GTA02 Release Date

[Kevin Dean]

On Sun, Apr 6, 2008 at 8:41 PM, Sean Anderson
<keep.brain.from.freezing at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think many people are anxious to know when the Neo FreeRunner will
>  actually be released. I know of many people that are quite eager to buy
>  one; if it won't be ready till December, say so. Stop keeping hundreds
>  of people waiting with bated breath for a device that seems to be be
>  unlikely to ever see the light of day in any stable form. Be open, give
>  the community more detailed information; when is it likely to be
>  released, why and why not?

Sometimes the hardest thing to answer is "I don't know". My personal
opinion here is that "I don't know" is probably the best answer there
is. As a user, I want to know EXACTLY when I can expect my next dose
of sexiness in hardware form. As someone who supports and understands
business, saying "Freerunner will be here in September" is suicide IF
there are issues discovered in August. Openmoko can't give you a
release date because giving a release date depends on the schedule
being followed. Hardware defects, supplier issues, vendor commitments
being met, et cetera.

I'd settle at this point, and really kind of want a "Assuming nothing
delays us..." answer... But even then the pragmatist in me cringes at
that. No matter how many disclaimers are attached to it, ANY statement
by Openmoko will be Gospel Truth to SOME people and those people's
disappointment may be very REAL losses of sales. The last official
answer that was given is "April... Maybe." It's still April, so
there's time to correct that.


>
>  The OpenMoko project, as it appears to others, is a failure of the open
>  source model rather than the visible example of the success of open
>  development that it rightly should be.

Openmoko has given continuous updates as the information is available
to them. That information changes daily, just live source code, as
various issues are discovered. You speak as if you've been deprived of
some natural right... Openmoko has promised that they'll try to be as
open as possible and get you a consumer ready device as soon as they
can. Until then, you've got a developer ready device, and that was
made VERY clear when you clicked "Buy" and input your payment
information.


>
>  I've been expecting the opportunity to buy a Neo for over six months
>  now, and it seems to be that the only way in which to obtain a small
>  form-factor smartphone is to pop into the cathedral and buy an iPhone.

I bought my Neo in January. The opportunity ot buy a Neo existed less
than two months ago. For some reason you didn't because (I'm
presuming) it didn't meet your needs at the time. It really looks to
me that this is an issue of misplaces expectations than anything else.
Developers have been clamoring for a developer preview of Freerunner,
which has been pushed back and back. Openmoko has NEVER promised a
release date for a CONSUMER READY Freerunner, ONLY the developer
previews.

>
>  Sean.
>
>  So why is it called the Neo 1973? I get the "neo" part, that means new,
>  but what's significant of 1973?

1973 was the year the mobile phone was invented.

>  > That was the original release date!
>
>
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