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View Full Version : You Must Be Blufin! CE & 30 GB?


Jon Westfall
05-19-2006, 09:00 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/17/tinnos-blufin-pmp-pda-30gb-hdd-windows-ce-5-0/' target='_blank'>http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/17/...windows-ce-5-0/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Dubbed the Blufin, this PMP (or PDA, depending on how you look at it) from Korea's Tinnos, is a Windows CE-based handheld with a 30GB hard drive, 128MB RAM, 2 megapixel camera, a 4.3-inch LCD display, USB and SD slots (with both USB on-the-go and SDIO compatibility for copying files or adding functions like GPS and WiFi) and an AMD Au1200 processor. It'll be available in Japan this July for about $600 and the rest of the world (at least through gray market channels) shortly thereafter."</i><br /><br /><img src=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-20060519-blufinpdapmp.jpg><br /><br />An interesting device which is part PMP and part PDA. I'd like it more if it had a few things built in rather than just USB. There is a bit more about this on <a href="http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-11765-WM+5.0+PDA+with+30GB+HDD.html">Akihabara News</a>, although they incorrectly list the OS as WM 5.

Menneisyys
05-19-2006, 09:22 AM
I just don't get why these devices come with CE5 instead of WM5. No WinCE-based device will have any success in the consumer market unless they come with WM.

Nurhisham Hussein
05-19-2006, 09:29 AM
...and an AMD Au1200 processor.


That bit caught my eye. It's the first I've heard of an AMd processor for mobile devices - or am I hopelessly out of date?

tal
05-19-2006, 11:54 AM
That bit caught my eye. It's the first I've heard of an AMd processor for mobile devices - or am I hopelessly out of date?
It's been quite a while since I read about it. It seemed like a good design with special focus on media-processing but not being ARM-compatible (it's MIPS based, I belive) it has no chance of being used in PocketPCs. It is more likely to be used in closed systems like settop-boxes where you don't need to rely on third party software.

Thorsten

alese
05-19-2006, 12:10 PM
[quote="Jon Westfall...an AMD Au1200 processor...[/quote]

A very interesting device, up until I saw the above line that killed it for me.
It does not matter how good or bad the AMD CPU is, since it's not (as far as I know) ARM compatible, you won't be able to run any applications currently on the market.
Even though you can run some (not all) WM applications on CE machines, this only applies to devices with ARM compatible CPU-s.
So no 3rd party applications and some nice but incompatible HW, this can only be used as portable Media Center, pitty

Typhoon
05-19-2006, 02:34 PM
Are you sure? Where did you read this?

Janak Parekh
05-19-2006, 05:02 PM
That bit caught my eye. It's the first I've heard of an AMd processor for mobile devices - or am I hopelessly out of date?
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=852
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18728

I just don't get why these devices come with CE5 instead of WM5. No WinCE-based device will have any success in the consumer market unless they come with WM.
I believe CE actually has decent adoption in the southeast Asian market, especially Korea. I'm guessing they use it either to reduce licensing costs or increase device flexibility; Windows Mobile has more stringent requirements and may cost more.

--janak

Nurhisham Hussein
05-19-2006, 09:12 PM
Thanks, Janak - my word, that was some time ago, wasn't it?

Janak Parekh
05-20-2006, 12:07 AM
Thanks, Janak - my word, that was some time ago, wasn't it?
Yes, this has been a fairly long-term effort -- although the processor cited here, the Au1200, is a newer model.

--janak

k1darkknight
05-20-2006, 09:54 AM
Well......
If they CAN do this, and make it (reasonably) affordable, then it would be damn near my 'dream mobile'. I'd say $600 for this LEVEL of H/W is certainly not outrageous. If anyone could build a device like this, running on WM5 (obviously with an ARM-compatible processor), maybe a bit more RAM (256 would be AWESOME), built-in WiFi (maybe 802.11g?) and bluetooth...and all for $600 USD...I'd be ALL OVER IT! I'd hock my X50v to be able to afford it! Might be nice to have a SLIGHTLY larger screen, being widescreen dimensions...4.6" to 4.75" maybe...
So really, this device + 1-2 years additional dev time = the PERFECT PMP/PPC (for me) :drool:

Typhoon
05-20-2006, 11:00 PM
What's the resolution? I was never able to find that...

Darius Wey
05-21-2006, 04:14 AM
What's the resolution? I was never able to find that...

480 x 272 (4.3" LCD).

Typhoon
05-21-2006, 05:47 AM
What's the resolution? I was never able to find that...

480 x 272 (4.3" LCD).

Thanks. That is what I thought I had read, but to me...that doesn't make sense for a 4.3" screen. It should be 640 x 480. Most DivX movies are in 480 x 640, right? Speaking of DivX, they better include a DivX player...I don't know if the open source community is willing to make a MIPS compaitble one so fast (or maybe so).