Mobile phones are still one of those sectors where hardware and software are for the largest part proprietary. If you’re in tough luck you even have a phone which is locked by your network operator, or one that’s branded with some company logo’s you never wanted but get to look at every time the damn thing starts up anyway.
Well, OpenMoko is intending to change all that by offering you an open source mobile phone. That is hardware and software we are talking about here, yes indeed. The whole thing is still pretty much in a starters phase, but they do have a working phone for sale and an operating system based on Linux which can be installed on a number of supported phones already.
As said, this is pretty much in an alpha phase, so don’t get your hopes up if you want to ditch that OS on your current phone. You might end up with a useless phone afterwards, but if you’re feeling like giving this a shot on a spare mobile you have lying around, why the hell not. You might pick up some l33t skillz on the way, and help this project one step closer to a release candidate.
I love the idea and possibilities of this project. If this grows into a stable and usable phone OS, the advantages will be huge compared to using proprietary systems. Think about porting your data and applications from one phone to another without limitations. Adding software and features to your phone will be your choice, and (probably) free.
Screw the iPhone. This will be the true geeks phone, if it isn’t already.