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Testing an Orange SPV 'Smartphone'
theolein writes "The register has an article discussing the first major phone company's implementation -Orange SPV- of MS Smartphone as well as a common user's experiences with it. More or less confirms what quite a few expected."
Has anyone realized that if you allow the device to run unsigned code, you can effectively steal their access, cause them large phone bills, etc. It's VERY dangerous, much more than your typical virus.
For some reason, companies seem to think that they have a right to control the phone you paid for. Think of it as "Palladium Light" and a bad sign of things to come.
Your best bet: don't waste time or money on such phones. If it comes with such features, don't use them. If customers send a signal now that they want control of the digital devices they paid for, maybe this insanity can be nipped in the bud.
(And if you know of any end-user programmable Java phones, please let me know.)
One word - treo. I have had one since they were introduced. Everyting works as advertised including GPRS. They got it right.
What I was wondering, though, is whether there are any phone form-factor Java-based phones that allow end-user programming.
Developers have to get their app signed for that mobile phone network. Its supposedly to make sure no viruses get onto the phones. Wonder where we'll see that next...
I don't know what network you're running on, but my GSM phone powers up and logs on to the network (Vodafone, Australia) in about 4 seconds.
Oh get real. You must be really naive to think that Microsoft's actions are motivated by the specter of some Linux company most people have never even heard of. Face it, this is just another first generation product that sucked., just like Palm's first handheld or Microsoft Bob. The only reason this even made it onto Slashdot is because it was about Microsoft. If it was a Linux product the editors would have labeled it a "partial success", and another victory for open source.
I have t68 too (with t68i ROM). The phone is horrible, bad reception, horrible plastic keys (especially Yes and No keys) and typing SMS works badly. It's quite ok when using bluetooth & GPRS, but otherwise... The joystick is also quite an annoyince, it sticks out and pressing it is interpret as Yes! So if you put it in your pocket without keylock, it's absolutely *guaranteed* to make a phonecall. :(
Let's clear a few things up - this "crippling" is done by Orange, not by Microsoft. The phone supports signed apps as part of its security model and it is up to the carrier what policy they want to allow on the device. One of the available policies is "all apps run, no matter their signature or lack thereof."
Regarding the $600 fee to have the app signed with a Microsoft cert: this is perfectly reasonable and probably even cheap, considering that the coder writing the app is buying Microsoft's good name, so to speak. This is a shitty compromise, and it is definitely not what Microsoft would want, but Orange has made it hard.
You say that now, but in five years, Microsoft will be on Smartphone 3.0 -- the version that actually works -- and Symbian will be on that F-word-company web site.
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
Bullshit. If any product had a 90% return rate, especially the Nokia 7650 which is based on the new Series 60 platform, it would be front page news on every telecoms publication. Got some references, or were you just pulling that bit out of your ass?
Blue skies, Barthy Burgers, girls...
This is very typical of Microsoft-based products--particularly when they see threatening competition on the horizon or must play catch-up(which is almost always). What is important for the Palm/Symbian camps is that they MUST NOT write off Microsoft because their offering is a big steaming pile of crap, or lose focus on their own products by fighting Microsoft's tactics.
History has shown that as long as MS can limp along until the third major release of any given product, it has a much better than even chance of squishing the competition. Where are Go Computing and Netscape today? They were leaders/innovators and now they essentially don't exist--killed off because MS stepped up the FUD machine (like with the Win3.1 based PenWindows 10 years ago) and/or taking a loss financially (taking IE off the extra-cost "plus pack" and giving it away in the Win95 install CDs, selling XBboxes for less than they cost to make, etc).
MS will be at the height of desperation if they start giving away the Smartphone OS to the phone makers (if they can get away with it--I think they'd acually pay phone makers to use Smartphone if the US DOJ lets them). There is little MS won't stoop to do if they really want a piece of the action in a given market--especially considering the scads of cash they are sitting on right now. If Smartphone isn't killed off quickly, look for MS to do something that drastic.
It'll happen in other markets that MS plays in too. Remember MS only makes money off its OS and Office licenses--it uses that money and influence to leverage other products. Watch for it--MS might find Linux becoming more of a threat than it is comfortable with in the corporate server and workstation space. Biggest reason? Huge up-front costs in purchasing licenses (look at Content Management Server - US$43,000 per processor!? OS NOT included? Holy Crap! Think I'll just use Slashcode, Scoop, OpenACS etc to manage my site). Solution? MS can use bags of cash to set up their own leasing program a la GE capital to spread out the big $ hurt, or otherwise accelerate their move towards selling their "software as a service". It'll be ammunition against the argument that Linux has a lower implementation costs. Anything to make it easier to "invest" in Microsoft rather than any competition.
If it all goes "right", MS will have it made--from the cellphone up to the big racks of servers, consumers and businesses will just get a monthly bill from Bill for anywhere from $100 or so up to thousands for corporations--just like the electric bill. Then Bill takes care (and control) of your gagets and computers to make sure all the ugrades and bugfixes are done, and that you aren't using any pesky little "non-authorised" apps and files. And the rest of us will have the honor and privlege to turn said devices on and "use as directed".