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- Snoopsor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16To quote the inquirer "Let's step back and look at what the phone itself is before we get into the software that runs on it. The hardware itself is a Samsung 2410 266MHz ARM9 with a 2.8-inch VGA touch screen. There are only two buttons on the phone, the rest is handled by the touch screen, a microSD slot, Bluetooth 2.0, and USB for connectivity and charging. It also has two 1W stereo speakers so you can repurpose it to an MP3 player or anything else you would like." http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35590
Notice the mention of Bluetooth support... So which article is right? Inquirer says support for bluetooth, linux devices say no support for Bluetooth until second generation...
I'm assuming that linuxdevices have it wrong because there's even a nifty diagram (from the inquirer) http://www.theinquirer.net/images/articles/OpenMoko_block_diagram.jpg which mentions 'bluez' and upon googling for bluez, you'll find it's 'the offical linux bluetooth protocol stack'.
I for one, will definitely be buying it.. My only real concern is battery life (and yes I would have loved wifi, but, bluetooth, gprs, and a gps system which I can program for is just too good of a chance to give up).
Just think, you could get the gps to log where you've been today, and then contact an apache web server, or even run an apache web server(since this is linux afterall).. if getLocation equals home then updateLocation(home).. updateLocation could send a message to a web server at home to turn your lights on, turn computers on, deactivate security, allow people you want to know when you're home.. Fantastic possibilities. Support such a project! - strikerInsane, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13It looks good, usable, and most of all highly customizable. Good cheap alternative to the proprietary, un-navigatable crap that Motorola/Nokia/Generic Mobile Phone Makers keep shoving down our throats.
Hope they offer it in blue... - madjo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12according to the news-source, it has support for micro-sd cards... so it does have memory expansion
from the article:
"The Neo1973 is based on a Samsung S3C2410 SoC (system-on-chip) application processor, powered by an ARM9 core. It will have 128MB of RAM, and 64MB of flash, along with an upgradable 64MB MicroSD card." - bluering, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I think every real geek hates their smartphone. I have had an HTC wizard, Treo and now Nokia E61 in the last year. I almost jumped for the motorolla ming, but it just seems too much like a novelty. http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/motorola-ming-ships-finally-160934.php
I want something that is first and foremost a phone, but sincs contacts and calendar with my outlook and Mac OSX, works as a bluetooth modem EASILY (with high speed 3G type data rates), has a full size headphone jack for mp3s, works for IM like Trillian, has passable email, GPS would be nice, and a casing strong enough to not shatter when it dropped. It would not hurt my feelings if it had the apple logo on it either :-)
- halter73, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I was sold at "apt-get install"
(It was in the slide show. There's a link to it in the article) - VeritasAequitas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I want it, seriously! I hate my phone, I've been looking to upgrade and I can't find any phone that has the features I want. well huh that's solved! I want it NOW!
- Flamekebab, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10marix, Try READ the article next time.
- Apreche, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6 I really really want a phone running this software. Really. However, the hardware of this phone is ass! Put that software on a sexy phone like the Motorola Q and I'll give you $500.
- subhuman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The greenphone wasn't intended for consumer use, it was a dev-kit phone - for developers to work with and create gear for the consumer. So it will obviously cost more than your standard phone.
- Flamekebab, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I like the look of the phone, shame about the lack of wifi, however, if it works well, I want one.
$350 seems relatively cheap to me, I know over here in the UK one could end up paying around £400 for a Nokia N70 back when it was new (an unlocked handset, without any sort of contract). I'll be due a free upgrade from my carrier by the time this thing appears. Woo! - futaris, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5A lot cheaper than the Greenphone, me thinks, and more "open"...
- MartyMcSly, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I can't believe they don't have WIFI on the first revision of the hardware. Hackers/coders are notoriously unwilling to pay for stuff. Why have a boat-load of features and unlimited possibilities, if you are lumbered by hidiously slow and horribly expensive GPRS!?!? Stupid decision that *may* be the death of the device. Probable slow sales will hamper the chances of a 2nd version with WIFI coming out!
- drag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"maybe so, but not everyone is happy with just voip over wifi... (some people need cellular)"
That's good because this phone should be able to do both. It's a GSM phone.
The VoIP should be easily possible via Linux software, although I don't know of a paticular application that would be immediately suitable for it. Also it'll do email, text messaging, and if you want to somebody could probably whip up a new phone version of GAIM and you can do instant messaging over your phone with your AIM/MSN/Jabber/etc etc.
That's the nice thing about it being open. It's essentially a Linux PC that fits in your pocket. Supports regular ol' GTK and X11. Anything you can do on a regular PC you'd be able to do on this thing. (just as long as you have touch pad versions of the programs.)
Also it supports bluetooth so things like having a external keyboard and mouse as well as other things like headsets should be possible.
Say you want to get fancy and you have a Linux 'carputer' for your car. You could get it so that the carputer was rigged in with your electric door locks and car starter. That way you could use your phone to unlock and start your car, theoretically. (I know that it's possible, I don't know if it's worth it though.)
And the GPS is a nice touch. As is the MicroSD slot for loading up songs or videos or applications. - netferret, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4my last nokia was the biggest piece of crap ever, kept crashing, skipping mp3s and eventually broke. Needless to say I wont be getting another nokia in a hurry until they learn to program properly.
This sounds like a good idea as everyone can customize their own interface to thier own tastes plus should be able to add more neat features. I also think the touch screen is a nice 'touch', lol. - williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Get a job, dude. You get money that way. Buy stuff. Like dinner, for your date.
- redhatcat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's impressive that it can run an X server. The greenphone can't boast that. I look forward to future developments.
- breakaway, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, I don't like the look of it either. Hopefully this phone will pave the path for others that will come after it.
- krinthekuz, on 09/16/2008, -0/+2what drag said is correct (and i'm guessing he got dugg down for posting long, but why didnt i get dugg down too?).
my point was that the recent corporate implementations have been incredibly purposefully gimped bc the telecoms want to be the gatekeeper.
for instance, gaim is currently THE BEST instant messenger (cross platform, cross service, and tons of features) and sets the standard for text based instant messaging. voip is clearly set by skype, and voice chat is set by ventrilo. email and organization is a toss up between outlook and evolution (outlook's clone). NOTHING on ANY handheld device even comes CLOSE to any of these, so when you gauge functions on handhelds and say "they suck", you're evaluating a substandard implementation already. at best, it can only be substandard. i want to see some program that supports multi-person voice comm, text messaging/email (which MS has said is effectively the same thing), and has priority lists (featured in gaim and the windows start menu) - so the contacts you converse with the most float to the top of all your lists. and this program must support corporate openness so the telecoms cant try and ding you for every minute you're on your phone.
hell, wifi was developed by some kids in a garage on the 802.11x band because that's the junk band. it's a complete free-for-all. they didnt have to buy up any licensing for it. - NoBrainNoPain, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Freedom is not willing to be cheap, sorry.You will have just a dumb "dialer" for $50.You have to say thanks to manufacturer if it has color screen and able to run few java apps for such price.Nothing more, nothing less.There is no clue to insert Linux into such phone: Linux power will remain unused on such weak hardware.In no way Linux well suited to run on 96x96 pixels 4096K colors "cat ass sized" screens, very few Mb RAM and Flash, poor periferial devices set and whatever else you'll have in hardware for $50.Of course everyone wants cool thing for just $1 or even better for free but nobody is willing to sponsor you in your wishes.So you either have to pay $50 and use dumb lame "dialer" or ... hmm... take a look on Nokia.It's featured phones are priced usually $500 and up(ok, they're "free"...with expensive and long contracts where costs are just included into monthly payments).So $350 is a way cheaper than comparable Windows Mobils or Nokia devices...
- Flamekebab, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2$350 = ~180 Pounds
My N70 was free with my contract (non-contract price when I got it.. about four hundred quid, ouch), which costs me around thirty or so a month (pounds, not dollars) and gives me plenty of free minutes, MMS and SMS.
I think this phone would probably easily come free with any contract, so I'm sold! - krinthekuz, on 09/16/2008, -0/+2i highly attribute the unhappiness in voip over wifi to shoddy features. the symbian skype version was just recently released and still has bugs. and even then, i would love to have wifi support, but i wouldnt need it. my current plan with cingular is $40/mo (55 after all the taxes and fees), and i get free nights/weekends, 400 minutes, free to all cingular users, and all the ***** that is pretty much standard that the telecoms claim to be "upgrades" (like voicemail and forwarding). i rarely even break 200 minutes, bc everything else is nights/weekends/cingular users. the cheapest plan used to be $25/mo but lost a ton of features. cingular doesn't even offer this plan anymore, and if i switched from cingular i'd have to sign a contract, they'd give me a garbage phone (that i wouldn't use), and most people i know are on cingular, so they'd get screwed when calling me. so wifi would be great, and there would be much demand for it, but the telecoms don't want to be shorted, so it's not going to happen.
- krinthekuz, on 09/16/2008, -0/+2also, because so many of the phones are run on highly closed systems (it's not like anyone can write a .net app or python script to run there), application development is almost purely commercial, and under license. mobile java is trash and doesn't allow much at all. the manufacturers want the telecoms to sell their phones, so the manufacturers bend to the telecom's wills. thats why you have to import a phone to get one with wifi (the ones on ebay with wifi are imported to the US by consumers).
you can say wifi on cellphones sucks, and other features like cameras and mp3 players also suck, but that's bc you've only seen ***** implementations by the manufacturers that are gimped bc of the telecoms. hell, the motorola phones that support itunes have been limited to hold 100 songs, not bc of space issues, but bc apple didnt want the phones to cut into ipod sales, so it's a hardcoded legal limit.
the statement that "voip over wifi sucks" is not because voip over wifi practically does suck. it's bc the manufacturers have to do what the telecoms want, or the telecoms wont support those phones, and the telecoms want to retain as much control as possible as the gatekeepers.
if you can talk on wifi all the time, they cant charge you nearly as much (or even any at all). and once these platforms open up a bit more, you're going to see bluetooth based file sharing programs, and high schools, colleges, and large events will literally become unpoliceable wireless file sharing congregations. - Zorlac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Someone at linuxdevices.com is having too much fun over there..
Check out the bottom of this slide: http://www.linuxdevices.com/files/article072/smp-presentation-28-big.jpg
"Source: Professors Butt and Hole" - speculatrix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2the ROAD smartphone is still vapourware, the Trolltech greenphone is really a development appliance... the motorola linux phones are slowly being opened up...
so up till now, perhaps the only linux "smartphone" which is completely open would be a zaurus fitted with a GSM/GPRS/voice CF card (enfora, audiovox) etc; snag is such a combo eats batteries. - russryba, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I checked on the BlackBerry in my area - what a rip off! $100/month if I signed a two year contract. Seems like it would be worthless in 2 years, or at least easily replaced. No way I'm paying that.
I like GSM so I can buy the throw non contract phones and pop the sim cards into my nice wifi enabled phone without contracts. - williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Because end-users don't care about UMTS?
- shrewduser, on 10/12/2007, -7/+8maybe so, but not everyone is happy with just voip over wifi... (some people need cellular)
- K4P741NxKRUNCH, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1WOW that is one NICE OS on the phone!
I wish I had the same look and feel on my PPC and Clie UX50
The dark look and feel really compliments the white phone nicely. - MattGrover, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1simply put w00t! well as long as there's a decent camera in there please.
- seuaniu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It has a SIM slot, so you can pull the sim card out of your cingular phone, put it into the new one, replace the battery, turn it on, and go.
I'll be buying one. I wish it had a camera (i find them to be pretty useful), but the gps and open platform will more than make up for it.
Bluetooth 2.0 will make all the difference for me. My current phone automagically syncs up with my computer when I get in the house (and sometimes in the driveway). 2.0 will make for better sound quality, so I can use it as an ogg player.
GAIM, SSH, Opera, native apps instead of the java ones that I have now; this will be awesome - onesojourner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It is a pretty steep price but it has great features and a vga screen other than wifi this would completely replace my axim x50v and my phone. I hope they make an all black version...
- Buttercup, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@dotcom
that was true... 4 years ago when cellphones sucked.
now-a-days nokia just isn't making the grade. (IMO) - PunkHop, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2No QWERTY keyboard?
NO QWERTY KEYBOARD?
Boooo! I want my qwerty! How smart can a phone be without our beloved text input device?
I'd buy this in a heartbeat if it had a keyboard. With an army of badass Linux geeks behind the thing, it should sport some pretty sweet apps. - seuaniu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I doubt that it runs the full xorg stack that you see on your desktops. Since X is so modular, you can get away with a very small subset of the full install when you have controlled hardware.
- honkybong, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Mobile phones are the PCs of the 21st century, in terms of processing power and broadband network access. It's quite a shame that today, when you buy one, the software is already out of date."
Moss-Pultz couldn't have said it better. - krinthekuz, on 09/16/2008, -0/+1i'm a linux geek (ran redhat for 2 yrs, suse for 3, gentoo for like 3 months, and then ubuntu for the past 2 yrs). i currently have the motorola A1200, and it uses a customized version of linux that is absolutely deplorable. even windows smartphone 2003 was better than this. the syncing is a pita (it's so buggy). i can understand that if i setup the syncing in linux, then i cant complain about it being buggy. however, i'm using the motorola phone tools in windows, and it is buggy as *****. contacts, tasks, and calendar are the only syncable options (no email). and even then, regardless of the direction you specify (phone has priority, comp has priority, or ask when there is conflict), it just copies over events and tasks. after a sync it basically doubles my entire task list. motorola ***** that up so badly.
- Buttercup, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i think what it is is that OpenMoko supports bluetooth, but the actual phone itsself doesn't have bluetooth hardware. even then though, a clever hacker should be able to rig up a nice little bluetooth setup.
but yeah, i really really like the possibilities of automation (turning lights/computer/etc on)
i hope this phone will be as good (if not better) than it seems to be. - felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree with the "everyone hates their smartphone" comment. I'm on a Treo 650 right now, and I've already gone through two Windows phones that I hated.
Why it's so hard to find one that syncs easily via bluetooth, has a decent camera, wifi, a usable interface and doesn't crash regularly, I have no idea.
I was thinking of going to the Sony Ericsson 990i, but honestly that Ming looks pretty good to me. Why did you decide against it? - drag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1For a smartphone it may be.
They have different catagories. You have the cheap little cell phones, just plain jane. Next up you have these 'feature phones', which are the things you buy that can do fancy ringtones or play mp3s and such, which is what most people end up getting.
Then above that you have 'smart phones' which are essentially miniture computers. They do both the PDA and Cell phone type thing. 600 dollars is not unusual, I guess.
Plus there are a couple other things to keep in mind:
* It's development model. The production/consumer model isn't going to be out till the beginning of next year.
* you get all the accessories with it. So it's not like you have to go buy the phone then the car charger is another 25 dollars and such.
I don't know a whole lot about it right now though. I suppose all of this can change, after all this is just for curious developers and not so much end users yet. - mikesol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's got a ***** touchscreen, I'm sure you can turn it sideways and tap away in QWERTY all you want.
(Also, just learn T9. It's faster than QWERTY if you know what you're doing.) - bunnybash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0oops meant to reply to the comment below
- bunnybash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"It will probably be so limited that all our hopes and dreams will be shattered. I think when they come out with a "Windows Mobile" or "Blackberry" type of Linux phone then we should start looking into it. I want it to be a mini-computer and not just dedicated phone OS."
umm a windows mobile or blackberry phone would not be a linux phone!!! haha i dont think you know what linux is do some research and you will be exremely excited by this idea, this is a mini computer!! the word "hackable" means that you can well make it do what you want it to do if you have the know how!! - mbabauer, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3The interface doesn't look bad, but the phone itself has to be one of the ugliest phones I have ever seen. Still, sign me up. I have been thinking of replacing my hacked Razr anyhow.
- NoBrainNoPain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Of coz there is ways to make easy ways in a hard way.But I guess expansion cards were invented to do exactly this thing?And I guess bluetooth keyboard is better suited for mobile devices.
I can see real need to have USB host in my Wi-Fi router to turn it into camera server, bluetooth internet server and small fileserver.But what's real need to have host in the phone?Of course I think nobody is against of this feature if this will not add extra costs. - NoBrainNoPain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@dotcom101010
> Nokia phones are one of the easiest phones to navigate.
I do own Nokia 6681 Smart phone.It has reasonable buggish firmware (even latest version still has dozens of bugs).It is somewhat slow so in no way it is easy to navigate.It lacks decent software (there is no good Symbian ICQ, MSN and IRC clients even for moneys, I'm silent about free and open ones).Of course there is cool (and free and opens ource) Java clients like Jimm and jMirc but they're still java.So they're RAM memory hog and you have to click confirmation each time you're going to connect and you can't allow certain java apps to always use network without prompt.That's pretty annoying.
> Plus you can not beat a nokia for RF performance.
Actually, modern Nokia phones are pretty sucking in RF performance.My previous Siemens CX65 and Siemens M55 were a way better.
Additionally, this phone cost me almost $500 (without contract so I'm not locked to any cell provider at all).Actually, quite doubtful toy for decent amount of money.
In newer Symbian 9 Nokia broke compatibility with previous versions of Symbian "for security reasons" (actually it secures damn DRM only, not you...) and has even fewer software available and very few free one.So, my next phone surely will not be Nokia.Probably I'll consider some Linux smart phone like this one if there will be enough software ported.Partially due to free software availability.I'm do not want to buy $500 device and then pay decent amount of $ for stupid shareware or commercial crap while there is no warranty you will be able to use it on next phones.So, it is not worth paying for it at all. :E.Only real benefit is Nokia quality.Hardware only, firmware still sucks with many bugs.
So, Nokia makes great phones.If they'll cost HALF of their current price and will not be called smart phones.They're actually pretty dumb phones instead and my next phone is not going to be Nokia I guess :D - drag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It does bluetooth, I beleive.
You can get bluetooth mice and keyboards. - drag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It looks like they have different colors.
I seen another picture of one that was black with silver trim instead of that green stuff. - drag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Does anbody know if the USB attatchment is going to support 'host' features?
I would be nice to be able to plug something like a USB based card reader for picture viewing or for a keyboard or something like that. - cablemonkey, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Could someone please design a linux based phone that isn't green and/or ugly?
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