The Mozilla Phone

image care of mozphone.com

The Awesomer linked me onto this blog about (conceptual) open source phone development. It seems to be a blog dedicated to conceptuals of how an opensource/mozilla phone would look and operate, in association with Mozilla’s concept series.

The Mozilla Phone is an experiment in the open-source development of a conceptual phone. Put in motion by Aza Raskin of Mozilla Labs as part of its Concept Series, the project is led by Billy May as well as the combined insight of all those with an idea and a keyboard (and maybe a Wacom). While some of the problems will deal with industrial design, a great deal of the focus will be put on physical interface issues and basic user-phone interaction.

[The Open Web Phone] via [The Awesomer]

Students place call to Astronaught on DIY Equipment

The International Space Station care of mpancha on Flickr

The [GlobeAndMail] via [Engadget] report that a group of four college students from Toronto, Canada have accomplished a technological feat by constructing their very own astronaught-phone; with which, they managed to place a ten minute call to the International Space Station using a radio system they built themselves.

While school contacts with the space station are routinely made through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program, many of those contacts are made using a traditional ham radio.

“It’s an incredible feat of undertaking and technology, and I’d just like to say I’m really, really proud of this team,” said Humber instructor Mark Rector.

“They’re playing way, way above their league today.”

more at the [GlobeAndMail]

Cost of making a Storm revealed

Business Week via Gizmodo reports that the reason RIM’s BlackBerry Storm is pricier ($203) to make than Apple’s monsterously popular iPhone ($175) is down to a $35 Qualcomm IC which gives the Storm its advantageous CMDA abilities in addition to other components’ costs.