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Trolltech sells its last Greenphone, recommends Neo1973
Seeing the quirky, totally open Greenphone exit stage left brings a tear to our eye, we admit, but at least the torch to a promising successor. Trolltech -- maker of the Greenphone and the Linux-based Qtopia platform it runs -- has announced that they've sold clean out of the handsets having accomplished its reason for existence: hyping Qtopia itself. Trolltech readily admits that it's a software company, and now that Qtopia's out there in developers' hands (and possibly now with a strong ally in Motorola), it returns to its software roots and points in the direction of OpenMoko's up-and-coming Neo1973 open source phone for future devs looking to follow in the Greenphone's footsteps. Of course, the consumer version of the Neo isn't out just yet, but Trolltech says it hopes to be making announcements about support for additional devices in the near future -- so any way you slice it, the spirit of the Greenphone plods happily on.
Trolltech's Qtopia Greenphone and SDK gets reviewed
The Qtopia Greenphone was announced last summer and it hit up the Linux developer market pretty nicely with the forthcoming support that was announced. Well, linuxlookup.com has just completed a review of the Greenphone and the SDK for the unit as well -- and while the overall impression was favorable in terms of the "out of the box" experience, it's hard to say if this device is ready for prime time. Yes, the Greenphone could pass for a very nice standard candy bar handset -- but its intention is to become another Linux OS standard for mobile according to Qtopia (using its own Qtopia Phone Edition OS). The difference here is that Qtopia wants to open development for this platform to the masses. Now, if we could find some flex-agent spray paint, we'd turn this into the Purplephone. Still, with a QVGA display, Bluetooth, miniSD, Linux kernel 2.4.19, a touch screen and a 1.3 megapixel digicam, this unit is nice portioned for everyday use regardless of color.
Trolltech announces pricing for Greenphone kits
The good news: the Greenphone really is available for purchase. The bad news: Trolltech wasn't joking when they said the phones would be heading straight to developers with nary an end user in sight. The Greenphone is only available as part of one of three software development bundles put together by the company, ranging in price from $695 to $890; to be fair, those aren't unheard of prices to pay for an unbranded, unlocked smartphone these days (SDK or no), but when you take a good, hard look at the candybar's specs, there are clearly better buys on the market. That being said, bright green smartphones running Linux have a certain appeal to them that we're having a hard time denying. Quantities are apparently limited, so consumers hoping to deny actual developers from getting their hands on a kit best get in touch with Trolltech on the double.
Trolltech's Linux-based "Greenphone" for developers
Why wait for Access Linux or a garden-variety consortium to come to market, when Trolltech's got us covered right now with their Qtopia smartphone platform? Of course, devices running Qtopia have been few and far between, and unless you're willing to hit up France for one of your own, tracking down a handset is likely an exercise in futility. Trolltech has been feeling your pain and looks to introduce their "Greenphone" as part of several software development kits they'll be offering starting next month. We had a chance to hit up their launch event last night and snapped a couple shots (our apologies for the quality) and we have to admit, even though this thing is targeted squarely at Qtopia developers, it could just as well be decent looking handset for the masses. The quadband GSM / GPRS Greenphone includes Bluetooth, 64MB of RAM, 128MB of ROM with a miniSD slot for expansion, and a QVGA touchscreen sitting atop a 317MHz XScale; we're even digging the ecto-green exterior. Interested parties best be on their toes -- the phone won't be offered alone, and SDK packages will be available in strictly limited quantities.
