+ - First Open Source Smartphone Discontinued-> 1
Submitted
by
TuxMobil
TuxMobil writes "Bad news for freerunner fans, development of the first Open Source smartphone will be discontinued.
OpenMoko executive director Sean Moss-Pulz told at OpenExpo in Bern (Switzerland)
that the number of staffs will be reduced to be able to stay in business. OpenMoko
had high intentions: the offspring from Taiwanese electronic manufacturer First International Computer (FIC)
wanted to produce an Open Source smartphone. Not only with Open Source software pre-installed, but with
free drivers and open specifications of the hardware components. This would give programmers as well
as users complete freedom. Up to now the manufacturer has produced two models, the first has been sold 3,000 times and
the second one has been bought 10,000 times. Both models were targeted primarily to developers. From the beginning
OpenMoko had to fight with different problems. The smartphones came into market with a huge delay. Some series
came with construction defects. Also changes in the team slowed down the development. Software development
for the current smartphone will be continued but with less resources Moss-Pultz told. He still hopes the
community will support the Freerunner: "Buy the Freerunner, help to correct bugs and write new programms".
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/20/1551200
http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/25/1751228
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/16/0037221
http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/24/1739200"
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Moko's window of opportunity is long gone. (Score:2)
There was a window of opportunity for the OpenMoko but this window is long gone. They failed to ship on time, and when they did it was a ultra-expensive **non-functional** toy.
I, for one, kept waiting to buy one. But the reports of non-working hardware, and the other news about 3 or 4 different frameworks being worked upon, each of which not working properly for SMS + Calls, completely put me off. Point is there are not that many enthusiasts willing/able to throw so much money in the risky bet that the Free