Openmoko publishes schematics for Neo phones

PRESS RELEASE
August 6, 2008 LinuxWorld Expo Booth 1625
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Openmoko Declares Another Freedom:
Publishes Schematics for Neo Phones
Openmoko shows beauty is more than skin deep

LINUXWORLD EXPO, San Francisco, CA - Booth 1625 - August 5, 2008 -
Openmoko, maker of open source mobile products, today announced that it has
taken another step in opening its mobile platform to the development
community by announcing it will publish the schematics for the Neo 1973 and
Neo FreeRunner mobile phones.  Openmoko broke with traditional mobile phone
manufacturers by shipping its Neo 1973 and Neo FreeRunner mobile phones
with a free and open source (FOSS) operating system and open applications,
enabling developers to take the functionality of the phone well beyond the
limited applications that commercial mobile phones can handle.  The Neo
FreeRunner went on sale July 4, 2008.  In less than a week the initial Neo
FreeRunner allocation had sold out.

Openmoko has previously published the CAD files for the product under a
Creative Commons license so product designers can alter the look and feel
of the phone case and craft it to suit such vertical markets as fashion,
science, medical, industrial, or enterprise.  Developers can also choose
other materials for manufacturing the case, making more appealing to
fashion tastes or enabling the phone to withstand rugged environments and
harsh use.

Now, Openmoko announced it will publish the schematics of the phone, giving
engineers free reign to modify Neo phones.  Just as Free and Open Source
Software provides source code information, open schematics provide vital
information to engineers who may want to add functionality, external
instruments or sensors, or assist the company in debugging problems,
ultimately creating a better product for the entire mobile community.

GPS Schematics Available

Most recently, u-blox AG, Switzerland, maker of the GPS chip in the
Openmoko phones, endorsed Openmoko's publishing the complete schematics for
the GPS chip in the Neo FreeRunner phones.  The schematics now document how
the GPS chip is wired into the system, providing vital information for
developers who want to leverage the GPS functionality for new designs
involving the Openmoko phones.

"We fully support Openmoko's decision to publish the schematics of the
u-blox GPS receivers," said u-blox CEO, Thomas Seiler. "It is vitally
important that developers have access to this data and it improves product
quality. Going forward we think that more manufacturers and more consumers
will demand open architecture products with optimum performance"

"Why should industry be afraid of opening up its design?" asked Openmoko
CEO, Sean Moss-Pultz.  "Schematics are simply another form of documentation
and vital to future success, service and satisfaction in the market. We
believe our products would be incomplete without them."

"One of the freedoms we value the most is the freedom to explore. To fully
understand the details of complex systems, to adapt and enhance them," said
Openmoko Architect, Werner Almesberger.  "We now take our commitment to
openness to the next level by releasing our schematics to the public,
allowing anyone to find out how the system works and how to improve it."

The release of the schematics will covered under a Creative Commons license and 
files will be posted in due course  on openmoko.com and openmoko.org

Openmoko will show the Neo FreeRunner at LinuxWorld Expo, Moscone Center,
San Francisco August 5-7 at booth 1625 and at the LinuxWorld Garage 1234.

The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner has been selected as a finalist the LinuxWorld
Product Excellence Awards, to be presented at LinuxWorld Conference &
Expo® this week in San Francisco. Judged by a group of respected
industry experts managed by LinuxWorld.com, the LinuxWorld Product
Excellence Awards recognize product and service innovations by LinuxWorld®
and NGDC exhibitors in 12 different categories.

Open Mobile Free

Openmoko frees developers from constraints of closed mobile architectures
so they can apply the power of mobility and a flexible development platform
to create mobile applications for specialized markets.  Using the Openmoko
mobile platform, the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community and
developers can create unique versions of the FreeRunner phone, modifying
the way the phone operates and even the way it looks.  CAD files publicly
available under a Creative Commons license make it easy for industrial
designers to change the appearance of the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner and
select alternate materials and finishes to tailor the phone's look and
feel.

Distributors in the EU have already received shipments of the Openmoko Neo
FreeRunner.  

Pricing and availability

The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner has a suggested retail price of $399. Openmoko
will restock and sell the phone directly from it its webshop
www.Openmoko.com and via distributors in the EU, India and North America.

About Openmoko

Openmoko is the commercial and community driven effort with a mission to
create open mobile products that empower developers and consumers to
personalize their devices, much like a computer, in any way they see
fit. Openmoko is dedicated to helping innovators bring freedom and
flexibility to consumer electronics and vertical market devices.  For the
latest information about Openmoko, visit www.Openmoko.com.  

heh heh -- if only s-media  released its specifications for the glamo chip used in the
freerunner. For now there is only verbal (ok -- in email
http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2007-Septem...) promise from
openmoko that they would out some public documentation for the chip based on tech
documentation obtained from s-media under NDA. heh heh

I suspect that the schematics for the SMedia chip are kind of boring, though; bunch of
standard busses, and you hook them up to other things in the obvious ways. The interesting
thing is what you send to the SMedia chip over these busses to make it do useful stuff, and
that's at quite a different level of abstraction.

I didn't mean schematics for s-media but the documentation describing its programming
documentation

Hmm, Openmoko shouldn't fall for "Creative Commons license" type of saying actually nothing. I
believe that they mean a free kind of CC license (CC-BY-SA or CC-BY) like they've done before,
but this is the one problem that plagues Creative Commons all the time. There have been even
sites were the administrators have chosen "Creative Commons license" as the site's content's
license, without specifying which one... and often in cases other than Openmoko, the usual
answer is "well of course we meant the non-commercial, non-derivative licenses, we wouldn't
want someone other to benefit on this work!".

"Hmm, Openmoko shouldn't fall for "Creative Commons license" type of saying actually nothing."

Indeed.

"CAD files publicly
available under a Creative Commons license make it easy for industrial
designers to change the appearance of the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner and
select alternate materials and finishes to tailor the phone's look and
feel."

For instance, if they had chosen BY-ND, the above would be deceptive at best.

Unfortunately, this saying nothing useful seems to be a widespread practice in the Creative
Commons world (I play in that world too and I run into it all the time.) At best, the practice
is inconsiderate as it is wasteful of other people's time, and I don't doubt some do it with
deception in mind.

So, if you care about the people you are trying to communicate with, state which license you
release under, at least license element wise, even if not version and port wise.

all the best,

drew
http://packet-in.org
Some of my BY-SA efforts there... (band effort, not solo.)

FWIW, the CAD files are CC-BY-SA

"FWIW, the CAD files are CC-BY-SA"

Sure, which is fine, that is my preferred cc license, but the point is, it makes for extra
research to find this info out when people just say:

"Released under a Creative Commons License."

That statement on its own tells you next to nothing about the rights you might get with the
license... It is just a pain is all. It slows things down and gums up the works when searching
for stuff to use or even deciding if something is worth paying attention to today.

all the best,

drew

Yep, CC-BY-SA: http://downloads.openmoko.org/schematics/

Great stuff.

Agreed. Creative Commons idea of mixing free and non-free licenses under a common name was
more than stupid.