Real Alpha Geeks Don't Settle for iPhones

I've been keeping my eye on open source cell phones for a while now. After a few delays, Phase 1 of the OpenMoko based FIC neo1973 is finally available to developers. You can get the Neo Base kit ($300) for application developers, or the Neo Advanced kit ($450) which is dubbed the "hacker's dream box." OpenMoko bills itself as the first integrated open source mobile communications platform. Their tag line is "Free Your Phone." There is also a developer's portal called openmoko.org.

The software is based on a Linux 2.6 kernel, X11, Matchbox, GTK+ and KDrive with various layers added by the OpenMoko community. The hardware is based on a Samsung chipset and includes GSM/GPRS, AGPS, Bluetooth, USB and a 2.8" 480x640 touchscreen. The Phase 2/Mass Market hardware, set for release in October, will include a faster processor and WiFi.

There's another Linux based cell phone development platform that's been out for a while called the Greenphone. It's from Trolltech, the software company responsible for the Qt software framework. The Greenphone is based on a Linux 2.4 kernel and Qtopia, an embedded Linux device version of Qt. The Greenphone has a QVGA touchscreen, GSM/GPRS, Bluetooth, USB, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. The development phone device costs $695 and the software is available for the development community under a GNU GPL. The phone and software can be ordered from the Trolltech Web Shop. There is also a developer portal at qtopia.net. I don't believe the Greenphone is ever intended for the mass market, only as a reference platform.

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