Search
Subscribe (RSS)
Popular content
Search
Linux Phone, iPhone, Blackberry, or Treo - Sync with Linux?
My contract with T-Mobile is up soon and I've been looking around for a new cell phone service provider. I have a Palm T|X and a Nokia cell phone, but I'm hoping that my next mobile device will combine a PDA and a phone into one device. Here are some results of my research.
The Blackberry and Linux
I used GNU/Linux as my main operating system. Whatever PDA that I use has to be able to sync to Linux. Blackberries look nice, but you cannot really sync them to Linux. There are somewhat complicated workarounds, but I want a device that natively supports syncing to desktop Linux.
I will not use Blackberry until they support Linux.
The iPhone and Linux
The iPhone looks great. The new price of $399 is reasonable considering that my Palm TX costs about that with all of the accessories. I don't have an MP3 player, so the phone could double as my MP3 player. I like the way that the iPhone has a real browser in it.
Cons of the iPhone are that it is produced by Apple ("Roach Motel" business model). I hate iTunes and will never use it. I want an open source operating system—preferable Linux-based. I don't think that the iPhone supports syncing with a Linux desktop. (Can anyone confirm this?)
The iPhone is missing some features as explained here. Be sure to also read the NYT article about Apple's crippleware.
I'm not sure if you can sync an iphone to Linux—does anyone know?
Treo and Linux
The Palm-based Treos should be able to sync with J-Pilot (which runs on Linux). I currently sync my Palm TX to Ubuntu with Jpilot. Jpilot does not have as many features as Palm's own desktop software, but it works.
The good news is that Palm is moving to Linux-based phones.
Linux Phones
The most promising of the Linux smartphones is the upcoming OpenMoko FIC Neo1973 smartphone. Read more on LinuxDevices.com.
Linux/Smartphone Summary
By the time my tmobile contract is up I am hoping that either the Neo1973 Linux smartphone is released, or the new Linux-based Palm smartphone is available.
I think that I will avoid Blackberry and iPhones until they really work with Linux.
Do you use Linux as your main desktop OS? What kind of smartphone or PDA do you prefer?
Did you find this post helpful? Leave a comment below, and subscribe to my RSS feed.
Comments
sync pda to linux
I too am looking for a pda/smartphone which will sync easily with linux. Did you have any success?
Smartphone sync Linux
I used a Palm T|X and synced it to Ubuntu with jpilot, but now I'm using a Blackberry Bold. It doesn't sync to Ubuntu (that I know of), but I sync with web-based apps:
I think many smartphones are able to sync with web-based apps that also sync to the desktop. That might be the best way to go at the moment.
I highly recommend NOT getting a Blackberry Bold though because it requires a contract with AT&T -- one of the worst companies I've ever dealt with. I'm going to write a blog post about that soon, about the same time I cancel my AT&T contract.
Sync Linux with Smartphone
I have also been researching this lately and off and on for years actually. The G1 may use a Linux OS but even that does not mean it will sync. Maybe the new SugarCRM Express will fill the gap for $7 per month but with Palm OS going away, this is an even larger gap to fill. I am hoping that the explosion of Android devices will fix the problem. ( Motorola just announced that they will only be developing Android devices in 2009 and that Windows Mobile development will not be reinstated until at least 2010.) Again, just because a mobile runs Linux does not suggest that it will sync data with a Linux desktop. Any correlation may be wishful thinking. Otherwise, buying a copy of VMware may be the answer. Its about $200 /user now. I remember when it was free. Didn't work then though. I am open to ideas on the sync smartphones with Linux.
Best regards,
Bret