|
|
Unicon Systems has started shipping its Linux-powered development kit based on "chip-on-film" technology similar to that used in Motorola's ultra-thin "Razr" phones. The "MKit" design includes an application-ready Linux OS and tools, and targets consumer devices such as portable media players, PDAs, and UMPCs (ultra-mobile PCs).
|
|
Unicon announced MKit at last year's LinuxWorld trade show (a photo of marketing VP Dimitriy Ivanov with a prototype can be seen here). Prior to that, the company pitched a ready-to-manufacture Linux-based MCopy design positioned as the first "gadget-to-gadget bridge" for inter-device file transfers without a PC.
The MKit has a tri-fold design comprised of two boards and an LCD display interconnected via film -- hence the "chip-on-film" designation. One of the boards is a processor module, while the second is an I/O baseboard module.
Unicon System-on-Display
Unicon separately offers a "system-on-display" product (pictured at right) comprised of film-connected processor and LCD modules.
The MKit's processor board is based on a Samsung S3C240A processor, an SoC (system-on-chip) based on an ARM9 core clocked at 266MHz. The board has 32MB each of SDRAM and flash, expandable via an optional SD card slot.
The standard display is a 3.5-inch QVGA (320x240) TFT LCD touchscreen supporting 16M colors. Other display options include 4.3- and 7-inch widescreen LCDs.
I/O includes:
2 x USB 2.0 high speed ports
1 x USB OTG
1 x host USB 2.0 full speed
1 x device USB 2.0 full speed
802.11b WiFi
IrDA
2 x RS232
I2C
SDIO
JTAG
Stereo audio I/O
2D motion sensor
The MKit comes with a Linux 2.6.13 kernel, complete with a graphics framework based on Nano-X, FLTK (fast-light toolkit), and a "UML state machine GUI engine." The GUI provided by this combo is said to be fast, powerful, and customizable.
Also included are toolchains for native and cross-development on Intel-based Linux and Windows hosts.
A Unicon spokesperson said, "With Unicon Systems' innovative technology, developers only need to worry about designing the application. Unicon provides a complete turn key solution."
Availability
The MKit is available now, priced at $600, including a plastic case, serial/JTAG adapter board, and mini-USB AC adapter. Waiting in the wings are a variation without WiFi, to be priced at $550, and a variation with SDIO instead of WiFi, to be priced at $1,000.
Full Story |
