Ubuntu on the Nexus 7 [LWN.net]

Ubuntu on the Nexus 7

Posted Nov 29, 2012 4:32 UTC (Thu) by rsidd (subscriber, #2582)
In reply to: Ubuntu on the Nexus 7 by khim
Parent article: Ubuntu on the Nexus 7

For some reason these days it's only the cheap phones (like the Galaxy Chat) that have a qwerty keypad. Top-end phones don't. Either there's a market failure, or there is a market, but the buyers don't want to spend a lot of money. Assuming the latter hypothesis, maybe there's a lesson here. If you're the sort who wants the phone to be a useful device, you probably value function over flashy features, you don't care about smooth animation or CPU-intensive games. And you will buy a Galaxy Chat for a fraction the price of a Galaxy S III. You will not buy a more expensive SIII with a physical keypad, because you'd rather spend the money on something more useful.

(Disclosure: I'd buy a Galaxy Chat right now, except I bought a lesser-brand device that developed charging problems within six months and is currently being repaired. This is the Micromax A78 and its form factor is superb -- its screen is as large as the older iPhones, its qwerty keypad is not quite as good as Nokia/Blackberry but still far better than typing on glass, and it runs everything I need. Too bad the big guys don't produce anything like it.)

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Ubuntu on the Nexus 7

Posted Nov 29, 2012 15:09 UTC (Thu) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link] (3 responses)

This is the Micromax A78 and its form factor is superb -- its screen is as large as the older iPhones, its qwerty keypad is not quite as good as Nokia/Blackberry but still far better than typing on glass, and it runs everything I need. Too bad the big guys don't produce anything like it.

Well, it's Dual SIM, too - which means most lucrative sales channels are closed for it. Which automatically makes it low-cost device which requires low-spec hardware (you can not use high-end components and sell the result for cheap).

Ubuntu on the Nexus 7

Posted Nov 30, 2012 4:40 UTC (Fri) by rsidd (subscriber, #2582) [Link] (2 responses)

In most of the world, you buy the phone separately from your phone plan, and a dual sim is an advantage, not a disadvantage. There are upmarket dual-sim phones from major brands too, like the Samsung Galaxy S Duos. and some HTC Desire models. In short, dual sim has nothing to do with anything.

It is true that only low-cost devices seem to have qwerty keypads these days. I attribute it to brainwashing by Jobs, and/or cost-consciousness on the part of the relatively discerning customers who use the phone primarily as a communication device and demand a qwerty keypad.

Ubuntu on the Nexus 7

Posted Nov 30, 2012 19:11 UTC (Fri) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link] (1 responses)

In most of the world, you buy the phone separately from your phone plan, and a dual sim is an advantage, not a disadvantage.

How do you measure "most of the world"? By number of users or by amount of money spent on phones?

Most affluent customers live in countries where carriers sell mobile phones tied to the contract - and of course you'll not see dual sim phones sold by carriers any time soon. And makes no sense whatsoever to produce high-end phones for cheap countries like China or India.

There are upmarket dual-sim phones from major brands too, like the Samsung Galaxy S Duos and some HTC Desire models.

Is this some kind of joke?

Samsung Galaxy S Duos (July 2012):
480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches
768 MB RAM
4 GB internal memory
1 GHz Cortex-A5 (single core)

HTC Desire VC (June 2012):
480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches
512 MB RAM
4 GB storage
1 GHz Cortex-A5 (single core)

HTC Desire SV (November 2012):
480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches
768 MB RAM
4 GB storage
1 GHz Cortex-A5 (dual core, finally, but still obsolete architecture)

Compare it with old, obsolete, and no loner top-of-the-line phone of 2011:

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II (February 2011):
480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches
1 GB RAM
16GB/32GB storage
1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 (dual core)

All these upmarket dual-sim phones are still less powerful then by now almost two years old phone! Heck, they are still stuck with WVGA when top-of-the-line phones had WXGA for more then year:

Samsung Galaxy Nexus (October 2011):
720 x 1280 pixels, 4.65 inches
1 GB RAM
16 GB storage
1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 (dual-core)

In short, dual sim has nothing to do with anything.

If "dual sim has nothing to do with anything" then why all dual-sim phones have two years old specs?

It is true that only low-cost devices seem to have qwerty keypads these days. I attribute it to brainwashing by Jobs, and/or cost-consciousness on the part of the relatively discerning customers who use the phone primarily as a communication device and demand a qwerty keypad.

WTF?

Motorola DROID 4 (January 2012)
540 x 960 pixels, 4.0 inches
1 GB RAM
16 GB
1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 (dual-core)

It's resolution is fine for it's size even in 2012 and it's still more powerful then all the upmarket dual-sim phones

I'm not sure why people are not buying high-end QWERTY devices, but that's not because there are no offers: there are still some decent QWERTY phones but they are ever less popular. There will probably no more offers in the 2013, but that's because people are not buying them.

Ubuntu on the Nexus 7

Posted Dec 6, 2012 23:27 UTC (Thu) by JanC_ (guest, #34940) [Link]

Most affluent customers live in countries where carriers sell mobile phones tied to the contract [...].

Although in many countries subsidized phones are sold that are tied to a contract, usually they are not simlocked, or the simlock is removed on simple request (sometimes a small fee needs to be paid for unlocking). Of course, unlocking the phone doesn't cancel the contract, so you still have to pay the subscription fee for the length of the contract (whether you use that particular service or not) or buy off the contract.

Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lock