Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Hi, Reviving this thread briefly, I'm surprised I've not seen any mention of the Palm Pre during it, it's even due out this month (though exclusive to 02) and generated quite a buzz when launched in the US earlier this year. Also has anybody seen a confirmed release date for the Nokia N900? I'd not heard anything about it before talking to Bob and Hugo at last months LUG meeting, and I was kinda waiting to see what the Plam Pre was really like when it finally got it's UK launch, but the N900 looks pretty impressive on paper and like many others I'm tempted... Andy -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
2009/10/5 Hugo Mills h...@carfax.org.uk: On Mon, Oct 05, 2009 at 08:46:35AM -0400, Andy Random wrote: Reviving this thread briefly, I'm surprised I've not seen any mention of the Palm Pre during it, it's even due out this month (though exclusive to 02) and generated quite a buzz when launched in the US earlier this year. Also has anybody seen a confirmed release date for the Nokia N900? Not official, but Amazon seem to think October 19th. Or even the 26th. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-N900-Mobile-Computer-Software/dp/B002QEBX5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=electronicsqid=1254747786sr=8-1 -- Philip Stubbs -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
On Mon, Oct 05, 2009 at 02:05:55PM +0100, Philip Stubbs wrote: 2009/10/5 Hugo Mills h...@carfax.org.uk: On Mon, Oct 05, 2009 at 08:46:35AM -0400, Andy Random wrote: Reviving this thread briefly, I'm surprised I've not seen any mention of the Palm Pre during it, it's even due out this month (though exclusive to 02) and generated quite a buzz when launched in the US earlier this year. Also has anybody seen a confirmed release date for the Nokia N900? Not official, but Amazon seem to think October 19th. Or even the 26th. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-N900-Mobile-Computer-Software/dp/B002QEBX5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=electronicsqid=1254747786sr=8-1 So it's slipped a week since I last saw it. :) Hugo. -- === Hugo Mills: h...@... carfax.org.uk | darksatanic.net | lug.org.uk === PGP key: 515C238D from wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net or http://www.carfax.org.uk --- __(_' Squeak! --- signature.asc Description: Digital signature -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
At 14:15 05/10/2009, you wrote: On Mon, Oct 05, 2009 at 02:05:55PM +0100, Philip Stubbs wrote: 2009/10/5 Hugo Mills h...@carfax.org.uk: On Mon, Oct 05, 2009 at 08:46:35AM -0400, Andy Random wrote: Reviving this thread briefly, I'm surprised I've not seen any mention of the Palm Pre during it, it's even due out this month (though exclusive to 02) and generated quite a buzz when launched in the US earlier this year. Also has anybody seen a confirmed release date for the Nokia N900? Not official, but Amazon seem to think October 19th. Or even the 26th. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-N900-Mobile-Computer-Software/dp/B002QEBX5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=electronicsqid=1254747786sr=8-1 So it's slipped a week since I last saw it. :) They had an a display for it in the O2 shop in bolton town centre so you could have a look there for their date. No actual physical phone yet just card board display about what it does etc and its also in their phone catalogue. I did actually mention the Palm Pre in this thread but it must have got lost in the rest of the messages. BTW the gadget show compared the Nokia and Iphone alongside the palm pre. The iphone came out best and the palm second which isn't too bad for a new OS. You may be able to see it on channels fives website still. Try about a month ago. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
On Mon, Oct 05 at 02:05, Philip Stubbs wrote: ... ? Not official, but Amazon seem to think October 19th. Or even the 26th. I'd got 21st in my head but can't remember where I got that from. The Nokia shop in Newbury (mobilephonesdirect) said late October. Play.com are sticking with the 19th. Expansys are expecting then on the 29th. The worst I've seen was a wiki comment that said 1st November. It's gonna be the AsusEEE all over again. I wonder if Toys-R-Us will be stocking them. Palm Pre is reported as the 16th but only on O2. -- Bob Dunlop -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
On Mon, 5 Oct 2009, Hugo Mills wrote: Not official, but Amazon seem to think October 19th. Or even the 26th. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-N900-Mobile-Computer-Software/dp/B002QEBX5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=electronicsqid=1254747786sr=8-1 So it's slipped a week since I last saw it. :) eXpansys has Availability: Expected release date 29 Oct 09 http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=186949 and I've seen later dates elsewhere, that's why I was asking if anyone knew of an official Nokia release date? Guess I'll just have to accept that I probably won't have one in time for my holiday in early November. Andy -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
On Sat, Sep 26, 2009 at 12:00:17PM +0100, Alan Pope wrote: 2009/9/25 Chris Simmonds ch...@2net.co.uk: So, I stick by my original premise: the future of mobile devices is Linux. Which is a good thing. It is my hope that as time goes by they will become more open until we get to the point that you by the phone and then load whatever software you want onto it - just like a PC. We are a way off that but there are already some open platforms such as the Nokia webpads N777-N900 that have already been mentioned in this thread and of course the OpenMoko. Ahhh OpenMoko. Can you make calls on those reliably yet? Not that I'm aware of. I had one for a while, and it was abysmal. A hackers plaything, not a phone. After seeing someone take 15 minutes (including a reboot) to (a) fail to make a call, and (b) extract a phone number from the thing so that I could make the call on my phone, I concur. Granted, he wasn't running the latest version of the OS, but still... My boss has one, and *does* have the latest OS on it, but it still sounds appallingly bad. It's not all bad news, though -- Android is available for the OM hardware. He's going to put that on it, just to see if it's any better. I'll report back. I think the major problem with the OpenMoko is the management at OpenMoko, Inc. They have a very good line in positive, uplifting, inspirational waffle that means absolutely nothing. They also seem (in the year or so that I was on the OM mailing lists) to be in the habit of changing the company strategy every month or two, and almost certainly caused the departure of at least one of their top technical people through a failure of management. I'm not surprised that a confused and barely-usable OS has resulted from such an environment. Hugo. -- === Hugo Mills: h...@... carfax.org.uk | darksatanic.net | lug.org.uk === PGP key: 515C238D from wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net or http://www.carfax.org.uk --- What part of gestalt don't you understand? --- signature.asc Description: Digital signature -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
2009/9/26 Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com: James Courtier-Dutton wrote: ... Conclusion: A 3G phone should still be able to fall back to do GSM based GPRS. Thanks for that James. Is GPRS unusably slow for things like GPS (where the relevant bit of map gets downloaded as you go)? Depends how fast you're moving :) Cheers, Al. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
2009/9/25 Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com: One question, somewhat off-topic: how well do these high-tech phones manage with accessing the internet over GPRS rather than 3G? Vodafone's 3G coverage is pretty much absent out here in the frontier-land of the Hampshire/Dorset border: will that make something like the N900 pretty-much useless? I have worked for a mobile network manufacturer in the past so I know a bit about this. GMS is the old style mobile phone standard. GMS networks support a packet service called GPRS. GPRS just stands for General Packet Radio Service. The newer standard is generally called 3G, but is standard based name is 3GPP or UMTS. Ref: http://www.3gpp.org/ 3G supports all the older services found on GMS, but introduces some new signalling and codecs, whereby it can send more data to the handset. So, for 3G, the packet service is still GPRS, it just has bigger bandwidth to play with and sometimes called HSDPA. 3G is designed to be able to fall back gracefully to GSM, so any 3G phone should be able to work in GMS mode without any problem. In fact, one should be able to start a phone call on 3G, and have the phone move to GSM without cutting off the call, but in practice, it might not work. Conclusion: A 3G phone should still be able to fall back to do GSM based GPRS. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Alan Pope wrote: 2009/9/26 Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com: James Courtier-Dutton wrote: ... Conclusion: A 3G phone should still be able to fall back to do GSM based GPRS. Thanks for that James. Is GPRS unusably slow for things like GPS (where the relevant bit of map gets downloaded as you go)? Depends how fast you're moving :) Cheers, Al. OK then, a different question: Given that Google are good at maps, would an Android phone be better at GPS than a Maemo or LiMo one? Yes, I know it all depends on what applications get developed. Does anyone have experience of this sort of technology? cheers Chris -- Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com Fordingbridge, Hampshire, UK -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
At 16:25 26/09/2009, you wrote: 2009/9/26 Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com: James Courtier-Dutton wrote: ... Conclusion: A 3G phone should still be able to fall back to do GSM based GPRS. Thanks for that James. Is GPRS unusably slow for things like GPS (where the relevant bit of map gets downloaded as you go)? GPRS on GSM is slow but still works. A better option is to use a pre-installed map, like tomtom and garmin use, instead of google maps that load as they go. People seem to have missed out Palms new WebOS that is supposed to based on Linux. The app store equivalent is supposedly closed off to developers apart from 1 exclusive company for now though. According to the NNsquad email list google have sent a cease and desist order against the main alternative ROM hacker so we will have to see if android remains as open as it once was. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
On Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:31:15 +0100 Keith Edmunds k...@midnighthax.com wrote: On Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:46:24 +0100, l...@discoverlinux.co.uk said: The Android OS is excellent with plenty of good free apps to download which makes it far better than any other phone. That's very simplistic. For a start, the Android OS isn't a phone. Secondly, the excellence of a phone is not determined solely by the availability of free apps as you imply. You haven't taken any account of the user's needs: for you, and Android phone may be far better than any [non-Android] phone, but for many it won't. agreed, the Nokia 1208 at 17.97 from Tesco has the perfect specification for me, cheap, uses pay as you go and can be topped up whenever we shop in Tesco. It has no functions other than being dual band (whatever that means), it is a mobile telephone pure and simple. If only they keys were more positive I'd have got one when my previous one died. Instead I picked on the Nokia 3310 partly because it folds in half which makes it feel smaller in the pocket ;-) I don't use _any_ of the functions it has other than the contact list and text messaging and even the latter I could manage without. The contact list is essential if it is to be used away from home as I cannot remember any phone numbers these days, I even have a yellow tab stuck inside my wallet with my home phone number written on it :-( -- John Lewis using Debian Sid with windowmaker for a nicer desktop -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
2009/9/25 Bob Dunlop bob.dun...@xyzzy.org.uk: You missed the Nokia N900[1] running Maemo[2] also comming in October. Several suppliers are touting it with Vodafone/O2 contracts etc and theres a rumour that Vodafone may be supplying it direct. That's certainly on my wishlist, but would like to have a play with one first. They're also pretty expensive. Kinda laptop prices, but then it's more to me like a computer that has phone capability, than a phone with some computer capabilities (which my current Nokia N82 feels like). Cheers, Al. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Hi, On Fri, Sep 25 at 12:10, Chris Dennis wrote: ... Any thoughts about how LiMo compares with Android[4]? Or any of the other shiny toys that are 'coming soon'[5]? You missed the Nokia N900[1] running Maemo[2] also comming in October. Several suppliers are touting it with Vodafone/O2 contracts etc and theres a rumour that Vodafone may be supplying it direct. Okay it's supposed to be a web tablet that also does phone calls. But if it looks like a phone and squawks like a phone... [1] http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=186949 [2] http://maemo.org/ -- Bob Dunlop -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
2009/9/25 Stephen Rowles step...@rowles.org.uk: showing some nice hacks as examples of the functionality that it has. It runs Firefox (Fennec) as a browser and I've seen a photo on the web of it running a root terminal so it should be easy to get access and configure / update it. http://wiki.maemo.org/Root_access I love that this kind of stuff is nicely documented. No faffing about with dodgy hacks to gain root on your own device. Cheers, Al. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Alan Pope wrote: 2009/9/25 Stephen Rowles step...@rowles.org.uk: showing some nice hacks as examples of the functionality that it has. It runs Firefox (Fennec) as a browser and I've seen a photo on the web of it running a root terminal so it should be easy to get access and configure / update it. http://wiki.maemo.org/Root_access I love that this kind of stuff is nicely documented. No faffing about with dodgy hacks to gain root on your own device. Cheers, Al. not only documented, delivered with conviction: http://flors.wordpress.com/ -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 10:00:09AM +0100, Bob Dunlop wrote: Hi, On Fri, Sep 25 at 12:10, Chris Dennis wrote: ... Any thoughts about how LiMo compares with Android[4]? Or any of the other shiny toys that are 'coming soon'[5]? You missed the Nokia N900[1] running Maemo[2] also comming in October. Several suppliers are touting it with Vodafone/O2 contracts etc and theres a rumour that Vodafone may be supplying it direct. Okay it's supposed to be a web tablet that also does phone calls. But if it looks like a phone and squawks like a phone... I've got the N800, which is two generations earlier than the N900. It doesn't have the slide-out keyboard, the phone function, or many of the other bits. However, it does run Maemo -- I have it running 4.1/Diablo (the N900 runs 5.0/Freemantle). I've been pleasantly impressed with it ever since I got it, both the hardware and the software. I think I will almost certainly be getting one, although that's conditional on being able to find a suitable deal from a mobile phone company that does what I want, without sending my blood pressure through the roof in the process. Hugo. -- === Hugo Mills: h...@... carfax.org.uk | darksatanic.net | lug.org.uk === PGP key: 515C238D from wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net or http://www.carfax.org.uk --- Anyone who says their system is completely secure understands --- neither systems nor security. signature.asc Description: Digital signature -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
On 25/09/09 00:10, Chris Dennis wrote: Hello Folks I've just stumbled across a news item[1] which mentions LiMo[2], apparently the first truly open, hardware-independent, Linux-based operating system for mobile devices. Vodafone have just announced a new phone that will run LiMo; their page[3] manages not to mention Linux at all, of course. Or a price. Any thoughts about how LiMo compares with Android[4]? Or any of the other shiny toys that are 'coming soon'[5]? LiMo [1] has been going for a while now and is very common in Japan and other SE Asia countries. The main players are Motorola, Panasonic and Samsung. If you want to buy one in this country go for any of the Motorola smart phones such as the MOTOROKR E8. Altogether LiMo has been shipped on 40 handsets with total sales in the 10's millions (I guess: I could not find an actual number). LiMo has a low profile partly because the manufacturers don't mention Linux anywhere - in fact they don't say anything about the operating system in any of their phones. Andriod is the new kid on the block, with a rather different agenda to LiMo. Google want to create a platform to run their applications and to have an app store like Apple. Any Android phone can participate. True there is only the one Andriod phone at the moment but that is going to change real soon. Expect a flood of them by Christmas and for it to appear on Netbooks and set top boxes early next year. Believe me, Android is going to be big. [2] The question is: is Android really Linux? It certainly is not GNU/Linux because all the GNU components have been replaced with BSD licensed equivalents - for example the c library, bionic, replaces glibc. The programming environment supported by Google is Java with 'C' a poor relation. I don't think C++ is supported at all. The other change is that the kernel is a heavily patched 2.6.27. The patches are available but have not been merged upstream. Hopefully they will one day, but the Google developers have been criticised for developing everything privately and then dumping large patches without much discussion. Is Android a good thing? Probably, yes. It has got a lot of attention in the embedded Linux world (the one I inhabit) and may form a nucleus for standardisation, which is a big drag on embedded Linux at the moment. Final comment: whether it is Android or not, the future of mobile devices is Linux. When you think about it, there are only a few options: Symbian (only for Nokia - who seem to be moving towards Linux anyhow - see the N900 and similar), Mac OS X (only for Apple - and it is a BSD core), MS Windows Mobile (fill in your own comments here) or Linux. Which is the cheapest and most cross platform? Which one do you think handset manufacturers will adopt? Bye for now, Chris Simmonds [1] http://www.limofoundation.org/ [2] http://www.embedded-europe.com/220100741 -- Chris Simmonds 2net Limited ch...@2net.co.uk http://www.2net.co.uk/ -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Chris Simmonds wrote: Final comment: whether it is Android or not, the future of mobile devices is Linux. When you think about it, there are only a few options: Symbian (only for Nokia - who seem to be moving towards Linux anyhow - see the N900 and similar), Mac OS X (only for Apple - and it is a BSD core), MS Windows Mobile (fill in your own comments here) or Linux. Which is the cheapest and most cross platform? Which one do you think handset manufacturers will adopt? The answers to those two questions are not necessarily the same. cheers Chris -- Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com Fordingbridge, Hampshire, UK -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Hugo Mills wrote: On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 10:00:09AM +0100, Bob Dunlop wrote: Hi, On Fri, Sep 25 at 12:10, Chris Dennis wrote: ... Any thoughts about how LiMo compares with Android[4]? Or any of the other shiny toys that are 'coming soon'[5]? You missed the Nokia N900[1] running Maemo[2] also comming in October. Several suppliers are touting it with Vodafone/O2 contracts etc and theres a rumour that Vodafone may be supplying it direct. Okay it's supposed to be a web tablet that also does phone calls. But if it looks like a phone and squawks like a phone... I've got the N800, which is two generations earlier than the N900. It doesn't have the slide-out keyboard, the phone function, or many of the other bits. However, it does run Maemo -- I have it running 4.1/Diablo (the N900 runs 5.0/Freemantle). I've been pleasantly impressed with it ever since I got it, both the hardware and the software. I think I will almost certainly be getting one, although that's conditional on being able to find a suitable deal from a mobile phone company that does what I want, without sending my blood pressure through the roof in the process. Hugo. Thanks for that, Hugo. One question, somewhat off-topic: how well do these high-tech phones manage with accessing the internet over GPRS rather than 3G? Vodafone's 3G coverage is pretty much absent out here in the frontier-land of the Hampshire/Dorset border: will that make something like the N900 pretty-much useless? [Vodafone have a helpful map of current and planned coverage at http://maps.vodafone.co.uk/coverageviewer/web/default.aspx?configuration=vod -- which helpfully doesn't work with Firefox or Seamonkey on Linux!] cheers Chris -- Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com Fordingbridge, Hampshire, UK -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Chris Dennis wrote: Thanks for that, Hugo. One question, somewhat off-topic: how well do these high-tech phones manage with accessing the internet over GPRS rather than 3G? Vodafone's 3G coverage is pretty much absent out here in the frontier-land of the Hampshire/Dorset border: will that make something like the N900 pretty-much useless? Whereabouts are you in the Wild Southwest then Chris? We live in Hordle, near Lymington, a few miles East of the frontier! Sean -- www.funkygibbins.me.uk -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Sean Gibbins wrote: Chris Dennis wrote: Thanks for that, Hugo. One question, somewhat off-topic: how well do these high-tech phones manage with accessing the internet over GPRS rather than 3G? Vodafone's 3G coverage is pretty much absent out here in the frontier-land of the Hampshire/Dorset border: will that make something like the N900 pretty-much useless? Whereabouts are you in the Wild Southwest then Chris? We live in Hordle, near Lymington, a few miles East of the frontier! I'm in Fordingbridge, beyond the deep dark Forest. cheers Chris -- Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com Fordingbridge, Hampshire, UK -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Chris Dennis wrote: Sean Gibbins wrote: Chris Dennis wrote: Thanks for that, Hugo. One question, somewhat off-topic: how well do these high-tech phones manage with accessing the internet over GPRS rather than 3G? Vodafone's 3G coverage is pretty much absent out here in the frontier-land of the Hampshire/Dorset border: will that make something like the N900 pretty-much useless? Whereabouts are you in the Wild Southwest then Chris? We live in Hordle, near Lymington, a few miles East of the frontier! I'm in Fordingbridge, beyond the deep dark Forest. Ah, a Northener then. Is it snowing up there yet Chris? :-P Sean -- www.funkygibbins.me.uk -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Chris Dennis wrote: Chris Simmonds wrote: Final comment: whether it is Android or not, the future of mobile devices is Linux. When you think about it, there are only a few options: Symbian (only for Nokia - who seem to be moving towards Linux anyhow - see the N900 and similar), Mac OS X (only for Apple - and it is a BSD core), MS Windows Mobile (fill in your own comments here) or Linux. Which is the cheapest and most cross platform? Which one do you think handset manufacturers will adopt? The answers to those two questions are not necessarily the same. cheers Chris No, but they are related. Handsets are very price sensitive so the manufacturers will prefer the cheaper option, all other things being equal. Chris. -- Chris Simmonds 2net Limited ch...@2net.co.uk http://www.2net.co.uk/ -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
2009/9/25 Chris Simmonds ch...@2net.co.uk: Final comment: whether it is Android or not, the future of mobile devices is Linux. When you think about it, there are only a few options: Symbian (only for Nokia - who seem to be moving towards Linux anyhow - see the N900 and similar), Mac OS X (only for Apple - and it is a BSD core), MS Windows Mobile (fill in your own comments here) or Linux. Which is the cheapest and most cross platform? Which one do you think handset manufacturers will adopt? Don't forget RIM/Blackberry. However, which platform has the most diverse range of handsets from different manufacturers over every continent? Windows Mobile, by margins the others can only dream about. Having the best technical platform doesn't make it the best platform. See also: BSB, Betamax etc. Cheers, Al. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
Alan Pope wrote: 2009/9/25 Chris Simmonds ch...@2net.co.uk: Final comment: whether it is Android or not, the future of mobile devices is Linux. When you think about it, there are only a few options: Symbian (only for Nokia - who seem to be moving towards Linux anyhow - see the N900 and similar), Mac OS X (only for Apple - and it is a BSD core), MS Windows Mobile (fill in your own comments here) or Linux. Which is the cheapest and most cross platform? Which one do you think handset manufacturers will adopt? Don't forget RIM/Blackberry. However, which platform has the most diverse range of handsets from different manufacturers over every continent? Windows Mobile, by margins the others can only dream about. Having the best technical platform doesn't make it the best platform. See also: BSB, Betamax etc. Cheers, Al. Hi Alan, Actually I very much doubt that MS Windows Mobile has any significant device support at all. Remember that WM (aka Win CE) is not the Windows that runs on desktops: they have almost nothing in common. Microsoft ships WM as an SDK with sample drivers but it is up to the OEM to write the drivers they need for their platform. OEMs very seldom share those drivers with any one else. Contrast that with Linux which has good open source driver support for common peripherals, plus very good support from the chip manufactures (TI, Freescale, Samsung, etc), so it is now less effort to create a platform based on Linux than WM. Android plays into the picture by giving (or promising to give) an experience similar to the iPhone. RIM/Blackberry is a bit of an oddity. According to Wikipedia, it runs Blackberry OS - an in-house operating system just for this platform. Not sure where they are going with it outside the corporate niche they have. It is a rather big niche, but every one else is after it as well now. So, I stick by my original premise: the future of mobile devices is Linux. Which is a good thing. It is my hope that as time goes by they will become more open until we get to the point that you by the phone and then load whatever software you want onto it - just like a PC. We are a way off that but there are already some open platforms such as the Nokia webpads N777-N900 that have already been mentioned in this thread and of course the OpenMoko. Bye for now, Chris. -- Chris Simmonds 2net Limited ch...@2net.co.uk http://www.2net.co.uk/ -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
On 25/09/09 00:10, Chris Dennis wrote: Hello Folks I've just stumbled across a news item[1] which mentions LiMo[2], apparently the first truly open, hardware-independent, Linux-based operating system for mobile devices. Vodafone have just announced a new phone that will run LiMo; their page[3] manages not to mention Linux at all, of course. Or a price. Any thoughts about how LiMo compares with Android[4]? Or any of the other shiny toys that are 'coming soon'[5]? The Android OS is excellent with plenty of good free apps to download which makes it far better than any other phone. The actual LiMo phone looks great and should be ok, but it will not have the number of developers writing or porting apps across so use will be limited. If apps aren't important it, then go for it, otherwise check the HTC Hero as looks very similar to the LiMo spec. -- -- Discover Linux - Open Source Solutions to Business and Schools http://discoverlinux.co.uk -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
