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

Analogy

[mtDNA]

"Cell Companies" is to "Improve Linux" as "Gang of Escaped Lobotomy Patients" is to "Improve MIT".

Re:Analogy

[fullphaser]

Well, if nothing else they can throw the one thing they do have at the project (which for the most part isn't brains) but they can throw money at the software, and money is usally a good thing, so you could hire programmers and still keep the software free.

Re:Analogy

[Lord Prox]

Not to nitpick, but I believe that a flock or herd of lobotomy patients is properly refered to as a "drool" not a gang.





Got Debt?

Free applications locked out?

[tepples]

In North America, the vast majority of mobile phones are subsidized by a network operator. Developers of operating systems for mobile phones generally allow a network operator to use lockout features to control what software may be run on a subsidized phone. Such systems include "Get It Now" in implementations of BREW on phones sold by Verizon and "Mobile2Market" in Windows Mobile smartphones. The features exist purportedly to improve the "security" of a network, but in practice, network operators use them in order to require that all applications be purchased at jacked-up prices from a network operator's online store, and so that free software or other freeware self-published by a hobbyist developer (who generally cannot afford the code signing fees) cannot compete.

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?

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.

this means little to consumers

[path_man]

So am I going to save $50 on the next cell phone that I buy because my handset manufacturer didn't have to pay a licensing fee for the phone's operating system? Highly doubtful.

Am I going to have better features and/or functionality because linux is running instead of Microsoft phone OS? Again, highly doubtful. 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?

From what I can gather, the only ones who really benefit from linux on the handsets are shareholders of the manufacturers themselves, as they'll be able to save $x on y phones every year, thus adding to their bottom line.

Meh, this is a nonissue. The headline should have been, "Cellular Companies Look For Ways To Save Money".

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.

Re:this means little to consumers

[TrdrJoe]

this may be a huge win for consumers. My biggest problem with my cell phone is that I can't write applications for it. When other companies like linksys adopted linux for their embedded systems, it allowed entire communities to be created around, for example, the NSLU2, allowing me for example to load programs onto it. Admittedly, cell providers want to control what services are run on the device, which probably means they will keep the platform as closed as possible, ie. closed drivers and applications. However, since their main goal is to facilitate third-party application development, as they state, it must be open to _some_ developers. Since they also want to reduce costs, they may make it open to open-source developers too, who can offer said applications at no cost. If I can develop my own apps to run on a cell phone, I would be happy enough, even if I can't reinstall the OS. A sample application I've been wanting somebody to write: a voice menu for my calendar since the UIs on cell phones stink. For example: "calendar" -> "new todo" -> "this sunday" -> "call dad for father's day". The cell-phone calendar is synched with my computer and on sunday morning I would get a voice reminder from whichever device I am using.

Re:Heh

[WilliamSChips]

Canon balls? Are those sold by the Vatican?

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 :-)

Gates Won't Like It

[kuleiana]

...therefore, I'm all for it! Well, just kidding, I'm sure he's not a bad guy, but really, who wants to use Windows on their cell phone, after putting up with it on their desktop for so long? Microsoft has done a great job of marketing "Windows Mobile" as if it were really just a scaled down "mobile OS" version of Windows XP, through its interface skin and marketing materials (although any reasonable person like Mac user little ole me won't like it). The need for a robust OS that is user-friendly enough to be used on phones and other devices is so overdue that people like myself are practically ready to write it themselves.

Of course, this doesn't make me a fan of cell phone companies, I think they're the worst when it comes to thinking of users' needs. Now if Linux Mobile were just a little bit farther along, we'd be all set...

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.