Motorola Inc. last week upped its bet on Linux, christening a new version of its Java/Linux platform and claiming that the open-source operating system will be used on as much as 60% of its phones “in the next few years.”
The manufacturer initially announced plans to adopt Linux four years ago, and has shipped more than 9 million handsets with the technology worldwide. But while Motorola will continue to make Symbian- and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile-enabled devices, the firm appears to making the platform a central theme of its handset business, hoping that a more open approach will spur the interest of developers, resulting in improved phone sales.
The company said the new platform, dubbed Motomagx, will deliver new levels of flexibility and support for third-party applications, and initially will be available on the Motorokr Z6 and the Razr2 V8-the latter of which will be the company’s first Linux-based device in North America.
“We know that software is just as important as hardware,” said Motorola executive Alain Mutricy. “Through the introduction of our Motomagx platform, we are reinforcing our firm commitment to Linux and empowering our developer community to innovate with us in exciting new ways.”
Motorola announced new tools to help developers write native Linux applications-not just Java apps-as well as advanced Web applications for the platform’s Opera Web browser. Tools for both Linux and WebUI will be available to selected developers by the end of 2007.
The move allows Motorola to tap into the massive base of Linux developers, but it highlights the increasingly fragmented market all mobile developers face. Unlike PCs, where Windows became a de facto standard, or the Internet, the mobile world is effectively controlled by a handful of operators.
New technologies, new fragmented markets
Linux is gaining ground against both Symbian and Windows Mobile. BREW and J2ME are well established, but a host of new technologies such as Adobe’s Flash Lite will serve only to exacerbate fragmentation problems.
The result, according to Tira Wireless executive Tony de la Lama, is an environment that grows more fragmented as each new technology comes to market.
“There are layers now that are forming in the stack that have long appeared in the mobile platform,” said de la Lama. “It starts with the network operator itself, then you move to the phone specifically-operating systems like Symbian, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry. On top of that, you have a layer of runtimes, J2ME, Flash. . In our view, the standard is becoming a more distant goal just by virtue of the dynamics of the marketplace.”
Writing applications for the wireless Web helps address some of the fragmentation issues, allowing developers a kind of “lowest common denominator” platform that provides a relatively easy way to deploy applications across a variety of handsets. But Internet-based offerings are inferior to downloadable applications, which can deliver content in a more compelling fashion and minimize network latency issues.
More layers
The success of Windows resulted in a series of application programming interfaces, or APIs, that served as a single point of reference for developers looking to build Windows-based applications.
“The notion is that standardization will not happen at the API level,” said Steve Haney, Tira’s senior director of worldwide marketing. “Whether you’re an OS like Windows Mobile or a runtime environment like J2ME or BREW, which run top of the OS, or even these widget guys trying to come in on top of that . everybody’s trying to create these layers.”
So instead of a series of APIs, Haney suggests, the industry to continue to focus on building development platforms that allows developers to store frequently used code and automate repetitive tasks. Such platforms won’t entirely address the fragmented development market in mobile, but they can help developers build and deploy applications more efficiently.
“I would say that it’s not going to be a single (development platform); it’s not going to be a layer,” Haney said. “What I’m saying is there will need to be one place developers will go to get to all mobile consumers. I don’t think that one development platform, one environment, will win. I think there will be multiple winners.”
