So the clone on clone Ifoney replacements are coming !

Because they want you to keep buying phones. If they were to give you such an uber-device, you might be tempted to keep it after your contract was up.

Additionally, (as far as I can tell any way) most people just get the subsidized drek that comes with their plan anyway. Cell culture / popular features are then built around the features included on the cheapened / freebie models (notice even Palm makes such a phone now, never mind the fact that it's much to tiny for anyone over the age of 13 to use). It takes a fairly dedicated geek or a business professional to seek out a phone based on specific features that are useful to them on an individual basis. Which means more than just "Like ZOMG does ur phone do PiXmssgs?"

(I hate phone culture. I really do. I like confuse them by saying "SMS messages" and laughing as I send and receive unlimted messages through the gateways.)

I like OpenMoko for the same reason I like all OS projects: Sooner or later somebody else will give (in fully functional code) me and the rest of the world the same ideas (and a lot more) I had years ago.

Sure it'll cost a bit more but it's worth it if you what's ahead. Oh, yeah, a few of us might have richer had we acted in these ideas when we had them, but at least we haven't worked ourselves nearly to death trying to get there and our children never had to ask the question "Mum, why does Dad never leave that shed?"

If OpenMoko can make this work then what's next? Gasp!! Could it be Open Source Hardware? Nah, that's just silly. How could anyone make money on that?

Coat, Hat, Pub.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_gateway

A good number of carriers have them, providing eMail > SMS and SMS > eMail services free of charge. Great for when you want to send a quick message from a WiFi enabled device or a wired connection. It works out even better for me, since I have an unlimited (by which AT&T apparently means 5GB per month) mobile data plan, I can communicate with most of my contacts through my eMail application with no per message costs to me. Now as I said above, actually trying to tack out a message on the Centro's lilliputian keyboard is a completely different matter.

Evil Bill, because I still like my Palm better than his WMDs*

*Windows Mobile Devices*

*Very bad pun, I know.

The OpenMoko was announced some months before the iPhone and the pre-production hardware has been available since the developer launch which was in early March 2007. HTC (the main sponsor) have not chosen to throw a bundle of money at the development of the hardware and software, hence the long gestation period between pre-production and production hardware.

And the CAD files have been available for months. If you visit openmoko.org you can even register your interest in one or more proposed alternative cases.

I do think the project has its problems, for example there is no over-arching look, feel and behaviour designed for the core applications - unlike the iPhone, which you can get to grips with inside 30 minutes.