next smartphone thoughts

[Michael Vasiliev]

On 08/28/2011 12:42 AM, Udi Finkelstein wrote:
> I don't see how having or not having a keyboard has anything to do
> with being able to revive a bricked unit.
> The SheevaPlug has no keyboard, yet it's mini-USB connection that can
> drive a JTAG chain to reprogram the internal flash regardless of the
> unit state.
Different security models. For obvious reasons, if the programmers are
not fools, you have to type an unlock password before the device
activates the data pins and you can dump/upload data/firmware. I have
difficulty imagining an on-screen keyboard that fits into tiny boot
areas of the phone. But, I admit, I've already seen one, in a Toshiba
convertible tablet-laptop POST sequence.

[skipped]
> The N950 is not available for sale.
> There were 250 units available on a long-term loan to qualified
> developers, and then 100 more were made available on the same
> requirements via maemo.org <http://maemo.org> or meego.org
> <http://meego.org> or something like that.
> You just can't buy it.
I did not say "buy one".
> And even if you could, it's software would probably be in a worse
> state than the N900's.
Fine with me.
> Personally, I have an N900 and I don't see anything that can replace
> it at the moment.
> I just hope that eventually we would see Meego on someone's phone.
>
We won't see a free, open OS on some manufacturer's phone because ATM,
there is no incentive to that manufacturer to give you a free, open OS
on your phone, other than cutting on the OS development costs. But then,
the OS usually comes from another company that fits the OS development
bill and expects something in return. Something that's more than
one-time fraction of the device's price.

--
Sincerely Yours,
Michael Vasiliev
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