Phones are boring

I participated the Open Source in Mobile conference the other week in Amsterdam. A good conference. There was a lot of talk about putting Linux into mobile phones, but I found it a very limited view to mobility and open source. Concentrating on today’s cell phones and how to put Linux kernel into them is actually pretty boring. Where is innovation?

Cell phones seem like a big market opportunity for many. It is therefore understandable that companies that utilize Linux consider them as potential business opportunities. But what they may forget is that while software technology progresses so do these devices. I claim that it would be wiser to think how to utilize open source in tomorrow’s mobile devices than trying to squeeze Linux into today’s cell phones. That’s like putting a modern turbo engine into a T Ford.


Me, too!
Why would we do the same with Linux and open source that is already done with other software stacks? Just because we can? Some companies that do not want to use Symbian, Microsoft, or other ready software platforms may be forced to use Linux and stuff on a phone, and I understand the business rational. But it is not interesting and it doesn't take you much further. From the technology and innovation point of view, it is simply re-inventing the wheel.

Phones are restricted
Cell phones exist in a very restricted ecosystem. Phones that you can buy today are closed; they include features, such as SIM locks, walled garden browsers, DRMs, MMS's, and other stuff desired by the ecosystem but ignored or hated by end users. All these features actually restrict innovation. Also, phones are good for talking but hardly for anything else. They need to be small so they don’t have proper keyboards or good screens. All your interesting applications are squeezed into this little screen and accessed by this clumsy keypad. Very restricted!

The Vision
I'd like a true operating system (Linux) and advanced middleware (GTK, Gnome, DBUS, ….) power new exciting connected mobile devices. I want to use the devices and their software as innovation platforms and want to create something new; not just re-implement something that has already been done. And yes, you are able to talk, see, hear and communicate through these devices but they are not your old cell phones. They are something else! To be continued …


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P.S. I truly apologize that we had some errors in our marketing campaign and that we gave credits to wrong people and so forth. It should be now fixed. The intention was honest and next time we’ll be more careful. Thank you for you understanding!