Openmoko Linux


Openmoko Linux is an operating system for smartphones developed by the Openmoko project. It is based on the Ångström distribution, comprising various pieces of free software.
The main targets of Openmoko Linux were the Openmoko Neo 1973 and the Neo FreeRunner. Furthermore, there were efforts to port the system to other mobile phones.
Openmoko Linux was developed from 2007 to 2009 by Openmoko Inc. The development was discontinued because of financial problems. Afterwards the development of software for the Openmoko phones was taken over by the community and continued in various projects, including SHR, QtMoko and Hackable1.

Components

Openmoko Linux uses the Linux kernel, GNU libc, the X.Org Server plus their own graphical user environment built using the EFL toolkit, GTK+ toolkit, Qt toolkit and the illume window manager. The OpenEmbedded build framework and opkg package management system, are used to create and maintain software packages.
This is a very different approach than that of Android. Applications targeted for Android must be substantially rewritten and are largely not portable. Many existing GNU/Linux desktop apps can be easily ported to Openmoko.