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Mobile Linux Challenges Windows Mobile
An anonymous reader writes "Taking a page from Microsoft's playbook, MontaVista today announced an embedded Linux platform aimed specifically at mobile phones. 'Mobilinux' is based on a 2.6 kernel with real-time and power-management enhancements, and targets 'feature-phones' as well as the higher-end devices targeted by Microsoft with its Windows Mobile for Smartphones offering."
I would be wary of going into 2.6 over 2.4 kernel for low-power application such as a cell phone.
Check out the Linux v2.4 vs. Linux v2.6
The primary users of mobile phones with Windows Mobile are business users - and business users use the phones becaus ehtey nicely integrate into their Windows environment (Exchange, Blackberry, Word, Excel, contacts, emails, etc.)
If they can develop a Linux mobile device that syncs with Exchange or Blackberry (wirelessly like ActiveSync), it would be money.
Exactly.
Cellphone providers have been dying to open up the software on cellphones so they can get out of the buisness of managing purchasing of dime a dozen software and games. I was recently talking the the head of Verizon, (he was out at a cellphone kiosk at the local mall getting input from subscribers and handing out popcorn). He said having these kind of options for phones is a great step for cell providers because customers can focus on the signal they are getting and dropped calls vs judging a company based on how many ringtones can be purchased.
If Verizon doesn't care about the money they get from selling ringtones, games, etc, then why do they lock out bluetooth profiles that allow users to load ringtones and games from a computer, or transfer pictures and phonebooks? I had considered Verizon until I heard about this very shady practice.
They love to talk about how they have the "largest calling area," but it's a fair assumption they are making a small mint on ringtones and games.
You mean that we can finally use our PC's and flat-fee broadband connections and put applications on our phones that way?
On the one hand that's what providers want because they lose money on every game and ringtone they sell. According to the Register, a site that I trust. They want to give you freedom to do it on your own because it's costing them to put it on there for you.
However! They won't like it if you put a Jabber IM client on your phone and use instant messages or picture messages instead of SMS or MMS because they're raking in big bucks with that. They charge for both the MMS AND THE GPRS TRAFFIC! They'd like to keep you a dumb consumer for that.
The Register thinks they want to avoid becoming a wireless ISP at all costs because they'll bring in less money. Voice over IP instead of cell prices, jabber instead of SMS/MMS.
I don't know if the manufacturers want to sell you open and Free phones and have you use it as a miniature PC and use a carrier just as a normal ISP, like you're using your big PC at the moment.
Maybe they'll sell more phones when they can sell you phones with all the features they want. Maybe they want to keep the current situation and sell phones with only minimal features, or only extra features that the carriers don't mind.
Whatever the phone manufacturers want, at the moment they're stuck as the slaves of the carriers because the carriers are the ones choosing the phones that they're going to give subsidies for. No subsidies for your phone, your phone doesn't sell as well.
I'm still investigating how everything fits together.
And what do you want? And how can we get it?
- -- Truth addict for life.
Pfft. You don't need X11.
...
directfb+SDL+cairo(glitz)+SVG == pure portable GUI mannah.
I'm lovin' it, personally
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
The advantage of X11 is that there is lots of software that uses it: toolkits, applications, etc.
If you roll your own with SVG, there is nothing. SVG-based GUIs will probably a major role at some point, but by running them on top of X11, you give users a smooth transition.