On Wed, 2007-07-04 at 22:53 +0100, Frank Wales wrote: > I'll be intrigued to see what the iPhone turns into by the time > it lands on these shores, and indeed whether or not the Linux > phone from FIC actually gains more traction that the rest of > the promising-but-discontinued Linux-based handhelds did.
Many previous `phones have used the Linux kernel - but none of them have been about Free Software, unfortunately. The manufacturers all add proprietary stacks to the kernel :-( FIC use an entirely Free GNU operating system stack on their Neo1973 (OpenMoko) :-) The company are right behind the idea, as can be seen from this: -------- Original Message -------- Subject: New Oceans Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:20:13 +0800 From: Sean Moss-Pultz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Organization: OpenMoko To: community <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear Community, Andre Gide once said, "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." Sexism aside, I can't think of a better way to describe our adventures this past year. Around the end of March, we were three months behind schedule. Critical hardware bugs were being discovered almost weekly. I had just returned from an exhausting trip around the world. Harald landed in Taiwan the following week. One look at his face and I knew he was in basically the same depleted state I was in. But, we were both dedicated to keep pushing forward. We've come to realize, largely because of your support, that failure is not an option for this project. For the people pushing this project, an open phone is not really even a product. It's the very embodiment of our vision of technology. We absolutely, passionately, believe that something as fundamental to our lives as the mobile phone must be open. OpenMoko has become far bigger than just a small group of people trying to build an open mobile platform. I can tell you for sure, things will never be the same again inside FIC. To their credit, whole departments and divisions have been reorganized to maximize the opportunity for OpenMoko. This is the reason for my absence from this list for so long. The people inside FIC are amazingly open-minded. Our CEO and Chairman are the two greatest supporters inside this company. Earlier this month they did something courageous and support of the communities commitment. The entire mobile communications division was restructured to build devices for OpenMoko. And OpenMoko -- the project will officially become OpenMoko -- the company. This is how much they believe in us. This is how much faith they have that we will be successful. What does all this mean to us as a company and community? In one word: focus. We now have full control over the future of OpenMoko and the resources needed to give it every possible chance of succeeding. Behind us (well actually still in the same building :-) sits an supportive 800 pound gorilla in the OEM/ODM world, eagerly waiting to work with us to make our dreams a reality. OpenMoko -- together with all of you in the community -- will design, from the ground up, open devices and write the free software platform that powers them. FIC will build the hardware and help us set phones free around the world. This is about the most perfect relationship we can think of. Sure there will be rough times ahead. If it were easy, you know who would have done this long before. Making new things is never easy. But we're in this together. This project has changed me, changed you, and changed FIC. Hopefully, one day, this project will change the world. Now that OpenMoko is officially a company inside the FIC Group, blueprints of our office modifications cover the desk and walls where I'm sitting. Writing this letter to you all is finally giving me time to reflect on this thrilling roller coaster ride. Sorry for putting so many bits into your inbox. But I just can't help it. It's been months that we could hardly step back and see things from a big picture. Now, I really don't think I've been this excited since the day I got my first set of Lincoln Logs. For those of us that love to build new things, Taiwan, especially now at FIC and OpenMoko, is a great place to be. So here's the point of this email, finally after more than one year, we're entering into a new ocean. In our factory in China, 400 Neos are waiting for you all. Another 600 will be ready before next week. More are queued up waiting for us to say go. We've had a particularly challenging time trying to setup the online infrastructure and figure out how to ship these phones. Sometime later today or early tomorrow we're going to make another announcement asking for some advice. (Here come the details.) Starting July 9th, we will launch openmoko.com and start taking orders. We're going to have two configurations: Neo Base -- everything the mobile application developer needs to enjoy the benefits of the first freed phone, the Neo 1973: * Neo 1973 (GTA01B_v4) * Battery * Stylus * Headset * AC Charger * Phone Pouch * Lanyard * SanDisk 512MB MicroSD Card (2x) * Micro USB Connectivity Cable Neo Advanced -- everything the mobile device hacker wants to get down and dirty with the first freed phone, the Neo 1973: * Neo 1973 (GTA01B_v4) * Battery (2x) * Stylus * Headset * AC Charger * Phone Pouch * Lanyard * SanDisk 512MB MicroSD Card (2x) * Mini USB Connectivity Cable (2x) * USB Host Mode Cable * Debug Flex Cable * Debug Board v2 (JTAG and serial console) * Ruggedized Toolbox with shoulder strap * Guitar Pick (for opening case) * Torx T6 screwdriver The delays have been expensive for us and annoying for you. We've decided that instead of setting up a complicated return or tracking system to remember who gets a discount for GTA02, we going to give you _all_ a discount on GTA01. We're going to sell the Neo Base for $300. The Neo Advanced will be $450. GTA02 (AKA: The Mass Market Neo 1973) is on schedule to go on sale in October. It will have the following new hardware components: * 802.11 b/g WiFi * Samsung 2442 SoC * SMedia 3362 Graphics Accelerator * 2 3D Accelerometers * 256MB Flash We will sell this device through multiple channels. Direct from openmoko.com, the price will be $450 for the Neo Base and $600 for Neo Advanced. We have three more mobile devices planned for next year (not including GTA02). During the next few months we will be adding serious resources to both FIC and OpenMoko to support these projects. I will update you all after we stabilize GTA02. Right now we must collectively focus everything on turning the Neo into mass marketable device that proves, once and for all, the power of an open phone. Finally, more than a few of you have complained about a lack of transparency during the past few months. You have my word that we will always best to be as open as possible. But sometimes we must make compromises. I had to make a choice: keep up my travel schedule building support for this project and tend to this list, or fix these real issues. Ignoring this list was one of the hardest things for me to do. All of your comments give us our drive to keep pushing. But if we didn't keep the project on track and make the necessary organizational changes this project would be even later. And I knew that when I could come back to explain this to you all, you would understand. Thank you. We're back now. I can tell you like nobody else can, this project is stronger than ever. We've got a whole new ocean in front of us just begging for exploration. Sincerely, OpenMoko and FIC. - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/