Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Cheap (~$350), Hackable Linux Smartphone Due Soon

FIC introduced the "Neo1973" Smartphone at the Open Source in Mobile conference yesterday in Amsterdam. Linux Devices, in an article yesterday, reported that the company will be releasing the device, which features an open-source, Linux-based "OpenMoKo" platform. The device will also support Windows Mobile, making it one of (possibly the) first dual-OS mobile device.

The Neo1973 will also include a GPS receiver, and it is a quad-band GSM/GPRS "world phone". The main weaknesses in the device (that I can see) are is the design of the unit, which resembles a large pill, and the fact that is does not appear to have any hardware buttons--everything seems to be controlled via a touch screen, and the fact that it doesn't include EDGE data--GPRS-only data rates are going to be a serious impediment to the acceptance of this unit by early adopters, geeks, and the like.







Nonetheless, the Neo sounds like a really great idea...and hopefully the price, which at $350 is hardly "cheap," will come down as they move into volume production. The carriers, if they decide to pick up the phone, will of course offer steep discounts in exchange for a contract commitment--the key, of course, is if this phone goes mainstream enough for that to happen.

The full article on LinuxDevices may be found here.