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The Rise of the Linux-Based Cellphone

Posted by Zonk on from the doobie-doobie-dooo dept.

mrscotty99 writes with a link to a Linux.com article about the rising star that is the Linux-based cellphone. Author Murry Shohat argues that the transformation of the cell into a mini-PC this summer is a landmark opportunity for Linux. Apple's offering and Motorola's US launch of the RAZR2 V8 (a linux-based device) may be heralds of great things to come for a new OS frontier: "In the cell phone market, consumers will pay for content, and corporations need to deliver secure content to applications in the palm of employees' hands. These trends suggest products that are simultaneously more functional and less expensive than a Treo or BlackBerry and more secure than an iPhone. MontaVista Software claims to have deployed Mobilinux on more than 35 million mobile devices worldwide. CEO Tom Kelley says, 'Linux is growing rapidly on mobile devices because of its solid reliability, its great flexibility, and because it accelerates the development cycle.' Vendors using or contemplating the use of Linux for mobile devices unanimously point to the operating system's footprint, memory usage, and fast growing ecosystem of developers producing software for graphics, multimedia, connectivity, and security." Linux.com and Slashdot are both owned by SourceForge.

2 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. The Neo 1973 is freer than anything motorola has. by Alphager · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://openmoko.com/
    - Touchscreen
    - WLAN
    - completely open
    - A-GPS

  2. Re:The Neo 1973 is freer than anything motorola ha by Gizmhail · · Score: 4, Informative

    You might find useful information (concerning the first OpenMoko compatible phone) on this page : http://wiki.openmoko.org/index.php?title=Neo1973
    The end user version is the one named "Phase 2" (GTA02, "Mass Market").
    Allong with hardware specs, you'll find there an estimated timeline :
            * Sep 20 - GTA02v3 design finalised.
            * Oct 20 - GTA02v3 design produced, and shipped to qualified developers.
            * Nov 20 - GTA02v3 design verified through testing by developers.
            * Dec 10 - GTA02v3 produced in moderate volume
            * Dec 20 - GTA02v3 goes on sale
            * Dec 25 - GTA02v3 arrives