Some thoughts about the real importanted dates for OpenMoko/Neo1973 3GSM World 2007 Barcelona this year ...Re: Developers phone also fit for early adopters?

[Robert Michel]

Salve Gervais!

On Fri, 26 Jan 2007, Gervais Mulongoy wrote:

> I have to admit that I kind of agree with Marcus, especially in terms of
> leveraging the free marketing that will happen from an early release.
But please not with a buggy hardware... 

> But in order to do this properly, we need to better organize the OpenMoko
> support infrastructure.
> 
> Support will be required for:
> * Hardware issues
> * Core software applications
> * Software stack issues
> 
> Marcus, how do you propose this will be done?
> 
> I think we need to first leverage the community to create a support
> infrastructure with at least the following minimum requirements:
> * a Bug/Feature tracking system per component of the software stack to track
> development/progress.
> * a Wiki which we can use to create the HOWTOs, FAQs, and other guides which
> we can publish in PDF (or whatever) as manuals etc.

Ahh haven't your read Sean mails?
http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2007-January/001586.html
    
    2007-02-11 Phase 0: Developer Preview
    We will give away free phones to selected members of the developer
    community. At this point, the full source code to the OpenMoko Linux
    Distribution will become publicly available. We are committed to
    cooperating with the community in the interest of making the
    official developer launch a smooth experience.

    In the last month we've seen a huge increase of interest in
    OpenMoko. To be perfectly honest, we're doing this give away as a
    system of "checks and balances." We want to get the framework right,
    the first time around.

    Also, at this time, the following community dedicated websites
    will be available:

    * http://openmoko.org/ -- for the actual development community
    * http://wiki.openmoko.org/ -- for an official wiki of the project
    * http://bugzilla.openmoko.org/ -- for bug tracking
    * http://lists.openmoko.org/ -- for public mailing lists
    * http://planet.openmoko.org/ -- for an aggregated feed
    * http://projects.openmoko.org/ -- for user-contributed projects 
 
> What do you think about that?

Is it realy so hart to spend patients for 2-3 weeks? hu?



Now to Marcus answer:
> On 1/25/07, Marcus Bauer <marcus.bauer at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >On Fri, 2007-01-26 at 03:42 +0100, Robert Michel wrote:
> >> I don't think that people buy a new phone to going on holiday with the
> >> new phone - AFAIK the most phones are sold November-January.
> >
> >People buy phones all year round. And those that do so before their
> >holidays will come back and make perfect mouth-to-mouth propaganda. And
> >when November comes the others will base their buying decision on
> >exactly that. It is perfect leverage at zero cost that you miss out.
> >
> >I bet that in the christmas season 2008 (not this year) you will have
> >plenty of phones with GPS and VGA screens. And plenty of big companies
> >throwing big marketing dollars at it.

But you don't want to start selling Neo1973s to normal users with
just only a dialer?

user at Neo1973> dial -now +492419968183

> >> After the flame ware GNU Linux I fear the next flame on this list.
> >> Marcus your sound was absolutly childish, ego-based and unproductive.
> >
> >Not at all. The best thing that could happen is a success of OpenMoko
> >and FIC. Waiting with the phone until after the summer season is a huge
> >loss in free marketing. Just keep my mail and re-read it in two years.

Hey guy! I was talking about your sound! And I'm quite shure that I
would say again in 2 years, that it was absolutly respectless.

> >> On the long term for nobody of us is it important to start in January,
> >> or March
> >
> >That's not true. It is a waste of first mover advantage. Once Google
> >comes out with a phone (unless they buy from FIC and use OpenMoko) the
> >market gets really tight.

Isn't the market already really tight and who is saying that Google will
bring a OpenSource mobile?

I'm absolutly shure that the team would prefer to ship the first phones
directly in November, instead of February or March...

And can you consider that by not beeing Google or Apple it isn't so easy
to start selling mass of devices? I have mentioned the GSM World in
Barcelona - even when OpenMoko/FIC is there not directly with an on
stand, I think someone will goe there and it will be important that
he could show a running device.
Can you consider that this is more important than shipping the first
devices to the developer now or in two weeks?

Are you reading http://planet.openmoko.org/?
Have you seen 2007-01-24 three days ago, that the stereo speaker was
used the first time:
http://gnumonks.org/~laforge/weblog/2007/01/24#20070124-omoko_update

So please spend respect and patient for 2-3 weeks and do not try to
be more worse than economic management of normal companies stressing
the developer to bring 90% finished trash to the market.
Will you make Sean sorrow to start this mailinglist in November instead
of February 2007?


And from a marketing view, think about Rods statement:
http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2007-January/002354.html

Will you give OpenMoko a nasty face for the public?
Yelling with personal agression will not help for 
promoting, nor help releasing the hardware faster.

Practice in spending respect and patience!

rob