Some light ahead...

Marcel de Jong mdejong at gmail.com
Sat Apr 28 00:44:31 CEST 2007


On 4/27/07, Ian Stirling <openmoko at mauve.plus.com> wrote:
> Duncan Hudson wrote:
> > Jim Thompson wrote:
> <snip>
> >> 4) Relax... you're not going to be able to add features to an iPhone.
> > OSX is unix based, so you and I both know that one will be able to add
> > apps to the iPhone.  We also both know that for it to succeed in the
> > business environment they'll have to allow 3rd party apps.
>
> Know?
> That's a little strong.
>
> Custom u-boot, or something like it, that will only accept signed
> firmware images to upgrade.
> Properly setup security, with an installer that will only install signed
> apps.
> Kernel that will only run signed binaries.
>
> Oh - if you pay apple large amounts of money, sure.
> Free? Well I doubt it.
>

I doubt that the Neo and the iPhone are real competitors.
It's nice to compare the two, but that comparison is okewed, both
devices cater to two different markets.

And do you all really believe that mom would buy a phone that's as
hideously expensive as the iPhone?
In the US, you have to sign a two year contract with Cingular, whether
you are a current customer or not! And if that weren't enough, also
pay 500 US dollars for the cheapest version. (No, there is no discount
on that)
Now let's compare THAT with the Neo offering:
- No need to sign a new contract if you already have GSM
- And the price is 350 USD (plus shipping?)

But let's be honest here, it's incredibly hard to get into the
cellphone market, with those giant names as Nokia, Sony-Ericsson and
the likes.
The openess of the Neo is only a selling point for us 'geeks'. What
the device needs is something that Joe from the street wants, nay,
needs to use. And while you are correct that development will soar
once the dev phones ship, I'm sure there are already people working on
great software using the openmoko-makefile, and other dev-tools.
But don't expect stellar sales from people not in the know. I doubt
that I would be able to find the Neo at our local GSM shop.

But that's just my opinion.

greetings,
Marcel de Jong




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