A Linux 'Ecosystem' For Cell Phones

vinohradska writes "Businessweek has a new article on Linux on Cell Phones. It features an interview with Michael Sudol, general manager of the group at Motorola PCS that's focused on Linux. 'Rather than be held prisoner to any company's proprietary software, cellular service providers (which distribute most phones) are beginning to ask specifically for Linux-based handsets.'"

Good, and bad...

[manavendra]

Good news is Motorola's Linux-based smartphones were 1% of the cellphone market in 2002 [3.5 million units], while the bad news is Motorola has decided to ahead with not only Linux, but also MS Mobile, for obvious reasons (they wouldn't want to keep all their eggs in one basket, would they?).

However, this provides MS another piece of the pie in yet another industry segment...

On another note, wonder what he meant by being able to launch phones at different times (Christmas in the west, Chinese new year in China) with Linux. Do they plan to just plug-in the latest kernel patch and use it to claim "new, improved Smart-Phone!" :-p

Oh, and IMO, tech interviews could be better without questions such as "What are the benefits of using Linux?" and "Why is Linux better for the connected office? ".

Finally! Ultimate convergence

[ScrappyLaptop]

Now I will be able to have my pda-cell-phone-mp3 player that will play an mp3 instead of a ringtone (hell, the DSP is already in the phone today, right?)... Add an usb plug to one side and 128MB of flash and I will need nothing more... I can just see the ad copy: "It's my phone, my music, my OS" How far can the convergence go? Where will it lead the hardware design? Once you go linux, you will of course need an RS-232 port so you can use your phone to set up a router or headless box... Ah, the crux-question: Who will be the first to solve the cell-phone/QWERTY keyboard hardware design problem in such a way that users can actually create shell scripts without getting RSI in their stylus fingers?

Re:Finally! Ultimate convergence

[gl4ss]

well.. don't get too excited yet.

the main reason why operators are asking for something _they_ can easily modify would be sandboxing(aka 'branding') their customers only to services they offer(note: this is exact opposite of what we geeks as customers would like!). motos linux thingys aren't really consumer customisiable or even friendly for that, what good is a linux kernel if you are unable to get to it, unable to modify anything on the phone?

(ironically?) the most open phones currently are the symbian phones(series60 and uiq, which run unsigned programs) which don't have much limitations on what native symbian programs can do(j2me is sandboxed on these of course, as it is on every device). there's pretty cool programs out there already, from incoming call notifier replacements to programs that add background noise to phone calls.

note: pretty much all phones are starting to play mp3's as ringtones..

Re:Finally! Ultimate convergence

[Simon (S2)]

the motorola a768 actually has all this...

Re:Finally! Ultimate convergence

[DrSkwid]

Are you in some sort of time warp ?

digital sounds instead of beeps have been around for at least 3 years if not mp3

usb plug! wtf. hello? wireless comms is what we want, not wires!

128Mb of flash ! jeesh, my phone can *already* take 512Mb of MMC

rs232 port, blimey

try this irda-rs232 convertor in your headless box http://www.cooldrives.com/irconcabrsir.html

Who will be the first to solve the cell-phone/QWERTY keyboard hardware design problem

A Logitech/Microsoft Bluetooth Keyboard should have that cov

Re:Finally! Ultimate convergence

[ScrappyLaptop]

I was talkin' about convergence of phone and PC. Or, more accurately, phone and headless equipment, "Son". I want to reduce the stuff I carry with me, not add to it.

"Digital sounds" as you put it and mp3's are not the same. I'm talking about playback that does not have to squeeze through the frequency response of a piezo speaker the size of a pea.

If I'm hooking up to a box, I don't want to have to carry an irda converter, nor do I wish to equip every system I touch with one. USB serial and 9-pin se

Linux Spreads Its Wings

[slashflood]

The mentioned article is actually part of a Special Report called Linux Spreads Its Wings [businessweek.com].

Proprietary...

[Ianoo]

By proprietary, is he talking about Trolltech's Qtopia [trolltech.com]? I'm glad Trolltech are putting out GPL'd versions of QT these days, but this is certainly not the case with their other products. Much as I'm for the advancement of Linux in embedded markets, I can't stand this particular platform. The most annoying thing is that IMO, it looks awful - not very pretty at all compared with the slick interfaces you see on Palm Powered and Windows CE Powered machines. Plus I bet it's pretty expensive to license.

Developers?

[tjmsquared]

This may be a dumb question, but why is news of a linux-based cell phone in the "Developers" section of slashdot?