Re: OpenMoko phone

[David Farber <dfarber () cs cmu edu>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Bob Frankston" <bob37-2 () bobf frankston com>
Date: October 5, 2007 11:20:44 AM EDT
To: <dave () farber net>, <ip () v2 listbox com>
Cc: "'Erich M.'" <me () quintessenz org>
Subject: RE: [IP] Re:   OpenMoko phone

Can protocols like UMTS, EDGE, HS[UD]PA be implemented in software  
above the
sealed GSM portion or must they be baked in?

Bluetooth is a related problem -- unlike IP stacks Bluetooth seems to
hostile to adding additional protocols. How easy is it to add a new
Bluetooth profile?

-----Original Message-----
From: David Farber [mailto:dfarber () cs cmu edu]
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2007 10:20
To: ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: [IP] Re: OpenMoko phone



Begin forwarded message:

From: "Erich M." <me () quintessenz org>
Date: October 5, 2007 6:29:35 AM EDT
To: Bill Williamson <bill () bbqninja com>
Cc: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Re: OpenMoko phone



Bill Williamson wrote:
> > From: "Erich M." <me () quintessenz org>
> > Date: October 2, 2007 7:47:24 PM EDT

> Erich/etc,
>
> You have misunderstood what Jonathan meant by "locked."  He did not
> mean locked as in "only able to connect to one carrier's network."
> The OpenMoko's GSM hardware is "locked away" from the underlying Linux
> operating system.
>
> What this means is that the application developer can send commands to
> the unit (dial this number, hang up, send this data) but does not have
> low level device access.  This is necessary to comply with FCC
> regulations (at least easily) and is the excuse many vendors give for
> not having open source firmwares/drivers for other radio based
> equipment.
>
> If the developers had "unlocked" access to the GSM radio they could do
> things such as:
> -change the frequency it's transmitting on to a controlled one
> -boost power above FCC limits for unlicensed users
> -combine the above two to create a GSM Jammer...

Hmm I do think that has to be the case according to ETSI standards
anyway. I have not concentrated on this but this should be basic to get
a licence to use the GSM standard in any new kit.

Seemingly I got that wrong. Have never heard of a GSM-handset - built
anywhere else - that could not be marketed in Europe because of the
reasons quoted.

Very common are other "locks" in many types of handsets that do not
allow you to select a network of your choice when roaming. Even if there
  is more than one roaming partner of your home provider in the country
you are in. The [vendor modified] software simply does not offer the
selection. I am not 100 percent sure, but that should be against the GSM
standard as well.

I only meant the SIM lock,of course, which is clearly anti-standard.

What I am just wondering about is,  why all of these new dataphones have
not got a UMTS/HSPA radio yet. Those radio units have been on the market
for years in so many other phones, they were signifcantly shrunk in size
and prices must be down meanwhile as well...
I´ll come back with the answers when that will be on topic next.
rthanks for the correction
say
erich






>

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