Open source OS to power nearly 20% of mid- and high-end mobile devices by 2013… 

Linux, which has been much maligned by Symbian and Microsoft as a non-starter in the handset operating system (OS) market, is set to see strong growth as issues with framework fragmentation and silicon requirements are alleviated. So forecasts ‘ Mobile Linux: Bringing License-Free Operating Systems to Smartphones and Middle-Tier Devices’, a new analysis from ABI Research. Noting the growing momentum behind the LiMo Foundation initiative, the marketing boost that has been realised from the entry of Google’s Android solution, and Nokia’s support of the Maemo solution and its purchase of Trolltech, ABI reckons that by 2013 nearly one out of every five mid- or high-end mobile devices will use a Linux OS.

“Clever choice of public licence support, along with software engineering that isolates proprietary items from open source items, allows operating system vendors to generate revenue from a very cost-effective OS solution,” reasons ABI Research vice president Stuart Carlaw. “Linux OS solutions will be far more cost-effective than incumbent solutions, even when silicon requirements are taken into account, given that a fuller application layer will be included in the standard package and that the burden of customisation falls mostly on the independent software vendor.”

Also persuaded that mobile Linux is hot to trot is Strategy Analytics. In that company’s ‘Mobile Linux: Google and Motorola Hold the Short-Term Keys to Success’ report – part of  the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies Service – it’s argued that mobile Linux offers an attractive package in terms of customisation, cost, developer community, time-to-market, security and multi-chipset support to both handset manufacturers and mobile operators.

“Unlike the desktop PC industry there are more than 30 operating systems existing today in the mobile phone industry, over 20 of which are Linux-based,” allows Sravan Kundojjala, analyst at Strategy Analytics. "This has been a concern for the industry, but recent moves suggest consolidation is in the cards.”

“Strategy Analytics believes recent initiatives by Google and Motorola could solve problems like: consistency of APIs; slow adoption of mobile Linux in developed markets; and fragmentation. We also believe that interest in Linux is at an all-time high and that it will emerge as a worthy competitor to market leaders Symbian and Windows Mobile” forecasts Stuart Robinson, director of the Handset Component Technologies service.
John Williamson