[NTLK] Einstein, Android, new Hardware, old Hardware

[Matthias Melcher]

On 01.12.2011, at 01:50, Michael wrote:

> So, what are the minimum specs that Einstein currently needs to run  
> acceptably?  Samsung aside, there are lots of cheap 7" Chinese Android  
> 2.2 tablets available, like this one for less than 80 USD:
> 
> http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=12880323395
> 
> At 800 MHz & 256 MB of RAM, I'm guessing this one doesn't make the  
> cut, right?  How much more powerful would we need?

Android 2.2 is the minimum OS. I have 1.2 GHz, and it runs just bearable. But depending on what you can tolerate, 800 MHz may be enough. 

I am working really hard on removing som constraints and converting as much emulated code into native code as possible. With every step along the way, Einstein will get much quicker, eventually running original speed on  400MHz.

> Also, does Einstein currently have any means of getting data (ie.  
> notes) off the device?  

No, not yet, at least not via serial port. The serial port emulation is very tricky. I had it half way working after four weeks of deep research, but never reliably. The network connection works already on Einstein for OS X and will soon work on Android as well. We may have to add protocols. but that is easy. 

So, anything you can sync via WLAN card will eventually (in the short term) sync via Einstein/Android.

> How about inputting text via an Android- 
> supported (Bluetooth?) keyboard?


Not yet, but it should not be a big deal at all (3 days of programming). I don't have a keyboard, so I can't test that.

 - Matthias