Penguin Calling

When Motorola launched the Motoming mobile phone initially in China, it was a roaring success. The highpoint of this smart phone is its Linux operating system. Motorola is aggressively going the Linux way in its mobile phones; it looks like, what Nokia did for Symbian will happen to Linux with its patronage from Motorola. Clearly, Linux is becoming a viable alternate to the Symbian and the Windows Mobile, and market prediction of Linux in mobile devices appears bullish. A study done by ABI Research predicts that by 2012, more than 127 mn mobile devices will be enabled with a commercial Linux OS. Additionally, device shipments that incorporate Linux as a Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) replacement are set to grow to more than 76 mn units in 2012.

The new report, 'Mobile Linux: Bringing license-free operating systems to smart phones and mid-tier devices', from ABI Research found that the fundamental issue plaguing the growth of commercial Linux in this space was vertical and horizontal market fragmentation. But things are changing with growing collaboration between industry initiatives, and by the introduction of complete solutions such as the Trolltech-led GreenSuite and ALP from ACCESS.

Many mobile device manufacturing companies like Motorola are working towards making Linux a popular RTOS. The significant advantage Linux brings to table is that manufacturers can contain additional costs and complexity of providing a dedicated application processor. On the operators' side, Linux would open up new avenues for Linux-based applications. According to market reports, a device's operating system is increasingly seen as a way for carriers and OEMs to differentiate their offerings. But operating systems are also subject to a growing degree of price pressures. Linux is being positioned as a low cost, even license-free, solution for commercial smart phones, and also for real-time operating system replacement in mid-tier devices.

The Mobile OS Landscape

	"We pioneered the Linux based phones as early as four years back with our EZX phones and Linux certainly is becoming an alternate and viable platform"
	-Mohan Kumar, VP, Motorola Software Group

The mobile OS landscape so far has been a two horse race with Windows and Symbian dominating and with the escalation of Linux-it is expected to alter this bi-polarity in the days ahead. But Linux is just beginning to show its potential as its adoption to the PC-based environment is still growing. However, Linux as an enterprise OS has proved its stability in hardware devices like servers but its benefits are yet to be harnessed in mobile devices. Linux, being an open source, opens up endless opportunities and phones like Motoming create new possibilities with the users getting a smart phone for prices that are less than the proprietary.

Mohan Kumar, vice president, Motorola Software Group says, "We pioneered the Linux-based phones as early as four years back with our EZX phones and Linux certainly becoming an alternate and viable platform. We will continue to be aggressive on Linux with the latest Motoming and ROKR phones having got terrific response in the market." The Motoming from Motorola is a Linux-based smart phone that has got rave reviews across the world for its unique design and touch-screen features and, hence, can be called a hybrid mobile device. It comes with an Opera browser and a RealPlayer which doubles as an entertainment as well as a business class mobile. With an end user pricing of about Rs 15,000, Motoming brings Linux to mainstream mobile users. Motorola has also launched the Motorokr E6, a Linux-based phone with huge entertainment features. These Linux-based phones from Motorola's stable has increased the overall affordability of smart phones that are offering best in class features available with other Symbian or Windows-based mobiles.

Gaining Momentum

  shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in

Shrikanth G

Linux's escalation in mobile OS space is in for good times. It becomes evident as we look at some of the recent initiatives by leading mobile handset manufacturers. For instance, Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung and Vodaphone have established LiMo Foundation to jointly develop a Linux-based open mobile communication and device platform. The Linux-based platform, out of this alliance, aims to provide key benefits for the mobile industry including lower development costs, increased flexibility and a richer mobile ecosystem-all of which contribute to the group's ultimate objective of creating compelling, differentiated and enhanced consumer experiences. This is a serious initiative undertaken by the industry for promoting Linux in the mobile space. The need for a standard Mobile Linux is felt due to the paucity of Linux-based apps right now and this is considered a big barrier. Once when a standard platform has been created, more developers will jump into the bandwagon. Since it is an open source, the standard platform is expected to usher in defined benefits both to the device manufacturers as well as the operators and ISVs, as an ecosystem will be created for Linux and its bigger adoption in mobile space.Well before the advent of smart phones, the OS embedded in mobile devices were custom made. For instance, there used to be some degree of intelligence embedded into electronic devices and mobiles are no exception. But from a cost perspective, developing an OS turned out to be an unviable proposition as there is a need to develop dedicated drivers and firmware updates. When Microsoft took on the PDA market, with its CE OS, things started changing. Microsoft's CE is meant for pocket PCs but with the convergence of PDA and mobile phones, now it's called Windows Mobile, which is one of the most popular OS in the mobile space. Another major Mobile OS, Symbian, licenses its OS to leading handset manufacturers and has built close co-operative business relationships with leading companies across the mobile industry. During Q3 2006, 13 mn Symbian smart phones were sold worldwide to over 250 major network operators.