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Handhelds Java Programming Software Hardware Linux

Motorola To Release Linux and Java-based Phone/PDA 87

Posted by CowboyNeal from the annoying-essentials dept.
clapton_fan writes "Motorola will release a combination phone / PDA this year in Asia using the Linux operating system and Java software. No U.S. release date set." It also packs a camera, Bluetooth, and a media player. Looks pretty sharp too. Update: 02/15 15:25 GMT by CN : Whoops. We mentioned this a couple days ago, but this time around there's pictures!
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Motorola To Release Linux and Java-based Phone/PDA More

Motorola To Release Linux and Java-based Phone/PDA

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  • hmm (Score:3, Funny)

    by Troed ( 102527 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @10:45AM (#5308433) Homepage Journal
    I'd say it looks pretty Motorola, not Sharp.
  • ...are y'all happy with the Sharp Zaurus 5500?
    • I've had mine for about 4 months and I still love it. I'm using the crow rom which runs from the SD card instead of a ramdisk. Resume is a bit pokey, 5 seconds or so before you can actually do anything with it. Stable as hell, there's been a couple of times when it's gone wonky. Haven't found a really usable compiler tool chain for it, and haven't gotten a cross-compiler setup on one of my other systems yet. I've got apache, php, and mysql running nicely, though without the options I would have chosen if compiling them myself. Battery life could definately be better, about an hour of hard use with wireless, 4 hours taking care not to drain it too fast, off and on usage for me goes about a week without charging. So far all the browsers I've tried are adaquate for occasional usage, but run into problems with anything complex. All in all, it feels like the ultimate evil genius tool. Tend to giggle when bringing up a mysql prompt on a text console with the realiazation that everything is running local.

    • I've owned both the Palm and the M$ pdas and the Linux based Zaurus 5500 is superior in every way.

      Just take a look at the current software catalog;
      http://www.killefiz.de/zaurus/

  • jesus (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward


    It's just a CELLPHONE! Why do these companies load up these things with so much crap? Who CARES! I've been through 100's of cellphones, you get sick of them, you change service, they break, etc... Why Bother? You want all that crap, buy a PDA. Instead of buying a 400$ cellphone.

    • Re:jesus (Score:5, Interesting)

      by hey! ( 33014 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @11:03AM (#5308491) Homepage Journal
      Moto sells LOTS of phones to organizations that used to have proviate radio networks. This happens to be the kind of market I work in; organizations like this often provide moto phones for there iDen DirectConnect (walkie-talkie) feature; usually they don't even provide regular phone service.

      We use this capability along with java based PDA apps for data collection in the field (we're very interested in bluetooth for instrument telemetry and interfacing with GPS). This phone, although it rather looks like a businessman's toy, could be a pretty good combination for us, although from my point of view it would be better if it were blocky and rugged looking rather than sleek.
      • What industry do you work in?
        • Most of our business is with public and private agencies controlling public health nuisances such as mosquitoes or rodents; we are starting to do work with storm water and exotic vegetation control as well. I do other kind of field data collection projects; for example I'm working with scientists to develop PDA based zoological observation system for asessing the impact of mercury contamination.

          Some of the stuff we're doing is starting to have a homeland security dimension to it as well; there is a critical need to track and remotely disable ultra low volume pesticide spray equipment for example. However, we're not really on that gravy train: we're just too small and conscientious to absorb the kinds of gobs of money that are going to be thrown at that.

          Fun stuff, not much money :-(

    • Yeah, sure, why bother? I want a simple camera to take low-res pictures to send to my friends. OK, I'll buy a digital camera. I want my entire music collection with me. I'll buy an iPod. I want my address book, my mail, my encrypted passwords and some games to play when I'm bored. I'll buy a Palm. In addition to my spiffy phone with Bluetooth and GPRS. Lucky me that I no longer need a wallet to hold my money, because I sure as hell can't fit it in my pocket.
    • Jesus exhibited Luddite tendencies.

      But perhaps one day we can have a cell phone with enough bollocks to implement these asinine standards in software, so we can just buy something and expect to work, without getting thrashed by all these CDMA/GSM issues.

      No, I don't know the details, but I can't believe a transceiver cannot be made programmable such that it can implement an arbitrary standard.

  • Converging SuperPhones (Score:5, Funny)

    by marko123 ( 131635 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @10:49AM (#5308444) Homepage
    Is it just me, or is it that the best thing about uber-powerful phone appliances is that they can now run my perl spam-filter scripts on my email account during the busy cyberwarrior workday so that when I get home I have less spam in my inbox?

  • unpopular OS? (Score:3, Funny)

    by caino59 ( 313096 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @10:49AM (#5308445) Homepage
    from the article -
    "My main concern, same with the P800, is the unpopular OS - in US terms. I hope software support for Linux and Symbian accelerates so we can get past these hangups. "



    Hangups...did he get disconnected a lot on calls?

    But seriously...How can he say the US is unfriendly to Linux?

    Maybe he hasn't heard of IBM?

    and if he wants better software support, maybe he should learn to code ;oP

    • I believe when when the he to linux as an unpopular OS he means that linux is unpopular with most consumers
      If it isn't M$ most people won't look at it(games aside)
      • So you're saying that for mobile devices it's Windows, not Palm or Linux?

        Color me surprised but when I walk into an electronics store and look at the PDA's I see 8 with "Microsoft" and 30 with Palm (and the ever popular Sharp outcast). WindowsRG (real gud) Edition may be selling in the high end pda market, but at least in my own locale it's the Palm powered devices (esp. those with long battery life) that are really moving in large chunks.

        People are looking at PDA's and similar portable devices in ways that are fundamentally different than desktop or even laptop computers. Most people I know that owns one of these devices isn't watching movies on it or editing powerpoint slides. They're using it as a replacement for a daily planner. One that can interface with their desktop pc.

        • Actually I'm talking more about brand/name recognition. When people see the M$ logo they think computer, if they see a device labeled palm they think handheld, and if a device is advertised linux then the average person will think of it as a cheep off brand.
          I don't know why this is, but often when I mention linux to non nerds they either don't know what it is or think that is a cheap rip-off of windows

          on a side note, most palm stuff has the windows logo(not a penguin) in the corner of the box, thereby gaining from M$'s brand name
    • He didnt say unfriendly, he said unpopular. Average people want something they already know how to use. People like seeing the familiar WinCE interface.

      >> Maybe he hasn't heard of IBM?

      How do their enterprise servers relate to a PDA?

      >> if he wants better software support, maybe he should learn to code

      That's a big reason it's unpopular.

  • Sony Ericsson and Nokia.. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by MosesJones ( 55544 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @10:57AM (#5308469) Homepage

    Now I know its not cool on Slashdot to mentioned products based on Symbian rather than uber-trendy linux. But how is this impressive when both Nokia and Sony Ericsson have launched products, and will continue to launch products that are PDAs/Phones/Cameras etc etc and include bluetooth, IR etc etc.

    Okay, I know that Motorola are a US company and there for its much more impressive when they are only 12 months behind the crowd, but having something like this in Asia NOW is about 18+ months behind. The reason Motorola use Linux here is because they don't want to use Symbian, why I have no idea. And before someone says "cost" please get a clue about corporations and the actual cost of OSes.

    Why not support a solid, reliable, proven OS that is making it nearly impossible for MS to get inroads rather than raving about yet another "linux on a X" product.

    • Re:Sony Ericsson and Nokia.. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by TopShelf ( 92521 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @11:10AM (#5308506) Homepage Journal
      Perhaps the biggest advantage I can think of for Linux as opposed to Symbian is corporate risk - Symbian has a greater potential to develop along a path that is divergent from Motorola's preferences, as opposed to Linux, which has a wide base of support and development...

      • What ? (Score:3, Interesting)

        by MosesJones ( 55544 )

        So lets compare....

        Symbian, aim is to enable the partners (major phone manufacturers) to gain the sort of dominance on Phones and SmartPhones that MS have on the desktop.

        Linux, free, very little support in the mobile market.

        Its 1980 and you've been asked to join the board of Microsoft or the board of Commodore, who do you choose ?

        • Re:What ? (Score:3, Funny)

          by toriver ( 11308 )
          Its 1980 and you've been asked to join the board of Microsoft or the board of Commodore, who do you choose ?

          Is that a trick question? Commodore, of course, they have cool technology, Microsoft has a CP/M knockoff and a bunch of compilers.

          Then I would use my board position to kill silly stuff like the C64C, C16, +/4 (or at least market it as a MSX clone), CD-32, A500+, A2000, and A3000.

          And my Commodore would rule the world. :-)

    • Re:Sony Ericsson and Nokia.. (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      And before someone says "cost" please get a clue about corporations and the actual cost of OSes.

      I must admit, I'm clueless about corporations and the actual cost of OSes. Perhaps you could tell us? How much do Symbian and Linux cost per phone?

    • Fsck It All. . . .

      I Want one.

      The average user don't care what it runs, as long as it works. This is a cool toy. . .

      You Know That's all that counts.

  • Software Development (Score:3, Informative)

    by yjanse ( 650664 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @10:57AM (#5308473) Homepage
    For my internship I have been developing software for mobile phones such as this one, using the Java 2 MicroEdition.

    Most applications were games, because that is what the market appears to be interested in. (The youth who wants to look cool with the latest Nokia).

    Unfortunately, this shrinked-down version of Java is as slow as it's big brother, and not great for gaming. The alternative is SymbianOS programming, which is done in C++ and thus much, much faster.

    The bad thing about this is that Symbian is not implemented on many phones.

    I don't want Java to be removed from phones, because with Java my mother can still write working code :-) But for decent fast working software, please, please use C++ on these things.

    But now I see that Linux is used, you can expect a C/C++ subsystem which can possible be used.

  • The more telephony/hardware companies we see releasing Linux hardware (with a portable programming language running on top of it) then the greater the market share Linux will get.

  • SPECIAL REPORT WITH PHOTOS (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Well, it *is* an exciting story! In that case, here's a recently updated [linuxdevices.com] including recently released photos of the device from linuxdevices.com . . .

    Motorola, currently the world's #2 maker of mobile phones ("handsets") with an estimated worldwide market share of 19%, today unveiled a major shift in its embedded software strategy. For future handset designs, Motorola is going with a combination of an embedded Linux operating system and Java-based middleware, along with full multimedia functionality.

    The A760 handset (pictured at left and below), Motorola's initial Linux/Java handset offering, combines the functions of a mobile phone, PDA, digital camera, video player, MP3 player, speakerphone, messaging, Internet access, and Bluetooth wireless technology. Motorola says they will initially launch the A760 in Asia in 2003. Its embedded Linux OS was supplied by MontaVista Software.

    To provide added perspective, LinuxDevices.com brings you this Special Report [linuxdevices.com] which includes the text of the Motorola announcement, and also provides a roundup of some of the many international news stories surrounding this important development . . .
  • While the phones may run linux/java ... I would not expect the phone companies to let you create your own apps and upload them to the phone.

    A more than a few years back, JavaOne (has it been that long?) it seamed every session was in a lather about the micro edition or kvm running on cell phones and their ilk. Session after session and after hours at the bar, the general consensus was 'we love the platform, but we want to control the entire revenue stream'. Expect some serious license / formal development kits if you want to code for these things. I don't think they have hobbyist in mind. If I end up being wrong, I'll be racing to the store - but uploading apps to phones (not pda's) still seems pretty limited.
    • Nokia makes development kits for their phones. One of them runs on linux [nokia.com]. I think you can't generalize, but I do know to my cost that although Siemens claims that their development kit is freely downloadable, it was too difficult for me to figure out how to do it. I stupidly bought a cheap Siemens phone with the intention of trying out development on it, but couldn't fight my way through their registration process - even though I've tried using Windows! I've learned my lesson. My next phone will be a Nokia.
    • While the phones may run linux/java ... I would not expect the phone companies to let you create your own apps and upload them to the phone.


      Why not? People are already doing that with Nokias Symbian-phones for example. Why would the phone-company be interested what software you run on your phone? Well, maybe it's different in US but here (Finland and rest of Europe) that isn't the case.
      • Well, maybe it's different in US but here (Finland and rest of Europe) that isn't the case.

        You guessed it... US. My commodore 64 had better connectivity than my phone. I really hope we can catch up some day. I'm green with envy when I fly across the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.
        • The following phones now available in the U.S. allow J2ME development and uploading at no cost (other than perhaps air-time or data fees for over-the-air provisioning):
          • Hitachi P300
          • LG 5350
          • Motorola A388
          • Motorola T720 (not from Verizon though)
          • Motorola V60i (not from Verizon though)
          • Motorola V66i
          • Nokia 7210
          • Nokia 9290 Communicator
          • RIM BlackBerry 5810
          • RIM BlackBerry 6510
          • RIM BlackBerry 6710
          • RIM BlackBerry 6750
          • Samsung SPH-A500
          • Samsung SPH-N400
          • Sanyo 4900
          • Sanyo 5300

          The Nokia 3650 and Sony Ericsson P800 should also be available soon in the U.S. if they're not already.

          There's also the Motorola i85s, i50sx, i55sr, i80s, i88s, i58sr, i90c, and i95cl, but you have to jump through a couple hoops to be able to load your own apps, and you have to use Windows.

    • Re:Don't hold your breath about creating apps.... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by dattaway ( 3088 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @11:34AM (#5308575) Homepage Journal
      What's wrong with assembly language and programmable logic gates these days? I'd like to keep things quick and easy on the batteries. I like higher level languages, but are minimalistic systems now taboo?

      Nothing like pressing a key and waiting a second for the phone's database to be accessed while a dialing digit shows up on the screen. I'm talking about my Ericsson T28.
    • Nextel offers the capability to upload Java applications to their java-enabled Motorola phones here at their site [nextel.com].

      They also have an OTA (over-the-air) feature to download the apps to all phones in your business/group/whatever collective you are in.

      Motorola also has a Developer site which has a user support board with active Motorola people helping answer questions, etc. here at THEIR site [motorola.com]

      I'm not a java coder and have little desire to do so, but perhaps when I'm old and grizzly with nothing else to do I'll write my first "hello phone" j2me app :)

      But I am glad java is on the phones, and I most certainly look forward to Linux.

  • While we wait for the site to be /.ed (Score:3, Interesting)

    by WegianWarrior ( 649800 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @11:04AM (#5308494) Journal

    Motorola has announced the A760, a flip form factor that looks like a hip Treo 300. It's packed with features like: digital camera, video player, MP3 player, speakerphone, advanced messaging, instant Internet access and Bluetooth(TM) wireless technology.
    picture
    "This handset is special because it features one of the most open and flexible software platforms that exists," said Rob Shaddock, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the GSM/TDMA Product Line in Motorola's Personal Communications Sector. "By supporting the open source Linux OS and Java technology, Motorola is creating the most open and flexible environment possible to help drive the development of compelling applications for rich, customized mobile experiences."
    another picture
    I'm pretty excited about this unit. It's stacked with options and has the marketing power and connections of Moto to help it reach mass distribution. My main concern, same with the P800, is the unpopular OS - in US terms. I hope software support for Linux and Symbian accelerates so we can get past these hangups. These alternative OS's are not only viewed as better by many, they tend to be less resource intense and are cheaper than the Microsoft and Palm options.

    I know.. I'm whoring for karma

  • news.google.com (Score:4, Funny)

    by garcia ( 6573 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @11:10AM (#5308505)
    am I going to have to start asking Google to put Slashcode on their news site? Why should I ever bother to read this when it is WAY old news compared to Google News? I saw this yesterday afternoon and though to myself, "wow, I wonder how long this will take to get posted twice on /." ;-)
    • well, it was posted on the 13th the first time..

      wouldn't that be before yesterday afternoon?

      anyway, now you have your answer...its been posted twice.
    • I think the true irony of your post is what I found on google news this morning:

      Motorola To Release Linux and Java-based Phone/PDA
      Slashdot - 40 minutes ago
      clapton_fan writes "Motorola will release a combination phone / PDA this year in Asia using the Linux operating system and Java software. No US release date set." It also packs a camera, Bluetooth, and a media player. Looks pretty sharp too. Motorola to launch Linux and Java based phone The Inquirer Neither Nokia nor MS

      So now not only do we have it posted twice on slashdot, but now we have google news second posting of this story pointing to slashdot's second posting of it...perhaps soon google news and slashdot will be making their own stories with recursive links.

  • Can I call you back? (Score:5, Funny)

    by eap ( 91469 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @11:15AM (#5308527) Journal
    The garbage collector is running.

  • Java support is key (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MarkWatson ( 189759 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @11:47AM (#5308622) Homepage
    Yeah, go ahead and bash Java for being slow and a memory hog....

    Now that we have that out of the way: Java ME/MIDP is very cool because it makes it so very easy to write code for portable devices.

    A month ago, I did a little work for a company using MIDP (and my last J2EE book had a MIDP example) - so I am biased.

    I think that the point is that MIDP opens up the verticle market for custom applications with MIDP devices talking to web services.

    Last month, I used XML over HTTP and Apache Jakarta Tomcat on the server side - really a great combination.

    -Mark

  • Correction... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Akardam ( 186995 ) on Saturday February 15, 2003 @11:50AM (#5308634)
    *watches server go down in slashdotting induced flames*

    There were pictures.

    >:)
  • now every company is _planning_ on releasing a smartphone - kyocera / sony-ericsson / motorola.

    Sony p800 was supposed to be out last year. I am still waiting for it. I am NOT willing to pay the insane Ebay prieces ($800) for it.

    I have a Kyocera 6035 and like it. Even though, it is kind of showing its size - now the novelity is worn off. I have been waiting for a 'next gen' smart phone, and don't find any viable competition.

    so yes, cool ideas. But when they release the product for $300 bucks & not tied to a provider (sprint / verizon) then we'll talk.
  • I want Apple to make a phone/PDA!!!!!
    • I agree. I also believe that Microsoft should be split up. Their OS business should be separate from their application business. Their applications businesses should be split up by environment. Apple could do with the phone technology as it did with iPod. Something that would look good and work.
  • This story is listed at google news right now -- -don't know how long it wil be there but it is in the top headlines.
  • ...this is what I'm going to treat myself to.
  • Wasn't Symbian made by Nokia, Ericcsson, etc.? They're rival companies, so I assume Motorola would stay away from that platform.

  • This looks like a slick phone and given that it runs linux and java, I'm sure I'd like one to play around with it. However, based on my cell phone usage, I'm not sure if I'd like it. Most of my calls are still made/received in the car. Even with a hands free speaker in my ear, I still grab the phone and push buttons with one hand. I don't have to look because I've gotten used to the phone and the bumps on the case that help the user identify the buttons. Maybe the voice activation software has improved in the last few years, but I'm sure I wouldn't like pushing virtual buttons on a screen.

  • I actually LIKE the idea of a PDA phone. I was quite impressed with my Handspring's communitcator line of phone/pda. I was tempted to buy a Treo 180 a couple months back (had a pretty good deal. I needed a new service and they were offering a 150 rebate). Thing is, it's not available on the Handspring site anymore. It was just the right PDA for me. Nice, simple interface, small enough to really use it as a phone, and CHEAP (99 US dollars at the time). Why it isn't even on back order is beyond me. I can't stand the fact that every phone/pda/ir remote/rocket launcher phone comes with a camera and an mp3 player. The mp3 i could justify for voice memos, but the goofballs market it like a portable jukebox! Camera? Do I want to pay to transfer a 100k photo on a 10 MB data plan? A lot of what you get is fluff. But the Treo 180 was just enough to keep me going. Oh, well.

  • My main concern, same with the P800, is the unpopular OS

    Hmm yes is less visible than windows but in the
    scools and geekhouses i think is popular ...
    • I think it good news that Motorola has turned to Linux & Java, but it still lags way behind Symbian despite tens of thousands of developers knowing Java (whereas I would call Symbian more of a localised community).

      Motorola, however, still holds shares in Symbian, as now do Siemens, Panasonic, SonyEricsson and Samsung - this latter one having invested £17 million for a 5% stake.

      At least any OS = better than cackrosoft...

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