Have a device idea.. but don't know what I needed to complete this

[mrfssd]

Ok. I am new to this and deciding rather to go with the a13 board for my project.

The idea is create a more or less a locked down pda with android for our warehouse use.

We will be using this as a walkie, voice, text and video chat (all via wifi and not cellular), also email, sending picture within internal network and etc. 

So the hardware requirement is of course headphone/headset jack, mic, speaker, front and back camera, battery, battery charging, keypad (like those used in blackberry), touchscreen, usb (for other usb.. just in case)

The size of the unit should be no bigger than the samsung note 2 (could be thicker, just not wider or taller).  I don't think a13 board fit that dimension, but anyone have suggestion?

Because our place is 24 hours operation, if there is a way to do dual battery with warning led or something like that to remind user to change battery, so it will keep the unit running at all time.. it will be great.

Anyone have any idea what parts I needed.

[jwischka]

It sounds like what you want is a Galaxy Note II.

I don't think you're going to find any hardware that you can cobble together off the shelf that's going to give you that functionality in those dimensions.

Ok. I am new to this and deciding rather to go with the a13 board for my project.

The idea is create a more or less a locked down pda with android for our warehouse use.

We will be using this as a walkie, voice, text and video chat (all via wifi and not cellular), also email, sending picture within internal network and etc. 

So the hardware requirement is of course headphone/headset jack, mic, speaker, front and back camera, battery, battery charging, keypad (like those used in blackberry), touchscreen, usb (for other usb.. just in case)

The size of the unit should be no bigger than the samsung note 2 (could be thicker, just not wider or taller).  I don't think a13 board fit that dimension, but anyone have suggestion?

Because our place is 24 hours operation, if there is a way to do dual battery with warning led or something like that to remind user to change battery, so it will keep the unit running at all time.. it will be great.

Anyone have any idea what parts I needed.

[mrfssd]

Well said if I don't care about the dimension for ht time being.  What parts do I needed?

[olimex]

I also think you just need tablet with bigger battery and some custom software for your application

[jwischka]

Well said if I don't care about the dimension for ht time being.  What parts do I needed?

I would agree with Olimex. I suppose part of the answer is going to be "Why is an already-put-together device not suitable for your application?" It would seem like you could do what you need with an unlocked Galaxy Nexus, which would be far cheaper than what you could put together, and would also be much better supported. You say "locked down", which I take to mean via software, not hardware. If that's the case, again I think a stock hardware solution, coupled with some good Android development is more of what you're looking for than a full-on custom solution.

Is there some reason this solution isn't on the table?

[mrfssd]

I understand that this will cost more.. however the reason behind not getting any existing device out there is because we needed multiple unit overtime.

We don't wanted to get something that we have keep changing overtime because those device are no longer available.

Beside is not like they are cheap either.

With olimex, since it is open source we could technically keep built more of the same unit much longer time and we could always change the size of the board if needed.

[jwischka]

I mean, I think you've pretty much listed the parts that you would need. Some sort of ARM board, a touch screen, a wifi adapter, mic/speaker, and if you want a physical keyboard, one of those. You'll also need a 3G modem of some sort, and of course a case to put it all together.

[jwischka]

Along these lines, this is more or less what you're going to end up with:

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/03/exclusive-super-early-iphone-prototype-had-5x7-screen-serial-port/#image-2

[mrfssd]

Thanks jwischka

I don't need a 3g modem (since it will be wifi only)

I see on the a13 already have mic in and audio out, but don't see speaker header or single headset jack.. What modification is needed for a single jack with auto plugged in detection to cut off the speaker

I don't see any camera modules on the site, so what camera module is compatible? Also how to have dual camera (front & back)


I see that under 1 UEXT port, is there like keypad or camera for that?  And could I daisy chain UEXT or just 1 device

As of the battery, I only see usb charger, or usb power, but not one that power the unit and charge at the same time.  Also how to do dual battery if that is even doable, if not where to find larger battery?

As I said, currently the size shouldn't matter much.  I needed a full testing unit functional.. so I could demo this at my work and have approve budget to custom build something a bit smaller.. but looking at everything, 5x7 inch may not be too bad anyway.

[JohnS]

Asking those questions strongly suggests that what you wish to achieve is well beyond your current capabilities so you need to undertake serious and sustained learning on simpler devices and reassess what to do and how.

John

[jwischka]

Thanks jwischka

I don't need a 3g modem (since it will be wifi only)

I see on the a13 already have mic in and audio out, but don't see speaker header or single headset jack.. What modification is needed for a single jack with auto plugged in detection to cut off the speaker

I would suspect this can be done in software.

I don't see any camera modules on the site, so what camera module is compatible? Also how to have dual camera (front & back)

Plug in 2 cameras. If you have a kernel with UVC support, any UVC compliant camera should work.

I see that under 1 UEXT port, is there like keypad or camera for that?  And could I daisy chain UEXT or just 1 device

They are not daisy-chainable, as far as i know.

As of the battery, I only see usb charger, or usb power, but not one that power the unit and charge at the same time.  Also how to do dual battery if that is even doable, if not where to find larger battery?

You'll probably need to develop some external power circuitry to get this to work.

All of that being said, as John noted doing something like this, and doing it well, is a significant engineering challenge. Consider that the early iPhone prototype I just posted was produced by Apple, one of the smartest and most well funded tech companies of the past decade. And that probably took them months to cobble together and get working. I can't stress enough that what you're talking about is not a trivial project, particularly if you're wanting to use it for an actual production device. I'm not saying that to be discouraging, but I just want to make sure you know the level of project you're taking on here.