OpenMoko Phones Available

The OpenMoko 'phones are finally available. There are so many things that you could do with an open source 'phone that the biggest problem is working out where to start, but I think I'm going to spend some time looking at the messaging interface. Although people talk about 'smartphones' and 'convergence' a lot they're just mini PCs running lots of disparate applications, and it shows most in the interface.

Why do voicemails and emails show up in different areas of the 'phone? Why do sending an SMS and sending an IM use different interfaces? Why can't there be a way of knowing if people are on-line or off-line, and route messages appropraitely? It's an ugly mess at the moment, even in the best operating systems. Some sort of unification is required.

Anyway, a 'phone has been ordered so when it shows up I'll see what the thing is really like and if there is scope for this to start to become a real personal communicator rather than just another 'phone.