Pandora As A Phone

[Varu]

Hi folks,

I'm curious, has anyone considered making a phone version of Pandora?
One can buy USB GSM radios for $30 to $100 on Ebay.

If there is a Linux driver for whatever GSM modem is used,
it could transform a modified Pandora into the best phone on the market.
After all, a 4.3 inch touch display would be very desirable in a phone.

Of course a microphone would have to be added, a speaker placed
at the ear location, and the keyboard would probably need to be
shrunken to just a keypad and game buttons.

Thanks.

 

[craigix]

You could just get a hacked iphone.

 

[gruso]

You're not the first. Please do a thread title search for Phone (you'll have to click Advanced search) and you'll find plenty.

Welcome to the forums.

 

[atomicthumbs]

get a cheap phone with bluetooth, tethering, and a data plan. Ta-da!

 

[Chip]

Try these threads: 1 2 3 4 5

 

[Tensuke]

No need for an external phone. Side talking, it's all the rage!

EDIT: Too late with the links, Chip posted 'em.

 

[Tom`]

cheap ... a data plan. Ta-da!

:blink:

Well, you get the point.

Of course, I guess you'd incur the same costs with a USB module, so maybe this is possible...

 

[lulzfish]

Of course a microphone would have to be added,

We already have one.

and the keyboard would probably need to be
shrunken to just a keypad and game buttons.

Why? We already have the full QWERTY and game buttons. Shrinking stuff means re-confoobulating everything.

Adding a cell phone modem is just a problem of plugging in the right USB stuff, but you're talking about a complete re-design. No way.

 

[Varu]

You could just get a hacked iphone.

If you suggest I get a mainstream phone instead of a Linux device, would you also suggest people buy PSP's instead of Pandora?

 

[Varu]

and the keyboard would probably need to be
shrunken to just a keypad and game buttons.

Why? We already have the full QWERTY and game buttons.

A clamshell design would be awkward for a cell phone usage, unless a headset could be used.

 

[Tom`]

You could just get a hacked iphone.

If you suggest I get a mainstream phone instead of a Linux device, would you also suggest people buy PSP's instead of Pandora?

Comparison not valid - if you say "I want a phone, how can I turn this non-phone device into a phone," "get a phone with about the same specs" is an appropriate answer, whereas the Pandora IS a gaming device, and a lot more powerful than the PSP at that, so there's no reason to recommend a PSP instead (unless you need a PSP-specific feature: if you said "I want to play Ridge Racer and Medal of Honor, should I get a Pandora and use a PSP emulator", it would be quite appropriate to say "just get a PSP").

 

[Varu]

get a cheap phone with bluetooth, tethering, and a data plan. Ta-da!

Personally I'd like to have one small device that does everything and is Linux-based. Phone, games, web surfing, etc. Well, I can dream...

 

[Varu]

You could just get a hacked iphone.

If you suggest I get a mainstream phone instead of a Linux device, would you also suggest people buy PSP's instead of Pandora?

Comparison not valid - if you say "I want a phone, how can I turn this non-phone device into a phone," "get a phone with about the same specs" is an appropriate answer

Good idea but is there already a Linux-based phone with 4.3 inch touch screen? Does any phone have that large of a display?

 

[fischju2000]

The Nokia N900 has all of that, the same chipset as the Pandora, similar screen, linux, qwerty keyboard. Problem is the price, but N810s are cheaper now. The Palm Pre also has the same OMAP and has been rooted allowing code to be run, and a keyboard.

 

[Varu]

The Nokia N900 has all of that, the same chipset as the Pandora, similar screen, linux, qwerty keyboard. Problem is the price, but N810s are cheaper now. The Palm Pre also has the same OMAP and has been rooted allowing code to be run, and a keyboard.

Interesting phone, although the screen is only 3.5 inches. My current phones has that size display.

But more importantly I don't trust Nokia for two reasons:
1. They recently bragged that they exported technology to Iran to let the government there spy more precisely on protesters.
2. They lobbied the government of India to have all Chinese GSM phones banned, which is anti-competitive.

As for Palm, they were recently caught red-handed uploading Pre users' personal data to their servers, which is to say there was a spyware rootkit. So I'd be concerned about my privacy with any Palm phone.

 

[danielliu88888]

But more importantly I don't trust Nokia for two reasons:
1. They recently bragged that they exported technology to Iran to let the government there spy more precisely on protesters.
2. They lobbied the government of India to have all Chinese GSM phones banned, which is anti-competitive.

the hell does that have to do with anything

 

[Tom`]

The Nokia N900 has all of that, the same chipset as the Pandora, similar screen, linux, qwerty keyboard. Problem is the price, but N810s are cheaper now. The Palm Pre also has the same OMAP and has been rooted allowing code to be run, and a keyboard.

Interesting phone, although the screen is only 3.5 inches. My current phones has that size display.

But more importantly I don't trust Nokia for two reasons:
1. They recently bragged that they exported technology to Iran to let the government there spy more precisely on protesters.
2. They lobbied the government of India to have all Chinese GSM phones banned, which is anti-competitive.

As for Palm, they were recently caught red-handed uploading Pre users' personal data to their servers, which is to say there was a spyware rootkit. So I'd be concerned about my privacy with any Palm phone.

How about the Motorola Droid, then?

 

[fischju2000]

If no other device is going to do it for you, then while GSM radios do exist for USB, you also have to have SIM capability so you can get on a carrier's network, which may be pretty difficult. Somebody may find a way eventually, but the solution won't fit in a Pandora. The only way as of right now is VoIP via direct 3G like with Sprint's USB cards or through Wi-fi with a device like the MiFi. $60 a month for 5GB data.

 

[slygamer]

People who want to turn the Pandora into a phone really just want to be side talkin' like the N-Gage.

 

[Tor]

But more importantly I don't trust Nokia for two reasons:
1. They recently bragged that they exported technology to Iran to let the government there spy more precisely on protesters.
2. They lobbied the government of India to have all Chinese GSM phones banned, which is anti-competitive.

The first point is quite inaccurate, the second is total rubbish. Either you don't know a thing about the Indian phone market, or, what I think, you do know and you're completely perverting the facts. Were you one of those folks using a Chinese phone with a cloned IMEI? The actions taken by the telecom authorities were done to stop the latter. Which is very, very reasonable.