The Neo1973 (made by FIC) is the first smartphone to support the OpenMoko software platform. It can also run the Qtopia platform. It is named after the first year of mobile telephone communication: the inventor of the mobile phone, Martin Cooper, made the first call in 1973.
The Neo1973 was first released in a developer version on July 9 2007, priced at US$300 for the basic model, or US$450 for a kit including more tools for hardware work. Currently the advanced kit is on sale at US$399. Initial orders suffered from delays, though the developer version (the only one currently available) now ships typically within 7 days.
The initial releases of the Neo1973 have been hampered by supplier shortages, which forced the shipping date to slip, and hardware development difficulties exacerbated by the small size of the core team.
