LinuxMCE Forums

I would like to get a cheap PDA or tablet PC to use as a touch pad remote using the orbiter control software.  Does anyone have any suggestions for a low cost option??

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Jordan

I used a nokia n770. It broke but getting my n800 today to replace it. I like the 770 while I used it

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have done some research on this web device and see that the n800 is about $90 more than the n770.  Does the n800 perform significantly better than the n770 (it's been noted that the 770 was a little slow) to merit the extra $90?

Also, is it possible to program the functions of the hard buttons for tasks such as fast-forwarding?  I have a Phillips RC9800i and hate using soft keys for fast-forwarding on my DVR.

Thanks for the great suggestion, this looks great!

Jordan

just playing around with it, seems better. but i wont get to try it with LMCE for a few days

There was a thread a while back that seemed to conclude that the network connectivity of orbiter running on N800 was better than that of 770, which seemed to be the main complaint of the 770. I still get some dropouts on the 770 but it is certainly usable.

My opinion would be to spend the extra $90 and get the n800

Darren - is that true of 770's running OS2007 as well? I have found the 770 quiet sluggish, is the 800 significantly faster?

Mine is OS2006. From memory the people that had tried Os2007 saw the same problems or worse hence I never upgraded it. I am not sure if you will see significant speed increase, perhaps Michael (nite-man) is reading and can answer and he is the one that compiled the versions.

I had os2007 on the 770 drop quite often for me.  To me the 770 seemed more sluggish with os2007 than os2006. i'm hoping to get my wireless card this weekend so i can give my 800 a try

these work great, too:
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/IPAQ_5550
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/IPAQ_hx2410

N800 with OS2008 seems to be significantly faster than with previous OS2007. I upgraded yesterday.
But still have problem to get running Orbiter on N800 with OS2008.

I have and love my nN800 but havn't loaded the oribiter on it. Bought it for $190.. tough to beat at that price

Don't suppose anyone has the Nokia N810 and given it a go? Kinda like the idea of having the keyboard available and I expect it should work as well or better than the n800?

Edit: Also additional Q: Does anyone know of the N800/N810 could be added as VoIP devices as well as orbiters?

Cheers,
WR

Concerning the Nokia N800/N810. I read a review about two months ago in which the reviewer believed the N810 was actually a few steps backward compared to the N800, plus a couple hundred USD$ more. I wish I could remember more, but I believe it had to do with keyboard problems and the WIFI signal strength. Sorry, I cannot find the post now.

Thanks rnmixon - I had not seen that. I think I might wait for intels new Atom's to come out anyway and then get something that can double as a UMPC.

I'm thinking something like the Gigabyte M528 MID (runs Ubuntu I believe): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76NviXg_1g4&feature=related

Huge overkill for an Orbiter no doubt :D

I finally got my N800 running today.   on OS2008 and the DEC 22 2007 build of the orbitor. Works much faster than my previous n770 and the signal stays much longer.

i would recommend this for s descent remote.

n810 will work as an orbiter same as the n800 for the guy asking earlier

n810 is step back because it only has one minisd port on it instead of my two full sd ports on my n800 that allow for two full size sd cards. Plus the 810 is freaking expensive. just buy a bluetooth keyboard and a gps device if the gps and keyboard are that important and you will save money :)

I had some great experience with different kind of PDA's (PocketPc's). If you look on Ebay or other equal sites you'll find lots of pda's for very cheap prices.

Hello Guys!

I have managed to get the orbiter installed on a N810 today. I go very excited but I have a problem, I cannot see any text (descriptions, song or movie name...). I can only see some text on the generated pictures.

Has anyone being through this yet? If everything worked, please post the installation step on the tablet.

Thanks,

-Damien

Hey Damien,

I got impatient and bought one recently. I can confirm I have the same issue for Video Attributes. I don't really use them via the orbiter so it doesn't bother me much.

Installed as an Orbiter Template #8 (Orbiter Plug-in). Changed the PK_Size to Nokia 770. Not sure if this is correct but it works for everything else.

Other Notes:
- Connected via WiFi (good signal) there is a bit of lag when browsing some media/pressing buttons (not sure if this is the N810's limited CPU or something else? Orbiter via Win XP PC seems to be much faster)
- If I minimise the application and go back to the 2008 OS desktop - the Orbiter app won't reload or close properly. I have to manually kill the pid via the terminal application.

Otherwise all works well. Will add to the Wiki soon  ;)

Cheers,
WR

Have you copied the truetype fonts across? That was required for my 770.
There should be instructions somewhere if you search the forums.

Quote from: darrenmason on June 02, 2008, 03:10:46 AM
Have you copied the truetype fonts across? That was required for my 770.
There should be instructions somewhere if you search the forums.

Thanks Darren - I had not tried this, didn't realise it was required for the 2008 OS single click install file. I'll try this tonight and confirm.

Cheers,
WR.

Same observations than wombiroller. There is no normal -> full screen button implemented and it gives some difficulties. But except that it rocks!

darrenmason, I have copied the fonts as instructed in the wiki. If they are not installed the application won't start and tell you to install the fonts before you can go further.

-Damien

I have good experience with Samsung Q1 Ultra. It has no keyboard, which I see as advantage and is manufactured in prime quality and has cradle. Biggest problem is that my version has Windows Vista, I need to donwgrade to XP. There's probably no chance to run Linux on it, which is pity.

I was also testing Mivvy UMPC, which runs Kubuntu, but is based on VIA C7 and facing too many troubles. And of course, case quality is not good.

Hi there!

I'd like to add a few words about using Nokia's Internet Tablets as a LinuxMCE Orbiter.
1. First of all, N800 is much much better then Nokia770. It's faster and more stable.
2. Sure, N810 works fine as the Orbiter.
3. There is a one click installation scripts for bora, chinook and diablo - http://diapub.com/~michael/ (http://diapub.com/~michael/) (thanks to Oliver for idea and Andrew for the server space)
4. It's possible to install OS2008HE on the Nokia770. It's more or less ok. But performance is worser then with OS2007HE.
5. Nokia 770 works fine as Orbiter under OS2007HE with a simple tuning - http://tinyurl.com/6d6pua (http://tinyurl.com/6d6pua).
6. Bad news - Nokia officially stop to produce Nokia770 and N800.