Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID video-review

Posted by – December 6, 2009

Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID

Since I filmed such a great video of it at IFA, OPTIMA TECHNOLOGY(SHENZHEN)CO.,LTD sent me a review sample of their new Optima OP5-E for me to publish an exclusive hands-on video-review. The new Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux based MID is now being released by http://www.chinaoptima.com/ and China Telecom on the Chinese market and they are now looking for global distributors (if many people demand it, there may be a distributor bringing this device to your local 3G telecoms market or sell it unlocked). (contact shkwan@wtpacific.com if you might be interested in ordering 300 units or more).

Maemo is the biggest potential alternative to Android Linux OS for embedded devices, mobile internet devices, pocket computers or phones, however you want to call them. This Optima OP5-E is the worlds first Maemo device that is not manufactured by Nokia. This makes the Optima OP5-E a product to check out for people who want to see how Maemo could make a commercial impact outside of Nokia in the open-source embedded device market.

It has a 4.3″ 800×480 resistive touch screen (capacitative at that size and price does not yet exist), 806mhz Marvell PXA310+ ARM processor, 128MB RAM, built-in 3G CDMA sim card reader (HSDPA version coming next month), built-in GPS, built-in Bluetooth, a high capacity exchangeable 2600mAh battery. All that comes for around $500 unlocked and could be sold at $300 or lower subsidized with a subscription plan from the carrier. It can support either VOIP and IM or regular voice and sms, that is up to the carrier how they want to integrate that feature.

The really cool things about this product are following:

– It has a built-in 3G CDMA modem with sim card reader.

– It has a pretty long battery life with a high capacity removable battery (I got a second battery to swap just in case I need more than 8 hours or more battery life for video playback)

– This type of device could function as a VOIP phone on 3G and WiFi networks (if the carriers agree to it and don’t apply packet shaping mechanisms to block VOIP usage on the 3G networks)

– Maemo may have quite a lot of dedicated open-source programmers already hanging out in the http://maemo.org/community/maemo-developers/ and who may have developed some pretty interesting Maemo based applications already (which I am going to check out and publish another video when I have found out which would be the best applications that work on this device and how much porting may be required to eventually adapt software that is already developed for the Nokia Maemo Linux tablets).

– It comes with a larger touch screen than on the existing range of Smartphones, significantly larger than the Nokia N900 screen, yet this product can be sold cheaper than all those smaller smartphones. I think that a larger 800×480 medium density screen is very valuable and I think that all those 3.5″ smartphones on the market have too small of a screen for Internet browsing and video playback use.

Things that I think Optima and eventually the open-source developers may improve on this device (based on my initial tests):

– The whole Maemo Linux user interfaces I think could use some optimizations and fine tuning, this device does support firmware updates, I don’t know how often Optima may release firmware updates for it to improve on all these things.

– The Firefox Fennec browser that is included, might not be as smooth and fast as the Webkit based browser that one can find on Android, the Palm Pre and the iPhone. Though, my guess is that it should be possible to port a version of a Webkit based browser to Maemo (if it hasn’t been done already), and I am sure this browser could be optimized and improved in firmware updates.

– Obviously, I would like to have HSDPA instead of CDMA 3G modem in this, to have i work here in Europe, Optima has told me that the HSDPA version will be released in about a month from now (maybe a bit later, I guess it may depend how soon interested importers from Europe and other HSDPA markets demand for it to be made available)

– I can’t seem to be able to connect my Bluetooth foldable Stowaway keyboard, I don’t know if Bluetooth headsets may be supported. I am sure, this could be fixed or improved in firmware updates. I don’t know if it supports Bluetooth tethering to access the Internet through a mobile phone that has that functionality. My guess is Bluetooth tethering is not supported yet since the 3G modem is integrated.

– It does not seem to have a TV output (unless somehow that functionality exists within the mini-jack output, but I guess it’s not there). Too bad, cause I enjoy watching DivX videos outputted from such a device onto a TV. Though, most existing smartphones on the market such as blackberry, palm pre and the iphone don’t have that feature either.

My pictures of it on Picasa:

Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID

You can discuss this product in the dedicated forum section for it at http://forum.armdevices.net/viewforum.php?f=5

Here are the full official specs and press pictures:

 

Product Value Proposition

True 3G Mobile Internet capabilityChina Telecom EV-DO 3G network, 3G and WiFi Internet complement each other, truly high-speed mobile broadband

Real Internet Visualization800×480 resolution, 4.3 inches touch screen, high-definition flat screen that maximizes visual liberation. Visit the website full-screen, high-definition movie player

Input ExperienceMulti Input ModeSoft keyboard mode, hands typing. Support Pinyin input, full-screen handwriting

Full-Featured Web Browser: The latest full-function built-in Firefox browser, Gmail type of Webmail, Web forums, Flash animation, youtube, etc.

Complete Phone FunctionsSupport complete mobile phone functions, phone calls, send text messages, etc.

Internet AccessWiFi, EVDO, and other multiple access methods to enable your mobile internet anytime, anywhere

Rich Internet ApplicationsQQ, MSN, VOIP, online music, video, OFFICE, network TV and so on

Lasting Usage TimeBuilt-in 2600mAh battery that allows long lasting usage time

Large-screen GPS Navigation: Built-in up-to-date electronic maps for easy navigation

 

 

 

System Specification

Type

Details

Description

Remarks

 

Product Dimension

Form

Straight

 

Size

Length 143mm  Width 74mm  Height 17.6mm

 

 

 

 

LCD

Screen Size

4.3inch

 

Screen Resolution

800×480  WVGA

16:9 widescreen

Screen color

1600 million colors

 

Touch Module

Flat Touch Screen

Static Free

 

Camera

Network Camera

300,000 pixels

Only for video comm.

Main Camera

3,200,000 pixels

 

Battery

Type

Polymer Lithium-Ion Battery

 

Capacity

2600mAh

 

Button

Top

Full-screen buttonVol+,Vol-,Power ButtonCamera Key

 

Front

None

Simple flat-screen design

Stylus

Type

Built-in/Included

 

Body Support

Type

Back support

 

Reset Hole

Type

Hidden

Restart Function

System Hardware Configuration

Hardware Platform

Type

Marvell  PXA320+CDMA2000  1X  EV-DO

 

 

CPU

Type

Marvell  PXA310

 

Speed

806MHz

 

RAM

Capacity

128MB  DDR

 

ROM  Flash

Capacity

256MB  Nand  Flash

 

 

WiFi

 

Standard

 

802.11b/g

WIFIBluetooth Combination

 

Bluetooth

 

Type

 

Bluetooth 2.0

Bluetooth Stereo Music

Bluetooth Headset Call

 

Communication System

Type

CDMA2000  1X  EV-DO

 

Band

800MHz

 

 

GPS Module

Type

Built-in GPS Chip

 

Antenna

GPS Active Antenna

 

Speaker

 

Size

 

Single  14mmx20mm

 

Elliptic

 

Handset

 

Size

 

18mmx13mm

Speaker Receiver 2-in-1 typeElliptic

Microphone

 

Yes

 

Vibration Mode

 

Yes

 

Indicator Light

Amount

Red x1              Blue x1

Red for Charging

Blue for Network Signal

Direction Sensor

Amount

None

 

 

External Interface Configuration

Memory Card

External Storage

External push T Card

Maxemum Support 16GB

SIM Slot

Built-in Card Connector

One

Cap-style Buckle

 

Interface Configuration

 

 

MiniUSB

Data Transmission

Supported

USB Charge

Supported

 

Headset Interface

 

 

3.5mm Standard Headset Interface

Music Output

Supported

Phone

Supported

 

 

 

Internet Connection

Type

Details

Description

Remarks

WIFI Connection

 

Wireless WIFI Connection to Internet

 

EV-DO Connection

 

Via EV-DO Connection to Internet

 

Bluetooth Phone

 

None

 

 

 

 

Necessary Accessories

Type

Details

Description

Remarks

 

3.5-inch Headphone Jack

 

 

Wired (to hang up calls) headset

Can be used to answer & hangup call

 

 

 

Charger

 

 

 

 

USB 2-in-1 type of Data line charger

Rechargeable Battery Charger

Supported

USB Data

In-line Charge

Supported

 

USB Data Line

 

 

1 (integrated in charger)

Charging Computer, Recognize storage devices MID

 

 

 

Software Configuration

Type

Details

Description

Remarks

 

 

 

System Configuration

OS

Linux  Maemo

 

Language

Simplified MandarinEnglish

 

 

Inputting Method

 

English LettersPinyinFull-screen HandwritingHandwritten (double box) input method

Handwritten (double box) pending on selection

Theme

2 Built-in Theme

 

Desktop Widget

 

Google Search

 

 

Network Clock

 

 

Local IP Query

 

 

Desktop shortcut

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web shortcut

 

 

Profile

 

Internet Browser

 

Firefox Browser

Full-featured Browser

 

IM Communication Software

 

MSN

 

 

QQ(Beta

 

 

Flying Mail(Beta

 

Internet Telephony

 

VOIP(TBD)

Support Voice, Video Calls

 

 

Multimedia Software

 

 

 

Media  player

Supported Audio Formats:

wma,mp3,wav,aac

Video Supported Formats

avi,mp4,3gp

 

 

 

 

 

 

Communication

 

 

Call

Voice Calls

 

 

 

 

Note: The first version of the software only supports the data access functionality, upgrade to support the integrity of the follow-up calls and messaging

Phone Book

Call Record

Personal favorites

Information

Text Messaging

SMS Collection Record

 

Personalized

来电大头贴 (Cut and Paste?)

Contact Image/Profiling

Custom Ringtones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Application Software

 

OFFICE

Word Excel PPT (Read-only)

 

PDF  Reader

 

 

Electronic Dictionary

 

 

GPS Navigation Map

 

 

Camera

 

 

Photography

Follow-on Upgrade

 

Network TV (Beta)

 

 

Photo Browser

 

 

 

E-bookFBreader

Support fb2HTMLCHMRTFPlain  text

 

Stock trading

Currently does not support online trading

 

 

 

 

 

 

Useful Programs

 

Notepad

 

 

Calculator

 

 

Weather Query

 

 

Flight Inquiry

 

 

Map Query

 

 

Drawing Board

 

 

Application Management (local program management and software Download Center)

Real-time Software Download

 

Resource Manager

 

 

Control Panel

 

Built-in Games

 

Crazy Parking

 

 

Connecting Ball

 

 

Tetris

 

 

 

 

Solitaire

 

 

 

 

 

 

External Device Support

 

 

 

Support USB  OTG

 

USB  HOST

External hard disk support, CMMB’s network adapter plug-in devices

USB Mouse

via USB Connector

USB Keyboard

via USB Connector

U Disk

via USB Connector

 

Bluetooth Dialer

 

 

Bluetooth Stereo Headset

 

60 Comments on Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID video-review

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  1. […] the world. With Nokia only releasing one Maemo device next year, Optima might just have a chance. [ARM Devices via Engadget] Tagged:computersmaemomidsn900nokiaop5-eoptimaoptima […]

  2. […] device not made by Nokia and a very strong competitor for Android tablets. Full review can be found here and hands on action in the video […]

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  4. […] the world. With Nokia only releasing one Maemo device next year, Optima might just have a chance. [ARM Devices via […]

  5. […] the world. With Nokia only releasing one Maemo device next year, Optima might just have a chance. [ARM Devices via […]

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  8. […] to see more of it? Click here for some pictures and info and here for a video demoing application installation on the Optima. If you enjoyed this post, […]