Nokia Fears Carriers May Try To Undermine N900 307
An anonymous reader writes "Nokia is worried that networks may reject selling the N900 because it won't allow them to mess with the operating system. Nokia has previously showed the N900 running a root shell and it appears to use the same interface for IM and phone functions. Meanwhile, Verizon is claiming that 'exclusivity arrangements promote competition and innovation.' Is it too late to explain to people why $99+$60/month is not better than $600+$20/month?"
On a 12 month contract it is (Score:2, Informative)
60*12 + 100 = 820
20*12 + 600 = 840
Re:it it a phone? (Score:5, Informative)
Operators are scared (Score:2, Informative)
I've been testing a N900 for a while, and let me tell you it is amazing. If this little device is a sign of what's to come, operators should be scared. This is exactly the type of development that will regulate them to the dump data pipes they should be.
Today I received a call from my friend while at home, only later did I realize he was using Skype to call me. Friends PC->Internet->Home wlan->N900 rings, indistinguishable from a normal cellular call, and most importantly my operator didn't make a cent. Same if I call him. Yes, this has of course been possible before in various ways. But now the whole integration is just seamless. There's no Skype app, no Gtalk app, Yahoo app, there's just my contact list. SMS messages, instant messages, it's all one single continuous conversation in the UI. If I was an operator I'd start worrying about my nickel-and-dime business model too.
Re:Great pitch (Score:4, Informative)
The fourth iteration (Maemo Fremantle) has a UI built on Hildon/GTK+; the fifth (Maemo Harmattan [maemo.org]), a UI built on Qt. I've read [techtree.com] 4Q 2010 or 1Q 2011, so app developers have to consider whether or not to use the community-supported Qt API on the existing device, which will become "the" OS in 2011, or build something on GTK+, Maemo/Nokia-supported now, which will become community-supported in Harmattan.
Re:My next phone (Score:5, Informative)
Only an american (no offense) can think something like that.
In Europe carriers subscribe to a common standard for telephony that dates back to when the GSM was invented.
There is *no* concept of "carrying" a phone in Europe, either the phone conforms to the network standard or it doesn't (and if it doesn't nobody sells it).
*all* you need is a SIM card for the basic service, and a data plan if you want 3G stuff.
Of course you can't do 3G if your phone does not support the frequencies and standards, but they are *standards* meaning the only limiting factor is whether your phone is built to use them.
Welcome to a freer and more honest (though not as it could be) telecom industry.
On what planet is it only $20/month (Score:4, Informative)
I gave up fighting against bundled plans, because (at least in the U.S.) the un-bundled stuff really isn't cheaper. Witness the "Mi-Fi", a device I'd really love to have and would consider using in place of a phone even - but the plan for that is not that much different than a phone plan, in the U.S. So you are really better off going with a two-year plan and a subsidized device, since you are likely to keep a phone for around two years anyway...
Re:it it a phone? (Score:5, Informative)
Look at section "Call features"
Re:Not a 12 month contract (Score:3, Informative)
Ah, cross-atlantic differences. This side of the ocean, only the caller pays, or I too would want a bigger plan for all the times my wife calls me wanting tech support.
Re:If true, this is now the phone to beat. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Nokia isn't a FOSS software firm... (Score:3, Informative)
GSM vs CDMA in the USA (Score:4, Informative)
Where I live and do my traveling, the GSM providers' networks are marginal at best. They are grossly oversold and there are outright large coverage holes, especially with T-mo. Verizon and Sprint's RF coverage is excellent and the EVDO data with Verizon blows away AT&T's 3G data so badly there's no comparison.
Even if Nokia would offer a CDMA/EDVO version of a smartphone, Verizon would never allow it on their network.
Re:Great pitch (Score:5, Informative)
Bullshit.
They released two more versions as "hacker editions" -- backports of the new, N8x0-only software to the 770s dated CPU. No, not everything works perfectly, and they weren't exactly pushed out quickly, but second-class support != no support.
Moreover, with the N8x0/N9x0 transition, they're making obvious good-faith efforts to allow community maintenance of the old OS (although this is limited due to IP issues, they're actually working to resolve these), as well as providing significant support to a community-run backport of the new OS to the old hardware (which is going quite well). The latter is especially auspicious, as a community-run backport means you never have to worry about some corporation arbitrarily ending support, whether after 1 year or 10 years.
Re:If true, this is now the phone to beat. (Score:1, Informative)
Yes. Look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP5R-5NX1BE
About the same size as an iPhone except 800x480 screen, and a hell of a lot better OS - and an ARM CPU.
Re:My next phone (Score:3, Informative)
Re:If true, this is now the phone to beat. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Another one for Nokia (Score:3, Informative)
Re:My next phone (Score:3, Informative)
Re:My next phone (Score:4, Informative)
It happens all the time where I live. We have two major local carriers, one with CDMA service (superior call quality, fewer dropped calls) for which the phone must be designed for CDMA - there are no sim cards for these phones, the other a GSM network which uses locked down sim cards. Just plugging your sim card into a 3rd party phone will get you nowhere, it won't work without modifications from the cell company. Said company refuses to modify phones they didn't sell, so you're SOL unless you buy it from them. Same with CDMA phones, it may be technically possible to configure your 3rd party phone to run on the CDMA network, but the cell company just refuses. No sorry, we don't do that.
AT&T is gaining presence here thanks to the iPhone, but they aren't exactly the people to go to if you don't want to be "locked in". Verizon is available - if you have a billing address in a state they sell service in, because they don't sell it here. T-Mobile is not even an option, only the military gets to use them.
Re:it it a phone? (Score:3, Informative)
Just looking at it [nokia.com] is, in fact, quite enough to conclusively settle the question. It's most definitely a phone.
Re:it it a phone? (Score:3, Informative)
not only does it make calls, one can select between cellular, skype or sip (among others) inside the main call interface.