Is there a “Linux friendly” handset manufacturer for Android phones?

Question

My current situation is this: I use Mac OS X at home and Ubuntu Linux at work. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S. Whenever I want to update my firmware the intended way (i.e. using Kies, I am aware of Odin), I have to boot into an old Windows XP installation that I have lying around.

I was wondering if there is a handset manufacturer that embraces Linux. The Samsung phone seems to be just the wrongest choice I could have made with the windows-centric Kies software.

Edit: I should probably point out, that I live in Germany and I want to use a prepaid phone service without contract. Also, I am looking for a great "out-of-the-box" experience without too much hackery (i.e. without voiding the warranty).

Edit2: I was hoping to learn about brands which support Linux (like NVidia does with their proprietary drivers) or maybe learn about tools and techniques:

• Heimdall is a nice tool, but I don't feel that it has Samsungs approval, and I feel that using it might void the warranty.
• Over-The-Air Updates is something, that seems to be useful, but it won't work for me, as I don't have a contract with a cell phone provider.

Therefore I am still looking for some enlightenment about which direction I should go with my next phone.

Answer 1

If you don't want to be tied to Windows-based Kies, Simply don't pick Samsung phones. Almost every other Android manufacturer's phones can be upgraded Over The Air without the need of an attached computer; for some reason Samsung's can't or won't do it.

Android was designed so it does not need to be attached to a computer as much as possible; Android was designed to sync data (address book, etc), installs software (market, etc), and do system updates over the air. Some manufacturer/carriers do not yet embrace this unfortunately, and is forcing your phone to be attached to a computer.

Answer 2

I don't know of a Kies alternative, but there is Heimdall, an Open Source, Cross Platform, Odin alternative.

Answer 3

I think that the linux support not only depends on the manufacturer.

In the case of the Palms, PalmOne only released desktop applications for Windows and Mac, but despite of that fact the linux community developed solutions like J-Pilot for example.

Answer 4

OTA updates are a better solution. Not sure why Samsung sticks to some update utility while many other manufacturers use OTA update. HTC does OTA on my Hero and now on my Desire Z also. My Acer beTouch 130e required a utility. Not sure for other brands.