“…Late last August, we carried a PocketLinux project summary
by Jim Pick. At the time, the project had set its sites on a
multitude of handheld platforms. Working demos already existed for
the immensely popular Compaq iPaq, work on the Helio was just
getting underway, and Pick wrote that there were hopes a variety of
WinCE-based devices would also be included over time. VTech even
announced that they planned to use PocketLinux as the default OS
for the device some time this spring, replacing VT-OS, which the
devices currently ship with. The project also had 250 of the
devices available for sale to developers interested in working on
an “open PDA.”
“At Fall COMDEX in Las Vegas, we reported on PocketLinux, where
an iPaq demonstrating MPEG video playback and wireless instant
messaging was running. A Helio was also present at the booth, and
on the strength of that demonstration we picked one up to do a
review. The compelling thing about the Helio was its low cost. For
$150, the devices packed a good punch, with plenty of memory and
processor speed. It was clear they’d never provide the eye candy of
an iPaq, but the possibilities presented by a single platform
running across several different classes of PDA were
interesting.”
“Unfortunately, once we had PocketLinux running on our Helio, it
was clear that a lot had to be done to provide a PDA anyone would
take to for anything besides the novelty of running Linux on a
handheld device. It ran, but not usually for very long. We stayed
with the project, looking for improvements, but development for the
Helio seemed to have stalled.”