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OpenMoko In Stores On July 4
ruphus13 writes "July 4 will be day when OpenMoko's Neo FreeRunner will be available to US consumers. Being Open Source, it is modifiable down to the core. From the article: 'The FreeRunner is based on a GNU/Linux, and it will initially ship with basic software to make calls, send and receive SMS, and manage contacts. But the company is encouraging users to write and install their own applications. Software updates will add features to the phone over time, and the company said an August update will enable location-based services.'"
The online store has already run out of the GSM 850 model.
Can I ask the powers that be ...
... if so, we have a problem
Could I run a program that can make calls the world over and charge to my account ?
G
Anyone know why they only have GSM 850 & 900? Atleast half of the networks in Europe are 1800 and we're now in theage of tri-band phones. It's nice it has WiFi and everything but it seems that this is more like a PDA with a (not very capable) cellphone tacked on, it does n't even have EDGE support.
Sorry, I went straight to the BUY NOW section, where it offers "GSM 850" & "GSM 900" which what they mean is 850/1800/1900 & 900/1800/1900.
Note to OpenMoko: You could make this a bit clearer.
Note to Moderators: Please be gentle :)
Although I stand by the EDGE comment.
When will UK carriers pick up these open source phones and supply them to contract customers is what I want to know! :)
The rest of the world has moved on, but it's good to see third world countries (and the United States) clinging to this ancient technology.
How we know is more important than what we know.
The 900 model isn't really sold out it's not arrived at the distributors yet so it's not currently available.
Also the reason it uses GSM is that the team have tried as far as possible to use OPEN HARDWARE ie fully documented and not lumbered with proprietary closed-source drivers. GSM was the only option as all 3G hardware is completely closed.
Also please everyone, don't start the "it's not as good as the iphone" flamewars. If you want an iphone you don't want this and if you want this you probably don't want an iphone.
Even though I readily admit I hate the shape of the case they put this thing in, I am otherwise quite interested in this phone from the "open" standpoint.
But assuming I were to buy one of these, what carriers in the US will let you put it on their network without grief or a number of hoops to jump through?
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
Though I am not a fan of the appearance, it is quite a powerful phone, with a 500mhz processor, which is not quite as powerful as the 700mhz processor on the iphone, but still decent nevertheless. Ofcourse, the benefiting factor being that it is open source, where as the iphone is not. It will be a great time when we are able to buy a phone, with the basic functionality installed, then choose what particular software we want to add on the phone, for free. The main problem with phones today is that there is really no way that the community can fix or improve the software without complications, but if the company is actually encouraging open source software to be developed they will provide the necessary tools (APIs etc) for the community to do these improvements themselves, saving them money in the process. It also appears that more phone companies are starting to follow this open source trend, but will probably still keep their strangle hold on their customer base by using DRM and SIM locks, you can read the article here. Openmoko are definitely in the right direction, I wish them much success.
Oh really?
Verizon, a CDMA carrier, is starting trials using LTE, a GSM (4G) variant this year, eventually they'll switch over leaving only Sprint as the main provider of CDMA
I like CDMA, but I'll welcome GSM with Verizon if it means I can try out the OpenMoko. Oh yeah, what were you saying again about GSM?
I see it has built-in agps device...
:)
does anyone know what software it uses? map coverage?
and... what do you slashdotters suggest as alternative?
"I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn't know." -- Mark Twain
The website is remarkably information-free. "Basic software" doesn't tell me a damned thing. I'm all about x86 pizzabox servers and CentOS. I don't know anything about these mini-platforms or ARM processors to start with. Does it come with a compiler or does all development have to be done externally? Does it have any shell tools? Does it have a Perl interpreter? SSH? Is there any graphical internet stuff at all yet for the platform (browser, ftp, email?) or is this an entirely new "ground up" environment.
I'd love to have a Linux phone just on principle, but I don't want to have to build the whole damned thing from scratch.
Nothing worthwhile ever happens before noon
Opem Moko Caca Loco
I hear Ricky Martin doing it now !!
Yeah considering I bought a XDA2 many years ago to take advantage of all the homebrew based on that (Win Mobile, .net compact). Only homebrew I run is my crappy timesheet program I wrote.
Turns out I couldnt be fucked installing (cracked = free) commercial third party stuff with nice installers. Doubt it being OS is going to make my experience any different
3laws: No freebies, no backsies, GTFO.
I just had to bite the bullet a few months ago, retire my AMPS/TDMA phone and switch to GSM. (AT&T is the only cell carrier that covers my vacation/eventual-retirement home and they're shutting down the TDMA option.) Had hoped OpenMoko would be in time for me but they missed by about 9 months.
With them in mind I got one of the "free" locked phones - and checked what the unlocking and phone switching policies were. AT&T claimed:
- The PHONE is locked to the CARD, but,
- The CARD isn't locked to the PHONE (either by the card or by the network refusing to accept calls with that card and any other phone.)
Story is likely the same for any other GSM carrier. So just pull the GSM smartcard from any and shove it into your OpenMoko phone.
If you're signing up for new service, ask them if they'll credit you with the phone allowance if you bring your own phone rather than making them give you one of the "free" ones. Might not work but won't hurt to ask. (And if there's another GSM carrier in your service area, you might try hinting that you'll see if THEY'll credit you for the phone...
Of course don't tell them that it's an OpenMoko phone. I bet they're scared you - and thousands of others - will download some hack that lets you bypass some part of their service model. B-)
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
As usual with lots of OSS projects, the device may be grand and all but there's little to no documentation about it in terms of marketing. Why would I want this? What applications does it come with? What do they look like? Can it play youtube videos? Can I listen to MP3 while I surf the web? Etc...
If you clicked on "gallery" then you would have seen screenshots:
http://www.openmoko.com/product-gallery.html
A list of applications is a bit harder to find, but it is on the wiki:
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Openmoko_Core_Applications
Of course, this is just the "core applications". Since it is an open platform, there are quite a few more, in the usual mixed states of maturity. :)
And since this phone is targeted at developers, if you don't want to write apps then no reason you should get one.
I think the software so far is pretty basic on the OpenMoko but the main stuff is there. Comparing it to Android for example, I think Android has more software right now due to the emulator and SDK Google pushed out. Android has a much bigger base of course, but then again, OpenMoko will have more apps too once Android phones finally come out. I'd like to know in what ways if any Android is more locked down than the OpenMoko software, and you also have to keep in mind that the Neo Freerunner itself is built as an open hardware device, while the phones that Android will come on will be less geared towards openness I'd assume, but since times are changing, who knows for sure.
With so many open mobile groups gearing up for action aside from Android and OpenMoko, like LiMo and Moblin and others, the future will be an interesting and good one.
Promote true freedom - support standards and interoperability.
Indeed, that was the missing feature that made me decide to go with the iPhone, even though the closed nature of the iPhone makes me grumpy.
You misspelled phreaking.
Technology -- No Place For Wimps! Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Chatroom -- http://www.wemissjerry.org
The website desperately needs more product screenshots, a downloadable video showing the OpenMoko in action, more helpful feature descriptions and an overall friendlier tone. I wanted to buy, I really did, but the website is a killjoy bigtime.
The New Book That Could Pay You Back -100 Times Over: www.Economtricks.com
If you want a camera, buy a camera.
I'm getting really sick of the fetish for everyone taking their photos with shitty cameras built into mobile phones.
Could I run a program that can make calls the world over and charge to my account ?
Yes, which is why you don't add programs to a group that can connect to the GSM module unless you want them to make calls.
No, but it will let you make all sorts of crazy calls and let you communicate with the Doctor...
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
'The FreeRunner is based on a GNU/Linux, and it will initially ship with basic software to make calls, send and receive SMS, and manage contacts.'
Paying that much for a phone with a feature set not unlike a cheap phone from 10 years ago...
Those are just the software features that are part of the core package. The hardware specs are much more impressive (includes a touchscreen, Bluetooth, WiFi, and a GPS receiver). The software will come soon, as developers write applications to use the hardware.
Put your money where you keyboard is! Personally, I don't have a keyboard. I prefer to dictate via windows vista, because I can.
You missed the point Jellybob. I take pictures like twice a year. Do you really think it would be a good choice for me to buy a full blown digital camera and carry it around just to take pictures twice a year? On my mobile I have a decent (for my needs) 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus - it's by no means perfect but it's good enough if I want to take a quick shot of something and share it with my friends and I don't need a 40 megapixel SLR to do that.
And as much as I am opposed to "taking pictures with a phone" idea (sounds a little like printing using toaster) it's just pure convenience - I have a phone, I make phone calls, send messages and every once in a while it can also be my PIM/video and audio player or a digital camera (it also opens pdf, doc and xls files).
It's far from fetish IMNSHO.
I wonder how many of the people who make this OpenMoko thing speak Spanish, because a 'moco' is a 'bogey'. Who would want to buy that? Or are there no hispanic geeks in Gringolandia?
cuz what I see online are some spiffy *illustrations* and no actual photos other than the CES one or two...
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Doesn't anyone find it kind of funny?
The Freerunner is about freedom; free software, free hardware designs. Launch date is 4th of July. I hear there was some freedom going on at the 4th of july some 232 years ago.
(sinister voice) Coincidence? I think not...
Can we install android on this open moko? if not, why not? is so then thats great right?
like phosphorescent desert buttons singing one familiar song
-Harry, there's someone in the house! Call 911!
-Can't you see it's compiling, woman?!?!? C'MON!!
Agreed, a photo taken with a typical low-end VGA camera *is* a gimmick. (Others may point out one can buy a higher end phone with a 10 mega-pixel camera but I suspect that's not the end of the market you're referencing.)
However, such a 'mugshot mode' does at least allow the possibility of face-to-face chat over wifi/3G. VGA exceeds the resolution of most standard handsets, so may be adequate for this. Again you may consider this fetishism but the market in this context isn't to replace the standalone digital camera.
Also the reason it uses GSM is that the team have tried as far as possible to use OPEN HARDWARE ie fully documented and not lumbered with proprietary closed-source drivers.
Too bad they did a shit job.
Now. What was that about this being an "open" cell phone design?
I think it's a great idea, but the current revision sucks. They have little software available for it, it's a huge pricetag, and for chrissakes, it's not even EDGE- only basic GPRS, which means you'll get at most about 10KB/sec line-speed.
Please help metamoderate.
I can't decide if releasing this on July 4th is clever marketing or not. Sure, OpenMoko on Independence Day, let freedom ring! But who is paying that much attention on a 3 day weekend in the summer? Do they have follow-up press releases and event next week when people are back at work and in their normal routines?
Leave the gun, take the cannolis.
In grand old /. tradition:
No 3g. Less space than an iPhone. Lame.
Should be interesting to see where this leads.
Too bad they did a shit job
But on the other hand, the software handling all these components is available as free and open source software. Even the GPS and the GSM (because those two component are mainly handled by their own internal firmware which contain the closed-blob and communicate with standard interface with openmoko - So well, some geeks could argue that the thing isn't letting them do 100% of what they want)
On the other hand, current 3G licensing would have prevented an open source stack inside open-moko. Not only would the 3G chip run its own firmware inside, but the software interfacing the chip would have to be a closed blob too.
Anyway, if the phone proves to sell, a version with 3G *and* webcam is probably only 1 year of hacking away. Probably even field-upgradable for Ãoebergeeks with access to facilities able to solder-swap a BGA chip.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
for the RepRap I'm trying to put together in the near future.
I mean seriously : although there are very few of them, there are geeks here around who are into all this rapid prototyping. Be it with reprap or fab@home, or bigger facilities available in their universities (Z-Corp...)
These are the perfect audience for all the recently released CAD files (OpenMoko's Neo Freerunner, ASUS' EEE PC, etc.)
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Unless I'm mistaken, it's more free than any other phone out there. We can't compare this to an ideal, we have to compare it to alternatives, and decide where to vote with our dollars.
Even my Debian desktop is not entirely free. I use a proprietary nvidia driver, and I use the flash player.
Someone invested a lot of money -- and might see much of it lost -- trying to make this phone. The revenue they generate indicates the demand, and will be the primary deciding factor for future investment.
There are pretty serious privacy concerns with cell phones -- arguably more serious than with desktop computers.
Right now it would be convenient for the police to mandate various kinds of back doors so that they can spy on you. I don't know whether this is true or not, but they may already be able to turn on your phone remotely, so that they can track you. They need the cooperation of the phone companies, but they already have companies like ATT under their thumbs ("do what we say, or we'll investigate you for anti-trust violations").
So, even though this phone doesn't really compete on technical merits, and isn't as free as we would like, it's still worth considering.
Social scientists are inspired by theories; scientists are humbled by facts.
And, when I post my problem in a linux forum, I'll get the always helpful answer
"try here: www.google.com"
I fail to see the point of this phone for the general public, most people will never touch the OS source code
Exactly.
I wish the general media would shut up about this phone, at the current state of OpenMoko FreeRunner should realistically not even be a blip on the radar except for geeks that like to play with code. It is sort of equivalent to pushing "Desktop Linux" in the age of kernel version 0.95.
If J.K.R wrote Windows: Puteulanus fenestra mortalis!
Wow...
That logic is awesome.
Next convince them that because everyone has cell phones you don't need landline phones at the office.
Then your transformation into Wally (the guy from Dilbert) will be complete.
Removes the need for a phone. Oh, and GPS.
But yeah, touché; N8x0 are excellent devices.
If J.K.R wrote Windows: Puteulanus fenestra mortalis!
As this does not have any phone capabilities (apart from skype) and is more expensive than an EEEPC, I'd be interested to hear the benefits of a N800 (orN810) over an EEE?
So you're saying that it's OK with you if someone else has control over your device (a control that you don't have at all, by the way), so long as there is some way (however impractical) to sufficiently disable your own device so that they can't exercise that control?
Social scientists are inspired by theories; scientists are humbled by facts.