Monday, March 17, 2008

N810 and OpenMoko

What does the N810 and OpenMoko have in common?
  • They are both small and portable and run linux.
  • They both use Gtk+ as their native ui toolkit.
  • They both run mono!
That is right, we are on the eve of some pretty cool happenings in the c# world. We can run our beloved c# apps on these portable Linux devices using the same high-level development environment that we have grown to love so much.

Are you ready for the revolution?

If you have an N800 or N810, check out http://www.mono-project.com/Garmono. If you aren't so inclined to build it yourself...stay tuned for an announcement on the test repository where your device can automatically install all of the mono dependencies you need!

Something to whet your whistle (The mono cairo circles sample running on an actual N810):

3 comments:

Erik said...

Something else they have in common: They both can't make phone calls! Yet... :-P

Jae said...

Actually they BOTH make and receive calls just fine! I use a SIP client (which kicks h.323's rear end) with the N810. On the Neo, I just enter in the number and push the green button.

Erik said...

Well sure, you can make VOIP calls using the popular SIP (and the more efficient H.323) protocols from any decent Linux distro - but not without network access. I keep looking for a WiFi router that has a 100 mile radius, but I am left wanting. :(

I eagerly look forward to the day when I can travel down the interstate with reliable access to a data network for voice calls, web access, and more. That day just isn't quite here yet for the OpenMoko, at least not in the US.

But I'm very glad that there are those like you who are willing to be early adopters of these devices before all the kinks are worked out. OpenMoko is a cool platform with tons of potential. C# apps on phones?!?! What could be cooler? But while you are down in the trenches working on your BrokenMoko, I'm tightly clutching my $400 waiting for the release of the version that works. Thanks for letting me stand on your shoulders!