Oh, yeah, you are right, all the market wants is Apple's iOS, and nothing else. That's the perfect OS suitable for absolutely everyone. Anyone not wanting it must be perverted atheist and should be executed in the cruelest way possible.
From my experience most people simply don't know what android is and why it is good for them. And it is Google's fault for not advertising the OS enough. A lot of these people were amazed when they saw my N1 and what it could do, and some bought android devices later on.
I know quite a few people with a Nexus One, and wonder how many were actually sold. Does anyone have the real figures? Based on my sample size, they can't be that low. In addition it has more activitiy on xda-developers than most other phones.
Their smartphone market share is constantly declining. And people who buy their so-called smartphones, are not using them as such, most don't even download a single application.
I'm a former owner of many Nokia phones myself, with N95 being the last one. Had to get rid of it after a few months of constant troubles. My hopes were high with N900 when it was released, but it also turned out to be a disappointment (got a Nexus one instead).
No idea why some moderator thinks decided my post was a flamebait. I'm following Eldar's story closely from day one, and I don't think Nokia is doing the right thing. They should focus on high end smartphones and better OS instead of creating bad publicity.
Not only are they unable to make a single successful smartphone in the last few years, they are also trying to stop the criticism by intimidating the critics.
Apple's OS upgrades regularly break both jailbreaks and unlocks, because they don't want either of them (and jb is often prerequisite for unlocking).
Anyway, my original reply was to someone claiming android code is not open source at all, but I never proposed building fully OSS phone with it. You still need proprietary baseband and often some proprietary hardware drivers.
But if you really insist, you can try building an OSS tablet (no cellular radio), it should be a little easier;)
By the way, finding fully open hardware is not an easy task at all, not just with phones. Very often some card comes with a nice linux GPL-licensed driver, but upon a closer examination the driver is just a tiny layer between the OS and the card's firmware. The firmware is of course closed, and when it starts misbehaving you don't have a lot of options to fix it.
We are talking about Google Android code here, but the baseband code does not belong to Google.
Even OpenMoko phones (Neo Freerunner) come with a closed baseband.
You don't really need open source baseband to build a system, but theoretically, when OSS baseband exists and is good enough (OsmocomBB is not yet there AFAIK), there should be no problem to adapt it to android.
Pretty much only the kernel is open source and not the other parts.
This is incorrect. Most of android is in AOSP, including the kernel, dalvik, UI, launcher, dialer, all the libs etc. You can build a fully working system from the open source components (that's how cyanogenmod is built).
Only the google-specific applications (Maps, gmail, gtalk, google market, facebook, google voice ) are not open source. Many of them can be replaced with alternatives if one wants to release a system without paying to google: e.g. SlideMe market, one of many different e-mail/gps apps, etc.
Please tell that to Steve Jobs. Apparently he forces you to use ugly pixel doubling on ipad for no reason at all, everything is ready for any resolution. What a BS.
Well, I'm not skilled enough to be a GUI programmer (can only do very simple stuff like device drivers). But I do see a lot of resolution independent GUIs around on all platforms I am using, including one particular non-human phone platform.
Somehow most of them manage to look good. Very weird, isn't it? Maybe not apple-good, but I guess I'm not refined enough to notice.
You are absolutely right, but in a controlled environment (like product shots) it's much better to use proper focal length, frame well and crop only a little.
Usually cropping can get you at most 2x the focal length (even with 21MP you'll be left with 5MP after 2x crop; interpolation and the lens weaknesses will be much more apparent on the cropped picture).
Well, that decision is probably the reason Apple didn't up the resolution much earlier - first WVGA phones appeared about 2 years ago. It may have cost Apple some sales (I know it was one of the factors for me).
In addition, the older apps are going to look worse than what they could have been (even those that are already capable of utilizing the full resolution and do it fine with FullForce from cydia). But it probably doesn't concern Apple much, everyone will be forced to update their apps eventually.
Tiny 14 megapixels on latest batch of cameras are there to showcase the lens weaknesses and noise reduction algorithms.
No professional photographer needs more megapixels than his lens can resolve. And pros are often more pragmatic than regular consumers: some still shoot with first generation Canon 1D (4MP) - it works, and is enough for newspapers. A lot of pros shoot product photos for their customers' web sites - they don't need resolution at all, only good lighting.
For real VR glasses you need much higher resolution than what the new iphone offers (e.g. 1080p in a 1" display, ~2200dpi). I'm afraid it won't happen as a by-product of cellphone development, someone has to target that market specifically.
The reason to choose 960x640 resolution is purely technical: to overcome their bad 3-year old decision to stick to a single resolution for application development. Quadrupling pixels is the only working solution for all the legacy apps out there.
However once they are at it, why not use this solution for PR? They now have the highest resolution on a cellphone ever, and 99% of potential buyers aren't aware of the real reason. The higher - the better, it's just like the megapixel wars in cameras.
I just hope the megapixel story won't be repeated with cellphone resolution, and we are not going to see stuff like 400-dpi 3" screens.
Only 4 of the demos manage to work on my Nexus1 (with Froyo FRF50). Video demo doesn't find h.264 codec, VR wants CSS 3D. The rest are very slow, especially Gallery (and doesn't look 3D at all, probably not the way it's supposed to be).
Slashdot Mirror
It's about Cairo, Egypt.
One such system on Bor Saeiad st. in Cairo won't help. You'll needs hundreds to make a difference. And nobody will care anyway.
Oh, yeah, you are right, all the market wants is Apple's iOS, and nothing else. That's the perfect OS suitable for absolutely everyone. Anyone not wanting it must be perverted atheist and should be executed in the cruelest way possible.
From my experience most people simply don't know what android is and why it is good for them. And it is Google's fault for not advertising the OS enough. A lot of these people were amazed when they saw my N1 and what it could do, and some bought android devices later on.
I know quite a few people with a Nexus One, and wonder how many were actually sold. Does anyone have the real figures? Based on my sample size, they can't be that low. In addition it has more activitiy on xda-developers than most other phones.
What's going on here? Why are all posts criticizing Nokia in any way moderated as flamebaits? Has Nokia taken over slashdot?
Their smartphone market share is constantly declining. And people who buy their so-called smartphones, are not using them as such, most don't even download a single application.
I'm a former owner of many Nokia phones myself, with N95 being the last one. Had to get rid of it after a few months of constant troubles. My hopes were high with N900 when it was released, but it also turned out to be a disappointment (got a Nexus one instead).
No idea why some moderator thinks decided my post was a flamebait. I'm following Eldar's story closely from day one, and I don't think Nokia is doing the right thing. They should focus on high end smartphones and better OS instead of creating bad publicity.
Not only are they unable to make a single successful smartphone in the last few years, they are also trying to stop the criticism by intimidating the critics.
Such strategy will do them no good.
It's Last Christmas by Wham. How is it related to Prince?
Apple's OS upgrades regularly break both jailbreaks and unlocks, because they don't want either of them (and jb is often prerequisite for unlocking).
Anyway, my original reply was to someone claiming android code is not open source at all, but I never proposed building fully OSS phone with it. You still need proprietary baseband and often some proprietary hardware drivers.
But if you really insist, you can try building an OSS tablet (no cellular radio), it should be a little easier ;)
By the way, finding fully open hardware is not an easy task at all, not just with phones. Very often some card comes with a nice linux GPL-licensed driver, but upon a closer examination the driver is just a tiny layer between the OS and the card's firmware. The firmware is of course closed, and when it starts misbehaving you don't have a lot of options to fix it.
We are talking about Google Android code here, but the baseband code does not belong to Google.
Even OpenMoko phones (Neo Freerunner) come with a closed baseband.
You don't really need open source baseband to build a system, but theoretically, when OSS baseband exists and is good enough (OsmocomBB is not yet there AFAIK), there should be no problem to adapt it to android.
Pretty much only the kernel is open source and not the other parts.
This is incorrect. Most of android is in AOSP, including the kernel, dalvik, UI, launcher, dialer, all the libs etc. You can build a fully working system from the open source components (that's how cyanogenmod is built).
Only the google-specific applications (Maps, gmail, gtalk, google market, facebook, google voice ) are not open source. Many of them can be replaced with alternatives if one wants to release a system without paying to google: e.g. SlideMe market, one of many different e-mail/gps apps, etc.
You can check the AOSP contents here.
With all that is going in Turkey right now, Atatürk probably does at least 6000 RPM rolling in his grave.
What a shame, it was a nice country just a few years ago.
Green Damn? Do you mean Islam?
Please tell that to Steve Jobs. Apparently he forces you to use ugly pixel doubling on ipad for no reason at all, everything is ready for any resolution. What a BS.
Somehow most of them manage to look good. Very weird, isn't it? Maybe not apple-good, but I guess I'm not refined enough to notice.
You are absolutely right, but in a controlled environment (like product shots) it's much better to use proper focal length, frame well and crop only a little.
Usually cropping can get you at most 2x the focal length (even with 21MP you'll be left with 5MP after 2x crop; interpolation and the lens weaknesses will be much more apparent on the cropped picture).
Well, that decision is probably the reason Apple didn't up the resolution much earlier - first WVGA phones appeared about 2 years ago. It may have cost Apple some sales (I know it was one of the factors for me).
In addition, the older apps are going to look worse than what they could have been (even those that are already capable of utilizing the full resolution and do it fine with FullForce from cydia). But it probably doesn't concern Apple much, everyone will be forced to update their apps eventually.
... involving lazy eye ...
They'll definitely bring 400ppi displays, but in 3D only. Just to make you feel bad.
Tiny 14 megapixels on latest batch of cameras are there to showcase the lens weaknesses and noise reduction algorithms.
No professional photographer needs more megapixels than his lens can resolve. And pros are often more pragmatic than regular consumers: some still shoot with first generation Canon 1D (4MP) - it works, and is enough for newspapers. A lot of pros shoot product photos for their customers' web sites - they don't need resolution at all, only good lighting.
For real VR glasses you need much higher resolution than what the new iphone offers (e.g. 1080p in a 1" display, ~2200dpi). I'm afraid it won't happen as a by-product of cellphone development, someone has to target that market specifically.
Don't. You know that euphoria you have when you're watching porn and then after you're done jacking off you feel guilty about it.
Hmm, I felt guilty only after one-night stands with women. Are you dumping your right hand after jacking off?
The reason to choose 960x640 resolution is purely technical: to overcome their bad 3-year old decision to stick to a single resolution for application development. Quadrupling pixels is the only working solution for all the legacy apps out there.
However once they are at it, why not use this solution for PR? They now have the highest resolution on a cellphone ever, and 99% of potential buyers aren't aware of the real reason. The higher - the better, it's just like the megapixel wars in cameras.
I just hope the megapixel story won't be repeated with cellphone resolution, and we are not going to see stuff like 400-dpi 3" screens.
Only 4 of the demos manage to work on my Nexus1 (with Froyo FRF50). Video demo doesn't find h.264 codec, VR wants CSS 3D. The rest are very slow, especially Gallery (and doesn't look 3D at all, probably not the way it's supposed to be).
Since 2005.
Sorry, I didn't expect you to erase my second line and then write it again in reply.
Skypeout calls are not free, so they can be traced back to the payer. I wouldn't trust Skype owners (is it eBay now?) to keep you anonymous.