[wellylug] Phones and Linux

[Donald Gordon]

Hi

Anything that can run J2ME apps probably meets your requirements for 
openness for the purposes of running apps.  For backing up calendars and 
contacts, SyncML did the trick on the ancient Ericssons I used to have, 
and the newer Nokia Series 60 phones I ended up with later.  That 
happens over the internet, although I think there is some way to do it 
over USB too.  But a free gsmsync.net account was easy enough to set up.

If you ever want to use your phone as a modem to connect to the 
internet, you probably want to google the model number and find out how 
much of a pain it is to make it talk to linux.  The newer Nokias can 
plug in via usb and NetworkManager on ubuntu says "wow that's a 3g, 
you're in NZ, would you like full or firewalled internet, ok you are 
online now".  So it might be worth bringing a laptop along to the shop 
and asking if you can try plugging in a phone you're thinking of 
buying.  I assume it's possible to set up bluetooth as well but I 
haven't tried doing that for a few years.

donald

Andrew Tarr wrote:
> My elderly alcatel cellphone is in dire need of replacement, so I'm on
> the hunt for a new phone. 
>
> I don't really use my phone all that much.  I think I spend between $20
> and $30 a month on average, so it's not worth taking up a plan - in
> fact, I think I'll do well to move to 2degrees, looking at their
> pricing.  
>
> So the principal thing I want is the ability to backup contacts and
> messages to my linux computer.  Calendaring I doubt I'll make much use
> of at the moment but could conceivably be useful in the future.  Having
> a decent SDK and therefore the possibility to install 3rd party apps or
> even write stuff myself also sounds good, especially if it increases the
> possibility of decent interfacing with Linux.  Other stuff I don't think
> I care too much about - if I can get a camera too fine, but I'm not
> going to want to pay a lot extra for it or compromise the features I'm
> genuinely interested in.  I'm not very gadget-focused, I'm afraid. 
>
> So far it seems that USB connectivity might be the most useful thing to
> go for. 
>
> Having said that, I do have an interest in supporting open standards,
> open hardware, and free software, so I would be prepared to pay more to
> support this, especially if it makes it more likely to interface well
> with Linux and bring other benefits, such as the software platform
> continuing to be supported after the hardware manufacturer has lost
> interest in it. 
>
> However, the two obvious contenders for open phone platforms don't look
> like they'll work out for me, being a bit expensive and in the case of
> the Openmoko one, potentially unreliable.   
>
> Android looks great, but given my needs are modest I'm not going to
> shell out over a grand for a phone - that seems to be about what DSE and
> Vodafone are asking for an HTC Magic.  Pricespy indicates that one might
> be able to purchase one for $800 or so, which is probably still beyond
> my budget (although I haven't ruled it out entirely as yet).  There
> seems to be an issue with getting root access to these devices, which
> doesn't sound too open to me. 
>
> Openmoko are selling their A6 model Neo Freerunner for $250 USD: 
>
> http://us.direct.openmoko.com/products/neo-freerunner
>
>  which at the moment looks like about $400 NZD, which I would find an
> acceptable price for a phone of this sort.  However, this is the model
> with an annoying buzz with some transmitters.  While apparently we don't
> have such transmitters in NZ, that doesn't mean we won't one day, and I
> could conceivably want to take the phone overseas.  They also appear to
> be without any kind of warranty - they're basically offloading a faulty
> product for cheap. 
>
> The A7 looks like it will be more like the cost of the HTC Magic - $800
> - $1000 
>
> Also, these posts indicate that there's problems with the software: 
> http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=100&topicid=38703
> http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=100&topicid=32516
>
> Also, also, OpenMoko seem to be walking away from the mobile market in
> favour of 'Plan B', whatever that is: 
>
> http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/openmoko-throws-everything-behind-plan-b
>
> I actually think $800 is not at all unreasonable for a phone like this,
> so long as the software is reliable, given it has built-in GPS. However,
> I'm not particularly interested in GPS so for me it's probably too
> pricey, and definitely so if I'm going to wind up with problems with the
> software.  I want a phone that works, not a fun weekend hobby. 
>
> As far as syncing software goes, Funambol seem to be offering an open
> source SyncML server: 
>
>  http://funambol.com/
>
> It isn't clear to me which phones will work with this, however.  It
> seems that SyncML is only a sort-of standard, with individual phones
> having their own ideas of how to speak it? 
>
> Anyone got any useful suggestions along phone lines? 
>
> -Andrew.   
>
>
>
>
>