2008/12/18 Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller <h...@computer.org>: > My practical experience is: > > a) in areas (urban) where you have HSDPA speed, you also have WiFi > hotspots > > b) in all other areas (more rural) your connection falls back to GPRS > anyway > > So, a phone that combines GPRS and WiFi is a little more difficult to > connect > to the correct network but has no dramatically worse connectivity than > real 3G.
It depends a lot on where you are in the world. Here in the UK HSDPA coverage is already extremely good, and I can get it for as little as £10 (15 USD) a month, or £15/month for more data than I ever use. Basically everywhere I go supports HSDPA, and it costs me no extra to use it whenever I like (and in those spots without HSDPA it seamlessly drops to lower speed connections). When I am out and about there may well be wifi hotspots nearby - but you almost always have to pay for them, so in reality I end up not using them. I realize that in some other parts of the world 3.5G coverage/expense is not so good (ie the USA). But these places are catching up fast (thanks to the newer iPhone etc), and as they do, the demand for this amazing ability to have flat-rate broadband internet wherever you go will increase. I think it is the case that many people don't realize how useful and enabling it is until they have it. Almost all the latest big-brand smartphones support HSDPA (there are a couple of exceptions, but have a Google, seriously). I am worried, because as this trend towards 3G increases throughout 2009, Openmoko will be left looking like a poor choice in more parts of the world. Of the three friends who were very enthusiastic about Openmoko with me for many years, one has now gone for the G1 (Android phone) and another got an iPhone - both with flat rate HSDPA. I know there are plenty of people like yourself (Dr Schaller) who don't feel the need for HSDPA, so if the GTA03 costs more because it has connectivity unneccessary to them they are less likely to buy it. This is an important point. But there is also a proportion of people who won't buy the phone because it can't support HSDPA data plans (but would otherwise - I know people in this group). This group will of course continue to increase in number in 2009 and there will be more "open source" Android phones coming out, and Nokia even hinting that they might use Linux in some phones [1]. I fear that once most open source enthusiasts have embraced Android (or Maemo) for their phones, they are much less likely to care about the extra freedom Openmoko can offer them (even when it eventually includes the more advanced connectivity), which is a shame. So I feel now is quite a critical time for OM in terms of mindshare. But if 3G hardware and royalties cost too much, then perhaps OM has little choice. And that's just life. We'll make the best of it. [1] http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS5340331149.html See also: http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9093153240.html _______________________________________________ Openmoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
