What's the best open-source phone?

[filifunk]

I've just installed linux and started working with open source stuff maybe for 3 months at the most. Now I'm hooked and would like to know what people on here think is the best phone....I just saw a Droid commercial it looks pretty sweet! Someone told me that Nokia meamo phones are better! but I have no idea...thoughts?

[hoppipolla]

I've just installed linux and started working with open source stuff maybe for 3 months at the most. Now I'm hooked and would like to know what people on here think is the best phone....I just saw a Droid commercial it looks pretty sweet! Someone told me that Nokia meamo phones are better! but I have no idea...thoughts?

It's called "Android" :) It's the Google portable, (mostly) open source operating system. It's apparently very, very good!

There are also a few other open source phones such as Openmoko (http://www.openmoko.com/) :)

My #1 recommendation at the moment would be the HTC Magic!

http://www.htc.com/www/product/magic/overview.html

[kyle99]

Motorola Droid comes out tonight, hopefully it's gonna be pretty awesome :)

[Tipped OuT]

Open source phone? Is this really necessary?

[Allochtoon]

Open source phone? Is this really necessary?

I own 2 'smart'phones from htc. the first one went broken because it still thinks it has a headset plugged in. The second one got broken even sooner. And im handling these things with care. Then i bought a nokia 3110classic phone. That one still works to this day.

Syncing all those phones still hasn't worked so far. At least both ways i cannot manage to sync my nokia 3110c (from evolution to phone).

So yes, my next phone will most likely be one which will work for years to come, especially concerning syncing it with opensource software. Nokia isn't releasing Nokia Pc Suite anytime soon. ;)

For that reason HTC isn't my first pick.

[ve4cib]

Maemo (used on some of the newer Nokia phones, including the N900) is based on Debian, and the phone itself is running on an ARM-family processor. So with a little work you could probably add some repos, and install whatever .deb packages you felt like.

I've read some complaints that Android isn't as open-source as some OSS advocates (read: FSF) were hoping it would be. Parts of the system are closed-source. But that doesn't necessarily make the system inferior. From everything I've heard Android has a very slick, easy-to-use interface, and there's enough people using it that the app selection is getting to be pretty good.

In terms of actual hardware, "best" really depends on what you use your phone for. Do you need/want a physical keyboard? Or would an on-screen one do? Do you need to be able to use a stylus to scribble hand-written notes and doodles? Do you want a standard headphone jack? What screen size do you need? How much internal memory do you need? Do you want SD car slots? And so on. And honestly I don't know nearly enough about mobiles to offer any kind of advice on those kinds of questions.

[djmh]

well im rocking an iphone, i love it ...but you could jailbreak it ?
or does that not count as open source ?

either way, jailbroken iphones are pretty cool ...

[Queue29]

Don't kid yourself into thinking Android is entirely open source.

[bashveank]

Don't kid yourself into thinking Android is entirely open source.

:roll: http://source.android.com/download

[Странник]

Maemo > Android

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

I want a smart phone, but it probably wouldn't last. I'm terrible with phones. My LG Chocolate 2 has been through the washing machine twice and the dryer once, it has been thrown down a flight of stairs, etc! It still works, the music is still on the microsd card and as far as I can tell there has been no permanent damage. I consider myself very lucky.

[Queue29]

:roll: http://source.android.com/download

Now show me the source code to Google's Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Marketplace, and Maps app. You know, the ones that make the phone worth buying.

Don't forget they even Cease and Desisted Cyanogen, the small, no profit guy making ROM's that put google to shame.

Open Source my butthole.

[bashveank]

Now show me the source code to Google's Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Marketplace, and Maps app. You know, the ones that make the phone worth buying.

Don't forget they even Cease and Desisted Cyanogen, the small, no profit guy making ROM's that put google to shame.

Open Source my butthole.

Half baked Google apps do not equal Android.
And Google CaDed Cyanogen because they were packaging those Google apps you mentioned that are only to be distributed by Google.

[Nixie Pixel]

The Motorola Droid is nice, but I love my HTC Droid Eris!

[siimo]

Nokia N900! Its based on Debian so you can drop to a bash shell and apt-get any program you like now that is cool.

[TironN]

I love the N900 but I can't live without my google apps.

I get my HTC Magic in 2 weeks!!

[Jekshadow]

well im rocking an iphone, i love it ...but you could jailbreak it ?
or does that not count as open source ?

either way, jailbroken iphones are pretty cool ...

Is iPhone OS open source?


Free Redistribution: No, the EULA prevents redistribution
Source Code: Mainly No, parts of the kernel are released, but everything but that is closed source
Derived Works: No, prevented by EULA
Integrity of The Author's Source Code: N/A (No access to source code, see #2)
No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups: Yes, Apple did not prevent certain groups from buying iPhones
No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor: Yes, Apple got this one too
Distribution of License: N/A (Cannot redistribute, see #1)
License Must Not Be Specific to a Product: No, the EULA is specific to the iPhone
License Must Not Restrict Other Software: No, the EULA prevents non "Apple approved" applications
License Must Be Technology-Neutral: No, iPhone OS can only be "officially" downloaded via iTunes


A license needs to fulfill 100% of the requirements to be an open source license, so iPhone OS is not released under an open source license. Just because you can add non official apps does not mean that it is open source.

Taken from http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php and the iPhone EULA.

[TironN]

Is iPhone OS open source?


Free Redistribution: No, the EULA prevents redistribution
Source Code: Mainly No, parts of the kernel are released, but everything but that is closed source
Derived Works: No, prevented by EULA
Integrity of The Author's Source Code: N/A (No access to source code, see #2)
No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups: Yes, Apple did not prevent certain groups from buying iPhones
No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor: Yes, Apple got this one too
Distribution of License: N/A (Cannot redistribute, see #1)
License Must Not Be Specific to a Product: No, the EULA is specific to the iPhone
License Must Not Restrict Other Software: No, the EULA prevents non "Apple approved" applications
License Must Be Technology-Neutral: No, iPhone OS can only be "officially" downloaded via iTunes


A license needs to fulfill 100% of the requirements to be an open source license, so iPhone OS is not released under an open source license. Just because you can add non official apps does not mean that it is open source.

Taken from http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php and the iPhone EULA.

I think if more people read those ten ideas a lot of people could be taught about the joys of open source!

[bgreenaway]

The Motorola Droid is nice, but I love my HTC Droid Eris!

+1. Wonderful device. Love my Eris as well.

[Duncan J Murray]

I don't think you'll ever get a completely open source phone. I was reading about this recently, and it's apparently due to phone-stack, which must conform to network and radio regulations, and so must be closed by the phone manufacturer.

But the most open-source is probably maemo. It gives you easy root access, and you develop in C/python, whatever in it. Android requires a fiddle to get root access, and I think, only limits you to java. Symbian is going open-source soon - they're aiming for late 2010/2011 I think, and switching over to QT (as will maemo).

Duncan.