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Communications Handhelds Hardware

Open Source Linux Phone Goes On Sale 520

An anonymous reader writes "Sean Moss-Pultz has just announced on the OpenMoko mailing list that the Neo1973 is finally available for purchase. OpenMoko.com is now taking orders via credit card. OpenMoko intends to 'free your phone' through a hardware-independent and open source user interface backed by the Linux kernel. This device could very well stand as a competitor to the more expensive Apple iPhone, but at a fraction of the price and with no vendor lock-in. Although the devices in this release cycle (GTA01) are mainly intended for developers, the up-and-coming devices targeted to the consumer market (GTA02) will also feature WiFi capabilities, a 3D acceleration unit, and 256MB of on-board flash. Both units will use the MicroSD card interface for removable storage and have USB client / host capabilities. For a full feature list, check out OpenMoko.com or the OpenMoko Wiki."
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Open Source Linux Phone Goes On Sale

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  • Awesome (Score:5, Interesting)

    by nicolas.kassis ( 875270 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @12:37AM (#19795941)
    I really want a linux phone. It's pretty cheap at 300$. One thing bothers me, do providers allow random phones to be used on there network? Do some cellular providers block phones that they don't approve off?
    • Re:Awesome (Score:5, Informative)

      by Nossie ( 753694 ) <<IanHarvie> <at> <4Development.Net>> on Monday July 09, 2007 @12:40AM (#19795963)
      do providers allow random phones to be used on there network?

      yes, thats what an unlocked phone is....

      as to your question about blocking phones...
      if the imei number is correct and its FCC approved I doubt they would have any reason to block you
      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by enjo13 ( 444114 )
        Not true. An unlocked phone is simply one that allows the operation (phone side) given any standard IMSI. The operators, however, require any phone on their network to be certified by the carrier. They will not allow a 'rogue' (their words not mine) phone onto their networks. Most carriers will allow any GSM Forum Certified phone to work... but the phone has to formally achieve certification to do that.

        I have no idea how the project in the article intends to do that, or if the telephony side is based on alr
    • by epall ( 632054 )
      Yes! I'm pretty sure T-Mobile is chill with you sticking your SIM in any phone you want.
    • by MikeFM ( 12491 )
      I'm buying. I was waiting for this. Much cooler than the iPhone IMO. :)
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Sorry, ... I originally wrote this post. I should have specified that it's a GSM phone. I'm in Germany at the moment and I don't think CDMA phones exist here, and they've gone out of style quite quickly in Canada too (where I"m originally from).

      Bottom line:

      If you're using a GSM phone with a removable SIM card, and you purchased a phone with a) no vendor lock-in, and b) no SIM lock-in, then you can literally use the phone anywhere on the planet just by popping in the SIM card of a different provider. SIM loc
    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by dacarr ( 562277 )
      Good question. I do this for a living for the data side.

      Short version: $gsm_carrier can provide the settings, but while it usually works, it's not guaranteed to work, and they don't acutally support the phone.

      Long version is like this - as long as $gsm_phone is unlocked, then $gsm_carrier can usually get it working without too much effort, and will talk you, the user, through the process - but it comes with no guarantee that it will actually work on the network. Some phones have odd quirks, and don't alwa
  • Gill Bates (Score:4, Funny)

    by Tablizer ( 95088 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @12:41AM (#19795965) Journal
    But does it run Windows? (ducks)
         
  • by The One and Only ( 691315 ) * <[ten.hclewlihp] [ta] [lihp]> on Monday July 09, 2007 @12:43AM (#19795987) Homepage
    Out: iPhone.
    In: Open Source iPhone Killer.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Skuld-Chan ( 302449 )
      There's something to this - Apple store employee told my friend that the iphone would work with his cell network (Edge Wireless - AT&T doesn't exist in his area...). Anyhow it doesn't work with his sim card. Reading more on the net it seems that Apple built in some software that checks for a special AT&T sim card. (yeah the iphone went back)

      Forget the sealed batteries, non upgradable memory - to me perma-locking the phone into AT&T is the biggest crime about the iphone and I think should be grou
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        Everyone on Slashdot is crying bloody murder, particularly you. That's what makes the comments to these articles so tedious to read.
      • Oh, give Jon Lech Johansen another week or two and that problem will probably be solved. (I don't know for a fact, but) I think it's software signing and not hardware. I've heard a few claim that the iPhone has some sort of TPM hardware, but I've not seen any proof of it.

        OTOH, what distros will run on this OSSphone? Is there an UbuntuCE yet? Is Linus going to start allowing mobile phone kernel hackers to add their stuff? Near as I can tell, most phones running linux are locked down at the kernel level, but
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by illumin8 ( 148082 )

        Apple store employee told my friend that the iphone would work with his cell network
        I call BS. It has been well advertised for months now that AT&T was the only network that an iPhone would work on. Anyone that expected it to be any different was misinformed, and I find it hard to believe that an Apple store employee would spread this misinformation.
  • re: . . . up-and-coming devices targeted to the consumer market . . .

    Up-and-coming when? A month from now? No, October. Bummer. I'm sick of my V400 and am buying a new phone this week. Because the iPhone was so underwhelming AND it does not do 3G AND because it won't work with stereo headphones, AND it's totally locked down, I'm going with the Samsung Sync (SGH-A707). Is it a great phone? No, but for my purposes it's a lot better than the iPhone.

    I wish the GTA02 were to be available sooner; I would wait on
    • I wish the GTA02 were to be available sooner; I would wait on a new phone...

      You know, you can get a GTA01, whether it's supposed to be "for developers" or not. Sure, you miss out on the WiFi and graphics, but you get an extra battery and stuff. And you can buy it today.

      • by MushMouth ( 5650 )
        He said he didn't want his phone to "randomly lock up" a beta development phone isn't a wise move if that is what you want.

        I tried putting both Familiar and Opie on my iPaq, but I could never the WiFi or bluetooth to work, most of the apps lacked polish, and the keyboard interface was awful.
    • Are you sure about it not working with stereo headphones? Got linkage? Seems strange that it would come with stereo earphones and use 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack.
  • by roye ( 717936 )
    This thing is great. Once the kids see the flashy colors, carry bag and stylus, they will drop the iPhone in droves! It looks like an interesting project. Competition is good, but I have a feeling that an "open" phone will get the OMGTerrorists!!1! label from AT&T in partnership with Motororla. I hope this one gets off the ground.
  • What a deal! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BlakeReid ( 1033116 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @12:44AM (#19795999)
    FTA:

    Direct from openmoko.com, the price will be $450 for the Neo Base and $600 for Neo
    Advanced.


    Hard to tell from the press release which mass market (GTA02) model (if either) is really close to feature parity with the iPhone, but if you compare the two top end models, the price is the same.

    This device could very well stand as a competitor to the more expensive Apple iPhone, but at a fraction of the price and with no vendor lock-in.


    If by fraction you mean 1/1, I guess so.
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Um... the prices listed on the website are $300 for the phone, and $450 for the phone with a development kit (looks like the phone just comes in a fancy case... and something else)...
      • Re:What a deal! (Score:4, Informative)

        by pturing ( 162145 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @01:53AM (#19796445) Homepage
        They're discounting this edition of the phone since it's for developers and doesn't have all the bits. Here's a quote from the openmoko mailing list:

        The delays have been expensive for us and annoying for you. We've
        decided that instead of setting up a complicated return or tracking
        system to remember who gets a discount for GTA02, we going to give you
        _all_ a discount on GTA01.

        We're going to sell the Neo Base for $300. The Neo Advanced will be
        $450.

        GTA02 (AKA: The Mass Market Neo 1973) is on schedule to go on sale in
        October. It will have the following new hardware components:

          * 802.11 b/g WiFi
          * Samsung 2442 SoC
          * SMedia 3362 Graphics Accelerator
          * 2 3D Accelerometers
          * 256MB Flash

        We will sell this device through multiple channels. Direct from
        openmoko.com, the price will be $450 for the Neo Base and $600 for Neo
        Advanced.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by lixee ( 863589 )

      Hard to tell from the press release which mass market (GTA02) model (if either) is really close to feature parity with the iPhone, but if you compare the two top end models, the price is the same.

      Nonesense. The Neo Advanced is not a top end model. It's the exact same unit that come in a nicer package and with all kinds of gadgets for the hacker in you. You can't possibly call the inclusion of debugboards and other JTAG cables as making a "top end model". It makes no sense.
      If you really wanna compare the

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by mrchaotica ( 681592 ) *

        You seem knowledgable, so I'll ask you: does the OpenMoko include PIM apps? And, just as importantly, does it synchronize with anything (hopefully e.g. KDE PIM at the least, but bonus points for Apple's iSync...)?

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by kwalker ( 1383 )
          I'll just jump in here, since I've been following this project for months now.

          Yes, the OpenMoKo platform includes PIM apps (Based on the EDS-embedded platform from O-hand). It's still in its infancy (They have been focusing on the hardware up to this point), but it's there, and will be rapidly advancing in the next few months. And one of the things they've been working on is a SyncML interface to sync the OpenMoKo PIM apps with anything that can speak SyncML. There will probably have to be an iSync backe
  • by jx100 ( 453615 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @12:45AM (#19796013)
    The inclusion of a 3D accelerometer intrigues me. I'm guessing/hoping there are plans to integrate this into some sort of user interface. An interface designed at least partially around physically moving the unit would be great to have on something as small as a cellphone, as it would reduce the need for thumb-typing or any other kind of extreme dexterity
    • The iPhone already has accelerometers, and the reason is simple: It can then figure out when you flip it on its side. Thus, it automatically changes the interfaces to reflect whether you're holding it vertically or horizontally. Combine that with other sensors, and it can figure out when you're holding it to your ear (and thus disable the display).

      Others have already mentioned a lot of the creative things that could be done with it beyond that, so I'll mention one -- scrolling. Put simply, if it's accurate
  • by hoppy ( 21392 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @12:48AM (#19796039) Homepage
    There is an interesting comparison between the OpenMoko and the iPhone. The iPhone hardware gives more power but may be the openness of the OpenMoko can provide better user experience with adaptability lacking in the iPhone ?
      http://aptustech.com/?q=node/9 [aptustech.com]

    Can the Openmoko challenge the iPhone ? Does the opensource philosophy can overcome one of the best designed phone ?

    • Sorry, but the iPhone is not the best designed phone. No phone is the best designed phone. Why? Because everyone has different needs. The iPhone would be a horrible phone for a parent to give their preteen/teen (not that I think they should have cell phones anyway, but that's beside the point.) Nor is it the best designed phone for an older person with arthritis. Nor is it the best designed phone for someone who loves the outdoors and does things like go camping. Nor is it a good phone for those who
  • 2.5G GSM? (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I'm sure that will count this phone out for a lot of people here, for the same reason as the iPhone.

    http://www.openmoko.com/products-neo-base-00-stdki t.html [openmoko.com]

    The Neo 1973 boasts the following hardware specifications
    2.8" VGA TFT color display
    Touchscreen, usable with stylus or fingers
    266HZ Samsung System on a Chip (SOC)
    USB 1.1, switchable between Client and Host (unpowered)
    Integrated AGPS
    2.5G GSM - quad band, voice, CSD, GPRS
    Bluetooth 2.0
    Micro SD slot
    High Quality audio codec
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      For those of you who really think that the difference between 2.5G and 3G is a deal breaker, I'd like to point something out:
      Unless you are going to hook the phone up to your computer and use it as a modem, the difference doesn't matter. You've got a 2" screen with a relatively low resolution - even crappy video streaming will run over 2.5G (poorly, but who watches video on their phone anyway?).

      If you could do VOIP or something over 3G that might make it matter, but the latency for cellular internet acces

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Helix150 ( 177049 )
        first- evdo Rev. A pings are much better- I usually get 150-250ms on my sprint aircard. It's good enough for VoIP without a problem.

        That said, I want to challenge the idea that EDGE -> UMTS makes no difference on a PDA. It makes a difference, although not much of one for 'mobile web sites'.
        If you are on google mobile with stripped down xhtml pages you may not notice the EDGE much. However if you are surfing 'normal' web pages that get resized on the PDA, it makes a big difference. If you are streamin
  • by Nastard ( 124180 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @01:01AM (#19796111)
    Apple won the market on music players by providing an extremely easy way to manage your collection and sync your device. Call it flashy advertising or a fashion statement if it helps you to feel better about your electronics purchase, but simplicity and interface are key. Same goes for the iPhone. You can shout "features" until you're blue in the face -- and there are plenty who will agree with you and stay away from the iPhone for that reason -- but I've never seen a communications device that makes contact and calendar syncing so easy (bonus: it happens through the already-popular iTunes).

    This smacks of the same sort of complaint-response attitude that drives the also-ran category in the music player market. Sure, it's open. Sure, it has features that everyone claims to need. Sure, it has a vaguely iPhone-ish interface. Wake me when it syncs with iTunes and automatically pulls my contacts, music, movies, TV shows, and calendar.
    • This smacks of the same sort of complaint-response attitude that drives the also-ran category in the music player market.

      Possibly. Or possibly Apple got it wrong with the iPhone. Or possibly Apple got it wrong and they are still going to win through monopolistic practices and marketing. All one can do is try to develop a better product and see whether one can compete.

      Wake me when it syncs with iTunes and automatically pulls my contacts, music, movies, TV shows, and calendar.

      Why the hell would I want to s
      • by Nastard ( 124180 )
        .Mac isn't required or even used, unless you count the ability to pull down your email.
      • by illumin8 ( 148082 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @11:23AM (#19800975) Journal

        Or possibly Apple got it wrong and they are still going to win through monopolistic practices and marketing.
        How can Apple win through monopolistic practices when they didn't have any market share in smartphones AT ALL a little over a week ago?

        All one can do is try to develop a better product and see whether one can compete.
        Indeed. Kudos to Apple for showing the rest of the market how it is done.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by dfghjk ( 711126 )
      "Apple won the market on music players by providing an extremely easy way to manage your collection and sync your device."

      You may attribute their success to anything you want, but it's just not that simple.

      "Call it flashy advertising or a fashion statement if it helps you to feel better about your electronics purchase, but simplicity and interface are key."

      Yeah, that's always said yet it's not clear how much more simple Apple's products were to provide that "key" differentiation. Funny how the interface th
      • by Nastard ( 124180 )
        "Funny how the interface that was so inherently superior in the iPod was abandoned entirely in the iPhone yet the iPhone is now praised for it's "simplicity". The fact is that whatever Apple's product is at any given time is claimed to be the standard by which everything is judged. That's called fanboyism."

        The interface was changed because the iPhone has a touch screen. More importantly, though, the fact that Apple continues to improve upon already-admired interfaces is one of the reasons everyone is talki
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Shihar ( 153932 )
      Apple does two things extremely well.

      1) It really, truly, and honestly does marketing well. Apple fans will swear up and down that that has nothing to do with it, but they are deluding themselves. Apple does marketing in a way that few other consumer electronics even begin to contemplate. Whoever the hell is running Apple's marketing campaign needs an extra zero or two tacked on to the end of his salary. I am not saying that Apple doesn't make a good product, but Apple isn't the only company to make a
  • Ha. Ha. Ha. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by suv4x4 ( 956391 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @01:02AM (#19796123)
    This device could very well stand as a competitor to the more expensive Apple iPhone, but at a fraction of the price and with no vendor lock-in.

    Oh yea, because, you see, iPhone is selling like crazy because it has a big touch screen!

    It's *marketing* people. To reach the masses, you need a clear message, a clear brand and a clean hyped up release.

    iPhone, by Apple, at 6PM, in all Apple and AT&T stores. Clear enough, right?
    What does it do? iPod, Browser, Phone, Maps, YouTube.

    Neo1912324, running OpenMoko, released just for developers for now and later for I don't know who and later maybe for everyone. For sale now in some places, if you can find it. What does it do? It's got advanced features running on Linux and is unlocked.

    Normal people will see absolutely nothing in that phone, never mind how we, geeks, are salivating at it, if the marketing and branding effort is so weak. Sorry.

    • Well, if your view that it's all marketing is true, we might as well roll over and let Jobs and Gates and all the other non-innovative companies do it to us while they grab our wallets, which is just what those companies are trying to do.

      OpenMoko is trying to compete, and I think they have a good chance. Apple's development speed seems like it's glacial, and the feature set on the iPhone will be fairly easy to replicate on the OpenMoko. It's the hundreds of additional apps that will make the phone attract
      • by suv4x4 ( 956391 )
        Well, if your view that it's all marketing is true, we might as well roll over and let Jobs and Gates and all the other non-innovative companies do it to us while they grab our wallets, which is just what those companies are trying to do.

        So what on Earth do you think has been going on so far? Windows has 85% market share. Hello!?

        OpenMoko is trying to compete, and I think they have a good chance. Apple's development speed seems like it's glacial, and the feature set on the iPhone will be fairly easy to repli
        • Re:Ha. Ha. Ha. (Score:5, Insightful)

          by nanosquid ( 1074949 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @02:04AM (#19796507)
          Hundreds of apps doesn't make me buy. I buy because someone communicates to me the ONE (or few) apps

          Everybody does. And everybody has different apps that matter to them. That's why having lots of apps matters.

          And let me tell you - it's a vicious cycle. If the phone isn't attractive to mainstream, developers won't develop mainstream apps for it, and mainstream won't buy it.

          Ah, yes, and Linux will never work because nobody will develop software for it, right? Current phones (including the iPhone) come with so little software that is so limited that the bar is really low. Most of the so-called mainstream developers are fixing bugs and omissions in the base OS, something OpenMoko doesn't need.

          OpenMoko costs $450/$600. You can get a Symbian/WinMobile smart phone with open API for less than that.

          OpenMoko costs $300 with a 640x480 screen and GPS (the $450 and $600 include development hardware, something that costs thousands of dollars from other vendors). There is no Symbian or WinMobile that comes even close. In fact, the only other 640x480 phone is a brick. $300 will barely get you the lowest end Symbian phone unlocked (the E50). And Symbian is not exactly open or standard and a pain to develop for (I've tried).
          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            > OpenMoko costs $300 with a 640x480 screen and GPS (the $450 and $600 include development hardware, something that costs thousands of dollars from other vendors).

            As much as I like the OpenMoko, this statement is somewhat deceptive.

            The pricing for the Neo1973 direct from OpenMoko.com is as follows:

            Now:
            $300 -- base phone with 266MHz ARM processor, 128MB RAM, and no WiFi
            $450 -- same phone + hardware development kit

            The phone sold now is intended for developers only and is not marketed for mainstream (but yo
  • great screen, too (Score:5, Insightful)

    by nanosquid ( 1074949 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @01:09AM (#19796169)
    Note that the screen is 640x480 pixels; this may be the first phone with good enough pixel density and resolution for decent handheld reading. And the fact that it's open source means that you aren't locked into an ebook reader.
  • OH God! ROTFL (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rueger ( 210566 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @01:15AM (#19796199) Homepage
    This device could very well stand as a competitor to the more expensive Apple iPhone,

    I'm sorry, but can we get just a little reality check here? And I'm someone who thinks the iPhone is 80% hype.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by blackicye ( 760472 )
      *boggle* I've been using a Linux based Motorola phone for over 2 years, this model is about 4 years old.

      When I last posted about my Motorola e680i (a low priced phone, for the China market) the only responses I got here were that I was elitist and linux phones weren't for everyone..

      pfeh..now all of a sudden its cool.

      There are a couple on sale on ebay at the moment from $36 to $195.
  • It's not surprising that it was missed in the summary, but the Neo1973 is a GSM phone. There doesn't seem to be any public word on whether a CDMA version is in the works or if it's even practicable (it's definitely possible, but getting a CDMA carrier to activate it may not be). Too bad I'm one of the many unlucky Americans to live and breathe outside GSM coverage.
  • /.'ed (Score:3, Funny)

    by pturing ( 162145 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @01:32AM (#19796307) Homepage
    I'm on their mailing list.
    I get the announcement e-mail.
    Maybe I'll get one and get in on the dev action.
    That's weird, the site's not responding.
    I wonder what killed their web server;
    I don't think there's that many people on the list.
    Oh well, I wonder what's on slashdot...

  • Symbian vs. Linux (Score:2, Interesting)

    by MBHkewl ( 807459 )
    The only mobile phones that I ever owned were the Nokia Communicator series (9110i, 9250 & 9500), and I am SICK of Symbian. Yes, the keyboard is very nice, but the crappy OS which crashes on very inconvenient times is just too much. When I pay $900 for a phone, I expect it to work for at least 3 years before crapping on me.

    Nokia has moved away from reliability long time ago and got on the fancy-wagon. Their new E90 phone (new communicator) is very sexy, especially with the built-in GPS chip, but I guess
  • I mean, if I want a hackable communications device, that's what computers and wifi are for. With phones I just want reliable POTS service, a voice phone with no computer crap, that powers up when I turn it on. And that's the hassle, all cell phones including this OpenMoko thing seem to use proprietary batteries that need special chargers. If you go to any airport there's ALWAYS folks huddled around power outlets trying to charge their phones. The batteries are an expensive pain in the ass to replace, yo
  • Motorola MING A1200 (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ehiris ( 214677 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @03:44AM (#19797157) Homepage
    I wonder how this compares to the Motorla MING which claims to be Linux-based also.
  • GSM/GPRS module (Score:4, Insightful)

    by tzanger ( 1575 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @07:20AM (#19798289) Homepage

    I'm curious as to how similar the GSM module is to a CDMA counterpart; Look specifically at smartphones like the treos; they come in both GSM and CDMA models, and the mainboards on them are pretty much identical. I'm willing to bet that if you took the GSM module out of this thing and slapped in a CDMA module from another phone (that uses the modular technology) that you'd be able to use CDMA networks.

    Now the CDMA guys have agreements where they won't activate an ESN from another carrier, but if you've got an old or broken CDMA smartphone from someone like Telus, say, you could in theory have this phone on a CDMA network without too much trouble. There'll be some driver work as the commands aren't identical, but they're pretty damned close.

  • As a consumer (Score:5, Insightful)

    by gelfling ( 6534 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @07:59AM (#19798565) Homepage Journal
    I want a phone that my carrier will accept. I don't know how the rest of the world views it but just because a company makes a phone doesn't actually mean my carrier is forced to integrate it into their network. Oh you can wave all the public policy documents from the FCC in their face you want. Doesn't mean shit. My carrier, Sprint has a hard enough time supporting the phones they sell. The conversation about bringing them an unlocked phone to activate it would something like:

    Me: "I have this phone I want to add to my plan"
    Sprint: "Did the store activate it?"
    Me: "No it's my phone I didn't get it from a Sprint store"
    Sprint: "Sir we don't do that"
    Me: "blah blah blah blah - - ~~~ you're supposed to blah blah"
    Sprint: "Sir let me check can you hold?"
    Me: "Yeah sure"
    -15 minutes later
    Sprint: "Sir? We can do that, the activation fee is $375"
    Me: "Huh?"
    Sprint: "Sir yes if it's not a phone we sell then that's the activation fee"
    Me: "Never mind, thanks anyway"
    Sprint: "Thank you for calling Sprint"

    • Sprint and Verizon are both CDMA gorillas and they will refuse to activate non-branded phones. Sure the FCC requires they do, but they have figured out ways to prevent most people from doing so legally. Making insane requirements that only are met by their branded firmware using any FCC option as a mandatory requirement ( for safety reasons )... anything to prevent phone from being activated that were not sold by them.

      But you can activate any CDMA phone on "page plus" which is a pre-pay service that uses
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by retro128 ( 318602 )
      Sprint is a bit different since they're using CDMA, as does Verizon. Neither has SIM cards, so when you change phones, you have to call them up and activate every time.

      On the other hand, GSM networks are keyed to SIM cards. When you activate a phone, you are giving them the SIM number and they are activating that. If they ask you for your phone model and ESN, it's just for their records in case your phone gets ripped off so they can put it on a "stolen" list. Changing your phone is as simple as popping
  • SIM toolkit? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Yenya ( 12004 ) on Monday July 09, 2007 @09:06AM (#19799103) Homepage Journal
    I am eager to replace my current phone with Openmoko. However, I use a SIM Toolkit application for my banking. I wanted to look up whether Openmoko plans some STK support, but I have only found this post [openmoko.org] in gsmd-devel archives from March. Does anybody know what is the state of SIM Toolkit support in Openmoko?

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