blog :: en :: computers :: phones
eduroam is a very nice thing: Using your access codes from your own university, you receive instant network access at any participating university.
Sony Reader PRS-T1 is an e-ink reader device that I use mostly for PDFs. It can also read EPUB files from publishers such as Project Gutenberg or Baen, plus some DRM-locked content if that is your ambition. It runs a heavily modified version of Android 2.2.1 that allows installation of additional software (including a terminal and su for root access, or a more standard launcher and a package installer for easier customization) using update scripts that you transfer via USB.
What it cannot do is roam on eduroam. That is, the device is perfectly capable of doing so, but for some reason Sony in its infinite wisdom thought it prudent to disable the relevant functionality in its home-grown configuration interface. As you can buy it, the device refuses to use any enterprise-grade wireless network.
In theory, installing an alternative launcher that permits access to Android's original configuration tools should enable you to use eduroam. Alas, that did not work for me, so I had to use a different approach, which I am presenting here.
You will have to root your device first. See elsewhere for how to do this.
For German institutions, download the "Deutsche Telekom Root CA 2" (crt format) from https://www.pki.dfn.de/root/globalroot/. Put it on the READER partition of your PRS-T1 for the time being.
If you're not familiar with vi, download this configuration snippet and edit it beforehand. Move it onto the reader partition as well. This is the relevant portion:
network={
ssid="eduroam"
key_mgmt=WPA-EAP
eap=TTLS
identity="q1234567@fernuni-hagen.de"
anonymous_identity="anonymous@fernuni-hagen.de"
password="my_eduroam_passphrase"
ca_cert="/data/misc/wifi/deutsche-telekom-root-ca-2.crt"
phase2="auth=PAP"
priority=5
}
Obviously, you will have to replace 1234567 with your id, fernuni-hagen.de with your provider (twice), and my_eduroam_passphrase with your passphrase. The anonymous identity is the same for everybody at your provider.
Turn wireless networking off on your device. Normally, these configuration files are created and changed automatically, and we don't want some wizard to hurt what we're attempting to do.
Open a terminal window. Switch user to root, then move the two files in place and edit /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf to include the stanza listed above:
$ su # cd /data/misc/wifi # busybox cp -p /mnt/sdcard/deutsche-telekom-root-ca-2.crt . # busybox cat /mnt/sdcard/wpa_supplicant_eduroam.conf >>wpa_supplicant.conf # exit $ exit
(Note 1: It turns out most command line binaries on the device are linked to toolbox, which provides a very limited version of cp, for example. At the same time, busybox is installed in a reasonably complete configuration and provides the usual look and feel. If you need vi, just say busybox vi. If you want command completion in your shell, start a reasonable shell with busybox sh.)
(Note 2: find / -name wpa_supplicant.conf lists another version of that file in /system/etc/wifi. I don't actually know what that is for. All networks created on my device were found in /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf, and the latter version is referenced from /init.rc, so I included our stanza there.)
(Note 3: Device naming is a bit unexpected for Linux users. I don't know if this is a peculiarity of Android or of Sony. The internal partition (that is listed upon USB connection to your computer as READER) is mounted as /mnt/sdcard. This is not the external SD card if you happen to have one. So be mindful what you put where.)
That's it! Turn networking on again and try it out.
posted at: 09:57 | path: /en/computers/phones | permalink
Steve Litchfield has an interesting article over at All About Symbian where he shows that, for most of the most successful commercial Android applications available in the Android market, there are equivalents available for Symbian.
However, I'd argue that the advantage of having a larger market should be least visible in the "top anything" apps, as these are most likely to be adapted for more than one operating system. If everybody wants a certain app, it seems reasonable to port it, if it's at all possible.
Applications with smaller target audiences and smaller developers are much more problematic, as there is much less incentive (or even ability) to port them, so they are much more likely to be missing from "fringe" operating systems. And even so, a developer might argue that, while Bada or Windows have much smaller market shares than Symbian, they might still expand in the future, while Symbian with its definite end of life is only going to lose market share. So porting new small apps to Symbian becomes even less likely.
Another problem is that Nokia's posturing does throw a certain doubt on Qt's future (see a recent discussion on Slashdot, for example), so small individual developers might well be very hesitant to invest the time to learn this framework right now, if they don't already know it. Again, this effect will only apply to apps in the "long tail", not to big titles developed by big developer houses that already have the knowhow for Qt.
However, a large part of the appeal of "apps" on a smartphone is not just downloading "top apps" to make your phone do what is expected from a modern smartphone, but for developers to be able to quickly create small apps that do exactly what is helpful in a certain situation, and for users to discover these and integrate them into their way of life.
So, all in all, I don't think having "top apps" available on Symbian is a sufficient "apology" for Symbian at all.
posted at: 11:35 | path: /en/computers/phones | permalink
I've just published calmas, a Web Runtime widget to access your emacs diary (calendar) on your smartphone. You can sync your diary directly to your phone (using obexfs or bluetooth-sendto or the software that came with your phone), or upload it to your web server. This web app retrieves it and displays it both as a home screen widget and as a full screen app. It has support for todo lists, configurable caching, support for both offline operation and online operation with configurable automatic refreshes.
The program has been tested on Symbian^3. It should run on other Symbian platforms as well (notably Anna and S60v5, probably S60v3 without home screen support), and possibly on other phones supporting Web Runtime applications.
posted at: 17:50 | path: /en/computers/phones | permalink
I've been toying with the idea of getting a Motorola Milestone since seeing it in action. The browser is actually pretty good.
I've been reading a bit about it and it seems that official Motorola policy is to not allow changes to the system even though it's based on Android. They use their own custom image. They don't have a lot of additions to stock android, but they still don't support timely updates to the current version. And they insist on encrypting the boot loader for "a number of different business factors" (see this post by Motoroly technical manager Lori Fraleigh), disabling your ability to upgrade on your own.
In fact, Motorola themselves suggest that if you want a free phone, you do not buy Motorola (see the link above).
I don't want a locked-down phone. If I wanted one, I'd buy an iPhone.
I guess I'll just keep looking. ;-)
posted at: 03:57 | path: /en/computers/phones | permalink
The N900 seems to be a great little computer, but it lacks some phone features. Thankfully, it seems to be open enough for people to develop their own solution.
I'd really expect these features to be present out-of-the-box in such an expensive device. However, the very fact that you can create them on your own seems to be a good argument for the N900.
posted at: 16:36 | path: /en/computers/phones | permalink
posted at: 01:01 | path: /en/computers/phones | permalink
Symbian S60v3 can handle Push E-Mail pretty well. The settings are not completely intuitive, however.
You can use SmartConnect by BirdStep (a free version is available through the Download! app) as an access point. It will handle the transition from WLAN to GPRS/UMTS automatically, but will not currently switch back to WLAN. To do so manually, choose "Options->Disconnect" from within your mailbox. It will re-establish the connection using SmartConnect, using WLAN if available.
posted at: 05:59 | path: /en/computers/phones | permalink