Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
I've dabbled in writing applications for my PocketBook 902, and I can say that the InkView SDK for E-Ink devices is rather unique. Sony may use some other software, but it too is probably written specifically for E-Ink. I don't know if you could just couple the default Android graphical display to an E-Ink device. If not, then most of those applications in the Android market would be useless on an E-Ink reader, and so would be lost any advantage to offering an Android device in the first place.
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Most of those differences have to deal more with the framework used, and not so much the hardware. Going off existing Android devices with eInk (such as the Entourage Edge, nook, etc), nothing really different is needed to be done. Just when you're making for a device with eInk, you have to keep your limitations in mind (such as, don't make a bunch of animations and expect them to be smooth). Hell, I've seen an unaltered copy of the Android version of Angry Birds played on an eInk device. It worked, just wasn't that great due to the panel not being able to keep up with a fast enough refresh rate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Android is of course based on a Linux kernel, so it may not be very much work to port an existing Linux application to Android. Perhaps someone who knows more about it could comment on that.
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Given the nature of Android's apps, you cannot just quickly port an app from Linux to Android. Android runs the Linux kernel, yes, but everything on top of it is very different. Android apps have to be a java app, using a certain set of APIs, and set to be used in a VM. Linux apps are typically compiled from a variety of languages, and each binary is specific to the CPU architecture that it was intended to. Android specifically went the Java and Virtual Machine route, so one package could be made and run on all android devices, regardless of what CPU they have (Gotta remember Android supports ARM, MIPS, and x86). Long story short, unless you already had it in java. It is easier to port from Android to Linux, than the other way around, since you could then hook into APIs that may be available under Linux, and compile using GCJ.