Neo Base/Advanced

[wolfgang_a_h at gmx.at]

> Datum: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:06:19 +0200
> Von: "pHilipp Zabel" <philipp.zabel at gmail.com>
> An: "List for OpenMoko community discussion" <community at lists.openmoko.org>
> Betreff: Re: Neo Base/Advanced

> On 9/11/07, wolfgang_a_h at gmx.at <wolfgang_a_h at gmx.at> wrote:
> > Hello all,
> >
> > as I'm waiting impatiently for GTA02 to come out, I'm faced with the
> decision wether to get the "Base" or the "Advanced" version.
> >
> > My question is: What exactly are the things that can only be done with
> the help of the development board?
> > The additional goodies (2nd battery etc) aside, do I *need* the advanced
> version anyway to tweak the device and/or develop my own apps for the Neo?
> >
> > I'm asking also for practical reasons - the advanced version is not only
> more expensive, but moreover likely to be considerably heavier and larger
> (mostly due to the box), which will without doubt drive up shipping costs
> to Europe to noticeable ;o) levels. But if I'll only get all the
> functionality that I desire by buying the advanced version, I'll gladly shell out the
> additional costs for the development hardware and the more expensive
> shipping.
> >
> > I'd be grateful if anybody could shed some light on this - I browsed
> around inside the list archives but did not find any information on that.
> Should there be some related post(s) already, just point me in the right
> direction (BTW, is there any possibility to directly full-text-search the
> archives? I didn't see any...)
> >
> > Keep up the good community spirit everybody
> > cheers

Hello Philip,
thank you very much for your quick and informative answer.
 
> It's been said that if you have to ask what you need the debug board
> for, you most probably won't need it at all.

;o) ok, you have a point there... But I haven't developed for mobile devices so far, so I'm not familiar with the tools yet. I intend to change this however.

> It mainly gives you a serial console on the GTA02, which is a
> nice-to-have for low level (bootloader, kernel) work and JTAG, which
> you need if you have busted the bootloader (be it by hacking or it or
> entering "nand erase" on the console).
> For application development you'll be just fine with a ssh link and gdb.
> Personally, I'm happy without the debug board, knowing there are
> people owning it in the same city that could help if I really screw up
> my flash.

Nevertheless this does sound quite useful.

Do you (or anybody else) know if the debug board will be compatible with or upgradeable for future versions of the Neo (or perhaps even other prospective OpenMoko-devices by FIC)?
This would certainly be a very good argument for purchasing the board along with GTA02 at any rate.

As soon as further hardware revisions will be released (perhaps with EDGE or 3G etc) I know that I will want to purchase the newer version ;o) - if this should happen about once a year and there's a new incompatible board each time, the additional price tag for "advanced" would be a little steep.

But sharing the costs with other people in the same city is definitely a good idea - Vienna/Austria anyone? ;o)

thanx & cheers
Wolfgang

> cheers
> Philipp
> 
>