Linux Cell Phones Coming Q1 2007 181
eldavojohn writes, "Prepare to salivate. D-Link has announced plans to put an unlocked Linux phone on the market in early 2007. Some features: Dual-mode WiFi and GSM/GPRS. Up to 24 MB of memory for user file storage, such as music and videos. 2-inch, 176 x 220-pixel color display. Opera browser. Email client. 3.4 ounces (95 grams). Tri-band (900/1800/1900) GSM radio — meaning it should work with any GSM-GPRS SIM card, including pre-paid SIM cards as well as those from traditional GSM service providers. Will it really be this easy to wean myself from the Microsoft mobile teat?" The phone is expected to list for $600.
Wow! (Score:4, Funny)
Agreed.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Dual-mode WiFi - what is that? B/G? cool, but nothing new.
GSM/GPRS - where's EDGE? Where's UMTS? Where's HSDPA?
24 MB of memory - okay
- for storage - not okay. 24 MB? That's expandable by SD/MiniSD/MicroSD, right? And how much working memory is there? Or is this the same memory and do you lose everything when you power down? (a la pre Windows Mobile 5)
2" screen - not too bad on that
176 x 220-pixel - wtf is that? Where's 240x320 or even 480x640?
color display - 4096? 16k?
Opera browser - pre-installed, they mean, I hope. Can you replace it? (not that I can think of a reason to)
3.4 ounces (95 grams) - that *is* nice, however.
Tri-band - quad band, please?
Now to RTFA because the summary was silly in listing features without detail. Be better if it had been a more generic blurb.
Press Release from d-link has more info. (Score:5, Informative)
But a bit more info is in the actual Press Release from D-Link;
http://www.dlink.com/press/pr/?prid=299 [dlink.com]
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Talk time - up to 5 hours GSM, 2 hours 802.11 wireless mode
Messages - up to 30 messages can be stored at 459 characters each
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Can't say I'm impressed with that - but it explains why it's a bit lighter, smaller battery. The number of messages stored however is just pathetic.
Had to still google for Dual-Mode; it actually just means it has a phone radio and another form of wireless communications. Lame terminology comes to mind; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-Mode_Mobile_Pho
As for the rest of the info - not in the PR either.
But for those of you who have been whining about "I don't want a camera in my phone!" - there you go.. Linux, WiFi, no camera.
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SELECT * FROM users WHERE money > bains;
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You act like it's more expensive... (Score:5, Informative)
Don't think that this $600 phone is any more expensive than equivalent piece of hardware from T-mobile or Verizon. Considering that I'll be able to install whatever the hell I want on it I'd say it's a steal.
This phone is the last thing service providers want on the market -- the only thing they'd have left to differentiate themselves from the competition is rates and service (the horror!!). I predict they'll try to kill it.
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Uh, no. A BlackBerry 8100, brand new, retails for about $400, maybe a little less. Subsidized upwards of 50 percent (like mine was, because I signed the contract), it goes for $200. No contract, it's list price.
$600 is expensive for a phone.
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$600 is definitely pricey, and those features don't seem to match up favorably with the other high end units out there...
Not really good comparison (Score:2)
But even just looking at the Sidekick, it'll run you $400+ if you can find an unlocked one from a legitimate retailer.
The phone is expensive, sure, but if you want the features it offers, it's basically on par with other similar devices. The que
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To my knowledge, you can install whatever you want on the pda/smartphones from the bignames. The only difference here is you won't have anything to install because its running Linux. Linux is nice and all, but unless you feel like writing your own software don't expect this phone to be very useful. The
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Not on a Sidekick, that's for damn sure. And the phone's software is always crippleware -- crippled Bluetooth, no wifi, no provisions for wifi. Extra software is always absurdly expensive.
But this is Linux, which gives you control of the phone's hardware and the ability to run anything you damn well please on it.
I kind of can't believe someone has actually done this. If D-Link actually gets this thing out the door
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Yeah, that's the problem with Linux and open source embedded systems; nobody ever writes software for that stuff.....
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At the very least you would have to recompile something to get it running on the phones arch, but chances are we're talking full interface redesign to fit remotely on that screen. Apps that were intended to be ran on >1024x768 with a full keyboard on a modern machine will be completely useless
Re:You act like it's more expensive... (Score:4, Interesting)
Assume you will get lower costs because this stuff is all being manufactured in China. And then add a 100% markup for stuff sold through American retail outlets. But your average phone should still not cost over $150 USD retail. So I highly doubt that anyone is subsidizing your phone. You are simply being ripped off because of a lack of competition in regional US cellular markets.
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Yeah, that was my first reaction, too. When I first glanced at the article, I figured I would almost be able to forgive D-Link for claiming the GPL was invalid [groklaw.net] . The phone sounded good enough that my convictions would have kept me feeling guilty while I imagined having this thing.
But without expandable storage (1GB minimum), I really cannot
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Look at the pictures of the first [linuxdevices.com] and last [linuxdevices.com] devices you mentioned, and then look at the pic of the D-Link one from the article [geekzone.co.nz]. They're all the same phone!
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GSM Bands (Score:2)
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Sounds like a mandate to me. Now, that's not necesarily a bad thing - we mandate lots of things in the US, including wireless standards (ATSC anyone?).
No disagreement there. I walk around with a GSM/GPRS/EDGE Treo 650 on T-Mobile.
No, he means CDMA200
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Cingular is 850mhz. This phone actually doesn't support the larg
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Want some 234.56 volt, hexagonal power outlets for your home? Only $.50 each. Of course, you'll have to buy all your appliances from me, but that's a small price to pay for FIGHTING the MAN. And my prices are very REASONABLE.
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2. Cingular, the largest mobile carrier in the US, operates primarily on 1900. T-Mobile, the other major GSM carrier, uses only 1900 on their networks in the US. While not having 850 does suck a bit, you're not cutting off the entire market.
Guess you've had a bad experience with Cingular/TMobile, though from what you say it doesn't sound like you've ever had a plan through them. I'll take my Cingular account over my old Sprint account
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The high cost of FREEDOM? (Score:2, Interesting)
If so, I will gladly pay $600 for one.
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I'm pretty sure you can use your own MP3 ringtones on any Motorola that has a transflash slot. Ringtones I've placed on my E815 using this process:
- Star Trek TOS "communicator" sound
- Windows XP Startup sound
- Windows "new mail" sound
- The Halo music cue from the Bungee loading screen
- Steve Ballmer yelling "Developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers!" (This one's my favorite!)
- The "cloaking" noise that stealth tanks made in C&C Gold
- A computer beepy noise from Star Trek
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24 MB of memory? (Score:4, Funny)
Low memory? (Score:5, Funny)
After all, "Why would anyone need more than 640KB?"
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24MB of Memory? (Score:5, Insightful)
24MB of memory? That's about 4 songs or a 1/3 of a music video.
That doesn't sound too appealing.
Aero
Depends on what they mean (Score:2)
However if it's limited to 24MB than ya, that makes it kinda worthless for storage o
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The linked "article" mentions no expansion slots.
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A miniSD card is $25 CAD for a gig. By the time this phone comes out it'll be cheaper still. I hope the 24MB is really the RAM.
mmm (Score:5, Funny)
Preparing to salivate...
Salivating commencing...
Salivating complete.
Umm... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Umm... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Umm...Wistron NeWeb?!? (Score:2, Interesting)
Usability seems lacking (Score:1, Funny)
While I applaud the attempt to reach out to Linux enthusiasts, I think that many will be turned off because of what they can't do rather than what they can do with this phone.
And a design to go with my lifestyle (Score:2, Funny)
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Some things missing (Score:5, Interesting)
1. Bluetooth - extremely important for connectivity.
2. Connector. The Qt Greenphone's solution to this is simple and elegant: its only connection is a mini-USB socket.
On the other hand, D-link does not claim their phone to be an open platform - but if it isn't, think if you will be able to install your own VOIP app? And if not, what's the point?
Lame! (Score:3, Funny)
Lame.
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rtfa (Score:2)
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All these features don't matter (Score:1)
In the meantime, all a phone needs for me to be happy is those little number thingies, a send button, and an alarm. And I'll certainly not be paying $600 for it.
Re: They need to make it cheap (Score:3, Insightful)
old tech done worse (Score:2)
that's a tough question. lets go to the videotape (Score:3)
Gee, I dunno. Lets check the next sentence: The phone is expected to list for $600.
There's your answer! "no."
That's what many of the MS based phones cost (Score:2)
Re:that's a tough question. lets go to the videota (Score:2)
D-Link Plan (Score:2, Funny)
Say linux
Profit!!!
Rediculously crappy. (Score:5, Informative)
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Agreed; I have a two year old device from HTC and it pisses all over this new one. I would have breached it's 300 contact limit already and I've installed enough apps to use up the 24 meg twice over. And that's not including software on the SD-card such as TomTom which comes in around about 700 meg. Hell, I even run a RAM disk on it to swap 32meg of the main RAM for a little extra high-speed storage for web cache and mail attachments.
24 meg? What were they thinking? Flash ROM is cheap cheap cheap these da
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Linux cellphones came long back... (Score:5, Informative)
I have a Motorola A780 - which is based on Linux too, and it is triband and it's unlocked too (Most of the GSM phones you buy in India are unlocked). IIRC, the whole A-series of Motorola is based on Linux. Yes, my phone does not have Wi-fi, but the plug talks as if it's the first Linux based cellphone.
Ahem... (Score:5, Informative)
Of course, living in Asia makes this a bit easier, but hey, anything beats having MS on a phone.
Needs UMA+GSM (Score:2)
It's nice and cool to have a single handset, address book and UI, but if you were dealing with 2 phone numbers and 2 voicemails it's not going to be as convenient. I think the options a carrier can provide to make it all look like a single phone
D-link vs Qt Greenphone (Score:2)
24 fucking megs?? (Score:2)
ANY Sim card? (Score:2)
Isn't most of Cingular's network 850mhz? This is why there are many separate "U.S." and "European" versions of GSM phones. T-Mobile (last time I looked at new phones) generally offers the "European" version (900/1800/1900) which even when unlocked aren't as useful on Cingular's network (unless you're on a patch of the old AT&T Wirel
What a ripoff (Score:3, Interesting)
For that price I would expect it to have 128mb ram, bluetooth (how can it not have bluetooth?!?), miniSD or sd, voiceconnect, speakerphone, and a better screen. And that is what I would expect with a MS phone. One would think a linux phone would be $100 cheaper.
And of course linux fans just *love* d-link (Score:2, Insightful)
I also recall D-link being in the press recently for configuring their hardware to synchronise to someone's private timeserver, costing the individual running it several thousand in bandwidth fees.
At one point I'd have said D-link were a quality brand. Now I'm not so sure...
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"Regardless of the repeatedly-quoted judgement of the district court of Munich
I, we do not consider the GPL as legally binding."
So who is going to buy this phone?
Microsoft phone?! Never seen one (Score:4, Interesting)
Microsoft phone is a rarity. It's the Symbian-OS which is the majority.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbian_OS [wikipedia.org]
Microsoft lists ten models with Windows Mobile (in Americas)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/devices/sm
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get a Nokia 770 and a cheep cell phone instead (Score:2)
$350 direct from Nokia
I love the form factor and with a cheep bluetooth phone then for less than $500 you have all this and more.
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Also download the emencoder software to your desktop and start converting videos for 770 use. The 770 doesn't handle many codecs directly with the default player
The lack of the 850MHz band (Score:2)
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I believe Cingular is really the only carrier that relies on the 850 range. (although... I am unsure if T-Mobile has roaming agreements with Cingular)
850 Mhz band (Score:2)
Tri-band (900/1800/1900) GSM radio -- meaning it should work with any GSM-GPRS SIM card, including pre-paid SIM cards as well as those from traditional GSM service providers
Without the 850 band this phone will have poor to no reception in lots of parts of North America.
Let me ask... (Score:2)
Mobile Thin Clients (Score:2)
As it is, Web apps and VNC bring us to virtual virtualization. If we can tune the Linux for just GUI and networking, so the GUI is really interactive, we're virtually there.
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900/1800/1900? (Score:2)
Rest Assured - It Will Suck (Score:2)
The other is the ongoing saga of a DSL-G604T ADSL router that a friend uses. It is Linux-bas
New Cell Phone Communications Paradigm? (Score:2, Interesting)
Oki 900 (Score:2)
rebadged WNC (Score:2)
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