Smartq, Have Anyone Used One?

[.Gogeta§§J4BR.]

SmartDevices SmartQ 5 4.3" 800 x 480 Touchscreen Linux MID (667MHz ARM CPU/WiFi/Bluetooth/1G Flash)
SmartDevices SmartQ 7 7.0" Touchscreen Linux MID Internet Tablet (667MHz CPU/WiFi/Bluetooth/1GB)
SmartQ V7 7.0" Touchscreen Windows CE 6.0/Linux/Android MID Internet Tablet (600MHz CPU/WiFi/2GB)
there's 4.3" and 7.0" versions, all use >600mhz samsung arm cpus, blablabla
they look amazing, have anyone tried them out?

 

[mali]

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?/topic/51046-smartq-v5/

 

[EvilDragon]

I tried one, it was too slow for me to be usable.
Even with LXPanel it was damn slow.

 

[wermy]

I have a Q7. I use it as an ereader (ebooks, comics, etc...). For that, it is fantastic! I went into it expecting an ereader with lots of bonuses (such as web browsing, game playing [I play Battle for Wesnoth on mine]), and that's exactly what I got. So, if you don't go into it expecting a full-fledged, speedy MID, I doubt you'd be disappointed. The new firmware runs the CPU at 800MHz as well (with various other optimizations), so it's much faster than it used to be.

 

[second exodous]

Wremy, do you run Linux, Android, or CE on yours? If Linux what distro?

There have been a few comics I want to read again and this would be great. Have you tried scummvm? If that ran a few educational scumm games that would be a good way to retire it when the next big thing came out.

 

[wermy]

Wremy, do you run Linux, Android, or CE on yours? If Linux what distro?

There have been a few comics I want to read again and this would be great. Have you tried scummvm? If that ran a few educational scumm games that would be a good way to retire it when the next big thing came out.

I use Linux (the stock os, Ubuntu Karmic based), and CE also. In Linux I use Comix for comics reading, which works very well (it's written in python, so I was able to change a couple files to get hardware support for all the buttons), and in CE I use ComicReaderMobi (check out www.comicreader.mobi), which is just awesome. It's about $15, but well worth it (plus it's just one guy who wrote it, so you can feel good supporting one-man development team).
I've used ScummVM just briefly with The Dig, and it worked very well.

 

[palstyo]

I have Q5/Q7 (also will get V5 within next week)
Q series are too poor spec(Samsung S3C6410) to run Ubuntu , I'm really ｆrustrated　even over clock version as .
Latest firmware support 2D acceleration which is support up to SD quality.
Android and CE is working fine.
Especially CE has acceleration so game is working nicely.
V5 is not test yet coz. just launched in end of last year and still on the way from factory to supplier
But my supplier said V7 is slower than A81 (OMAP3 same as Pandora)
So V5 is also should be slower than Pandora.
And other problem is Q series doesn't have much memory.
V series has more memory than Q series.
Also using same core(ARM11) as Q series but different Chip(Telechips TCC8900) which is have 2D/3D acceleration and more.
If you think to buy these gadget Q series is not to buy if you want to use with Ubuntu.
But if you think dev machine for Android Q series are one of the cheapest option I think.
V series are for the mean time no to buy wait until more stable. B)

 

[wermy]

.
.
Q series are too poor spec(Samsung S3C6410) to run Ubuntu , I'm really ｆrustrated　even over clock version as .
.
.
.
.
If you think to buy these gadget Q series is not to buy if you want to use with Ubuntu.

I think this all depends on what you want to do with it. Again, I use mine for basically 5 things:
-Ebook reader
-Digital comic reader (.cbr/.cbz files)
-Battle for Wesnoth
-using rdesktop to control my home computer while I'm away (it's fantastic for this)
-LIGHT internet browsing (checking for posts on here, and other light stuff)

For these things, and at the price it is, it performs admirably. I would NOT buy it as a portable computer (as many of the people who are disappointed with it seem to have done), although you do have a full Ubuntu install to play with. But for the things I listed, it's just great (and it was cheaper than my wife's Sony e-reader). Battery life is great, too.

When I get my pandora, I will no doubt use that in stead for Wesnoth, internet browsing and using rdesktop. I can't imagine the Pandora being nicer for reading, though.

 

[second exodous]

I'm a little confused, there is the Q 5, the Q 7, and the Q V7?

The Q V7 seems like the lower model of the Q 7 but is $60 more. What advantages does the V7 have?

 

[.Gogeta§§J4BR.]

thx for the replies! it really does look like a really affordable tablet
the 7in screen looks fine, it must be nice to navigate, and the 4.3in looks comfortable also
the hdmi output makes it definitely a great video player, I was wondering about having it for the car / travel, really a family gadget for everyone to pick up and surf the web and such
of course the pandora is much more personal, and has a keyboard, but this one has a a great cost/benefit for most tasks
is there much processor speed (or other) difference between the $150 and the $270 one?

 

[wermy]

I'm a little confused, there is the Q 5, the Q 7, and the Q V7?

The Q V7 seems like the lower model of the Q 7 but is $60 more. What advantages does the V7 have?

The company is called SmartDevices, and the units are the Smart Q5/7, and the Smart V5/7.
From what I gather, the V7 has more memory, and a better video decoding chip, as well as TV-out.

 

[mali]

Gogeta, check the link I posted above. I posted a link to a SoC comparison in the other thread.

 

[second exodous]

Oh, I looked at the pictures and saw the HDMI port. The specs say 1080p, that would be cool to take to the living room and watch video. I was wondering if it was better than the Touch Book but HDMI puts it over the top even if it's not as fast. Touchbook is 299 without the keyboard, which from reviews I've read the keyboard is the Touch Books downfall anyway, and the V7 is 274, so they're pretty even. HDMI puts it over the top though, like said above speed isn't that important if you just use it for a comic viewer or basic browser.

I'll have to look for some good reviews, I want to know if anyone has hooked it up to a HDTV and tried it out.

 

[GPJosh]

Everyone also seems to forget that it uses the same screen as the Pandora - Craig even supplies them as spares. I'd be interesting to see one in person to get a good idea of what the Pandora screen will be, even though as a Pandora preorderer it doesn't make any sense to get one as well.

 

[second exodous]

I don't think this is in any way a contender of the Pandora, it's just a tablet PC, a slow one at that. It won't play as many games, but it would be handy to read comic books on and play a few low end games like scumm and Battle of Wesnoth. When it comes to typing or game controls it's pretty worthless. I might get one if I read a good review, I like the idea of HDMI out, right now I have to take my PC into the living room if I don't want to watch one video, this would save me a lot of work.

As for a e-reader I would still want e-ink, but comics don't take that long to read so this would be good for that. Seven inches is smaller than a comic book page but I think I could get by.

 

[wermy]

Seven inches is smaller than a comic book page but I think I could get by.

This is why I like Comic Reader Mobi on WinCE so much: if a text bubble is too small (most of the time you can read them fine), you tap it and a lens auto-sizes itself to the text bubble. Very clever indeed. There's an in-browser demo on his site.

 

[palstyo]

Seven inches is smaller than a comic book page but I think I could get by.

This is why I like Comic Reader Mobi on WinCE so much: if a text bubble is too small (most of the time you can read them fine), you tap it and a lens auto-sizes itself to the text bubble. Very clever indeed. There's an in-browser demo on his site.

I agree with you right depending on purpose.
Q7 is much easy to read than Q5 but bit heavy to carry for me.(almost same as my everun note)
CE is quite stable and fast as well(actually need to buy CE license separate)
Currently Android is not good option for Q7.
But Japanese company who selling Q5 with Android in Japan (called Covia) have a plan to release Q7 Android version.(probably after Feb)
Their android is quite stable(I using with my Q5) so probably there is another option I think.
Actually I test it at Computer show in last year it seems working well.

 

[shany]

maybe you can consider the SmartQ V5.

 

[b._.o._.b]

I have got a Q7 primarily for PDF reading and that is really disappointing on the base OS. I don't know about CE yet, but I have ordered a license. Screen is ok, but not the best ever. Unresponsive touch screen due to slow OS. Even the fastest version is slow.
Android might be a good solution in the future, but I think the last version released was still quite unstable.