Slashdot Mirror
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."
I find it odd that Motorola, a maker of embedded microprocessors, would go with an Intel chip.
There ain't no rules here; we're trying to accomplish something.
1.) Bash 2.) GCC 3.) X11 4.) Emacs
What's another word for Thesaurus?
-Steve Wright
Actually, EU's Galileo-project is not on hold but active particularly now that the Chinese wish to become partners in it.
The owls are not what they seem
Motorola's own page for the product does not even mention that it uses Linux. I doubt they'll officially support people trying to get a root shell prompt on it.
Why Emacs? It's already got an OS and that's Linux.
Slashdot Sig. version 0.1alpha. Use at your own risk.
There are some pictures here.
The transparent window to let you see the screen when the clamshell is closed is a nice touch, but it's following the latest phone trend of looking like it's eaten too many pies. When will someone produce a phone styled like the iPod with it's slick square-with-rounded-corners look?
I wonder if you can telnet in from the serial port/data link port, install a VNC server and then have all your phone controlls on your desktop? Would be a big improvement over fiddly little buttons - mind you in the photo it doesn't seem to have numeric buttons, but rather use some kind of touch screen controls as well as a D pad.
Beep beep.
I find the proliferation of Linux-based devices interesting. It would seem to suggest a growing base of devices that will attract application developers and create more reasons for both users and platform manufacturers to adopt Linux.
But I wonder if a common kernel is sufficient from the perspective of the end-user. In particular, I wonder how compatible the various flavors of Linux are when it comes to GUI-based applications that most people want to use. Unless all these various devices can run some common GUI, most of the real applications that people want to use will will be impossible to port between all these devices or hard to use if they get ported but use different interface guidelines.
Perhaps the volume of devices running Linux is less important than the volume of devices running a standardized UI layer and set of interface guidelines on Linux.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
I heard they still can't get the sound to work.
This is cool and all.. But can I make calls with it?
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.
--
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.
Links to some results? Of course not.
Here's a summary of MY results:
My Linux powered toilet flushes 1000% faster and can handle much larger (sometimes by an order of magnitude) offerings than my Windows based one. It also uses %50 less water. Can you believe that?
I'm sticking with Linux for all my bathroom needs. I can't wait to install Apache on it either. That's gonna rock.
I don't know what my issue is but every single time I see a new device that sports Linux I consider getting one and turning it into a webserver. One of these days that's what's happening to my PS2.
It's been patently obvious for several years that the Motorola management simply have no confidence in their own products.
8 .html
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.
Ouch!
May be when it comes to $300 or so, I will consider.
I tried to point to this Register-story earlyer:/ 31962.html
i temid=52 0
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/68
Motorola have had the A760 cooking for a long time. Any release in US or Europe is yet undecided. And only two weeks after they recently sold their share in Symbian, a Microsoft phone - MPx200 - was announced.
Motorola state in a press release that a row of MS based phones are planned, and that the two companies are cooperating closely within development and strategic marketing. The english version of the release seems to have vanished, but one in swedish is available, dated today:
http://sverige.motorola.com/newsview.asp?
I think it's safe to consider the A760 an "asian experiment". There are currently no indication further plans for those devices. There are, however, very explicit plans for further development of MS-based devices.
broken URL - trying again: Link to press release in Swedish
The XScale has an order of magnitude better performance per watt than PPC - we're talking fractions of a watt flat out at 400MHz (see the spec sheet). Also note that this is an Intel/DEC improved ARM core, and isn't x86 based in the slightest.
This particular XScale also has a large wedge of on-chip flash and a bunch of handy peripherals for mobile devices - which is unsurprising seeing as that's what it seems to have been made for.
It is funny that Motorola favour other manufacturer's chips for embedded low power devices, but the reason is simple: none of their stuff fits the bill. Even their own mobile phones seem to use ARM these days.
What in the world are you talking about? Nowhere does this say it supports GPS in any way. I read the article, the post, and searched on Google. If you are thinking GPRS, that is 100% a completely different thing.
GPRS info
Info about the A760, which says no GPS at all (not even the unusable e911 gps locator used in some phones for emergency use only).
IANAL, but I play one on
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?
On a platform like that, you could get done typing entire documents on VI while Emacs is still loading. :P