Between the iTunes DRM, a 2-year AT&T/Cingular contract commitment and a slim chance you’ll be able to write custom applications for the device, Apple’s iPhone is beginning to sound like one highly restrictive device. On the flip side, there’s the OpenMoko open source phone platform.
Running on top of Linux, OpenMoko will offer an open source framework for developing mobile device applications. The first smartphone to run the platform is the FIC Neo1973. Preliminary specs for the quad-band GSM phone sound pretty strong and include a Samsung s3c2410 processor, a 2.8″ VGA TFT touchscreen and onboard GPS capabilities. The industrial design and initial user interface screens also look very slick. The phone, along with a developer SDK should be available sometime this February.
