well, it has been a damn busy few weeks. i managed somehow to persuade a hardware designer to help create the PCB. i think basically it was because he was thinking along the same lines (to have an affordable PC appliance that can also have "phone" capability) and so me coming along basically i could be the one to do all the leg-work sourcing components and connectors.

so, that's what i've been doing, non-stop.

also part of the "job" so to speak is to create a motherboard layout, where all the major connectors and components will fit. amazingly, i've managed to get almost everything but the camera, the LCD/Touchpanel connector and the SIM card holder into a space 3in x 5in.

the motherboard takes an SO-DIMM which contains the processor: it's a 144-pin type, where the daughter board is a 67 x 40 mm board containing the CPU and more.

i would dearly love to get the SIM card holder underneath the CPU module, but the clearance is only about 1mm.

suuch fuuun....