Linux Smartphones On The Rise

nostriluu writes "I know, some people want their cell phone to just be a cell phone. To those people, I suggest a second hand phone. For those of us who want to cram as much functionality as possible into a device we are going to bother carrying everywhere, there is the promise of the Linux Smartphone. I've had a P800 for over a year now and while it's great (although a brick), I can't wait for a Linux based device to bring the culture of openness and upgradability, as opposed to the intentional obsolesence and $10 for every little utility someone reinvents for "closed" devices."

Comments

Isn't that a GNU/Linux phone..

[Anonymous Coward]

thats what i herd. LOL!

$699 for a cell phone

[thedogcow]

Does this mean that SCO will be now charging $699 to cell phone users?

Re:$699 for a cell phone

[benploni]

Christ, for $699/mo, I'd better be able to call anyone in the whole fucking Galaxy without having to deal with roaming charges :P

No problem -- I'll offer you that plan. You give me $699 a month, and I'll provide cell phone service to the whole galaxy with no roaming charges. Piece of cake.

Man, I love being able to charge for services you can never use!

Using vi will be a bitch...

[mmuskratt]

Getting my P800 to recognize vi graffiti? Weird.

Obligatory Comment about beowulf clusters

[beatleadam]

...I just had this vision of hundreds if not thousands of Geeks running around and setting up Linux Smartphone Beowulf Clusters...

How many Phones Does it take to answer the question "can you hear me now"?

Imagine....

[nonregistered]

A beowulf mob-cluster of wi-fi smartphones!

Re:This is neat, but...

[Poster Nutbag]

Yeah, I guess I'm waiting until they develop phones that allow you to boot people in the ass over long distances.

Reach out and touch someone indeed.

I think you mean...

[jellybear]

Hurd?

ROFL!

Re:benefits

[System.out.println()]

2. Better security. No better way to iron all the bugs out than opening up the source.

No kidding. I mean, look at how secure Win2k is now that it's OSS! :)

*ducks*

unreachable

[bodrell]

I concur. If I don't want someone to get in touch with me, I can go fishing. Not that I ever go fishing, but I could. I used to have a pager, because I could take my sweet time getting back to someone. If I ever do get a cell phone, it'll prolly be off most of the time, then I can check voice mails and get back to people.

Re. cell phone safety--I read a recent study (New Scientist, perhaps?) that showed cell phones cause extreme damage to rat brains. But our skulls are thicker, so it may not matter for humans. Regardless, people who drive and talk on cell phones will die much quicker deaths than if they were to develop brain cancer.