Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

DoCoMo To Use Linux On Their 3G phones

Posted by timothy on from the darl's-ears-perk-up dept.

ilbrec writes "Looks like NTT DoCoMo will be using Linux on their 3G phones next year. This actually was reported yesterday in Japan (here), but I could not find any article in English until now. While it's not clear who will be making the Linux phone for them, I would certainly be interested in seeing them once they are out. No word on this anywhere at DoCoMo's website at all, however." Reader paku adds links to similar coverage in Forbes and in Japan Today.

9 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Reasons for adopting Linux by Trbmxfz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Nitpick:

    Linux is an open-source, easy-to-modify, and license-free product.

    No it's not. It's free licence. These people need to understand libre software.

    Manufacturers are expected to comply with DoCoMo's request to replace their systems with a unified Linux standard apparently for fear of being left out in the cold

    Now, is this a good reason to move to Linux? I mean, if this is the reason for small manufacturers to move, had DoCoMo chosen Windows, they would probably have moved to that instead. Oh well.

    1. Re:Reasons for adopting Linux by Trbmxfz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      According to J. W. Breen's Japanese-English dictionary, DoCoMo (dokomo) translates to "everywhere". Now that makes sense.

  2. One Year From Now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I can just see the headline on Slashdot a year from now will be:

    DoCoMo accused of GPL violation, fails to release modified code.

  3. But will they include the sources? by plinius · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Given that the FSF will not pursue anyone who abuses the GPL unless the abused code's copyright is owned by the FSF, and given that no other organization seems to be protecting the GPL, what guarantee do we have that the sources will be included and this will be legit? Answer: None.

  4. Phones and operating systems by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 3, Interesting
    What I don't understand is why anyone needs to cram a whole multi-user, multi-tasking OS onto a small device with only two or three modes of operation (voice phone, Internet and maybe digital camera). None of these devices really need to be upgradeable - most Europeans get a whole new phone every 12-18 months because their network provider allows cheap upgrades - so that can't be the reason.

    Presumably it's cheaper to build additional processor speed and storage into the device, to cope with the overhead of Linux/Windows Embedded, than it is to spend developer time to knock up a custom OS for the limited hardware?

    --
    When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
    1. Re:Phones and operating systems by joib · · Score: 2, Interesting


      What I don't understand is why anyone needs to cram a whole multi-user, multi-tasking OS onto a small device with only two or three modes of operation (voice phone, Internet and maybe digital camera). None of these devices really need to be upgradeable - most Europeans get a whole new phone every 12-18 months because their network provider allows cheap upgrades - so that can't be the reason.

      The new generation of 2.5G/3G phones are more like computers stuffed into a small case than a traditional phone. While multi-user functionality perhaps is unnecessary on a phone, multi-tasking is definitively needed. OTOH, how cool wouldn't it be to run sshd on your phone?


      Presumably it's cheaper to build additional processor speed and storage into the device, to cope with the overhead of Linux/Windows Embedded, than it is to spend developer time to knock up a custom OS for the limited hardware?

      Yeah, you got it!! Hooray!

  5. O/S not the main consideration by wombatmobile · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Many handset vendors are working with Linux in some way, and some vendors like Motorola are working with all kinds of O/S from Linux through to Symbian and MS.

    But does the O/S really matter if all the phones support Java now anyway? If you're going to write software for open mobile deployment, wouldn't you be inclined to consider Java first since it alone is ubiquitous on phones? O/S generally doesn't count for much in that decision.

    More than that, consider the data formats... Those indespensible new compelling 3G services if they ever eventuate will be all about selling and consuming data. Whose format(s) are service vendors going to use and support and work with? The content is what will be monetized with consumers and the format is what determines the nature of the franchises, like e.g. Office on the desktop.

    Whether the data format is something proprietary like .ppt or .doc or .swf or something open like SVG or XHTML I think is more significant to mobile developers' careers than the O/S.

    Look at the SMS business - the SMS standard can be implemented on any phone O/S and in fact it has been implemented on all of them. That is why SMS has been able to grow to $36b per year today.

  6. Re:GPL by cyberformer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    To comply with the GPL, they need to make source code available. But it's perfectly possible (and legal, IMHO IANAL) to embed the OS in ROM in such a way that it can't easily be changed. Source code availability is still useful, though: It helps developers of apps understand how the system works, makes security audits possible and means that once the device is no longer produced, it'll be easier to make an emulator.

    The downside for the phone makers is that their competitors can also take the source code and use it in their phones, but that's the price they pay for using any pre-existing software (free or not) rather than developing something from scratch. The phone makers are better off standardizing on Linux than Windows (no MS tax), and so are DoCoMo and its customers.

  7. I was one of the first Westerners by BillsPetMonkey · · Score: 2, Interesting

    to get a Docomo imode phone.

    Docomo, like Sony is one of those companies you want to hate but end up rather liking. Sony, you hate for the AIBO hacking controversy, saves itself with the Linux kit for PS2.

    Docomo is a money-grabbing, high priced qu(e)asi-governmental monopoly. But it knows that by adapting Linux to run on a phone, it wins tecchie friends.

    The first imode phone came out in February 1999. I bought one (the black f501i) in March 1999 when I arrived in Japan. I wanted a phone I could send email from because I didn't have a PC. That phone was nice and was way ahead of it's time (even in Japan)

    Docomo's Linux offering will also be good, as it has tecchie know-how. Oh, and NTT Docomo has one of the highest market capitalisations on the planet.

    --
    "It's not your information. It's information about you" - John Ford, Vice President, Equifax