It’s safe to say that up until now, Openmoko handsets have hardly received the global welcome that the company envisioned when it first began its quest to open the world of mobile phones. The odds are pretty good that you’ve read plenty about Openmoko’s Linux-based handsets; you probably even tipped your hat at the concept of a truly open handset (we know Google liked the idea). The odds are even better however, that you didn’t buy one. In fact outside of an expo you’ve probably never even seen one in person. All that might just change soon, or so Openmoko hopes, as it has just signed a deal with Canada-based Koolu which will take on the task of worldwide Neo FreeRunner distribution.

Koolu, known for its innovations in easy-to-use services such as Google Apps and Skype, will distribute the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner phone first to developers, and later to consumers as Google Apps go mobile. Koolu has created a program unique in the industry by offering free Neo FreeRunner phones in a referral program for Google Apps world-wide.

Kuloo’s long terms plans for Openmoko handsets are pretty intense in fact. As part of an ecofriendly push, Kuloo plans to integrate a laser-projected virtual keyboard and an LED projector into future handsets in order to create a portable computer that drastically reduces E waste and carbon footpront. Check out a mockup of its vision after the jump.

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Oh sorry, we thought it was ok for anyone to make that false statement as long as there was an asterisk at the end. Hey, at least you won’t be paying added charges totaling more than the initial purchase price of the N810 over the course of a two-year contract! CompUSA (you remember them, right?) just dropped the price of Nokia’s latest Internet Tablet to a very reasonable $299. Wow! 4.2″ touchscreen display, nice big slide-out qwerty keyboard, open Linux OS, the ability to fire up Android on it; there’s plenty to love about the N810. Considering Nokia’s Internet tablet is still up at $430 on Nokia’s site and as high as $480 on Best Buy, this is definitely a pretty solid price point. Shipping starts around $8 and the tablet is listed as being in stock and ready to go. If you’ve been procrastinating, now is a good time to stop.

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Considering all that Mozilla has done for us - displaced Internet Explorer by giving us what is arguably the best and most versatile web browsing experience, for free - the least we can do is help them out when they ask us for help. What is it they want us to do? Download the latest version of the Firefox browser. Yup, that’s it! Mozilla is trying to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloads in a 24-hour period. The official release of Firefox 3 will become available for public download at 10:00 am PST / 1:00pm EST and judging by the tremendous loyalty that Firefox users typically display and the crazy amount of buzz, the record should be theirs. We’ve been using version 3 for a while now and we have to say, it’s good stuff. Mozilla claims that Firefox 3 brings with it over 15,000 improvements; no small upgrade! Most notably in our eyes, the latest release candidate is worlds faster than Firefox 2 and gobbles much less resources. It will take about a week for the Guinness World Record judges to review Mozilla’s download logs so we should find out whether or not Mozilla successfully broke the record around this time next week. As of the time this post was written, just under 1,690,000 have pledged that they will download Firefox 3 today.

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We can’t remember the last time a company had to spend so much time proving that it was real. We recently posted about a telephone interview with Psystar president Rudy Pedraza, a man becoming webfamous for all the wrong reasons. In the interview, Pedraza insisted that Psystar was the real McCoy despite a flurry of internet chatter and a host of evidence to the contrary. The Psystar site stated clearly that boxes were shipping as of over a week ago so in theory, people should be coming forward with some support for the witch-hunted open computer manufacturer any day now. At this point however, we’ve yet to come across a single testimonial from any customers. In the meantime, the video above was posted by Psystar this past week and it depicts each of its three Open Computer models. They certainly look real, but we want to see them in the wild.

[Via MacRumors]

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Holding your breath for news about the American launch of the new and improved 9" Asus Eee PC? Get ready to exhale. Sources inside the company have revealed that the diminutive little monster will be hitting American store shelves on the 12th of May. The price will be a not-insignificant $549, which is a little bit more than the rumored $500 price point, but still not enough to scare away many potential buyers. That money will be put to good use, however, with the Windows XP version getting a 12 GB solid state drive, and the Linux-based version shipping with a whopping 20 GB SSD. It’s still a significant premium over the current generation’s $399 price tag, but still not too shabby, especially considering the 1GB of OEM memory and more spacious 9 inches of screen real-estate.

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It seems like a new VoIP service pops up every few minutes in this day and age. In some ways that is a good thing as it drives advancement. In other ways, it’s just annoying. Why? Member to member calls are always free but when there are thousands of services to choose from, it’s unlikely that all or even most of your contacts are on the same page when it comes to picking and sticking with a VoIP provider. With each service comes different software to download, protocol variations and different accounts to drop money into. That’s what makes C2Call interesting. C2Call is the first service of its kind in that it is 100% browser based. No software to download, no system / OS compatibility issues and no bloatware. If you have a browser that supports JavaScript such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari then you’re good to go; Windows, Mac OS and Linux are all covered. The service is currently in public beta but our tests have gone very well. Registration is free and operation is fast and simple. C2Call uses a Java widget that loads right on the homepage once you log in, and it displays your contact list. To make a call, just click on the appropriate phone icon next to each contact. One of the greatest features of the service is that you can use it with people who aren’t even registered. Simply send a call invitation from within the C2Call widget and the recipient will get a link in the invitation email and he / she can begin talking to you immediately, no registration required. Future plans include calls to landlines etc, but as-is there are infinite applications where the simplicity and functionality of C2Call will prove advantageous. Check it.

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This could be nothing more than a simple error on Best Buy’s website, but if the specs for the new Windows-XP-equipped Eee PC are indeed correct, it looks like Asus might have some explaining to do. According to BestBuy.com, the newest flavor of Eee PC doesn’t include the original model’s SD memory card reader. Considering the measly 4GB’s of onboard storage, the SD slot allowed for storage upgrades that many Eee-users deemed crucial. Asus also appears to have reduced the warranty from 2 years to 1 year, again without explanation. Sounds a little suspicious to us, but until we get our hands on a production model, we’ll be left searching for answers. Sometimes life can be so cruel.

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Remember a few weeks ago when we told you that Nokia’s updated N810 Internet Tablet would be introduced on April 1? Well it looks like the Nokia Tableteer site got a little trigger happy because the WiMAX-equipped version of Nokia’s latest tablet appeared on the site a few days early. The new N810 is all but confirmed now, unless of course the Tableteer site is prepping us for a relatively lame April Fool’s gag. The affirmation comes thanks to a nice find courtesy of Internet Tablet School owner Krisse who discovered an updated Internet Tablet page on Nokia’s European site. Links to the N810 page aren’t yet live but they will be.  Come day one of CTIA expect those links to bring you to a nice new N810 page. We can’t wait to check out the new IT at the show but there is of course one problem. WiMAX is an exciting network on paper, but it remains to be seen how successful it will be in the US at Sprint’s hand.

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You didn’t expect this one, did you? The Motorola MING A1800 is an update to their Linux-based MING line, but this time, there are some twists and turns. For starters, the MING A1800 is a CDMA and quad-band GSM device. There are also two, yes two, SIM card slots. The whole package has been reduced to a really nice pocketable size — the phone feels sturdy as a rock — and is actually pretty light. There’s a 3 megapixel auto-focus shooter on the backside, and besides the normal inclusion of Bluetooth and a couple other features, we don’t really have all that much more info! We haven’t got pricing or availability on this piece at this time, but we’re also not betting on it being launched at CTIA in the upcoming week. Then again, at this point, Motorola couldn’t do anything to surprise us. You know what to do by now, everyone. Hit that gallery!

Click on over to our Motorola MING A1800 gallery!

The Eee line keeps getting more interesting. Asus has just confirmed that they will be launching a touchscreen-enabled Eee PC by May or June of this year. The new model will also sport GPS. Pricing on the touchscreen Eee is expected to come in at around $500, which isn’t bad at all. No word on any other specs, including screen size, processor, and other features, but it will most likely fall in line with the current generation Eee specs. Asus also plans to launch the $199 E-DT PC at the same time, which is essentially a desktop variant of the Eee laptop, sporting 1GB RAM, and 4-12 GB of SSD space.

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If you were asked on the spot to describe and sketch the perfect mobile device that accommodates all of your needs, wants and beyond, it would probably look absolutely nothing like MIU’s new HDPC. In terms of functionality however, MIU probably came pretty close to hitting the nail on the head. Its latest offering, dubbed HDPC (Hybrid Dual Portable Computer) is giant and ugly as sin but regardless of which handset you currently carry, the HDPC makes it looks like a barbie doll. Combining the functionality of a PC, PMP, mobile phone, GPS navigation device, electronic dictionary, eBook reader, IPTV, portable gaming device, digital camera and more, it would probably be much quicker for us to tell you what this beast doesn’t do. Instead, we’ll just try to cover some highlights:

• Dual-OS: Windows XP and Windows CE 5.0 core or Linux Qplus
• QWERTY keypad and joystick-mouse
• 4-inch 800 x 480 resolution Samsung touchscreen display
• 1.3-inch 30 GB or 60GB hard drive, or 4 GB SSD hard drive
• Up to a 1GHz VIA C7M ULV processor and up to 4 GB DDR2 RAM
• Cellular (presumably CDMA) / 802.11b/g / bluetooth 2.0
• 3 or 5 megapixel camera with flash, secondary camera for video conferencing
• 7 hours of battery life at high power (XP-booted?) and 90 hours at low power
• 2 USB ports, A/V in & out, E-ant Port, mini SD slot, micro SD slot

Sure the HDPC needs its own zip code, but look at those specs! The device is expected to drop around July in the Korean market only, and will fetch around $500 for the base model. No word on the fully-loaded price or whether or not the HDPC will ever make it out of Korea, but stuff a quad-band GSM antenna in there with tri-band UMTS and we’re on the next flight to Incheon.

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The Asus Eee has been a darling of the tech world for the past several months, impressing onlookers with a relatively powerful feature-packed machine built into a tiny, cost effective package. Not content to rest on their current wave of success, Asus has decided to push an updated machine out the door with record speed. The new Asus Eee PC 900 sports a 9" screen and comes equipped with either 12 GB of onboard storage and Windows XP, or 12-20 GB of storage and a pre-installed Linux build. The new machines will start at $499, and should be available to the general public beginning late next month. Anyone excited enough to take the plunge?

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In a very interesting move by the Finnish rubber boot-maker turned mobile giant, Nokia has officially announced the acquisition of mobile-OS developer Trolltech ASA. Nokia and Trolltech have entered into an agreement that has been voted on and accepted by the majority of Trolltech shareholders and as such, the deal is done. Strange perhaps that the company currently responsible for the most popular smartphone OS in the world would acquire a mobile Linux developer. Nokia’s claim via press release is that the acquisition will "enable Nokia to accelerate its cross-platform software strategy for mobile devices and desktop applications, and develop its Internet services business." Becoming an internet company has been a strategy that Nokia has not been shy about in recent history and the Trolltech deal is apparently viewed as a major step in that direction. Trolltech’s technology will help Nokia build applications that work across mobile and PC platforms as well as on the internet. Existing cross-platform layers Web runtime, Flash, Java and Open C are cited as inspiration for their intentions. Despite the fact that Executive VP, Devices Kai Öistämö dropped the W-bomb ("Web 2.0") in his quote, the goal of furthering innovation and enhancing value-added development through this merger is certainly noble. Despite the management change, Nokia will continue to support and develop Trolltech’s product line including QTopia and Qt-based technology. As an aside, pretty much each and every one of our inside sources at Nokia gave the announcement a resounding "WTF?!?", especially those in various software development departments. As another aside, we’ve read a few posts purporting that this move means that Nokia may be planning to ditch Symbian in favor of a Linux brand of OS based on Trolltech’s QTopia (hence the mocking image above). Ummm, no.

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The big news at the Motorola booth, in addition to the Motorola Z10 of course, is the Motorola E8. We gave a bit of an "advanced preview" late last year, but today we got a chance to get the official run-down from the friendly folks at Motorola. The biggest attraction of the E8 is the contextual keypad. Depending on what application you’re working with, the keys display different information. If you’re in the media player, you get play / pause / etc., whereas switching over to the phone app makes those same keys display a numeric keypad. It’s clever little bit of trickery that, if not groundbreaking, certainly kept us entertained. The haptics rumble provided ample tactile feedback, and the device feels as good in hand now as it did back when we first played with it. We’re going to see a limited international launch sometime during the first quarter of this year, with worldwide availability (including the US!) to follow by year’s end. We’re diggin’ it, no joke, though the crippled EDGE radio might be cause for a bit of concern in this 3G age we live in. We see plans for future upgrades, right Moto? Check out our Motorola E8 pics in the gallery!

Click on over to our Motorola E8 hands on gallery!

This thing has to have one of the most nebulous product names we’ve ever seen. The "Wizpy Linux Device" sounds like it could be just about anything…phone, cheeseburger, laptop, whatever…thankfully for us, it happens to be a brand new Linux-based smartphone. The handset is quite well endowed, sporting a 1.71 inch external OLED screen, FM radio, image viewer, DivX player, mobile Office suite, Web 2.0-ready browser, and VoIP capabilities that hit at internal Wi-Fi. It also comes standard with 4GB of on board flash memory. Not too shabby. There’s no word on which flavor of Linux this thing is running on, but it certainly looks like a pretty capable bit of engineering…now if only we could get our hands on some live shots to verify that it actually exists.

UPDATE: This does not, as we originally thought, function as a mobile phone. It’s portable Linux media device that very closely resembles a handset.

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What’s that you hear? The sound of another exclusive, here at BGR? Mm hmm. The Motorola ROKR E8 has often been referred to as the "morphing phone," and why shouldn’t it? The keyboard actually changes based on what function of the phone you wish to use. When you’re making a call at the home screen, you’d obviously want the full keyboard there. When you’re about to snap a flick, you get zoom in and out keys, a playback key for viewing recently taken photos, and a video camera key for switching to video mode. In music mode, the keyboard displays next and previous keys, a play / pause key, a shuffle playback key, and a repeat key. The actual device is pretty sharp, too. The entire front is like one smooth surface with a huge touch-sensitive "ROKR" (scroll) wheel in the middle. What’s incredible, is that there is absolutely no tactile feedback on any of the keys when the phone is off. It’s just a flat surface with little dots to help guide your fingers. But when it’s on, haptics lends support when you’re pressing a button, but it actually makes the keys press. Hard to explain, but there is definitely tactile feedback on a key press and not just the normal haptics vibrate. As far as we can tell, the Motorola E8 features a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth (with various profiles including A2DP), and is a quad-band GSM/EDGE device. You’ll also notice a 3.5mm headset jack at the top of the phone, which is a little awkwardly placed if you ask us. The Motorola E8 runs a newer version of the MOTOMAGX platform, so Motorola RAZR 2 V8 users will have no problem getting used to the new handset. We’re trying to track down a release date now, and we have no word on what carriers here in the U.S. will be jumping aboard to carry it at this point. All in all, it’s not going to take over the world, but with its thin and sleek profile complete with a unique keyboard and excellent call quality, we could see ourselves using this every day.

Click on over to our Motorola ROKR E8: hands on gallery!

If you really didn’t see this coming, then, well, we can’t help ya’! T-Mobile has gone ahead and made the Motorola RAZR 2 V8 officially available as of today. We got a chance to check out the OEM version a couple months back, and it looks like T-Mobile didn’t overly pimp the customizations which is always a great thing. Specs you’ll by now, like the GSM/EDGE quad-band radio, 2 megapixel camera, dual high-res screens both internal and external, 2GB of internal memory (non-expandable) and the MOTOMAGX platform we love. T-Mobile has added a couple of included songs for free, in addition to a 30-day free Napster trial and myFaves support. You can pick these up for $249.99 with a two-year agreement starting today.

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Yeah, yeah, you should know by know…we don’t plays arounds! Our last bit of T-Mobile info informed us we’d be seeing the Motorola RAZR 2 V8 peek out on October 15th, and we’ve received additional confirmation this still holds true. The quick difference between the other carrier versions and T-Mobile’s, is that  their V8 is the smallest of the bunch, but is also the only one to not sport a memory expansion card. To make up for this, it rocks 2GB of internal memory (thankfully T-Mobz went for that one instead of the 512MB version). Another quick difference is that it runs Motorola’s Linux-based OS — a big draw for some people. They’re actively pushing their cellphone crack to potential buyers aged 18-30, and mention their customers "will love having an innovative device that builds on the original RAZR’s iconic design because they see their phone as a status symbol." A little shallow and direct? Sure. But we still say you can’t go wrong with a Moto V8! Head on over to Engadget Mobile for the full run down!

Thanks, T-MobileStar!

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Please, T-Mobz, step your game up a bit! Never embarrassed to take last dibs at the dinner table, T-Mobile is set to launch the Motorola RAZR V8 next month in October. We don’t have an exact release date but it is likely would be during the first 2 weeks. The great part about T-Mobile’s version of the RAZR 2 is that they scooped up the V8 model. We love that one the best. It’s thinner, and above all runs the MOTOMAXG platform (R.I.P. JUIX, we still love you!). Data tops out at EDGE featuring quad-band GSM connectivity, but then again, who are we kidding? Holding out for 3G phones on T-Mobile is the equivalent of Nokia releasing a phone with USA 3G compatibility, er, never mind.

Thanks, T-MobileStar!

UPDATE: Looks like the RAZR 2 will be launching on T-Mobile on October, 15th with the Sidekick LX release around there as well…

What’s a good Labor Day without some juicy rumors, right? The Boston Globe, generally accepted as a reliable source of information and news, has run a story about the mysterious handset. The article’s author was fortunate enough to converse with several lucky souls who have come into contact with the handset one way or another. These individuals were not, however, able to reveal any specifics due to one of those pesky NDAs. At the same time, some Google phone fun facts, apparently revealed by a number of "reliable" sources with intimate first hand knowledge of the handset have come to light. Check out the 5 morsels below, courtesy of GigaOm:

1. Google Phone is based on a mobile variant of Linux, and is able to run Java Virtual Machines.
2. All applications that are supposed to run on the Google Phone are Java apps. The OS has ability to run multimedia files, including video clips.
3. The user interface is similar to a UI typical of mobile phones, and the image (with red background) floating around isn’t representative of the Google Phone UI. The entire UI is said to be done in Java and is very responsive. The UI, of course has a “search box.”
4. There is a special browser which has pan-and-browse features that are common to modern browsers such as browsers for iPhone and Symbian phones. The entire browser is apparently written in Java.
5. Initially there was one prototype, but over past few months Google has the mobile OS running on 3-to-5 devices, most of them likely made by HTC, a mobile phone maker, and all have QWERTY keyboards. The model that folks have seen is very similar to the T-Mobile Dash. Around 3GSM, there were rumors that Google, Orange and HTC were working together on mobile devices.

There ya’ have it. Linux, Java apps, familiar UI, crazy browser, and a HTC-sourced device. Good enough?

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AT&T, where’s the announcement?  Oh well, we’ll rock with it anyway. Now that Sprint, and Verizon have both launched their versions of the phone, it only seems fit that AT&T has came into game. The major difference here is the OS that runs on the RAZR 2 V9 version. It’s the Motorola Synergy OS which is actually pretty old, except for a few minor refinements. The phone does have a 3G radio built right in and performs wonderfully. We also found the voice quality to be better than a RAZR 2 V8. that we also tested on AT&T’s network. We’re having a little issue with the color of AT&T’s version though, and our dream was crushed when we found out the the V9 would not be using the JUIX  MOTOMAXG OS. After all, at this time, MOTOMAXG can’t support 3G, so it does make sense. It’s thin, sleek, eye-catching, and extremely solidly built. What can we say…Welcome back Moto!

Click on over to our Motorola RAZR 2 V9 Unboxing gallery!

We’ve known about this for quite some time, but now we feel like we can share what we know with you guys. A new Motorola handset is currently in the works, and looks to be a tech lover’s dream. We’re talking about a 640×480 VGA screen, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, a 5 megapixel camera lens courtesy of Kodak with a xenon flash, FM radio, 3.5mm headset jack, a Linux-based OS, support for just about every audio and video codec under the sun, and quite possibly a touch screen, too. Wowee! It’s said to be a slider phone and is currently making the rounds into final production. Release date at this point is unknown, but it does sound sort of like a couple other handsets, for the most part, no?

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Yeah, we definitely brought you the Hands On! scoopage before but, it’s always nice to unbox a retail model. Build quality has improved tremendously, and the coloring of the back portion of the phone is a little darker and in our opinion looks a little sharper. The JUIX OS is speedy like always (we love the system sounds and clicks) and EDGE browsing full HTML sites provides just enough satisfaction. Well, at least compared to other Motos. We wouldn’t dare compare it to the you-know-what, though. Finally, the packaging — it is so over the top that we couldn’t not comment on it. Remember the Motorola V3i boxes where you slide out one side and the other side slides out too? This has sort of the same effect once you open the main box you’ll find a smaller box inside. That smaller box slides open and "flips up" so to speak, the Motorola RAZR 2 phone. Kinda’ nifty. Check out the pics in our gallery!

Thanks, CTI NYC!

Click on over to our Motorola RAZR 2 V8 Unboxing gallery!

Tsk tsk, Motorola…You really should get a handle on your leaks. Here we’ve got the Motorola "Marco" which is in Z-slider form. The difference with unit is that it incorporates charging contacts on the back of the device, a nice addition, and above all — WiFi! Yes sir, WiFi is in full effect. This is Motorola’s first real phone (not counting smartphones, or the ill-fated Motorola CN920 which was an outsourced project that never materialized) with WiFi and it runs atop a JUIX operating system with a couple nice visual enhancements. The actual phone functioned fine, but we weren’t able to test the WiFi on T-Mobile’s network, yet it connected fine to our Linksys WRT350N router. You’ll the inside specs lookin’ pretty much like its Z3 sibling with quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity, a 2 megapixel camera, and the same form factor but, this unit seems a little thicker — just a bit! Release has not been speculated on, but we’re hearing the RAZR 2 is going to be Motorola’s big push this year, and not to expect too much in a major commercial release of a new product until at least January of ‘08. Whatevs, that won’t stop us though! We the best!

Click on over to our full Motorola Marco gallery!

We wanted to dig a little deeper into the Motorola SCPL pictures we unleashed a couple weeks back. It seems as if the official internal codename is "Saipan". You are now free to try and think of why they named it that. Specs have not changed. For your viewing pleasure we’ve got some newer photos of the Motorola device — even comparison pics!

Click on over to our second Motorola SCPL gallery!

It seems as only yesterday when we heard rumblings about the Motorola SCPL. Remember that first sketch? Well, finally we might have some closure with these exclusive pics and info! The SCPL (if this is indeed that model), has a 2 megapixel camera, supports video recording at a 320×240 resolution and it’s thinner than the RAZR 2. Want some more specs? No problem! Look for an extremely high resolution 240×320 display, quite possibly 16M colors, and quad-band GSM/EDGE compatibility. The SCLP runs the JUIX operating system, uses a microUSB port, has a KRZR type look to it, and is a lot slimmer than the Motorola L7. There also is not a visible memory card slot, but in the housing there was a spot below the battery where a memory card slot might be incorporated later. Since this is the first public showing of this phone, we’re guessing that it will be a little while before the announcement release! Also expect a ton of more shots from the Motorola SCPL in the next couple days! Jump on over to our gallery to check out all the shots!

Thanks, Aksd!

Well look what we finally got our hands on! The Motorola RAZR 2 in all it’s shiny, JUIX glory. The particular model we are covering is the V8 which features quad band GSM/EDGE and is a little thinner than it’s V9/V9M brethren. In addition to the countless upgrades over the original RAZR, (did you even have to ask?) the updated model truly looks like something you want to rock with! The whole "oh look its a touch screen on the outside flip" thing is a little incorrect because only the lower portion is usable. Also the touch haptic "feedback" is merely the phone, how can I say this…vibrating when you touch it? Insert endless jokes here. The now standard 2 megapixel shooter does the job, and the speakers sound really clear even displaying some pretty good low end reproduction. I might be wrong about this, but it looks like the web browser is a custom version of Opera, and it does a great job at displaying web pages. Do you have the hunger for more? No problemo, just follow the magic rabbit below to the official gallery!

Jump on over to the Motorola RAZR 2 hands on gallery!