ARM, six others join forces 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." Reportedly, the platform will eventually be released into the open source community, and it hopes to move swiftly in getting the goods into "Connected Mobile Computing (CMC) devices." And if you're wondering when you can get your hands dirty with it, ARM is hoping to release a full platform early next year and have equipped devices on shelves by early 2009.

[Via jkkmobile]

[Magallanes @ Oct 4th 2007 2:11PM]

ARM first grant with Symbian and now with this "Linux group", this sound most likely a menage a trois. They just need to call MS-WindowsMobile to complete the orgy.

[ethana2 @ Oct 4th 2007 6:07PM]

Hey, I've got a great idea-- let's take sweet pieces of news, and randomly try to make them weird! What do you think?

[shade88 @ Oct 4th 2007 3:20PM]

um. yay.

[ethana2 @ Oct 4th 2007 6:05PM]

His caps lock key must be broken. Colemak has a backspace there instead, so I'll make do with shift.

YAAAAAYYY!!!!

We're capable of a unity that proprietary competition simply can't keep up with. Let it roll.

[Stern @ Oct 4th 2007 6:20PM]

There will probably be devices out way before early 2009 - the community version of the GP2X (unofficially codenamed the Craiginator) will be most likely sporting TIs OMAP3430 - one of the SoCs that will be using this technology. The Craiginator is due to come out in the spring, so we'll be able to see how powerful this technology really is way sooner than '09.

[Sheldon @ Oct 5th 2007 3:55AM]

Er, I'm confused by what you're saying:
The OMAP3430 is Cortex-A8 based. The announcement made by ARM was around an SMP core called Cortex-A9 and from what I can tell of the GP2X is that it is based around a dual ARM9 (which are an entirely different ARM architecture and are not designed as SMP).
Oh and the release schedule of the Cortex-A9 means that test silicon (not destined for consumer devices) is only likely mid to late 2008 so it is incredibly unlikely that there will be any consumer devices with those chips in before 2009.

[Stern @ Oct 6th 2007 4:56PM]

If you look on the page where ARM makes the press release, you'll see a quote from TI saying that the OMAP3430 will be sporting this platform. There is a community version of the GP2X being developed (NOT affiliated with GamePark or GamePark Holdings) that might use the OMAP3430.

[dj-kenpo @ Oct 4th 2007 6:42PM]

smells like fear. Intel's new penny sized x86 chip is gonna shake things up a bit in the handheld department.
hmmmm, windows ce... or xpe on a mobile,... tough choice. full software scaled down versions? I think arm has seen it's day as a leader come, and soon to go. linux is their only hope, even that though, why use arm if you can run x86 without needing to port anything? why report software just for the heck of it?

[Andir3.0 @ Oct 4th 2007 8:12PM]

In Linux, porting is sometimes as simple as changing compilers...

[Coleman Foley @ Oct 6th 2007 11:05AM]

there are very few apps to port to ARM. you just need the browser, the flash plug-in, maybe a media player. also, ARM processors have better battery life than x86 processors.

[dj-kenpo @ Oct 6th 2007 9:46PM]

coleman,

well, it depend what you do. arm for instance doesn't run 3ds max or photoshop, nor does linux.

so it depends what your job is. linux+arm is great for some, and next to useless for others.