Gadget Lab 2: Openmoko Neo Freerunner

In this week's episode of the Gadget Lab Video Podcast, Wired.com's Dylan Tweney and Jose Fermoso run down the specs on the Openmoko Neo Freerunner.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• OpenMoko
• Neo
• Freerunner
• Gadget
• Lab
• Wired.com
• wired
• Wired
• electronics
• phones
• cell
• technology
• Linux
• Magazine

[Pommes1983]

No, it does not suck, but it seems you don't understand.

This phone is made for the linux community and you do not belong to it!

It is a computer with phone, not a phone with computer. This is not for everybody NOW. It is still between alpha and beta, might be some day you would like the phone..

[Uejji]

Or you could use Android. Or Angstrom. Or roll your own embedded Linux system. That's the joy of this phone.

[youmakeitwhatitis]

They talk like it's supposed to crash just because the kernel is linux. Do they know what linux is?

Also I don't think the point is customizability. That's only one part. The point is free software, so you can trust what you're running on your phone, and you can redistribute the software, custom or not. You can feel safe from microsoft's or apple's power-thirsty hands. But sure, making a custom UI or whatever is cool, too.

[collegavanjevader]

@gemis94 buy a n900, i love it

[gemis94]

I really like the concept of open-source phone but no 3g data support

and what the hell is that hole there it just looks stupid and makes the

phone external size bigger and internal size smaler with no practical

purpose, just wasting space and plastic. But if they add 3g support and

change the desing I will buy one right away, my phone is running symbian

and it's just horrible I want to have same freedom on my mobile computer

as i have on my desktop.

[FischundCoProduction]

this mobile phone rocks

[LukeBasarab]

What's with that huge hole on the bottom? I really don't like the design. The phone has potential, but it's more for geeks and developers (no offense) - generally people who love to customize everything. Not really a product for everyone.

[jonchall8]

If the hardware was better it would attract more devs, which would create consumer-ready software, which would allow it to become popular, which would quickly attract more devs which would allow it to basically crush everything else on the market.

[jonchall8]

This thing needs decent data support (3g) before it will be any good.

Multi-touch isn't that important. Non-capacitive touchscreens are terrible, though. They're made of plastic, which scratches all over no matter what.

Its like an inch thick, but that's reasonable since its supposedly open-source hardware that's trying to be easily modified.

Get it a capacitive glass screen and 3g and maybe thin it down a bit and then I'd think about buying one.

[messager3000]

@dragonsnaker Okay ... That's not really a big problem, but I hope they'll keep improving it !

There's something I want to ask you : Is the WiFi chipset supporting promiscuous mode ( so we could run aircrack-ng on it :) ) ?

[o00Dark00o]

im so excited .

i ordered it today XD

[dragonsnaker]

Reading a bit over the internet I found out it DOES NOT support 3g data transmission. It supports GSM (triband) and 2.5G GPRS (with no EDGE). My guess is that 3G support depends on hardware, that is not currently present on the phone, and therefore is nowhere soon to be implemented. No 3G is one big downside on it. As is no multi-touch.

At least it has Wi-Fi... Still I would not purchase one of these until 3G is incorporated.