Linux up to speed on mobile devices

by Len Rust

April 28, 2008 —

Linux, which has been much maligned by Symbian
and Microsoft as a non-starter
in the handset operating system market, is set to see strong growth as issues
with framework fragmentation and silicon requirements are alleviated.

The growing momentum behind the LiMo
Foundation initiative, as well as the marketing boost that has been realized
from the entry of Google's
Android solution, has been further enhanced by Nokia's
support of the Maemo solution
and its purchase
of Trolltech.

ABI Research
analysts believe that by 2013, almost one out of every five mid- or high-end
mobile devices will use a Linux operating system.

"Clever choice of public licence support, along with software engineering
that isolates proprietary items from open source items, allows operating system
vendors to generate revenue from a very cost-effective OS solution," said
ABI Research vice president Stuart Carlaw.

"Linux OS solutions will be far more cost-effective than incumbent solutions,
even when silicon requirements are taken into account, given that a fuller application
layer will be included in the standard package and that the burden of customization
falls mostly on the independent software vendor," Carlaw added.

A recent ABI Research study found that Linux solutions will be at the center
of the drive to bring more content-rich environments to users who currently
utilize mid-tier devices.

More importantly, it looks increasingly likely that mobile Linux solutions
will be an important building block in enabling an application domain that embraces
Web-based applications and blended Web/native applications.

Len Rust is publisher of The
Rust Report.

Computerworld Australia