OpenMoko, maker of the open source handset everyone loves to praise but no one actually wants to buy, has stated it will cease development of new mobile handsets. Citing current economic conditions and a competitive market, OpenMoko CEO Sean Moss-Pultz reportedly made the announcement yesterday at a conference in Switzerland. We can’t exactly place this decision into the shocker category considering end users — and more importantly, manufacturing partners — have been very slow to embrace the handset. Thus far, OpenMoko has only pushed out about 10,000 handsets and no major news as far as manufacturing partners offering customized builds of the phone has come into play. OpenMoko isn’t throwing in the towel just yet, however. The company intends to continue FreeRunner support and it will also commence development of a new product that isn’t a mobile phone. Interesting. With a new mobile OS going open source each day and very little interest in the physical side of OpenMoko’s FreeRunner project (hardware add-ons, customization, etc), we can’t say this is a bad decision on the company’s part.

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It looks like OpenMoko might have a little surprise in store for us in 2009. Rumor has it the company will soon announce a new version of its Neo FreeRunner handset powered by Android! According to the folks over at iMAndroid, OpenMoko is close to a worldwide release of a version of the Neo FreeRunner rocking Android. Some blurry shots of an “Androided-out” Neo FreeRunner and a fresh set of specs round out this rumor. Currently available spec highlights are as follows:

• Connectivity: GSM, Bluetooth 2.0, GPRS, AGP,S WiFi, USB 1.1 slave and host, 2.5-mm audio jack
• Media: microSD, SDHC capable, Wolfson WM8753 Codec
• Operating system: Android, OpenMoko, Qtopia, Debian
• Input: touchscreen, buttons
• Power: 1200 mAh battery
• CPU: Samsung 2442 SoC @ 400 MHz
• Memory: 128 MB SDRAM and 256 MB NAND flash. Flash expandable upto 16 GB
• Display: 2.8 in. VGA (480 × 640) TFT, 282 pixels/in.
• Dimensions: 120.7 × 62 × 18.5 (mm)

Hit the jump for a few more blurry spy shots – everyone’s favorite kind of pre-release images.

[Via Android Authority]

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OpenMoko, current king of “open” in the mobile world, has just announced that the schematics for its 1973 and shiny new Neo FreeRunner handsets will soon be published and available for the world to customize. That’s right, OpenMoko takes the concept of open source mobiles to an entirely new level by allowing customization beyond third-party software development. The very architecture of the company’s handsets is fair game as developers are invited to engineer integrated instruments or sensors. It will be interesting to see how the global community embraces the concept of open source mobile hardware and even more interesting to see what they come up with. We already told you about Koolu’s plans to integrate features such as a laser-projected virtual keyboard and an LED projector into the Neo FreeRunner and we can’t wait to see this vision realized. Just remember fellas, you have to keep the handset affordable. In terms of framework, the Neo FreeRunner is quite a launching point for development. The Linux-based handset features a 2.8-inch touchscreen, 128MB of RAM, 256MB of internal memory along with a microSDHC slot, integrated GPS, 802.11g WiFi, bluetooth 2.0 and two motion sensors. Developers, the gauntlet has been thrown.

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It’s safe to say that up until now, Openmoko handsets have hardly received the global welcome that the company envisioned when it first began its quest to open the world of mobile phones. The odds are pretty good that you’ve read plenty about Openmoko’s Linux-based handsets; you probably even tipped your hat at the concept of a truly open handset (we know Google liked the idea). The odds are even better however, that you didn’t buy one. In fact outside of an expo you’ve probably never even seen one in person. All that might just change soon, or so Openmoko hopes, as it has just signed a deal with Canada-based Koolu which will take on the task of worldwide Neo FreeRunner distribution.

Koolu, known for its innovations in easy-to-use services such as Google Apps and Skype, will distribute the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner phone first to developers, and later to consumers as Google Apps go mobile. Koolu has created a program unique in the industry by offering free Neo FreeRunner phones in a referral program for Google Apps world-wide.

Kuloo’s long terms plans for Openmoko handsets are pretty intense in fact. As part of an ecofriendly push, Kuloo plans to integrate a laser-projected virtual keyboard and an LED projector into future handsets in order to create a portable computer that drastically reduces E waste and carbon footpront. Check out a mockup of its vision after the jump.

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