MontaVista to launch Linux for cell phones

Linux for mobile phones is really beginning to catch on. One of the most notable pushes in this area is coming from MontaVista Software who seems to feel that Linux on the mobile can be brought to the mainstream.

MontaVista Software announced on Monday that it will ship an embedded version of Linux, Mobilinux 4.0, based on the Linux 2.6 kernel.

The announcement follows a MontaVista initiative launched last February targeted at the telecommunications industry.

The Mobilinux Program is meant to work with chip manufacturers, handset makers, and software developers to create a common reference architecture for a mobile Linux operating system to run on cell phones.

What differentiates Mobilinux from other mainstream OSes for handsets is its ability to scale to smart phones on the high end and less able, feature phones on the low end, according to Jacob Lehrbaum, product manager for wireless and mobile at MontaVista. [Read the rest]