I guess the OpenMoko community need to work on the PR skills, perfect opportunity for a mention and it got totally glossed over.
Regards, Dean Collins Cognation Pty Ltd [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> +1-212-203-4357 Ph +1-917-207-3420 Mb +61-2-9016-5642 (Sydney in-dial). <http://click.mexuar.com/webuser/click/7/userurl/Cognation> <http://click.mexuar.com/webuser/nojs/7/userurl/Cognation> EDITORIAL EDGE: Opening Up the Wireless Handset By Brad Smith, Wireless Week Technology Editor I don't like to be one to hype a technology, but you have to feel the energy building behind Linux for mobile phones. Part of that is due to the announcement by smartphone maker Palm it will use Linux in future phones. Palm's news, which came during an analyst call on the company's financials, was interesting for two reasons. First, people (myself included) have been wondering what Palm was going to do with its user-friendly Palm OS. Palm essentially acquired the latest OS, a 5-year-old version called Garnet, from Access, which purchased PalmSource. Apparently Palm wanted Garnet to be able to support its use on the current crop of Treos, but it looks like Garnet will not father a child. CEO Ed Colligan says Palm now plans to use Linux in future Treos so the handsets can handle both voice calls and data at the same time. Colligan says Palm also will continue to make Treos based on the Microsoft Windows Mobile OS, which have been pretty successful over the last year or so. Colligan also predicted the worldwide smartphone market will grow to a $36 billion business by 2009 and Palm wants a bigger global share. Palm's announcement, of course, also was of interest as an example of the building interest in recent months in the use mobile Linux. The analyst firm ABI is predicting major growth for mobile Linux in the years ahead. In a report before Palm's announcement, ABI said more than 127 million Linux handsets will be sold by 2012, compared to 8.1 million this year. "Linux in the cellular phone is not a question of 'if', but 'when'," says ABI research director Stuart Carlaw. There are a number of other options for mobile Linux, including Trolltech's GreenSuite and the Access Linux Platform (why didn't Palm go with it?). And Nokia, which has been getting more and more into open source software, also has joined the Linux Foundation. Nokia uses Linux in its Internet Tablet, a version of which could wind up on Sprint's WiMAX network. Nokia also has started distributing a software developer kit that can be used to make it easier to port Linux projects to Symbian OS smartphones. It all spells growing interest in mobile Linux. As IMS Research analyst Alison Bogle says, handset manufacturers cannot afford to ignore Linux for future handsets. Time will tell, but Linux apparently is going to become a bigger force in the mobile world. What do you think? Let me know at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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