The hockey puck that is the Neo FreeRunner
Yesterday, I talked about a member of the Free Software Foundation and his 5 reasons to avoid the iPhone. What struck me was that this guy is willing to sacrifice quality for the freedom from proprietary software and corporate ties. That kind of philosophy is all fine and dandy and I would applaud him for his efforts, but when I saw what he claimed was the alternative I couldn’t help but laugh. One look at the phone and interface told me everything I needed to know, that this thing was an absolute piece of shit.
Today, I watched a few videos by Dave Fayram off of the Vimeo site where he reviews and shows a comparison of the OpenMoko powered FreeRunner and the iPhone. It’s very clear that this phone has absolutely no comparison to the iPhone:
OpenMoko Train Wreck from Dave Fayram on Vimeo.
Wow! The keyboard alone has me wondering what the hell the developers were thinking. And the shitty scrolling? Please. Even if I shared the same philosophy as the FSF, an interface like that would be completely unacceptable to me. I wouldn’t use it. Period.
Plus, the thing is practically twice as thick as an iPhone. In fact, I think it’s even thicker than the Treo 750 I used to use. The thing resembles a f@#king hockey puck for Pete’s sake. Talk about a really shitty form factor!
More OpenMoko Train Wrecking (Now with Qt!) from Dave Fayram on Vimeo.
My god, is that interface slow!
And it doesn’t play MP3’s? Really? The most popular audio file format and it doesn’t play it. But, hey, it plays Ogg Vorbis files! Awesome! Now I can convert all my existing MP3 and ACC encoded files into Ogg files and waste more time just so my music can sound more shitty. Great idea!
And how many times does he have to tap the same button before it does anything? I mean, really, come on! That by far is one of the biggest blunders of interface design I’ve ever seen! Instant show stopper in my book.
Text entry is God awful. I’ve used Treo’s, played with Blackberry’s, and many, many other types of smart phones and I’ve never seen text entry as bad as this. What a f@$king joke!
I know what the guy from FSF would respond with to my post. He would say that to buy an iPhone or any other phone that requires proprietary software would go against his philosophy. That’s fine. If that’s what you believe and you don’t want to have anything to do with any phone like that then that’s your choice. But to make unfounded claims in an attempt to prove your point is a big mistake. Until you’ve used these phones and really have taken the time to understand what these phones are really all about then how can you have any sort of educated opinion.
The thing I’ve learned is that even though I support open source software I know that it’s unrealistic to think that all software can be open and free. Hell, it’s highly unrealistic to think that you can avoid any proprietary corporate ties in this day in age. Just about everything you use and buy is proprietary in some way or has ties to a corporation. People work to make money. Corporations exist to make money. Regardless of whether you’re developing open source or proprietary software the whole point in doing it is to make money in some shape, fashion, or form. Open source software survives not because of its openness but because developers have found way to profit off it and have learned that good product design is a must if you are to compete with companies that develop proprietary software.
Again, I bought an iPhone because I wanted the best phone I could buy that would suit my needs and integrate into my lifestyle well. The iPhone is the best phone for me. Now, whether it’s the best phone for someone else, well, that’s a matter of personal preference and taste. Apple didn’t put a spell on me. I didn’t buy one just because of all the hoopla surrounding it. No, I bought it because I feel it’s the best smart phone out there. If anyone making open source software for smart phones wants to compete they’re going to have to really create something extraordinary, something so well designed that your average layman simply has to have it. That’s what Apple did with the iPhone. Sure, marketing and advertising helped, but even then the product speaks for itself. Can OpenMako do the same with the FreeRunner?
To say that a FreeRunner is SO much better just because it’s open and supports the philosophy of the FSF, that’s a delusional statement at best. I just don’t get the willingness to sacrifice useability and good design on a somewhat misguided philosophy. The FreeRunner is so poorly designed in both hardware and software I just don’t understand how anyone can look at it and say that it’s an acceptable product. Claiming it to be good enough is accepting mediocrity based on a misguided belief over the use of open source software, which is something I absolutely refuse to do. Now, if it is perfectly acceptable to you then buy one and use it. If not, you will have no choice but to consider a proprietary phone. As it stands though I will likely never ever use anything that resembles the FreeRunner simply because it is mediocre. It it was something that actually came close to the iPhone I could see it, but otherwise I’ll pass.
Keep your piece of shit open phone. I’m perfectly happy with my proprietary phone, thank you very much.
Tags: freerunner, iphone, openmako
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July 24th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
yeah, mp3 and apple-interfaces.
tell the world: how can OpenMoko FreeRunner implement stuff like that (even only mp3), but not be sued to death by the normal companys?
It’s not that opensource-developers want to exclude stuff like that. They are forced.
And “we” can thank you. Thank you, for buying apple-licensed-IP-stuff and supporting apple, so that open stuff will never ever come up to usual devices like the iphone, in terms of features.
thank you.
keep your non-thinking mind. it seems to be rotten, so that no one else can use it.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I think you’re missing the point.
The point isn’t whether OpenMoko can play MP3/ACC files or not, but I can certainly understand why they would leave it out due to licensing restrictions. When you want to license your product under a strict GPL license, you can’t include stuff like that. However, if it’s possible to create software that can at least play one or more of these file types, why wouldn’t you include that ability? But that’s beside the point.
The point is that it doesn’t take a company like Apple to create a good, well designed product. Any company or organization can come along and create a product that is just as good (if not better) than the iPhone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re creating something that will be licensed out the ass or will be completely GPL’ed.
Hell, I help develop an open-source content management system that is based on GPL components. MODx is pretty well designed as it is and it keeps getting better because the folks developing it insist on it. What makes OpenMoko any different?
All I’m saying is that it doesn’t make sense for someone to criticize a very well designed product and then try to claim something that isn’t as well designed as being a good alternative. OpenMoko, regardless of whether it’s GPL or not, is crap. I don’t want crap. Can’t developers have some f#$king standards? That’s all I’m asking for.
August 21st, 2008 at 6:21 am
Jeff,
When people said Open Source CMS were crap, Etomite’s people worked hard to get better and better. Then MODx forked code and went even better. And Etomite is also getting better!
That is the power of Open Source.
Openmoko is a baby. It has a some ugly things (babies are ugly, no matter what his parents say!
, and a lot of promising things.
There are a lot of people working hard for making a good product.
Software is not ready. Is not even on alpha state. But nobody is saying so!:
-Thank you for purchasing this Developer release of Neo FreeRunner. Extract from:
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Getting_Started_with_your_Neo_FreeRunner
Ready for use: Not yet
Extract from iphone & freerunner comparison:
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/IPhone
It’s a matter of time that Openmoko gets decent software, and even overpasses iPhone
After hardware release last july, software are priority for Openmoko’s people. And
Why release a product that way?, you can ask
Because it’s free. Because by releasing hardware, community can get hardware for helping on development.
And last, but not least, what about iPhone flaws?. I’m not trying to compare both product’s hardware, one are better on X, the other on Y. I’m talking about iPhone FREEDOM flaws which DO matters to final user:
- Fixed storage. Why not memory cards?
- unserviceable battery. Pay Apple for changing something my grandma can change.
- useless bluetooth:
– you can’t send files over bluetooth in an $550 mobile. Isn’t that a joke???
– You can’t use iphone as modem for your laptop over bluetooth
– You can’t use a bluetooth keyboard…
- ringtones can only be used when you pay Apple for them. I know it’s possible, but not LEGAL. Another joke? Why can’t you put, YOUR BABY LAUGH or YOUR OWN VOICE on YOUR mobile?
Why should someone pay for a product you are not allowed to use?
You?. OK, if it’s fine for you. But let me enjoy my freedom.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:59 am
Comparing something like Openmoko to Etomite isn’t a good comparison because, unlike Openmoko, Etomite was a highly useable as a content management system before it was forked to MODx and didn’t suffer from the same comparable usability issues that Openmoko suffers from as a smart phone. Was Etomite perfect? No, it wasn’t, but the reason we were drawn to it was because, even with its imperfections, it was still a very well designed and highly usable product.
Openmoko on the other hand looks to have so many usability flaws in both hardware and software that I simply can’t see this phone getting any better without a complete redesign from the ground up. Text entry is atrocious due to the limitations of the hardware and software, it’s too damn thick, and the interface is slow and downright unusable. Baby? More like an aborted fetus if you ask me.
The philosophy you have regarding freedom is all fine and dandy but only if you have a decent product to go to. Even the demos for Google Android phones blow away the Openmoko. Why not mention it? Or does it too impede on your freedom? Again, the freedom you want is great…but I would never sacrifice something like that for usability. I’m talking good product design here. The kind of design that makes the product useable for everyday use. Regardless of philosophy, if a product isn’t well designed and doesn’t serve its purpose well then why use it? I just don’t understand how you or anybody can find a product that is so obviously flawed from the start to be acceptable and useable just because you want to enjoy a misdirected sense of freedom.
Some of the complaints you have over the iPhone are legitimate:
Yes, there is no way to use memory cards. Although it would be nice to have there are still ways to get files onto the phone without the use of memory cards.
Yes, the battery isn’t removeable. That’s one of the primary complaints most people have over the iPhone. Personally, as long as it lasts a full day of use I’m a happy camper. I don’t really care that I can’t remove/replace the battery myself. It’s a relative complaint though. It’ll bother some a lot and not at all for others. For me, it’s a pretty small one.
Yes, Bluetooth has limitations. You can’t send files, you can’t use it as a modem, and you can’t use a Bluetooth keyboard. However, an app was recently released that does allow you to use it as a modem over a wi-fi connection. As far as not being able to send files and use a Bluetooth keyboard, all of that can be fixed with software updates. Again, relative complaints. For me, the functionality provided far outweighs my ability to send files and/or use a Bluetooth keyboard. I don’t really create many files on my phone so I don’t really have a need to send files. However, I do need to send files to the phone for viewing and I have a great app that allows me to do just that.
No, you can use your own ringtones. You can send custom ringtones with a couple of different apps out in the wild. Granted, they’re not free but they do the job. There are free ways to do it though. I personally use Garage Band to send ringtones to iTunes to be synced to my phone. Got about a half dozen of custom ringtones I created myself. Got a great one called YOUR MAMMA’S CALLING BACK.
So, yeah, there are a few legit complaints but not the kind that matter to every user as you proclaim. If they matter to you then, simply put, just don’t buy an iPhone. But a Google Android phone instead. But an Openmoko phone? Come on. I seriously think that developers can do so much better than that in the first go-round.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:11 am
I just want to say that, as Davide suggests, you are missing the point completely. First, as it’s been said over and over, it is a developers release, or for people who want to support the idea of a free (as in freedom) hardware and software platform. Something that the iPhone (Apple) will never provide.
Freedom of doing with your phone whatever the technology allows you to, not whatever the company selling you the phone decides you can do with it.
Again, it’s still a long way to go, and I and many others are willing to support that idea… thanks for doing just that by buying the developers release.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Actually, I’m not missing the point at all. I completely understand the debate in wanting complete freedom to do what you want with the technology you use. However, the design of any product should not be ignored. To say that it’s just a “developer’s release” and that we should expect the product to not be as good as it could be is relative. What may seem “good enough” to you is simply atrocious to me.
For instance, look at Google Android and some of the phones that are starting to trickle out like the T-Mobile G1. Granted, it’s not perfect. It’s definitely not the prettiest phone out there. Is it an iPhone? No, and it’s not meant to be. The hardware and software aren’t as polished as the iPhone. However, judging from the videos I’ve seen, the T-Mobile G1 still looks to be a highly useable phone. Design wise, the G1 isn’t great but it’s good enough as a sort of a template for other phone designers to work off of.
Why couldn’t the OpenMoko developers create a starting phone that is as good as the G1? You say you want freedom but why can’t any developers that adhere to this philosophy design something that measures up to today’s standards? Is it really that hard? Is your point that in order to adhere to the philosophies of the FSF that we have to sacrifice good product design and usability for freedom? What’s wrong with Google Android? How come I don’t hear much from the FSF about Google Android? I’m sorry but I just don’t understand your argument when there is a severe lack of useability and design in the OpenMoko developer’s release. Sorry, calling it a “developer’s release” is no excuse.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:27 am
Dude.. You got the point of freedom.. but you did not get the point of “developer release”. ‘Calling it a “developer’s release” is no excuse’ is a completely moronic sentence. Unlike other products, (many, if not all) Free and Open Source products _are_ released half baked. That is so that more bakers can keep track of the backing process.
You don’t like the keyboard? have some spare time? Write the next gen keyboard! You are _not_ locked out of it. Of course, you can sit with your team in a corner, work on your project till it is pixel perfect, and then release it under GPL .. but that is missing like 80% of the Free and Open Source point! Do you know what kind of changes to the UI response will be brought to the final, pre-release optimization flags of the compiler will bring? Kernel optimizations, etc.?
This is not your lock-in company product, where a “developer preview” release means a release where you can start playing with the APIs .. Here, we can build code.. Heck! If you don’t like the OS, write from scratch! Or install alternative ones.. there are people who are running Android on Freerunner.. http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Android . That is the freedom you get.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:14 am
Design matters!
If it’s a “developer release” then shouldn’t the hardware be as close as possible to what the final product would be? Yes, many open source products are released half baked. I won’t even deny that. I, myself, am part of an open source project and even I know our product was half baked early on. However, the difference is that most of the really good open source projects still develop a highly useable product even if it is half baked. I don’t see that with the OpenMoko project.
Design matters!
The keyboard issue is both a hardware and a software issue. Either the hardware was built around the software or the software was built around the hardware. Either way the keyboard suffers tremendously from it. Good design starts by identifying the problem and planning the solution. This didn’t happen with the “developer release”. Designing the UI for a phone like this is more than just kernel optimizations.
Design matters!
Having a solid API is all well and good…but if no thought went into the integration of the hardware and software with said API then everything else will fail. You can’t just start building an API out of scrap hardware. You have to start with a solid foundation. It’s funny that you mention Android because it’s a good example of an open source project that started with a good foundation. Take a look at the T-Mobile G1 (http://xrl.us/55usa). This is a no-frills, no-thrills phone. The design isn’t all that snazzy and good…but even then it appears to be a highly useable phone. It’s obvious that some forethought and planning went into the development of the hardware to ensure that the integration with the Android software is good.
Design matters!
Remember that phrase. Regardless of the freedom you get with OpenMoko, sacrificing good design is still no excuse. Even an open source project can exercise good design. It’s not hard…it just requires some research, forethought, and planning. Till I see some good design practices come out of the OpenMoko project, nothing that you or anyone can say will make OpenMoko look any better.
Design matters!
Get the point?
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
The iPhone is amazing. The iPhone can do so much today, it is truly a great mark for where the first touch screen phones were and the capabilities that are available with technology today.
To me (since all of this is subjective, it’s simply my view):
Openmoko isn’t just about the ideal of free software. Free software isn’t about the ideal of free software. It’s about realizing the potential of something when a lot of people with multiple types of talents get together to create something that interests them. The genius is not going to be realized in the here and now like we have with the iPhone. The genius is in the future. It may not even become evident in this version of the FreeRunner, but it spurs unknown ideas and potential that would otherwise be left unknown. It’s not about the ideal that free software is better because you can view the source, viewing the source is not the where the freedom becomes obviously better. It is in what we *do* with the source. We have the ability to make changes to our phones that the iPhone will never offer. Is this a shortcoming of the iPhone? It depends on what distance you are looking at it from. I truly think the iPhone is a just short of a Modern Marvel ™ of our generation but that doesn’t automatically mean anything designed to take advantage of a similar design is flawed because it is not the iPhone.
The FreeRunner represents forward thought and progress. It encourages more involvement from your device, erupts the feeling to want more out of what you are given, drives people to to do amazing things, and does so with an open canvas to do whatever you please. Hardware is constantly evolving, the FreeRunner will evolve and a newer, faster, better, sleeker, meaner set of hardware will emerge. But the progress that is made on today’s hardware for tomorrows slicker younger brother will be evident for several generations of FreeRunners. It’s about potential, that is what the FreeRunner represents.
-Chad
January 5th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Chad, you made some good points. And, indeed, you’re right…free software is much more than just the idea of having something that is free. Being part of an open-source project myself, I understand exactly what you’re talking about. However, simply creating an open canvas and allowing people to realize the potential and improve it isn’t enough.
The idea of an open canvas that continues to evolve is great. Hardware is indeed constantly evolving and getting better, which means that the software will continue to do so as well. However, you can realize that potential if what you’re starting out with is already flawed. That’s just bad design. Part of what goes into good design is having some standards. From the very beginning, when you’re laying out the canvas, you need to have some standards. That means standards of quality, industry standards, coding standards, etc.
My problem with Openmoko and the FreeRunner is that it’s a good example of what causes so many open-source projects to fail. So many projects tend to throw solutions at a problem without proper research and planning. That is what I feel has happened with the FreeRunner. How can you solve a problem by creating more problems? That doesn’t make sense. What I see in the FreeRunner is a phone that was thrown out there with very little research, planning, and standards. The result is a pre-painted canvas with random brush strokes. Not a good start.
While I feel what you say has some merit, I do not feel that the FreeRunner represents potential. If the quality of the initial hardware components was better and if was clear that someone really took the time to properly research, plan, and create a baseline phone that works well as a solid solution with some standards then I would say there would be some potential. But as it stands now, the FreeRunner does not represent forward thought and progress. That only comes from outside-the-box thinking, which only happens when you take the time to address the problem and properly research and plan the solution.
For me, the three top smart phones on the market are the iPhone, the Blackberry, and Google Android powered phones. All of these are successful because someone took the time to think outside the box and create something unique. Although the Blackberry and Google Android phones are great, I prefer the iPhone. It’s just a phone that speaks to me and does what I want it to do. For those who prefer a phone based on open-source code, you really can’t get any better than a Google Android phone right now. Much like Openmoko, Android was designed to be a baseline platform for phone makers to work off of.
For Openmoko to compete, they really need to step-up their game and realize that design and standards matter. Without them you’re project is flawed from the very beginning. You can’t solve a problem by creating something that requires fixing right out of the gate. Openmoko would be a much more worthy solution if it was a baseline solution that worked well from the very beginning.
January 5th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
One more thought I’ll add…
There’s an acronym that comes to mind that might best describe what not to do on a project: GIGO, which stands for “Garbage In, Garbage Out”. Good design and standards of quality start from day one. You can’t start with garbage and expect everything to just work out just because you think you see “potential”. Rather, the potential can only be seen when a project fully realized from the very beginning.
June 30th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Listen, I was suckered into buying one of those thingies.
But, first, I had quite some experience with stamping linux over windoze mobile solutions. So, I supposed I should expect probles with setting networking up, maybe setting audio (on the other hand i thought this is a mobile phone, this should have been the first thing done properly. Right? Wrong!). But never have I imagined you get so much of awfully designed hardware all at once! Dude, thickness doesn’t bother me a bit, I even liked the weirdness of the outer design. However: there first massively sold baches had hardware problems which prevented a) normal audio communication (so called buzz problem – very poor call quality), b) GPS conflicted with usage of sim card, c) inappropriate design rendered audio playing quality horrible.
Can you imagine!?
You just couldn’t read this directly from the sources about Neo. Most of the reviews were actually positive, just quoting the software problems. Only when you delve deep enough in the wikis, you find hardware bug descriptions.
It is dishonest not to mention that even hardware-vise it is a developers edition! That you need to be an electronics expert to fix their shitty design (btw, the problems usually come down to conflicting pieces of electronics. If that doesn’t smell of amateurism….)
I’ll finish by telling that the last batches have buzz and, i think GPS, fixed. Luclkily, some Golden delicious offers cheap buzz fix so it can still be of some use.