[Arm-netbook] Letux Cortex 15

[Paul Boddie]

Hello,

I read the archives of the Tinkerphones (previously OpenPhoenux) community 
mailing list, and it appears that Nikolaus - the man behind the GTA04 
smartphone and influential in the Pyra and Neo900 projects - may end up making 
the processor module for the Pyra handheld available as a separate item:

http://lists.goldelico.com/pipermail/community/2016-September/001505.html

Unlike the EOMA68-A20 card, the Letux Cortex 15 uses an OMAP5 processor, and 
so there are certain issues with freedom aspects of parts of the software (it 
incorporates PowerVR). That said, there is an active effort to keep the 
software as close to the upstream Linux kernel as possible:

http://projects.goldelico.com/p/gta04-kernel/

What's interesting about this card, though, is that it could almost be done as 
an EOMA68 card: PCMCIA dimensions are 85.6mm x 54mm; this card is 81mm x 33mm; 
it has on-board RAM, flash memory, and a variety of interfaces that EOMA68 
also has. However, it is possible that in attempting to offer a PCMCIA-style 
connector, a different layout might then become necessary that might not fit 
within the appropriate area. And although it would have been great if the 
EOMA68 profile had been used instead, that might have had implications for its 
use in the Pyra.

Nikolaus notes that it could be used with a "to-be-designed" motherboard. If 
only it could have been made to plug into the micro-desktop or laptop offered 
in the EOMA68 crowd-funding campaign. Then, its audience might have been 
broader, the demand for boards higher, and perhaps the unit costs lower for 
the Pyra project, too. :-)

Paul