Optima OP5-E Maemo Linux MID video-review

Posted by Charbax – December 6, 2009

Category: Tablets, Smartphones, Exclusive videos, Reviews, Marvell, Pixel Qi

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:

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 capability：China Telecom EV-DO 3G network, 3G and WiFi Internet complement each other, truly high-speed mobile broadband
Real Internet Visualization：800×480 resolution, 4.3 inches touch screen, high-definition flat screen that maximizes visual liberation. Visit the website full-screen, high-definition movie player
Input Experience，Multi Input Mode：Soft 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 Functions：Support complete mobile phone functions, phone calls, send text messages, etc.
Internet Access：WiFi, EVDO, and other multiple access methods to enable your mobile internet anytime, anywhere
Rich Internet Applications：QQ, MSN, VOIP, online music, video, OFFICE, network TV and so on
Lasting Usage Time：Built-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 button，Vol+,Vol-,Power Button、Camera 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		WIFI，Bluetooth 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 type，Elliptic
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 Mandarin，English
	Inputting Method	English Letters，Pinyin，Full-screen Handwriting、Handwritten (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
	Information	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-book（FBreader）	Support fb2、HTML、CHM、RTF、Plain 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