Neo 1973, The First Freed Phone

New from FIC in partnership with OpenMoko, here’s a true iPhone alternative — at half the price. Available to developers, the company is releasing the quad-band GSM/GPRS phone for developers to preview (think of it as a .01 release) and begin working collaboratively to build the best Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Get excited — the possibilities are endless with this one. This device is USB chargeable, engages GPS for mapping technology, and capable of routing a connected PC to the internet.

The Neo 1973 has a robust hardware spec list, including 128MB of RSM, 64MB of Flash, a 2.8″ VGA TFT color display with touchscreen, USB 1.1, integrated AGPS, 2.5G GMS, Bluetooth 2.0, 266MHZ Samsung System on a Chip (SOC), MicroSD slot, and high quality audio codec. If you’re a developer with some free time on your hands and a yen for accelerating Linux-based open source solutions, check out the full developer preview wiki for more information on what to expect.

The Neo base standard kit, packed along with a battery, headset, Neo pouch, stylus, lanyard, MicroSD card, and USB cable, is available in black & silver or white & orange for $300.