The use of Linux as a mobile operating system (OS) has been steadily growing, with an increasing number of companies announcing plans to develop Linux platforms.

Photo: Linux Poised to Expand Role as Mobile OS Photo 1

Uniquely positioned in the OS space with implementations in both the smartphone and feature phone segments, Linux is in sharp contrast to Symbian, Windows Mobile and Palm which have focused on the smartphone segment. However, Linux phones still represent a small segment of the overall handset market.

Some key benefits of Linux as a mobile OS include its small kernel size, open source, and low (no) cost. As a result, there are a number of Linux-based solutions in the marketplace including products from MontaVista and Wind River and proprietary systems utilized by Motorola, ACCESS, BenQ, and others. In addition, PalmSource has announced the development of its Access Linux Platform (ALP) for smartphones, which IMS Research believes may be commercially available in late 2007.

This does not mean that Linux is without challenges. The most significant of these is the lack of a single set of standards. There are currently a number of industry organizations that are trying to address this issue, including the Linux Phone Standards forum (LiPS), the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) Mobile Linux Initiative, and the Mobilinux Open Framework Platform to name a few. Despite these efforts, there has not been significant forward progress on a platform standard.

The recent announcement from Motorola, NTT DoCoMo, Vodaphone, NEC, Panasonic, and Samsung Electronics that they will form a foundation to pursue a uniform open Linux-based platform could mark a turning point for the future of Linux as a mobile OS. Foundation members have stated that they hope to see the first handsets shipping based on the uniform platform by 2007.

While this might appear to be an ambitious goal, it is important to note the considerable experience that each of the member companies has with Linux. In particular, NTT DoCoMo has been utilizing MOAP-L, a Linux derivative on their Japanese handsets, while Motorola has been using EZX for several of their models. This experience should help to streamline the development process.

1. Posted by booboy	Tue Jul 18, 2006 12:46 pm
All the different operating standards in the mobile industry only hinder development of killer apps. Forget Symbian, Windows Mobile, or all the proprietary standards from manufactuers, open source is the way to go.
2. Posted by GSMDude	Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:23 am
Linux gets three more supporters: The Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum announced today that Telecom Italia, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) and ZTE are the most recent additions to the consortium of companies with a strategic focus on Linux telephony. In association with its members, the LiPS Forum is currently defining a standardized software platform which allows applications and end-user services to be deployed across all types of Linux telephony terminals, fostering interoperability and promoting adoption of Linux. The LiPS Forum was founded in November, 2005 to help accelerate the adoption of Linux in fixed, mobile and converged devices. By standardizing Linux-based services and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that influence the development, deployment and interoperability of applications as well as end-user services, device manufacturers, third party software vendors and operators can increasingly differentiate their offerings from competitors and generate revenue. The LiPS Forum is now comprised of 20 companies from this complete mobile industry ecosystem. "The worldwide mobile Linux market is expected to grow at a combined annual rate of more than 28 percent per year over the next few years. We have seen significant growth in the use of embedded Linux, especially within the market for mobile phones and other consumer electronics products," says Matt Volckmann, senior embedded software analyst at Venture Development Corporation (VDC). "Greater participation in Linux standard bodies like LiPS should serve to help software vendors, semiconductor companies, handset manufactures and telecom operators more readily develop and deploy Linux-based mobile devices and services." "As mobile phones evolve to take advantage of the power of 3G networks, the need for a robust, flexible, secure and scalable operating system grows. Linux provides an attractive alternative to the closed, proprietary operating systems available today," said Haila Wang, president of the LiPS Forum. "Standardizing a Linux-based software platform and APIs will significantly improve time-to-market for Linux phones that meet the demands of operators and help them maximize their current network investments." The success of Linux in phones, as elsewhere, is reliant on standards that ensure interoperability and guard against fragmentation. To date, standardization efforts have focused on the important question of Linux kernel optimization to achieve improved boot time, power management, system footprint and other performance-related factors. For mass-market telephony terminals, standards that enable key applications and services to be deployed with a high degree of interoperability are as important as performance characteristics. The LiPS Forum has been created to meet this critical need for modern phones and complements other current initiatives around Linux standardization for mobile phones.

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