Nokia Leaks Phone With Full GNU/Linux Distribution 621
An anonymous reader writes "It is now clear why Nokia has been so slow with S60 updates: the upcoming N900 just left everything else in the dust. Unlike Google's Linux platform, Nokia is not intentionally breaking compatibility with real distros, choosing instead to bring you the unmatchable power of GNU/Linux on your phone. This is the most awesome device I have ever seen: MAP3 CPU/GPU, 3,5" 800x480 touchscreen, keyboard, Wi-Fi, HSPA, GPS; 5-MP camera, CZ lens, 32 GB storage, SD slot; X11, VT100 terminal emulator, APT package manager. Estimated price without credit: $780 (N.5800: $390, iPhone 3GS: $750). Developers should note that even though the current desktop is still GTK+, Qt will be standard across all Nokia platforms in the near future (less powerful phones will use Qt on the Symbian kernel). Users can download flashing software from Nokia, and patches can be submitted at the Maemo site."
Hmmm (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Hmmm (Score:5, Insightful)
"bring you the unmatchable power of GNU/Linux". Cheesiest. Line. Ever. On /.
Just for the record: is there anything that you can name that can do more than Linux? Ever had an OS run on your wristwatch that was also able to run on the world fastest super computers, space exploration and operation critical medical hardware?
Just curious...
Re:Hmmm (Score:5, Funny)
"bring you the unmatchable power of GNU/Linux". Cheesiest. Line. Ever. On /.
Just for the record: is there anything that you can name that can do more than Linux? Ever had an OS run on your wristwatch that was also able to run on the world fastest super computers, space exploration and operation critical medical hardware?
Just curious...
Batman can do anything.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Hmmm (Score:5, Funny)
is there anything that you can name that can do more than Linux?
Chuck Norris
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/03/05/windows-3-1-on-s60-dude-says-why-stop-there-ups-the-ante-with/ [engadgetmobile.com]
http://thisnthat.ej.am/2009/03/09/windows-98-on-symbian-3rd-edition-phones/ [thisnthat.ej.am]
Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:4, Informative)
The Pre runs a practically normal Linux distribution. Granted, all the applications are written in Javascript and not some compiled language using C, but I look at that as a good thing.
Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:5, Insightful)
Firstly, if it only runs javascript applications as you say, then it's hardly any more of a "real distro" than Android is.
There are other compiled languages besides C. There are a lot of them in fact...
I suspect from your previous comment that you are terribly unqualified to even understand the implications of what you're saying, or to make that comment at all.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Firstly, if it only runs javascript applications as you say, then it's hardly any more of a "real distro" than Android is.
Why?
What's the difference between, Javascript as the language and HTML/CSS as the GUI, or using Python as the language and XML to do the GUI? And yet the first is "not a real distro", while the second is. Why?
There are other compiled languages besides C. There are a lot of them in fact...
Yes, but the real question is, "since when is being compiled a requirement?"
I suspect from your previ
Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:5, Informative)
The distinction between "full distro" and "non-full distro" is one that the slashdot summary defined, and is not nessesarily something that I agree with.
That said, the summary makes it pretty clear that it's using the term to make a distinction between a phone that uses a traditional userland and interface, and one with a custom-ish one that doesn't really support "native" (poorly defined, I think most people understand what it's trying to say though) linux applications. I'm not trying to inflect my believes here.
I never said anything was wrong with javascript, I'd be unqualified to properly insult it even if I wanted too. Your insulting assumption is I assume the reason you're modded flamebait.
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It doesn't and nor do I. It's entirely in your overreactive imagination. If I were a phycologist I'd make some sort of claim about your mind fabricating things because it has some sort of fruedian ax to grind. Wants to feel like a martyr or something. Thankfully I don't beleive in that psuedo-science crap so I'll assume you're just dense and try to explain it slower this time.
Nokia's "full distro" doesn't break compatibility with standard desktop apps because it doesn't make you use Javascript. Javascr
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I don't know why decided to ignore what I wrote and jump to your own conclusions about what I thought in the first place.
Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, but the real question is, "since when is being compiled a requirement?"
Ever since performance or memory usage has been. And thus always will.
Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:4, Insightful)
FLAMEBAIT!!? Or pure ignorance? .NET is not a native app environment. And guess what? Microsoft banned all benchmarks for it because it is SLOW. *Compiled*, *native* apps run almost always faster than some non-compiled crap. Saying "fsck compiled apps - I only care about by (insert favourite interpreted lang here)" is either flamebait or ignorance.
You can get sooo much more out of a phone if you only run native apps on the slow ass processor without draining the battery completely. If you really want examples, please write an implementation of some MPEG4 codec in Javascript and then we'll compare it to execution speed for a C implementation. I suspect you may have trouble running the Javascript decoder anywhere in real time.
Cheers!
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Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:5, Insightful)
Funny doesn't count for karma. Otherwise, I would have made a joke instead of informing you of this.
Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:5, Insightful)
Ok, I'll bite.
Your shocked dismay at being modded flamebait is entirely irrational, as you are entirely misrepresenting what Sir_Lewk said.
He did /not/ say that 'applications made with Javascript can't possibly exist in a "real" distro.' He said that any Linux offering that limits itself to /one/ language cannot be considered a full distro.
That is debatable - but I very much empathize. IMO, a fundamental feature of Linux is its openness, which allows me to do whatever I please on my hardware (even run ancient COBOL apps - though some work would be required) with minimal effort.
---------------
Now, to your previous post:
Sir_Lewk is mentioning that both Palm's Web OS and Android are castrated distros. /not/ arbitrarily limited by language - which is a huge boon to development. If you want an already existing application, you don't need to rewrite it from scratch in whatever language, you /port/ it.
Nokia's offering is
As to "since when is being compiled a requirement?", consider this: who would to convert a compiled language into an interpreted one? If you want platform compatibility, you /port/ the compiler. Being compiled is a requirement if you don't want to attempt to convert a language /designed/ for compilation into an interpreted one.
As to your ad hominem attack on Sir_Lewk, it lends you absolutely /no/ credibility.
---------------
I have now explained what you have requested. IMHO, your posts easily fall into the realm of flamebait. You are not worth another explanation unless you can demonstrate understanding.
I wish you the best of luck.
Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:4, Insightful)
Nobody is putting words in your mouth, you really do imply this above, by questioning why the Pre distribution shouldn't be considered a "real distro". The Pre distribution isn't a real Linux distribution because you are unable to run applications that are developed to run on the Linux platform. Instead, you are forced to use the web-based platform that Palm has chosen to be the only way to develop apps for the Pre. By suggesting that the Pre distribution should be considered real, you are implying that it's acceptable to require all apps to be written using Javascript exclusively for the logic.
I don't think you implied this intentionally. Rather, it looks like you simply have poor reading comprehension, at least in the context of this conversation. If you don't believe me, ask yourself why multiple Slashdotters are arguing with you about a couple of comments of yours.
Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:5, Informative)
The Pre runs a practically normal Linux distribution. Granted, all the applications are written in Javascript and not some compiled language using C, but I look at that as a good thing.
You realize that it doesn't matter if the device runs Linux when the development environment is locked down, right?
You don't have to hack C or C++ to make programs for this device either; PyGtk has emerged as the most popular programming platform for third party developers of Maemo software.
What Nokia is bringing to the table is completely different from Android / Palm - it's a full, open Linux, no strings attached. You can develop software using the tools you want to use, instead of sticking to Java or Javascript.
Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:5, Informative)
Android is a complete linux distribution that uses a different Window Manager and has a well defined consistent Object Oriented development platform. You can hack root on the T-Mobile G1, for example, and then install any Linux binary you care to build against the FOSS source code that you can download and build at will. Furthermore, to write applications which leverage the Androids advantages all you need is a PC and there is no need to jailbreak at all. The consistency in behavior one observes regardless of the application installed from the Android Market is a direct consequence of this enforced development consistency. Android rocks !!!
(I believe they are adding C/C++ support at some point in the relatively near future IIRC)
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The N900 is not comparable to firefox. It is comparable to a Thinkpad, that fits on your pocket, and is also a cell phone.
I don't have time to learn some one-off development environment that the folks at Palm thought was cool. I use standard POSIX/GNU/Linux for software I develop. If that software will run on my phone with minimal porting effort, that would be very cool.
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Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Err, so just like the Pre? (Score:5, Interesting)
While I tend to agree with you, the issue here is that Nokia is not exactly a company that can't market. If this were say Samsung, then maybe you have a point.
I own Nokia shares and let me tell you I am bleeding! But I have not given up hope. And right now I am looking for a smart phone. And this is THE PHONE!
I wrote a blog entry where Nokia is about to tap into something that all of the other vendors are missing.
Imagine a world where your phone is your server. Imagine for a moment where your server is your life and tagging everything as you go along. Imagine for the moment where the phone would sync with the telco and distribute your data. THIS IS BLOWOUT THINKING!
The iPhone and Pre can't do this because they don't allow server processes. The Android could do this, but Nokia is targeting this 100%. From what I see Nokia is creating a cloud of mobile devices. Android assumes your data is somewhere in the cloud. I personally would prefer having my cloud in my pocket and letting others access it.
I know with this new Nokia device I will use it as my life and blood. That's where I will store my documents, etc, etc.. And when I need it on the road? Its there. Don't like the screen size, Wow, I remote window into the device...
We are about to embark on a new computing platform and I am for it...
Re:Overage fees (Score:5, Funny)
Imagine not being able to call 911 because your phone got Slashdotted...
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It's not locked to some "app store" with "approved apps"
Neither is Android.
This alone will make it explode ahead of the iPhone and Andriod phones.
iPhone perhaps, but Android has no restrictions on installing non-market apps. Market is a convenient place to get new apps, but if you want to install from somewhere else, you're perfectly free to do so.
Perhaps you need to update your propaganda?
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I read there is going to be a new Palm(not a Pre) coming to AT&T later this year or next year. I'm hoping it will be much like the Pre, but more refined and it wont spy on me.
Think I'm asking for too much?
Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)
I'm really looking forward to writing cell phone apps in QT4. The way Apple, Google, and Palm have caged their apps into power-hungry slow interpreted virtual environments is crazy. It's a cell phone.... code should be compiled. Anyway, there's tens of thousands of great apps for Linux that would easily port if the phone companies allowed it. For example, I see that the espeak speech synthesiser was ported to Android, but to do it required a custom negotiation with Google! You can't just port C apps to
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Bah! (Score:2)
About 6 months ago I bought an E71. As an ex Psion 5mx[1] user I'm really disappointed. It's buggy and has an incredibly clunky interface. Just my luck that they won't be bothering to fix anything. First Nokia I've owned and probably the last.
[1] It ran EPOC, the ancestor of Symbian. Clean, simple, intuitive and reliable.
Re:Bah! (Score:4, Funny)
How many kinds are there, you sarcastic prickdribble?
Corrections (Score:4, Informative)
It's not MAP3.. it's OMAP 3
And the VT100 term emulator is based on gnome-terminal (at least it is in older maemo and I see no reason for them to have written a different one)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
If it runs VNC and you can get a Remote Desktop-compatible client on it, I'm getting one.
VNC has been running in MAEMO for four years. (Score:5, Informative)
If it works in Diablo, and on N770s, n800s and n810s, the n900 has got you covered. The n900 may be a phone, but with its OMAP processor and MID heritage, the nerd angle is already covered.
is it actually a phone? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
WHAT?
Of course it's a phone, it runs Linux! :-P
(I swear sometimes slashdot could post an article on a rat eating plant and if said plant ran linux it would be proclaimed the coolest thing ever.)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:is it actually a phone? (Score:4, Informative)
Nepenthes attenboroughii. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article6799283.ece [timesonline.co.uk]
Re:is it actually a phone? (Score:5, Informative)
Well there's a screenshot of a dialler, and the status screen shows an IMEI number, so I'm going with "yes it is a phone" :) Nice hardware for sure, and open-ness is a benefit for us hacker types, but they need to work on that UI. Still, interesting!
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I'll ignore the stupid summary and slashvertisement just for the fact that (s)he did not break the article into 10 sub-pages for page count.
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I searched for the word "phone" throughout that linked article, and nowhere did it mention things like, oh, talking and listening and dialing.
That's because they want to gloss over the side-talking component. =) Plus, when they talk about the microSD slot, they only show it in a picture with the cover off...
Re:is it actually a phone? (Score:5, Informative)
To quote TFA
"I thought it wouldn't make much sense to go through all features of the phone just yet - I'm not lazy, I just have to leave some bread for Nokia's announcement guys!"
So I suspect you didn't read TFA very well.
Re:is it actually a phone? (Score:5, Informative)
No it's not. Nokia doesn't call N-series devices phones.
They are multimedia computers which have capability to make calls over 3G networks.
N(700/800/810) were all marketed as internet tablets and had no phone capability to begin with.(beyond skype that is)
This N900 is next gen internet tablet with builtin 3G. You can do much more with this device than you can with "normal smartphones" as it runs complete operating system.
You can even install and run openoffice on this device.
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Its a phone...
Look at the image where it says: IMEI Address
This is:
Short for International Mobile Equipment Identity, a unique number given to every single mobile phone, typically found behind the battery.
$800? (Score:3, Insightful)
How can you justify that cost? For $800, you could buy a netbook, a basic smart phone, plus hookers and blow.
Re:$800? (Score:5, Funny)
In fact, forget the smartphone and netbook...
Re:$800? (Score:4, Informative)
Miniaturization. I can't fit a netbook in my pocket. Close not quite.
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That's what I'm thinking. Well, not verbatim. I was actually thinking for that much, I could get a desktop computer, a netbook, and a cheapo cell phone.
Really, this looks cool, but not $780 cool. Guess I'll wait for the N1000.
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You must live in the US, where the cost of a mobile phone is heavily subsidized by multi year contracts for wireless plans. If and when Nokia's new model makes it to the US, expect to see it for $199 when purchased with a two year contract from your wireless carrier.
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Open Source ? (Score:4, Interesting)
Are the drivers it requires open source ?
Do Nokia playing nice, are they prepared to go out of their way to obey licenses or are they just interested in 0 cost rather than libre software ?
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To answer my own questions....
Apparently this device is based on Maemo, from its website; "Maemo is a software platform that is mostly based on open source code" (emphasis mine)
Expect proprietary blobs wherever they can get away with it.
Re:Open Source ? (Score:5, Interesting)
Uhm...don't forget that Nokia LGPL-ed Qt, and recently is open sourcing Symbian.
So while of course there are also practical reasons for what Nokia is doing, don't, FFS DON'T, paint their actions like they're sleazy bastards that are conspiring against you!
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Are you serious?...
Ehhh...if Nokia owns Trolltech (nvm "if they can change license like that"), they also have access to commercial Qt license...for free.
Why you all can't get over the fact that there were no short-term benefits for Nokia in making Qt LGPL-ed? (long-term, sure, probably...but that's the goal of OSS/free software, right? Right?!)
Re:Open Source ? (Score:4, Insightful)
Or wherever those pesky government regulations require them to. You can't just hack together your own code, plug it into the GSM network and expect the FCC to just smile and look the other way.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You can't just hack together your own code, plug it into the GSM network and expect the FCC to just smile and look the other way.
You can if all GSM/UMTS-related code runs on a dedicated core that communicates with the main core (which runs the apps) through a well-defined interface. The Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi, although not phones, follow the same general scheme: one core to handle audio, Wi-Fi, and power management, and one core to handle everything else.
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Nokia seem to be in compliance with other versions of their linux tablet OS so there is no reason to suspect that this will be any different.
If by some chance it has phone functionality, it will almost certainly be like the OpenMoko phone where the phone functionality is in a blackbox on a seperate baseband CPU.
Re:Open Source ? (Score:5, Informative)
In my experience, (which admittedly is years out of date) you can't build a phone with a libre radio and expect to get it past type acceptance. There are a lot of very precise regulations on the way a phone has to behave on the air, and in many cases the manufacturer is at least theoretically liable if the device misbehaves. Allowing users to mess with the protocols is therefore widely regarded as a bad idea by manufacturers, carriers, and regulators. When I was doing smart phone development, I was working on a totally proprietary system with no way for the end user to install apps, but we still used dual processors to ensure our app code didn't interfere with the GSM stack.
Obviously, things may have changed since then, but I'm not aware of any phone where the user can get direct control over the radio. If there is an exception to that, I'd love to hear about it.
Shell apps? (Score:3, Interesting)
I've been thinking about one of these new Linux phones for my next upgrade. What kind of access does one have to the shell? Can one using an ssh client? How does one transfer data to a Linux workstation? Can one install more shell apps (e.g. ipcalc, tdl and remind)?
Re:Shell apps? (Score:5, Insightful)
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From what the slashdot summary seems to be saying, you would do all of these things like you normally would with a linux workstation install. If that is the case it could be what I've been waiting for, for quite a while.
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For the N800 systems, Nokia even provided Maemo VMware development images where you could build your own apps, and shove them over to the tablet.
You needed to jump through some hoops to get root (ssh) access, but the info was all available on the Net.
Re:Shell apps? (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, Maemo is pretty much a full Linux distribution. You can ssh into the device and ssh out from the device. On the N810 (with a large enough MicroSD card) you can even install a full Debian distribution. It's still ARM, so don't expect it to be as fast as a Desktop, but everything works (mplayer, pidgin, Open Office, VNC client & server, etc).
most awesome? (Score:4, Funny)
This is the most awesome device I have ever seen
someone is clearly not familiar with the LHC.
Two rival factions (Score:5, Funny)
I like how there are two rival Slashdot cellphone factions.
There's the "phone should just make phone calls and not have all this shit added on!" faction, which is pre-dominant in a lot of stories.
And then there's the "I can't possibly get by with a phone that doesn't have VT-100 emulation!" faction, who are probably all rushing out to buy this thing right now.
I, uh, don't really have anywhere clever to go with this idea though...
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Two rival factions (Score:4, Interesting)
I use to be part of the "phones are for making calls and the occational SMS" crowd.
But eventually 3G phones became rather good, and most important of all, data in my native Finland became dirt cheap.
Nowadays I use my phone's data capabilities every day. Once I've dropped the kids to daycare I check a website that can tell me which of three bus stops to walk to, instead of trying to remember the 20+ buses' schedules that I would otherwise check to get the same effect. It's even better when I want to take the bus home after a night out. I can input my location in the route guide website and it will calculate a reasonable route for me.
Google maps has proved useful too, as my phone has GPS. The navigation software with voice guidance actually works, so I have no need for a dedicated navigator. The camera has a real xenon flash, so social snaps even in a dim environment are actually perfectly viable. Wikipedia is handy to settle factual disputes in the bar... ;)
The thing is, I think of my phone as a portable multimedia computer with phone-features attached. I could live without the features it provides, but given that 3G phones are so cheap these days it would make little sense for me to do so.
Why is this takings so long.... (Score:2)
I think this is fascinating news. But with all this functionality being delivered across so many platforms...
WHY do I still have a PC?
If someone figures out a way to get the device to output to a display and input from a keyboard/mouse. Even if there is another pc involved it would still be useful to many.
features or benefits (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't buy an appliance just because it runs Linux or X11 - however I *might* buy one if these features add new functions, or make existing ones easier. So far as what I've already got is concerned, the only thing that comes to mind would be the ability for me (and not anybody else) to log into the phone remotely and use its functions across a network connection.
Other than that, my experience of smart phones is that the keyboard's too small for serious word-work, the screen's too small for almost everything (esp. watching movies) and it's also far too dim to use in daylight. The music player's nice and the camera while limited is good enough for "happy snaps", almost all of which are discarded or ignored as soon as they've been taken. I.e. all features, but few benefits.
So come on Nokia, don't try to impress me with megabytes and gigahertz, tell me what I'll be able to do now, that I couldn't do before. That's where the sales are.
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Hate to repeat myself, but as you said... the screen/keyboard are too small for serious work... But the rest of the hardware is completely competent and in some ways better than a typical PC.
What this new crop of phones needs is a mechanism to drive an external display and keyboard.
Re:features or benefits (Score:4, Informative)
You can use a bluetooth keyboard. You can also use a VNC server on the phone and do your work from a VNC client on the desktop (or just ssh into the device).
Re:features or benefits (Score:5, Insightful)
So come on Nokia, don't try to impress me with megabytes and gigahertz, tell me what I'll be able to do now, that I couldn't do before. That's where the sales are.
(Making a few assumptions here)
1) Find an open source application anywhere on the web
2) Download it
3) Install it
This is directly contrasted against the existing options which all go more like:
1) Find an application on the provided store*
2) Pay for it
3) Download it
4) Install it
* Note the store reserves the right to approve apps on their own terms.
If you're the sort of guy that doesn't ever imagine running something other than what is provided in the (Apple) store on your phone, you're not going to miss much. If you get frustrated by the notion of other people controlling what you are allowed to run on a device you own, the choice theoretically offered by an open platform should be a win.
I say theoretically and should because this all depends on someone providing the applications. Or at least modifying existing apps to work on your new phone. If no one does this for you, and you can't do it yourself, then your freedom of choice isn't going to get that much exercise.
Re:features or benefits (Score:4, Informative)
* You can watch a movie on this phone. The screen on these things (I have an n800) is stunning at 800 x 480. I and some of my relatives have enjoyed full length movies on my n800 and I keep my personal video collection (dv converted to mpeg4) on it.
* word-work? Never heard that term, but I'll assume you're talking about messaging (I hope your not talking about word processing). Many people are quite efficient on each of the various keyboard input setups and this has two of them; touchscreen and pop-out keyboard, so you probably just need practice.
* In case you missed the article the camera is very nice. Carl Zeiss; 5.2 MP. More than enough for "happy snaps".
* Maemo is a very active community (http://www.maemo.org) with lots of great software. So what is it that you want your phone to do? More than likely there is an application to do it.
We (the geeks) have been clamoring for an open platform phone and now it appears we're getting it. I admit that I get excited at the thought of being able to ssh into my phone, run scripts and write programs in Python/GTK and configure pretty much any and every aspect of the device. If you don't, you're probably not a geek and this whole thing will be lost on you.
Red Pill / Blue Pill option . . . ? (Score:3, Interesting)
. . . as an owner of an N800, I would like to know if they will still provide the "Easter Egg" / "Red Pill / Blue Pill" option for installing all the cool (and usefull) apps.
Unfortunately, these also could make it easy for some dork to brick the thing.
A great market idea! (Score:2, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Yeah but (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Yeah but (Score:4, Insightful)
Move to a country where operators actually compete for customers' money. Judging from Slashdot comments, and personal experience, *any* country in Europe, and pretty much any other part of the developed world must be better than US on average.
I'm yet to see a phone that would have problems maintaining the calls here in Finland, or well, almost anywhere I've gone, and many of those places have been pretty damn middle of nowhere. (Well, some parts of deserts in China actually posed a problem, but do your calling locations compare with that?) And I haven't noticed friends having particularly more problems with cell coverage with their different phones, either.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
When the price comes down a bit (Score:5, Interesting)
I own an N800 and an N810 and do some Maemo development work on them. They're IMHO awesome devices. I don't know or care about Nokia in general but they have been steadily improving this line of devices since the N770 and I just cannot begin to tell you how slick they are (again IMHO).
I use skype and gizmo to make VoIP phone calls on them at any Wi-Fi hotspot and they are just fun to play around with. The biggest problem with them, in my experience, is people expect them to be phones and don't get the idea that it's just a handheld PC. Adding cell phone capability with the N900 (and increased horsepower) will, I think, cross this device over from enthusiast toy to a more mainstream "smartphone" even though I think the term does the device a dis-service.
It's just more than a phone. I've never used a cell phone that had a web experience remotely close to the desktop/laptop world. The N800/N810 is 100 times better than any cell phone @ web browsing. The games available (for the most part if it runs on Linux, it'll run on these devices and I've enjoyed playing MAME games on mine), the productivity tools, the multimedia capabilities, etc.
I've never developed apps for the iPhone but I've tinkered with BlackBerry development, Android development and Maemo development. While I think it's not as well-documented perhaps as Android or BlackBerry, and getting set up to do development on it is not as simple, it's easily manageable and *much less locked down* than the other platforms. Developing for Android isn't too bad but I think it still is a bit more locked down, developing for BlackBerry you are also definitely limited by what RIM (and the cell providers) will allow you to do. I hope that with Maemo 5 and the new cell-phone stuff, Nokia doesn't cave to cell providers and start locking shit down on these devices and instead keeps to the spirit of the original open-ness so I can still write apps that do what *I* want them to do, not what T-Mobile wants them to do.
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pre-N900 series Primary Function: PC
iPod Touch Primary Function: Music Player
Anyone who has even heard the word iPod for like 5 years before the touch came out immediately thought "Music". Nobody went into the store to buy an iPod not having that in their head. The iPod touch isn't marketed or meant to be a phone. It's meant to play music.
OTOH, you'd be hard-pressed to find many people outside of tech circles that would even know about the N-series. There's no mainstream marketing for it, and it doesn't hav
And, just to clear it up a bit... (Score:3, Interesting)
How does this works with the Microsoft-Nokia deal to have Office in the Nokia phones? Don't tell me we are going to have Office in Linux!
They bought Trolltech, and this is the result (Score:4, Informative)
They bought Trolltech and their Qt Extended phone OS last May, which is completely open-source.
If you want to see what the OS is like, go and see one of the forks: QtMoko, Qt Extended Improved, and probably others. I am using QtMoko on a Freerunner and the interface is sweet even if some parts need more polishing.
Application signing (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Application signing (Score:5, Informative)
Just use the Open Signed Online [symbiansigned.com] service.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The link to Symbian's Open Signed Online is an S60 version of how Nokia has done "open" before. I don't think this is the kind of open that people are hoping for, but unless we hear otherwise, it's
Want! (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm going to have to find a way to get one of these. Decent video, open formats, always on cellular wireless. A gorgeous interface. And I can add applications with apt.
I think a lot of projects are going to start putting more priority on compiling to the ARM platform.
So I'll be able to have Cron? (Score:3, Interesting)
If I can put Cron on this thing, it will be worth it. Setting schedules for changing profiles (automatically switch phone to silent at 8:30, switch back to normal at 5:30) would almost be worth it on its own.
Looks good but here's the catch (Score:3, Insightful)
Apple created iPhone OS and are developing it with each release.
Nokia and others keep developing platforms, then letting them stagnate, then dropping them and creating another platform.
Just give your users some continuity, stop switching between platforms, it seriously annoys developers as they don't have time to master a platform and it annoys users who get sick of rebuying applications for each device.
or buy a Palm Pre: also uses a standard distro (Score:3, Informative)
the Palm Pre has a standard OpenEmbedded based distro. you can install packages from the OptWare repository [webos-internals.org]. enjoy fully supported, debugged and tested Linux components that are updated on a regular basis--all written by very talented engineers who are committed to getting awesomeness to customers as often as they can. (has Nokia ever released updates as often as Palm has for webOS?)
don't like javascript apps? rip out the webOS window manager and put whatever you want on it. or maybe you want both. you can always switch between the two. the development community has already figured out how to do this.
and the Mojo javascript development environment does have its strengths. it's the first platform since the computers of the 80s where you can hack on it right out of the box.
how could you not love a company that made the contra code an officially-supported way of entering development mode?
Re:woohoo! (Score:4, Funny)
unmatchable power of GNU/Linux on your phone
Yay!
Estimated price without credit: $780
Crap, I can't afford one. I lose phones too often; I'm on my third phone this year. When I had a Razr a few years ago I got insurance on it, and the insurance company cancelled me when I dropped the third one in the toilet trying to answer it when I was taking a piss. The way I go through phones I'm lucky to be able to afford the $100 one I have now.
Of course, the Razr was expensive at first, at least I'll be able to get one of these in a few years.
Re:woohoo! (Score:5, Insightful)
Here's a novel concept: Don't answer the phone while you're taking a piss...
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
That's why I have mine on a lanyard.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
> dropped the third one in the toilet trying to answer it when I was taking a piss
Because calling them back wasn't an option? I wish I got important phone calls like this...
Spoken like someone without a girlfriend. A callback 30 seconds later... wow, that's ballsy.
"Where WERE you? I tried calling you!"
"Yeah, I'm calling you back, I was in the head"
"You're with that bitch, aren't you?"
*Head-desks*
TFS (Score:2)
Mobile Review got hold of one and has an article with specs and photos:
article [mobile-review.com]
This is the same article linked to in TFS(ummary)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
This is cool, really cool. A full Linux machine in your pocket. Wow.
Though I do wonder how useful it will actually be. Can Linux bypass the desktop and go straight to the next big thing? User interface and good design are important on such small devices (and frankly, most phones fail more or less), and they're not exactly traditional strongholds of the Linux crowd.
Personally, those issues don't matter to me. That is, at a basic level I don't care about whether this device succeeds (beyond my own self-serving interest, the desire to buy future versions, perhaps) - I don't care whether it's the "next big thing" that everyone will like - what matters is that it's a device I would like.
My personal reason for wanting a phone running straight Linux is pretty simple: it's what I enjoy. I ran a Powerbook for several years because I thought the combination of a commercially