Nokia Leaks Phone With Full GNU/Linux Distribution

An anonymous reader writes "It is now clear why Nokia has been so slow with S60 updates: the upcoming N900 just left everything else in the dust. Unlike Google's Linux platform, Nokia is not intentionally breaking compatibility with real distros, choosing instead to bring you the unmatchable power of GNU/Linux on your phone. This is the most awesome device I have ever seen: MAP3 CPU/GPU, 3,5" 800x480 touchscreen, keyboard, Wi-Fi, HSPA, GPS; 5-MP camera, CZ lens, 32 GB storage, SD slot; X11, VT100 terminal emulator, APT package manager. Estimated price without credit: $780 (N.5800: $390, iPhone 3GS: $750). Developers should note that even though the current desktop is still GTK+, Qt will be standard across all Nokia platforms in the near future (less powerful phones will use Qt on the Symbian kernel). Users can download flashing software from Nokia, and patches can be submitted at the Maemo site."

Comments

Re:Err, so just like the Pre?

[Sir_Lewk]

Firstly, if it only runs javascript applications as you say, then it's hardly any more of a "real distro" than Android is.

not some compiled language using C

There are other compiled languages besides C. There are a lot of them in fact...

but I look at that as a good thing.

I suspect from your previous comment that you are terribly unqualified to even understand the implications of what you're saying, or to make that comment at all.

Re:Shell apps?

[u38cg]

What I wonder is how long it will be before these phones *are* your computer and you just plug in a fullblown screen and keyboard wherever you want to sit and work. We're essentially there, just nobody does it yet.

features or benefits

[petes_PoV]

OK, nice spec 'n' all -but what will I actually be able to do with this puppy that I can't do with my "ordinary" smart phone, or PDA or computer or whatever this turns out to be?

I don't buy an appliance just because it runs Linux or X11 - however I *might* buy one if these features add new functions, or make existing ones easier. So far as what I've already got is concerned, the only thing that comes to mind would be the ability for me (and not anybody else) to log into the phone remotely and use its functions across a network connection.

Other than that, my experience of smart phones is that the keyboard's too small for serious word-work, the screen's too small for almost everything (esp. watching movies) and it's also far too dim to use in daylight. The music player's nice and the camera while limited is good enough for "happy snaps", almost all of which are discarded or ignored as soon as they've been taken. I.e. all features, but few benefits.

So come on Nokia, don't try to impress me with megabytes and gigahertz, tell me what I'll be able to do now, that I couldn't do before. That's where the sales are.

Re:features or benefits

[BobMcD]

So come on Nokia, don't try to impress me with megabytes and gigahertz, tell me what I'll be able to do now, that I couldn't do before. That's where the sales are.

(Making a few assumptions here)

1) Find an open source application anywhere on the web
2) Download it
3) Install it

This is directly contrasted against the existing options which all go more like:

1) Find an application on the provided store*
2) Pay for it
3) Download it
4) Install it

* Note the store reserves the right to approve apps on their own terms.

If you're the sort of guy that doesn't ever imagine running something other than what is provided in the (Apple) store on your phone, you're not going to miss much. If you get frustrated by the notion of other people controlling what you are allowed to run on a device you own, the choice theoretically offered by an open platform should be a win.

I say theoretically and should because this all depends on someone providing the applications. Or at least modifying existing apps to work on your new phone. If no one does this for you, and you can't do it yourself, then your freedom of choice isn't going to get that much exercise.

Yeah but

[Cornwallis]

can it make phone calls without dropping signal? I'm still waiting for that.

Re:Yeah but

[Anonymous Coward]

Move to a country where operators actually compete for customers' money. Judging from Slashdot comments, and personal experience, *any* country in Europe, and pretty much any other part of the developed world must be better than US on average.

I'm yet to see a phone that would have problems maintaining the calls here in Finland, or well, almost anywhere I've gone, and many of those places have been pretty damn middle of nowhere. (Well, some parts of deserts in China actually posed a problem, but do your calling locations compare with that?) And I haven't noticed friends having particularly more problems with cell coverage with their different phones, either.

Re:woohoo!

[illumin8]

When I had a Razr a few years ago I got insurance on it, and the insurance company cancelled me when I dropped the third one in the toilet trying to answer it when I was taking a piss.

Here's a novel concept: Don't answer the phone while you're taking a piss...

Re:Hmmm

[V!NCENT]

"bring you the unmatchable power of GNU/Linux". Cheesiest. Line. Ever. On /.

Just for the record: is there anything that you can name that can do more than Linux? Ever had an OS run on your wristwatch that was also able to run on the world fastest super computers, space exploration and operation critical medical hardware?

Just curious...

Re:Err, so just like the Pre?

[V!NCENT]

As much as I would like to see that happen; history shows that whoever is best at marketing, wins. I'll spare you the examples, because otherwise I would be modded down for (-1, incomfortabl- errrrr.... trolling or flamebaiting.

Re:Err, so just like the Pre?

[diamondsw]

Yes, but the real question is, "since when is being compiled a requirement?"

Ever since performance or memory usage has been. And thus always will.

Re:Err, so just like the Pre?

[Anonymous Coward]

FLAMEBAIT!!? Or pure ignorance? .NET is not a native app environment. And guess what? Microsoft banned all benchmarks for it because it is SLOW. *Compiled*, *native* apps run almost always faster than some non-compiled crap. Saying "fsck compiled apps - I only care about by (insert favourite interpreted lang here)" is either flamebait or ignorance.

You can get sooo much more out of a phone if you only run native apps on the slow ass processor without draining the battery completely. If you really want examples, please write an implementation of some MPEG4 codec in Javascript and then we'll compare it to execution speed for a C implementation. I suspect you may have trouble running the Javascript decoder anywhere in real time.

Cheers!

Re:Err, so just like the Pre?

[quercus.aeternam]

Ok, I'll bite.

Your shocked dismay at being modded flamebait is entirely irrational, as you are entirely misrepresenting what Sir_Lewk said.

He did /not/ say that 'applications made with Javascript can't possibly exist in a "real" distro.' He said that any Linux offering that limits itself to /one/ language cannot be considered a full distro.

That is debatable - but I very much empathize. IMO, a fundamental feature of Linux is its openness, which allows me to do whatever I please on my hardware (even run ancient COBOL apps - though some work would be required) with minimal effort.

---------------

Now, to your previous post:

Sir_Lewk is mentioning that both Palm's Web OS and Android are castrated distros.
Nokia's offering is /not/ arbitrarily limited by language - which is a huge boon to development. If you want an already existing application, you don't need to rewrite it from scratch in whatever language, you /port/ it.

As to "since when is being compiled a requirement?", consider this: who would to convert a compiled language into an interpreted one? If you want platform compatibility, you /port/ the compiler. Being compiled is a requirement if you don't want to attempt to convert a language /designed/ for compilation into an interpreted one.

As to your ad hominem attack on Sir_Lewk, it lends you absolutely /no/ credibility.

---------------

I have now explained what you have requested. IMHO, your posts easily fall into the realm of flamebait. You are not worth another explanation unless you can demonstrate understanding.

I wish you the best of luck.

Re:Err, so just like the Pre?

[Rebelgecko]

Funny doesn't count for karma. Otherwise, I would have made a joke instead of informing you of this.