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Why Open Source Phones Still Fail

Posted by Soulskill on from the strange-and-spooky dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "Truly open-development, open-source phones like the Nokia N900 will never hit the mainstream in the US because wireless carriers in the country hate the unexpected, writes PCMag's Sascha Segan. The open-source philosophy is all about unexpected, disruptive ideas bubbling upwards, and that drives network planners nuts. So, you get unsatisfactory hybrids like Google Android, which uses some open-source components but locks third-party developers into a crippled Java sandbox. The bottom line is that while Linux the OS, the kernel, and the memory manager are attractive to phone manufacturers, Linux the philosophy — and users banding together ad hoc to create new things — is anathema to wireless carriers."

2 of 322 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The N900 is a computer milestone by Cwix · · Score: 1, Funny

    thats not a review, its a digital ejaculation of fanboism

    --
    You are entitled to your own opinions, not your own facts.
  2. Re:Open their blinders with amazing apps by Hognoxious · · Score: 2, Funny

    If I take ten do I get a discount?

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."