Monday, July 21, 2008

FreeRunner now running

On Friday I received my Openmoko FreeRunner phone. I've been waiting for this phone for literally years - I first heard about the project in December of 2006, and couldn't wait for it to materialize. Well, the Neo1973 came along and I couldn't justify it without wifi, but the FreeRunner corrects that lack, so I got in on a group order and got one.

2007.2 is a bit... confusing. I found the icons mostly non-intuitive and overall it felt very much like trying to extend the desktop metaphor into a UI space that it's not really meant for. The ASU daily build that I'm currently using is much simpler and nicer. I look forward to it maturing and hope to help it in that direction some myself!

As with most things, the technology is, in the long run, less important than the people. In this regard the community around the FreeRunner shines - #openmoko and the mailing lists are both quite helpful, as are the folk I met via the group buy.