OpenMoko consumer device delayed
12 March 2008
OpenMoko consumer device delayed
Open source mobile phone outfit OpenMoko, has had its consumer-oriented Linux-based touchscreen device delayed by a few months.
The company, a subsidiary of Taiwanese manufacturer, First International Computer, unveiled its mass market gadget, the FreeRunner, earlier this year.
Based on the Neo 1973, which proved so popular with the open source development community it recently sold out, the FreeRunner rolls all the latest features into a consumer friendly package originally due to launch in late spring.
However, at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference held in San Diego, California last week, the company revealed that consumers will have to wait maybe six more months to get their hands on the device. Early adopters, who are not scared of hacking around with the device software, might be able to get hold of the FreeRunner slightly earlier, OpenMoko said.
The FreeRunner uses a similar formfactor to the Neo, with a 2.8" VGA touch screen, A-GPS, 128MB of memory, a microSD card slot, Bluetooth and USB, as well as adding wifi and motion sensors and a faster 500MHz processor. FreeRunner will come in two versions: 850MHz tri-band and 900Mhz tri-band.
Earlier this month OpenMoko also released the CAD files for the Neo handset casing to the open source community, allowing developers to even re-craft the hardware as they see fit.
"FreeRunner's a significantly improved device from the Neo 1973. Our developers gave us great feedback as they explored the first version of the device," said Steven Mosher, VP of marketing for OpenMoko. "We added wifi, motion sensors, faster processing, and improved graphics, creating a compelling mass market device for open source development. The open source community was key in achieving that goal. Without them this remix of the Neo would not have been possible."
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