licenses.[18][19][20]

UBB, or Universal Breakout Board,[21]is aPCBshaped like a microSD card, focused on DIY projects and general purpose interfacing using the available MMC/SDIO port.

So far two hacks had been published: one of them, the integration with a 443 MHz RF transceiver[22]for power sockets control purposes and later a mix ofbit bangingand SDIO/DMA features turning the SD card slot into a VGA port.[23][24]

As the Ben NanoNote uses an Ingenic JZ4720 processor it supportsbootingfrom USB without use of the NAND flash memory.[25][26]

Derivatives

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TheSIE boardis an adaptation of the NanoNote. It has twice the memory and features a XC3S XilinxFPGAon board. It is based on theXBurstJZ4725 SoC, which has more I/O pins available due to not having a keyboard.[27][28]

Technical specifications

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  • XBurstJZ4720 336 MHz MIPS processor fromIngenic Semiconductor
  • 3.0 "320x240 pixels colourTFT LCD
  • 32 MBSDRAM
  • 2 GBNAND flashmemory
  • 1SDHCslot (SDIO/DMA capable)
  • 59-keykeyboard
  • Stereo headphones connector, mono speaker and microphone
  • USB Client 2.0 High-Speed Device, Mini B connector
  • 3.7 V, 850 mAhLi-ion battery
  • Overall dimension (lid closed): 99 * 75 * 17.5mm. (display: 7.5mm, keyboard: 10mm)
  • Weight: 126 g (4.4 oz) (including battery)

See also

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References

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  1. ^abMelanson, Donald."Qi Hardware's tiny, hackable Ben NanoNote now shipping",Engadget,15 March 2010 (accessed 1 November 2012)
  2. ^"IDA Systems - NanoNote (Ben)".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-02-15.Retrieved2015-03-05.
  3. ^Humphrey, Benjamin."Is This The World’s Smallest Linux Laptop?",OMG! Ubuntu!, 17 January 2012 (accessed 1 November 2012)
  4. ^abMurphy, David."Qi Hardware Launches Open-Source Computer",PC Magazine,17 January 2012 (accessed 1 November 2012)
  5. ^Ben NanoNote - Qi-Hardware(accessed 1 November 2012)
  6. ^"Ben Nanonote".qi-hardware.com. 2011-07-18.Archivedfrom the original on 15 July 2011.Retrieved2011-07-18.
  7. ^"Applications".Qi Hardware Wiki.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  8. ^"Jlime Muffinman".Jlime.com. 2010-11-01. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-10-03.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  9. ^"how to debian".Pyneo.org. 2009-09-12.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  10. ^"Debian".Qi Hardware Wiki.2010-12-29.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  11. ^"nanonixos: Documentation".Vicerveza.homeunix.net. 2011-03-01.Archivedfrom the original on 25 July 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  12. ^Halfacree, Gareth. [Qi Hardware launches NanoNote "Qi Hardware launches NanoNote" ],bit-tech,16 March 2010 (accessed 1 November 2012)
  13. ^Terrence O'Brien (2011-06-17)."Qi-Hardware debuts free, open source wireless solution, not a threat to WiFi".engadget.com.Retrieved2011-07-18.
  14. ^"Qi Hardware Releases Free Wireless Hardware".rejon.org. 2011-06-15. Archived fromthe originalon 8 July 2011.Retrieved2011-07-18.
  15. ^Jake (2011-06-16)."Phillips: Qi Hardware Releases Free Wireless Hardware".lwn.net.Retrieved2011-07-18.
  16. ^Electronista Staff (2011-06-17)."Qi Hardware makes open-source wireless networking tech".electronista.com. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-06-21.Retrieved2011-07-18.
  17. ^Fabricatorz Staff (2011-06-17)."Qi Hardware Releases First Batch of 6LoWPAN Wireless Devices".fabricatorz.com. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-24.Retrieved2011-07-18.
  18. ^"IEEE 802.15.4 subsystem — IEEE 802.15.4 Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN)".Projects.qi-hardware.com.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  19. ^"Ben WPAN".Qi Hardware Wiki.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  20. ^"Qi Hardware Releases First Batch of 6LoWPAN Wireless Devices".Fabricatorz. Archived fromthe originalon 24 July 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  21. ^"Ubb".Qi Hardware Wiki.2011-05-11.Archivedfrom the original on 15 July 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  22. ^"RF control from just about any device".Hack a Day. 2011-02-20.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  23. ^"Bit banging VGA from an SD card slot".Hack a Day. 10 May 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  24. ^"Micro-SD Card Slot Abused As VGA-Port".Hardware.slashdot.org.Archivedfrom the original on 8 June 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  25. ^"Updating Ben NanoNote software".Qi Hardware Wiki.2011-04-21.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  26. ^"Xburst-tools".Qi Hardware Wiki.2011-04-25.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2011.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  27. ^"SIE".Wiki-linuxencaja. 2011-06-08. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-09-02.Retrieved2011-06-19.
  28. ^"SIE".Wiki-qi-hardware.

Further reading

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