Live data from Hacker News

ZTE Open Firefox OS phone is available on eBay

ebay.com

111–119 of 119 posts

Re: ZTE Open Firefox OS phone is available on eBay

#111
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to tell you that "the countries this phone is targeted at don't even have 4G". But what do you know: Russia, India, Brazil, all have 4G networks [1]. That's really impressive... [1] http://www.worldtimezone.com/4g.html

+ it doesn't ship anywhere besides US

It ships to the UK too

Re: ZTE Open Firefox OS phone is available on eBay

#112
post #110
post #65

57 comments into this thread and not one mention of the string "baseband". Surprising, as that is far and away the most interesting thing that could happen in this space, and it continues to not happen. Depending on the phone and the implementation of the baseband firmware, your carrier could have as deep as DMA access to that computer in your hand. Osmocom is interesting, but it is 2G only, works (almost) exclusivel…

There's no talk about basebands because there's nothing anyone can do about it.

just like nobody could run anything except a proprietary operating system in the 80s?

Re: ZTE Open Firefox OS phone is available on eBay

#115
post #23
post #7

I hope other organizations related to free software follow this route. Where is GNU Mobile? Debian Mobile? FreeBSD Mobile? etc, etc. In six days ends the Ubuntu Edge "fundraising" but I don't think this is the way to go. If few people like Linus Torvalds ignited a revolution why the same is not happening on the mobile space with less than $ 32mm? Even starting without big expectations about the market penetration bec…

Generally, rms does not advocate free hardware (free as in freedom). You might be interested in this article from 1999: http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/1999062200505NWLF

I think you're misrepresenting RMS. In that article, he is mostly saying that hardware cannot be properly copyrighted/copylefted, and then pushes for open access to hardware interface specifications.

The closest to "not advocat[ing] free hardware" I can see in the article is where RMS states that there is (at that time) no way to download hardware the way we download software. correct me if I'm wrong.

Re: ZTE Open Firefox OS phone is available on eBay

#116
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally, rms does not advocate free hardware (free as in freedom). You might be interested in this article from 1999: http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/1999062200505NWLF

I think you're misrepresenting RMS. In that article, he is mostly saying that hardware cannot be properly copyrighted/copylefted, and then pushes for open access to hardware interface specifications. The closest to "not advocat[ing] free hardware" I can see in the article is where RMS states that there is (at that time) no way to download hardware the way we download software. correct me if I'm wrong.

Well, if I misrepresented him then certainly not intentionally. However, please have a look at this talk by rms where he addresses the question of free hardware in more detail:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNBMdDaYhZA&t=7m1s

Re: ZTE Open Firefox OS phone is available on eBay

#118
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting idea, but I don't think I could go back to that style of phone without a QWERTY keyboard. It's the form factor - I think iPhone 4 is the perfect size, iPhone 5 if also fine, so around a 4-inch screen . Everything these days seems to be 4.7-5 inch, which just feels to big in my hand and esp too big to carry around in my pocket. It used to be possible to reach all corners of the screen with just my thumb, i…

How in-depth have you used these 4.7-5 inch phones? I ask because it doesn't really map to my experience at all--I have small hands (8" stretch, 6.5" length) and can reach corner of a Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, or SGS3 without any difficulty whatsoever.

I haven't used them that much, but enough to know I can't reach all parts of the screen with one hand (http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/04/11/a-widescreen-4-iphone...).

Regardless of the stretch, my biggest nag is the form factor in my pocket. I don't have a handbag/manbag so all my stuff usually comes with me in my pocket. I also use my phone a lot for music, so a big phone in the gym is a nuisance. I also use it as my everyday camera - I have my phone and an SLR. When I am doing sports activities (biking or snowboarding mainly) I will take my phone. That slightly bigger phone is an annoyance, and I feel as if I am more likely to break the phone. Just a personal preference, but I may have to jump over to an HTC One or a Sony Xperia Z because the processing power is just too tempting to miss out on. I'll keep my old phone as a backup for those other times.

Re: ZTE Open Firefox OS phone is available on eBay

#119
post #83

Just bought one, we'll see if it lives up to the hype. I did need an unlocked phone anyways so this was a good excuse to buy something neat...

Just got mine. So far I'm kinda unimpressed. Its key-sense is clunky/latent, the camera is a little dark. Browsing is OK, youtube works, other video stuff doesn't. The orange is not as horrible as I thought it would be. Haven't been able to make a call with it yet since I don't have a good SIM for it, but $80 for an unlocked phone is a good deal any way you look at it...
Post reply on HN