Today I'm talking about Mecha Comet project
image stolen from mecha front page
So, this is a gamechanger! This idea was on my startup ideas list for a really long time, but I found that someone already is working on it and it looks really nice! I'll observe this project, because I think this is exactly the modern approach to telephones, maybe this one is more for hackers, but in general I love the idea of extendable phone, where you can actually change something by yourself, where system is open sourced and well known!
Look at the iPhone, Apple annouces new iPhones each year, but to be honest, they are basically the same! Design, components, system - and I like the stability of Apple ecosystem, but I'm also aware od their closed-source and gate-keeping approach. Today we know that mass production of everything of poor quality/not repailable is killing our planet, yet we still create electronics in old way. This must change. And I think this change is here thanks to ventures like Mecha Comet and actions like Right to Repair .
So, what Mech Comet device has that I'm so excited about?
- Of course phone capabilities, but everything built on top of the linux os!
- Open source hardware and software
- Nice UI - looks kinda vintage, yet very clean and simple and I love it!
- Hardware extensions standard - like Raspberry PI boards, device has pins on front where you can connect your own extensions or buy some of their. And I extension could be physical keyboard, but also gamepad like controllers or even a robot!
- Software written in Rust - so, modern approach and memory safe!
And probably more, I'm looking forward to check it out when device will be ready, currently it is still under development, they opened Kickstarter and are hoping to start production Feb 2025. Fingers crossed and let's see!