 | This articlemay be too technical for most readers to understand. Pleasehelp improve it tomake it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details.(October 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 A Ben NanoNote held on the palm of a hand | |
| Manufacturer | Qi hardware, Sharism At Work Ltd |
|---|---|
| Type | Handheld computer |
| Release date | Early 2010[1] |
| Operating system | OpenWrt custom edition |
| CPU | 336 MHzXBurst JZ4720 |
| Memory | 32[2] or 64 MB lowSDRAM |
| Storage | 1SDHC slot, 2048 MB internalNAND flash |
| Connectivity | USB 2.0, and IEEE802.15.4WPAN (as accessory) |
| Website | en |
TheBen NanoNote (officially the本 NanoNote)[1] is apocket computer using theLinux-basedOpenWrtoperating system. Anopen-source hardware device developed byQi Hardware, it has been called possibly "the world's smallest Linux laptop for the traditional definition of the word."[3] The device is also notable for being one of the first on the market made of entirelycopyleft hardware.[4]
The computer takes its name from the Chinese character běn (本), translated as "an origin or the beginning place."[5]
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 asopen source hardware while usingfree and open source software.
The product used to be manufactured byQi hardware and Sharism At Work Ltd. As of 2011, more than 1,000 units had been sold.[6]
The device is shipped with theOpenWrt software stack; the custom compilation includes a graphical menu called gmenu2x, with other graphical and command line applications available from the menu.[7]
OpenEmbedded is also available through theJlimeLinux distribution.[8] The Pyneo software stack, a Debian-like distribution aimed for mobiles has been ported.[9] TheMIPS architecture port ofDebianLinux can be run on the NanoNote.[10] NanoNixOS is across-compiled distribution based on thepackage managerNix (package manager).[11]
After the 2010 Ben NanoNote introduction, reviewers praised its small size and low cost (US$99), but also criticized the device for its initial lack ofnetworking and for its extremely modestdata storage andrandom-access memory (RAM), relative to other contemporary devices.[4][12]
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 byWerner Almesberger,[13][14][15][16][17] and consists of mainly anIEEE 802.15.4 subsystem, made 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 undercopyleft licenses.[18][19][17]
Universal Breakout Board (UBB),[20] is aprinted circuit board (PCB) shaped like amicroSD card, focused ondo it yourself (DIY) projects and general purpose interfacing using the availableMultiMediaCard (MMC) orSecure Digital Input Output (SDIO) port.
So far two hacks have been published. The first is an integration with a 443 MHzradio frequency (RF)transceiver[21] for power socket control use. The second is a mix ofbit banging andSecure Digital Input Output (SDIO) withdirect memory access (DMA) features turning the SD card slot into aVideo Graphics Array (VGA) port.[22][23]
As the Ben NanoNote uses anIngenic JZ4720 processor it supportsbooting from USB without use of the NAND flash memory.[24][25]
TheSIE board is an adaptation of the NanoNote. It has twice the memory and features a XC3S XilinxFPGA on board. It is based on theXBurst JZ4725 SoC, which has more I/O pins available due to not having a keyboard.[26][27]
