The Ben NanoNote (officially the 本 NanoNote)Melanson, Donald
"Qi Hardware's tiny, hackable Ben NanoNote now shipping"
''

Engadget Engadget ( ) is a technology news, reviews and analysis website offering daily coverage of gadgets, consumer electronics, video games, gaming hardware, apps, social media, streaming, AI, space, robotics, electric vehicles and other potentially ...

'', 15 March 2010 (accessed 1 November 2012) is a

pocket computer A pocket computer is a class of handheld computer characterized by very short displays (typically accommodating only one or a handful of lines of text) and calculator-style alphanumeric keypads. Pocket computers occupy a small footprint, allowin ...

using the

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

-based

OpenWrt OpenWrt (from ''open wireless router'') is an open-source project for embedded operating systems based on Linux kernel, Linux, primarily used on Embedded system, embedded devices to Router (computing), route network traffic. The main components ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

. An

open-source hardware Open-source hardware (OSH, OSHW) consists of physical artifact (software development), artifacts of technology designed and offered by the open-design movement. Both free and open-source software (FOSS) and open-source hardware are created by th ...

device developed by

Qi Hardware Qi Hardware is an organization which produces copyleft hardware and software, in an attempt to apply the Free Software Foundation's GNU GPL concept of copylefting software to the hardware layer by using the CC BY-SA license for schematics, bill of ...

, it has been called possibly "the world's smallest Linux laptop for the traditional definition of the word.".Humphrey, Benjamin
"Is This The World’s Smallest Linux Laptop?"
OMG! Ubuntu!, 17 January 2012 (accessed 1 November 2012) In addition, the Ben NanoNote is noteworthy for being one of the few devices on the market running entirely on

copyleft Copyleft is the legal technique of granting certain freedoms over copies of copyrighted works with the requirement that the same rights be preserved in derivative works. In this sense, ''freedoms'' refers to the use of the work for any purpose, ...

hardware.Murphy, David
"Qi Hardware Launches Open-Source Computer"
''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...

'', 17 January 2012 (accessed 1 November 2012) The computer takes its name from the Chinese character běn (本), translated as "an origin or the beginning place."Ben NanoNote - Qi-Hardware
(accessed 1 November 2012)

History

Originally the hardware was developed by a third party as a digital dictionary. After the effort of several Qi Hardware developers, the design was freed as

open source hardware Open-source hardware (OSH, OSHW) consists of physical artifacts of technology designed and offered by the open-design movement. Both free and open-source software (FOSS) and open-source hardware are created by this open-source culture movemen ...

while using

free and open source software Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a Software license, license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term ...

. The product used to be manufactured by

Qi hardware Qi Hardware is an organization which produces copyleft hardware and software, in an attempt to apply the Free Software Foundation's GNU GPL concept of copylefting software to the hardware layer by using the CC BY-SA license for schematics, bill of ...

and Sharism At Work Ltd. As of 2011, more than 1,000 units had been sold.

Software

The device is shipped with the

software stack; the custom compilation includes a graphical menu called gmenu2x, with other graphical and command line applications available from the menu.

OpenEmbedded OpenEmbedded (OE) is a build automation framework and cross-compile environment used to create Linux distributions for embedded devices. The framework is developed by the OpenEmbedded community, which was formally established in 2003. OpenEmbed ...

is also available through the Jlime distribution. The Pyneo software stack, a Debian-like distribution aimed for mobiles has been ported. The

MIPS architecture MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipelined Stages) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures (ISA)Price, Charles (September 1995). ''MIPS IV Instruction Set'' (Revision 3.2), MIPS Technologies ...

port of

Debian Debian () is a free and open-source software, free and open source Linux distribution, developed by the Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock in August 1993. Debian is one of the oldest operating systems based on the Linux kerne ...

can be run on the NanoNote. Additionally there is NanoNixOS, a cross-compiled distribution based on the

Nix package manager Nix is a cross-platform package manager for Unix-like systems, and a tool to instantiate and manage those systems, invented in 2003 by Eelco Dolstra. Approach The Nix package manager employs a model in which software packages are each installe ...

Reception

After the 2010 introduction of the Ben NanoNote, reviewers praised its small size and low cost (

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

99), but also criticized the device for its initial lack of any networking capability and for its extremely modest

data storage Data storage is the recording (storing) of information (data) in a storage medium. Handwriting, phonographic recording, magnetic tape, and optical discs are all examples of storage media. Biological molecules such as RNA and DNA are con ...

and

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

capabilities in comparison to other contemporary devices.Halfacree, Gareth. i Hardware launches NanoNote "Qi Hardware launches NanoNote"

bit-tech ''bit-tech'' is an online magazine for computer hardware enthusiasts, gamers and case modders, based in the UK. It was founded in 2000, became a fully professional online publication in 2005, and announced its acquisition by Dennis Publishing ...

, 16 March 2010 (accessed 1 November 2012)

Product development

Because the device lacked wireless connectivity, implementing this was one of the first goals for the Qi Hardware movement. This add-on, the Ben WPAN, was developed by

Werner Almesberger Werner Almesberger (born 13 August 1967) is an Austrian free software computer programmer and an open-source hardware designer/maker. He is mainly known as a Hacker (free and open source software), hacker of the Linux kernel. Contributions to Li ...

, and mainly consists of an

IEEE 802.15.4 IEEE 802.15.4 is a technical standard that defines the operation of a low-rate wireless personal area network (LR-WPAN). It specifies the physical layer and media access control for LR-WPANs, and is maintained by the IEEE 802.15 working group, ...

subsystem, made up of two boards: a USB dongle (ATUSB) connected to the computer and another card connected to the SDIO port of the device (ATBEN). All source code, documentation and test procedures, software and hardware schematics are available under copyleft licenses. UBB, or Universal Breakout Board, is a

PCB PCB may refer to: Science and technology * Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant * Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics * P ...

shaped like a microSD card, focused on DIY projects and general purpose interfacing using the available MMC/SDIO port. So far two hacks had been published: one of them, the integration with a 443 MHz RF transceiver for power sockets control purposes and later a mix of

bit banging Bit banging is a term of art that describes a method of digital data transmission as using general-purpose input/output (GPIO) instead of computer hardware that is intended specifically for data communication. Controlling software is responsi ...

and SDIO/DMA features turning the SD card slot into a VGA port. As the Ben NanoNote uses an Ingenic JZ4720 processor it supports

booting In computing, booting is the process of starting a computer as initiated via Computer hardware, hardware such as a physical button on the computer or by a software command. After it is switched on, a computer's central processing unit (CPU) h ...

from USB without use of the NAND flash memory.

Derivatives

The ''SIE board'' is an adaptation of the NanoNote. It has twice the memory and features a XC3S Xilinx

FPGA A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a type of configurable integrated circuit that can be repeatedly programmed after manufacturing. FPGAs are a subset of logic devices referred to as programmable logic devices (PLDs). They consist of a ...

on board. It is based on the XBurst JZ4725 SoC, which has more I/O pins available due to not having a keyboard.

Technical specifications

* XBurst JZ4720 336 MHz MIPS processor from

Ingenic Semiconductor Ingenic Semiconductor is a Chinese fabless semiconductor company based in Beijing, China founded in 2005. They purchased licenses for the MIPS architecture instruction sets in 2009 and design CPU-microarchitectures based on them. They also desi ...

* 3.0" 320x240 pixels colour

TFT LCD A thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD) is a type of liquid-crystal display that uses thin-film transistor, thin-film-transistor technology to improve image qualities such as addressability and contrast. A TFT LCD is an active mat ...

* 32 MB

SDRAM Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (synchronous dynamic RAM or SDRAM) is any DRAM where the operation of its external pin interface is coordinated by an externally supplied clock signal. DRAM integrated circuits (ICs) produced from the ...

* 2 GB

NAND flash Flash memory is an Integrated circuit, electronic Non-volatile memory, non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for t ...

memory * 1

SDHC Secure Digital (SD) is a proprietary, non-volatile, flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA). Owing to their compact size, SD cards have been widely adopted in a variety of portable consumer electronics, including digi ...

slot (SDIO/DMA capable) * 59-key

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

* Stereo headphones connector, mono speaker and microphone * USB Client 2.0 High-Speed Device, Mini B connector * 3.7 V, 850 mAh

Li-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy d ...

* Overall dimension (lid closed): 99 * 75 * 17.5mm. (display: 7.5mm, keyboard: 10mm) * Weight: (including battery)

References

External links

* {{Official website
Qi Hardware Launches Open-Source Computer
PCMag.com
Hands-on: Ben NanoNote Micronotebook
Linux Magazine Online
Open-source hardware group puts out vid system-on-a-chip
''The Register''.
A Review: Ben NanoNote Gets Small with Embedded Linux
Linux.com Computer-related introductions in 2010 Consumer electronics brands Open computers Linux-based devices Personal digital assistants Embedded Linux