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Mobile Ubuntu Linux Coming To A Smartphone Near You

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Posted by Stephen Wellman, May 8, 2007 01:23 PM
After years of waiting for a successful mobile version of Linux, it looks like Linux is finally on its way to a cell phone near you thanks to some Ubuntu developers and Intel.
Ubuntu programmers will build a mobile version of their Debian-based Linux OS through a partnership with Intel. Intel plans to use the OS with a new low-power processor and chipset in smartphones.
The new Ubuntu mobile Linux is slatted to ship in October this year. How can they get this OS to market so soon? It could mean a couple of things. The first is that this OS is more than three-fourths finished. The second is that the Ubuntu community and Intel have underestimated the challenges in developing a new mobile OS, especially when it comes to issues like hardware and battery life management.
To date the story around mobile Linux has been more hype than reality. Mobile versions of Linux account for only 6 percent of the global handset OS market.
Can Intel really push Ubuntu Linux on to cell phones? The company's reach into the handset market does not equal its influence in the desktop market.
What do you think? Can Ubuntu and Intel make Linux work on smartphones?