Cape Town Inventor Creates World’s First Open-Source Smartphone!

Cape Town Inventor Creates World’s First Open-Source Smartphone! Frustrated by the limitations and lack of privacy provided by consumer smartphones, Evan Robinson created the world’s first open-source, DIY smartphone that anyone can build from off-the-shelf components.

“I wanted people to have more control and optionality over their most personal smart devices, so I built an Open-source, Upgradeable, Repairable Smartphone that is completely Big Tech free. It’s not theirs – it’s O.U.R.S.” said the inventor, Evan Robinson.

Complete plans for the “OURphone” are available online for free (https://github.com/evanman83/OURS-project) under an open-source GPL-3.0 license. This means anybody can copy the design, modify it and contribute to its evolution. The specifications for version 1 of the device are modest, but Robinson hopes that others will pick up his design and take it forward. The device has been widely covered online in titles such as Hackaday, Hackster and Tom’s Hardware, as well as Spanish, Italian, German and Chinese media.

The parts required to build the smartphone cost approximately R3,600. Features include a colour touch screen running a Linux operating system with 1GB RAM and 1.2GHz CPU, providing voice calls, SMS, 4G LTE internet, Wifi, GPS, Bluetooth and even a 5MP camera. Apps like WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook run via the built-in internet browser. The device is also “convergent” – you can plug in a full size monitor, keyboard and mouse for a desktop PC experience.

“The hardest part of the build was making it small. The components are relatively modular and easy to connect, but are not designed for fitting into tight spaces, like parts designed specifically for mass market smartphones.” said Robinson. Asked what he’d most like to improve about the design, he said “Make it faster, and less like a brick.” Evan is a tech entrepreneur and inventor based in Cape Town, best known for his tax chatbot TaxTim.

By Thomas Chiothamisi