Group: Hardware/TODO/TO SORT/Smartphones

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== Possible Free SmartPhones target comparison ==
 +
 
== Introduction ==
 
== Introduction ==
−
First let's define a smartphone,
 
  
−
A smartphone is a phone with at least 2 processors:
+
A lot of the information on this page is outdated. For instance FSO+SHR doesn't exist anymore : it was repurposed to support other phones with another stack. The Openmoko smartphones aren't supported by any distribution anymore, and it would be difficult to do it due to the lack of ARMv4 support: Debian stopped support for ARMv4, and no FSDG distributions support ARMv4. The Nexus one, and Nexus S were dropped from Replicant because (1) upstream dropped them (2) serious privacy/security issues were discovered: the modem could potentially take control of the complete phone. The Palm pre wasn't supported by upstream. The code to make the modem work was lost, then Replicant asked its author a copy for historic archival purpose and it was found again. But then the modem stack depended on FSO which is unmaintained since years and people moved on. It also has no upstream support in Linux, though it's CPU is armv7. so it could be supported by GNU/Linux distros like Parabola.
−
* one where runs the operating system(like Android,GNU/Linux etc...), it is usually called the Application processor
 
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* another that interface with the GSM network(for instance it reads the sim card,interface with the GSM tower etc...). It is usually called the baseband.
 
−
Historically both processors talked to each other trough AT commands(also known as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayes_command_set Hayes command set].
 
−
 
 
−
While freedom is possible on the GSM processor too,we will focus on freedom on the Application processor(because [http://bb.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/LegalAspects#Usingmodifiedphonesoncarriernetworks it's illegal to run modified GSM processors on carrier networks] and also very dangerous)
 
−
 
 
−
== Possible Free SmartPhones target comparison ==
 
  
 
=== Hardware freedom ===
 
=== Hardware freedom ===
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!Nexus one
 
!Nexus one
 
!Palm pre(normal,plus or version 2)
 
!Palm pre(normal,plus or version 2)
 +
!Nexus S
 +
!GTA04
 
|-
 
|-
 
!Non free firmwares
 
!Non free firmwares
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*Wifi(libertas_sdio)
 
*Wifi(libertas_sdio)
 
*Maybe others?
 
*Maybe others?
 +
|{{butyes}}:
 +
*Wifi
 +
*Bluetooth
 +
*NFC: Near Field Communication
 +
*MFC: Multi Format Codec (hardware video encoding/decoding)
 +
|{{butyes}}
 +
*Wifi
 
|-
 
|-
 
!Modem can be flashed
 
!Modem can be flashed
 
|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
−
|?
+
|{{butyes}}<ref name='n900modemflash'>Nokia Updates are capable of flashing the modem firmware, in fact unpacking the PR 1.3(The version of the nokia Update)update with [http://www.nopcode.org/0xFFFF/ 0xFFFF] shows that the modem firmware was flashed,also some modem properties changed between PR 1.2(The version of the nokia Update) and PR 1.3(The version of the nokia Update)</ref>
 
|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
 +
|
 +
|{{butyes}}, the main CPU loads the firmware from NAND trough the free ril library during boot.
 +
|?
 
|-
 
|-
 
!Modem can be unpowered
 
!Modem can be unpowered
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|?
 
|?
 
|?
 
|?
 +
|
 +
|?
 +
|Depend on hardware versions(A3 had a bug)
 
|-
 
|-
 
!Audio path under modem's control?
 
!Audio path under modem's control?
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|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
 +
|
 +
|{{butno}}
 +
|{{butno}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
!GPS under modem's control
 
!GPS under modem's control
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|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
 
|{{butyes}}
 +
|{{butyes}}
 +
|{{butno}}
 
|
 
|
 +
* There is a GPS without antenna attached to the modem, it's not used.
 +
* The GPS that is used is attached to the CPU trough serial port.
 
|-
 
|-
 
!Free Bootloader
 
!Free Bootloader
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|?
 
|?
 
|?
 
|?
−
|Some work has been done(must check status,not complete)
+
|Some work has been done(must check status,not usable yet,abandoned?)
 +
|{{no}}
 +
|{{yes}}
 +
* xloader
 +
* uboot
 +
|-
 +
!Modem can access the main CPU memory chips
 +
|{{butno}} (the connection is a serial link)
 +
|{{butno}} (the connection is an HSI link)
 +
|{{butyes}}
 +
|{{butyes}}
 +
|??
 +
|{{butyes}}
 +
|{{butno}} USB connection
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Hardware capabilities ===
+
=== Hardware Features ===
 
{| class="wikitable"  border="1"
 
{| class="wikitable"  border="1"
 
!
 
!
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!Nexus one
 
!Nexus one
 
!Palm pre(normal,plus or version 2)
 
!Palm pre(normal,plus or version 2)
 +
!Nexus S
 
|-
 
|-
 
!USB host
 
!USB host
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|possible, untested, unpowered
 
|possible, untested, unpowered
 
|?
 
|?
 +
|possible, untested, perhaps unpowered
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== Operating System/distribution support ===
+
=== Hardware and software capabilities ===
 
{| class="wikitable"  border="1"
 
{| class="wikitable"  border="1"
 
!
 
!
−
!FSO+Debian
+
!Openmoko Freerunner(FSO+SHR)
−
!FSO+SHR
+
!Nokia N900(FSO+SHR)
−
!Meego
+
!HTC Dream(Replicant)
−
!Replicant
+
!HTC Dream(FSO+SHR)
 +
!Nexus one(Replicant)
 +
!Palm pre(normal,plus or version 2) (FSO+SHR)
 +
!Nexus S (Replicant)
 
|-
 
|-
−
!Hardware supported
+
!Data connectivity
−
|
+
|GPRS only(hardware limitation)
−
*Openmoko Freerunner
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|3G working in SHR
−
*other?
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|3G working in replicant
−
|
+
|3G working in SHR
−
*Openmoko freerunner: very good
+
|3G working in replicant
−
*htc dream: partial
+
|3G working in SHR(not tested by me)
−
*palm pre(nomal,plus,2) : work in progress
+
|3G working in replicant
−
*nokia n900 : work in progress
+
|-
−
Details available [http://wiki.freesmartphone.org/index.php/HardwareComparison here]
+
!Hardware features support
−
|
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| See [http://wiki.freesmartphone.org/index.php/HardwareComparison The FSO page about the supported hardware features]
−
*Nokia N900
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| See [http://wiki.freesmartphone.org/index.php/HardwareComparison The FSO page about the supported hardware features]
−
|
+
| see [http://trac.osuosl.org/trac/replicant/wiki/ReplicantStatus The replicant page about the supported hardware features]
−
*HTC Dream
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| See [http://wiki.freesmartphone.org/index.php/HardwareComparison The FSO page about the supported hardware features]
−
*Nexus one
+
| see [http://trac.osuosl.org/trac/replicant/wiki/ReplicantStatus The replicant page about the supported hardware features]
−
*Other phones : work in progress
+
| See [http://wiki.freesmartphone.org/index.php/HardwareComparison The FSO page about the supported hardware features]
 +
| see [http://trac.osuosl.org/trac/replicant/wiki/ReplicantStatus The replicant page about the supported hardware features]
 +
|-
 +
!Capable of viewing a video
 +
|from Very difficult to impossible
 +
|yes(with mplayer in command line)
 +
|yes(example Youtube using rstp:// or with the integrated player(not tested) )
 +
|Difficult(need to be rotated before etc...)
 +
|yes(example Youtube using rstp:// or with the integrated player(not tested) )
 +
|?
 +
|yes(WebM playback works with the integrated player)
 
|-
 
|-
−
!Depend on non-free drivers
+
!Capable of playing music
−
|{{butno}}
+
|On speakers only
−
|{{butno}}(TODO: check if GTA01's gps is supported by proprietary software named glin)
+
( sound quality is very bad on headphones because of a capacitor which value is too low )
−
|{{butyes}} 3D driver is required, and no decent free one exist for phones.
+
|yes
−
|{{butno}}
+
|yes(without issues)
 +
|yes(prevent phone ringing)
 +
|yes
 +
|?
 +
|yes
 
|-
 
|-
−
!Non-free firmwares Policy
+
!Web browsing
 +
|
 +
*Very slow with the default browser(eve)
 +
*uses 100% CPU while loading pages
 +
|yes
 +
|yes
 +
|yes(with midori, the default browser(eve) is too slow)
 +
|yes
 
|?
 
|?
−
|Not shipped(not redistributable) but promoted,not needed in case of the openmoko freerunner,linux-libre not used
+
|yes
−
|Non free firmwares Shipped
+
|-
−
|linux-libre not used,a page details which are needed for what but doesn't tell how to install them(altough it's obvious for the experienced user)
+
!mail client usage
 +
|claws mail
 +
|claws mail
 +
|k9(obtimized for the screen), great integrated hardware keyboard(very fast)
 +
|claws mail
 +
|k9(obtimized for the screen), capacitive screen + software keyboard for writing mails makes it very slow
 +
|not tested(claws mail)
 +
|Android mail app works well, k9 should also work, capacitive screen + software keyboard for writing mails makes it very slow
 
|-
 
|-
−
!Checked for freedom
+
!IRC
−
|???
+
|yes(xchat(need to be configured for the DPI),else irssi), software keyboard used with stylus(medium speed)
−
|{{no}} but its developpers are against proprietary software inclusion
+
|yes(xchat)
−
|contains non-free software
+
|yes(yaaic), great integrated hardware keyboard(very fast)
−
|{{no}}:The main low-level developper supposed that the sources he forked were, he replaced non-free not-included parts and looks for help on this point.
+
|yes(irssi under xterm(else there is a Tab key issue)),great integrated hardware keyboard(very fast), xchat not very obtimized for the DPI
 +
|painful with the software keyboard(used with fingers since the screen is capacitive => very slow) (bluetooth keyboard is better but require a non-free firmware, and a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_%28furniture%29 table])
 +
|?.has an hardware keyboard
 +
|painful with the software keyboard(used with fingers since the screen is capacitive => very slow) (bluetooth keyboard is better but require a non-free firmware, and a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_%28furniture%29 table])
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
=== References ===
+
== References ==
−
* http://laforge.gnumonks.org/papers/gsm_phone-anatomy-latest.pdf
+
<references/>
 +
 
 +
[[Category:Hardware]]

Latest revision as of 19:00, 14 March 2023

Possible Free SmartPhones target comparison

Introduction

A lot of the information on this page is outdated. For instance FSO+SHR doesn't exist anymore : it was repurposed to support other phones with another stack. The Openmoko smartphones aren't supported by any distribution anymore, and it would be difficult to do it due to the lack of ARMv4 support: Debian stopped support for ARMv4, and no FSDG distributions support ARMv4. The Nexus one, and Nexus S were dropped from Replicant because (1) upstream dropped them (2) serious privacy/security issues were discovered: the modem could potentially take control of the complete phone. The Palm pre wasn't supported by upstream. The code to make the modem work was lost, then Replicant asked its author a copy for historic archival purpose and it was found again. But then the modem stack depended on FSO which is unmaintained since years and people moved on. It also has no upstream support in Linux, though it's CPU is armv7. so it could be supported by GNU/Linux distros like Parabola.

Hardware freedom

Openmoko Freerunner Nokia N900 HTC Dream Nexus one Palm pre(normal,plus or version 2) Nexus S GTA04
Non free firmwares No Yes:
  • Wifi(wl1251_spi)
  • Bluetooth(broadcom)
  • camera(many components)
  • DSP(note that the CPU and mplayer do a better job than the DSP but consume more battery)
 Yes:
  • Wifi(wl1251_sdio)
  • bluetooth(broadcom)
 Yes:
  • Microphone
  • Sound card
  • WIFI(bcm4329)
  • Maybe others?
 Yes:
  • Wifi(libertas_sdio)
  • Maybe others?
 Yes:
  • Wifi
  • Bluetooth
  • NFC: Near Field Communication
  • MFC: Multi Format Codec (hardware video encoding/decoding)
 Yes
  • Wifi
Modem can be flashed Yes Yes[1] Yes Yes Yes, the main CPU loads the firmware from NAND trough the free ril library during boot. ?
Modem can be unpowered Yes Yes ? ? ? Depend on hardware versions(A3 had a bug)
Audio path under modem's control? No No Yes Yes No No
GPS under modem's control No Yes Yes Yes Yes No
  • There is a GPS without antenna attached to the modem, it's not used.
  • The GPS that is used is attached to the CPU trough serial port.
Free Bootloader Yes No ? ? Some work has been done(must check status,not usable yet,abandoned?) No Yes
  • xloader
  • uboot
Modem can access the main CPU memory chips No (the connection is a serial link) No (the connection is an HSI link) Yes Yes ?? Yes No USB connection

Hardware Features

Openmoko Freerunner Nokia N900 HTC Dream Nexus one Palm pre(normal,plus or version 2) Nexus S
USB host Yes (not strictly needed since no firmwares are needed),limited to ? mA Yes(with 2.6.28 power kernel), limited to ? mA ? possible, untested, unpowered ? possible, untested, perhaps unpowered

Hardware and software capabilities

Openmoko Freerunner(FSO+SHR) Nokia N900(FSO+SHR) HTC Dream(Replicant) HTC Dream(FSO+SHR) Nexus one(Replicant) Palm pre(normal,plus or version 2) (FSO+SHR) Nexus S (Replicant)
Data connectivity GPRS only(hardware limitation) 3G working in SHR 3G working in replicant 3G working in SHR 3G working in replicant 3G working in SHR(not tested by me) 3G working in replicant
Hardware features support See The FSO page about the supported hardware features See The FSO page about the supported hardware features see The replicant page about the supported hardware features See The FSO page about the supported hardware features see The replicant page about the supported hardware features See The FSO page about the supported hardware features see The replicant page about the supported hardware features
Capable of viewing a video from Very difficult to impossible yes(with mplayer in command line) yes(example Youtube using rstp:// or with the integrated player(not tested) ) Difficult(need to be rotated before etc...) yes(example Youtube using rstp:// or with the integrated player(not tested) ) ? yes(WebM playback works with the integrated player)
Capable of playing music On speakers only

( sound quality is very bad on headphones because of a capacitor which value is too low )

yes yes(without issues) yes(prevent phone ringing) yes ? yes
Web browsing
  • Very slow with the default browser(eve)
  • uses 100% CPU while loading pages
 yes yes yes(with midori, the default browser(eve) is too slow) yes ? yes
mail client usage claws mail claws mail k9(obtimized for the screen), great integrated hardware keyboard(very fast) claws mail k9(obtimized for the screen), capacitive screen + software keyboard for writing mails makes it very slow not tested(claws mail) Android mail app works well, k9 should also work, capacitive screen + software keyboard for writing mails makes it very slow
IRC yes(xchat(need to be configured for the DPI),else irssi), software keyboard used with stylus(medium speed) yes(xchat) yes(yaaic), great integrated hardware keyboard(very fast) yes(irssi under xterm(else there is a Tab key issue)),great integrated hardware keyboard(very fast), xchat not very obtimized for the DPI painful with the software keyboard(used with fingers since the screen is capacitive => very slow) (bluetooth keyboard is better but require a non-free firmware, and a table) ?.has an hardware keyboard painful with the software keyboard(used with fingers since the screen is capacitive => very slow) (bluetooth keyboard is better but require a non-free firmware, and a table)

References

  1. ↑ Nokia Updates are capable of flashing the modem firmware, in fact unpacking the PR 1.3(The version of the nokia Update)update with 0xFFFF shows that the modem firmware was flashed,also some modem properties changed between PR 1.2(The version of the nokia Update) and PR 1.3(The version of the nokia Update)
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