Thread: Skype on a N800 caught in the Wild!!!!!
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richie is offline richie
2007-06-28 , 20:24
Posts: 286 | Thanked: 259 times | Joined on Jan 2006 @ Cambridge, England
#67
Originally Posted by nedim View Post
Open source and cell phones are not mutually exclusive. Motorola has several phones based on Linux. PalmOS has taken the Linux route. Blackberries are Java based with all the API exposed. I had both PalmOS and Blackberry phone and I could run what I want including things that would render my phone useless. How is that different from N800? Phone has no magic properties that make it a special device.
They are way more restrictions on cell phones than say a PC or the current N800. This I understand is because the cell phone networks want to control their network. Some of it is worrying about untested software on their network and some is commercially motivated.

Motorola do use Linux on their phone, but it doesn't mean you have control. Software used is Java, not C or C++ programs, you are limited in what you can do. You couldn't easily flash a new kernel if you wanted a new feature, like SDHC support with the N800. A cellphone layer on an IT could mean the end of open development, it may mean for example you can not run maemo mapper, mplayer. There may be a way round it, new hardware maybe separated from the OS.

Probably the best way to follow why I'm worried about a cell phone layer comes from Nokia's Ari Jaajsi himself, see his blog, jaaksi cell phones Click the link and scroll to post dated 23rd Nov 2006 "Phones are boring" - subtitle "Phones are restricted"

Things maybe okay, but if Nokia themselves started the IT because phones are restrictive, then it could do with a reassuring message from Nokia that this won't change Maemo dev.

Cheers
Rich