Thoughts on wireless hardware

[Binky]

No doubt the Pyra will have various radio hardware. BT and WiFi are a given. However, there are other wireless oddments that could be included. They've been suggested before, but I thought it might be worth discussing them again now the whole product is a serious possibility.

A selection of possible wireless hardware is given below:

HSPDA/3G/cellular radio/whateveryoucallit

Allows general data communication and access to the internet from areas far from internet cafés and the like - puts the Pyra on-par with smartphones in terms of accessibility of information.

Also, with a headset, allows the Pyra to be used as a mobile phone.

ED has hinted that this is likely to make it into the Pyra

• Expensive and large (including SIM slot)
• Licensing fees

FM-Radio

Probably quite cheap as features go. Broadcast in a large number of countries. A transmitter would allow audio streaming to many older devices, including car stereos.

• Public broadcasts might end sometime in the near future. Or not. Ask the politicians.

DAB radio

More channels than FM radio, live programming information and error correction.

Some chips can be operated as general-purpose radio receivers (for the ham radio enthusiast)

Provides completely free radio - continuous streaming of radio programs over t'interwebs is expensive and inefficient

• Not used in all countries
• Complete signal dropout in areas with the worst reception

DVB television

Probably available on the same chip as those for DAB - turns the Pyra into a portable television - which seems to be an unusual feature in the world of smartphones and tablets, although many people like using such things for watching video.

Again, cheaper and more efficient than using wireless, addressed networks

Good if you're scared of mobile phone communications revealing your location to certain three-letter-agencies

• What do the North-Americans use? would providing both be too expensive?

IR tranciever

Good for using your Pyra as a universal remote. Cheap. Could also be used to send data slowly (!) to retro mobile hardware.

• Would anyone actually use it?

GPS

Useful for navigation, especially when combined with magnetometer.

• Requires a relatively large antenna.

How do we choose which of these various thingies should be built-in? Would a poll be suitable? Would any of them tend to conflict with each other, either for practical reasons, or technical ones? Do we want to provide features witch are popular in general, or ones which will make the Pyra even more special and unusual that the Pandora is now? Does the availability and cost of external USB versions of these devices, and drivers to go with them matter?

Discuss

(10 marks)​

You are advised to spend approximately two months on this question.​

 

[slaeshjag]

1)

ED has indicated that if it will make it in, it'll be a module. Likely, only the SIM-slot + modem connector will be present in the base configuration. As long as it's optional, nothing against me.

2)

Could probably be included inside other wireless comm chips. Not something I'd use, but if it only adds cents to the costs, I have no objections.

3)

DAB radio/television requres large antennas. I'll give you it'd look hilarious though. My current cellphone has built in analogue TV, with a foot long antenna in its extended mode. Never gets old to extend it before making a call in public transport.

4)

While an IR tranceiver wouldn't be expensive, it'd take up precious space. Maybe that it could be fitted in the LCD-part, in some of the dead space beside the screen.

5)

I'm not entierly convinced how useful GPS would be.

Additionally, provided costs go down, it'd be neat if NFC were to be included, perhaps with the antenna + chip on a 0.6 mm PCB glued to the back of the LCD. 

NXP's PN512 is kinda cheap, readily available, can read MiFare cards, and can be connected up to a slow I²C-bus that could be shared with IrDA.

 

[moxie]

DAB radio/television requres large antennas. I'll give you it'd look hilarious though. My current cellphone has built in analogue TV, with a foot long antenna in its extended mode. Never gets old to extend it before making a call in public transport.

WANT!!!

Nevermind that it'd be completely useless around here

 

[Binky]

DAB radio requires large antennas

Nope, nopey nope.

I had a Cowon D2+ (rather smaller than the Pyra will be) which got along absolutely fine without any kind of external antenna other than a headphone wire.

 

[Ian J]

+1 for DAB

I have a pocket DAB radio that only runs from the headphone wire and works fine.

 

[slaeshjag]

^ Woops, I meant to say DVB-T :x

 

[hedwards]

I like the idea of cellular, it's a shame that it's going to not be realistic due to the size, power and the fact that many people won't be using it. I wouldn't bother with IR at this point, seeing as we have BT support and that can do basically everything that IR does, providing one has the correct device to interface.

Personally, I would love to have built in GPS, seems like if my phone can have it, that the Pyra ought to be able to as well. Not sure how much that would cost, but it would be really useful at times when travelling.

 

[sepulep]

I would consider 3G/ cellular stuff, GPS and FM radio as nice additions (but not necessary), I would be indifferent to DAB, DVB, and IR...

(in any case, I would consider production/ development/testing costs and risks, and whether it enlarges the appeal enough before adding

them..)

 

[Binky]

What about having a socket for an external wifi antenna?

Or somewhere to put a telescopic antenna for FM/DAB radio?

 

[WizardStan]

For the FM/DAB radio, I'd just use the headphone jack as an antenna like everything else.

 

[Gausen]

What about having a socket for an external wifi antenna?

I like this. The HSPDA/3G/cellular radio could be useful, though not really interested in the rest of the features. But as long as those extra features don't cause any trouble or power consumption when not in use I'm fine.

 

[FBnil]

most of these things have an USB equivalent. (which you never have in your pocket when you need it)

I would like it to have communication, like HAM stuff though. And maybe a simple Radio.

Please note that each element means there has to be software also be made for it.

edit: And my DBV usb stick gets very hot, the power consumption is very high.

 

[Granitehead]

I would like GPS and 3G/however you call it.

Don't care much about the other stuff (maybe I'd use it, maybe not), but as long as it's not too expensive, go for it. But I don't know what "too expensive" is, probably also depends on price of the rest of the stuff. I don't think $50 would be too much.

 

[Binky]

edit: And my DBV usb stick gets very hot, the power consumption is very high.

Does it do DAB too? What's its power consumption like then?

 

[3_bit]

I for one would totally use an IR transceiver. I have a PDA from 2001, and some other cool gear that uses it. It's a must for robot control, seeing as how using IR at the slave end only really needs 1 pin if you're only receiving. 

 

[WizardStan]

The EXT port has IR transceiver pins on it, all it needs is the LED and receiver. It'd be pretty easy to make a bunch of tiny EXT adapters if that became a thing people wanted.

edit: The EXT port on the Pandora, I should say, but there's no reason to think any future SoC won't have one and that ED wouldn't want it mapped out to the EXT port (it's basically just a serial port).

 

[_wb_]

GPS would be pretty useful - especially since you can type an address with an actual keyboard, which most actual GPS devices and phones don't have. If it is not too expensive and doesn't take too much space.

 

[slaeshjag]

^ The antenna needs space, but on the other hand, it can be made flat and be tucked away somewhere. It would just hook up to UART, or even I²C, so it would'nt tie up any precious pins. Although I could see such a module adding a couple tens of euros to the price..

 

[levi]

In the UK, the best music radio stations are on DAB. It's not essential to me that the Pyra contains a DAB decoder (or even DAB+) but it'd save me buying and carrying another device if it did.

 

[Binky]

^ not just music. There's BBC radio 7 (=4extra) which broadcasts archived radioplays, comedy programs and he like - and some sports channels that appear whenever there's some big event on. (radio 5, I think, or maybe radio 5extra)