Peanut - RISC OS Portable

Wakefield '98

Updated 31st May.

As promised, a working prototype of the Peanut portable was on display. Although parts of the circuit had been hand-modified, the prototype was happily running Fresco and displaying pages from the hard disc.

There is a table version available, if you would prefer it.

Specifications

Developer           Innovative Media Solutions (IMS).
Processor           ARM7500FE, 48MHz.
Memory              16Mbyte EDO standard, expandable to 32Mbyte.
Hard Drive          2Gbyte.
CD-ROM Drive        20 speed.
Display             12.1" Colour TFT LCD, 800 x 600 resolution,
                       32,000 or 256 colours (see notes).
Mouse               Glidepoint pad, with two mouse buttons.
Floppy Disc         Standard 1.6Mbyte ADFS.
Operating System    RISC OS 3.71.
I/O Ports           Parallel, Serial, IrDA, External Monitor,
                       External Keyboard, External Mouse,
                       Headphones PCMCIA (see notes).
Battery             NiMH, estimated 4 hours life under
                       continuous use.
Price               Aiming for less than £1,500 excluding VAT.

Notes

• The case is a standard PC design, produced by Twinhead.
• IrDA (Infra-Red wireless serial communications) will definitely be provided.
• PCMCIA hardware will be provided. However, RISC OS provides no support for PC cards, so significant software development is required. Drivers for a number of cards are being considered.
• IMS hope to be able to provide a modem themselves.
• IMS received many requests for networking hardware at the show. The company is now talking to a couple of developers about Ethernet support. Options mentioned include a parallel-port adaptor or a PCMCIA card.
• 32,000 colours is the preferred option for the LCD. The design work is being carried out now; its inclusion depends on motherboard space.
• The maximum display resolution is set by the spacing of the TFT elements. Lower resolutions are possible: a smaller area of the LCD will be used, with a black border. On an external monitor, the full range of resolutions supported by the A7000+ will be available.
• The 32Mbyte memory limit is set by the availability of 5V devices. Larger devices tend to operate at 3.3V, but the portable is limited by the ARM7500FE's 5V supply requirement.

Thanks to Paul Corke (IMS) and Peter Bell for the new information.

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