thelinuxlink.net

Hi all,

Haven't posted for awhile.

I was listening to Episode 345 [but there are other episodes where this is true] and noticed all the guys are loving Android and I heard a few reasons why, such as:
- Ringtones now anything and can be mp3's etc
- Checking email on the phone
- 5MP camera


I was really surprised by this.

To go back...I highly anticipated the release of the nokia N95 back in 2006-07 and bought one outright as soon as it came on the Australian market.
It was great.
5 MP camera, make your own Ringtone, put on the phone, and away you go. Micro-SD slot up to 8GB supported. The Apps for Symbian are many and varied and had all sorts of games, email clients, SSH client even.
This was 2007.
The iPhone came out and I couldn't see the draw. It was missing features I had on my N95.

I have just upgraded to the Nokia N900 and it is awesome! Still only a 5MP camera, but dual LED flash now so that helps in low light and improved video quality 848 x 480@25fps, 32GB onboard storage plus up to 16GB Micro-SD. etc etc

So what is the draw card for these Android phones?

I do love the fact that a Linux OS is making a big inroad. I am hoping Android gets even more market share, but what is great about them over the Nokia range? Am I missing something?

Just curious, not trying to bag anyone's purchasing decisions.

Thanks for reading.

I think we all appreciate that Android is a strong Linux based smart phone that's being adopted en masse by non techie people on a similar level as the iPhone. It has become the Linux based leader in smart phones here in the States. You can walk into any mobile carrier store here and see 2-4 Android based devices on display. Most of us have a Nokia N770, N800, N880 and love them. The thing about Nokia is they have completely dropped the ball with the N900. This is painfully obvious here in the States where it has 0 presence. I still haven't seen a N900 in person. Nokia has made it known that Symbian+qt is their mobile platform of choice. It's pretty sad considering how much of a lead Nokia had on everyone else with their Maemo based devices. Nokia has pretty much given up. Another win for Andorid is the marketplace of applications which is growing at a feverish pace. The barrier of entry for an Android developer is pretty low. Free development tools and you only have to pay a one time $25 fee to join the marketplace. The Palm Pre, while a nice Linux based phone never got the developers to sign on like Android has. Android is our best hope for Linux based mobile phones getting large adoption. It has the money and push of Google behind it. I was so hopeful when I heard about Openmoko. An "open" phone. What a great concept. Sadly a small startup with limited resources and questionable decisions wasn't enough.

Hey Pat

So your saying the excitement I heard was not so much for the technical aspects of the phone, but the idea that Linux powered phones are taking off?
I can see that and I agree entirely.
I love my Linux powered N900 but I am not a Nokia fan boy [although all my phones have been Nokia for the last 10 years].
I want to see Linux out there more than any specific company.

It would be even better though it Android, WebOS and Meego had a 33% share each

i have to say, i'm enjoying my droid. at first i wondered if i bought too much phone. i am not a phone guy! but, once i got used to it... it is a little linux box! i've tethered into it. got on the net over the cell towers with my netbook. pushed apps up to it. good fun.

the best part is it plays OGG. so i no longer have to carry a seperite music player for podcasts. and now that some people got me on identi.ca, Mustard is keeping friends on my phone 24x7.

so far, so good.