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A780 phone description

A780 phone description

The A780 is a Linux PDA phone which has a flip. Some models dubbed A780+ have got an integrated satellite navigation system called CoPilot. The phone is based on monta vista linux and is available almost all round the globe with many languages and user interface. The phone is easy to use and is one of the best selling product of motorola company.

Design

The Motorola A780 is a Linux-based flip phone. When the lid is closed, the phone appears like a traditional phone, with a keypad matrix and small display, actually a window to the larger display below the lid. When the lid is flipped open, a quarter VGA touch screen is revealed that can be used with fingers or a supplied stylus.

Technical specifications

CPU: Intel XScale PXA270 processor
Bands: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz (quad band), GPRS/EDGE
Connectivity: Mini-USB, Bluetooth 1.1
Weight: 142g
Size: 106 × 54 × 24mm
Display: 240 × 320; 65k; 2.4” TFT Touchscreen
Camera: 1.3 mega-pixel camera with video recording
Memory: microSD/TransFlash Memory Card, up to 2GB
Talk time: approximately 3 - 7.4 hrs
Standby time: approximately 131 - 170 hrs
Battery: 3.6V/750mAh Li-Ion
SAR: 0.74 W/kg

Features

The phone is supplied with a a number of applications including a POP and IMAP email client, Opera web browser, calendar and a viewer for pdf and Microsoft Office files. Calendar and address book can be synchronised with a Microsoft Exchange or SyncML server. The phone has a 1.3 Megapixel camera recording still and video images. RealPlayer is included to play sound audio files and streamed audio and video. The phone has 48MBytes of internal flash memory for storing user data and a slot for a microSD card. Both Bluetooth and USB are provided for communication with another computer. Character entry is via an on-screen QWERTZ keyboard and hand writing recognition. Models including a GPS receiver are supplied with ALK Technologies' CoPilot Live navigation software with street level maps of Europe. Features available on some smart phones but not present on the A780 include a physical Qwerty keyboard, IEEE 802.11 wireless ethernet and the capability to use a stereo bluetooth headset.

Available Firmwares

European Unbranded R52G0D.76.A1R0D.C0.B1PSE6820AD3F1L001S010P004GCOA780000E1027

Development

Embedded Linux Development Kit
MKEzx
Cross Compilation Toolkit

Common Problems

Flex Cable

Many users have found that the flex cable that connects the GPS chip, top keypad backlight, speaker and microphone to the main board is susceptible to failure after consistent use.

It is fairly easy to replace this cable, and there are discussions about it here: Help on Broken key pad - MotorolaFans.com Forums

Buying a broken A780 and replacing this cable can be a much cheaper way to get hold of a working A780, if you're confident soldering!

Difference to E680i

There is a lot of software around here developed for E680i that you can use on your A780.

The main difference is the design. The E680i has a SD-Card slot whereas the A780 only supports microSD. On the E680i you have stereo speakers and a lovely color changing light. But in the E680i is no real vibration hardware as in A780 (it is done there with a low frequency sound). Also on E680i there are more hardware buttons, this results in some non working games on A780. But most software can be used on both models.