Linux and Smartphones — Til’ Death do us part?
Over the next 5 years, Linux is expected to be the fastest growing Smartphone OS with a compound annual growth rate in excess of 75%. A recent study from ABI Research forecasts the Linux-based OS to account for nearly 31% of all smart devices in the market by 2012 — representing more than 331 million cumulative shipments over the same period.
Research director Stuart Carlaw states, “Serious initiatives from the likes of Intel and Access are gathering pace and momentum, whilst the carrier community continues to identify Linux as one of the few operating systems that it intends to support in its long-term plans.” Carlaw adds, “Linux is benefiting from growing support in the handset OEM community, most notably Motorola, but also Nokia with less traditional types of devices aimed at mobile broadband applications.” The rise of mobile broadband and the impact that this has upon device convergence and format plays into the hands of Linux.
The vertical and horizontal fragmentation that has plagued this market continues to be a concern; however, the recent patent infringement assertions from Microsoft — that Linux, in its generic form, infringes upon 235 of its patents — is an ongoing concern. Many Linux pundits point to this as being old hat, while others indicate that there is no smoke without fire.
“Linux has had peaks and troughs in the mobile industry, but it’s looking quite positive at the moment,” said Matt Lewis, research director at ARCchart. The market research company recently issued a report entitled “Linux: The New OS Celebrity.”
So what’s in the future for linux and smartphones?
Linux and Palm
Palm has been rumored to be launching a linux-based smartphone in October of 2007. If this is true and it succeeds, it will be a big step for the linux advocates in the mobile arena. Landing a deal with Palm ensures the future of a linux-based OS for a long time to come in the PDA world(Source: engadget)
What makes this especially interesting is that Microsoft has failed so miserably with their attempts at Windows mobile. For those of you who purchased the Samsung Blackjack and Motorola Q – you already know why. For those of you who didn’t, consider yourself lucky. While the sleek look of these slim-line phones is sexy, the use and operability is anything but.
Personally, I was excited about the Moto Q. Went out and got one the first week they were on the market, took it home and had one problem after another. Configuration Conflicts. Crashes. Poor Usability. Poor
Battery life. I ended up selling my Moto Q on craigslist and went back to Blackberry after a month of ‘giving it a chance.’ Enough on that diatribe though…
It also looks like Google is considering linux for the platform on it’s upcoming phone. I just saw an article on informationweek that sounds pretty promising. “So, if we piece together all these rumors, the Google Phone will be cheap (probably around $100 or less), run on some form of Linux OS that Google has helped design through its acquisition of Android, and have integrated GPS and GoogleMaps.”