Cellular Companies Join to Improve Linux

TrdrJoe writes to mention a Reuters article about a group of cell companies joining up to develop an open-source Linux-based OS for many of the market's phones. From the article: "Linux software currently occupies only a tiny proportion of the mobile market, mainly in China, while market leaders Symbian and Microsoft dominate the space. The attraction of Linux for handset makers is that as the code is not owned by any one company competition is likely to be fierce between firms supplying ready-to-use embedded Linux versions for phones, driving down fees, whereas Symbian and Microsoft can keep prices higher."

Comments

Re:Free applications locked out?

[drinkypoo]

Will this Linux OS for mobile phones support the same kind of lockout, where the hardware verifies an approved kernel and the kernel verifies approved apps?

Probably, but at the same time, it'll be linux-based, which means it's more hackable.

With that said; You can unlock the locked features on damned near any cellular telephone. I'm only particularly familiar with Motorola but on their phones there's files called "SEEM" files that are the config files. There's numerous SEEM editors, and guides to SEEM editing, sufficient to unlock full functionality on pretty much any phone. They can be created by examining the differences between provider-altered SEEM files, and the SEEM files on a Motorola-retail phone, or by using Motorola PST (the official service software, available ALL OVER the web) to modify phones with specific features, then comparing SEEM files.

Re:this means little to consumers

[drinkypoo]

Maybe it'll be a little easier to be extensible or perhaps more flexibly upgraded but really, on a cell phone is this a big deal?

I think it'll be a bigger deal that they will be more stable. I have a PDA running Windows Mobile 2003 (I know, not the latest... but let me continue) and it crashes pretty frequently, locks up more frequently than that, and twice has crashed out and lost all my data. Well, it would have, but after the first time it happened I configured an automated nightly backup to my SD card.

This stuff is moderately acceptable on a PDA, except for losing all my data, which is just plain unacceptable. (I have all updates applied, just in case you were wondering.) It's totally unacceptable on a phone, and I've heard time and time again that the phone version of the software is no faster nor more reliable.

Even my Motorola phones using official software sometimes have to be manually cold-rebooted :P

Re:this means little to consumers

[C_Kode]

I disagree. In the end it will mean a lot for the users. Competition is real and helps the consumer. The battle has only begun in this area and the phone makers are taking a step in the battle to remove the middleman. While the saving in our pocket may never be a huge wad of cash it will be more than it is today because of competition.

Linux is a pro consumer product. This is a consumer win.

Just one question

[martinultima]

But will it support Linux? No, seriously – specifically, what I mean is, will it support syncing to a Linux desktop, or will Linux only be as far as the phone itself? Because even though I don't have a cell phone, I'm a Linux user, and I suspect that if Linux had more/better official support for "weirder" peripheral devices such as cell phones it might catch on with even more people than are already using it.

(A week or so ago I had to install the software for a Motorola cameraphone onto a friend's [Windows] laptop... didn't work at all, and what was really annoying was that there wasn't any Linux program available that supported his specific phone. Probably wouldn't matter for him, but it really annoys me because there wasn't any way to – even temporarily – set up a Linux system to download the pictures that were on there so we could at least get that done, and worry about the rest later... sorry if it doesn't make any sense to anyone else :-)

Re:WM2003

[drinkypoo]

If losing your data is 'just plain unacceptable', then why did you get that PDA? The reason I ask is that it should have been made clear to you that if e.g. your battery runs fully out, you also lose all your data that isn't written away to your slot-in memory card on a WM2003 device.

Well, it's probably because that's not my fucking problem. I haven't yet run out the battery in the device, which also has a backup battery for maintaining memory.

What actually happened, contrary to your assumption that I am a fucking retard, is that application crashes caused the device to somehow mysteriously reset itself to factory settings, eliminating all of my data from the internal storage, including installed programs. After it happened the first time I discovered WHY compaq bundled an "iPAQ Backup" application, and started using it. The first time it was an application crash in SPB AirIslands Demo that caused the OS to crash and, as I mentioned caused it to reset. The second time it was actually iPAQ Backup that crashed... thankfully, right after backing up my system.

An application should never be able to take down the OS. This happens all the time. The OS crashing should never be able to delete all your data from internal storage and restore your device to factory settings. I've only EVER seen this happen on my iPAQ.

Linux/Qtopia already runs on a few Phones.....

[mungewell]

There are already a few Linux phones out there..

see:
http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS9996556326.html

You can even test drive Qtopia via a LiveCD.

Download here (114MByte):
http://qtopia.net/iso/qtopia-4.1.1-2006_04-20_1114 .iso

Simon.