OpenMoko Cancels FreeRunner, the Original Open Source Linux Phone

OpenMoko’s FreeRunner, the original open source (hardware and software) Linux phone, made us oh so excited back in the day, before Android and the iPhone. And now it’s dead.

OpenMoko is cancelling the FreeRunner and leaving the phone business entirely for a different kind of gadget—dubbed “Plan B” if that tells you anything—hoping to eventually return to phones one day. They only sold around 10,000 FreeRunners. To survive, they’re cutting their staff by 50 percent. Sad to see a pioneer of something ahead of its time wither and die like this. [PhoneScoop]