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Ubuntu Touch arrived in October 2013, after years of attempts to build phones around open software. Openmoko pushed openness furthest, Nokia’s Maemo showed that Linux could work on a capable handheld, Android scaled open-source mobile software, MeeGo was redirected by corporate strategy, and Firefox OS bet on web apps. Their histories show why openness alone could not guarantee reliable calls, a strong app ecosystem, or long-term support.
Which phones and platforms came before Ubuntu Touch?
There was no single line of succession. These projects had different aims: some began as developer-friendly hardware and software, some as Linux handhelds, and others as platforms backed by major companies. The milestones below put them in context.
| Platform or device | Key dates | What it represented |
|---|---|---|
| Openmoko Neo 1973 | Released in 2007 | An attempt to make both phone hardware specifications and the software platform unusually open to developers. |
| Openmoko Neo FreeRunner | Released 25 June 2008 | A follow-up with improved hardware, Wi-Fi and usability; community work also explored other operating systems. |
| Nokia Maemo | Introduced on the N770 Internet tablet in 2005; N900 released 11 November 2009 | A Linux-based handheld platform that eventually reached a smartphone in the N900. |
| Android | SDK released in November 2007; T-Mobile G1, the first Android phone, arrived in October 2008 | An open-source mobile platform that grew to broad adoption, while its licensing, governance and ecosystem made “open” a qualified description. |
| MeeGo | Announced in 2010; Nokia N9 and developer N950 appeared in 2011 | A merger of Nokia’s Maemo and Intel’s Moblin that was soon overtaken by changes in corporate direction. |
| Firefox OS | Launched in 2013 | A Mozilla smartphone platform built around the idea of bringing web technologies to phones; its early devices were later discontinued. |
| Ubuntu Touch | Announced by Canonical in October 2013 | A later entrant in this longer history of open mobile experiments. |
Was Openmoko the first open smartphone?
Openmoko is often treated as an early landmark because its ambition extended beyond making source code available: it sought to expose phone hardware specifications as well as the software. The EBU Technical Review reported in 2008 that “To many developers, the Neo represents the first truly open mobile phone platform.” That is a description of developer perception, not a universal ranking of every phone that came before it.
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The Neo 1973 launched in 2007 with Openmoko Linux. Its openness made it attractive as a platform for experimentation, but the first software stack could not initially complete phone calls. That gap captures the central trade-off: access to the platform did not mean that the hardware and essential phone functions were already dependable.
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Neo FreeRunner: a community testbed
The Neo FreeRunner followed on 25 June 2008. The EBU review describes improvements in usability, hardware and Wi-Fi. Developers also brought or explored other systems, including Qtopia and Android. The device therefore mattered not only as an Openmoko phone but as a base for testing alternative mobile software.
What did Maemo prove, and what were its limits?
Nokia introduced Maemo on the N770 Internet tablet in 2005. It drew on open-source projects including Debian GNU/Linux and GNOME, and offered a fuller Linux handheld experience than a phone-centric feature list suggests. The distinction matters: the N770 was an internet tablet, not a smartphone.
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The N900 brought Maemo to a phone
Nokia released the N900 on 11 November 2009. It was Maemo’s first and only smartphone, and it paired a Linux-based system with phone capabilities. Maemo was not wholly open in every component: some proprietary pieces remained, according to the historical device record, until the later Maemo Leste work. The N900 is best understood as a capable legacy device for enthusiasts or developers, rather than evidence that Nokia had made every layer of a commercial phone open.
How did Android make open-source mobile software scale?
The Android SDK was released in November 2007, and the T-Mobile G1 became the first Android phone in October 2008. The Open Handset Alliance released most Android components as open source, helping make the platform available to a much wider range of developers and phone makers than niche projects could reach.
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Scale did not make the meaning of “open” simple. The EBU Technical Review noted that governance and licensing would determine how open Android was in practice. Android demonstrated that Linux-based mobile software could underpin a mass-market platform, but it should not be equated with a phone whose hardware, drivers, userland and distribution were all equally open or controlled by users.
Why did MeeGo disappear from Nokia phones?
Announced in 2010, MeeGo combined Nokia’s Maemo and Intel’s Moblin. Nokia’s N9 and developer N950 appeared in 2011, giving the platform real devices rather than leaving it as a proposal. But Nokia shifted away from MeeGo, and Intel’s subsequent move with the Linux Foundation and Samsung toward Tizen showed how quickly corporate choices could redirect development. MeeGo’s brief handset life was not simply a verdict on the software; the platform’s future depended on organizations that changed priorities.
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Did Firefox OS come before Ubuntu Touch?
Firefox OS and Ubuntu Touch were announced in the same year, but Firefox OS launched in 2013 before Canonical’s October Ubuntu Touch announcement. Mozilla described its aim as using the web to expand smartphone access: “In 2013, we launched Firefox OS to unleash the full power of the web on smartphones and once again offer control and choice to a new generation of people coming online.”
Early Firefox OS devices included GeeksPhone’s Keon and Peak developer phones, the ZTE Open and the Alcatel One Touch Fire. The historical device record marks them as discontinued. The project’s web-first model offered an alternative to native-app ecosystems, but that ambition did not ensure lasting device availability or platform support.
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Why were open-phone projects so hard to sustain?
Across these histories, “open” was not one property. A project could publish substantial source code yet rely on proprietary drivers, have open specifications but rough telephony, or give developers a flexible platform without the commercial backing needed to maintain it. Four questions help explain the differences.
- How much was open? Consider hardware specifications, drivers and userland separately. Openmoko made a particularly broad openness play; Maemo still included proprietary components, while Android released most components as open source rather than making every layer equally open.
- Did the phone work reliably? The early Openmoko stack’s inability to complete calls illustrates why telephony and hardware integration mattered as much as source access. A Linux handheld experience, as with Maemo, was not automatically the same as a polished phone experience.
- Could developers reach users? Android’s growth showed the advantage of an ecosystem with broad industry participation. Firefox OS instead emphasized web standards. Openmoko’s ports encouraged experimentation, but flexibility alone did not create a durable mainstream application ecosystem.
- Would organizations keep investing? MeeGo’s direction changed as Nokia and Intel shifted strategy; Firefox OS devices were discontinued. Long-term support required sustained hardware, software and commercial commitment, not just an open license.
These are not interchangeable measures of success. Openmoko is notable for its openness ambition, Maemo for bringing Linux to a capable handheld and then a smartphone, Android for scaling open-source mobile software, MeeGo for its short-lived corporate consolidation, and Firefox OS for its web-centric approach. Their checkered record reflects the difficulty of sustaining all four requirements—openness, integrated hardware, a useful developer and app model, and durable backing—at once.
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