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Trolltech woos developers with "open" Linux phone
linuxdevices.com — Trolltech, best known for the Qt graphical framework and toolkit that form the basis of KDE, will ship an "open" Linux-based phone in September. The "Greenphone" features a user-modifiable Linux OS, and is meant to jumpstart a third-party native application ecosystem for Linux-based mobile phones.
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- kettlechips, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16Looks like a nice Blackberry alternative.
- paulmdx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Unless it gets a significantly improved keyboard, it's certainly not a Blackberry alternative! Looks like a nice device nevertheless.
- gmillerd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Agreed, a keyboard would be great.
- itanshi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2maybe infrared? the projected keyboard thats been around for sometime
maybe off topic, but i've been looking forward to a projector screen/projected keyboard system for some time - slack31337, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2except it doesn't have a real keyboard or intgrate with your enterprise mail (exchange/notes/groupwise) or have a backend push sever for mail and ...
:) just trolling I like my BB
however i do agree that it is good to see linux on a nice looking phone - williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1A folding Bluetooth keyboard is an OK answer, if you really need to type. But only old American management types need querty keyboards anymore. The rest of the world learned how to use predictive entry on 12key pads.
- killercow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0@slack31337
right, like blackberry server software is the standard for enterprise software,
i always thought any software capable of the job would be good enough.
And uhm doesn't enterprise ready mean secure and stable?
Well, i remember a certain problematic security patch in the blackberry server, since it was mailing out wrong emails?
I won;t even bother telling you about Microsoft's exchange's security problems, as those should be well known.
With a Linux based enterprise back-end, you could change the server software around your data any time. Now that's what i call enterprise ready, got a problem in the server that can't be fixed fast enough, switch to a different server, serving the same clients, your same data. - xamox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What's funny is that I had the Zaurus super long ago. It's linux based. Runs QTopia. And I have an infrared keyboard that works on it. All it needs is VoIP and you have a blackberry competitor.
http://www.pocketop.net/
check out the keyboard there.
we will see how quickly linux migrates to the phone. They dropped support for the Zaurus in the US and the linux market on phones has seemed to dry up.
- firephoto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18Great idea, maybe we'll see the open phone bring us some innovation in phone software.
- iamdecal, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5no details of pricing, but unless you can it " free - on contract" its not going to make much headway i fear.
Dont get me wrong, i'd love it to succeed, but its not like linux, where any one with moderate geek tendencies can give it a go. haveing to spring for the hardware is going to be a major hurdle for a lot of people.- llornkcor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17This is not a general consumer product, it is a product for developers.
- rodrigo74, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Don't know why people is burying llornkcor, what he said is true, the phone will not be available for the general public:
"The phone will not be available standalone, but rather as part of a development kit. The kit will be offered under separate licensing terms to open source developers, educational institutions, "major" software vendors, and to "phone designers and manufacturers," Trolltech says." - berkes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8So where do the moderate geeks run linux? You need to buy that hardware too.
- pseudojd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I'd buy it. anything to not have a branded button on my phone that i never use.
- info, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3The point here is that the carriers (e.g., Verizon, etc.) will never offer a phone that boasts a "user-modifiable Linux OS" or user-modifiable anything, for that matter. As it is now, they take perfectly good Bluetooth-enabled OEM phones and mod them to break the open Bluetooth functionality so that you are forced to download files over the air ($ for them) rather than directly from your PC.
On the other hand, if this phone is sufficiently open that it could be "cloned" to replace your existing carrier-issued phone, then it might have a chance. Of course, in that case, the underground fraudulent use market for it would be 100 times bigger than the geek market, so that might be a killer too.
It shall be interesting to see where this goes...
;-) - Nerevar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2berkes: It's assumed that the moderate geeks already have a computer of some kind, it's free in the sense that you don't need a whole new computer to run linux, you can just dual-boot or use a virtual machine.
- tunheim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4info: It's a GSM-phone. Most of the world (with the US being an notable exception) uses the gsm network witch enables you to switch phones by switching your sim-card. The only thing you get from your wireless provider is a small chip (the sim-card). It's up to you what kind of phone you wanna use. You'r carrier can't do ***** if you wanna use a green-phone.
It's the beauty of open standards.
(Yes, I know there are cdma networks in use in Japan and other places etc, but I'm hung over and not too concerned about the fine details) - gorndog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1GSM carriers in U.S.
T-Mobile (formerly Voicestream)
Cingular (formerly SBC / BellSouth)
Coverage in all major cities. Rural coverage varies, just as it does for CDMA. No GSM data (Edge) yet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_mobile_phone_companies
- iamdecal, on 10/12/2007, -18/+3/edit
bah - digg swallowed my first comment ;-( bury this one please - ArcusOfSV, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Nice. I want one
- JSchwage, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Wow, that phone actually looks pretty nice. I'm liking the sound of a customizable interface. Go Linux!
- bluering, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I say bring it on. I have an 8125 from Cingular running Windows Mobile and it is horrible. It is a shame because the hardware really has potential. I am going to dump this thing and try out the Nokia e61 next.
- zagi1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4With the development Kit this is going to spark a big community base around this technology, just like with Sharp Zaurus. I can't wait.
- kingace, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4That design is orgasmic.
- mooseboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Alright! Let's do the http://tracker.trolltech.com/video/qt4dance_medium.mov dance!
- rodrigo74, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This was really funny, thanks for pointing out!
Too bad I missed the day they shot this, apparently it was in a park near my home here in Oslo.
- rodrigo74, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This was really funny, thanks for pointing out!
- mbabauer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4OK, I want one. Did anyone notice it has 2 cores?!?!?! Dual processing in your hand!
- williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The lowest cost phones do baseband processing and applications on one chip. Not a dealbreaker, since nobody expects this to be as cheap as a Series 40, but you really don't need multiple cores in a phone anymore.
Smartphones have them because you can't do hard realtime in Windows CE and other smartphone OSs. Hard to do in Linux, too, and the requirements would make it hacker unfriendly. - ssalmine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Actually, Symbian phones with so called EKA2 kernel can do baseband processing and applications on one chip (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EKA2).
- williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The lowest cost phones do baseband processing and applications on one chip. Not a dealbreaker, since nobody expects this to be as cheap as a Series 40, but you really don't need multiple cores in a phone anymore.
- mackadoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7If successfully marketed, a phone like this can be more than a challenge to the blackberry, both in terms of functionality and market penetration.
Most people carry a phone in their pocket everywhere they go - they generally become attached to them and want them to function in a certain personalized way (think ring tones, backgrounds, etc). Until now, mobile devices and especially cellphones have been plagued by rigid UI. The thought "I hate the wait it beeps when I have a message and its on vibrate," comes to mind often in a movie theater. Customizable is the halo above Linux. Remove the hassles of getting drivers to work and eliminate need for the console and many people would be happy to make the switch to Linux on a home PC. Product-specific, customizable interfaces is where Linux shines.
It's a symbiotic connection - users can make their phones look and feel however they want, function however they want, and not be limited by crippled software. There's the possibility of a "pocket PC" in the real sense that you can have access to all of your stuff anywhere you go through the wireless or gsm connections, look up maps or restaurants, take pictures and put them on the net right away, etc.
If I had a phone like that, you could be sure it would be chained to me at all times, I would use more 'wireless services' and whatever carrier I use would make a ton more money. - Murdats, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2They do an excellent job of desguising its width by making the keys so wide, nothing worse then a wide phone with square keys, makes it look twice as wide
- cwncool, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2man that thing rocks. just think of the possibilities, since it is running on linux + qtopia. If it's ever available to the general public, i hope sprint will accept it ;)
- PirateFSM, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'd get that sucka in a second! Penguin power in my pocket. That, and I'm happy to see you
- Ramble, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Does it use GTK?
- theCamelDude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5No it is based on Qtopia Phone which means it uses Qtopia Core which was formally known as Qt/Embedded.
So Qt it is
- theCamelDude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5No it is based on Qtopia Phone which means it uses Qtopia Core which was formally known as Qt/Embedded.
- PirateFSM, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I want this for my axim x5 :-(
- PirateFSM, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Linux that is... No point in mashing two phones together.
- Patented, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Yeah, but does it run Li... oh...
I really want one. I *hate* my current phone, and would happily spring more for one of these over a Razor. - GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4100 geek points to the first person to get a Beowulf of these things running. Even better, develop software that makes all the phones in the room a Beowulf when they aren't being used. True distributed computing.
- mapkinase, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I would be more motivated for 100,000 yuppie dollars ;-)
- mapkinase, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My wish list for developers:
1. Appointments: easy one button/link cross-reference to suitable contact(s)
2. Contacts: small history of in- and out- calls easily accessible from the contacts page instead of/in addition to global history
3. Tasks: if it is to call smbd, see 1.
4. Adhan prayer notifier w/ Jama'at and Juma modifiers - badbox, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0Trolltech is good.
My troll radar shows you are a *****.
Now my troll cloaking device will hide this post. - chedabob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3didnt that Qtopia platform diagram get used in an Engadget article about some Sony phone?
- chedabob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/10/more-mylo-deets-emerge-linux-is-under-the-hood/
there we go. an almost identical diagram, cept the sony has a single app box, whereas the Greenphone supports Nativa and Other apps - etx313, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wicked, I'd buy it just for voip / wireless.
- Ademan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Ok now where's the GNOME Phone? :-) (But seriously, I know, GTK is not backed by a company, wheras trolltech is behind Qt (thats where a lot of the early KDE liscensing problems came from) so they could fund this kind of thing)
- pHr34kY, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That looks fantastic!
I sure hope their SDK is better than what you get these days with Symbian. I tried to use the symbian SDK and gave up!
As with game consoles, if the SDK is good, developers will adapt better to it, thus creating more and better programs.
And yes, the phone is probably designed as prototype to host the development platform which will be built into new and better phones once there's a market for it. - uzusan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1now if only it wasn't green...
a nice shiny black phone would be good. - rivviepop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I don't care about any negatives, I'll deal. Ship this bad boy already. :)
- bradb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I work with the latest Xscale stuff, and I've never heard of a dual-core Xscale. Either Marvell have done major work in the last few months to make a PXA chip dual core, or there is some sort of marketing goof here.
ARM does design some multi-core chips for their very cutting edge stuff, but PXA chips are not doing that.
I'd love to get some links to this "dual-core Xscale" if I am wrong though!
Cheers - Burmask, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wooing developers is one thing, but wooing potential customers is way more important.
- joshuba, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2vaguely reminds me of my Sony ericsson w800i. Definite digg from me it looks cool and is aimed at open source projects. Hopefully this takes off and promotes competition for similar phones.
- uicukie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2it's about time somebody came up with a decent linux cellphone. who else is better qualified than Trolltech. This is one sexy (and functional) Linux gadget.
- uicukie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1knowing how portable Qt-based Opera is(which runs on just about anything), i say they'll be able to run the Qt-based Linux on a lot of other devices. it's a great breakthrough for Linux, IMO.
- assente, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I still prefere my qtek s100 PocketPC, I don't understand why these chinese company doesn't sell the harware with the drivers for already avalaible embedded Linux environment like gpe e qpe
- fjvwing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is part of a whole development kit, and I do not know how expensive the kit is. But for all the people saying 'Sweet!', would you pay 600 bucks for this? because based on the specs, that's what this handset costs to make, IMHO. This isn't a low-end phone with a carrier subsidy.
- wowbagger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I would. That would be a cheap phone to me. I cannot remember the last phone I bought that cost less the $600. I'd buy one today if I they were on sale.
- whoutz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How long will it take for every wireless network to ban it?
- coolazmi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0People will be reflashing their phones all day long with updated software and mods. They better come with a stable flash memory. :-)
I know I'll be making a fair few mods and I've already got some apps I'd like to port from Symbian and J2ME.
Great news - mpeters13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It looks really cool. But as everyone else has said a million times, it needs a qwerty keyboard.
- badmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This phone definately does not need a keyboard. It has a keypad that is common to just about every phone on the market AND a touchscreen LCD, that I'm sure SOMEONE will write an on-screen-keyboard app for. Keyboards on mobile devices just make them bigger and look silly, and the keys are fidgety due to the size. This phone just needs a choice in colours and it will be a must-have for some of us.
I don't use Linux, but I have been dying to see an Open Source phone - XBMC is by far the best Home Theatre app ever, I'm keen to see what the community can create for a mobile phone. - bruce89, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Sounds like Trolltech is worried about people using the nokia 770, as it uses GTK+, not their own QT.
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