Open Source Linux Mobile Phone
Google and 33 other companies have announced an ambitious industry alliance that will maintain a completely open source mobile phone stack. The Open Handset Alliance (OHA) says phones based on its Linux-based "Android" stack will reach market in as soon as eight months. he Android stack is based on "open Linux kernel," the group says. It also includes a full set of mobile phone application software, in order to "significantly lower the cost of developing and distributing mobile devices and services," OHA said. In taking on not only the Linux kernel and middleware layer, but also the application stack, the OHA appears to have more ambition than earlier industry groups, such as the kernel-oriented LiMo Foundation , and the middleware-oriented LiPS (Linux Phone Standards Forum) and OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) initiatives, among others. In terms of its licensing and scope, the OHA's Android stack may more closely resemble Trolltech's Qtopia Phone Edit...