Microsoft predicts Linux will fail mobile 'quality' test

[piratePenguin]

Prophesying problems for Linux, Bach told analysts at last weeks' Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada: "I don't think there's an operator in the world that wouldn't tell you that it's a pain to support all the different operating systems they have, in particular the 17 versions of Linux they have on feature phones, all of which are a little quirky and a little different, require separate network certifications, network product support, and the like that goes along with that."

He continued: "I think some of the current systems will fall away...I certainly think in the feature phone space you'll see some pruning of the Linux tree, and I don't think that's really sustainable."

read more
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/13/bach_windows_mobile/

2 words: Android. Moblin.

[Refalm]

As opposed to the closed source Windows Mobile kernel, so it's harder for mobile manufacturers to customize the interface, not to mention the mobile service providers.

I see this as an act of desperation, since custom Linux builds can do the same or better than Windows Mobile, are cheaper and more flexible.

The notion that mobile phone operators complain is laughable, they sell lots of different kinds of phones. If they really wanted one operating system, they would choose one and only sell that one in their webshops. They certainly have the power to force something like that. Palm, Blackberry, Symbian, lots of custom flash builds, Windows Mobile, etc. have been existing along side for years. It shows that multiple operating system support by mobile phone operators obviously isn't that much of a draining resource.

[worker201]

What's so wrong with pruning the Linux tree?  Not every flavor can end up as a successful mobile phone.  Some are going to win and some are going to lose, that's the nature of the game.  Except with Linux, a win is good for everyone.

[Aloone_Jonez]

Open source software is always better for embedded hardware because it can be modified recompiled as needs be. With Windows you're restricted to the architectures Microsoft chooses to develop for, with Linux the choice is endless.

I see the point about loads of different versions being hard to maintain. So what? Just use one distro for all your products and be done with it.

I've just read about Windows mobile. It seems tailored for the more high end phones. I can't see it running on a basic phone with only 16MB of RAM, Linux can.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile_7

[Refalm]

What's so wrong with pruning the Linux tree?  Not every flavor can end up as a successful mobile phone.  Some are going to win and some are going to lose, that's the nature of the game.  Except with Linux, a win is good for everyone.

Pruning the Linux tree on mobile OS's is sorted out by the free market. If a certain flavour becomes popular, it makes other flavours maybe want to merge with them.

[worker201]

I think we should be clear, though, that this is not likely to be anything like the desktop computer market, where you can install whatever Linux you want, fuck around with it, and then install some other Linux you like better.  The system software may be open source, or based on open source, but the phones and plans will likely be locked down in some way.

[reactosguy]

Classic example of Microsoft's large-scale FUD mission.

[worker201]

On a related note, this Google Nexus phone will work with any GSM sim card.  Although the best results are from the T-Mobile network, it can be used almost anywhere:
http://www.google.com/support/android/bin/answer.py?answer=166507

This phone runs Android, which is built on a Linux kernel.  So we're still not talking about homebrew stuff here, but we are talking about Linux products and theoretical freedom.

[Lead Head]

I've actually seen a few phones now that are running Google's Android, seems to picking popularity quite fast

[worker201]

I know a number of people who have become so angry at AT&T's service that they have dropped their iPhones and gone to other providers, and many of them are pleased with their new Android phones.  As far as I can tell, though, no American cellular provider is honest or reliable, so it's probably okay to just go with whatever phone you like.