Seigo: Spark answers

I have to say that all the talk of getting devices out to developers sounds a lot like the talk around Nokia's N-series tablets when they were first introduced, although the intention to sell hardware to anyone - not just sell it (or give it) to members of what could be considered a clique - makes the initiative seem a bit more sincere.

Of course, the matter of the openness of the hardware and whether this kind of initiative should be dealing with that matter in addition to getting usable solutions out there to paying customers should serve as a reminder that such matters have not yet been satisfactorily resolved, despite some pretty reasonable opportunities to do so. The KDE community indulged Nokia in particular but were constantly short-changed by the same corporate mindset that squandered years of chances to leave Nokia in the sorry state it is in today.

It is sad indeed that the community is left to shoehorn their work onto whatever they can get their hands on, which is also my impression of the Geeksphone products, although I'd like to hear perspectives about those products from someone with more experience with them. Maybe some of the hardware initiatives (including the unfairly derided OpenMoko work) will bear fruit and provide a better foundation for Free Software than taking a chance that some vendor will ultimately do the right thing.

Before one throws down one's money on a preorder, spend some time looking at the Notion Ink Adam's travails in trying to offer a worldwide preorder and delivery. I'm not saying don't buy it, but if one can't order via a local distributor in your region, there could be a number of logistical obstacles, such as direct shipping from China, payment of VAT, challenges of tracking one's order through a variety of shipping companies. Then, if it breaks, find out where the repair depot will be located, and how much the shipping to the repair depot will cost, and the process for a RMA. Getting the devices cleared through customs appears to be problematic in some countries. Finally, getting appropriate regulatory compliance is critical, such as CE marking for both the device and power supply, and approval for any market one may wish to take the device, like FCC approval for EMC. Devices won't make it past customs without relevant approvals.

The problem wasn't that the Adam was a bad device, but that because of all the logistical issues, the community turned on the company, which dramatically reduced the opportunity for future sales. This reduced the amount of funds available for support and new device development. It had a window where it was well liked, and spoiled it with poor execution. Luckily, there is a hacker community which has taken on the ongoing support, and is doing a very good job, but it's really only 3-5 people doing the work, and only for donations that aren't even enough to buy a new laptop.