Android new system
Posted on April 16, 2009, under Google Android.
A new Android 1.1 system image is now available for download from HTC. The Android dev phone 1 (ADP1), which was introduced in December offers both an unlocked bootloader and easy flashing support, so you can better install custom Android builds.
The 1.1 developer build is fully compatible with the retail 1.1 Android release. This allows programmers to test software on their dev units with a matching installation. This Android Developers site has set up a Google group dedicated to questions and answers about updating the Android dev phone.
ACCESS Linux Platform unveiled in Barcelona
Posted on February 24, 2009, under Mobile World News.
The new version of ACCESS Linux Platform unveiled at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona offers a richer user interface and compliance with LiMo standards. The ACCESS Linux Platform (ALP) 3.0 brings a significant user interface overhaul with support for rich visual effects. ACCESS Platform leverages components of the GNOME mobile and embedded stack, which means that third-party developers can use GTK+ to build applications that will run on the platform. It also includes a Java runtime, a Garnet emulator that enables support for legacy Palm applications, and a Web widget runtime that allows developers to build applications with HTML and JavaScript. ALP was developed by PalmSource, a software company that split from Palm in 2003 and was subsequently acquired by ACCESS in 2005.
LiMo focussed on providing Linux based operating platform for mobile providers
Posted on February 11, 2009, under Google Android, Open-Source.
The LiMo Foundation today announced that at least six major operators will be delivering Linux based mobile phones in 2009. LiMo is group focussed on providing a standard Linux based operating platform for mobile providers. In June of 2008 it absorbed its rival the LiPS (Linux Phone Standards) and in my view now competes squarely against Google’s Android and Nokia’s Symbian.
The new Linux phones will come from NTT DOCOMO, Orange, SK Telecom, Telefonica, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone all of whom are LiMO contributors in some way. LiMO claims now to have 33 commercial mobile phones certified as being LiMo compliant.
Linux-based Moblin 2 platform is now available for download
Posted on January 29, 2009, under Open-Source.
Intel has announced the availability of the first Moblin 2 alpha release. Moblin is an open source Linux-based platform that Intel is developing for Atom-based mobile devices. The company hopes to attract a community of third-party developers to contribute to the platform and target it with their applications. Moblin has already been adopted by several Linux distributors, including Linpus, GoS, and Mandriva. These distributors plan to build custom derivatives on top of the Moblin core. It includes Pimlico, an open source suite of lightweight PIM applications that were created by OpenedHand. Xfce will eventually be dropped in favor of a richer and more mobile-friendly user interface that is built with OpenedHand’s Clutter framework. Intel acquired OpenedHand last year.
Is Google looking at the netbook market
Posted on January 8, 2009, under Open-Source.
Given how flexibly Android has been developed and how well it adapts to new platforms without needing specific adjustments, Google would be foolish to not at least consider this avenue as an active development path. Google has the strength, the influence, and now it seems the technology, to take Linux-based netbooks and notebooks to a newer, more polished, and friendlier place. With Android and its overall consumer ready interface, netbooks could appeal to a wider group of customers and to a possibly revenue-rich market.