Linux or Android? wich it's the best way to go?

[junetec]

Hello,

I have kiosk equipment that at the moment run with ubuntu 12.10 and gambas3 runnig in a miniitx boards very well.
The kiosk requirements are serial connection, internet, play videos, show pictures, touch screen.

But when I discovered the A13 board, I'm thinking to move it, because it's compact and all in one.

I test the board But I have a doubt.

I don't know if go to translate all to Android or stay in Linux.

Android looks very stable, and move pictures and videos more easy, but I think it's not soo powerfull than linux.

I think that go to linux will be for me more easy, but the linux image that I try looks more unstable(startx frezes some times) and slow, and I don't know if it works with gambas3.

What do you tinhk about that?

If I take the linux way, with language I sould use? Python, C other

Regards and sorry by my bad english,

Enric

[JohnS]

Did you know that Android is just a modified Linux?
And of course Ubuntu is Linux.
So all 3 choices are Linux

John

[bernard]

Depends on what you want to do and your skillset.

(I am biased for Android. So don't take my word.)

If you want great-jazzy-touch-enabled UIs, Android is the best by far. Apps in Android are build with Java, for which, is a great time saver for memory management amongst other things and helps control application crashes. So yes your application tends to be more stable, but the actual system is not more stable than other Linuxes. Normally hard crashes are because of a bad driver. (for example, one of the usb-ethernet driver I find was unstable. I updated it to the more recent and it fixed the issue). Android development gives you an emulator that works and the ADT IDE works really well. When it comes to deployment for applications like yours, I find it a bit of a puzzle.  You can use C (the NDK) to implement stuff but it will not be the UI portion and it is discouraged because it is not easily portable across any Android platform. For graphic speed (like for games), now they have RenderScript which is meant to run on the GPU (or fallback to the CPU).

If you want super-control over the board, any other Linux flavor will do fine. With Android, you have to do some extra work to replace the home application and those annoying side-bar buttons to turn it into a full "kiosk mode". You have to deal with permissions more too. There is a $commercial$ software called SureLock that handles all kiosk-related aspects without hassles.

Good luck deciding.

[vinifr]

About language, I prefer C language. Because it is possible to do almost anything in C.

Is possible to use C language in Android, but it is hard. It is very locked.

[BJFreeman]

android add an layer complexity as does any GUI using linux.
Android is a User interface that many are use to, so you have a low learning curve to the public.
if you choose android, you will probably still need to do some linux coding as well.