Genesi Efika MX Smartbook/Netbook (ARM Cortex-A8 based mini-laptop) questions


Prometheus

Prometheus

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In a recent discussion in another thread, I lamented the difficulty I'd been having in getting hold of Linux netbooks here, but I've now stumbled across this. :D


It's the Efika MX Smartbook, from Genesi. It's an ARM-based netbook, with an ARM Cortex-A8 at 800MHz (specs here). Its name is the Esperanto word for "decisive"*.


*(I like this sort of naming for some reason, though ultimately all of my machines get hostnames derived from Inti Creates' work on the Mega Man series. :lol: )


I've done a bunch of reading here, and here (both are threads on the Amiga.org forum), as well as on Genesi's official development blog, and their forum at PowerDeveloper.org, and it sounds like it's just what I've been looking for*.


*(I'm trying to switch all of my day-to-computing over to ARM-based systems, as x86 is too wasteful of power for the *vast* majority of what I do. I will keep my x86 MacBook around for the VERY rare occasions where I need a bit more grunt, but for the most part it's just wasting energy and tethering me to a power outlet, and it's not exactly the most portable of machines, either.)


The hardware and software seems to be just right for me, and from what I can tell, Genesi's customer service appears to be excellent, too. I'm just wondering if there's anything else I need to know! I value the opinions of you guys, here, so I was just wondering if anyone here has any experience at all of this device, or any views on it to share. :p


EDIT: Whoops! I forgot to link to the hardware store itself! It's here.
 
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looks interesting! if you get one you'll have to give us a review. any comparisons would be pretty welcome too. i used an asus eee for a while and that ended up pretty disappointing
 
renegadechic said:
looks interesting! if you get one you'll have to give us a review. any comparisons would be pretty welcome too. i used an asus eee for a while and that ended up pretty disappointing
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Disappointing in what way? The only thing I was disappointed about with my EEEpc 901 was the build quality and the horrid SSD (my class 4 SD-cards for my pandora are *way* faster.) I knew from the start performace would be 10 years behind now, so I didn't expect it being to compile openoffice in 3 hours.
 
well, mostly disappointing because it ran XP which is really didn't have the hard disk space for! i was constantly fighting between security updates and actually having any software on it! i could have done something (linuxy) about it if it had belonged to me but its my sisters and really wasn't my place to. maybe now she has two big proper laptops i could sneak it away and screw around with it!
 
Don't like the form factor. Trackpad needs to go and a track point needs to be added. I can't tolerate the trackpads on most full sized laptops, much less the ones on Netbooks. Apple products are the exception, but I still use a mouse where I can. No trackpad is better than an infuriatingly small one, for sure :D


Also needs to be at least 1024*768 resolution. Linux GUIs kinda suck on 1024*600. Even the Pandora, where things should be specifically designed for 800*480, has the odd truncated window issue.


Because 1024*768 results in a fairly horribly shaped laptop, I'd favour The 1600*768 resolution of the Vaio P series. In fact the Vaio P series is exactly what I want, except I'd like it to be cheaper, running Linux, rocking an ARM CPU and a Jog dial for scrolling.


I'm disappointed that there aren't more sexy little ARM powered Linux Netbooks out there, I'd love one for development. But the market just isn't big enough for them.


Damn... Wish I could justify buying a Vaio P11z!
 
Gadgetoid said:
Don't like the form factor. Trackpad needs to go and a track point needs to be added. I can't tolerate the trackpads on most full sized laptops, much less the ones on Netbooks. Apple products are the exception, but I still use a mouse where I can. No trackpad is better than an infuriatingly small one, for sure :D
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Agreed. I thoroughly despise touchpads, but I guess the licensing for the TrackPoint is too much. It's a far cry from 1998, when they were on everything. (I do feel sorry for those poor deluded souls that think they were excised due to inaccuracy! :p )


I'm sure I could get by with it, though. I've used worse. :lol:

Also needs to be at least 1024*768 resolution. Linux GUIs kinda suck on 1024*600. Even the Pandora, where things should be specifically designed for 800*480, has the odd truncated window issue.
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The last time I had a netbook, it was also 1024x600 - I got on all right with it, with both Xfce and GNOME (though I prefer Xfce by far). Which GUIs have you had issues with at that resolution? (Just curious as to what I should be avoiding!)

I'm disappointed that there aren't more sexy little ARM powered Linux Netbooks out there, I'd love one for development. But the market just isn't big enough for them.
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There's at least one other one (the Hercules eCAFE), but the design looks awkward to me (the keyboard on the Efika MX looks far more usable to me), and I've heard of some software niggles with it.
 
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Prometheus said:
Ooh, thanks for that. Not that I'd be able to buy right now anyway, but it's good to know what should be out by the time I've gotten together enough money. :D
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I'm not sure where I got the summer part from, think I got confused with another post! :lol:
 
Prometheus said:
The last time I had a netbook, it was also 1024x600 - I got on all right with it, with both Xfce and GNOME (though I prefer Xfce by far). Which GUIs have you had issues with at that resolution? (Just curious as to what I should be avoiding!)
Click to expand...

Problems aren't common, but just frequent enough to make me prefer slightly larger form factors. It's mainly issues with applications assuming a minimum of 768 vertical pixels and getting chopped off.


Also 1024*600 is a godawful low resolution to begin with! 1366*768 on the MacBook air is okay, but Sony's insane 1600*800 wins by far.


For less intensive things I just use a tablet these days, anyway. Can't beat 'em for ambient Internet.
 
^ I guess my requirements aren't so high - what I do never really needs that much space. :lol: (And despite giving it a good go, I just haven't gotten on with tablets - I'm one of those folks who needs something on which you can create, rather than just consume.)


To me, 1280x800 is great (it's what my ThinkPad and MacBook both offer) and is the highest I've ever used, and 1024x768, 1024x600, and 800x480 all work fine, too. I'm not going to know myself when I switch to the Raspberry Pi (which is 1920x1080), I suspect!
 
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I've always thought there should be more arm-based netbooks/laptops out there. Obviously not everyone is going to want one (Y u no run Windows), but there'd be a big enough market of people who want a cheap, power efficient netbook for things. Are there other companies producing arm-netbooks?
 
I like their smarttop. It's a pretty decent price and I should be able to put NetBSD on it. Maybe I'll save up for one. The smartbook looks good too. I personally don't care for SSD's myself but I could tie it into my file server for mass storage. I'm always looking for more ARM based devices to play around with.


Oh and AROS as well.
 
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I'm just like some of you guys. Have a long commuting time each day and need smallest possible thing for development. Used Pandora for a while, then the screen got almost dead because of the bad cable and now I switched to the Sharp Netwalker (the one with keyboard). However the keyboard is also not very comfortable. Sony P-series would be perfect form factor for me but the price and a sloppy batteries from Sony stop me from getting one...


Efika is a bit big for my liking. Have an old laptop of the similar size and It's not very portable imo.
 
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I'd be happy with a stretched, thinner Pandora - about PSION 5 sized - with a double-size battery and a 1280*800 or 1600*800 resolution screen.


A slightly faster CPU and more RAM would be nice, too. And obviously the gaming controls would have to go.


I'd probably be happy with the Pandora itself if it were running an up-to-date OS where I could easily pull down a build environment, and if it had a better keyboard. As it stands, I just use it for gaming.
 
I think a way of putting an extended keyboard where the Pandora's gaming controls are would be awesome! No idea how it could be done though. Buttons FTW!
 
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