Slashdot Mirror
OpenPhoenux Neo900 Bills Itself As Successor To Nokia's N900
An anonymous reader writes "The latest device in the OpenPhoenux open hardware family is the Neo900, the first true successor to the Nokia N900. The Neo900 is a joint project of the Openmoko veteran Jörg Reisenweber and the creators of the GTA04/Letux2804 open hardware smartphone at Golden Delicious Computers. Furthermore, it is supported by the N900 Maemo5/Fremantle community, the Openmoko community and the OpenPhoenux community, who are working together to get closer to their common goal of providing an open hardware smartphone, which is able to run 100% free and open source software, while being independet of any big hardware manufacturer." So far, their Indiegogo campaign has raised more than half of the €25,000 they're seeking.
to reiterate, 3 line keyboard nooooooooo!
that's not too lame, dang filter. 3 line keyboard is lame. and I'm not supposed to repeat either, stupid filters.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Hmm, it's more like the spiritual successor to the old Psion palmtops. They were amazing for their time and every so often I wonder what would have happened if they hadn't just given up in 2001...
A lot of people complain about the keyboard but frankly, it's a lot nicer than no keyboard and it's compact. It's enough for quick script writing and SSH. I speak from experience. On the other hand, the screen is dire by modern standards. The resistive touch sensor is great for stylus use but bad for fingers. The battery is awful.
To resurrect the N900, it needs more than just new innards.
But seriously now, I would like to see at least a prototype, even glued together with duct tape and chewing gum. The target financing doesn't seem to be enough for a true serial production, more like a limited production of a niche terminal. Which, sadly, you could argue it is, since nowadays people have become obsessed with bigger screens and lightweight electronics.
why is it that i cant get a cellphone that is a cellphone and not a tiny computer that has to be rechanged daily? i want a cellphone that i only have to charge once a month or so. is it too much to ask for?! MOTOFONE was my last hope but alas it is dead.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
GSM - free GSM module doesn't exists, replacing sw means revoke of certification and using non-certified device on public network is illegal
GPU - only 3D acceleration is non-free. OSes like SHR or QtMoko don't need 3D acceleration and work great without it, with 100% FLOSS stack
WiFi - it *might* be non-free (as in firmware, drivers will be free no matter what), but only if no acceptable free module can be found
As a brick
The creator of this device is Golden Delicious Computers, which are located in Germany. So it should be no problem to send one to the UK, once they are ready. Go to the homepage (neo900.org), subscribe to the mailinglist or put your donation, to make sure you'll get one of the first mass production batch.
they said, all free software, not Open Hardware. Many wifi, and I think a few huewi LTE cards have Free drivers.
As for GPU, a few of them have things like freedreno and the like. Not the best, but they exist.
Jolla Mobile
http://jolla.com/
Maemo -> meego -> mer -> sailfish.
its even made by the same design team that rage quit nokia and founded a new company
I think he means "FCC certified," not "network operator certified." I strongly suspect other countries have an equivalent to the FCC...
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
I really, sincerely hope that they will avoid ever using the weak connection of the original N900's MicroUSB socket that caused bricking when it separated from the PCB.
I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
Please. Calm down.
GSM - free GSM module doesn't exists, replacing sw means revoke of certification and using non-certified device on public network is illegal
What a bunch of FUD. On your shitty network in a country with broken laws? Maybe.
dos1 is from Poland. I'm pretty sure that's not the broken-lawed country you were thinking of.
In the real world out there, operators don't "certify" devices.
And he never said they did. However, the FCC in the US, and the corresponding authority in other countries, do certify cellular terminals, and do make it illegal to operate uncertified ones (in the normal way, on a public GSM network).
They provide a SIM and the SIM is used in the whatever device the customer pleases.
Yes, and if you build yourself an uncertified GSM terminal, you are practically free to slot your SIM and use it -- you'll be breaking the law, but as long as your equipment really does conform to the specifications, nobody will notice or care.
However, you can't presently get someone to sell you a prebuilt GSM module with open firmware, because (at least in USA; I'm not sure how the policies of radio comms regulators in other countries compare, but they're unlikely to be much better) the FCC will not certify such a device, because open means the user could load modified firmware that would cause the device to not conform to specifications. (If firmware is only distributed as a binary, that's all ok, because apparently FCC thinks reverse-engineering doesn't happen...)
AFAIK there's not a big enough market for such things to motivate some Chinese factory beyond the FCC's reach to develop and produce open-firmware GSM modules, but even if there was, that only helps if each user is getting their own parts through customs and assembling it. If GolDeliCo imports such a (necessarily uncertified) module and uses it in a phone, that phone will then have to be certified, which not only is a ridiculously expensive process, but also will be impossible (at least in the USA) because the FCC still applies the policy that such firmware cannot be open. And selling an uncertified mobile phone for use on the public GSM networks will get you in trouble in a way that building your own for yourself won't.
That's a pretty harsh slapdown of DIYers, coming from someone with a 5-digit Slashdot ID.
I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
What's so special about a 5-digit slashdot id?
-- Oh Well
Considering that even Nokia dropped it like a red hot coal ASAP and shipped a different design why would anyone ever contemplate it? If someone mentions Fords do you bring up the Pinto fuel tank as well?
Please refer to my earlier post about this troll trying to sow doubt about a long fixed design fault.
Certification from the relevant national authority is absolutely required for *ANYTHING* capable of transmitting RF. For something that connects to a public network, there are additional certifications besides just the basic RF ones. I still remember back in the old days, if you took your AMPS handset into Canada, you had to have it registered at Canadian customs; this was eventually dropped, but I don't know if it was due to complaints, drowning in workload, or what.
However, I disagree about FOSS firmware based on the very existance of all the 802.11 and Bluetooth drivers in our favorite operating systems: this was a real concern for them, but the wrath of the world's governments has not come down on them since, for example, MadWiFi was open-sourced. Cellular Radiotelephone networks present a special case, not because of the RF, but due to the authentication requirements to prevent toll fraud.
Besides this, individual network operators also check out devices to be sure they behave on their networks before they commit to carrying them (for GSM).
One last thing, though: at least here in the USA, much of our GSM will disappear in 2016 when AT&T shuts down that network; T-Mobile USA has not given a date yet. Unfortunately, WCDMA--much less LTE in its various forms--is heavily patented worldwide, so getting a legal FOSS implementation of it is probably impossible at this time, so certs would be the least of your trouble: do you really want the likes of Qualcomm suing you into oblivion?
they have this concept called "the other half", where you can snap all kinds of gizmos to the back of the thing, via I2C interface.
Its confirmed there WILL be a HW keyboard otherhalf
I have an old n900 at home. I'll be sitting this one out as I don't like resistive screens.
If you can show you're a developer with some projects under your belt who can help this project just send me a message and I'll send you my phone
-j
A blog I run for the wealth
Then change your BTC into real money.
(BTC ? In the iso money naming that'd be Bhutan Colons).
Watch this Heartland Institute video
The problem is the case.
This idea came about because the GTA04 already exists, but only fits in the old OpenMoko case, which is nearly impossible to find.
By the coincidence of being built around the same TI devkit as the RX51 the GTA04 almost fits the N900 case, and there seem to be a hell of a lot of them around. Try finding parts for a N950!
So, a quick hack on the GTA04 board, voila, the Neo900, goes into a N900 case to get a working geekphone.
Not at all the phone that many of the people around here seem to want, but then Slashdot hasn't been for "nerds" for years.
Watch this Heartland Institute video
The Nokia 1280 has been originally designed for India and some of the East African Markets (hence, Swahili as one of the languages selectable for the menus).
The Nokia 1280 is readily available in a number of case colours in the U.K. these days (around 23 pounds).
I bought my Nokia 1280 in Germany, where just the black variety seems to be available (between 26 and 30 euros).
And for the original poster who mentioned the Motophone (which was called the Motorola F3 hereabouts):
Among other things, I especially like the 1280's black-and-white display. ;-)
Another very simplistic but well made phone with a black-and-white display is the Motorola W156. It can still be bought in Germany, maybe in other European markets as well (around 30 euros). I have a W156 here as a fallback option to the 1280, but the Nokia doesn't show any weaknesses.
The Moto W156 does not have the unique electrophoretic display technology like the Motophone. So it does not offer the F3's exceptional battery time, but when it comes to reading or writing SMS or just to looking at a long international telephone number, it's advantage W156 (which still has very good battery time).
Two words.......anger management.
I already put in €150
I can't wait!
Climate Progress - Hell and High Water
Which goes part of the way, but it still doesn't have a resistive touch screen and stylus.
Climate Progress - Hell and High Water
No, it isn't. I want a Linux phone, not a Firefox phone. Jolla is much better in the OS department, kinda sorta get there with the KB for the "other half", but fail with the screen.
Climate Progress - Hell and High Water