Blog Insights: What OS does your cell phone use?

by Dan Blacharski

September 21, 2006 —

A snapshot of what bloggers are saying about the latest in information technology

I've never really thought about the operating system that runs mobile phones, and I would guess that most other people, even the ones that have more modern mobiles, also don't think about it. That's because unlike computers, where you actually have to install and launch programs, mobile phones come pre-programmed. The operating system is less visible. There has been some exciting news lately about mobile Linux platforms, and how they could change the very nature of mobile phones - but the short answer to the title of this article is, most people don't know, and don't care.

Of course, running Linux on mobile devices gives the manufacturers more control, and this may ultimately serve the consumer in terms of more and better services. One of the biggest potential stumbling blocks here is lack of standardization, but this problem may be well on its way to being solved. The OpenSource Watch blog notes that four mobile phone manufacturers have already released plans to create a common Linux-based platform, with potential benefits being reduced production costs and quicker time-to-market.

Naturally, the greatest benefit will come in creating more advanced mobile devices running Linux or other open systems, simply because of the cost factor. It's cheaper to run an open system than it is to run a Microsoft system. "Just Another Mobile Monday" also highlights the lack of Linux-based smartphones or PDAs, but reports that a German company called Road is planning to release its HandyPC, a PDA that includes a 2 mega-pixel camera and other goodies, running Linux. The same site also notes Motorola's increasing support for Linux on their future mobile phone releases.

MobileWhack has a review of something called the Greenphone, from Trolltech, a Linux mobile device primarily targeted at developers. Completely impractical for casual consumers, the Greenphone is offered in conjunction with the Greenphone SDK. I have to wonder about the name, and why they call it the Greenphone. Of course, it's green in color, but one usually assumes a product with "Green" in the name is designed to be environmentally friendly, biodegradable, or something of that nature. The fact that it runs Linux doesn't make it any more "green" than any other mobile device. The Greenphone may well be a good mobile, but I'm pretty sure you can't compost it.

One argument for open source in mobile phones is that the possibility of viruses will be limited, and the "Freedom To Tinker" blog brings up the horrifying spectre of cell phone viruses. These are virtually unheard of, but as phones get smarter, they may well become a more commonplace nuisance. Noting that cell phone viruses will probably look like PC viruses, the blog goes on to speculate that most viruses are written "for kicks" and are mostly harmless. This is far from reality, and although in the early days of computing this may have been true, viruses are today written primarily to gain an advantage or illicit profit for the writer. Virus writing isn't just something kids do for fun any more, it has turned into a sinister and highly organized business. This will be the case too with cell phone viruses, and the blog brings up the very realistic possibility that some of them may be written to make expensive phone calls. However, this blog correctly points out that open source is not invulnerable to viruses. They may have fewer security flaws, but there will certainly be some. And you can bet that virus writers will find them.

ITworld.com