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Motorola Launches A760 Linux and Java Smartphone
securitas writes "Motorola launched its A760 Linux and Java smartphone in China today. The dual-mode GSM/GPRS phone uses a version of MontaVista Linux, Motorola's i250 chip for communications, Intel's 200 MHz PXA262 chip (based on the XScale PXA250) for computing with 256 MB RAM, and software that includes a personal information management application, digital camera, a video player, MP3 music player, and an instant-messaging tool. The A760 is the first of Motorola's Linux-based phones. Eventually Motorola plans to use Linux in most of its phones."
Yes, that is fairly strange. The low-power PPC chips are pretty nice.
However, the phone unit is most likely autonomous (and much more powerful than the chip unit, which may be sold and is unprofitable). Intel most likely had the best prices and specs (or convinced someone of that), and Intel got the deal.
Its really the way to do things, if you end up with a better phone product. If not, well...
Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
Score: -1 100% Flamebait
Are they going to ship a copy of the GPL with this phone?
And make the source available?
Hrmmm. hope so Moto!
Nah. If I support Linux companies, it will get better.
If I support Microsoft, everyone will get screwed as Microsoft gets yet another monopoly.
So assuming your post is accurate (I've not heard anything to verify the post from this AC), I still want to support the Linux companies.
Microsoft has leeway from its monopoly rents. We have to help Linux companies survive.
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Given enough personal experience, all stereotypes are shallow.
Of course it is about competition and not about sharing. What's your point? I agree that the common defense is a pipe dream, but an satellite navigation system independent of US is a practical venture politically, militarily and economically.
The owls are not what they seem
Everyone (at the time of reading) seems to be stuck on the linux-ness of this phone, with spurious speculation about gcc, bash etc. But the point is that the software development platform for these things will be: 1) Java 2) Not controlled by Microsoft or Symbian or Palm 3) See (1) etc... It may well indicate a new platform for open source software development, but it is not going to look much like any current paradigm, I suspect. Also, the 2 parts (phone and "computer", for want of a better word) will be highly separated to avoid people writing software to "adjust" their phone bills.
Now that's a subtle joke. 50% "Informative" mods -- scary.
Cantankerous old coot since 1957.
It's been patently obvious for several years that the Motorola management simply have no confidence in their own products.
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They eat as little their own dogfood as they can in the products they sell and they don't eat it in their internal I.T. infrastructure at all. It falls into place when you see that they are getting rid of their microprocessor division entirely[1].
It also begs the question, why would anyone else want to eat their dogfood? Apple have answered that one by going to IBM for the G5.
[1] http://www.arstechnica.com/archive/news/106550218
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
Orange had a phone for a short time that was so buggy that they had to remove it from the market. T-Online stopped their MS-plans shortly before it would go to market. And now Motorola pulls the press releases about MS-phones - except for a swedish one which seems to have been forgotten on the server...
What tops it off is that there are still people stupid/naive enougth to preach that "There are, however, very explicit plans for further development of MS-based devices", when "Eventually Motorola plans to use Linux in most of its phones." (See above with nice linkage).
Microsoft on cellphones is dead. With better established commercial alternatives (Symbian and PalmOS) and equally established free alternatives (Linux) available, there is nothing which can revive Windows on cellphones. It had a chance, but blew it. Get used to it.
The phone runs on Linux, but did Motorola release SDKs as well, so we can add some software like on the Zaurus? Have a real Linux underneath that will allow me to be somewhat productive with it?
So far, it looks to me like some other lock-in scheme akin to WinCE or Windows for (Dumb) phones.
And more to notice - all the interesting Linux toys like the new Zaurus, this Motorola phone - are only delivered in Asia. Why this?