[PLUG] Open source phone goes mass-market

[Chetan Kumar]

On Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 5:00 PM, Vishal Rao <vishalrao at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 4:54 PM, Nishit Dave <stargazer.dave at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I'll buy it.  Would you?
>
> Does it have a touchscreen (stylus and/or finger) which I didnt see

It has touchscreen. For more info go to the source (openmoko.org)

> mentioned? And it's 2.5G but I'm waiting for 3G or some sort of
> "mobile broadband" enabled phone (maybe Android based phones) or WiFi
> is okay as a fallback...

Things are diffcult to judge on 3G, with Govt policy flip-flops
heppening so often. I heard about a provider "ready" (after
field-tests in Balgalore) for 3G services in May 2004 !!!! Similar
stories came each year from almost all providers.
Additonal scenarios:
a. General Elections are due and decisions may (not?) get put-off,
b. the providers may decide to enter in court-battles (the past
flip-flops have been due to the contentious nature of the 3G spectrum
allocation),
c. the providers may not be able to provide painless service at the start
These make me personally delay putting money into any 3G technology
for the moment.
However, it seems 2 years before it will be good enough for 3G in my
hands. (My guess. Don't ask me to validate this. I refuse to do that
!!!)
The large market size may have some catalytic effect and may hasten the process.
However, as I said before, it is difficult to guess how it will go.
Cheers
Chetan