FIC Neo1973 Smartphone: Full of Linux goodness

What do you get when you combine a delicious Linux platform, a curvaceous form factor, and some ESPN-inspired font? The answer appears to be the Neo1973 smartphone from FIC.

With a sweet-looking silver bezel, USB connectivity, and the open-source OpenMoko platform (the first smartphone to do so), the Neo1973 is quite the formidable handset. Boasting quad-band GSM/GPRS, it also comes with a 2.8-inch touchscreen LCD (apparently it’s only form of input), 128MB RAM, 64MB ROM, microSD expansion, a Samsung SoC processor, and an A-GPS system. Strangely, there is neither Bluetooth nor WiFi on the Neo1973, though future iterations likely will sport the wireless standards.

The first batch of 500 units will ship in mid-December, with the full launch coming the following month. Pricing, direct from FIC, is expected to be in the $350 range.