Linux Going Mobile …
Looks like the mobile world is a washed with news about major mobile Linux initiatives.
First, we see Nokia joining the Linux Foundation together with Marvel Semiconductors and VirtualLogix. Nokia already uses Linux in its Nokia Internet Tablet line. Aside from this Nokia is set to release a Linux/Open Source developer friendly Symbian Series 60 SDK. It is pretty clear that Symbian still has Nokia’s backing. Nokia’s support for LF is primarily a defensive move. Bet on all players.
Then there is this report about Linux making waves into the mobile phone space and that it is expected to even perform better. I did not even know that there where eight (8) million linux handsets in the market already?!?! I used to think Linux was limited to the high-end hobbyist niche PDA phone market and Motorola.
Today, just over eight million handsets are making use of a commercial Linux OS, but this will rocket to more than 127 million during the five-year period of growth, with real-time operating system (RTOS) replacements adding another 76 million handsets to this tally, according to figures from ABI Research.
Today, just over eight million handsets are making use of a commercial Linux OS, but this will rocket to more than 127 million during the five-year period of growth, with real-time operating system (RTOS) replacements adding another 76 million handsets to this tally, according to figures from ABI Research.
Finally, we see Palm announcing yet another Linux initiative. It has yet to fully roll-out its mobile Linux systems with Access and now it is has another one that it has been quietly been developing for years. What gives? I think this is just a question of joining the Linux-on-mobile PR bandwagon.
To get a feel of what phones run Linux in the market. Here is a Dec 2006 article from Linux Devices. We can see a bunch of big names in mobile phones here including Motorola, Panasonic and Samsung. I just hope that a lot of this development is being contributed back to the community in the form of better and more stabler code.
