Openmoko: An early effort to free the phone.

Before Bitmark, I led one of the earliest teams trying to build an open source phone: Openmoko. At the time, the mobile ecosystem looked nothing like the open internet. Handset makers shipped closed software that could barely be updated, and carriers had enormous control over what could run on their networks. That environment smothered experimentation and kept users far from the center. Openmoko’s mission was simple: free your phone. We used open source software and a passionate global community to push against those gatekeepers and imagine a different kind of mobile future.

First time we got Linux to boot!
We left many GPIOs for hacking.
Trace graffiti from the hardware engineers.
This phone was used by the character Milgrim in William Gibson's novel Zero History!
Screen (drop) testing.
Early prototype of 3G Openmoko.
Inspiration.
We came up with an asymmetrical design.
With a clear back housing to show all the RF activity.
First full rendering of 3G Openmoko.
This was the package/app manager. (All pre-App Store.)
This was the only working prototype.
We also worked on a watch-pocket sized variant.
Ditch your big phone and go minimal.

Openmoko was not financially successful, but it helped show that phones could become open, programmable computing platforms rather than tightly controlled appliances. We did not get there ourselves, but we helped make the direction easier to see.

When I look back on it now, I mostly feel the force of the attempt — how much was possible, how much was blocked, and how much was still ahead of its time. It was a great ride.