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Canadian Firms Get Behind OpenMoko/FreeRunner
mario writes "Now that the OpenMoko platform has stabilized enough to provide the OM2008 image (supporting the three major toolkits), things are starting to heat up. Linuxdevices is reporting on the start of a port of Devicescape's connect application. Koolu (another Canadian company) is also doing development for its W.E. phone (a branded FreeRunner). Which leads me to ask: Where are the American companies?"
Investing their money in Washington crafting laws and developing new business models.
Can we talk about the iPhone 3G instead?
Hmm, from what I've noticed, most cell phone companies are not based in the US. Europe and Asia constitute most of them.
Anyyway, I'm really excited about this as much as I'm frustrated about the number of SDKs to pick up, Symbian, Windows Mobile, now iPhone SDK.. Google's Android and then this!
slashdot rocks
OpenMoko is a very ambitious project, and, in my humble opinion, very important. But the quality of the result from the development of the software stack has been mediocre. I still have my hopes set that it will lift off, but it's still nowhere. Qtopia rocks, and it's free software, it's working, and it's cool, but the OpenMoko distributions aren't there yet, and I have the feeling that the effort is not focused. The old distro was cool, but it was abondoned. ASU is far from being usable (it is not even developer-friendly, not talking about user-friendly). FSO is still not mature. Now, this sets my hopes up. One commercial venture is interested in improving the phone. That for me means that one of the most important goals of the whole project has been achieved. Whatever the quality of the software stack is, we will have our free (as in speech) phone.
well, Apple/ATT have the iPhone. Sprint, T Mobile, google, and others are more interested in Android.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
I think the american companies have put their efforts behind Google...
The OpenMoko project has been around for a long time but it's been development only and unusable for the end user. US cellphone companies want to be able to sell something to end users now. They don't want an unfinished piece of junk that they don't know anything about -- they want their existing suppliers to give them USABLE phones.
Once this thing becomes polished and usable, at least as polished and usable as cell phones get, then we might see some interest.
i am a soviet space shuttle
After looking at the Koolu.com website, I'd almost rather they not be referred to as Canadian... it makes us look bad...
So some Canadian firms think that an open-source handset is going to be worthwhile. Great, good for them. The likelihood is that even if they do get anywhere with it, the majority of their clients are going to be in the US anyway. The average person in Canada doesn't know or care about open-source handsets, and isn't going to care enough to learn.
It's kind of like RIM - they were the first to really get mobile, business e-mail out into the world, and now they're famous. Everyone who doesn't have an iPhone has a blackberry these days, and most of RIM's clients are in the US. Where were the American companies? What does it matter?
In this era of free trade and globalization, there's hardly any distinction between American companies and Canadian companies. I work for a Canadian company which is owned by an American company which is run by the Canadian company. We're traded on an American stock exchange, we all work in Canada, and we just bought an American company made up almost entirely of Brits and Irish. So what does that make us?
'Canadian company' these days only refers to locality - where people show up for work at every morning. Beyond that, it doesn't make a difference.
American carriers are not only completely uninterested in a platform that gives the end-user complete control over their phone, but actively shunning it. Their business model is to sell slick-looking, crippled devices that push as much functionality through their networks as possible such that they can charge the end-user as much as they can for things that should be free. Verizon and the V710 debacle a few years ago come directly to mind (disabling OBEX, etc.).
I'll be shocked if we ever see a viable OpenMoko device in the next ten years.
+++ATH0
This is mainly from the viewpoint of a graphics programmer (3d, gpu drivers, ...), so my comments will focus on that part. I know there are a lot good features on this devices.
The Glamo chip can only use textures of 512 x 512 so it's impossible to use hw acceleration to decompress full screen video (unless you stretch the texture to the entire screen).
The video bus bandwidth is 7m/s which gives a theoretical maximum of 12 fps without hw acceleration. That bus is also shared with the sd card reducing the bandwidth even further if you are accessing the sd card.
SMedia refuses to give out the documentation of their gpu and only employees of OpenMoko have access to that documentation. Implementing 3D for the glamo is low priority. It's obvious it's low priority but it's a shame there's a gpu in there but you can't use it or even improve the driver.
American carriers are not only completely uninterested in a platform that gives the end-user complete control over their phone, but actively shunning it
Android answers the description you provide, and there seem to be a number of carriers embracing it.
They are driven to do so by the iPhone but that makes little difference in that things are moving that way, and carriers realize now that it will happen sooner rather than later.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I remember reading about the OpenMoko long before the iPhone, and the day the final spec where out I when and bought an Iphone why, no 3G or EDGE
Apple leave 3G out of the first gen iPhone and they get crucified, but this phone has no 3G or EDGE and it is OK because it is open source? WTF!
I would love an open phone. But you have to be the first one to the market with mobile's because of those 18 month contracts. Why do I have to wait two years for them to catch up with other company's who have stuff already on the self?
No other company offers the functionality of the iPhone. Yes Yes, you had email and internet on mobile phones for years but was it nice to use, I bet not.
I think Android will be the big player in the future, but they approach is broken due to Java.
With Linux becoming more and more popular, I had high hopes for OpenMoko because developers could code in a simpler environment as both desktop and mobile application could share the same code base.
I know software stacks don't just grow over night, trust me the iPhone has problems of it's own.
I also think the next big thing is MID's, when Intel announced this I thought they were mad. But after using a development one with 3G and Skype, it was one of the best experience with a mobile device bar none, crappy battery life was the only problem and this is where Intel will lose to ARM.
If I could get the same MID with cellular phone capability's and an ARM CPU, My iPhone would be straight in the blender.
As the 3G on the iPhone is shit, the same MID as above had a full bars of 3G where I live but the iPhone, I only seen two or three in some areas.
So if the next software update does not fix this, I will be sending it back and looking for an new mobile. And it will not be for OpenMoko or Apple because of constant delays and sub par hardware.
Rant over
Carriers are exerting pressure on baseband manufacturers to ensure that they do not open specifications required to get open-source software to work with advanced basebands that work with EDGE, EvDO, or HS*PA. So all you get is plain GPRS and voice, on the one baseband that was available to be used with the FreeRunner.
Don't expect this to change anytime soon. It won't. If necessary, the carriers will exert pressure on Congress to pass a law banning open source operating systems on cellular devices in the name of "security."
+++ATH0
At last, a phone from Linux fanatics! You can dial from the command line. Just type:
echo 0 >
echo 1 >
cu -l
AT+CFUN=1
AT+CPIN="<pin>"
AT+COPS
ATD<number>
You are now connected. See how easy it is!
You don't need to use a phone to upload camera pictures. There's an SD memory card which you can put into your digital camera that can upload images via Wi-Fi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye-Fi/
Transmitting energy without a license.
She appointed all of her power over Canada to the Governor General, who makes law whatever our government tells him to.
She exerts no power over us at all, why rebel against her? Figure out what you're talking about for fuck sakes.
if they could legally ban unlocked phones on their network they would do it. In fact most of their retarded phone workers think this already when I call up for a new sim to add to my plan...
ME: I need a sim to add to my contract.
THEM: SIM why? has your old one stopped?
ME: NO I'm adding a new line to my contract and I need a sim.
THEM: Then you need a phone as well, we have several to choose from....
ME: NO, I need the sim I already have a phone.
THEM: You haveto have an AT&T phone to work on our network....
ME:NO, It's unlocked it already works, please semm me a SIM card...
THEM: OMG!!!OMG!!!OMG!!! UNLOCKED? That against the law! FCC violation! are you a terrorist? OMG!!OMG!!OMG!!
ME: Please, I want a sim card... please?
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.