Red Hat, 3G Lab to develop 'wireless Linux'

LONDON: US software and services company Red Hat and Britain's closely held

3G Lab said on Monday they will develop a "Linux for the wireless

world" as they team up to write an operating system for Web phones.

The software that would create the groundwork for new applications on mobile

phones would be "open source," meaning that all the codes would be

published on the Internet and available to everyone. Linux is a free "open

source" operating system (OS) that has made major inroads in the computer

industry as an alternative to Microsoft's Windows and a host of Unix and

mainframe operating systems.

The two companies would take on established names such as Psion-owned Symbian

and Microsoft which have already developed their own operating systems for new

generation smartphones and between them had gained support of all of the major

mobile phone manufacturers.

The first smartphones, designed to display email, run calendars and play

games and video clips, would hit the market later this year. Red Hat and 3G said

their new OS would make a difference because manufacturers would be allowed to

tweak the software so it could be tailored to specific cellphones, without

having to consult or seek approval of the producer of the software.

"Manufacturers will have complete liberty. They will have a choice to

create a mix of applications with their own look and feel and branding,"

Paul Beskeen, director of engineering of embedded products at Red Hat, told

Reuters in an interview.

"If mobile operators and mobile phone manufacturers are going to be able

to customise these devices deeply to user needs, there needs to be much more

openness, flexibility and modularity in the software platform," 3G Lab

chief executive Steve Ives said in a statement.

Software code coming soon



The first strings of software code, based on Red Hat's existing open
software eCOS hidden in products like printers and MP3 music players, would be

published on (http://sources.redhat.com/ecos/sources

) in a few months time when the first usable software is expected, said Bob

Last, director of sales and marketing at 3G Lab.

The two companies, which expect to generate revenues from their product by

adapting, testing and supporting the software and new applications said they

have not yet signed up any customers. "But there's huge interest in open

source," Last said.

The components that make up a mobile phone are quickly being commoditised.

Only a few weeks ago, Motorola, the world's second largest cellphone maker, said

it would sell all of the technology to build a basic mobile phone to outside

producers.

A small French company, Wavecom, also sells modules that have all the

functionality of a GSM cellphone. "The whole cellphone area is becoming

commoditised," Beskeen said.

This development has created opportunities for young cellphone makers like

British Sendo to concentrate on customising phones to the needs of different

operators, something large phone manufacturers are not doing yet.

Red Hat and 3G Lab play the same trend, Beskeen said. The new software, to be

called eCos/M3, will have specific features that maximise battery life and makes

sure streaming data such as audio and video will be delivered instantaneously.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.