http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pengpod-1040-quad-core-linux-android-dual-booting-tablets/x/5124386
What happens with my money if we do not reach the crowdsourcing sum? This is a fixed funding campaign, as Ubuntu Edge was. So if no PengPod support, we shall get all our money back in about a week!
Here are too images - first PengPod's bootloader, switching the operating systems
and here it is running Linaro Linux with a scalable keyboard - you can adjust its size
The Peng Pod is the only valuable completely opened tablet. We need this for science, research, education. Inexpensive high quality flexible tablet format computing devices. But is it really true that the world needs now only 200 such tablets?
I believe there must be those 1000 people somewhere!
Compared with Ubuntu Edge
In first 2 days or so about 1500 people put their roughly $700 on the Ubuntu Edge. One of the great ideas which caught the imagination of the media was the converged computing, the Edge could be your main computer, portable, but convertible to a desktop replacement when large display and keyboard available.
The PengPod suits this converged computing scenario to a much higher degree. You could use your PengPod even with ethernet cable. You can attach memory sticks and various USB devices to your portable laboratory named PengPod. But the crowdsourcing of PengPod attracted about 200 people just over a 5 weeks for a tablet which is principle here and only needs to be built in quantities and made more stable.
So why this disproportion? It appears rather clear: it is the media, the social picture. PengPod does not sound as well as Ubuntu Edge. At slashdot people started to discuss about rebooting and spreadsheet in OpenOffice, a very little relevant aspect. No big words, no Mark Shuttleworth, no revolutions promised.
I naturally thing that there is a revolution to be promised by PenPod - the opening of the tablets for experimenting. All the mainstream tablets are closed and locked, Android being somewhat more opened than the iPad species.
Not much further analysis is needed to understand that the PengPod project is an unintended victim of the neutral to positive and very lukewarm attitude of the media and its own very little imaginative marketing or if you prefer that term - PR.
PengPod has 4 days left just now, and it still needs about 1000 to 1500 people who would like to use this fantastic Linux/Android tablet in December 2013 and place they $250 to $300 at Indiegogo campaign.
So if for some reason we as the linux community get as excited as in the first hours of Ubuntu Edge campaign, we will save the PengPod.
So why is this tablet project so important? This is the only project which really already has an experience. There are already about 1500 PengPods of the first generation in the hands of various users. There is already a PengPod community of users. The Peng Pod is the only valuable completely opened tablet. We need this for science, research, education. Inexpensive high quality flexible tablet format computing devices.
Here I simply put together for you what you could dig for yourself.
Product PengPod 1040 – Quad Core Dual Boot - Android 4.1/Linaro - 16 GB - 9.7"
Display 9.7" IPS - 2048 x 1536 - Multi-Touch (4:3 factor as iPad, unlike Samsungs and Assuses)
Ports: HDMI Port, Micro USB OTG (you can add USB extender to e.g. 4 USB ports - I did)
Processor ARM Cortex-A7 (Quad-Core)
Processor Clock Speed 1 GHz (Quad core)
Battery 7000 mAH
RAM 2 GB
Storage 16 GB integrated + Micro SD Expansion
Dimensions (WxDxH) 9.45”x 7.4” x 0.4” ( 24 cm x 18.8 cm x 0.99 cm )
Weight 1.4 lbs (635 g)
Operating System Linaro 13.04 / Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) (Possibly 4.2?)
Open bootloader, menu driven dual booting, support for experimenting
Images for alternative Linux/Android distributions as for now
Ubuntu Touch
ArchLinux
OpenSUSE
Android 4.1 (4.2 Source available, should be ready soon)
Linaro (Based on Ubuntu for Arm with LXDE)
Fedora
Wireless Connectivity 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth
Camera 2 Megapixel rear + 0.3 Megapixel front
My additional questions and PengPod's answers
Q: How open is the android part?
A: It should all be available from source except the 3D and video acceleration. Most of it is already on-line here http://pengpod.com/images/ul/a31/
Q: Can it be upgraded later to 4.2 or newer?
A: Yes, we have the source for the 4.2 SDK from the manufacturer. We tried a test build and there A: is some init issue at the moment but it should work pretty quickly.
Q: Can the android part use USB ethernet adapters?
A: Yes, this has been tested.
Q: How open is the whole system?
A: We have released the source for the Kernel, U-boot and boot0/1 (the first stage bootloaders). The Linux system is a typical debian/ubuntu repository based system. Source for all packages is available from repositories. We will release all source we have for everything on the system on an on-going basis.
Q: Can one really boot any version of the two systems – and how easy will it be to restore the shipping versions?
Long Answer:
The packing tools make it pretty easy to create a Linux image from a rootfs. All bootable systems follow a initrd, rootfs type approach, so they can be swapped. However the Android init-sun6i.rc hardcodes several partitions and must be heavily modified if Android is to be moved.
It is very easy to reflash. Current images are already on-line http://pengpod.com/images/ul/a31/
They can be flashed using PhoenixSuite in Windows or LiveSuit in Linux, the tools are here http://pengpod.com/images/ul/a31/tools/USB_update_and_produce/
Here is an install walk through for Linux http://linux-sunxi.org/LiveSuit
Q: What will be the limits of the openness and of the warranty?
A: No limits to openness really, we are going to release all the source we have and if more comes along later, we will release that too.
Our bootloader is apache licensed. The source of that will be released if we make our goals.
Q: Openness and of the warranty
A: The warranty is 1 year, from the manufacturer. It does not cover shipping. We offer a 30 day return period and run an extended return program to basically handle the shipping to/from China for the warranty. The customer would pay for shipping to and from us to receive a refurb in exchange for their device. We then take the warranty issue up with the factory directly.
Most of this never appered in any of the tens of articles on the PengPod in the established media.
And here is a remote cousin of the PengPod (an Ainol) in close connection with a raspberry Pi in my office
This is Ladislav's experiment. That is why we need the pengPods with linux on.
