***Now With Photos***
Those of you who read my review of the SmartDevices V7 know that I was not able to get Android to load on that platform. Someone who read the review convinced me to reflash my SmartQ 5 to try the latest release of Android from Covia, the Japanese SmartDevices reseller. You can visit them on the web at
www.covia.net. Registered users can download the new firmware from Covia's SmartQ5 forum.
This edition of Android is the Cupcake version and fixes the power management and wifi problems that dogged Covia's September 2009 release in Japan. Build 2009/12/01 is the final version that Covia will release for Cupcake on the Q5. Donut (Android 1.6) and Eclair (2.0) will come later. Are you hungry yet? Read on.
With Android 1.5, the SmartQ 5 is a completely different machine! I feel like Santa came early and changed my Q5 from a lump of coal into a diamond.
Before reflashing with Android, I was running Ubuntu Linux (SmartDevices Version 5). Ubuntu is a great OS but it's clearly not designed from the ground up for mobile devices. Android, like the Mer OS, is made specifically for mobile devices. Best of all, Covia Android runs beautifully on the Q5.
With a strong wireless Internet connection and the Q5's 802.11b/g hardware, the Web browser does an excellent job. One of my favorite sites, Chippy's UMPC Portal, loaded so fast (under 8 seconds) that I thought I was using a desktop machine. This was with the Q5 more than 40 feet from my wireless router and in a different room. The down side is that multitouch gestures like pinching don't work. (An alternative, the Android Dolphin Browser, is supposed to fix this but I haven't experimented with it.) Also, the browser won't play YouTube videos. Flash support should come sometime next year. Of course, the Q5's resistive touch screen is not in the same league as the iTouch/iPhone but the 800x480 resolution makes up for it to some extent.
To get the most from the Android experience, you need to set up an Android Market account. If you already have a Gmail account, you can use that username and password. Once set up, the first application I downloaded was FBReader. Then, I went to Project Gutenberg and downloaded an illustrated book and sat back to read.
Page scrolling is as simple as a flick of the fingertip. Take that, Amazon Kindle!
The default landscape mode can be changed to portrait by pressing and holding the "Move" hardware key. Doing the same again takes the screen back to landscape mode. Pressing the "+" hardware key takes you back a step and the "-" hardware key takes you to the Android home page.
Other free applications I downloaded from the Android Market include AP Mobile, Last.fm, Talking Clock, USA Today, and Weatherbug. All performed well. Weatherbug, for example, used my current location to provide real-time weather as well as forecasts. (Current location [with your permission] is determined by Android querying the wireless router to which it is connected.) Also, I set up different zip codes to see the weather in other parts of the country, viewed satellite imagery, watched Rachel's WeatherCast video, etc. The video had scratchy audio but that doesn't seem to be the Q5's fault because the feed from Last.fm played well on its one tiny speaker.
Am I glad I downloaded Covia Android for the Q5? You bet. Everything worked well and I was even able to get Android to address my "dead" hardware clock issue by relying on its real-time network. (I also solved this under Ubuntu Linux. See
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...=47223&page=41 and post #605.) The bottom line is that I strongly prefer Covia Android 1.5 to SmartDevice's edition of Ubuntu Linux.
How do you get a hold of a Q5 with Android? SmartDevices is rebranding the Q5 with Android as the 5A. However, this is not the version of Android made by Covia. It will be a SmartDevices port. I hope it will run as well as or better than the Covia Cupcake build but it may not.
The Q5 sells at Eletroworld for $150 and the 5A may be pre-ordered for $200 (plus shipping). Is it worth the extra $50? I don't know. The SmartDevices Android OS is due out on December 4th. If I'm able to get a copy, I'll report back. Right now, Covia has convinced me that Android is the best game in town.
A free alternative, the Mer OS, is not yet ready for non-developers. (To learn more about Mer, go to
http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer.)
Also, Buyers may want to consider the SmartDevices V7 once the bugs are fixed. Eletroworld is pricing it at $250 plus shipping. For the money you get Android (1.6), Ubuntu Linux (8.04), and Windows CE (6.0). Plus, it has an HDMI port. See my review here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62831.
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***Update 12/03/2009***
Covia Settings for USB
USB OTG works with a Windows 7 laptop.
USB Host works with a basic Windows USB keyboard. However, a special USB adapter is needed.
ADB mode does not work with the above laptop (due to the lack of Windows 7 drivers). I am unable to get ADB to work with an XP laptop either.
Becoming Root
I am not able to establish Root identity.
Covia is very protective of its Android port and won't share the password.
The commands "su -" and "su root" produce the error message: "uid 1#### not allowed to su".
***Update 12/10/2009***
Qhero posts a link below that allows Q5 Covia Android (1.5) users to root their machine. I've tested it and it works. That's awesome--the Q5 and DROID rooted in the same week!