15th January 2008
The mobile Linux developer, "a la Mobile" has ported the Google Android mobile OS platform to run on HTC's Qtek 9090 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.
The HTC Qtek 9090 smartphone is more typically sold running the Windows Mobile OS.
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. "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."
a la Mobile's first Linux system offering -- Convergent Linux Platform (CLP) version 1.0 - based on the Qt application framework by Trolltech, was first introduced in 2006 and adopted by several handset vendors.
