Linux Smartphones Race To Be 1st In U.S.

An anonymous reader writes "The race is on for first mover in the domestic US Linux smartphone market! Last week, Motorola announced a new Linux-based business user smartphone that's expected to ship to US customers by the end of 2004. Meanwhile, Chinese phone maker e28 will debut its latest Linux-based smartphone at LinuxWorld this week, and will soon begin distributing it in the Chicago area. Both devices are pretty cool. The quad-band Moto phone features a 1.3 megapixel camera, Intel's latest cell-phone chip, and fancy sync software that (currently only) works with Microsoft email servers at this point (others pending). e28's phone is an upgrade to its previously announced e2800, which became the world's first commercially available Linux phone when it shipped in China in August, 2003 [Slashdot discussion]. Interestingly, e28 was founded in 2002 by the former president of Mot's Asia Pacific cell phone division -- the world's largest mobile market."

Comments

I won't buy it

[Advocadus Diaboli]

Actually looking for a new cell phone I wouldn't even consider buying such a thing for the following reasons:

• I personally don't need or want a megapixel camera in my cellphone. And some industries agree with me and won't let me enter their facilities with photographic equipment
• I don't see a use of Linux on a phone... or shall I run an Apache on it with live pictures from the internal camera updated every minute so that people can see where I'm walking or the inside of my pocket? :-)
• If the first priority was to do a mail sync with a proprietary product then the "Linux" is just a marketing gag. Note in this context that they are saying "microsoft mail server not client.
• I still don't know about features that I'm looking for as "long standby time", "long and good organized voice recording", "triband" and "secure bluetooth apps".

And last not least I really wonder if todays "smartphones" are smart enough to make simple phone calls with them.

Re:I won't buy it

[mwood]

The mobile phone was an improvement over the immobile phone. The PDA was, for lots of us, a disimprovement over the paper and pencil that continue to do everything we want in a note-taking system. My DayTimer doesn't run down, doesn't break when I drop it, retains *exactly* what I wrote instead of its best guess, also holds the day's receipts when closed, and doesn't fail to do anything I want it to do.

I suppose someone could make electronic digitalized chewing gum, but would it really be better?

(Don't go telling me I'm opposed to change. Making *useful* changes is what I do for a living. Some changes are not useful, or not broadly useful.)

This FPG forj GNAA

[Anonymous Coward]

These early been many, not the are about 7000/5 become like they 7owels on the floor