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Old 09-07-2009, 08:21 PM   #1
celtica96
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Mer OS on the SmartDevices Q5 & Q7

After a few fits and starts, I was able to get WiFi working under today's release of Mer 0.16 testing5 for the Q5.

(I'm no longer using my Q7 as a test bed because I've customized it and don't want to erase it.)

I don't recommend the 0.16 testing5 firmware for anyone other than testers. It's still a ways off from being end-user ready.

Here's a brief outline of the interface and a few applications.

The applications are accessed by tapping once on the Mer panel menu icon (where the 4 Q's are on the Q5/Q7 desktop).

Categories include: My selection, Internet, Communication, Utilities, Settings, and Extras.

Most of the categories are empty by default.

Utilities has X Terminal; Settings has Application Manager; and Extras includes Network Connections, Claws-mail, Tear, and Bluetooth Manager.

I used X Terminal, Application Manager, Network Connections, and Tear.

X Terminal works as expected.

App Manager has a nice ipod/iphone finger-friendly interface but can be sluggish when installing and updating.

Network Connections seems to lose my WPA key every time I reboot despite shutting down the app normally.

Like App Manager, Tear uses a scrolling interface.

I like Tear's initial screen that shows the last 9 web pages visited but there was a lot of sluggishness when using my Gmail account.

Other Observations

If you try Mer 0.16, you'll use the virtual keyboard a lot to set things up.

It has a much better layout with more keys than the ones available on the SmartQ.

However, the Backspace, Enter, and some other keys lack labels.

Also, the SmartQ will not automatically connect to a Windows PC as an external USB drive when you use the USB cable.

Finally, the hardware buttons are not active except for the reset button, which you must used to shut down the device.

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Has anyone else experimented with Mer 0.16 testing5?
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Last edited by celtica96; 09-08-2009 at 07:55 PM. Reason: Add Pix
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Old 09-08-2009, 07:56 AM   #2
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I'm going to be receiving my Smartq 7 any day now. I will be installing WinCe on it and likely MER. I will not be loading a lot of applications. Can I get away with only a 8 gig card?
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Old 09-08-2009, 08:00 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frankr View Post
I'm going to be receiving my Smartq 7 any day now. I will be installing WinCe on it and likely MER. I will not be loading a lot of applications. Can I get away with only a 8 gig card?
Easily for example the Std image = 176MB, WinCE = 50-60MB
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Old 09-08-2009, 07:58 PM   #4
celtica96
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Added Images

I've added a couple of screenshots to the original post.
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Old 09-10-2009, 10:48 AM   #5
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More Screenshots of Mer 0.16 Testing 5 on Q5/Q7

Go to http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Documentation/Screenshots to see Mer on the Q5/Q7.

Some shots were taken on the Q5, others on the Q7.

It's impossible to tell the difference, which shows Mer's success.
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Old 09-10-2009, 11:49 AM   #6
celtica96
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My Mer 0.16-5 Experience on the Q7

The 32GB card I was using in my Q7 died so I decided to install Mer0.16-5 on the Q7. (Thankfully MicroCenter has a lifetime warranty on the SDHC card.)

WiFi works well!

The Q7 doesn't have a problem remembering my WPA2 password after a reboot so that's an important difference between the two devices running Mer. My Q5 has a known hardware clock issue that is still present under Mer so that may have something to do with it.

I've added some more information to the WPA2 section at http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer/Documentation/Installation to reflect my experience with the drivers for the Q5 and Q7.

As far as applications go, I could not get maemopad to install and run even though it's listed as installable via App Manager. Maemopadplus seemed to install but it did not appear in Extras--just two blank lines--so I could not start it up. Finefm and gpe-filemanager installed without a hitch.

I could not get FBReader, Panucci, or Mirage to install using "sudo apt-get install package_name" and I was disappointed. I'm sure the library of installable apps will improve over time.

Tear worked reasonably well and it seemed faster than on the Q5. I was able to use Gmail set to basic HTML view. The scrolling interface was great.

The Bluetooth Manager did not recognize the BT dongle that eletroworld ships with the Q7.

I was not able to get Mer to recognize an external USB keyboard. Also, after connecting a Vista laptop and the Q7 with a USB cable, the laptop knew the Q7 was attempting to connect but could not find a driver to access it as a USB drive.

I tried to load X Terminal, Tear, and App Manager at the same time but the OS wasn't up to the task. At best, Mer 0.16-5 can run two of these apps at a time.

Many of the above issues may be resolved with some tweaking but, for now, I'm moving back to firmware 4 once I've gotten a replacement 32GB SDHC card.
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