On Sat, 29 May 2010 12:15:04 +0530 "H.S.Rai" <hs...@gndec.ac.in> wrote: [...] > It seems that Android will rule and Linux bases mobiles may not > become a reality. [...]
You are probably right, given the demise of OpenMoko. Even the manufacturers that are providing Linux-based phones do not provide access to the underlying OS, and thus are even more closed than Android is. Yes, the GPL requires them to provide access to the code to anyone who asks, but it is a far cry from that to having proper development tools that provide OS-level access. So, Android is probably one's best option at the moment for a widely-available, sort-of-open, mobile development environment. As one can rebuild Android to one's specifications, and the only thing that is really closed is access to Google APIs, I think that this is not an unreasonable compromise. > All are having A-GPS, and sales man says one need to subscribe > and pay monthly for use of navigational through A-GPS. A good alternative might be the new Motorola Android phone available in India. It is expensive (about 28K, I believe, but comes with MapMyIndia maps free for life. Also has AGPS, I believe). > However, my impression is that A-GPS should also be able to used > as GPS (not working indoor and long fixing time), but sales > person can confirm that. [...] All that AGPS does is provide supplemental information to a GPS-enabled device in order for it to find a fix faster, and in situations where GPS might not find a fix at all, e.g., indoors. Please see: http://www.wmexperts.com/articles/gps_vs_agps_a_quick_tutorial.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS The confusion might be arising because some providers might be providing location information (e.g., based on cell-phone tower data) that they are loosely referring to as AGPS. So, AGPS will only help if one already has a GPS-equipped handset. The monthly subscription might, or might not, be needed depending on your service provider. Regards, Gora ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ThinkGeek and WIRED's GeekDad team up for the Ultimate GeekDad Father's Day Giveaway. ONE MASSIVE PRIZE to the lucky parental unit. See the prize list and enter to win: http://p.sf.net/sfu/thinkgeek-promo _______________________________________________ linux-india-help mailing list linux-india-help@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/linux-india-help
