Interestingly, this guy (of FSF and GPL fame) argues that Android is by far the more promising platform for creating a completely free mobile software stack.

http://ebb.org/bkuhn/blog/2009/10/26/symbian.html

But I also notice that the hardware that "replicant" (the FOSS fork of Android) runs on is limited to the HTC Dream. Which, in my view, highlights the challenges of creating open mobile platforms, since there's usually some proprietary software to control what are highly idiosyncratic hardware devices.

Obviously, the politics of free software are contentious. But what do others think of Kuhn's argument? Is Android a better candidate for creating a completely free and open platform?

I don't really get too worked up about the proprietary portions of Maemo so long as the system remains easy for me (an average user) to modify. I.e., Maemo is open and hackable where it matters.

Just think of where we would be today if the situation for mobile hardware components and drivers was similar to that of desktop pcs. Imagine if the user could choose from a wide array of hardware and install either Android or Maemo or a full blown Debian or (God forbid) Windows Mobile on any number of pocket devices. I look forward to that day.