Openmoko FreeRunner looking good for early July release
Unless you're very, very special, you haven't yet had an opportunity to run your hands over Openmoko's latest open-source creation, the FreeRunner, which was announced several months back with the hope of a spring release. Unlike the Neo1973 before it, the FreeRunner's said to be chock full of enough spit and polish to take on an audience larger than the original's hardcore developer base, and while a springtime date with destiny is now out of reach, it looks like they'll only miss the mark by a few days. A recent message from Openmoko's VP of marketing on the community listserv said that the retail phones should be packed and shipped by tomorrow and -- if all goes well, of course -- should clear customs by the first of July, meaning buyers should be able to get them delivered in the first week or two of the month. If they'd been able to squeeze in 3G, we'd hardly be able to contain ourselves, but even as it is, we suspect there's enough buzz to get units sold; let's just hope they're already hard at work on version three.
[Via The Inquirer Spanish]
[Via The Inquirer Spanish]













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TheGasMan @ Jun 22nd 2008 7:17PM
How come no one cares that this is the most hideous phone ever conceived by man? Just because it runs Linux?
Arunabh Das @ Jun 22nd 2008 7:21PM
You're probably the only one that thinks that phone looks hideous.
- Arunabh Das
Dan @ Jun 25th 2008 4:32AM
No I also agree, it's ugly.
Maybe not downright awful, but it's not very impressive looking.
Aside from being even bigger in every dimension than the iPhone (just using it as a reference, the iPhone is a bigger than normal phone too remember) it also has a smaller RECESSED screen, which sucks. Not really the screen sized (but the proportion to its dimensions kind of sucks regardless), but recessed screens blow. My Mogul has one and it makes using the outer edge of the screen a total pain.
Now I'm no iPhone fan, so don't even go there.
Arunabh Das @ Jun 22nd 2008 7:21PM
Why does the Openmoko remind me of Helio Ocean?
- Arunabh Das
McHale @ Jun 22nd 2008 8:19PM
This thing needs to either come up to speed or go away. Who the hell wants a GPRS only device? Not 3G? Not even EDGE? What good is an open source device that is limited by 10 year old hardware technology?
Ya know, I really wanted this thing until they announced the specs. If they think it's going to compete against Windows Mobile, iPhone, Android, etc..., they're delusional. It's nothing more than a proof of concept, even at this stage.
Stick a fork in it kids, with the exception of a few Linux nerds, this thing is done.
Once they bring it up to yesterday's technology at a minimum (um, ever hear of EDGE?), I'll consider it.
-Mc
ThePengwin @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:29PM
i remember a whole bunch of people who bought a phone which couldn't do a lot of things phones these days can do..... No MMS, no 3G and no video recording.... and people still bought it, probably most likely because of its little apple logo.
And 3g is not worldwide mass deployed, people still do use GSM in some areas because its already set up, and to costly for 3G deployment. if they keep costs to a minimum on a phone like this then it could be the XO of the phone industry.
So maybe it wont be your next phone, but its an idea that may prove useful, but how useful is the question.
Ste Carey @ Jun 23rd 2008 6:28AM
3g is a minimum requirement for Europe.
Only slack backwater countries dont have 3G networking
paul @ Jun 23rd 2008 6:36PM
No thanks. Android will be out long before then, using an OSS mobile phone stack and be available initially on much nicer hardware (HTC Dream). Why would I want one of these FreeRunners again?