The OpenMoko project and other related projects are good, I have been following them. However, we should be clear that what excited people about the iPhone (aside from Apple's great spin machine) was not the hardware, but rather the software. A phone that is all touchscreen on one side is cool, but Apple did good UI work to make it exciting. OpenMoko phones won't get the same excitement until they do this. Now, Apple having shown the way on some interesting fronts will certainly speed that up. Nothing better than getting to see millions actually play with a UI to see what works.

I remain impressed that even after Apple showed how to do it with the iPod that most of the iPod competitors did not catch on about the UI, both on the iPod and it iTMS. Years later the iPod has fans who legitimately feel it's the best, not simply the best marketed.

The other issue is carrier resistance. Carriers will not embrace, and possibly fight the OpenMoko phones. Right now most carriers have two prices for unlimited data -- 1 for a locked phone with limited apps, and a higher one for connecting a laptop, because the patterns of usage are higher. If they decided the Open phones are in the high usage group they could kill them with high data fees. That's one way the iphone's lockdown is a "feature."