Openmoko, creator of the first completely open mobile computing platform, today announced agreements with five distributors for the Neo Freerunner Open Source mobile phone. Today, Openmoko will begin shipping the next generation Neo Freerunner to Pulster, Golden Delicious Computers and TRIsoft located in Germany, Bearstech in France and IDA Systems based in India.

Imagine owning a smart phone that you can hack just as freely as a PC. OpenMoko is an embedded Linux-based mobile platform, and the Neo Freerunner is OpenMoko's slick little touch-screen smart phone that runs OpenMoko.

Openmoko Inc, maker of the world's first totally open mobile phone, today announced that faberNovel, Inc has joined the worldwide distribution network for the FreeRunner open source mobile phone. Since launching the FreeRunner in July of this year, Openmoko has built out a network of more than 20 distributors covering North America, Europe and Asia.

Last we heard form Openmoko, it was packing and shipping the open-source FreeRunner for an early July release. So, here we are in early July and wouldn't you know it, the FreeRunner will be available for order starting Friday, July 4 with shipping to begin on Monday, July 7. As for details, we got 'em.

Openmoko has begun shipping its Linux-based, open source Neo Freerunner phone to five newly announced distributors, in Germany, France, and India, says the company. The Neo Freerunner features an open hardware design, and a Linux-based operating system that users are free to modify.

Last Friday, OpenMoko launched its highly anticipated FreeRunner smartphone, a Linux-based handset that's completely open in both hardware and software, and is designed to encourage third-party modification and customization. Although the FreeRunner's software platform is still incomplete, the device has attracted considerable attention from mobile software developers and Linux enthusiasts.

Barcelona, Spain-based Tuxbrain has released an application-rich Linux distribution for the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner phone called Fat and Dirty OpenMoko (FDOM). In addition, Openmoko announced that both Tuxbrain and French design firm FaberNovel have joined the company's network of more than 20 distributors.

OpenMoko develops completely open Linux-based mobile phones that can be modified and improved in the spirit of open source. OpenMoko's developer-oriented Neo1973 was released last year and the consumer model, called the FreeRunner, is expected to move into the mass production stage next month.

Open source phone company OpenMoko will ship a new version of its user-modifiable Linux-based mobile phone next year. The "Neo FreeRunner" resembles OpenMoko's original Neo1973 model, but with WiFi, 3D accelerometers, and a faster processor, as well as a consumer market focus, according to the company.