Possibilities for commercial software?

[Richard Boehme]

One point:

> > > If you feel allowing proprietary, closed software in hurts the 'free
> > > your phone' spirit, and the market place is closed to them, it only
> > > hurts the amount of applications available for the phone.
> >
> > The amount of applications available for the phone is not the goal;
> > the goal is to have a 100% free software phone.
> >
>
> No, the goal is to have a usable phone. A phone that works, with
> software that people want and need.

This is absolutely key. When people buy a phone, they typically have a
laundry list of needed features. I break my choices down thusly:

1) Can the phone do what I need? If not, I can't get it -- it's not
usable for me.
2) If it can, is the feature free? If it's too expensive, I can't get
it, and it's again not usable for me. However, if I can justify paying
for it, I can get it.

If there happens to be a free package for the phone, we satisfy both
those points without hesitation, and we're happy.

If there's a non-free package for the phone, it still passes point 1.
Getting the phone (and thus sustaining OpenMoko as a viable phone and
model) still is feasible.

Because I'm a developer, I can do an end-run around the issue of if a
package exists by writing my own. If I'm a user or simply don't have
the time or resources to commit, I can't get the phone.

Thanks.

Richard