Unveiled at a a press-only event during CES 2008, the OpenMoko Neo FreeRunner is ready for prime time. OpenMoko has announced that it will start to take pre-orders for its Neo FreeRunner mobile phone starting on July 4th. Shipments will begin only days after on July 7th.
The Neo FreeRunner is a Linux-based smartphone that will give users an unusual level of customization and configuration. The unit will ship with only basic functions such as dialing, contact management and sending and receiving text messages. Future updates (with the first expected in August with new location based applications) will add new functionality for free. Users will also have the option of writing their own applications.
The OpenMoko Neo FreeRunner will be available in either a tri-band 850/1800/1900MHz or 900/1800/1900MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE configuration. Both will come with a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen display, 128MB RAM and 256MB Flash ROM, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, AGPS, Bluetooth 2.0, two 3-axis motion sensors, and a microSD card slot.
Even the appearance of the phone can be modified thanks to the publicly available CAD files. These will allow anyone to come up with alternate designs with different materials and finishes.
The OpenMoko Neo FreeRunner will sell for USD$399.