Mobility Phones - Mobile Phones

“The world’s top handset maker Nokia Oyj expects the role of the Linux operating system in its product portfolio to increase as the role of its Internet-focused devices grows, company officials said.”

Mobile Linux is well poised to take on the surging smartphone market according to “Mobile Linux: Google and Motorola Hold the Short-Term Keys to Success,” from the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies Service.Mobile Linux offers an attractive package in terms of customization, cost, developer community, time to market, security and multi-chipset support to handset manufacturers and mobile operators, according to industry analysts Strategy Analytics. This report evaluates the current status of the mobile Linux market and assesses the impact of recent initiatives by industry players in the mobile Linux arena.

“Unlike the desktop PC industry there are more than 30 operating systems existing today in the mobile phone industry, over 20 of which are Linux-based,” comments Sravan Kundojjala, Analyst at Strategy Analytics. “This has been a concern for the industry, but recent moves suggest consolidation is in the cards.”

Stuart Robinson, Director of the Handset Component Technologies service, adds, “Strategy Analytics believes recent initiatives by Google and Motorola could solve problems like consistency of APIs, slow adoption of mobile Linux in developed markets and fragmentation. We also believe that interest in Linux is at an all-time high and that it will emerge as a worthy competitor to market leaders Symbian and Windows Mobile.”

IDG World Expo Corp has announced a new, must see show floor attraction at this year’s LinuxWorld Conference & Expo — the Linux Garage. The Linux Garage will showcase the latest and coolest gadgets based on embedded Linux, from PDAs and hand-held computers, to mobile phones and audio/video entertainment devices. LinuxWorld Conference & Expo is scheduled to take place August 4-7, 2008 at the Moscone Center.Linux is now a part of phones, cars, satellite TV, multimedia, and a multitude of other products used on a daily basis. As embedded Linux continues to grow, the Linux Garage at LinuxWorld will serve as the perfect demonstration area where some of the newest products will be showcased.

“The Linux Garage will be the must see area for developers, media, and every attendee with a little bit of geek in them to check out the latest developments in Linux technology,” said Melinda Kendall, Vice President and General Manager, LinuxWorld/NGDC at IDG World Expo Corp. “Some products are already being delivered in large quantities, while others are in varying stages of development. What attendees will see is just the tip of the iceberg as more and more devices based on embedded Linux roll out in the near future.”

Established companies with real products, as well as early stage companies and pre-revenue inventors, will be showcasing products in this new area.

“Bug Labs is very pleased to participate in the inaugural Linux Garage at this year’s LinuxWorld,” says Peter Semmelhack, founder and CEO of Bug Labs. “We believe this venue is a perfect fit for showcasing our product, as well as providing us with a great opportunity to interact with all the hobbyists within the Linux community.”

The market for smartphones will grow from around 10% of the total handset market in 2007 to 31% of the market in 2013. A new study from ABI Research projects this meteoric growth to be a product of a number of complex factors including carriers’ drives to grow data revenues from advanced services and the general trend to pushing “smart” operating systems down into middle tier devices.ABI Research vice president Stuart Carlaw comments, “Smart operating systems are continually being optimized to run on processors with lower performance. There is a strategic move to support smart OSes in single chip midrange devices in order to unlock more data revenues.” Carlaw adds that, “The market is currently dominated by Nokia (52%) and Symbian (65%). However, the coalescence of the framework wars in the Linux environment and the growing stature of Windows Mobile will enable new competitors to put pressure on this established axis.”

The report finds that the iPhone effect is truly filtering through the handset market as other OEMs strive to remain competitive. Features that look set to proliferate and become central to enhancing user interface experiences include touchscreens, touchpads, and accelerometers facilitating tilt and shock sensing, as well as haptics providing tactile feedback.

AOL announced the AOL Open Mobile Platform, which it plans to make available to developers this summer. The new open platform will help stimulate innovation by providing developers with ready access to the tools and source code they need to build and distribute applications across all major mobile device platforms and operating systems including BREW, Java, Linux, RIM, Symbian, and Windows Mobile. As a result, developers will be able to create applications for a wide variety of mobile devices.The AOL Open Mobile Platform is based on proven technology acquired by AOL that has been deployed across more than 150 different handsets on carrier networks in the U.S. The platform will consist of three components: an XML-based, next-generation markup language; an ultra-lightweight mobile device client; and an application server. A dynamic presentation layer will allow for rapid deployment of new features and easy optimization for a wide variety of mobile devices, allowing developers to build and update applications once, and then distribute them across all supported devices and platforms.

In addition, it will be possible to integrate applications built using the AOL Open Mobile Platform with third-party APIs, as well as with AOL’s open APIs for AIM, AOL Mail, AOL Video, MapQuest, Userplane, Truveo, Winamp, and others. The AOL Open Mobile Platform will also give developers the ability to monetize their mobile applications by utilizing advertising resources, such as clickable banner ads, provided by AOL’s Platform-A.

“The use of mobile services continues to increase at a steady rate and for any developer looking to build applications for this growing space, the AOL Open Mobile Platform couldn’t make it any easier,” said Steve Murphy, Senior Vice President of AOL. “Our new open platform will provide developers with a new breed of tools, including source code, for creating robust mobile services and will encourage product innovation.

“AOL is committed to providing developers around the world with access to our core technologies which give them the ability to build and deliver innovative new products,” said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President of AOL. “Mobile is an important example of how we are opening AOL’s products to the developer community and providing access to new open tools and source code. As more developers leverage our open technologies, we look forward to seeing exciting new products that serve a global audience.”

The AOL Open Mobile Platform is expected to be available this summer. More information on the AOL Open Mobile Platform can be found at http://dev.aol.com/openmobile.

ACCESS CO., LTD., a global provider of advanced software technologies to the mobile and beyond-PC markets, will be an exhibitor again this year at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2008 (formerly 3GSM World Congress), the mobile industry’s biggest event, which is taking place February 11-14 in Barcelona, Spain. This year’s event marks the seventh time that ACCESS will be present at the Mobile World Congress.The ACCESS theme this year is “Open Up Your World.” ACCESS products that anticipate the latest trends in the mobile industry will be on display, notably ACCESS Linux Platform(TM), the Company’s next-generation mobile platform; NetFront(TM) Browser Widgets, a comprehensive mobile widget platform; and NetFront(TM) Transcoder, ACCESS’ PC website-to-mobile conversion solution.

ACCESS Linux Platform

ACCESS Linux Platform is an open, flexible, Linux-based mobile platform that helps speed up the market launch of increasingly advanced and complex handsets. For this exhibit, ACCESS Linux Platform will be installed in a variety of hardware from ACCESS partners.

NetFront Browser

ACCESS will present the latest capabilities of NetFront(TM) Browser, a user-friendly browser for mobile handsets and information appliances. In addition, ACCESS will demonstrate a new module from Digital Aria Co., Ltd that is optimized for viewing of Flash content. The module’s integration into NetFront Browser enables YouTube content to be viewed in a mobile environment.

NetFront Browser Widgets

NetFront Browser Widgets, a comprehensive mobile widget framework, uses open web technologies to support the creation and use of simple and dynamic Web applications with rich user interfaces. It enables easy access to frequently viewed content such as movies, photos and maps, while allowing users to keep track of online auctions, news and weather reports. Visitors to the ACCESS booth will be able to participate in demonstrations showing how to download and use a variety of widgets.

NetFront Browser DTV Profile DVB-H Edition

NetFront(TM) Browser DTV Profile DVB-H Edition is a mobile TV solution combining ACCESS’ NetFront(TM) Browser DTV Profile with EXPWAY’s Electronic Service Guide (ESG) solution for mobile DVB-H and 3G networks. Reflecting ACCESS’ expertise in Japan’s well-established market for One-Seg browser technology — installed in nearly 60% of the mobile handsets sold in Japan — this complete solution addresses the growing demand for multimedia devices integrating DVB-H, a global standard for bringing broadcast services to handheld devices that is fast gaining momentum across Europe, America and Asia. For this exhibit, DVB-H data broadcasting and VoD/Unicast extension will be demonstrated.

NetFront Transcoder

NetFront Transcoder is a server solution that can convert and edit PC Web sites for mobile use that also supports JavaScript, CSS, and Flash. This solution enables a diverse range of Web content designed for the PC to be optimized for viewing on mobile handsets. ACCESS will demonstrate mobile display of PC Web sites converted using NetFront Transcoder.

NGN (Next Generation Network) solutions

ACCESS will demonstrate internetworking devices using ZebOS, the switch/router middleware from U.S. subsidiary IP Infusion that supports advanced network technologies. In addition, visitors to the ACCESS booth will be able to experience hands-on demonstrations of a next-generation multimedia home network that seamlessly connects mobile handsets and consumer electronics using NetFront(TM) Living Connect, the DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)-compliant solution for digital content.

NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, and Purple Labs, a leading supplier of embedded Linux solutions for mobile phones, jointly announced today the release of a 3G Linux reference feature phone offering video telephony, music playback, high-speed Internet browsing and video streaming at a transfer price below US$100. The new Purple Magic phone serves as a reference design for phone manufacturers creating entry-level 3G handsets, including those targeting mobile markets such as Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.According to the GSA mobile industry trade group, there are now 197 commercial 3G/WCDMA networks in 87 countries, but the adoption of 3G services is concentrated in mature European and Asian markets. The viability of 3G services in emerging markets requires large volumes of affordable data-capable devices — and the 3G Purple Magic has been highly optimized specifically to meet this market challenge.

“During the recent holiday period, mobile operators were purchasing entry-level 3G phones for $120 to $145,” commented Simon Wilkinson, CEO of Purple Labs. “Leveraging our Linux technology, the Purple Magic design now enables manufacturers to deliver compelling 3G products at a transfer price below $100.”

The Purple Magic reference phone is based on the NXP Nexperia Cellular System Solution 7210 for 3G, coupled with the Purple Labs Linux suite, and is available as a fully integrated, turnkey solution. Production of an initial quantity of fully working phones has enabled Purple Labs to undertake considerable testing and validation, further reducing investment and time to market for OEMs and ODMs that leverage the Purple Magic design.

NXP offers powerful 3G and 3.5G multimedia platforms running on a single ARM926 processor core. The Nexperia Cellular System Solutions with Linux support true UMTS performance, delivering seamless service coverage in 2G and 3G networks as well as advanced multimedia features that allow consumers to take full advantage of next generation applications and mobile operator services.

“NXP believes in Linux as the basis for the next generation of mobile handset innovation,” said Dan Rabinovitsj, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cellular Business, NXP Semiconductors. “We’ve been working closely with Purple Labs to develop Linux-based mobile terminals that meet the cost and performance requirements of the mass market. Our joint achievement is to bring the advantages of an Open OS environment to the mass market based on industry leading silicon and software.”

“The Purple Magic reference phone clearly demonstrates our combined leadership in the mobile Linux arena,” added Wilkinson. “While the mobile Linux industry has largely concentrated on high-end devices, the Purple Magic is the first 3G Linux mass-market reference feature phone available today.”

The Purple Magic phone will be exhibited at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on February 11-14, 2008 in the NXP booth (Hall 8, B110).

Gizmo5 Technologies announces Gizmo5 mobile and desktop software is now connected with the MySpace IM network. For the first time ever, MySpace users on any mobile network can receive MySpace alerts, see who’s online and send/receive messages with their MySpace buddies directly from their mobile phone or desktop using Gizmo5.Through this new feature, users can be alerted on their mobile phone to MySpace activity in the same manner that MySpace IM alerts work on the desktop. There is no charge for this service and only a data connection on the user’s phone is required. Anyone can chat with their MySpace buddies for as long as they wish, for free.

At Gizmo5.com, users can get an SMS sent directly to their phone to download the software. Hundreds of phone models including, but not limited to, Nokia, Motorola, Blackberry, Palm Treo and Samsung devices can be used. Even lower end phones are supported, which are commonly provided for free with a mobile plan. No WiFi or advanced functionality is necessary. With a simple installation, users can be chatting and receiving MySpace alerts.

Users can add all of their MySpace IM contacts with just a few clicks. Once the user completes this process, all of their buddies from MySpace will appear in their Gizmo5 buddy list. No need to add contacts one by one, no need to add contacts when changing computers or devices; contacts are stored safely and securely online along with existing Gizmo5 buddies.

“We saw heavy daily usage of the AIM, Yahoo and MSN networks in our Gizmo5 software once we connected to them,” said Michael Robertson, CEO of Gizmo5. “Our users indicated that MySpace IM would be next network on their wish list. Now, for the first time, Mac users and mobile phone users can get full MySpace connectivity.”

Support for MySpace IM is available on all flavors of Gizmo5 software, including hundreds of mobile phones and blackberry devices, Windows, Apple Macintosh and Linux. All versions are available for free download at http://gizmo5.com for mobile phones and http://gizmoproject.com/download for desktop.

Mobile Linux company Azingo, formerly Celunite, today announced Azingo Mobile, a comprehensive suite of open mobile software and services designed to help companies deliver web 2.0 applications, music, video, vivid graphics and more to a wide range of mobile phones. Leveraging the economies of open source innovations and based on LiMo and its ecosystem Azingo Mobile provides a less costly and more flexible platform for designing and deploying mobile devices. The platform will be demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, (Azingo booth 2.1D57 and LiMo booth 8B135), Feb 11-14, 2008.Available for immediate licensing, the Azingo Mobile platform enables handset manufacturers and operators to leverage a rich suite of ‘out of the box’ mobile applications that ‘plug-in’ to a comprehensive and pre-integrated open mobile middleware framework and kernel. Supported by a powerful SDK and development tools, Azingo Mobile lets OEM, operators and ISVs build and customize innovative services and user experiences. Azingo Mobile’s one-stop-shop approach reduces development costs, shortens the time to bring new handset designs to market, and enables lower cost phones offering the latest multimedia and UI innovations.

Guido Arnone, director of terminals technology at Vodafone said: “We welcome Azingo’s mobile Linux platform to the LiMo Foundation. Azingo Mobile’s ability to provide lower-cost, Internet-enabled mobile phones helps support LiMo’s goal to create a true mass-market platform and surrounding ecosystem that will deliver compelling handsets and rich user experiences.”

“Azingo Mobile has received significant interest from the industry’s leading handset manufacturers and operators,” said Mahesh Veerina, CEO of Azingo. “Our product is offered on 13 different hardware platforms from seven of the industry’s leading silicon providers. Azingo technology is a core component of the LiMo Foundation common integration environment and our support of LiMo specifications ensures that devices powered by Azingo Mobile will contribute to the growth and unification of mobile Linux.”

a la Mobile announced the support of Google Android with the industry’s first demonstration of applications based on the open source Android application framework, running on HTC’s Qtek 9090 advanced smartphone. The demonstrated applications, some with enhanced graphical user interface (GUI) developed by a la Mobile, include: browser, phone dialer, audio player, maps, camera, games, calendar, contacts manager, calculator, tasks manager and notes.Dispelling the Mystery of Android

“While mobile Linux has made steady progress in the industry since 2006, Google’s advocacy with the unveiling of the Android framework further substantiates the position of Linux as a major mobile operating system alongside Windows Mobile and Symbian,” said Pauline Lo Alker, President and CEO of a la Mobile, Inc. “However, despite the market enthusiasm about Google Android, many questions remain concerning the technical details, and skepticism exists concerning its readiness. As the leader in mobile Linux, we believe it is our responsibility to take the initiative to allay the ‘mystery’ and dispel any skepticism surrounding Android by first demonstrating a complete mobile Linux system stack, including drivers, middleware, and a suite of Android-based applications running on an existing advanced smartphone manufactured by one of the premier handset vendors in the market.”

Building a Complete Mobile Device System Stack

A Linux application platform for mobile devices, Android provides a framework and Application Program Interfaces (APIs) to enable third-party developers to create applications based on a ‘unified application standard.’ While Android’s impending official release of the source code is a great stimulant for popular adoption of Linux and a good platform that enables application interoperability among various mobile devices, it is not an off-the-shelf complete software stack.

A complete system solution for mobile devices consists of numerous software components, including: device drivers, Linux kernel, system utilities, mobile middleware (such as security, device management, provisioning, etc.), an application framework (such as Android) that supports JAVA services, browser, and miscellaneous applications for the end device.

“Despite the open-source nature of the Android framework, developing a complete mobile system solution with customized, differentiated features continues to present major technical challenges requiring considerable time, effort, and resources — a barrier and reach beyond the scope of many handset vendors,” continues Alker. “Our mission is to remove the complexity for handset vendors and mobile operators to enable them to accelerate their device time-to-market, ensure high quality while reducing total development and device costs. The experience we have gained in putting together this demo will enable us to trim a device’s time-to-market by at least half!”

“The wireless industry is preparing itself for the growth in the use of Linux as the operating system for smartphones” said Bill Hughes, Principal Analyst with In-Stat. “Some industry participants are seeking to offer mobile Linux platforms that are only partially ‘open,’ with key interfaces being kept proprietary. In contrast, a la Mobile is pursuing mobile solutions that are open and support third-party application developers and network partners to provide solutions that apply across multiple platforms. a la Mobile’s demonstration of the Android framework on an actual smart device is a concrete example of this vision put into practice. Such efforts support the growth predictions In-Stat has made about the smartphone industry as a whole and the mobile Linux platform in particular.”

Purple Labs, a leading supplier of embedded Linux solutions for mobile phones, announced today that it has joined the LiMo Foundation and will support the organisation’s mission to develop a world-class Linux-based software platform for mobile devices. In joining the LiMo Foundation as an Associate member, Purple Labs becomes the first commercial Linux platform for feature phones in the consortium, thereby extending the LiMo initiative to mass-market mobile handsets.Founded by industry leaders Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics, and Vodafone, the LiMo Foundation aims to create a rich ecosystem based on Linux, which will enable compelling and differentiated services for mobile users.

“LiMo Foundation is very pleased to welcome Purple Labs as a new Associate member. We are rapidly rolling out our open mobile terminal platform based on Linux and Purple Labs will undoubtedly help the Foundation to further extend its reach within the feature phones arena,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director, LiMo Foundation.

“We are also pleased to see Purple Labs joining the LiMo Foundation efforts and helping to bring Linux to the mass market,” added Guido Arnone, Director of Terminals Technology at Vodafone. “We believe Linux can become a relevant platform not just for smartphones but also for entry-level feature phones - thus the support of the Purple Labs team will add value to the LiMo Foundation.”

Purple Labs has developed a highly optimised platform enabling Linux to run on low-cost feature phones. The company’s comprehensive Linux suite, from Linux service package and middleware to mobile applications, is the first commercial solution running a single-core chipset architecture, allowing the development of very cost-effective, entry-level feature phones.

“Purple Labs is strongly committed to enabling LiMo-compliant mobile phones for the mass market,” stated Simon Wilkinson, chief executive officer of Purple Labs. “We look forward to working with other LiMo Foundation members in creating an open and tightly integrated environment for developing mobile handsets based on Linux.”

“Quite frankly, Linux makes much more sense in a smartphone than it makes in a really low-end product,” Torvalds said.”

ACCESS CO., LTD., a global provider of advanced software technologies to the mobile and beyond-PC markets, today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with NTT DoCoMo, Inc., NEC Corp., Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., Ltd., and ESTEEMO Co., Ltd. under which the companies will study the use of ACCESS Linux Platform(TM) as the basis for developing a shared Linux platform for mobile phones and an operator pack for NTT DoCoMo.In a market characterized by frequent model changes and fast time-to-market requirements, high-performance handsets demand increasingly complex software. ACCESS intends to help handset makers meet these requirements by developing a shared platform for the global market based on ACCESS Linux Platform, a next-generation open operating system platform, in combination with custom-tailored operator packs embedded with a full slate of carrier-specific applications. ACCESS Linux Platform enables the creation of world-class mobile phones and wireless devices by providing an integrated, flexible and complete, commercial-grade Linux platform designed for the worldwide mobile phone and converged device markets.

Under the MOU, ACCESS will make use of MOAP(L) (Mobile Oriented Application Platform based on Linux) which is the FOMA(TM) mobile platform used by NTT DoCoMo, and will lead the development of a shared software platform that also conforms to specifications of the LiMo Foundation, an independent, non-profit foundation established with the aim of promoting the use of Linux by the mobile industry. The five companies have also agreed to consider development of an operator pack for NTT DoCoMo based on the shared platform. ACCESS intends to begin marketing the commercial products resulting from these efforts during fiscal 2009.

“Linux-based mobile phones are attracting attention at home and abroad,” said Toru Arakawa, president and CEO, ACCESS. “The agreement by NTT DoCoMo, NEC, Panasonic Mobile and ESTEEMO to join us in discussing the development of a shared Linux-based platform and operator pack will contribute to the efficient development and prompt release of next-generation handsets by providing the type of user-friendly interface that is only possible with Linux.”

“In January this year, NTT DoCoMo established the LiMo Foundation, together with key companies worldwide,” said Kiyohito Nagata, senior vice president, managing director of Product Department, Products & Services, NTT DoCoMo. “The conclusion of this memorandum will substantially expedite the development of a shared platform based on LiMo Foundation specifications, as well as promote consideration of an operator pack by the five participating companies. In this way, the memorandum will contribute to the dissemination and growth of the Linux platform and the creation of an associated ecosystem. We expect it to enable the development of products that are even more attractive to NTT DoCoMo.”

“As a firm believer in the Linux-based platform for mobile terminals, NEC has long been involved in development of MOAP(L) and has been a founding member in the LiMo Foundation,” said Susumu Otani, senior vice president of NEC. “We hope entering into today’s MOU will enable us to accelerate the further expansion of a LiMo Foundation-compliant Linux platform and its ecosystem.”

“As a founding member of the LiMo Foundation, Panasonic Mobile Communications has been contributing to the realization of a Linux-based mobile platform using software technologies cultivated during the development of NTT DoCoMo’s FOMA 3G mobile service,” said Osamu Waki, president of Panasonic Mobile Communications. “We anticipate that the conclusion of this MOU will hasten the creation and further evolution of a Linux platform based on LiMo and its ecosystem.”

“With the combined strengths of both Panasonic Mobile Communications and NEC, we believe we can truly contribute to developing and promoting a globally competitive common platform and software for Linux-based mobile terminals,” said Yoshiharu Tamura, president of ESTEEMO.

The Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum today announced completion of the LiPS Release 1.0 specifications, fulfilling the commitment announced in June of this year. With this release, LiPS enables mobile industry players to achieve basic interoperability for applications and services deployed on Linux-based phones, benefiting Linux-based software stack suppliers, mobile device OEMs and regional and global telecom operators. These specifications include the LiPS Reference Model, Telephony, Messaging, Calendaring and Scheduling, Presence, User Interface Services, Address Book and Voice Call Enablers APIs.In contrast to recent announcements from other bodies promoting Linux-based mobile software, LiPS output targets interoperability through real open standards and specifications, not de facto acceptance of a single platform implementation. The completed open specifications are publicly available on the LiPS web site at http://www.lipsforum.org.

From Open Standards to Standards-based Phones

The principal advantage to real open standards comes from choice of implementation. As with all formal standards, the challenge lies in moving from “paper standards” to creating code and actual devices. To that end, LiPS Forum members are already building software and equipment that follow the LiPS specifications. LiPS members and their peers across the mobile ecosystem have the choice of creating their own versions of LiPS-compliant code, of licensing implementations from other LiPS members or third parties, or of leveraging and contributing to open source implementations.

“Standards-based interoperability is crucial to the success of the global telecommunications marketplace,” declared Haila Wang, president of the LiPS Forum. “LiPS is following the clear path blazed by GSM, TCP/IP, WiFi and other standards that enable communications among device types and brands, over multiple operator networks and across regional markets.”

Delivering on Industry Commitments

“The completion and delivery of the LiPS 1.0 Specification illustrates the power of cooperation among industry leaders,” noted Haila Wang. “LiPS Forum owes a debt of gratitude to Architecture Working Group members, and especially to Chair Guilhem Ensuque of Open-Plug.”

Having completed its commitments for 2007, LiPS Forum is setting its sights on additional specification work in 2008. Planned for release are the Application Framework, Advanced Services APIs, Device Management APIs and additional Enabler APIs (e.g., for multimedia).

MontaVista Software, Inc., the leading provider of Linux for intelligent devices and communications infrastructure, today announced its new 5.0 release of MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition (CGE), the carrier grade Linux operating system preferred by 7 of the top 8 network equipment providers (NEPs). New MontaVista Linux CGE 5.0 provides telecom carriers with new scalability features to handle unexpected jumps in protocol traffic, new functions to increase reliability, new field-serviceability features, and new NSA-level security protection.”Carrier grade” is a term for software and hardware products that support public telecommunications and data communications networks. Carrier grade products require extremely high degrees of reliability, scalability, and performance to provide an uninterrupted flow of the enormous volume of high-bandwidth data and voice needed for today’s multimedia communications. Leading network equipment providers such as Alcatel-Lucent, Iskratel, Motorola, NEC, and others have made MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition the most widely-deployed Linux in the carrier grade market.

CGE 5.0 includes features only available from MontaVista, especially new field-serviceability features that give field engineers the ability to fix and upgrade live systems while they are running with little or zero downtime. Unlike unproductized open source code, MontaVista Linux CGE is a field-proven production-quality operating system, has been integrated, tested, and debugged by MontaVista’s testing facilities, and is supported by MontaVista’s experienced support organization.

The heart of MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition 5.0 is an embedded Linux operating system designed for telecom and network equipment, including ATCA- and MicroTCA-based platforms, such as SGSNs, GGSNs, and softswitches. Because CGE 5.0 supports Linux standards, designers can add functionality by including off-the-shelf Linux utilities without worrying about function loss due to incompatibility. New CGE 5.0 also includes a rich development environment that enables engineers to more quickly design new equipment and applications. MontaVista Linux CGE provides reliability, scalability, and real-time performance proven in the field by major voice and data carriers such as NTT DoCoMo.

“These days, if a data communications network fails or suffers a security lapse, it interrupts businesses and people’s lives,” said Dan Cauchy, director of marketing for carrier and mobile products at MontaVista Software. “The carriers and NEPs who run their businesses on MontaVista Linux have worked closely with us to make certain that MontaVista Linux CGE 5.0 offers the highest levels of availability, field serviceability, and security of any carrier grade OS.”

MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition 5.0 highlights

* Linux 2.6.21 kernel support: Carrier Grade Edition 5.0 is the first carrier grade operating system to deliver the functionality, performance, and connectivity gains supported by the 2.6.21 Linux kernel.

* Run-Time Application Patcher: Available only from MontaVista, the Run-Time Application Patcher gives field engineers the ability to apply a binary patch to a live system while it runs, without incurring any downtime. Engineers can update software, fix bugs, and add new features to a live system without stopping it or rebooting.

* Flight Recorder: When a system fails today, field engineers must wait until the next failure to investigate the first one. Engineers have no way of gathering enough data about what happened before and during a crash to conduct an effective post-crash diagnosis and take corrective action. CGE 5.0 includes new Flight Recorder, which acts like an airplane black box to track and log system history. It keeps a scheduler history, which provides more information than a crash dump snapshot, and is user-extensible for customized tracking. It also performs advanced diagnostics. Flight Recorder is helpful both for equipment manufacturers while developing products and for carriers that experience the failure of a deployed system. It allows engineers to respond quickly after the first failure and take corrective action immediately to prevent future downtime. Carriers can provide the Flight Recorder log to an equipment manufacturer to enable remote diagnosis from the manufacturer’s support team. Flight Recorder is available only from MontaVista.

* Field-Safe Application Debugger: When issues arise in a live carrier grade system, bringing the system offline for debugging is not acceptable. MontaVista Field-Safe Application Debugger debugs a live system without halting execution or affecting services. A field engineer logs into a live system, uses the debugger to set tracepoints, and logs out. The debugger collects execution information and stores it for later retrieval. The debugger’s small memory footprint and limited CPU usage have minimal impact on the live system, providing debugging without obstruction, and enabling critical processes to remain online and running to provide the high availability that carriers require. This capability, available only from MontaVista, has been enhanced and is easier to use.

* Live application core dump: When field engineers need to perform a core dump to help them debug problems on a running application, MontaVista’s live application core dump dramatically reduces the downtime required to make a core dump. With only a short (generally tens to hundreds of milliseconds) stop of the application, this new feature takes a snapshot of the running application. The application can continue running while engineers debug the snapshot to fix the application. MontaVista is the first to offer this capability.

* Integrated real-time response: Carrier Grade Edition 5.0 is 100% native Linux with real-time performance features, including MontaVista enhancements plus integrated high resolution nanosecond timers (hrtimers) that avoid the compatibility and reliability headaches caused by non-Linux second-kernel add-ons. Additional real-time features include fast mutexes, threaded soft and hard IRQ handlers, and application-level priority inheritance and queuing, providing preemption response latency as low as 50 microseconds. With the improved real-time capabilities of CGE 5.0, carriers can consolidate legacy RTOS and Linux applications onto a single system while meeting their real-time requirements.

* Microstate accounting: For the first time in a commercial Linux product, engineers can accurately measure process and thread utilization on a CPU. CGE 5.0 performs high-resolution process accounting, so applications can be monitored to anticipate and prevent CPU overload situations. This enables engineers to design automated load balancing and graceful protocol degradation using reliable and accurate CPU load numbers. Engineers can accurately monitor and precisely predict CPU loads, increasing the accuracy of worst-case planning, preventing downtime, and reducing the purchase of backup equipment for traffic surges. Older systems report CPU and thread activities based on statistical sampling estimates, which can be very inaccurate (especially under telco-type loads), instead of the actual measurement now enabled by microstate accounting. Microstate accounting in CGE 5.0 will improve the scalability, reliability, and cost of carrier networks.

* NSA-level security for carriers: MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition 5.0 is the first carrier grade operating system to include Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux), developed by the National Security Agency (NSA). MontaVista SELinux protects the integrity of and controls access to files, network sockets, and all system objects by preventing an employee or external intruder from intentionally or accidentally taking control of the system. This is the first availability of any form of SELinux integrated into the kernel of a carrier grade operating system. CGE 5.0 also provides security governance tools, including the SLIDE integrated security policy development and deployment environment. Only MontaVista provides this degree of protection.

* Integrated development environment: Carrier Grade Edition 5.0 includes new runtime components that integrate with MontaVista DevRocket, an Eclipse-based IDE with development tools that enhance productivity for both kernel-level and application-level engineers. Integrated memory leak detection, performance profiling, memory usage analysis, and system tracing combine to accelerate system development and maintenance, and increase system availability.

* Multicore and SMP support: Carrier Grade Edition 5.0 supports both single-core and multicore processors, and supports equipment built with multiple processing chips as well as synchronous and asynchronous multiprocessing on integrated chips.

* Carrier standards compliance: MontaVista Linux CGE 5.0 has been designed to comply with the new Carrier Grade Linux Specification 4.0 from the Linux Foundation. CGE 5.0 also will comply with the SCOPE Alliance Linux Profile, and runs on hardware designed to support the PICMG Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) and MicroTCA specifications.

* Lower costs: Built-in functionality and integrated connectivity reduce the amount of custom development required. Linux compatibility enables the use of low-cost off-the-shelf Linux applications and utilities. The ability to get fast performance from low-end processors can reduce hardware costs. And MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition 5.0 is royalty-free.

* Faster time-to-market: MontaVista Linux CGE 5.0 brings products to market more quickly by leveraging several factors at once. Industry-standard Linux avoids the time lag of learning the quirks of proprietary RTOS systems. Less custom engineering means shorter development cycles. Device-ready MontaVista products eliminate the time wasted on hunting, fixing, and integrating pieces of source code. Integrated development tools accelerate the embedded development process. Semiconductor manufacturers and the Linux community release drivers for Linux first, before drivers for any RTOS are released, so embedded Linux developers can be first to market with new drivers.

* Enriched by MontaVista partner ecosystem: Oracle, MySQL, Enea, VirtualLogix, and more than 70 additional MontaVista partners provide middleware, applications, and tools ready to use in carrier grade network equipment with MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition.

MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition 5.0 will be available worldwide on December 17, 2007. Architectures supported will include Intel x86/x86_64 and PowerPC, with MIPS to follow in the first quarter of 2008.

Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM - News), a leading developer and innovator of advanced wireless technologies and data solutions, today introduced three new 45 nm single-chip solutions designed to enable mass-market smartphones with an unsurpassed range of capabilities. The QSC7230(TM) for HSPA+ devices, QSC7830(TM) for CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. B devices, and multi-mode QSC7630(TM) for both HSPA+ and EV-DO Rev. B, all feature the highest levels of integration in the wireless industry today and deliver support for third-party operating systems. These three single-chip solutions are the fifth generation of dual-core solutions from Qualcomm, comprising the next evolution of the Company’s MSM7xxx-series dual-core chipsets.The products offer the most advanced cellular modem technologies, a multi-band RF transceiver supporting all frequency bands worldwide, an ARM11 application processor running up to 600 MHz, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, FM radio and GPS — all in a single 12×12 package. Additionally, the three chipsets feature new power-saving innovations to deliver more than 80 hours of music playback, a full day of talk time, and more than a month of standby time.

“Our new single-chip solutions offer the highest levels of integration with the most advanced modem technologies available in the wireless industry today,” said Dr. Sanjay K. Jha, chief operating officer of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. “We are building on the success of our dual-core chipsets to allow our customers to quickly deliver next-generation, lower-cost smartphones that can feature an exceptional range of capabilities, thereby helping to grow the smartphone market as a whole.”

The QSC7230 supports UMTS Release 7 (HSPA+) and Cat. 9 UMTS for 10.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA data speeds. The QSC7830 supports EV-DO Rev. B for up to 14.7 Mbps on the downlink and 5.4 Mbps on the uplink. The QSC7630 supports both EV-DO Rev. B and HSPA+. All three products feature full backward compatibility to previous-generation networks, as well as:

* ARM11 applications processor running at up to 600MHz

* Support for 5 megapixel camera, VGA display resolution and TV-out

* Support for third-party operating systems such as Windows Mobile and Linux

* 45 nm CMOS process technology

* 2D and 3D hardware-accelerated graphics

* Fully integrated GPS, FM radio and Bluetooth, eliminating the need for many external components

* Integrated support for worldwide cellular frequency bands

* For CDMA2000: 450MHz, 700MHz, 800MHz, J-800MHz, 850MHz, 1500MHz, AWS, KPCS 1.8GHz, 1.9GHz, 2.1GHz, 2.5GHz

* For UMTS: 700MHz, 800MHz, 850MHz, 900MHz, 1500MHz, AWS, 1800MHz, 1900MHz, 2.1MHz, 2.6GHz

* 4-band EGPRS support in 900MHz, 1800MHz, 850MHz, 1900MHz

* 12mm x 12mm package size

The QSC solutions are scheduled to sample in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Recently, Motorola took a stake in UIQ, a user interface solution for mobile devices pre-integrated with the Symbian mobile operating system. Symbian has long been considered a company dominated by the agenda of Nokia; and Motorola’s apparent “buy in” to the ecosystem looks to be (at face value) a knee-jerk reaction to its current poor performance. But ABI Research asks: Why would Motorola entertain strengthening the competitive position of its biggest competitor, Nokia?Research director Stuart Carlaw answers, “Motorola could be characterized as a blue-sky thinker, which is good with respect to long-term planning, but falls short on the here-and-now trends. Conversely, Motorola may look to release compelling multimedia phones to the market quickly, in order to combat softness in this segment of its portfolio.”

“It is prudent for them to keep all OS options open with support for Linux, Microsoft, and Symbian, as these are the triumvirate of technologies that will shape the future mobile software market. It is interesting to see some tiering of the OS in Motorola’s platform strategy, with Linux becoming the mid-tier choice whilst Symbian and Microsoft temporarily occupy high-end devices.”

ABI Research found that Symbian looks set to enjoy a solid market share of 70% or more of the smartphone OS market for the next few years. “However,” adds Carlaw, “Linux is forecast to encroach upon its position in the latter periods, with Microsoft occupying a solid third position. How interesting it would be if Motorola placed UIQ on top of a Linux OS.”

“Forgive me if I appear a little skeptical here about Google’s Open Handset Alliance. By my count, it’s the fifth consortium so far to attempt to craft something useful for mobile phones out of Linux and open-source software.”

MontaVista Software, Inc., the leading provider of Linux for intelligent devices and communications infrastructure, announced today that it has purchased a Seoul-based company to meet the growing demand from Korean device manufacturers and software developers for MontaVista embedded Linux software and services. The announcement was made at a press conference in Seoul.MontaVista Software Korea Co., Ltd. was established four years ago as a joint venture between MontaVista and other investors. It has been acquired in full by MontaVista Software, Inc. The entire sales and services staff have become employees of MontaVista Software, Inc., and will help MontaVista support Samsung, LG Electronics, ETRI, and its other Korean customers in the use of MontaVista Linux to quickly produce innovative new electronic devices and embedded applications.

“We are impressed by the rapid growth in the number of Korean companies that have selected MontaVista Linux,” said Tom Kelly, president and CEO of MontaVista Software. “We expect to sign more than 50 agreements with 30 different Korean companies this year alone. We are making this investment to build closer relationships with our Korean customers, and with the markets they help drive.”

The former Korean joint venture is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of MontaVista Software, Inc. It will provide sales, support, and consulting engineering services to electronic device designers, helping them use MontaVista DevRocket development tools to customize MontaVista Linux and implement new devices and software platforms running on MontaVista Linux open-source operating system software.

MontaVista has hired Young-Hoon Yoo as Korea Country Manager. The former head of South Korean operations for WebMethods and EMC Documentum, Yoo also managed telecommunications business development in Asia for Cadence Design Systems.

“We are working on making a seamless transition for our customers, partners, and employees to MontaVista ownership,” said Yoo. “Now, with direct access to MontaVista’s corporate resources, we are ready to address the growth in demand for MontaVista embedded Linux operating systems, development tools, and support services.”

MontaVista Software, Inc. is the leading provider of Linux for intelligent devices and telecommunications infrastructure. MontaVista delivers commercial-quality Linux operating systems, time-saving development tools, expert support, and design and migration services. MontaVista has more than 400 partners, and thousands of companies use MontaVista embedded Linux to add functionality, increase reliability, reduce costs, and accelerate product development. MontaVista has offices in 15 countries. For more information, please visit www.mvista.com

Trolltech today announced that it has sold its entire inventory of Qtopia Greenphones, the world’s first open phone built by the company to drive developer and operator interest. Trolltech, having accomplished its mission and committed to its roots as a software company, will not order additional units and will work closely with developers to migrate them to new, compatible reference platforms that have since been introduced to the market.As an open, Linux-based mobile phone, Qtopia Greenphone was a project initiated by Trolltech to stimulate open development of mobile phones and to serve as an industry catalyst for the open phone movement. The pioneering initiative resulted in the creation of the first platform for open phones and, in turn, provided the developer community and mobile phone operators a platform on which to test and advance the creation and demonstration of new mobile technology services to foster mobile phone innovation.

“At Vodafone Betavine we launched a web portal to interact with the developer community, said Stephen Wolak, on the Vodafone Betavine Team. “Greenphone was an innovative programme that responded well to open source developers, and mobile application experimentation. At Vodafone Betavine we believe there is a growing community and developer interest in open platform devices, Greenphone has certainly helped in the visibility of this growing trend.

“Going forward, Vodafone Betavine hopes to be stimulating the development and growing awareness of the Open Source community by housing their innovative work, and offering open API’s on the portal.”

Trolltech will continue to work with a number of device manufacturers to make Qtopia Phone Edition, the popular application platform for Linux-based mobile phones, available to further leverage the innovative work the community has already done on the Greenphone.

Since the introduction of Greenphone, Trolltech has given open source developers and commercial organizations the tools to create innovative, inspiring applications and services.

“The success of Greenphone is due in large part to the void it filled in the market by providing an open phone platform that could be used for experimentation and to build innovate applications,” said Benoit Schillings, Trolltech CTO. “While we have sold out our inventory of Greenphones, we continue to work with other hardware manufacturers which have open devices on the market. Our community now has a choice of phone platforms to work with and we aim to support additional platforms in the future.”

Trolltech will continue to support the Qtopia Greenphone community with new software releases in the coming months. In addition, community developers and organizations looking for phone hardware on which to develop Qtopia applications, Trolltech recommends the Neo1973 from FIC and OpenMoko. Trolltech is also currently working on support for additional devices and hopes to announce support for these devices in the coming weeks.