06 October 2007

Industry Leaders to Collaborate on Linux Mobile Computing Platform

Just after Symbian announced that its future operating systems would support ARM SMP multicore technology, ARM has teamed up with six others to collaborate on a Linux Mobile Computing platform.

More specifically, the firm has joined with Marvell, MontaVista, Movial, Mozilla, Samsung and Texas Instruments in order to develop a “Linux-based open source platform for next-generation mobile applications.

To address the rise in consumer demand for access to the Internet and advanced applications on larger display mobile devices, ARM; and six companies today announced a collaboration that will result in the development of a Linux-based open source platform for next-generation mobile applications.

The collaboration, announced at the fourth annual ARMDevelopers’ Conference being held this week in Santa Clara, California, builds on the ARM architecture and its rich ecosystem of Partners to deliver a standards-base platform based on Linux. This group of companies are all working to accelerate the enablement of truly always on, connected mobile computing (CMC) devices.

The new platform will be released into the open source community and will be naturally adopted by ARM’s large ecosystem of software and silicon vendors, including Marvell, MontaVista, Movial, Mozilla, Samsung, and Texas Instruments.

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This effort between ARM and its Partners focuses on the development of an open source platform based on Linux, Gnome Mobile and Mozilla Firefox that runs on ARM Partners’ advanced systems on chip (SoCs). The collaboration strengthens ARM’s well-established OS and browser ecosystem, while leveraging the ability of ARM Partners to quickly bring products and technologies with compelling graphics, video, multimedia and internet capabilities to consumers.

Time-to-market is critical, competition is fierce and consumers’ expectation for an always on Internet experience on mobile devices continues to increase. This group addresses the technology challenges and time-to-market requirements that are essential in the development of differentiated Connected Mobile Computing (CMC) devices including but not limited to battery life, software integration and Web browsing capabilities.

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“Today’s consumers are very knowledgeable about technology, want to be connected to the Internet and access multimedia content and applications anywhere, at anytime, yet they do not want to be restricted by short battery life and inadequate features that will limit their experiences,” said Mike Inglis, executive vice president, Sales and Marketing, ARM. “By stepping up the collaboration among key stakeholders in the mobile market, we will be able to jointly deliver the devices and applications with the cutting-edge innovation consumers have come to expect.”

“The market for ultra mobile devices is expected to grow at over a 20 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) through the next decade driven by new communications standards, content rich data provided over the Internet, new usage models, and new business models,” commented Jim McGregor, research director, Enabling Technologies Group, In-Stat. “A critical component of success in this market will be building on industry standards that promote innovation in silicon, systems, and most importantly, software solutions. Through open standards and growing industry support, Linux naturally promotes such innovation.”