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Aug. 7, 2008

In a bold and unexpected move, Openmoko, the open-source mobile handset development group, announces that its electronic schematics will be freely published to any company that wants them.

Though an unsettling idea to most modern handset manufacturers, in Openmoko’s opinion, its schematics are just another form of general documentation, the company and its partners explained.

If users, developers and system engineers can discover and subsequently repair bugs in the original open source design or simply add new features, then it will be for the benefit of all, the company said.

The mobile open source group already published the computer-aided design files for its Neo 1973 and Neo FreeRunner handsets, Openmoko officials noted.

The schematics will be covered by a Creative Commons license, Openmoko added.

Openmoko systems architect and engineer Werner Almesberger said “one of the freedoms we value the most is the freedom to explore at will. To fully understand the details of complex communications systems and to enhance them is our main goal."

"We now take our commitment to openness to the next level by releasing our schematics to the public, allowing anyone that's interested to discover and read about how the whole system works and how to improve it,” added Almesberger.

Just how the company will succeed on a business level isn't entirely clear at this point, however.

But the $399 FreeRunner mobile handset did sold out on its first and initial production batch, officials added.

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Source: Openmoko.