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Motorola A768 Phone Loaded With Open Source
Supp0rtLinux writes "According to this article over at Linux Devices and noted on here at NewsForge.com, Motorola has released a newer version of its A76x line of cellular phones. This newest release, the A768, boasts of open source softwares from Monta Vista Linux, Trolltech, and Sleepycat. The only downside is that it appears to only be available in China right now. And the older A760 released last August is still only available in Europe and Asia. Why are we in the U.S. always the last to get new cellular toys? The good news, though, is that with a Linux base and an integrated PDA and MS Office file compatibility, at least syncing this to either a Linux system or a Windows one should be fairly seamless. (A760 Review)"
Why are we in the U.S. always the last to get new cellular toys?
Because you have several competing, incompatible cellular networks, when the rest of the world seems to have enough sense to agree on GSM. GSM is an easier, and denser market to conquer. The US market comes second, when something GSM is proven to work well commercially.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
300+ submissions and one was finally accepted. Time to tell the wife and kiddies... :) I've finally made it to the ranks for geekdom. Now, if only someone would sell me their extremely low /. number... something under 5000 perhaps?
Linux running on the toaster ?
The only downside is that it appear to only be available in China right now.
Well I suppose you could learn Chinese, but paying for around-the-world roaming fees will probably screw you.
Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
We in the US are last to get this technology because we embrace it not as fully. We still have lots of landlines and service that isn't as crappy as the ones that I used in London. Europe seems to have less advanced systems, so they are more eager to make the jump away from their crappy POTS. We live in a land filled with mediocre service that people don't hate fullly enough.
Mod "Overrated" instead of replying "I disagree with you," you coward.
1) FCC - They have to approve every device and this takes time.
2) Slow adoption rate. The USA isn't big on advanced cells. Not like Europe or Asia.
3) Usually the better phones are GSM. Only recently has GSM become a real option here in the states.
Also: If this type of stuff interestes you, check out Smart Mobs and the book, it is excellent.
Reading Word Docs on my cell phone. Combo devices... Meh
Post: Sigged, for your pleasure.
This is pretty much a continuation of a trend that began a few years ago. We see many embedded devices using open source, particularly linux. It makes sense for many reasons, but the bottom line is that open source is inexpensive (ie free?) and widely used, which makes development more efficient.
The really interesting thing, as I see it, is the integration we will be able to get when many devices run linux. I would love to be able to integrate my cell phone with my pda with my computer with my wireless access point. the possibilities are endless when we converge on common standards.
Would be interesting to see what they got under the hood ..
Although this device might be using "Open Source" software the actual software in the device isn't open. No doubt they obtained commercial licenses from Sleepycat and others so that they could get around having to release their software. Which is a pity because it makes customizing the thing so much harder.
John.
The US is generally last to get new cellular toys because of the lack of a single standard. By letting the market fight it out, the FCC - whilst promoting competition amongst vendors - kinda hashed things up for the consumers.
:(
They did it again with Digital TV too, mandating an arguably inferior standard that isn't used much elsewhere, so that the domestic TV manufacturers would be happy. Now, if they'd gone with DVB-T, prices everywhere around the World for DTV tuners would be lower. Ho hum. It seems the US Government doesn't get wireless. So the population can't, either
There is a certain reliability factor we expect in U.S. equipment. Keep in mind that these fancy Linux phones are bleeding-edge and likely quite unstable compared to your standard PCS or analog phone. Additionally, with the amount of geography we've got to cover, the support for newer technologies just isn't there in our cell towers.
Canada's in an even worse situation, technically speaking. Even though it's easier to deploy wireless than it used to be to get phone service out to rural areas, the towers still require service.
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
-- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.
As I can speak for Europe (Germany), each kid (12 and up !) here needs the newest toy on the market.
Handys are everywhere - but not mainly to call someone - especially Teenagers are sending hundrets of SMS per month - for 30-40 Euro-cents each !
Photo-Handys and MMS are on their way, the market is growing and growing.
Handys are a definitely a status symbol -
You've got one ? - You're one of us.
You've got that old-styled Nokia Handy from last Season ? You're such a dork !
Spelling mistakes: My is english spoken not tongue of mother.
Namaste
now, not only do i have to deal with people talking on cell phones while driving, i potentially have to deal with people compiling kernels on their cell phones while driving
vodka, straight up, thank you!
The only downside is that it appear to only be available in China right now
Downside for you, maybe. No downside for anyone that lives/works where these devices are used.
Full of open source?
"Please deposit $699 for the next 3 minutes. Thank you for using Cingudarl."
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Not just that, but a litigation-heavy court system and a class-action popular mindset make us the last place anyone wants to try something new.
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In fact, I'm not buying any Motorola phones until they come out with one that supports Bluetooth. Sorry Nextel, your service is useless to me until you get some decent phones.
In other words... China has the United States' (or soon will have) population already as a customer in China. Do the math... Do I release it in the US and sell about 50-100 million (wishfully thinking), or do I do with a solid 100+ million Gee willikers what would you do...
Opinionater bastard
MoFscker
Why does noone ever call on folks who use embedded OSS products to release the source, at least to people who buy the products?
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Scheiss pseudo Anglismen! "Mobieles Telefon" heiBt das du Arsch!
Ooooh.. its linux.. oooh its not linux.. So fucking what? Is it any better as a mobile phone than its competitors or not? If you buy a phone purely because its operating system is open source, then you are focusing on something immaterial to the function (and styling) of the phone. You could have bought something that suited your needs better if you weren't so hung up on your "open source is best" or "MS is best" dogma!
ching chong(pang ding, eggroll **dong)
{
galing ping[gang(dong[0] ? chopsuey[0] : "") + sezchuan(FRIEDRICE)];
eggroll *;
yung (!chopsuey[0])
ching = chong;
}
can you make calls on it, or just play games and mess with ringtones?
For all the advances that have come along, my Visor Prism and Visor Phone has been able to do them all.
I just need a SpringBoard and I am ready for any situation. If I am using GSM, Visorphone. If I need a 56K, I have that also. If I need Ethernet, yep, that is covered also. What else? MP3? Yes. Word Docs? Flip the screen and I can even read more than 4 words a line. GPS? Yep.. That is done also.
It isn't a clean package, but it is functional and that is something that linux is not going to be until we find a hardware maker that can pack EVERYTHING into a single unit.
Like the previous posters... I continue to wait. GSM when no 802.11B is available or 56K + Ethernet if there is a wire around.
SenatorPerry
Does that mean that the phone will run all of the word/excel macro virii/viruses?
Fight Spammers!
The USA does have GSM but they transmit it on different frequencies than other places (1900MHz instead of 1800Mhz/900Mhz IIRC) so only special handsets can work there.
DVDs are released first in North America. Everyone else in the world has to wait 6-12 months.
...and of course to a German, "funny" means enjoyable (something that is fun).
Obgleich ich ein Idiot monoglot Amerikaner bin, dient Babelfish I, um sehr gut zu sein!
There's no point in calling it open source if the sources aren't available. And somehow I doubt that yet another big company embracing open source will actually include the sources with the product.
Actually the fact that it uses Linux at would suggest that there is a far greater chance that it will work with my computer. It could be be greatest phone in the world but if it will not interact with my other devices/systems then what good is it.
No, you ARE teh zhitty!!!1!!
Um, we're not charged for receiving calls. On cell phones, yes, but not on POTS, which was the topic at hand.
How much are you charged for receiving calls?
I'm from the UK, and didn't really know this happened - I don't think it does here. Does it only happen if someone from a different network calls you?
Linux is open source and therefore totally buggy.
Actually, not really. There isn't any SyncML for the Zaurus, which does Linux+Qtopia just like this phone. Whereas a lot of other phones running every other OS does support SyncML. You'd probably have a better chance of your computer talking to a SyncML-enabled phone rather than whatever PIM API Trolltech/Sharp/Mot is using this week.
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
It is an attempt by Motorola to aid the Chinese in overthrowing their oppressive government.
The U.S. is a free nation. We have a free market to encourage competition and innovation, and strong intellectual property laws to protect IP owners. We have freedom of speech and freedom of association, so an open-source based telephone that owners might tinker with is no threat to government authority. China, on the other hand, jails people who speak out against the government and exercises tight control over network access. Locking everything up in proprietary code would help the government keep it that way, so Linux in the cell phone is obviously like the old trick of delivering a hacksaw blade in a cake to a prisoner in jail.
True, but since it uses Linux it might offer more opportunity to prod around inside of it. It uses Bluetooth and USB which both offer device class standards which might make for a pathway to communication. It might be possible to make an image of the rom and use that to reconstruct how everything is setup inside.
I would say that being Linux based increases the odds of reverse engineering it. It might also mean that the company would be a little more prone to write a Linux based client -- even if it is only a binary.
No, running Linux does not necessarly guarantee an outmagic connection but I think that it does counter the OP's bigotry by providing the *real* reason that we are so excited about the fact that it runs on Linux. It is not just because we are a bunch of Linux zealots that want everything to run on Linux. I have been quite happy with my PalmOS based PDA; but, it is open enough that libraries have been written to allow me to interface it to my Linux desktop.
My impression is that Americans aren't used to buying mobile phones themselves, even though it's easy with GSM. This impression comes from the fact that all the US bloggers whom I read always refer to "[AT&T/Nextel/other telco] doesn't offer [latest model] yet".
Manufacturers therefore build handsets to a common standard, so if it works in one country it will work in another.
The old 'FCC approval' trick is nothing more than an trade barrier and a method by which 'local' manufacturers (who probably have them built in China) can maintain a certain level of protection while stiffing their customers.
Nothing more than US protectionism at its best.
I don't care where it's sold (I bought a Sony-Ericsson P900 from Asia because I couldn't find anyone selling the A760). I want that phone. Could someone post a website of a company that sells it?
You're trapped by your own ignorance. *If* SCO has a valid case and were to win both the copyright issues with Novell and the contract dispute issues with IBM, they would have legal ground to pursue any organization using Linux, and not just limited to U.S. based companies. So their choice to not release it in the U.S. is not at all based on their fear of reprecussions from SCO.
The reason an American company producing products in China does not sell this model in the Americas is that is a fairly shoddy piece...read the review, the guy didn't like anything about it except it had a useful screen indoors, not much of recommendation, perhaps the product is not quite mature enough and Motorola are willing to test it on the Asian market since people there tend to change phones so often, they might not notice its short comings before they swap to the next new model when it appears.
-- Sig meltdown immine...
UM, the A760 (which has Linux OS base just like the A768) has been released in all of Europe and Asia. Its that neither are available in the US. And considering that there are so few Windows-based phones available in the U.S., Microsoft is probably happy to just have them. Sure... they won't like Motorola doing Linux phones anymore than they like Dell selling Linux instead of Windows, but they're not in a position to be dominant in the cell phone market right now. Studies have proven that embedded Linux is better than embedded Windows and nobody wants their cell phone to blue screen on them. The best cell phones are Java and Linux based. MS will have to fight hard to dominate that market. Of course, knowing them, they're probably about to release a MS Cell Phone that needs a 200 character license key to activate.
Hey, that's just like the code in SCO Unixware! You thief!
Because the Asian market customers are willing to pay more money to get the latest gadget than U.S. market customers (free phone with your bucket o' minutes?).
All I can say right now is that every cell phone I've ever owned (and I do live in the US) has had a SIM card. T-Mobile (formerly VoiceStream, until they were bought out by the German company of the same name) uses them in their phones, and I've seen a number of people swapping out SIM cards so that they could make use of someone else's phone (and have access to their phonebook).
As well, (they used to, don't know if they still do now, and I'm not quite sober enough to actually go visit their site) they offered tri-band GSM phones (900/1800/1900MHz), so (in theory) they would work worldwide. I don't know if you could stick another provider's SIM card into the phone and it would work, as I've never had the opportunity to test such things, nor have I heard any experiences with trying it.
Dogma: Dead (mostly because your Karma ran it over)
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I think the A760 hasn't been released in Europe.
I've been waiting for it for a year now.
Maybe you know better..?
.. why come up with a new, fancy, feature-full mobile phone, and then blow it all just before the finish line by adding an external antenna? In 2004? Back in the bad, old days of 1997 you could only get phones with external antennas, and boy was it annoying when those darn things unstoppingly managed to dig a hole in your pocket or whatever you kept it in. The first phone company that came up with the internal antennas experienced a huge jump in market share, and I can't for the life of me understand why companies like Motorola are still making phones with ugly inconvinient external stickouts.
how open is the interface to the phone? I imagine it it impossible to run native applications on it... but I can't find any info on it.
Any clues?
Dude, the market is flooded with basic phones. Have you seen the Verizon catalog lately? They have a huge selection of basic phones for $30 or less. So if you "just want a fricken phone + phone # storage", hey, knock yourself out.
Second, what makes you think bells and whistles automatically make for a bad phone? I can use my phone for a lot more than just calling people, and you know what? It's still a really good phone. Don't knock it till you try it.
Visit me on the web at Permanent4.com.
So its Linux based. Can I write and load my own application programs for it? How about kernel modules?
I emailed the project manager for the A760 at Motorola a few months ago asking about plans to release it in the U.S. He said it *was planned* but offered no ETA. Searching around google for "Motorola A760" will list quite a few reviews and articles, many of which mention its availability in Europe and Asia.
'Why are we in the U.S. always the last to get new cellular toys?' Holy Shit man, why don't you try living in New Zealand.. We get completely ripped off with the new toys.