Ten reasons open-source smartphones will win out

• Tags:
• IPhone,
• BlackBerry,
• Linux,
• Palm Pre

Jack Wallen

Published: 26 Jun 2009 15:00 BST

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

...you will be able to synch with OS X, Windows, and Linux. Top that Apple and Windows Mobile.

6. Cost

I am already planning to move to either an Android-based phone or a Pre. One reason that appeals to me at the moment is cost. The total cost of ownership (TCO) over a two-year period for the iPhone 3G is the US is $3,799 (£2,300). The TCO for the Android G1 is $3,149 (£1,900). The TCO for the Pre is $2,599 (£1,590).

The difference between the iPhone and the Pre is $550 (£355), which makes the Pre approximately $22 (£13) per month cheaper. That saving will allow me to have more than one smartphone in the family. And in our current financial situation, any savings are good. How are they able to keep this cost down? No OS upcharges. Why? Open source.

7. Multitasking

This shortcoming is one of the aspects of the iPhone that bothers me most. If I am on the Edge network and I accidentally click the mail button, I can give up on using my phone for a while. And I have had a number of occasions when an alarm has cancelled a phone call.

The iPhone simply cannot multitask. Both the Android and the Pre can. You want to have more than one application open at once, feel free if you are on the Pre. If you are on the iPhone, forget it. And, let's face it, we are a society of multitaskers. So why would you want to use the DOS of smartphone operating systems?

The operating system powering both the Pre and the Android is Linux, and it was created for multitasking and networking.

8. Push Gmail

Most of the Google applications are built into the Pre OS. Because of this fact, there will not only be seamless integration but you will be able to have your Google mail delivered to your phone without having to do a single thing.

No more having to open up the mail client and wait for your Gmail to download. Now you open up that client and the mail is already there. This feature will also work with the Android phones. Of course, you can have your iPhone check your Gmail frequently so that it seems like Push. And an open-source Gmail API — Web Storage Portability Layer — has already been developed.

Because of this API, the Pre and the Android will enjoy a much richer integration with Gmail. Before long, one or both of these phones will have seamless integration with tools like eGroupware and Zimbra.

9. Developers

Do you remember that Verizon commercial where the spokesperson has a massive amount of people with him to represent the Verizon network? You can apply the same analogy to the developer network for the Pre and the Android.

The sum total of open-source developers across the globe is fairly staggering. Imagine having that collective whole working to create interesting, helpful applications, as well as bettering the total experience with the phone. That future is what awaits the smartphone based on open-source technology.

That model has proven effective on the Linux operating system. When a bug is found, it is patched quickly and efficiently. The same thing should hold true with the Pre and the Android. When you have that many people working toward a common goal, that goal will be reached in a hurry. And you can imagine how the collective open-source development community would love to take down the behemoth known as Apple.

10. Creativity

How long do you think it will be before the open-source community has created a super-light version of Apache to run on the Pre? Imagine being able to carry your own web server around with you. How much geek cred will that bring? And it will not end there.

The open-source community will find many creative ways to use the Palm Pre. Mail servers, CMSes, network security tools — the possibilities are endless. Soon, you will probably see a standard Linux desktop on the device. Hopefully, if someone does manage to do that, they will at least leave the phone feature intact.

Beyond the cost
Naturally, cost is one of the biggest advantages that open source brings to the mobile market. But now you should see how being a part of the open-source community will benefit the world of smartphones.

Can you think of other ways open source will benefit smartphones? Can you think of ways it will hinder them? Let us know what you think.

Credit: 10 reasons why open source makes sense on smart phones from TechRepublic.com

• 
• 
• 
• 

• Share this article:
• Digg
• Slashdot
• Del.ici.ous
• Stumble
• Reddit