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A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973
The hubbub over the iPhone is old news now, unlocking it from AT&T is the big story these days. Another phone – one which may actually deliver what many were hoping for with the iPhone – arrived in the LWN laboratories a few weeks ago: an OpenMoko Neo 1973. The phone, pictured at right (Apple's large handed model was not available), is compact and reasonably light; it looks very different from other cell phones. The hardware seems to be working fairly well at this point, but the software is lagging, which is likely to delay the consumer launch, currently slated for October. This device is the first to run the OpenMoko software platform. Because it is the first, it is being called the "OpenMoko phone," but the company, OpenMoko, Inc., is clearly hoping to have other manufacturers use the software platform on their own hardware. Their business model is quite different from most in the consumer electronics world as they are very open about their hardware specs as well as their product roadmap. An unlocked phone running free software is obviously their goal; no doubt they would like theirs to be successful, but they are doing everything they can to see that the overall goal is reached. The Neo hardware is fairly powerful, a 266MHz ARM processor with 128M of RAM and 64M of flash for running Linux and the applications. For additional storage, it has a Micro SD slot, tucked underneath the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) slot; both live underneath the standard Nokia battery. The back plate is rather easy to remove to get to the battery compartment, though it seems unlikely to pop open unexpectedly; the hardware design seems quite well thought out. There are several connectivity options, starting with the quad-band GSM radio, which allows it to use cellular networks throughout most of the world. The radio also supports General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) for (slow) data connections, as long as the carrier and contract support it. Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 1.1 round out the communications choices. For the development hardware, there is no charger, USB from a host provides the battery recharging. There is a GPS receiver in the phone, unfortunately one with a closed-source driver that is not distributed with the phone. There are efforts underway to reverse-engineer the binary driver and produce a free alternative. Once that is done, GPS applications can be written to take advantage of the device. The touchscreen display is a sharp, 2.8-inch diagonal active matrix at 480x640 resolution which is reasonably easy to see in full sunlight (as long as you tilt it out of the glare). The Neo comes with a combination pen, mini-flashlight and laser pointer to be used as the stylus, which is a useful combination, though leaving ink behind on the screen seems a bit worrisome. There are only two buttons on the phone, one for power and one auxiliary (AUX), both flush with the case to prevent accidental button hits. 
Software is going to make or break any phone project and OpenMoko seems a bit behind in that area. They just announced a complete overhaul of the user interface to be easier to use with fingers, rather than a stylus, and to incorporate what has been learned while using the real Neo hardware. Much of the software was written using emulators; what is easy on a monitor with a mouse is not necessarily so easy on a touchscreen using fingers, particularly when the screen is recessed, making the edges harder to use. The older startup screen is shown on the left, the newer to the right. Some of the major applications (dialer, contacts, calendar, etc.) have been ported to the new interface (called 2007.2), but there is still a lot of work to do. Both old and new interfaces suffered from poor response and some application and UI crashes. The applications themselves are very rudimentary, probably too simple for what cell phone users expect, but they are a good start. 
Actually connecting and registering with a cellular network was a manual process in the most recent build. Once some fiddling was out of the way, though, the phone could make and receive calls. Audio quality was mediocre and there seems to be some kind of echo cancellation problem for the audio at the other end. Those kinds of problems need to be high on the developers' priority list, without rock-solid basic phone functionality, consumers will be uninterested. 
For a Linux user, it is unarguably cool to be able to ssh into your phone and poke around in the guts of the system. By using USB networking, a simple ifconfig on the host allows connections to the phone. Logging in as root puts you into a shell with BusyBox installed for many of the standard Linux utilities. By configuring the host as a gateway, the phone can access the internet (presumably via GPRS as well). This allows the use of Ipkg to update the phone software in the same way that apt-get and friends are used. There is also a terminal application, shown at right, which provides a root prompt on the screen, though making it bring up an on-screen keyboard was not obvious. This phone clearly has a lot of potential, but it also has a long way to go to reach the polish that the iPhone is rumored to have. Its strongest feature, though, that it is not tied to any particular carrier, might be enough to carry it in the early going. In addition, carriers will not be able to lock out "foreign" ringtones or only allow their games and applications to be installed. OpenMoko, both the company and the software, are truly trying to live up to their Matrix-inspired slogan: "Free your phone". Hopefully, the OpenMoko company has the resources to carry it through for a while, until the software catches up with the hardware. If not, though, the software is free, some other company could pick up where they left off. That would be unfortunate, as we look forward to following the development closely; we don't want to wait another year or more for a free (as in freedom) phone. We will keep you updated as things progress. (Log in to post comments)
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 13:23 UTC (Wed) by mrfredsmoothie (subscriber, #3100) [Link] It's too bad developer kits are so expensive (priced firmly out of the "justify a new toy to my wife" range).
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 3:03 UTC (Thu) by cate (subscriber, #1359) [Link] You don't need the developer kit. IIRC you really need the developer kit only if you want to develop the boot part. Kernel and application developement only need the standard package.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 8:31 UTC (Thu) by mrfredsmoothie (subscriber, #3100) [Link] Which would be great if the standard package wasn't also too much.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 9:26 UTC (Thu) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link] Have you priced new unlocked phones lately?
http://www.amazon.com/s/105-7627352-1258805?ie=UTF8&f...
While the OpenMoko isn't a steal like a overstocked $140 Razr, it appears to be right at the average. That's a fair price for now, no? In a year or two, when the phone starts becoming useful to consumers and volume shipments start, I expect prices will come down.
Sold out? Posted Aug 29, 2007 13:27 UTC (Wed) by vblum (subscriber, #1151) [Link] Well, "sold out" for their developer models (see web site) sounds better than they probably expected. If they have the funds, they can probably pull through to a consumer release, but apparently there are enough curious people out there to create some demand even now.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 13:52 UTC (Wed) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link] I ordered one they day they went on sale but, after some shipping delays and a surprise move by my company, mine got sent back to Taiwan. Now somebody else is using it. I'm bummed!
Phase 2 of the hardware should be showing up in October, complete with 3D accelerometers and 802.11. Accelerometers should make up for the sting of missing out on Phase 1.
Shame about the recessed screen and the thickness of the unit. Other than those, and the in-progress software, this is the phone that I've been looking for for all these years.
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Aug 29, 2007 14:28 UTC (Wed) by eru (subscriber, #2753) [Link] So the microSD is under the sim, and both under the battery? Makes hard to change the card, and you have to shut the phone totally. Sounds like a design flaw.
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Aug 29, 2007 14:44 UTC (Wed) by smitty_one_each (subscriber, #28989) [Link] Curious what use-case you have for swapping the SIM. Debugging, maybe.In the general user case, about the only times to swap the SIM are: a) upgrading to new hardware b) travelling to a the sort of place that you want to shed your Ferrari phone for something more pedestrian. If you're the carrier, and people can hot-swap the SIM, that sounds like a recipe for unsavory activity. So, no, I would actually call putting the battery in front of the SIM a clear design decision, not a flaw.
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Aug 29, 2007 14:48 UTC (Wed) by Robin.Hill (subscriber, #4385) [Link] I assume he's wanting to change the microSD card - not exactly an unusual use case. And needing to power off to do so does seem rather awkward.
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Sep 7, 2007 5:12 UTC (Fri) by Cato (subscriber, #7643) [Link] The other thing to consider is that SD and MicroSD cards in some phones can easily pop out and be lost (hello, Treo 600...) - so I really like a design where the SD card is behind the battery. This also means that applications can treat this as an "internal disk" for data, media and software storage.
It would be good to have a second MicroSD slot that is externally accessible, although with a cover to help avoid card loss.
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Sep 7, 2007 9:16 UTC (Fri) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link] My phone (T-Mobile Dash) puts the microsd under the battery cover but not under the battery. Best of both worlds: it's hard to lose the microsd card man these things are small -- and easy to hot-swap without turning off the phone.
Yeah, an external microsd slot with no cover just sounds like trouble.
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Aug 29, 2007 15:07 UTC (Wed) by Max.Hyre (subscriber, #1054) [Link] If you're the carrier, and people can hot-swap the SIM, that sounds like a recipe for unsavory activity. I'm unclear on what unsavory activity would be. Obviously the carriers will be miffed when folks can swap without permission, but the only unsavory activity I can bring to mind is when <gasp!> the terrorists get hold of it. John Ashcroft trembles in his boots. Of course, the plastic-bubble pay-as-you-go phones are just as good, so long as you activate them from a location unconnected to you.
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Aug 29, 2007 19:35 UTC (Wed) by abartlet (subscriber, #3928) [Link] Perhaps this might illustrate the point better:
Sitting in a computer lab back at Uni, one friend asks another: Can I borrow your phone?
But this doesn't mean 'can I charge my phone call to your account', but 'my battery has run out, can I put my SIM in your phone for a moment'. A very useful feature.
(But I think the comment was about hot swapping out the SD card)
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Aug 29, 2007 19:45 UTC (Wed) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link] My friend changes his SIM twice a day. Throw it in the gigantic Blackberry and leash yourself to the office all day, then chuck it into the slick slidey Samsung and head out at night. Obviously you need to power off to do this but batteries and battery covers are just so fiddly. I don't know where he finds the patience.
I would definitely expect to be able to hot-swap the MicroSD card without powering off the phone. This is very useful; I do it all the time on my Dash. Take out the MP3 card and insert the card with all the movies I've been meaning to watch, jam the MP3s back in when I leave the house, etc...
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Aug 30, 2007 2:32 UTC (Thu) by ekj (subscriber, #1524) [Link] Wouldn't it be more reasonable to get a clone of his sim and have one in each phone ?
My phone-provider will even give out clones, charging like $5 and stating explicitly that on some networks, only 1 phone with a given SIM will work at once (usually whichever phone you turn on *last*).
Even if they didn't, it's not as if sim-cloning is horribly hard to get done. To avoid problems I guess if you're using home-brew clones, you'd better make sure to never turn on more than one of the phones simultaneously.
No hotswap of microsd, then
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Aug 29, 2007 16:03 UTC (Wed) by smurf (subscriber, #17840) [Link] Frankly I won't want an exposed SD slot in my phone, so it has to be under the back cover at least. But the battery takes up almost all the usable space back there.
Nokia phones with SD slots have them under the battery too, so that's hardly a disadvantage in the marketplace.
Anyway, the phone has USB. So, instead of swapping the SD card to replace your music, just upload it.
Hotswap on Nokias Posted Aug 29, 2007 23:10 UTC (Wed) by eru (subscriber, #2753) [Link] Nokia phones with SD slots have them under the battery too, so that's hardly a disadvantage in the marketplace.No, they don't, at least not all of them. I own a Nokia 6125 where the MicroSD slot is at the side of the phone, under its own tiny cover, and the card can be inserted or removed without shutting down the phone. This in my view is the only sensible way to handle MicroSD cards, which after all are just another type of removable media, just like floppies or USB sticks. As noted by others in this thread, there are plenty of reasons why one would want to swap the card often. (Incidentally, my original comment was written with the above-mentioned Nokia, using Opera Mini as the browser instead of the built-in one.)
Hotswap on Nokias Posted Aug 30, 2007 8:59 UTC (Thu) by smurf (subscriber, #17840) [Link] Thanks, I didn't know that; I stand corrected.
Let's hope that the guys will be able to fit that kind of slot into the phone's next iteration, then. It does take up more room than the under-the-battery kind, and they already are committed to fit WLAN and/or accelerometers in the thing, along with all the other stuff in there.
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Sep 1, 2007 14:08 UTC (Sat) by pdundas (subscriber, #15203) [Link] My nokia has the slot in the side, under the battery cover, but quite accessible while the phone is operational.
It would have been nice if the neo did something like that as well - but at least this way they don't need to worry about users removing media that have not been correctly unmounted and flushed. Simpler software for the v1 phone.
No hotswap of microsd, then Posted Aug 29, 2007 16:16 UTC (Wed) by mjr (subscriber, #6979) [Link] First, yes, these are limitations, no doubt about it.
As to their seriousness, time has pretty much proven that this is not a killer misfeature, since most phones do it this way. By far the most common use case is to stick those two cards in there once and use away. It's not an unreasonable design compromise, suboptimal as it is.
Of course, this phone's initial target group probably wants to swap their cards around more than the usual people. One would hope that OpenMoko takes off and we'll have new hardware models offer more options as for features and case design.
Meanwhile, ah well. 4 GB µSDs are on the market, 8 announced to be coming up. I shan't be overly concerned about swapping them in my use. YMMV.
Waiting for 8GB MicroSD cards Posted Aug 29, 2007 23:54 UTC (Wed) by tajyrink (subscriber, #2750) [Link] I'm eagerly waiting for the 8GB MicroSD cards to appear, since they'd fit my future Neo perfectly. That way I could take my CD collection (heavily recompressed for mobile usage) with me also in Neo, not just the Trekstor Vibez FLAC/Ogg player I currently have.
The first 4GB cards aren't terribly expensive, so it's not going to be too bad for the 8GB cards either, probably.
It's incredible that 8GB can be fitted in an area smaller than a fingertip.
Waiting for 8GB MicroSD cards Posted Sep 1, 2007 14:19 UTC (Sat) by pdundas (subscriber, #15203) [Link] I'm hoping the slot is SDHC and will therefore support >2G, rather than plain old SD. The wiki says "it should work", which is kind of encouraging...
Waiting for 8GB MicroSD cards Posted Sep 7, 2007 5:15 UTC (Fri) by Cato (subscriber, #7643) [Link] See http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Talk:Neo1973_Hardware - seems like the built-in SD controller doesn't support SDHC / SD 2.0, but there is a software way around this, and some Linux kernel work on SDHC.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 14:42 UTC (Wed) by micka (subscriber, #38720) [Link] This is the developper version. The hardware for the consumer version is abit different : - they added a wifi chip (removing one of the speakers to make room) - they put in more memory - the cpu is faster - there are accelerometers
If I understood it well, 3D graphics are accelerated on both models.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 15:36 UTC (Wed) by josh (guest, #17465) [Link] Indeed; this article, while an excellent review of the device, should have made it clearer up at the top that this represented developer preview hardware. It implied that somewhat through the mention of a consumer release, but should have stated that explicitly. To quote one of the many disclaimers on the OpenMoko site: WARNING: Developers only! Please note that the OpenMoko products are not meant for the end user and explicitly marked as Developer preview at this time. Read this wiki article to find more technical details of what you can and cannot expect of these devices.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 15:53 UTC (Wed) by mjr (subscriber, #6979) [Link] No, only the GTA02 (later model) will have a GPU. Also, not more memory (both models have 128 MB), but more internal flash (64->256 MB, not including µSD).
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 5:24 UTC (Thu) by micka (subscriber, #38720) [Link] My bad... I use to include flash memory in memory (as well as ROMs and worse... hard drives)
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 15:17 UTC (Wed) by Max.Hyre (subscriber, #1054) [Link] I'd buy one simply to get hold of something with reasonable-sized keys (which it looks as if the touchpad can provide).When my previous (ancient) phone died, there was simply nothing available that can be dialed (touched?) without taking scrupulous care where you place your fingers. Bah! Minuscule isn't everything.
Better data desperately needed Posted Aug 29, 2007 16:07 UTC (Wed) by job (guest, #670) [Link] As desperately as I want free software based phone, I have no use for a phone without 802.11 or UMTS. I see that they will release a new model that at least has 802.11, I'll buy one as soon as it's out. But what I really want is a UMTS/HSDPA based one. This isn't 1997, mobile data is actually important now.
Better data desperately needed Posted Aug 29, 2007 18:02 UTC (Wed) by xtifr (subscriber, #143) [Link] > This isn't 1997.
No, it's 1973, right? :)
But seriously, am I the only one who finds the version number a little off-putting? It kind of makes me feel like I should go back to wearing tie-dye t-shirts and bell-bottom jeans before I consider getting one of these. And, somehow, I find myself expecting a large, heavy, immobile device with a rotary dial.
1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 19:40 UTC (Wed) by ncm (subscriber, #165) [Link] It's not a version number, it's a model number. It appears to be meant in homage to the year when the cellphone first appeared.
Today is a lot like 1973 in some other ways -- disastrous war based on lies, crooked president, crappy pop music, ugly shoes, expensive gas.
Better data desperately needed Posted Aug 29, 2007 21:33 UTC (Wed) by pflugstad (subscriber, #224) [Link] Nope, me too. I keep seeing it and thinking it's like some version of the 1970's Pinto or something.
I do realize it's the model number, but I would probably have chosen something a little less similar to our current year numbering.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 17:01 UTC (Wed) by ssavitzky (subscriber, #2855) [Link] "leaving ink behind on the screen seems a bit worrisome":
The combination pen/stylus/light/pointer has two tips: a pen and a stylus; you get to the stylus by twisting the nib in the opposite direction from the pen.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 17:31 UTC (Wed) by jake (editor, #205) [Link] > The combination pen/stylus/light/pointer has two tips: a pen and a stylus; you get to the stylus by twisting the nib in the opposite direction from the pen.
Thanks! I am a bit slow and it took me a bit to figure out how to get the pen out, so I never tried the other way. I guess if I went that way first I would have complained about the lack of a pen. 8-)
jake
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 29, 2007 21:46 UTC (Wed) by svkelley (guest, #37299) [Link] I don't think Google or Apple have anything to worry about with this under featured, underperforming, and quite frankly home brew phone kit.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 2:38 UTC (Thu) by superstoned (subscriber, #33164) [Link] Well, wasn't that the situation for Free Software in general for a longtime? Besides, OpenMoko is mostly interesting for the hardware, it seems - there are already better free alternatives on the market in terms of software, as far as I can tell (The Greenphone with Qtopia looks pretty nice).
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 3:41 UTC (Thu) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] Why would Google have anything to worry about? Are they making mobile phones now?
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 3:57 UTC (Thu) by mjr (subscriber, #6979) [Link] The Qtopia phone stack, afaik, is not free, even if the Qtopia base is GPL'd. Also, Greenphone is more of a tech demo than a phone trying to enter the market. Expensive, too. As for the comment by svkelley, hell no this phone isn't gonna put iPhone out of business, but I fail to see what that's got to do with anything. No point trying to compete with the excellent hype for the consumers clamoring for the Apple image, restrictions be damned. For now, the point is to get a truly open alternative to the people who grok its significance. Hopefully later, when the openness has spawned more cool software (and also more hardware options will be available), Moko phones will be able to better compete also among those who don't see the point of freedom as such. Saying that it won't scare Google or Apple is, well, a disingenious strawman argument. Of course it doesn't, and it doesn't have to. Underpowered? Well, it could use a bit snappier processor. Guess what, that's coming in the mass-market model (you know, as opposed to the developer preview that's available now), along with a GPU. Or maybe you meant the cell connectivity being limited to GSM? That's a fair cop as such, but with limited resources to a startup project a GSM phone is a good choice for the first model; it gives the most global basic coverage you can get while keeping costs reasonable. Hopefully 3G models will enter the fray later, and I'm certainly one to get one if and when they arrive. Meanwhile, GSM is good enough for me considering the openness and the other quite advanced features of the phone. YMMV, of course; nobody's forcing anyone to buy these phones if they don't fit your needs well enough, but that doesn't make them useless. Also, hell yes it's got a "home-brew" taste at this point; that's not because it's home-brew, though; it's not. FIC is one of the larger phone manufacturers, though they usually manufacture for other firms. The phone software subsidiary startup, OpenMoko, is certainly new, though, which is why the software is not ready. In the spirit of openness, however, the phone along with software is available for early access to interested developers. Absolutely nobody is saying it's by any means ready for mass-market. It's a bit sad that some people apparently fail to understand that all phone systems pretty much go through similar stages; it's just that with Moko, we get to choose to go in at the ground floor if we will, when not everything's all polished and nice yet. Because choice is what it's all about.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 3:38 UTC (Thu) by gypsumfantastic (subscriber, #31134) [Link] I think you'll probably find that the iPhone probably 'delivered what people were looking for in the iPhone', unless you know of some deep well of customer dissatisfaction with the iPhone I haven't heard about.
Oh, and this kind of self-deceiving attitude doesn't help, really. The Neo1973 will have a brief life as an interesting geek toy, only to sink without trace as our capricious whims tempt us with the Next Big Thing (the gPhone?)
It offers little to suggest it has any potential as a mainstream success; it is not going to stride purposefully into the mobile phone sector and save us all from the marauding satanic evil of the man Jobs.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 6:32 UTC (Thu) by intgr (subscriber, #39733) [Link] For one, the iPhone does not let users install any custom software on thedevice, apart from useless JavaScript/AJAX toys. This is apparently done for the reason that wireless companies could "customize" (e.g. cripple) the functionality of the device, just so that they could sell it back to you for extra money.
But could you please cut down on the FUD? You do not provide any
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 7:43 UTC (Thu) by NAR (subscriber, #1313) [Link] The problem is with that if part. The mobile phone is a consumer device, I think it's not even the features that count, but the "sexiness" of the phone. Does it look cool? Does it look cute? Is it featured in a mainstream movie? Is it supported by a huge advertisement campaign? Does the operator give it to the subscribers for 1 cent? I don't know how many OpenMoko phones they need to sell to make it, I hope not too many.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 10:54 UTC (Thu) by anselm (subscriber, #2796) [Link] FIC is one of the bigger players in the mobile phone hardware business, so they are unlikely to go bankrupt over the Neo 1973 phone. In fact, AFAIR the hardware design is due to be used (with different software) as a smartphone for the Chinese market, which should take care of any worries that there might not be enough demand for unit prices to come down eventually.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 31, 2007 3:35 UTC (Fri) by shane (subscriber, #3335) [Link] There are certainly users who care about the "sexiness" of a phone, or consumer products in general.But everyone I know has something they don't like about their particular mobile. For instance, in Holland you often send an SMS in English as well as Dutch. Some phones save the last setting for T9 text input, which can be quite annoying as you start to enter text, if you don't remember what the language the last SMS you sent was in. It would be nice if the phone either had a tiny 2-letter language icon somewhere (EN, NL, FR, and so on) or flashed the language for a half second or so when you started to input. Also, on my current phone it takes me 10 keypresses to change from English to Dutch or back. On my previous phone there were fewer keypresses, but you had to hold down a key for a period of time to change. Either is time consuming, and annoying as my Dutch is horrible and I often give up and throw in an English word or two in the middle of an SMS. ;) Another example is custom dictionaries on T9 input. On my phone, if you choose to add a word the phone defaults to the capitalization you are using. So, if I want to add a word at the beginning of a sentence, it defaults to caps - I have made a mistake a few times and now have a few capitalized varsions of words in my custom T9 dictionary. Plus, I've never had a mobile that let me delete or edit entries in my custom T9 dictionary. And on and on and on. My belief is that if there was user-hackable mobile software a lot of these issues would be resolved. I bought my MP3 player because it was sexy, and now run Rockbox on it. Which, while the best firmware for the player, is actually anti-sexy. (I hide it from my girlfriend so she can't see the user interface - and the embarrassing pop music in my playlist!) ;)
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 31, 2007 9:18 UTC (Fri) by Wout (subscriber, #8750) [Link] I have the same issue with the dictionary language. Every time it annoys me I wonder why you can't associate a language with a contact. Some contacts I SMS in english, others in dutch... Why can't the phone remember that?
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 31, 2007 15:24 UTC (Fri) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link] > My belief is that if there was user-hackable mobile software a lot of these issues would be resolved.
...but probably not by the users themselves. Communities are usually more oriented in some general hacking-arounds and writing additional apps, not many people venture to do core changes -- and even when they do, the results are more likely to appear as complete forks. Everything here really depends on the original software vendor itself, which is usually quite reluctant to accept some random changes from the outside. Usually you have to choose from one of the forks out there, and further apply some other random tweaks to get something resembling the thing you've wanted to have. I think that's the main problem with the community participation -- they're too much outside of the process. Can only wish the best for OpenMoko in that respect, but for now I'm with Symbian-based phone, where almost everything is really *very* nicely put -- a thing I have never really experienced in any truly open source solution. Let's just hope things will change in future, though probably it would be a distant one. We need wise, alive and open-minded software vendors, the ones who create and maintain the mainstream version of the software.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 17:37 UTC (Thu) by N0NB (subscriber, #3407) [Link] It looks interesting from a Free Software and technical standpoint, but I'm the old grumpy sort that just wants a phone to do the job of a phone! This summer I got a Motorola W315 flip-phone and I like it. It does the phone function well and I don't need it to do anything else. I don't even have a music player as I'd much rather listen to the world around me than tune it out.
As in the UNIX paradigm, a tool should do one job and do it well.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 30, 2007 18:44 UTC (Thu) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link] As in the UNIX paradigm, a tool should do one job and do it well. A Unix system has hundreds of those tools mashed together, kind of like the Neo. I like modular tools as much as anyone, but since there's no practical way to put half a dozen separate boxes in my pocket, I'll settle for one box that does it all. If it can let me snap software in and out, and maybe even some of the hardware, so much the better. And if you're grumpy about this "phone" being more than a phone, you're not grumpy about the device; you're grumpty that people keep calling it a "phone."
The information Swiss Army knife Posted Aug 30, 2007 23:56 UTC (Thu) by eru (subscriber, #2753) [Link] but I'm the old grumpy sort that just wants a phone to do the job of a phone!That's what I used to think too ... until I got one of those phones with more functions, and found them surprisingly useful and fun. It has camera (still and video clips (although the latter do look much like what RealPlayer clips used to 10 years ago on dialup)), does web browsing, and plays mp3:s. While their implementation certainly is inferior to what you get on more dedicated devices, the fact that the whole package fits in my trousers pocket without bulging makes the the phone more than the sum of its widgets: I can easily always carry it with me. If I see something interesting I can take a snapshot, if I wish to check what is the latest here on LWN while waiting for the local train, no problem. The key here is that the whole thing is small and robust enough to carry always. I think a phone any larger would be less useful, even if it had better features. And forget about carrying the equivalent number of discrete gadgets.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Aug 31, 2007 11:36 UTC (Fri) by puppymasher (guest, #47104) [Link] I want one of these!
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Sep 6, 2007 6:34 UTC (Thu) by rabnud (guest, #2839) [Link] Hmm. Lots and LOTS of memory there:"128M of RAM and 64M of flash for running Linux and the applications."
My LG enV VX9900 (this hit the market about a year ago?) has much less.... my phone says it has 16.1 MB. Sure, I'd take a phone that needed more memory if it got me away from BREW-based lockdown used as Verizons UI, but this is pushing towards 10 times the memory.
Oh, wait... The OpenMoko is GSM.... Verizon thinks CDMA is the winner.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Sep 7, 2007 5:20 UTC (Fri) by Cato (subscriber, #7643) [Link] You're comparing Flash on the LG with RAM on the OpenMoko. There's no way the LG has 16 MB of RAM! The LG has 16 MB of flash and the OpenMoko has 64 MB, and of course you can install 2 to 8 GB of Flash storage via the MicroSD card in OpenMoko.
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Sep 7, 2007 10:13 UTC (Fri) by accensi (guest, #11754) [Link] Something to think about the FIC Neo1973 aka OpenMoko
From the blog of RoughlyDrafted.com in the article "Apple iPhone vs the FIC Neo1973 OpenMoko Linux Smartphone" (see http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/RDM.Tech.Q3.07/B10AE668-...)
A first look at the OpenMoko Neo 1973 Posted Sep 7, 2007 11:44 UTC (Fri) by ofeeley (subscriber, #36105) [Link] RoughlyDrafted is sort of annoying in that it states things authoritatively and provides no sources to show from where the information comes.
It's also marred by being rhetorically overblown, for example: "When you buy an iPhone, you get $500 worth of hardware." No, what you get is some hardware for which Apple charges you $500 and no one gets access to the specs.
Or: "Buying an FIC phone to run OpenMoko is like buying a Dell Windows PC to run Linux. You're not changing the world, you're merely funding development of Microsoft's platform while giving yourself the opportunity to work with community software." Oh noes! It wasn't designed to run GNU/Linux so the imaginary strawman of RoughlyDrafted's imagination won't buy a neat little device with open specs (with exceptions mentioned by JE above) which _can_ run GNU/Linux. Making a mobile phone as open as the PC hardware platform is probably the most wonderful thing about this device and if OpenMoko doesn't cut the mustard then perhaps jPhone[1] or some other OS will.
Later he suggests that we should buy iPhones, from the company that has done the most to help itself to community software.
A further ludicrous objection is that because there is essentially a duopoly of GSM providers in the USA it means that there's no point in equipping yourself with a phone which has the potential to run on potential upstart carriers, or more importantly any of the foreign GSM networks experienced while travelling (there are over 700 according to the GSM Association[2]).
The final strange assertion is the belief that Apple will continue to provide better software support than the community (for which he doesn't seem to have much respect.)
He has a point about USB1.1 being painfully slow though.
1. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?ar...
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