Closed iPhone opens road for Linux phones
With iPhone a closed platform, Linux gets an wide-open road for phones and other smart devices Linux developers have been dying for a phone of their own ever since Sharp killed the Zaurus Linux-based PDA. Apple’s decision to close iPhone to 3rd-party applications gave the green light to Linux phones and mobile devices. LinuxWorld Expo 2007 basked in Apple’s unwitting generosity, with one booth after another featuring fledgling mobile Linux projects prospecting for funding, direction, and developers. The whole exhibit floor had the feel of a mining town that was just getting its footing. Linux on mobile devices is nothing new; success would be. It would take a phone handset maker the size of Motorola to make mobile Linux a hit, and as it happens, Motorola has staked a claim. Motorola’s been fiddling with Linux for some time, promising to open the Linux-based phone OS that it uses on a couple of shipping models, but, like many other exhibitors in the mobile Linux realm, Motorola can’t decide where to draw the line between protected intellectual property and The Public Good. As a result, in Motorola’s booth as at its developer site, Motorola teases a couple of Linux phones in its… READ MORE