> Sometimes the hardest thing to answer is "I don't know". My personal > opinion here is that "I don't know" is probably the best answer there > is. As a user, I want to know EXACTLY when I can expect my next dose > of sexiness in hardware form. As someone who supports and understands > business, saying "Freerunner will be here in September" is suicide IF > there are issues discovered in August. Openmoko can't give you a > release date because giving a release date depends on the schedule > being followed. Hardware defects, supplier issues, vendor commitments > being met, et cetera. > > I'd settle at this point, and really kind of want a "Assuming nothing > delays us..." answer... But even then the pragmatist in me cringes at > that. No matter how many disclaimers are attached to it, ANY statement > by Openmoko will be Gospel Truth to SOME people and those people's > disappointment may be very REAL losses of sales. The last official > answer that was given is "April... Maybe." It's still April, so > there's time to correct that. > > > > The OpenMoko project, as it appears to others, is a failure of the open > > source model rather than the visible example of the success of open > > development that it rightly should be. > > Openmoko has given continuous updates as the information is available > to them. That information changes daily, just live source code, as > various issues are discovered. You speak as if you've been deprived of > some natural right... Openmoko has promised that they'll try to be as > open as possible and get you a consumer ready device as soon as they > can. Until then, you've got a developer ready device, and that was > made VERY clear when you clicked "Buy" and input your payment > information. Actually, this reply answers all my questions, and takes care of a few misconceptions. It seems to have been understood by me, and people I've discussed the phone with, that the GTA02 was going to be a consumer-ready product.
When i read an interview in LinuxJournal with Sean Moss-Pultz last summer I thought "great, well at the very least I'll be able to get it for Christmas". Clearly this was a misunderstanding, and perhaps something and LJ and other publicists of the Moko, or OpenMoko themselves, have not been doing quite enough to state clearly is that the GTA02 is not going to be a consumer-ready release, and that potential buyers should not be expecting the phone any time soon. But if the Moko is not going to be released to the mass market even before possibly even the beginning of next year, this raises another question. Will it not be a case that the Moko will be just another device in a stream of hardware that is being produced at the moment in an attempt to emulate the success of the iPhone? > > I've been expecting the opportunity to buy a Neo for over six months > > now, and it seems to be that the only way in which to obtain a small > > form-factor smartphone is to pop into the cathedral and buy an iPhone. > > I bought my Neo in January. The opportunity ot buy a Neo existed less > than two months ago. For some reason you didn't because (I'm > presuming) it didn't meet your needs at the time. It really looks to > me that this is an issue of misplaces expectations than anything else. > Developers have been clamoring for a developer preview of Freerunner, > which has been pushed back and back. Openmoko has NEVER promised a > release date for a CONSUMER READY Freerunner, ONLY the developer > previews. > Point taken. I do still need an operational phone... It was my impression that the GTA02 would be roughly equivalent to a release candidate of software and any bugs would be ironed out... > > So why is it called the Neo 1973? I get the "neo" part, that means new, > > but what's significant of 1973? > > 1973 was the year the mobile phone was invented. > > > > That was the original release date! It was a joke. Possibly in bad taste following the acerbic email it was attached to, but nonetheless still a joke :) Sean. _______________________________________________ Openmoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
