Smarthphone Hardware - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: jmooch
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 12:05:52 am
content: Hi all,I am a new user so go easy on meI am currently looking in to Smartphone hardware and am just curious as to what hardware is available to use in commercial practice?So for example I am looking at displays and HDD at the moment, which ones can i use and which ones are protected by licenses, or are they all?Hopefully this isnt to broad of a subject, but somewhere to start i guess.Thanks in advance.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 01:34:49 am
content: I'll try to go easy on you...but your question is so open there's not a way to really answer it.What research have you done so far on this? What is the you intended goal? Are you wanting to make your own smart phone or design an OS for it or applications? Are you a hobbyist, professional, student?When you say HDD are you meaning Hard Disk Drive? Smart phones don't use those, they use flash memory chips.

author: nemo000111
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 02:39:46 am
content: As far as the displays go, I believe they're all, or nearly so, done by they same company for all of the phone out there.

author: jmooch
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 03:19:25 am
content: I have spoken with multiple patent attorneys, as well as numerous developers in regards to this same subject and had no success.Apologies for the incorrect use of "HDD."Let me try again, I am trying to develop a custom smartphone, at the moment it is simply as a hobby, but if for some reason it reaches the level of being a consumer device what restrictions would be involved as far as hardware is concerned? So for example if I used the display out of my old HTC One in my new device, would that be an issue or is it considered "mine"since i own the HTC? Are there licenses involved when using certain bits of hardware in reproducing a new device? Can i buy all the best bits of hardware I can find and then combine them all together to make a new device?I have already started OS development, however I am having trouble working out what hardware I am allowed to use to back it up.I hope this makes more sense, thank a lot for the reply!

author: nemo000111
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 03:40:35 am
content: The short answer, as far as I understand it is that it will probably take more capital to cover the regulatory, licensing, and royalty fees than this could realize as a consumer product. This space has players with deep pockets and they want to keep it that way. That being said, for personal use have at it. Also what aee you developing the os on? Most smartphones are highly integrated and protected.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 05:17:43 am
content: If you want to build a e.g. generic Android smartphone then currently Mediatek is one of the cheapest "all-in-one" platforms. They probably won't talk to individuals but if you know the right (Chinese) forums to look at you can get schematics, datasheets, etc.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 05:49:54 am
content: The main problem will be in the radio. Radios have to be certified by the FCC in the US and other government entities in other parts of the world. If this is for hobby only your only bet may be to use a pre-made board that just plugs in. They do make those for interfacing microcontrollers and embedded systems, however I don't recall ever seeing anything 3G or 4G capable.Just GSM/GPRS/EDGE.If you're sure you want to go ahead with this, I'd get a Raspberry Pi or even better a beaglebone black and build your own operating system and interface on it that will be mimicked by what your target will be.Use mouse and monitor or buy a small touch screen monitor and make sure you have everything worked out. The Sitara processor in the Beaglebone black is very similar to what you'll be using once you design your circuit board from scratch.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 06:00:43 am
content: Quote from: Stonent on October 25, 2013, 05:49:54 amHe said he's trying to make a smartphone...

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 06:09:51 am
content: Quote from: jmooch on October 25, 2013, 03:19:25 amYour words are so far away from sanity that it will be nearly impossible to answer you.You understand that smartphones are developed and sold by companies with huge development budgets (hundreds of millions of $$$), vast and capable technical staffs, and access to enormous commercial, legal and manufacturing resources, right?Trying to design and make a smartphone of your own as a commercial offering is like trying to run a space exploration program out of your garage. The reason you have got nowhere with the people you have talked to so far is because there is nowhere to get. Your questions go nowhere. It's like you are in the middle of Arizona and you've asked for walking directions to the Sahara desert.Now, if you want to do something as a hobby project, you may have a chance. You should look into an existing open hardware platform that you can customize the software for, like Android. Using an Android phone as the hardware and the appropriate tools, you can customize the OS and apps as much as your skills and resources allow. That's entirely within reason as a hobby or enthusiast project.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 06:10:37 am
content: Quote from: amyk on October 25, 2013, 06:00:43 amHe didn't say how small and portable the phone has to be. Maybe it could be a desktop phone...

author: madshaman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 06:15:34 am
content: wrt radio etc. that's actually no problem at all, you can purchase off the shelf GPRS modules with a pcb antenna or an sma connector and a SIM card slot; easy peasy.The modules usually contain a fast cpu and have a full tcp/ip stack implementation built in.You talk to the module over a serial interface using AT commands.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 07:19:24 am
content: Quote from: amyk on October 25, 2013, 06:00:43 amQuote from: StonentSo you're going to have him design the touch screen system before he even tests that the OS works?The Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone Black are not the final targets, they are the prototyping platforms.They are both ARM processors, the BeagleBone is ARMv7 will make the toolchain more portable to the target which will also be v7. I mean you could build a smartphone from MIPS, PPC, or Intel, but why reinvent everything?

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 08:33:53 am
content: The problem with any smart phone is unless you have come up with some totally new technology (in which case you would most likely not be asking these questions) every thing used in them is tied up with patents such that you would have to buy licences both from the big manufacturers of phones but also from many patent trolls, for instance just to mention one, round corners and Apple, and that is not even scratching the surface.I am afraid that you are just