Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions • Hacker News Board

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#21

Post by lallysingh » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 9:01 PM UTC

quasimojo wrote: post #18

nuclear_eclipse wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an Openmoko Neo FreeRunner: it has GPS, accelerometers, WiFi G, high resolution 640x480px touch screen, Micro SD card slot, good quality speakers/headphone jack, and good battery life; it works with any GSM carrier; it can run just about any operating system compiled for its ARM CPU; you can run and compile programs on it in any language supported by GCC or an ARM-compiled interpreter; it can connect to the in…

Any questions? yes. okay you have sold me on the hardware. can i get one, then contact a wireless vendor and get a service plan? or will they tell me that i have to use a authorized device? astoundingly i have never owned a cell phone

You can use any GSM provider you want. AT&T and T-Mobile work fine on it. You can also use a prepaid plan if you want.

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#22

Post by lallysingh » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 9:02 PM UTC

nuclear_eclipse wrote: post #15

quasimojo wrote: post #5

christ we are in the dark ages again i need a google account to use gphone i need itunes to use iphone i have to buy apps from approved channels it favors the vendors apps no thanks wake me when i can buy a device that runs apps i choose, connects to the network i want. i realize this is a pipe dream. the wireless world is a world of shit i might as well look for the smallest flash-based linux notebook possible that…

I have an Openmoko Neo FreeRunner: it has GPS, accelerometers, WiFi G, high resolution 640x480px touch screen, Micro SD card slot, good quality speakers/headphone jack, and good battery life; it works with any GSM carrier; it can run just about any operating system compiled for its ARM CPU; you can run and compile programs on it in any language supported by GCC or an ARM-compiled interpreter; it can connect to the in…

Yeah, when are we (I've got one too, still working on getting the Mokomakefile system working on Solaris) going to get a decent software stack for the thing? Leaving it suspended overnight shouldn't kill the battery.

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#23

Post by icey » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 9:28 PM UTC

nuclear_eclipse wrote: post #15

quasimojo wrote: post #5

christ we are in the dark ages again i need a google account to use gphone i need itunes to use iphone i have to buy apps from approved channels it favors the vendors apps no thanks wake me when i can buy a device that runs apps i choose, connects to the network i want. i realize this is a pipe dream. the wireless world is a world of shit i might as well look for the smallest flash-based linux notebook possible that…

I have an Openmoko Neo FreeRunner: it has GPS, accelerometers, WiFi G, high resolution 640x480px touch screen, Micro SD card slot, good quality speakers/headphone jack, and good battery life; it works with any GSM carrier; it can run just about any operating system compiled for its ARM CPU; you can run and compile programs on it in any language supported by GCC or an ARM-compiled interpreter; it can connect to the in…

I have one: Do you actually like using the phone?

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#24

Post by nuclear_eclipse » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 10:05 PM UTC

icey wrote: post #23

nuclear_eclipse wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an Openmoko Neo FreeRunner: it has GPS, accelerometers, WiFi G, high resolution 640x480px touch screen, Micro SD card slot, good quality speakers/headphone jack, and good battery life; it works with any GSM carrier; it can run just about any operating system compiled for its ARM CPU; you can run and compile programs on it in any language supported by GCC or an ARM-compiled interpreter; it can connect to the in…

I have one: Do you actually like using the phone?

Good question: Yes and no.

Because the software stack is a community effort, there are still a few niggling issues:

- problems with suspend (just like Linux on "real" computers) killing the sound driver (mostly fixed) or not waking back up (rare)

- there's no software yet for the device to wake itself at a specified time, so alarms are not possible when using suspend

- WiFi and GPRS is not yet straightforward when using the UI, but work perfectly fine when you can get things set up from a terminal/shell script

However, it's not all bad:

- The diversity of applications is already growing fast, and there are multiple choices for phone software, from Qtopia apps to Gtk or the latest FSO apps.

- GPS works great, and the mapping tools are really nifty and useful, especially TangoGPS: http://www.tangogps.org/

- Once you set up the "good" touch keyboards, using an Xterm is really nice for on-the-go ssh access to servers and such

- There's a great app available that will run in the background and auto-rotate the screen based on accelerometer data, which works great for terminals to get a wider screen: http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Rotate

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#25

Post by nuclear_eclipse » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 10:09 PM UTC

lallysingh wrote: post #22

nuclear_eclipse wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an Openmoko Neo FreeRunner: it has GPS, accelerometers, WiFi G, high resolution 640x480px touch screen, Micro SD card slot, good quality speakers/headphone jack, and good battery life; it works with any GSM carrier; it can run just about any operating system compiled for its ARM CPU; you can run and compile programs on it in any language supported by GCC or an ARM-compiled interpreter; it can connect to the in…

Yeah, when are we (I've got one too, still working on getting the Mokomakefile system working on Solaris) going to get a decent software stack for the thing? Leaving it suspended overnight shouldn't kill the battery.

Things have really picked up pace lately. There are currently two good software stacks available: the more stable and dependable ASU 2008.9 release [1], and the more experimental, and slower Python/Dbus-based, FSO framework initiative [2] that builds a new set of phone software on top of ASU.

[1] - http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Om2008.9_Update

[2] - http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/FSO

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#26

Post by nuclear_eclipse » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 10:18 PM UTC

quasimojo wrote: post #18

nuclear_eclipse wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an Openmoko Neo FreeRunner: it has GPS, accelerometers, WiFi G, high resolution 640x480px touch screen, Micro SD card slot, good quality speakers/headphone jack, and good battery life; it works with any GSM carrier; it can run just about any operating system compiled for its ARM CPU; you can run and compile programs on it in any language supported by GCC or an ARM-compiled interpreter; it can connect to the in…

Any questions? yes. okay you have sold me on the hardware. can i get one, then contact a wireless vendor and get a service plan? or will they tell me that i have to use a authorized device? astoundingly i have never owned a cell phone

I already have a standard cell plan with T-Mobile for my Razr, but when I got my Neo, I was able to walk into the local T-Mobile store and just pick up a prepaid SIM card plan for $15. You just tell them (or AT&T) that you already have a phone, and you just want the service plan, and they'll give it to you. T-Mobile offers both monthly contract-free and prepaid plans without the need to purchase a phone, so you should be perfectly fine.

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#27

Post by icey » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 10:27 PM UTC

nuclear_eclipse wrote: post #24

icey wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have one: Do you actually like using the phone?

Good question: Yes and no. Because the software stack is a community effort, there are still a few niggling issues: - problems with suspend (just like Linux on "real" computers) killing the sound driver (mostly fixed) or not waking back up (rare) - there's no software yet for the device to wake itself at a specified time, so alarms are not possible when using suspend - WiFi and GPRS is not yet straightforward when us…

How do you find the battery life to be on the unit? I used to keep up with the mailing list, prior to the device actually being released, and I recall that being an issue that there were some concerns about.

I'm glad to hear that there have been improvements though!

Do you use the phone as your "daily driver" yet?

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#28

Post by wh » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 10:30 PM UTC

quasimojo wrote: post #5

christ we are in the dark ages again i need a google account to use gphone i need itunes to use iphone i have to buy apps from approved channels it favors the vendors apps no thanks wake me when i can buy a device that runs apps i choose, connects to the network i want. i realize this is a pipe dream. the wireless world is a world of shit i might as well look for the smallest flash-based linux notebook possible that…

We need someone like Linus Torvalds for mobile os.

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#29

Post by lemonysnicket » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 10:33 PM UTC

mechanical_fish wrote: post #19

lemonysnicket wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the real thing the iPhone loses is exclusivity and thus has lost some of its luster -- its not the only player in the market anymore with an app store, touch screen, and all the other goodies

The iPhone doesn't lose luster when it acquires imitators. Far from it. The release of Android is a big, free benefit for Apple's marketing. The release of Android will inspire approximately 3e5 articles comparing the new phone with existing phones. And which is the existing phone that will be featured in every single one of those articles, cast (once again) in the role of the current gold standard for smart phones ?…

"the iPhone with a keyboard."

that's all you have to tell ordinary consumers (read: high school teenage girls and college-aged folks who absolutely OBLITERATE text messaging services and would never buy a mobile phone without a keyboard).

as a phone, iPhone rates very poorly for two things: calls (poor reception, horrible battery life, etc.) and sms.

G1 fixes one and possibly the other.

i have an iPhone, FWIW

Re: Walt Mossberg - Google’s G1: First Impressions

#30

Post by nuclear_eclipse » Tue, Sep 23, 2008, 10:45 PM UTC

icey wrote: post #27

nuclear_eclipse wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good question: Yes and no. Because the software stack is a community effort, there are still a few niggling issues: - problems with suspend (just like Linux on "real" computers) killing the sound driver (mostly fixed) or not waking back up (rare) - there's no software yet for the device to wake itself at a specified time, so alarms are not possible when using suspend - WiFi and GPRS is not yet straightforward when us…

How do you find the battery life to be on the unit? I used to keep up with the mailing list, prior to the device actually being released, and I recall that being an issue that there were some concerns about. I'm glad to hear that there have been improvements though! Do you use the phone as your "daily driver" yet?

I usually get about a day and a half of battery life, with the Neo suspended whenever I'm not using it, and usually with GPS/WiFi turned off until I need it. There are however people who think the Neo could potentially go for even longer, but it's already comparable to what the original iPhones seem to be getting anyways.

I don't yet use it as my only phone; because of the suspend issues, I have to have a more reliable method of being reached, so I still carry my Razr with me, and have my calls forwarded whenever my Neo decides not to come out of suspend, but the Neo is still my primary phone otherwise.