OStatic

As news of Openmoko's harsh but realistic look at the road ahead ripples through the open source and mobile technology sectors, there will be, beyond a doubt, much speculation on how the project's challenges could have been minimized and its successes built upon. Perhaps Openmoko's attempt to bring a completely open mobile phone to the world was Quixotic. Perhaps it was a good idea that simply launched at a bad time. Perhaps it was (and still is) a very workable idea -- or maybe it will always have an extremely niche appeal. Openmoko's pulling away from FreeRunner phones (and looking toward its Plan B ) might well work out just as Michael Lauer writes on his blog -- not at all as a death sentence, nor as any sort of indication that free platforms don't work (or aren't desired) on mobile phones.

Sometimes, I'll come across a story that seems minor, and once I start really thinking about it, dozens of shiny shards of complexity make their presence known. Today's announcement coming from Intel and the Linux Foundation isn't one of those stories. It's a major announcement -- Intel is handing its Moblin Project over to the Linux Foundation for hosting, development, and support. It's a big deal at face value -- and once fully considered, it just keeps growing.

Moblin is one of the most advanced -- and open -- mobile platforms. It's rooted firmly in Linux, and can be configured to run in many iterations on a wide variety of mobile devices, ranging from netbooks to in-car information and entertainment systems. So why is Intel turning over the reins to the Linux Foundation? As the Linux Foundation's Executive Director, Jim Zemlin, tells the New York Times, Moblin is working out to be a strategic platform as much as it is a mobile one.

Those of us with mixed systems and quirky smartphones here at OStatic (which works out to just about everyone) have been impressed by Funambol's open source push and sync services. Admittedly, though, with the pervasiveness of smartphones and sync tools, Funambol's various applications, open as they are, still feel pedestrian.

Today, Funambol announced its new mobile product, designed to push you, your phone, and the information loaded on you both anywhere (well, almost anywhere -- your mileage may vary in water, swamp land, and quicksand). The iCar has been called a major transportation breakthrough by Funambol CEO Fabrizio Capobianco, but don't just take his word for it.