CES 2009: OpenMoko Neo FreeRunner Running Android

I stopped by OpenMoko's booth and was given a quick outlook on its progress with Neo FreeRunner. Unfortunately, nothing has changed in term of handset's specifications; but that does not mean the OpenMoko guys are sitting idle. They have made many under the hood (software) improvements since I last spoke to them, the phone is much more responsive to commands compared to my previous hands-on.

OpenMoko was showing me the Neo FreeRunner with Android OS. Many might wonder why they are showing a competitor platform on their handset, the answer is simple; OpenMoko supports open source movement and welcome any development involving their handset even if it utilizing other Linux stacks. Android runs quite well on FreeRunner, this does not surprise me at all as they are both based on the same platform.

OpenMoko confirms that the Neo FreeRunner is truly a handset for developers and mobile device hackers; mainstream phone users might find this handset usable but lack of many common features found in today's phone such as camera. OpenMoko developers' community has requested many basic hardware features to be added but there is no information from OpenMoko if those requests will be fulfilled this year.