Openmoko FreeRunner ready for July 4 fireworks

Mobile Linux and open device builder Openmoko has confirmed that it will start selling the Neo FreeRunner touchscreen device on July 4, Independence Day for our US cousins.

On Wednesday, the device manufacturer said it will open on online store on July 4, and will start shipping the device to customers from July 7.

The consumer gadget has a suggested retail price of $399 and is available in two flavours, 850MHz tri-band and 900Mhz tri-band GSM.

Based on the Neo 1973, which proved so popular with the open source development community it sold out, the Freerunner rolls all the latest features into a consumer friendly package, boasting a Linux operating system and touch screen.

Openmoko said the hardware is black, oval-shaped and weighs in at 6.5 ounces, featuring a 2.8″ 480 x 640 VGA touchscreen, wifi (802.1 1b/g), AGPS, Bluetooth 2.0, two 3-axis motion sensors and comes with 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND Flash. Unfortunately, it only packs GPRS connectivity.

Last week, the company revealed has begun shipping the Freerunner to five distributors, Pulster, Golden Delicious Computers and TRIsoft located in Germany, Bearstech in France and IDA Systems based in India.

Openmoko, a subsidiary of Taiwanese manufacturer First International Computer, is aiming to create an entire ecosystem for the device, given that it’s an open platform, the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community and developers can create unique versions of the FreeRunner, modifying the way the phone operates and even the way it looks. CAD files publicly available under a Creative Commons license were recently released to make it easy for industrial designers to change the appearance of the unit and select alternate materials and finishes to tailor the phone’s look and feel.