Handtops, UMPC - ExpressCard 32Gb SSD in a Flipstart

04/27/08 + itslifejim

Being a UK user I have no use for the inbuilt WAN and was wondering if anyone had replaced this (which I think is on an Express card) with the Transcend 32GB Express Card SSD (or simular) which is selling for around Ł115 in the UK.

If so, I had a couple of questions...
1. Can you boot from the expresscard
2. Does anyone have pics of how to install / remove the Expresscard
3. Does it make the battery last longer
4. is it quicker than the HDD

Finally...
Has anyone used the expresscard slot for something else? GPS? UK 3G?
Or have I got this completly wrong and the Flipstart doesn't have an internal Expresscard!

Thanks,

04/27/08 + snowviper

I wonder if the WIFI is run by the same express card ?

(because they said WWAN can't work the same time with WIFI)

edited: Apr 27 2008 + diJenerate

itslifejim said: "...
1. Can you boot from the expresscard
2. Does anyone have pics of how to install / remove the Expresscard
3. Does it make the battery last longer
4. is it quicker than the HDD

Finally...
Has anyone used the expresscard slot for something else? GPS? UK 3G?
Or have I got this completly wrong and the Flipstart doesn't have an internal Expresscard!

Thanks,"

The internal slot is mini PCI-e and is completely under the control of the Infopane module. The drivers for the InfoPane need to be installed and the command to power on the PCI-e slot needs to be issued therefore the only way to use a mini PCI-e card in that slot is to run an O.S. that can command the Infopane.

I hope this clears up your concerns.

@snowviper:

The Wifi is housed in the lower half of the unit on the same board (called the Carlo Board) that houses the Bluetooth. The reason that you can't use both at once is strictly because of the Windows utility that controls them nothing more. The WWAN is housed in the cover of the unit on the same board as the Infopane (the DinoBoard) as previously explained. The WWAN can be replaced with other mini PCI-e cards (even radio cards like GPS, WiMaX etc if you can take care of the antenna issues yourself) so long as you realize you must command the DinoBoard first to power the cards on.

I have installed linux on the Flipstart and have extablished a connection to the DinoBoard/InfoPane through which I can send commands to power on the mini PCI-e card (mine is now a HSDPA card) however without knowing the command set for the board I cannot use the card because I cannot even power it on to be able to see it.

Other questions asked have been about using the infopane's display for something other than checking your email in outlook. What I have found out is the Infopane is powered by a FreeScale MX-1 Processor and has a basic ROM used to boot it and await commands, The menu that you navigate through is loaded into it by a utility started when you log into windows and this menu resides in a set of .dll files found in:

C: [backslash] Program Files [backslash] FlipStart [backslash] VnBridge [backslash] applets

If you can write your own applets and place them in here, I'm sure you can get other things to run. Additionally if anyone can figure out the command set for the DinoBoard, and figure out how the applets are loaded (command, path syntax etc) we can probably get it to work in linux minus the trackstick and buttons which are on the same PS/2 bus connection as the trackpad so get overridden by the trackpad in linux.

diJenerate

Recent Blog: World's first 64-bit x86 UMPC

04/27/08 + mhoepfin

Nice post.. Sad the music applet wasn't shipped. If you look at the user.image you can see lots of references to the music applet.

04/27/08 + wodin

Wow, what an obviously jerry-rigged design on an otherwise well engineered device. Sounds like an afterthought that ended up breaking more than it gave. Who's idea was that lame DinoBoard/InfoPane anyway?

It sounds like what we need are some low level drivers that directly control the mini PCI-e slot and any other hardware that is daisy chained off the DinoBoard/InfoPane and deep six da buggah altogether.

Any AWESOME driver programmers out there who are ready to take that one on?

04/27/08 + itslifejim

Sorry, being thick, when you said "The internal slot is mini PCI-e and is completely under the control of the Infopane module." if I stick with the installed OS (WinXP), in theory, could I remove the PCI-e card, replace with something more useful and use whatever drivers are shipped the device for WinXP or does the device need a specific driver written for the dino board?

Is teh Dinoboard controlling teh whole device or just it's power?

Thanks for the rest of the post really interesting, if you find out any more I would love to see a post.

04/27/08 + tnkgrl

MIni PCI-e slots use a different connector than XPressCard slots although the signals are the same. However, not all Mini PCI-e slots carry all the signals carried by XPressCard (which are PCI-e and USB). Most PCI-e slots intended for WWAN use only carry USB signals yet most XPressCard SSDs expect PCI-e signals.

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edited: Apr 27 2008 + diJenerate

itslifejim said: "Sorry, being thick, when you said "The internal slot is mini PCI-e and is completely under the control of the Infopane module." if I stick with the installed OS (WinXP), in theory, could I remove the PCI-e card, replace with something more useful and use whatever drivers are shipped the device for WinXP or does the device need a specific driver written for the dino board?

Is teh Dinoboard controlling teh whole device or just it's power?

Thanks for the rest of the post really interesting, if you find out any more I would love to see a post."

Put another way, the DinoBoard is an independent computer. It is attached to the Flipstart through USB (this is how it's powered so that's why is only works when the system is on or in standby, not when hibernated) like a PDA on a USB docking cradle. For the purpose of this explanation, this PDA, if you will, has a mini PCI-e slot on it that it can't use because it lacks the drivers to command anything in the slot. It however can switch the slot on and off and since the slot is on the PDA, only the PDA can switch it on and off. When it switches it on, it adds it to the USB bus that it's on so the main system can see and use it. In this instance the PDA acts like a USB hub with a PCI-e to USB adapter plugged in.

This is why low level drivers will make no difference and the only thing we can do if not using windows, is figure out the command set used by the DinoBoard... btw, the buttons on the side of the lid are also on the DinoBoard.

What is very clever about this design though not obvious at first is that the DinoBoard can wake the system from Standby and put it back to sleep and the jog wheel and button on the side of the system though directly connected to the main system do not wake the system when you press/use them to interact with the Infopane. That is one funky Bios!

diJenerate

Recent Blog: World's first 64-bit x86 UMPC

04/27/08 + mhoepfin

Hey Keith,
Any way to get the Applet for music for the Infopane? Obviously there is something out there that never made it to production... Thanks!!

04/27/08 + Picasso

How did the DinoBoard gets it name?

04/28/08 + kamodt

@mhoepfin - sorry, but the code for the music support in InfoPane is long dead.

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