[Novalug] Interview with the Mad Dog re: Openmoko

[Paul Bohme]

John B. Holmblad wrote:
>
> I think that ATT has more to lose than to gain by going "open device" 
> so I would not to see an Openmoko handset registered on their network 
> anytime soon. T-Mobile, on the other hand, I think does have an 
> incentive to go "open device"^2 and allow Openmoko and other similar 
> devices based on, say, Google's Android software platform, to be 
> registered on its network.
>

I have a Neo1973.  Works fine on AT&T.  Bought a 'pay-as-you-go' SIM to 
slap in it for development/tinkering.  (How shockingly rip-off it is can 
be another entire conversation.. ;-)

Remember that GSM is fundamentally different from CDMA in many ways, 
including how CDMA welds the identity to the phone.  GSM allows you to 
pretty much - goofy vendor 'locking' aside - take the SIM out of any 
device and pop it into another, and your identity as a paying human goes 
with.  Gives you (the user) far more freedom to pick a physical device 
with which to utilize the service you're paying for.  Handy when a phone 
dies and you need a replacement, especially since often your phonebook 
and other info are stored on the SIM as well.

Could be why pretty much the rest of the world (outside of Japan, which 
uses their own variant of CDMA that isn't compatible with anything else, 
IIRC) uses GSM.

  -P