July 4, 2008
FreeRunner no longer has a free run at open source
A week before the release of the new iPhone, comes the lower-key launch today of Openmoko’s Neo FreeRunner open-source phone.
The FreeRunner is more targeted towards the mass-market consumer than its predecessor the Neo1973, a handset that only caused excitement in the Linux community.
The unlocked $399 FreeRunner features a touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, motion sensors and an open-source operating system.
Developers are encouraged to develop applications, tinker with the operating system and even redesign the phone, as Openmoko has published its mechanical CAD files.
When we first wrote about Openmoko 18 months ago, it seemed a novel and even revolutionary concept from its parent company - Taiwan’s First International Computer.
Since then, Google has announced its open-source Android project, the LiMo Foundation - a consortium of major companies pushing the Linux OS on mobile phones - has been formed and even Symbian and Apple are opening up their operating systems to outside developers to create applications for them.
So the big question is whether Openmoko’s advantage has been lost to these larger industry forces or whether their espousal of its cause will bring it greater attention and sales. The FreeRunner represents the acid test.
The OpenMoko hardware platform is also open, with freely available CAD plans.
Posted by: Joe | July 6th, 2008 at 5:45 pm | Report this commentAt the end of the day both the hardware and operating system matter and the free runner does not offer very good value for money on the hardware side. No 3g not even edge, no camera, very low ram and flash. These are all significant drawbacks.
Posted by: Saif Ahmed | July 6th, 2008 at 9:06 pm | Report this commentI don’t see the advantage of all those teams and consortiums working on their own way of a free phone running Linux, Android or whatever.
Posted by: Greg | July 7th, 2008 at 11:05 am | Report this commentWhat I would love to see is a break of hardware and software, just like we have on PCs. Let me get a good phone from an experienced manufacturer and then decide whether I want to run the manufacturer rom on it or an alternative rom based on Linux, Android or others. Current smartphones are more like computers with phone capabilities anyway so why not treat them as computers?