Trolltech Woos Developers with 'Open' Linux Phone 213
An anonymous reader writes "Trolltech, best known for its Qt graphics framework and toolkit that form the basis of KDE, will ship the Greenphone, an open Linux-based phone in September. The working GSM/GPRS mobile phone features a user-modifiable Linux OS, and is meant to jumpstart a third-party native application ecosystem for Linux-based mobile phones. Users will be able to re-flash the phone with modified Linux-based firmware, via a mini-USB port. The device is based on an unspecified Linux kernel along with Trolltech's Qtopia Phone Edition (QPE) application framework and mobile phone stack. Gosh, this has gotta be the perfect phone for KDE lovers!"
Skype (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Skype (Score:3, Funny)
Skype over wifi (Score:2)
Re:Skype over wifi (Score:2)
Of course, developers working with this phone will already have to compete with the likes of Motorola, HP and NEC, which are have already announced such phones [com.com].
Re:Skype over wifi (Score:2)
Re:Skype over wifi (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Skype (Score:3, Informative)
LoB
Linux Devices : w/wifi, Trolltech Spec : wo/wifi (Score:2)
LoB
Re:Skype (Score:2)
Yes. Almost daily in fact. It's a great way to help out during those boring commutes. Works quite well in fact. I'm using Nokia 9300 Communicator for it, although the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is better for the task.
Re:Skype (Score:3, Interesting)
I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2, Insightful)
Problem is, I just don't see these taking off. The big boys (Cingular/Verizon/Sprint) aren't going to want something like this on their lineup. What they'll see when they look at it is a massive increase in support calls as people flash their phones with something they downloaded of the interweb only to find out it's essentially spyware for a phone. The ability to flash a c
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2, Insightful)
Of course it's destined for failure. Linux can't compare to the big boys! It's tooo complicated! Who's side are you on anyways?
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:4, Insightful)
If they make it to market, then a mistake was made... these are for developers, not the market. These are a reference model for QPE (Qtopia Phone Edition).
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Evan
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2, Funny)
PC Load Letter? WTF does that mean?
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
It's also easy to disavow support if the software is modified, as in 'sure you can modify and reprogram this phone. your warranty and support is then null and void.' In other words, 'do this at your own risk'.
There are other reasons it might not make it, but yours isn't one of them.
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
Presumably the actual mass market release will not have as malleable a system and be locked to a provider, etc. This, the phone intended for developers, isn't.
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Evan
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
Which will then never work on the crippled, vendor-locked models that are actually produced for mass consumption. Lovely.
Where's that guy with the "I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient" sig when you need him?
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:3, Informative)
It's GSM. Stick your SIM card in it!... (Score:5, Informative)
One of GSM's major features (and less so in Korea) is that your subscriber info is stored in a tiny chip. That chip came on a credit card sized piece of plastic a la a "smart card" (if you've used GSM phones in the 90's, you'd know that there were phones that accepted the entire card as is). That chip enables you to take it out of your current GSM phone, buy a new phone (unlocked or same carrier), stick the chip in the new phone, and voila, you have a new phone, with your existing subscription info!
And look, you can get those 10 phones for $1 contract deals and use those chips in different phones than what was provided (depending on the provider, this route may be more economical than just buying the activation kit).
This is one reason why I went GSM looking for a new phone - so I can use it with my phone, but then stick it in a PC card modem when I wanted to use it with my computer. One subscription. Two devices. Only one can be used at a time, of course, but I have the freedom to change phones willy-nilly, or in this case, surf the web using the modem's faster GPRS modem. (The provider can tell, since the IMEI number changes, but there's little they can do).
Korea is special for CDMA because they force CDMA providers to do the same thing ("RUIM" cards) but in North America, most CDMA phones are locked and activated by carrier. But from what I can tell, Cingular and T-Mobile both provide GSM service, and thus would work just fine.
All you have to do is make sure the phone supports the frequencies of your local area. "Quadband" phones (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz) work pretty much anywhere. Triband phones are often 900, 1800 and 1900 and work in most places in North America (850 being the old AMPS frequency, and isn't in widespread use where a Triband phone will leave you stuck vs. a quadband phone).
Backwards is relative (Score:2)
The way CDMA is marketed in the U.S. may be "backwards" from a consumer choice perspective, but technology-wise, CDMA has a much better story for data services - 1xEV-DO, implemented by Verizon and others, can give DSL-like speeds, up to 700kbps, whereas GSM's GPRS and EDGE systems are still closer to dialup modem speeds, maxing out in practic
Re:Backwards is relative (Score:2)
Modern GSM 'phones also support UMTS [wikipedia.org], also known as 3GSM, which supports 1920Kb/s data transfer rates. When I use my (GSM/UMTS) mobile for Internet access, the bottleneck is the Bluetooth connection between the 'phone and the computer, which tops out at about 50KB/s.
Re:Backwards is relative (Score:2)
As for the "for mobile use, 50KB/s is more than adequate", don't be silly. For you, maybe. Plenty of other people have a need for higher bandwidth. The Bluetooth connection is only an issue if you're connecting a computer, and your phone doesn't support something faster like wifi.
Re:It's GSM. Stick your SIM card in it!... (Score:2, Interesting)
check google for unlocking (Score:2)
Re:check google for unlocking (Score:2)
Re:It's GSM. Stick your SIM card in it!... (Score:2)
Most GSM phones in the US are locked. I know a guy who had an overseas phone that he brought back to the states. A Cell phone salesman flat refused to believe that it was possible for him to swap SIM cards and have it work. My friend
Re:It's GSM. Stick your SIM card in it!... (Score:4, Informative)
Sure the salespeople are idiots, you expected different? One of the first things I do when getting a new phone is making sure it's unlocked; It's the telecom equivalent of making your DVD player region-free.
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
If the device comes with a CD of the original firmware, a bootloader that can't be modified and can reflash the firmware regardless of what you do to the devi
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
Maybe they will sell it in Europe, where the phone-market is less retarded than it is in USA? In Finland (for example), the operators have zero say as to what phone the customer uses. The customer buys a phone, and he subscribes to the cellphone-service separately. The user can change operators at will (and keep his number AND the phone, since it is, after all, his ph
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
These days, most malls I've seen have booths selling unlocked GSM phones. So it's not as hard as you might think to do exactly what you're talking about...though walking into a Cingular store and asking for a plan without a phone might earn you some confused stares.
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
Yes, we do have those. But I would say that the default way of purchasing phone & service is the one where the two are not bundled. Then there's the option of buying them bundled. But vast majority of people use unbundled phones.
You do pay for the phone, just not upfront. Hell, it might seem like a great deal to get a "free" phone, and then pay through the subscription for se
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
If a good platform is developed that is very modular and very compact (ie, add what hardware features you want, leave out what you don't) then one could make a good, marketable phone that has a slighter wider appeal than j
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:3, Insightful)
I also think that this is more like a tech demo / dev kit than something to expect to see at
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I fear it is destined for failure... (Score:2)
WARNING: Use of the Crazy Frog ringtone may result in slow and painful death. Are you sure you want to proceed?
If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:2)
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:2)
FYI, the Motorola RAZR (a really common phone) charges using a USB (mini-B) port. Of course, a charger comes with the phone anyway...
As for the rest of what you said about lock-in to the service provider (as opposed to the hardware manufacturer), I completely agree. It'll never take off in the US because of that, unfortunately.
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:2)
Yeah, and it comes with the cable - which, without motorola mobile phone tools, will do you little good. Well, you can use other software (bitpim, for example, even though it says it's only for cdma phones) but nothing is close to as good as the real thing.
You could also download the driver and use it for a fax, I guess :)
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:2)
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:2)
On
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:2)
It has potential IMO though I hope the USB interface is Host/Client enabled and not just a client port like the original Zaurus
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:3, Informative)
You can already do this today, with devices like the HTC Wizard (aka Cingular 8125, T-Mobile MDA). Of course, it's Windows Mobile 5, but I wouldn't mind seeing a Linux-based device doing the same thing...
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:2)
A) So what? WiFi isn't quite as prevalent as EDGE. EDGE can definitely handle VoIP, and the phone providers get some money (usually not quite as much as airtime, but still) for an EDGE subscription.
B) The T-Mobile SDA/MDA are quite capable of running Skype. The salesman told me so himself (well, whi
Re:If it works, it sounds great. Quad Band? (Score:2)
Doesn't matter because WiFi is prevalent enough where most calls are made, as in
Or "What was that click?" - "Oh, that was Asterisk [asterisk.org] switching us over to WiFi/VoIP, I'm in the office now so it's free".
Kphone (Score:5, Funny)
The interesting possible uses thread (Score:3, Insightful)
Automatic encryption of calls.
Powerful scripting: at [date], call [number], playback [message1], record [message2]...
Lots of games.
It does run Linux!
Why green? (Score:2)
The irony would be if this phone were released in the US bound to a single carrier.
-- n
Re:Why green? (Score:2)
--
Evan
Because.... Was:Why green? (Score:2)
So...ask again...why green?
Re:Why green? (Score:2)
Cool, but useless IRL (Score:3, Insightful)
However, the important (and missing) bit of information here is, which carriers will let you use it? Around here (Arizona, USA) its all but impossible to get a carrier to take a phone you didn't purchase from them, even when it is locked up and in essence still 'owned' by them.
Who's going to let me use a phone they not only aren't making a profit from, but don't control and can't use as a lock-in tool to increase the hassle factor of changing providers? No one, and this device, for as cool as it is, will be useless as a result.
By all means though, if you can find evidence anywhere that any US carrier will accept this phone without 6 months of battle against staff trained to say it is "not compatable with our network"; I'd really love to be wrong.
~Rebecca
Re:Cool, but useless IRL (Score:2)
Re:Cool, but useless IRL (Score:2)
Re:Cool, but useless IRL (Score:3, Informative)
Technically, GSM providers do know whether you use the original phone. Each handset has an identification number (the IMEI number [wikipedia.org]) that you usually can retrieve by punching in the code *#06#. The phone sends the IMEI number to the network whenever it is switched on. The provider can - in theory - use the IMEI information to block stolen phones or to ensure that SIMs are only used with th
ifconfig gsm0 hw gsm 12341234-123412-3 (Score:2)
Re:Cool, but useless IRL (Score:2)
John
Re:Cool, but useless IRL (Score:2)
The
Re:Cool, but useless IRL (Score:2)
Re:Cool, but useless IRL (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course the pre-paid minutes are a little more expensive, but I prefer the freedom and lack of a monthkly bill. I pay $100.00 for 1000 minutes every 4 months or so. which is cheaper than any contract I could g
Does anyone get it? (Score:3, Informative)
For goodness sake, actually READ the article (Score:5, Insightful)
Answer: This phone isn't intended for commercial use. It sales will be limited. It is intended to allow developers to create content so that when real phone manufacturers consider QPE there is a suite of software to make it competitive.
Comment: Carriers won't allow this phone on their network.
Answer: It is a GSM phone. If it is certified, it will work on GSM networks.
Comment: Users will screw up their phone reflashing it.
Answer: It isn't intended for the average Joe cell phone user, it is intended for developers.
Comment: "Jack of all trades"
Answer: For a development platform having all the functionality you may need to test against is critical. Actual real world usefulness, not so much. This phone could be considered as a piece of test equipment, the fact that it looks like a phone is probably just to spur innovation.
exactly which parts are open source? (Score:2)
Re:exactly which parts are open source? (Score:2)
Re:Let me tell you how it goes (Score:2)
Hm. I wonder how long they'll be able to prevent that.
But anyway, if they need that level of guarantee then, as another poster says, they'll need the code in question actually running in an entirely different piece of hardware; if it was just in a driver somewhere (even if only a binary), it'd still be possible to mess around with. So the other poster was probably right, and the code the spokesman was talki
ob. (Score:2)
Developers! Developers! Developers! (Score:4, Insightful)
Trolltech is making a smart move here. Once these phones are sold out, and nerds everywhere are hacking on it, they'll have a ton of good software to choose from when they start pushing their stack onto the major carriers.
Here's what I want:
1. Apt. I want to fire up a telephone version of synaptic (on my phone and/or my computer) and have debian style repositories to pick and choose from for software.
2. Real calendar/todo/whatever syncing with Evolution/Kontact. My current Sony/Ericsson Z520a can do this pretty well over bluetooth with multisync, but its not perfect, and the native PIM software on the phone blows goats.
3. Nethack. Had to say it
4. SSH - no nerd is complete with a ssh terminal in front of them at any time. Sadly, that includes me.
5. A stable API for companies like Opera, Yahoo, AOL, etc. to port their software to.
6. Push style email would be nice, but then Trolltech would get sued, a la RIM.
Aw, no EDGE (Score:2)
Re:Wow... (Score:2)
Think this makes it a phone for supper geeks.
There are phones with spell checkers for those you can't spell!
There are phone for those geeks that like to eat supper!
The parent is right, there are phones for everyone!
Re:Wow... (Score:3, Funny)
Think this makes it a phone for supper geeks.
PENGUIN: It's what's for dinner!
Re:No details (Score:5, Insightful)
--
Evan
Re:No details (Score:3, Informative)
Re:No details (Score:2)
Actually, I've been curious as to if you get a dev license for Qtopia or just QPE. I've been ignoring the QPE stuff, and almost ignoring Qtopia; our shop only really uses Qt (although my iPaq runs Opie).
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Evan
Re:No details (Score:2)
Re:No details (Score:3, Informative)
For those of us whose German is rusty, I google-translated the page the Parent links to:
Trolltech places Linux mobile phone for developers forwards [updated]
Linux Anwendungsentwicklern for mobile telephones was missing so far a suitable hardware environment for the continuous tests during the development phase. At this gap to close Trolltech presented now the Qtopia Greenphone. Mobile phone is offered as part of the Qtopia Entwicklungsumgebung of the Norwegian enterprise and should be available starting f
Reuters Article, $690 (Score:2, Interesting)
Trolltech offers fully reprogrammable mobile phone
By Eric Auchard
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Norway's Trolltech AS (TROLL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) has demonstrated the first fully reprogrammable mobile handset to help phone designers innovate as fast as their counterparts in the personal computer industry have done.
A major divide that separates PCs from mobile telephones is that while designers can freely reprogram a computer's software, most of a phone's functions are
Re:No details (Score:2)
Re:Carriers won't stock it (Score:3, Insightful)
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Evan
Re:Carriers won't stock it (Score:2)
I've said this like three times: Dude, it is for developers.
Re:Jack of all trades... (Score:2)
Re:Jack of all trades... (Score:2)
--
Evan
touchscreen (Score:2)
Re:touchscreen (Score:2)
Re:Keyboard (Score:2)
I just want it to be a phone. I'm glad it doesn't have a keyboard. I'd even be glad to ditch the camera.
Re:GPS (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:GPS (Score:2)
Re:GPS (Score:2)
Re:Carriers (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:No WIFI (Score:2)
LoB
Re:No WIFI (Score:2)
Re:Service? (Score:2)
what service I wonder.
Well, being GSM, that would mean either AT&T/Cingular or T-Mobile.
Re:Service? (Score:2)
Re:Service? (Score:2)
If you want to use it in the US Cingular and TMobile would be your best bet.
Verison and Sprint both use CDMA.