[plug] Motorola Rokr Z6, Z8, Z10 and other Linux Phones

[Tim]

On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 3:09 AM, Adam Davin <byteme-its at westnet.com.au> wrote:
> <snip>
>
> I have a Z6. The phone itself I find fantastic but there are some
> caveats. I don't use all the functions (play tetris every so often, send
> messages, use camera, listen to music)
>
> It doesn't have radio. Not a big drama as it has a micro SD card which
> I think supports up to 2gb. It plays MP3 and from memory a couple of
> other formats but I only really use the MP3 side.

Radio's not a problem, as I have radio on my mp3 player which I'll use
for heavy listening anyway.

>
> Another niggle is that whilst it runs linux, Motorola have digitally
> signed the important compressed file systems, so whilst some of them
> can be altered, others can't as the phone will reject the replacement
> CFS if it does not produce the correct signature.

That's a bummer. Hopefully that won't be too big a deal though.

>
> There is a reasonable size group hacking away at this phone but it is
> very much hampered by motorola's actions above. Motorola are, from my
> understanding, providing little or no support in the community efforts.
>
> Last time I checked, it is not possible to sync the phone to a linux
> desktop. Also Motorola has broken the USB Mass storage protocol(?) so
> that the phone does not register as a mass storage device.

Bugger. Now that is a "show stopper". But as you say, just take out
the memory card. Seems a little odd that it doesn't register as a USB
Mass storage device. Still, I have a card reader, so I'll survive.

>
> Thankfully it is not difficult to get the MicroSD card out (just take
> off the back) and you don't need to remove the battery or turn off the
> phone. So to load anything on, I just remove the card, load it on and
> then put the card back in.
>
> Text prediction is truely awesome and the "dictionary" learning is
> wonderful. No more "add to dictionary" you just type the word in the
> message and it remembers it. It even remembers and predicts for
> commonly used phrases and sentences..

I look forward to this. I've hard some of the new text prediction
software around is stunning, so hopefully this will impress me!

>
> Overall I think the phone is great. Syncing would be nice but it is not
> a deal breaker for me, as is the mass storage thing. The community is
> still plugging away at it and they are making some advancements in
> certain areas.. probably time I checked back to see if they have gotten
> any further..
>
> Let me know if you want any more info.

Thanks. My phone will arrive next week, a Z6. Insurance payout for my
Nokia just dying. I was debating between the V9 and Z6, and saw many
reviews that said the Z6 was faster, and better interface, and the V9
was the old software just slightly updated, but still slow.

I guess I'll be writing a review in a few months, it'll be July before
I actually get to play with my phone!!

Thanks

Tim
-- 
Timothy White - Around Africa
Linux Counter user #273956