OpenMoko preps Linux phone prototype

OpenMoko's open source phone software is on its way, and now there's a handset to go with it, ready for budding coders to begin creating apps for the platform. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com CES 2008 on Video Microsoft demos Surface multi-touch user interface WowWee wheels in Tribot DisplayLink …

[Giles Jones]

Dev hardware

The dev hardware has been available for ages. This is the next hardware version which is deemed to be ready for the consumer.

[Simon Greenwood]

Is it June again?

The Neo1973 has been available as a developer's toolkit for the best part of a year. The OpenMoko group hasn't released anything new, just changed the handset's name.

[Sam Liddicott]

not just...

They also reduced the screen resolution, increased the clockspeed and provided 3D drivers.

Sam

[Anonymous Coward]

Are they still alive?

The website hasn't been updated since July and they're still promising general availability of the consumer device in October 2007.

[Moo]

Boo to videos

I hate video news and they take much more space than they should. Why wait for just two lines of speech and a gizmo?

[Asher Pat]

It's not even an iPhone ripoff

Rejoice McWorshippers, despite being the nicest form-factor (and yes, it is NOT an iPhone "ripoff", they were out BEFORE the heavenly iThing), it seems that OpenMoko team cant take off the ground, and with the other mobile phone players cant even bring themselves to copy the good things of the iPhone, AAPL IS on the way to surpass MSFT in market value!

[Hans-Peter Lackner]

Pleeeeeeease no more videos!!!

Please no more video-reviews... Why not a few pics and some lines of text... or is it, that you are paid by google to use Youtube?

[miknik]

Linux phone eh?

With wifi? Will it run kismet? ;-)

[Chris O'Shea]

@Asher Pat - other phone manufacturers ...

"with the other mobile phone players cant even bring themselves to copy the good things of the iPhone,"

Such as?

Touch screen was available years ago

Video playback was available years ago

MP3 and AAC playback, years ago

Wi-Fi, not as many years, but still before iPhone

Gui interface, years ago

Not sure about the rotation sensor, about who had it out first, but it was certainly in demo phones at shows before the iPhone came out, and it's in some current Nokias (and perhaps other phones)

Synchronising contacts, emails, notes etc. all there before iPhone (though I will admit it looks like iPhone may do that better, but it's not new, just works properly!)

and of course there's ...

Memory card support

sending text to multiple recipients

cut and paste

3G connectivity and high speed data

Video conferencing

Ability to swop in a spare battery

3Mp and up camera

FM radio

real GPS (not triangulation from cell towers, but actual GPS from satellite)

Thousands of games and applications to download and run natively on the handset, including alternative web browsers etc.

Using the built in camera as an OCR device to scan business cards (my SonyEricsson P990i can, though it's something I've only ever used once!)

... oh wait, I believe people have said iPhone can't do those, but other handsets can.

And there are things I just don't know if the iPhone can do ...

... for example can you say the name of a person into the phone and it will find the phone number and dial it for you? My SonyEricsson P910i did that years ago and I'm sure wasn't the first phone to do so.

So which things are "new" to iPhone that the other manufacturers are not "copying"? Sure there are things the iPhone does better, but I think you'll find that the other manufacturers are all racing to continually develop better phones and any feature (that's not tied down by patent) will appear in other phones within a year.

I love the iPhone, but when will peoplel realise it's an evolutionary device that has left out a lot of functionality in order to get to market at a reasonable time (I expect the v2 and v3 iPhones to add a lot of the missing functionality, such as 3G/GSM connectivity) and that just about all the individual features already existed in other phones. It's just that Apple is excellent at pulling things together and making them work together in a user-friendly way, something the other phone manufacturers could do better!