New Linux phone might be the next best thing

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   Curitel Communications' Curitel Identity may market itself as a kids' phone, but there's very grown-up technology inside that's gotten us very excited. This technology could change the direction of cell phones, thanks to Wildseed, the company behind the innovation. 
The Identity is the first mass-market Linux phone. It runs Linux kernel 2.4.5 (hey, they had to freeze development somewhere) on a 200-MHz Intel XScale processor under a custom overlay OS called SmartScreens. Wildseed chose Linux because of its flexibility, the ease of developing software for Linux, and the lack of licensing costs. "We believe phones are going to become general-purpose computers," Wildseed CEO Eric Engstrom told us. The phone's SmartSkins, which snap on and off the phone to customize its content, contain a tiny RISC processor which interfaces with the phone over a serial connection 
"Okay, so when can I hack into it?" you ask. Patience. Engstrom, one of the original developers of DirectX for Microsoft, is charting out a future course that will stretch far beyond the phone's initial teen market. 
First will come the USB cable and Java support. The Identity phone has a USB port on the bottom, and "soon" you'll be able to hook the phone up to your computer to download software updates "just like with Windows Update," Engstrom says. One of the first updates will be support for Java. 
Also coming "soon" is the phone's first GameSkin, which attaches a game controller and a port of the Game Boy Advance version of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. An MP3 skin, slated for the first few months of next year, will pack in up to 1GB of storage and add extra buttons on top of the phone for controlling MP3 playback. 
If you're the ExtremeTech type, you might figure out how to hack into this phone just by using the USB cable. But there are two problems with that: You could potentially destroy your phone with bad custom code, and major wireless carriers hate losing control of who accesses which parts of their phones, Engstrom explains. For the slightly less geeky, Wildseed is developing a Linux skin that will enable "sandboxed" access to the phone's Linux system; if you remove the skin, your custom Linux alterations will come away with it, returning the phone to a pristine state. 
Then there are the "vertical" skins. Engstrom says Wildseed is talking to large corporations about skins that would incorporate items like credit-card swipers and bar-code scanners for vertical uses. Inventory managers could snap on the bar-code skin while they're in a warehouse and snap it off when they leave to return the Identity to use as a normal phone, he says. 
Is Engstrom inhaling his own vaporware? We hope not—even though the Identity has taken four years to reach the market. (Wildseed's first handset contract, with Kyocera, imploded in a burst of now-settled lawsuits in 2003.) If Wildseed can cultivate the right alliances with carriers, developers, and customers, this could be a truly exciting new phone platform.

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admin Members Profile Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Admin Group Joined: 01/Jan/2007 Location: Head Office Online Status: Offline Posts: 14	Quote Reply Topic: New Linux phone might be the next best thing Posted: 07/Nov/2008 at 15:09
	Curitel Communications' Curitel Identity may market itself as a kids' phone, but there's very grown-up technology inside that's gotten us very excited. This technology could change the direction of cell phones, thanks to Wildseed, the company behind the innovation. The Identity is the first mass-market Linux phone. It runs Linux kernel 2.4.5 (hey, they had to freeze development somewhere) on a 200-MHz Intel XScale processor under a custom overlay OS called SmartScreens. Wildseed chose Linux because of its flexibility, the ease of developing software for Linux, and the lack of licensing costs. "We believe phones are going to become general-purpose computers," Wildseed CEO Eric Engstrom told us. The phone's SmartSkins, which snap on and off the phone to customize its content, contain a tiny RISC processor which interfaces with the phone over a serial connection "Okay, so when can I hack into it?" you ask. Patience. Engstrom, one of the original developers of DirectX for Microsoft, is charting out a future course that will stretch far beyond the phone's initial teen market. First will come the USB cable and Java support. The Identity phone has a USB port on the bottom, and "soon" you'll be able to hook the phone up to your computer to download software updates "just like with Windows Update," Engstrom says. One of the first updates will be support for Java. Also coming "soon" is the phone's first GameSkin, which attaches a game controller and a port of the Game Boy Advance version of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. An MP3 skin, slated for the first few months of next year, will pack in up to 1GB of storage and add extra buttons on top of the phone for controlling MP3 playback. If you're the ExtremeTech type, you might figure out how to hack into this phone just by using the USB cable. But there are two problems with that: You could potentially destroy your phone with bad custom code, and major wireless carriers hate losing control of who accesses which parts of their phones, Engstrom explains. For the slightly less geeky, Wildseed is developing a Linux skin that will enable "sandboxed" access to the phone's Linux system; if you remove the skin, your custom Linux alterations will come away with it, returning the phone to a pristine state. Then there are the "vertical" skins. Engstrom says Wildseed is talking to large corporations about skins that would incorporate items like credit-card swipers and bar-code scanners for vertical uses. Inventory managers could snap on the bar-code skin while they're in a warehouse and snap it off when they leave to return the Identity to use as a normal phone, he says. Is Engstrom inhaling his own vaporware? We hope not—even though the Identity has taken four years to reach the market. (Wildseed's first handset contract, with Kyocera, imploded in a burst of now-settled lawsuits in 2003.) If Wildseed can cultivate the right alliances with carriers, developers, and customers, this could be a truly exciting new phone platform.