OpenMoko, current king of “open” in the mobile world, has just announced that the schematics for its 1973 and shiny new Neo FreeRunner handsets will soon be published and available for the world to customize. That’s right, OpenMoko takes the concept of open source mobiles to an entirely new level by allowing customization beyond third-party software development. The very architecture of the company’s handsets is fair game as developers are invited to engineer integrated instruments or sensors. It will be interesting to see how the global community embraces the concept of open source mobile hardware and even more interesting to see what they come up with. We already told you about Koolu’s plans to integrate features such as a laser-projected virtual keyboard and an LED projector into the Neo FreeRunner and we can’t wait to see this vision realized. Just remember fellas, you have to keep the handset affordable. In terms of framework, the Neo FreeRunner is quite a launching point for development. The Linux-based handset features a 2.8-inch touchscreen, 128MB of RAM, 256MB of internal memory along with a microSDHC slot, integrated GPS, 802.11g WiFi, bluetooth 2.0 and two motion sensors. Developers, the gauntlet has been thrown.
