Trolltech has discontinued its Linux-based ‘Greenphone’ development platform. Touted upon its introduction as the first Linux-based mobile phone with user-modifiable firmware, the device will be superseded by various third-party products, including not only open phones, but also portable media players, navigation devices, and home automation equipment, the company says.
The article might leave most readers with the wrong impression about the Neo1973’s wifi capabilities. Though it is true that the “developer” version which is currently available lacks wifi, there is every indication that the consumer version (due out December) will include Wireless G. See the Wikipedia article for more info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo1973
Though it is true that the “developer” version which is currently available lacks wifi, there is every indication that the consumer version (due out December) will include Wireless G. See the Wikipedia article for more info.
Well, if that’s the case then I’m getting one. No question. I’m absolutely fed up to the back teeth of having phones shoved on me that are so restricted I can’t do what I want and need to do. It seems like they might have a reasonably healthy market here, going forward.
Damn! I just renewed my QT Licenses and my Greenphone SDK and bought a new phone. My account manager is going to hear about this….
Why is this a surprise to you? Trolltech always marketed the Greenphone as a developer platform only. The only reason it existed is that there weren’t really any other phones out there that people could develop with easily, so Trolltech made their own to give developers something to get a head start on.
Now that other phones exist, there is no point in making a phone just for that purpose. Any phone that can run QTopia will do just fine and be cheaper (like Neo1973).
Jason – I don’t understand your concern. You got a supported phone that will aid you in creating Qtopia applications. The Greenphone was not a consumer device, so where’s the problem? Enjoy your SDK, I can tell you that it’s lightyears more fun to work on it than on most developer boards I’ve seen so far.
The point is that just 3 weeks ago Trolltech took my money to renew my Greenphone SDK as well as my QTopia License and my QT/Trio Pack.
They should not have done this knowing it was going away. This was not a spur of the moment decision. They had knowledge when they took my money
Did you read the full story ? It is said that Qt will continue supporting the Greenphone :
“Schilling said Trolltech will continue to support the Greenphone and Neo1973”. They didn’t discontinue Qtopia, so your license is still useful to develop application for Qtopia.
While I’m not 100% sure, all that stuff will still work. The greensuite SDK will work on compatible phones, such as the Neo1973. If it was greenphone specific it would be pretty useless. Whatever your consumer target was, I’m sure it wasn’t the Greenphone, so I don’t really see the problem.
hey, there are over 40 phones with Qtopia stuff your licence is valid for – so if one of those, which was only a developer device ceases to be sold (still supported, though), how’s that so bad?
Well, now you have the knowledge, and they have the money….
The point is that just 3 weeks ago Trolltech took my money to renew my Greenphone SDK as well as my QTopia License and my QT/Trio Pack.
They should not have done this knowing it was going away.
The Greenphone was always aimed squarely at developers only as a target and test development platform, and it should be no surprise at all that it has been discontinued in favour of the Neo1973.
Your existing Greenphone will still work, as will Qtopia and you will still be able to develop for, not only the Greenphone, but any other device with Qtopia on it, such as the Neo.
why am i not surprise they are just trolling?
Why hasnt anyone ported qtopia to Sony ericsson yet?
Because mobile phones are in general – black boxes?
Just a while ago I talked to one engineer from Trolltech and asked when QT will be available for S60-phones. I should have asked “would it be possible”, since Nokia and other companies really don’t want to play with the idea that QTopia could be installed on their phones.
That sucks, it seems Qtopia is pretty good. It seems to be an upgrade for the normal software on the Nokia N8xx series, and even more so for the OpenMoko (but that one CAN run Qtopia).
There’s a prototype of Qt running on S60 with the latest OpenC. The more people tell Trolltech that they’re willing to pay for a supported port, the more likely it will be productionized.
Proprietary OS, no SDK, no instructions how to flash, no open specs for the hardware. And most of all, no time to spend two years re-engineering a device that will be obsolete by then
Maybe lack of intrest as you gentlemen point out.
the SE java phones are alike they use very similiar software.
Most stuff after SE t610 wich had incredibly good wavetable for midi sucked .
K700 series and forward had a crappy soundchip thats where qtopia could come in handy to do some wavetable emulation (like wingroove used to be back in the day)
SE devices are quite similiar get 1 working get most of them up and running i bet even camera software and music players would get better with qtopia.
I wanna use Mod,xm,it,s3m,mid etc as ringtones
For a minute there I was worried as the Neo1973 was my next planned upgrade.
Thankfully my initial concern was unfounded
[edit]
by the way – does anyone know where I can actually buy the Neo1973?
Edited 2007-10-23 10:18
You can order the Neo1973 directly from FIC/OpenMoko, go to the OpneMoko site and find the instructions.
So it is. I did look there but clearly not heard enough *doh*
The only thing that I haven’t read in any of the comments is why doesn’t Trolltech give out the source code to the Greenphone development platform that was in development…it would be the smart thing to do?!
The source is opened. The 4.3 tech preview was released as GPL, as will the upcoming 4.3.0.
Ahhh, thats why they are porting Qtopia to the neo
… but, quite frankly, one of the reasons this effort failed is that it’s really difficult to sell an open platform to hardware manufacturers when their primary customers — AT&T/Cingular, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc — want a closed platform. Let’s face it: Cellular providers really don’t want you to be able to open up the hood and look around because (a) they want to keep customers corraled and using only their premium services and protocols, (b) they don’t want to support an open platform because the usage scenarios potentially skyrocket in complexity (due to their flexibility), and (c) they really want exclusive distribution rights and that doesn’t work well with an open platform.
The Greenphone effort did not fail. It was a success. It did as it was intended to do. Trolltech never intended to get into the consumer hardware market.
You have an odd definition for “success”. Perhaps the Titanic “succeeded”, as well.