Apple's heavy hand an opportunity for Linux smartphones likeOpenMoko

Giles Jones giles.jones at zen.co.uk
Sat Sep 29 02:24:19 CEST 2007


On 29 Sep 2007, at 00:52, alan at rotorgraphics.com wrote:

> Very true, ....BUT... and this is a big but....
>
> FIC or some other smart manufacturer has to clone the iPhone's form  
> factor
> details and performance points.
>
> I have lived with my iPhone now for a few weeks and I simply LOVE  
> it.  I
> bought TWO more for my wife and daughter.  Yes, the software IS a  
> big part
> of it, but the hardware design is NOT to be discounted here.
>

What design? it's square, no keyboard and one button on front. Plenty  
of phones around with such simplicity.

The software and interface design are what counts, many phones have a  
simple design with minimal buttons but run a desktop style interface  
(eg. Windows Mobile). This doesn't work.

You need to forget pretty much everything you know about desktop  
computers before you tackle a UI design for a handheld device.

This is why Tablet PC didn't take off, why UMPC's are very niche. If  
an OS is designed for WIMP, you need the keyboard and mouse.

The iPhone is very ordinary hardware (even the screen res is bettered  
by the Neo) wrapped up in a nice casing with some well thought out  
software.





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