Motorola's New Open Source Resource 76
illogict writes "Among with their new A1200 GNU/Linux-based mobile phone, Motorola unveiled yesterday its new community-based development platform, http://open source.motorola.com. It is primarily aimed at developers who are willing to contribute to Motorola's GNU/Linux-based mobile phones, either directly on firmware, or creating programs (native or Java) who are aimed to work on those phones. It currently features phone kernels, SD-TransFlash card reader drivers, Java MIDP3.0 draft. Such commitment on open source-development could be seen as a good step, and may show the way to other companies."
Amiga (Score:4, Funny)
A mobile phone based on the A1200 [wikipedia.org]? With Motorola technology? Who would have guessed.
Re:Amiga (Score:1)
There's no reason why a 68k couldn't be an application processor (rather than modem processor, in a dual-chip design) in a mobile phone. There's also no fundamental reason why AmigaOS couldn't be the GUI/AFX too. (The anciliary chips (SID? et al.) might be a problem, perhaps they could be emulated?)
That's something I would certainl
Lets see how they handle things (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Lets see how they handle things (Score:2)
If they do that, they'll fail. Open source really needs a community to work, ie: you've to give something. If they don't keep offering anything people will go elsewhere. They need to keep releasing new things and features to attract people. Then, other people will come and will start adding other things and helping in the development. But if they expect that people are going to do all the work for fre
Its more how the carriers handle things (Score:4, Insightful)
So if new apps start to threated revenue streams for the carriers you can expect them to be disbaled. Or, alternatively, you can expect the carriers to provide their own similar services. If you think about how MS destroyed 3rd party middleware developers you'll probably be on the right track.
My solution (Score:3, Interesting)
Yeah, I may look silly with a laptop against my ear, but it's no sillier than a boombox back in the day. I hope it conveys similar street cred.
Re:My solution (Score:2)
Phon-E Details. (Score:2, Insightful)
Well that's all well and good, but how's the phone itself?
A1200 an Asian Release Only (So Far) (Score:3, Informative)
Schwab
Re:A1200 an Asian Release Only (So Far) (Score:1)
Re:A1200 an Asian Release Only (So Far) (Score:1)
Re:A1200 an Asian Release Only (So Far) (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:A1200 an Asian Release Only (So Far) (Score:2)
Re:A1200 an Asian Release Only (So Far) (Score:2)
Aha. (Score:2)
That's nice but... (Score:2)
Re:That's nice but... (Score:2)
At least "that godawful UI" is easy to use, if slow and ugly. Sure, Nokias have an interface that runs about four times as fast, too bad it's about ten times harder to navigate. I found everything I was looking for on my V300 without a manual, and quickly too, but every time I pick up a Nokia I get pissed off at it because the interface is bullshit.
And ANYTHING is better than the Sony phone I had back in the day...
Re:That's nice but... (Score:2)
At least "that godawful UI" is easy to use, if slow and ugly. Sure, Nokias have an interface that runs about four times as fast, too bad it's about ten times harder to navigate. I found everything I was looking for on my V300 without a manual, and quickly too
Are you serious about this? I've owned several Motorola phones up until recently, from about 2000 to 2005, probably about 4 phones in all (mostly because I wanted GSM). They have all had bad interfaces IMO. As near as I can tell Mot had not changed
Re:That's nice but... (Score:1)
Re:That's nice but... (Score:2)
Re:That's nice but... (Score:1)
Re:That's nice but... (Score:2)
Now, I got a friend the newer Moto because it was the cheapest Bluetooth phone T-Mobile had. The BT was to save her having to mess around with the directory since her eyesight is not too good.
Well, this one has a camera and one of those itty bitty SD cards. She wanted to get a co
Re:That's nice but... (Score:3, Insightful)
That's the whole point. If you don't like the UI YOU can fix it on YOUR phone. If you want you can contribute the fix the the world and other users can have it. It Moterola likes your fix they can include it in thier next relese. There is no need to submit your changes and hope they are accepted, yes that's nice as it lets others see your hard work but you can keep them all to yourself too and have a one of a kind phone too.
No more complainning about
Why is this open source?? (Score:4, Insightful)
So, there was some debate about whether you can package proprietary drivers with open source. So, can you package open source drivers with proprietary hardware?
Open source generally implies users installing the OS on their own devices. I don't really see this happening on a large scale with Motorola since it'll come pre-bundled. So on has to wonder, what's the point of open sourcing stuff?
Re:Why is this open source?? (Score:2)
It doesnt play ogg vorbis? write it yourself!
It doenst sync with outlook? purchase the plugin from microsoft
It contains a bug but motorola stopped support? hire someone to fix it!
Its about FREEDOM but I guess people dont care about freedom anymore.
Re:Why is this open source?? (Score:2)
And modern cells have GPS...I wonder if it's possible to get at that data.
I wish I could get a summary of "what this means from a programmer's standpoint"
Hmmm, open source
Re:Why is this open source?? (Score:2)
What is with gnu? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What is with gnu? (Score:1)
Please let Motorola get it right.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Other than an old Ericsson T39m, the V3i is the best phone design I've ever used. That is, except for the software - which is.. quirky, to say the least. Games consoles get much of the attention in terms of reverse engineering and modding, each generation is designed to be more locked down and 'trustworthy'. However phones seem to have fared infinately better against the modding crowds and this sucks. Mobile operators get away with charging 15p for a 20 byte SMS and other restrictions that would leave Sony/MS XBox division drooling.
I wish it were possible to rip the Motorola supplied firmware and replace it with something buggy but useful. I wish I could sync to anything and actually run real software, that does real things like access bluetooth and the camera. I wish my current phone could run programs written in C, C++, Perl, Python, Ruby, Java, C# and AIML. I want my phone to make a Star Trek communicator noise every time it opens. I want it to work in landscape mode and allow input from a bluetooth keyboard and to log GPS. I want it to do all the things Motorola didn't think of or didn't have the budget for.
So please, if anyone from Motorola is reading, do this properly. Open up more than just a few smartphones or far east only models. Let your geek users break from the shackles of MIDP across everything. I note from TFA that you've released an open source mmc+sd driver, that's a great move - make it the first of many.
Thanks
Alex
Re:Please let Motorola get it right.. (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Please let Motorola get it right.. (Score:1)
The Razr V3 is probably one of the best bits of phone hardware I've ever seen (and I've seen a few). It's emminently usable, small, has good battery life, and looks good too.
However, the software is awful. Terrible, in fact (even though it's field upgradable, unlike 99% of other phones that need a trip to the shop). Why don't phone companies duplicate Nokia software? Nokia has always had the best software, although tends to trail on
Assuming you can get one unlocked.... (Score:1)
I'd still prefer a Treo 650 keypad if it doesn't have SonyEricsson P800-level print recognizer though.
On the other side... (Score:4, Funny)
But we can always spin it to look like pure evil.
That's What FOSS is All About (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Who REALLY gets the benefit from this? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Who REALLY gets the benefit from this? (Score:1)
They've open sourced a few drivers, which are admittedly handy, and may be useful for other stuff, but at the moment, most of the stuff they've open sourced is that that they are required to do, as they have used it in their product, and gained by not having to write their own kernel.
To be truly 'open source' in a meaningful way, you should at leat be able to add your own applications to the device, and ideally be able to completely rip o
Dialing? (Score:1)
MJC
Re:Dialing? (Score:2)
Motorola Charges for USB Drivers for the RAZR (Score:1)
NO NATIVE application support!!! (Score:5, Informative)
In other words, Motorola gave us NOTHING more than they didn't before. They just released a fancy web site about it. And we, Linux phone users, STILL CAN NOT create graphical native apps!
Re:NO NATIVE application support!!! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:NO NATIVE application support!!! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:NO NATIVE application support!!! (Score:4, Informative)
As an example, from this article Device Profile: Grundig Dreamphone G500i [linuxdevices.com]
"The carriers are afraid of what kind of software might be connected to the network if users could run their own "hacked" Linux OSes. For example, think of an application sending millions of SMS messages per second. They expect from us a certain level of security."
This also includes 3rd party software. Currently, Java applications are king, because they are sandboxed, and do not have full access to the device. With SXE, native applications are sandboxed as well as some other security restrictions that are in place, to restrict access to the device/network.
Re:NO NATIVE application support!!! (Score:1)
There are two processors, one for the network handling (some prop os) and the other running Linux.
Its nearly impossible to write a native app, you need to do major reverse engeneering. Java apps, if not signed can't do shit either. You need to be in Motorola developer program to get the right Jar files, and you can only access them if your application is signed.
On top, you cant replace the kernel - because all required drivers are released, the s
Re:NO NATIVE application support!!! (Score:1)
Unfortunately because of their hysterical paranoia they cripple a lot of technology unnessecarily. Take, for instance, the JSR-75 API which allows a midlet to read and write files on the phone. This API is mostly unusable because of confirmation dialogs that appear for each and every operation - unless you buy a number of expensive certificates. The confirmation dialogs appear even for *read* access of file - there's no way a midlet can possible do any harm by reading files.
Question (Score:2)
What I'm thinking about is a fairly simple PDA type design, maybe with WiFi/Bluetooth/GSM/EDGE radio(s), with a CF and an SD slot, not too big, 320x320 screen maybe, 1MP camera, the entire hardware design open and published, running Linux, the whole thing made from commodity hardware, designed for people to put freaky applications on?
I imagine such a device
Re:Question (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Question (Score:2)
Some of these protocols are patent encumbered so those parts of the phones probably can't be easily open sourced. Yeah, it shouldn't make a difference as long as you pay the license fee, but that's how these companies think.
Re:Question (Score:1)
1) The GSM/GPRS/EDGE baseband needs a specific hardware (eg a digital DSP and a RF). The chipset makers Ti, ADI, etc. have it. But before they allow you to work on it you have to sign up for an NDA!
2) The Protocol Stack itself has to go through an certification process before they can be used on a commercial network. And they are very expensive. The certification process is a business in itself. Its too much of investment required and would be difficult to recover if
Re:Question (Score:2)
OK, a box with a double PCMCIA socket in it for the radios, to let someone else worry about this sort of thing? Of course, there's a joke about that.
Joe stops a man in the street and asks him the time. The man puts down his heavy suitcases with a sigh of relief, and looks at his watch.
"I'ts 13:27 and 15 seconds preciesely. That's here of course, it's 08:27 in Tokyo. The temperature is 30 degrees; 25% chance of showers later. We are located 127 meters from the nearest Starbucks, and are 172 metres be
Good 'ol Motorola Freeware (Score:1)
Good old Motorola. I wish the good part of the company had kept the name, because Freescale just doesn't have the history that 'M' logo carries.
Finally!!! (Score:1)
Too late... (Score:1)
Me thinks they are trying to keep up, or compete, with Nokia's 770 Web Tablet. Next OS version (Q2 2006 release) will include VoIP capabilities. And Nokia has already setup a development community here: http://www.maemo.org/ [maemo.org]
Chop
Re: (Score:1)
Re:sourceforge? (Score:1, Informative)
Outstanding! (Score:1)
One word: OpenEZX project (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.openezx.org.nyud.net:8090/ [nyud.net]
The OpenEZX project seems to be quite active, with Harald Welte (of GPL-Violations fame) doing a lot of 2.6.x kernel porting and hardware support. Join the mailing list if you are interested in helping out with this rapidly progressing project!
Unfortunately several people say that Motorola has been less helpful with OSS development than they could
Understand this is for recruiting (Score:2, Insightful)
So where's the source code for MIDP 3.0? (Score:1)
For instance, what new graphical functions are going to be in MIDP 3.0?
" Enable richer and higher performance games"
Seems like just mouth service with no beef behind it
And they're hiring too... (Score:2)
I would apply, but I'm happy in my current job. Also, with my well known skills at smooth talking and diplomacy it would be too easy