Linux has one, last, chance to become the No1 OS in a particular consumer-oriented market (not counting servers): the mobile phone market. The open nature and yes, the hype around Linux has made lots of mobile-oriented companies to consider using Linux for their next-generation cellphones. But there is a major problem on the way to success, a problem which is created not by Linux itself, but by the greed and close-mindness of these same companies that endorse Linux.
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Member since:2005-07-06
Sorry but just because you want to group Series 30 and 40 together and 60/80/90 doesn't make it true.
It does. As for Series 30/40 it doesnt matter which OS it uses. This platform is closed (has no public API), so there is no application compatibility problem becasue there are no applications 
Nokia, however, is quite clear that they are not planning on offering a single platform. Series 60 for their mid line smart phones and Series 80 for their high end smart phones
Wrong. S60 will be the future unified platform for all Nokia smartphones. Series 90 features (touchscreen support) already get subsumed into S60 and in the S60v3 Feature Pack 3 the S80-like HVGA resolution support was introduced. That means S60 communicators are also on the horizon.
Are all of you living in some alternate universe where carriers are having a hard time getting subscriptions?
Without availability of common smartphone platforms (S60, WM and PalmOS) they definitely would have a hard time getting subscriptions.
Member since:2005-07-06
It does. As for Series 30/40 it doesnt matter which OS it uses. This platform is closed (has no public API), so there is no application compatibility problem becasue there are no applications
Ok, I agree in that sense.
Wrong. S60 will be the future unified platform for all Nokia smartphones. Series 90 features (touchscreen support) already get subsumed into S60 and in the S60v3 Feature Pack 3 the S80-like HVGA resolution support was introduced. That means S60 communicators are also on the horizon.
I have not seen any information to verify that. Whatever the case, today they are using at least 5 OSes. Getting it down to three (S30, S60 and Linux) would be an improvement, but it's certainly not going to suddenly create cross handset compatibility. So the core of my statement still hasn't changed, the cell phone industry, en mass, has no intention of making interoperability a feature. Perhaps in Europe where GSM rules or in Japan where DoCoMo has a monopoly something will happen, but here in the U.S., feel good when you can make a 20 minute call without it dropping.
Without availability of common smartphone platforms (S60, WM and PalmOS) they definitely would have a hard time getting subscriptions.
I'm sorry, that makes no sense. Operators have millions of subscriptions already. There is no indication that people aren't signing up now, nor is there an indication that cross handset compatibility is a compelling feature to subscribers. If you're in the cell phone industry you know as well as I do that corporate users are the minority. Operators want to make sure that the corporate user's teenage daughter is happy and can text her friends.
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Member since:
2005-07-06
Get your facts. Nokia only use 2 OSes on their phones: Series 30/40 platform which is based on a propietary embedded os and Series 60/80/90 platform which share the same Symbian OS core and base UI classes. Nokia doesnt use Linux on phones.
Sorry but just because you want to group Series 30 and 40 together and 60/80/90 doesn't make it true. And I didn't say Nokia shipped Linux on their phones, I said they use 5 different OSes, which is true. Nokia, however, is quite clear that they are not planning on offering a single platform. They will continue to use Series 30 for their regular handsets, Series 60 for their mid line smart phones and Series 80 for their high end smart phones. And they have not indicated that they are going to switch off of Linux for their Tablet line. Which means you are looking at a reduction to 4 OSes of which 3 of them are incompatible (30, 60 and Linux) and two which are semi-compatible (60 and 80).
This fact mean less sales, so carriers and developers are definitely not happy with it.
Are all of you living in some alternate universe where carriers are having a hard time getting subscriptions? You're making these "if they don't do it no one will come" arguments when you're talking about companies making billions in revenue.