InfoWorld: Linux Takes Backseat in New Motorola Phone

[ Thanks to mariuz for this link. ]

"Motorola grabbed a lot of headlines in February when it announced the world's first mobile phone that runs Linux, however, developers won't be able to create Linux applications and run those on the phone because Linux is not secure enough, Motorola spokesman David Rudd said Wednesday.

"'The main issue here is that a phone's operating system must be made secure so that, for example, badly written or malicious code cannot power up the modem and rack up charges on your bill,' he wrote in an e-mail response to questions. Developers may get to write Linux applications for the Motorola phone at a later stage, but Motorola wants to put out a product and test it first, Rudd said.

"Motorola wants developers to create Java applications. Linux takes a 'backseat' to Java and functions as 'a vehicle to deliver Java, the enabler of the applications on the phone,' Rudd said in an interview after the February announcement of the A760 phone that runs Linux. 'The operating system is a necessary element, but not quite as strategic as Java...'"

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• siliconvalley.internet.com: Motorola Rings up MontaVista for Linux-Java Phone(Mar 21, 2003)
• Business 2.0: Open Source Hits The Open Road(Feb 26, 2003)
• The Register: Motorola Gambles Big on Linux, Sinocapitalism(Feb 18, 2003)
• CNET News: Linux to Power Most Motorola phones(Feb 13, 2003)