Smartphone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"Maybe those calls for 'Vista light' on UMPCs and MIDs are getting answered with Windows Mobile 7. While you could use a Celio REDFLY paired to a Windows Mobile phone for a similar experience now, Qualcomm is already showing off a portable device on Engadget Mobile to exemplify the potential here. In fact, SVP Luis Pinada alluded to that just today: 'Microsoft Windows Mobile 7, which is made for chips used in mobile phones, will be more laptop friendly than older versions of Windows Mobile.'"


[Photo courtesy of Engadget]

According to Engadget Mobile, Qualcomm will be releasing a Windows Mobile 7 powered handset which will be powered by their Snapdragon mobile CPU. The device is supposed to make "big presence in Snapdragon-based devices at CES 2009" and pack a $299USD price point that is almost as tiny as the device pictured above. This tiny powerhouse will also come equipped with 3G mobile Internet technology. All and all, not too shabby Qualcomm! If only 2009 wasn't so far away...

"Compulab may start a trend in the do-it-yourself world with its introduction of a fully functional -- less screen -- handheld computer. Starting at $122 you get the basic module running an Intel Xscale CPU up to 520 MHz with either Linux or Windows CE and for a bit more cake can add cellular radio, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, camera, or VGA touchscreen to your handset. Of course, you'll need to design yourself a nice housing as they don't seem to carry any, but hey, that's half of the DIY fun right there."





This is nothing short of "wow" worthy. If you are a huge fan of do-it-yourself projects, such as myself, than chances are you are most likely drooling over your keyboard right now. Since I am almost certain that drool can not be good for keyboards, go grab yourself a towel before you finish reading! I know I for one am growing a bit more uneasy everyday waiting for all of our favorite handset makers to get off their rumps and release a device that really knocks our socks off. Since I cannot see anything of that nature on the near horizon, I will just have to build my own device! I'm almost 100% sure that my DIY project will not be turning any heads on the street... in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if my housing consisted of a lot of duct tape. But how often do you get a chance to build your own smartphone?!

"Linux has great potential in the mobile arena, but establishing it there will be a tall order, industry participants told a LinuxWorld Conference and Expo audience. Mobile phone users will have to demand the technology, and they are more interested in cool devices and applications than in a software platform for its own sake, said Greg Franklin, a venture capitalist at Intellect Partners, in Palo Alto, California, who helps Finnish carrier TeliaSonera AB find investment candidates."

I'm torn on mobile Linux. On one hand, it would be new technology which would mean I would have to play with it! ;) On the other hand, I really don't see Linux bringing anything new to the table. I'm afraid that a Linux handheld would just be the same old thing but in a new body. :(

"Well well,Kudos to freelancers.Linux on windows smartphones :: hard to imagine but they have implemented it partially and the final version is still due. This release is not for the faint-hearted,beware!!"



Do you have a spare HTC built Smartphone that you don't know what to do with? Do you have lots of free time on your hands? If you answered yes to these questions, then perhaps this is the weekend hobby project for you. Check out the linked site for a list of what parts of this build are done, in progress, and still to do. You'll also find a download link and a link to read more about the project, on that site. Good luck, and have fun.

"A new analyst report has predicted that smartphone OS leader Symbian will soon be toppled by two relative upstarts of the mobile world. According to the Diffusion Group, by the end of the decade both Windows and Linux will have greater market share than Symbian. In 2010, the analyst house said, Symbian will see its market share halved to around 22 percent, while Windows will climb to more than 28 percent and Linux to more than 26 percent. The Diffusion Group said the change will come about as 3G networks enable more advanced applications made possible by the likes of Microsoft and Linux."

There sure seems to be a lot of talk as of late about how Windows Mobile is the choice for the future. With Symbian shipments nearing 33 million and Microsoft hitting just 5 million, it can be hard to think that things will change that drastically. However, a big part of the Ace Microsoft has up it's sleeve is the ability for the enterprise developers to quickly leverage their experience with the Windows environment to build mobile applications for the work force. :D

"Nokia�s practically synonymous with Symbian (they own 47.9% of the company which oversees the mobile OS and release 70% of the Symbian-powered smartphones each year), but the analysts over at ARC think it�s no longer inconceivable that Nokia might dump the OS altogether and port its Series 60 interface to Linux (sort of like how PalmSource is porting the Palm OS to Linux). Their evidence? Nokia�s decision to license Microsoft�s ActiveSync technology directly � even though Symbian had already cut a deal with Redmond � combined with their recent announcement of the 770, a non-cellphone handheld that runs on Linux instead of Symbian..."

If I recall correctly, Symbian licensed something slightly different than Nokia. They needed to license the backend hooks while Nokia licensed the desktop/user side of it. Does anyone know for sure? I could be mistaken. Regardless of the license issue, could Nokia switch? Sure, but it doesn't really make much sense. What does it say to you, if a company who has the dominate position in the market place, dumps their OS and runs to jump on another bandwagon? Scared?

"Embedded Linux powered 14 percent of smartphones shipped worldwide in Q1 of 2005, up 412 percent from 3.4 percent in Q1-04, according to Gartner. Windows Mobile Smartphone shipments also grew, rising 50 percent from a 2.9 share in 1Q-04 to 4.5 percent in 1Q-05."



It's important to note that Gartner did not include any Pocket PC Phone devices in their numbers. I'm sure if you added in those numbers, the Linux and Microsoft numbers would be closer together. This is my biggest complaint about all these different surveys. There needs to be a standard clear cut definition of the different types of phones so we can compare numbers on an even playing field. They neglected Pocket PC based phones, but allowed a number of Linux based PDA phones (with stylus). Regardless, Linux has made a very impressive improvement in their rankings. It appears that Microsoft has more than just Symbian to worry about.

"MontaVista Software unleashed a new embedded operating system designed to make smartphone players like Microsoft and Symbian sit up and take note. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Linux vendor, known for its embedded Linux offerings, announced its Mobilinux 4.0 product designed for the $300 and $600 mobile and wireless device market. The operating system is scheduled to ship in the second quarter of 2005 and immediately benefit MontaVista's partners such as Openwave and palmOne as well as Motorola, NEC and Panasonic. ...The new operating system features a fast start-up (less than 1 second), a small footprint, and better performance while extending battery life. The operating system also features support for RFID, Bluetooth, and SAMBA."

1 Second? Something tells me that's not correct. Maybe they're talking about resuming from suspend or something like that. I just can't see a smartphone doing a full boot, such that I could dial a call or check email, in less than a second. Welcome to the party MontaVista, and be sure to hold on tight, it's going to be a bumpy road ahead. ;)

"Motorola introduced a lineup of smartphone models for the second half � the A768i and A780 with Motorola�s new Linux smartphone OS and the MPx220 � in Japan yesterday. The three models will be launched in the second half of this year. The embedded Linux OS for Motorola�s smartphones is currently being developed at the company�s Personal Communication Sector (PCS) in Beijing, China. The company has plans to expand its offerings of Linux-based smartphones in the future, according to sources at the company."

Motorola doesn't believe in putting all its eggs in one basket. When it comes to Smartphones it has models based on Windows Mobile, Linux and Windows CE. It does prove beyond doubt that Motorola is serious about becoming a major player in the Smartphone market. Also the company must innovate if it has to maintain its position in the market. However, this news article reminds me of the earlier suspicions that people had regarding Motorola's commitment to the Microsoft Smartphone platform. That Motorola is going to make Windows Mobile Smartphones till its own proprietary Linux based Smartphone OS is solid and ready for prime time. What are your thoughts?

"Motorola is targeting mobile business users with its latest wireless device, the A780, with a Linux-based handset with Java and EDGE connectivity. Like its predecessor the Motorola A760, the A780 runs on a Linux kernel for its core functionality and then provides a Java virtual machine on which most applications run. That allows Motorola to save time and money on a proprietary OS while still allowing developers considerable flexibility, especially if Motorola makes it possible to write directly to the underlying Linux system rather than just to the Java system atop it."

The A780 has all the features that makes it an attractive choice as a Smartphone. Impressive talk time, nice touch screen (240x320), 1.3 Mega pixel camera, Bluetooth, Quad Band, EDGE, over-the-air sync, Java, Browser, MP3 Player, PDF and Office file viewers, the list goes on and on. Do I sound like I am sold on this model. :-) Well I have to admit, Motorola has done a commendable job on getting the specifications right. I believe that the A780 is a worthy challenger, what do you think? And it seems like Motorola is pretty committed to the Smartphone platform and the Linux Smartphone OS.

I just finished four weeks of vacation. It's been quite ok despite the fact Sweden hasn't had so much rain and so cool temperatures since 1928. I've read books, books and more books. One of the books I found most interesting is "Just for Fun", a biography of Linus Torvalds. The book is definately worth reading as it explains how Linux came about and goes into detail regarding the thinking behind the open source movement(s). I will definately return to this subject and give my view on this book, Linux and open source. Before that, though, be sure to not miss the article "Windows, Linux grapple in Great Gadget Smack-Down!" published on the WindowsForDevices.com web site.

"Impassioned battles between Linux and Windows partisans are no longer confined to the desktop and server arenas. With the growing ubiquity of smart devices, the device arena offers action every bit as intense, justifying massive vendor technology investments, high-dollar PR campaigns, and generous helpings of technical hyperbole from both corners, which contribute to a pugilistic aura not unlike that found at a WWF wrestling championship. What really matters for the spectators, though, are the actual devices produced by the respective competitors. We therefore have decided to hold the first-ever "Great Gadget Smack-Down," pitting OS vs. OS. Not on paper, according to oft-conflicting market share estimates, feature and architecture claims, or purported time-to-market benefits -- but instead, where it really counts: based on which OS powers the best gadgets."

"Unlike the earlier Motorola A-760, which launched last fall, the A768 (Click images for larger views) includes full video services capabilities such as video capturing, playback, and download through GPRS/CSD.

The A768 also provides VPN support for access to corporate data, a PDA, Web brower, Email, MMS, SMS, and viewers for PDFs and various Microsoft Office file formats. Its phone software uses the GSM protocol. Like the earlier A760, the A768 is based on MontaVista Linux."



""Handset manufacturers, such as Motorola, are turning to the fast emerging mobile Linux OS as a platform for phone development because of the flexibility, control, and innovation offered by open source software," commented MontaVista CEO Jim Ready."

Is that why Motorola is expected to release 3 more Windows Mobile based devices this year bringing the total to 4, while this would be the second Linux based device? Fast, ya right. :roll:

A story over at Slashdot discusses a recent report which predicts that Linux will dominate the smartphone market in a few years. The report comes from a company called Zelos (you can buy a copy from them for $1,995) and makes drastic claims such as this:

"Microsoft will face a severe uphill battle to succeed in its stated goal of achieving global shipments of 100 million devices based on its platform in 2007. While Windows will provide advantages for OEMs in the productivity device segment Microsoft will have a tough time defining new hybrid device categories and matching the innovation of more open platform ecosystems."

The primary reason they give for Linux eventually topping both Microsoft and Symbian is this: "Linux scored highest on the two criteria that matter most to OEMs and carriers: openness and low cost." This is, in my opinion, an inaccurate assumption. What matters most to OEMs and carriers is one thing: profit. And what differentiates Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Linux is how each platform proposes to enable OEMs and carriers to generate that profit.

So perhaps Linux is proposing to do it through 'openness' and 'low cost'. And perhaps they can beat out the competition in terms of those two criteria. And perhaps we can ignore the point that those two criteria contradict each other since an open platform implies high development costs need to be spent on actually doing something with that openness. The question remains: is this approach going to pose a serious threat to Windows Mobile?

Let's look at it this way... Linux is proclaiming "Pick me! I'll decrease your costs!" while Microsoft is getting right to the heart of the matter by boasting "Pick me! I'll increase your revenue." One offers to cut the cost of each device by a few dollars. The other offers to increase the amount of money customers pay to their carrier each month by a few dollars. This doesn't sound like a very difficult decision to me.

"Motorola launched its first Linux-based smartphone yesterday. While the desktop Linux world is in turmoil over a lawsuit from the US based SCO, there has been big progress in embedded Linux systems.

The A760 sports a personal information management suite, music player, video player, IM and more. It uses Java on top of Linux to power its applications. To communicate with the rest of your toys it includes Bluetooth, IR, and a USB transfer cable. It�s also got a camera, though its resolution is unknown at this time."

Click the link above to see a photo and more info. So what do you think? Is Linux a threat to Microsoft's Smartphone plans?