Run Free. The OpenMoko FreeRunner launches!

The OpenMoko Freerunner releases today in most parts of the world. Including India. In fact, I believe it's been available since June 26. The OpenMoko is a very high-end phone -- it has Bluetooth, WiFi and GPRS connectivity. It also has a touch screen, an embedded GPS, tons of storage (256MB included + microSD). In fact the only thing that's missing (and that I would miss) on this phone is a camera.

And best of all, it's built in a completely open fashion! That means all the design specifications and blueprints for both the hardware and the software are available freely! This "feature" is really what gets me going!

Don't like the inbuilt Contacts feature? Rip it out and replace it with your own! Envy your friend's iPhone's SMS "conversation" feature -- write your own! Want to let people track where you're on campus? Use the builtin GPS + WiFi to broadcast your position. Watch movies, browse the Internet, play music of *any* type (and quality). In short, if you're upto it, you can make this phone do anything you want!

I've always imagined having a full-fledged portable computer with me on the go, and while Bonszai is portable, it still doesn't fit into my pocket. The OpenMoko does. The last gadget that got me so excited was India's Simputer, but I believe the OpenMoko is the Simputer done right -- I hope they get the marketing right too!

I can imagine many cool ways to use a device that has these connectivity features and an completely open architecture, but unfortunately the OpenMoko Freerunner is too expensive for me. At a reported INR 20000 (US$399 + ?), it's well positioned in the league of high-end phones, but is way beyond my reach as well. *Sigh*.