[maemo-developers] OMAP 2420 / lower level hardware docs?

[From: Amit Kucheria]

On Sun, 2007-03-11 at 10:28 -0400, ext Jon Smirl wrote:
> On 3/11/07, Klaus Rotter <klaus at rotters.de> wrote:
> > Jeff Sauer wrote:
> > > Anyone have any links to specifics on the ARM CPU and other "blocks" of
> > > the OMAP 2420?
> >
> > AFAIK you get this information (at least the interesting stuff: e.g.
> > 3D-hardware) only if
> > a)you sign a NDA and
> > b)if your company will order a significant number of devices.
> >
> > So, I think, Nokia has that information but can not release it to the
> > public. I hope someone there will decide that a hardware supported
> > OpenGL driver would be a big benefit for the N800.
> 
> Using a closed CPU like the TI  OMAP in an open device like the N800
> wasn't the best pairing. Maybe next time Nokia will use a similar but
> open processor like the Freescale MX31.

Standard Disclaimer: I am not speaking for Nokia.

Open vs. Closed is not the only criterion for selection. Here are a few
others that come to mind that perhaps have greater weight on the
decision process:

1. HW Availability -> Having a webpage doesn't translate to availability
in volumes in a certain schedule.
2. Competence -> Moving to a new architecture requires retraining - not
an insignificant cost+time.
3. Code rewrite -> Moving to new architecture requires rewriting
low-level code. Again translates to cost+time.
4. Production capabilities -> As mentioned elsewhere, current HW is used
in other Nokia products, so factories are setup for it.
5. Cost -> Buying things in volume is always cheaper, refer to 4.
6. Technical specs -> Power vs. performance, Heat, size, features, HW
roadmap, etc.

> They also could have picked open wifi like Ralink, Realtek or Zydas
> instead of the closed Conexant chip. Hopefully companies like Nokia
> will become more sensitive to open vs closed hardware as they build
> more Linux enabled devices.

I would love it if all HW was hackable by developers, but in reality, HW
companies haven't joined the open community in droves yet. So Nokia is
left with two choices - make no products if they are not totally open or
use current semi-closed HW and hope that HW vendors will come around.
Nokia seems to have chosen the later. :)

Regards,
Amit