Suggested embedded OS for display of basic markup language on small device

Hi

I am about to embark on a project to develop a small handheld device with a 3" LCD screen. The only things the device needs to do are:

1) pop up a menu structure when a "menu' button is pressed 2) allow navigation of the menu with up, down left and right buttons 3) allow a menu item to be selected with a select button 4) Once selected the item will be linked to a 'page' of information which will be retrieved from flash RAM and displayed on the LCD screen 5) The information is made up of basic text (limited fonts) and small images, so it needs to be laid out in some form, e.g. possible using a small subset of HTML 6) Scrolling up and down through the info must be possible and the select button must be able to be pushed on a link which will call up another page of information

I thought I may be able to take an existing flash-based PMP/MP4 type device and re-program it to accommodate this need, but I'm being told that the requirement for formatted text and image means that none of these products are suitable.

So I'm looking for suggestions for an embedded OS that would support my requirement, any ideas on existing devices (no PDAs, they're too expensive for the requirement) that might support such an OS and, any other wisdom from the group.

Thanks Cliff

Reply to
mavenmind
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None of these requirements are particularly challenging. Depending on the more detailed requirements and design choices made coding on the bare metal may be an option.

Much more details are needed for more concrete advice though. What processor do you propose using? How much data is there to store?

I'm not familiar with the devices, but the Franklin Bookman range may be a suitable off-the-shelf solution. They're mainly sold as electronic dictionaries but they are extendable via add-on cards and downloads. Prices start at $40 per unit - cheaper than a custom device unless you have reasonable volume, although I can't be sure that you wouldn't need a higher-end model. I'm also not sure how open the platform is - you may have to talk to Franklin if the books are in a proprietary format, but even then it may be an option worth considering.

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Andrew Smallshaw
andrews@sdf.lonestar.org
Reply to
Andrew Smallshaw

Have a look at the devices at:

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these are about to be updated in a few weeks to:

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which will have a very extensive on board graphics language.

We have a 3.5" and a 5.7" in the works now, which should be available in August

Don...

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Don McKenzie

Site Map:            http://www.dontronics.com/sitemap
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Reply to
Don McKenzie

Sounds like a good match for J2ME, also known as MIDP. It's a stripped- down Java VM, and you should be able to find a good selection of devices that support it (though I haven't myself researched that). MIDP has basic support for reading buttons, and for menus, and several fonts and font styles, and support for both text and images. The content producers can write it in your HTML subset, and your software developers can script something to convert the HTML tags into control- codes to make the programming easier (like ctrl-B or 0x02 instead of .) A big plus is that Java developers, even J2ME developers, ought to be easier to find than assembly-language coders or specialists in small-device OS's and C compilers.

Reply to
jcomeau_ictx

Eight to ten companies I have worked for as a consultant ended up buying various DonTronics boards on my recomendation with great sucsess. They do the job the description says and have good documentation -- a critical factor for this sort of product.

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While I am making recomendations, another vendor that puts out a good product is Basic Express. If you are using the Parallax Basic Stamp this product is a significant improvement. The multitasking alone is worth switching for. Not suitable for working with Markup Language though.

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(I have no connection with either company except as a satisfied user.)

Reply to
Guy Macon

Just a short note to say many thanks to those that replied with such useful answers. Much appreciated! Regards Cliff

Reply to
mavenmind

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