"In 1997 the former Hewlett-Packard engineer was asked by Apple’s founder, Steven P. Jobs, to lead the hardware engineering division at the company, which was then struggling. Apple was wallowing in financial losses and the Mac’s appeal was waning. Mr. Rubinstein agreed, and over the next nine years he and his team of engineers breathed new life into the company by helping develop the iMac and the iPod.Those experiences should serve him well as he seeks to resuscitate Palm, whose roots in Silicon Valley go back to the PalmPilot, the revolutionary handheld computer, and the Treo, which turned heads as one of the first smartphones.In recent years Palm lost its way. Its share of the smartphone market has been halved to about 16.9 percent over the last two years. First, Research in Motion found the sweet spot of business users with its BlackBerry. More recently, Apple grabbed consumers’ fancy with the iPhone.Palm has tried to innovate beyond the five-year-old Treo with little effect. It announced with great fanfare last year that it would build the Foleo, a cross between a smartphone and notebook computer, only to cancel the project three months later. While cellphone makers like Samsung, LG and R.I.M. brought out products to compete with the iPhone, Palm has told Treo loyalists and investors to be patient. They will need to be. Palm’s stock price is down 90 percent since its high in March 2000. " Read more here:
"Access has positioned its Access Linux Platform (ALP) for use on mobile Internet devices (MIDs). At the LinuxWorld Expo this week in San Francisco, Access will demonstrate new ALP features such as Web-based widget and touchscreen support on a TI Zoom mobile development kit. ALP has been primarily marketed as a mobile phone stack in recent years. And, it appears to be finally gaining success, with efforts ongoing to adapt ALP to NTT DoCoMo's 3G network. NTT DoCoMo is Japan's largest carrier. However, ALP was originally conceived as a general-purpose operating system for mobile devices. Its best-known design win so far is probably the Linux-based Amazon Kindle eBook reader. ALP's flexibility will enable MID makers to create differentiated devices offering Web 2.0 experiences on larger touchscreen displays than phones typically have, Access says.The first MIDs are expected to arrive this year, with the market reaching 90 million units annually by 2012, according to ABI research cited by Access. Other MID Linux suppliers include LiMo, Moblin, and Maemo, according to another recent ABI report. While Maemo and Moblin are open source projects, LiMo and Access both stand to attract software developers to their respective phone stacks by supporting MIDs; having real target hardware simplifies application development. Seshu Madhavapeddy, GM of the Mobile Internet Device business group at Texas Instruments, stated, "By working with ACCESS to integrate OMAP platform-based hardware and software, we can deliver no-compromise web browsing and an enhanced user experience."In other news, Access announced that ALP has gained support for web-based Widgets, similar to those offered by Google, Yahoo, and AOL. Widgets are mini-apps, coded using Web standards, that run in unframed browser windows that lack buttons, allowing them to look like any other application. Widgets are typically used to update frequently viewed data or personalized content from the Web, and can even be used for user interface elements. " via linuxdevices.com
"IF YOU were anxiously awaiting "The World's first smartphone based on Access Linux Platform (ALP)" then wait no more, and the Samsung i800 has gone the way of the dodo.Access systems announced the Samsung i800 smartphone back in February, which, according to the firm, was going to be introduced by Orange in the second half of this year: "Orange is expected to introduce Samsung SGH-i800 with ALP in 2H of 2008" said the FY2008 Business Plan.So earlier this month, the Palm OS / Garnet OS advocates started asking some questions: "It was reported with so much fanfare in Feb this year that finally, the first ALP phone is going to be launcheded by Orange and Samsung this June. Now it is already July, and Samsung just released its i900 (Omnia), where is the i800 ?". Other sites even wrote articles in anticipation of this phone, like "how to develop applications for the Samsung i800", highlighting the ALP's three-way compatibility in the form of a Garnet OS virtual machine, its built-in Java VM, and of course, the ability to run native Linux/GTK ALP applications. So we asked both Orange and Access about the fate of the Samsung i800. The first company didn't answer, but Orange did, through its PR firm, confirming there will be no i800 ALP-powered smartphone from this carrier, although they will embrace LiMo.In case you are left wondering what killed the first ALP smartphone, all clues point towards LiMo, the Linux Mobile Foundation and its pet project. The reply came from Edelman, Orange's PR firm, which also told us to contact Samsung and Access directly, but stated: "just so you know the Samsung i800 has been withdrawn. Since the original project was defined back in February there have been a number of advances in mobile technology."The Edelman spokesperson continued saying that "As a consequence the Samsung i800 has been withdrawn in order to take advantage of these to prepare a more competitive Linux mobile. Orange is still committed to mobilising Linux technology and supporting the LiMo Platform as a uniform, open source-based software platform."Access joined the LiMo foundation as a core member back in February, so at least there is hope that some or all of ALP might turn up in a LiMo release. It is not clear if that will include the Garnet OS virtual machine allowing LiMo to run the thousands of very good Palm OS/Garnet OS applications available on the market.According to the LiMo FAQ, it would be possible for Access to contribute the Garnet OS VM to LiMo under a proprietary licence: "Members may also submit software under the Foundation Public License (FPL) or submit certain software under a proprietary license (Annexes B and C to the IPR Policy)."But one has to wonder if at this point it wouldn't be in Access' best interest to have the Garnet OS VM released as open source. After all, they could continue to make money by offering technical support, fixes, and custom development to the carriers and hardware vendors shipping the technology, in other words, copying the "Red Hat model" via theinquirer.net
"Openmoko has announced an agreement with Canada-based Koolu to distribute the Freerunner Open Source mobile phone in all of the Americas, UK and EU with plans to expand globally through local partners.
Koolu, known for its innovations in easy-to-use services such as Google Apps and Skype, will distribute the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner phone first to developers, and later to consumers as Google Apps go mobile. Koolu has created a program unique in the industry by offering free Neo FreeRunner phones in a referral program for Google Apps world-wide.
Commenting on the announcement, Koolu's president Jim Despathy said: "Koolu will surround the phone with services and applications to lower the entry point to Internet and telephony access. The phone will reach new markets that are presently not being addressed by traditional phones and phone companies but at the same time bring these phone companies clients they previously could not reach."As we already know, the Openmoko Neo Freerunner is available for $399 directly from its webshop at Openmoko.com and via distributors in the Americas, Europe and India. The company will announce availability in other regions during LinuxWorld Expo which takes place in San Francisco from August 5th to 7th." via intomobile.com
"We’re really excited to release fring for loads of the most popular Sony Ericsson and Nokia phones out there (for those in the know, the ones running on JavaME (J2ME)) We’ve created a special version called minifring for these phones that don’t yet support voice over IP calling. With minifring these users will now be able to communicate with growing community of fringsters worldwide. Also, the great new fring applications which developers around the world are working on will soon be available in the fringAdd-ons catalog for the hundreds of newly supported Java ME devices too!We also welcome Linux (Nokia N810) users with full fring features including internet calls, chat, presence and more + some unique features. I suspect there’s serious steroids in the water our R&D guys have been drinking….lol." Check this great program here:
"It was about a year and a half ago that Apple’s original iPhone appeared on the scene and we did the Top Ten List of iPhone Killers. This time around, we pit the second-gen iPhone 3G against some of the best technology we have seen from other leaders in the mobile industry during the last six months. While all of them look drool-worthy in their own right, most of them lack one functionality that the original iPhone and iPhone 3G still boast about: multitouch. We will ignore this vital fact and continue on with the list for now, as most of the devices on the list have much more to offer in other areas compared to iPhone 3G. So without further ado, I present to you the top ten iPhone rivals that have surfaced over the past year, in no particular order." Read more here:
"Openmoko, developer of the first open mobile computing platform today announced that on Friday, July 4, it will open the online store for purchase of the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner, a mobile device that the company says will help to enable ubiquitous computing for the 21st century. Shipping to customers will commence on July 7, 2008.The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner utilizes GNU/Linux and comes with core software for dialing, SMS and recording contacts. Openmoko will supplement these features with periodic downloads beginning with a software suite that takes full advantage of the phone's hardware platform. The new software, debuting at Linux world in August, will provide exciting new location based applications.Two versions of the phone will be available: 850MHz or 900 MHz Tri-band GSM to match frequencies in different countries. Black, oval-shaped and weighing 6.5 ounces, the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner features a 2.8" 480 x 640 VGA touchscreen, Wi-Fi (802.1 1b/g), AGPS, GPRS 2.5G, Bluetooth 2.0, two 3-axis motion sensors and comes with 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND Flash." Read more inside..
"ACCESS today announced the launch of a beta version of its NetFront Browser Widgets community site, where users can download and try free widgets for mobile devices. Widgets provided on this site can be used after users download and install a free beta version of NetFront Browser Widgets Player, which initially is compatible with Windows Mobile versions 5.0 and 6.0 Professional edition.Widgets are mini applications displayed in small GUI windows on the screen of a handset or consumer electronic device.They can be accessed without having to open the handset’s browser, automatically acquiring and displaying the latest information from the Web. The NetFront Browser Widgets community site provides a variety of widget applications such as maps, weather forecasts and games.“ACCESS will begin providing tools for developers to create their own widgets in the near future,” said Toru Arakawa, CEO, president and co-founder of ACCESS. “By providing a platform for interchange among users and developers, ACCESS will facilitate the development of innovative content based on NetFront Browser Widgets, as well as contribute to the ubiquity of widget culture.”The NetFront Browser Widgets community site is available in English and Japanese at the following URL: http://www.access.co.jp/nfbwc/. A widget player for smartphones using Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Edition and Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard Edition is planned for the future." via slashphone.com
"Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) joins Forces with LiMo Foundation to support and to unify the growing momentum of Linux platforms in the global mobile market, the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum announced that its activities and membership will be folded into LiMo Foundation as of July, 2008. The move will encompass LiPS Forum members from across the mobile ecosystem, including chipset suppliers, Linux OS and mobile stack vendors, handset designers and OEMs, and regional and global wireless operators. It follows announcements by other LiPS members who have joined the LiMo Foundation: ACCESS, ARM Limited, Azingo, France Telecom / Orange, Huawei Technology, MontaVista Software, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Open-Plug, Purple Labs and Texas Instruments. The LiMo Foundation is competing with Google's Android offering. I could even imagine that at some point Android and LiMo Foundation might join forces to compete effectively against Microsoft, Apple, and Nokia's Symbian. " via i4u.com
"Nokia and Maemo have formally announced the official release of the next iteration of their Internet Tablet operating system. Codenamed Diablo, the OS2008 Feature Pack update includes several internal enhancements to performance, wireless capabilities, and stability. The launch of this update likely signals the impending release of the latest Nokia Internet Tablet, the N810 WiMax Edition, as many of the updates in the operating system pave the way for this upcoming device to be utilized fully. Some of the major features of this update include:
SSU (seamless software updating) which enables components of the operating system to be updated without having to flash/rewrite the entire operating system.
Over-the-air (OTA) updates via Wi-Fi and WiMax connections
Update of the email client to Modest with several enhancements to the user interface and additional support of several mobile-friendly email features.
Addition of Chinese fonts to the system font list
Miscellaneous bug fixes to OpenSSL
Browser panning fixes
A-GPS support for the N810 and N810WE
Updates to the Wayfinder GPS application
and more
Because this is not a major update, most applications will continue to work from the previous version (OS2008) without a problem.This OS2008 Feature update is compatible with the Nokia N800 and N810 Internet Tablets. Previous versions of the Internet Tablet platform -- specifically the Nokia 770 -- are not supported. Users can download the update via the following links:
"After clearing the FCC in May, Motorola has now officially unveiled the new MING A1600 and A1800 along with the Motozine ZN5. These two touchscreen entrants retain the same form factor as the original MING, the A1200, but are somewhat updated to match at least some of the features that are becoming ubiquitous in today’s market. While both the A1600 and A1800 support tri-band GSM networks with EDGE speeds, run on Linux, have a 3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth with A2DP, GPS, and a microSD slot, the A1800 has two radio transmitters enabling it to connect to two different networks simultaneously with support CDMA networks too apparently. Sadly missing is WiFi and 3G, which could have added a bit more pull to these two devices, but since emerging markets seem to be Motorola’s target this time, we will just ignore that important fact.As I said before, the A1600 and A1800 will most probably head to China before making rounds in other developing markets at a price that is not revealed yet." via mobilewhack.com
"Motorola know this and that’s why most of the research work was aimed to enhance the ZN5’s speed and make its shots more eye-candy. We’ll get back to this later in the review; and for now let us show you some figures on how the PIXL compares to the competition (taken from the maker’s research). These are the features the manufacturer is banking on and will tout them throughout the phone’s marketing campaign." Read more here:
"Users of traditional Palm OS handhelds have had a hard go of things the past few years. Not only have Handspring and Sony folded up shop, Palm itself has switched its entire focus to making smartphones. For a long time it seemed that handheld users were destined to stick it out with their Palm TX or Zire; something that works, but is definitely behind the curve of technology trends.Some users wouldn't stand for such things and moved on to different devices, either Palm OS smartphones or handhelds running another operating system. But then Access came along and released a Palm OS Garnet emulator for Nokia's Internet Tablet devices. Now, those who don't want a smartphone have a device they can run their Palm OS software on." Read more here:
"Shenzhen, China-based smartphone design company Tranzda Technologies is marketing five phone designs that use its NewPlus Linux phone application stack. All five Tranzda designs include GPS, along with optional features that include WiFi, cameras, and biometric fingerprint authentication. Tranzda's phone models include:
TGP-369 -- Based on an ARM9-based Samsung S3C2440 clocked at 300-400MHz, with 64MB SDRAM and 64MB flash memory. The phone supports CDMA 2000 1X (450/800/1900MHz) transmission, as well as SMS, Color E SMS, and Cai E formats, says Tranzda. The phone has a 2.8-inch, 240 x 320 QVGA TFT LCD touchscreen, as well as a MiniSD Card slot and a USB port. Major features include WiFi, GPS, and a 1.3Mpixel camera. Multimedia support includes WMA, MP3, MIDI, AMR, AAC, and MMF audio playback, and MPEG-1, MPEG-4, DIVX, XVID, and H.23 video. The phone weighs 5.3 ounces (150 grams) and is powered by a 3.7 Volt rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery. " Read more here:
"Access has released an update to its Palm OS Garnet VM for Nokia Internet Tablets. New features in the Garnet VM Beta 2 (v1.01b) include full screen support, three hot-swappable display modes (portrait full screen, portrait windowed and portrait landscape), improved performance and various compatibility and app specific updates. Notable new apps that are now listed as compatible include: Google Maps, Snappermail, Pocket Tunes, Kinoma Player 4 EX and CorePlayer. The Garnet VM is a "virtual machine" essentially acts as an emulator allowing you to run Palm OS applications on a Nokia N770, N800 and N810 Internet Tablet. it supports over 30,000 native software applications written for the Palm OS, including some of the most popular mobile applications on the market, such as Google Maps, Snappermail, DateBk5 and perennially favorite games like Bejeweled, PacMan and Sudoku. The Garnet VM runs compatible Palm OS applications with a 320 x 480 screen resolution. There are settings to change the default storage size, display configuration and storage heap. Basic version of the Address Book, Calculator, Date Book and Memo Pad are included. Users are able to install any Palm OS application and can configure compatibilty per app (memory, display and device model). The Garnet VM for Nokia Internet Tablets also includes Graffiti 1 character recognition, TCP/IP Networking support, the ability to Network Hotsync and language support for English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. You can check out our earlier article with pictures and video demo of the first version of the Garnet VM released in Nov '07. The Nokia N770, N800 and N810 Internet Tablets are part of the Nokia Nseries range of high performance multimedia computers. The tablets run a customized version of Debian Linux and include built in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless connections and a large high resolution displays at 800 x 480 pixels." via palminfocenter.com
"According to the Finnish business newspaper Kauppalehti, Nokia's Chief Financial Officer said Nokia is considering manufacturing Linux-based mobile phones. The article quotes Rick Simonson, Nokia's Chief Financial Officer, as saying "we are definitely moving in the direction (of Linux-based phones)" at a seminar in Boston run by JP Morgan Chase. There was no further detail though, and apparently Simonson refused to be drawn on which kind of Linux would be used. Nokia already makes the Linux-based N800 and N810 internet tablets, which use Nokia's own version of Linux called Maemo, but current tablets have no telephony ability." via allaboutsymbian.com
The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet - WiMAX Edition, which we saw recently on the Whack, has just been approved by the FCC - so all you guys waiting for the device can finally look forward to finding it in the stores. Plenty of utilities have been carried over from the previous editions, including the Media Player which supports AAC, AMR, M4A, MP2, MP3, RA, WAV and WMA formats. The Nokia N810 also supports a variety of video formats including MP4, MPEG1, RealVideo and WMV9. For those of you who can’t get enough of their blog digests for the day, this one features a built-in Feed Reader - great for sitting on the pot and reading. Priced at US $455 and thereabouts, those who pre-ordered it should be getting it soon." via mobilewhack.com
Ubuntu Linux 7.04 is now available for Sharp's Zaurus PDAs. The 0.1 release comes with a minimalist filesystem that can be launched in an emulator, enhanced with software from the vast Ubuntu archives, and then flashed onto a real Zaurus. The Zaurus Ubuntu project was created by "Omegamoon," a hacker who has previously worked on ports of Fedora Linux and Google's Android phone stack to the Sharp Zaurus. He suggests first trying the distro out in the free QEMU emulator, where configuration and tweaking is easier than on real hardware. Once customizations have been completed, it can be installed on Zaurus PDAs such as the SL-C3100, he says. The project was inspired by Nokia's Handheld Mojo project, which is porting Ubuntu to the ARM architecture. In a presentation delivered at CELF's recent Embedded Linux Conference, Mojo project leader Andrew Christian noted that while Nokia's Maemo project has packaged 500-600 Linux binaries, Ubuntu packages upwards of 12,000. Therefore, porting Ubuntu to ARM and thence to the Zaurus should make for greater software versatility. In creating his root filesystem for the Sharp Zaurus, Omegamoon drew pre-built binaries from the ARMv5EL (ARM9) branch of Mojo Project's Frisky Firedrake tree. Built by natively compiling source packages from Ubuntu's Feisty Fawn (7.04) distribution, Mojo's Frisky tree also offers an ARMv6EL-VFP or ARM11 branch. Additionally, Mojo has produced a "Grumpy Griffin" build based on Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon (7.10), with a Hasty Hippogriff build derived from Hardy Heron planned but not yet underway. More about Nokia's Mojo project can be found in our previous coverage, here. For the kernel, Omegamoon appears to have tapped Debian for a pre-built "versatile" ARM kernel image based on 2.6.24. For a bootloader, he cleverly re-purposed installation files and procedures originally devised for running Google's Linux- and Java-based Android phone stack on the Zaurus. The initial 0.1 Ubuntu Zaurus distribution aims to be fairly minimalist, letting the user choose what software to install. Weighing it about 80MB (compressed), the root filesystem download comes with the X Window System, but lets the user choose which window manager to install (IceWM or Enlightenment E17 are recommended). Omegamoon suggests running the distro under QEMU initially, using a bootp server to set up networking, rather than configuring a network bridge device. Then, the user can use apt-get install foo to fold in their window manager of choice, and additional software from the vast Handhelds Mojo pool. The modified filesystem can then be packaged up for use on actual Zaurus hardware, using instructions provided.Omegamoon emphasizes the early 0.1 nature of the distribution. Early users should expect to encounter interesting puzzles and challenges. He comments, "There's a lot left to tweak of course, but a full-blown Ubuntu is on it's way."He adds, "This is really cool, having the same OS running on my desktop and on the much smaller Zaurus. This proves that the Zaurus is the ultimate mini-laptop."In an earlier project, Omegamoon created a "werewolf" Zaurus root filesystem image, also using a Debian "versatile" kernel. Directions for installing Ubuntu, Fedora, or Android on the Zaurus can be found on his blog, here. The initial 0.1 downloads are generously hosted by the UK-based Zaurus.org project. " via linuxdevices.com
Here are some better leaked photo shots on the unannounced Motorola ZN5, a camera phone with 5 megapixel resolution. The ZN5 is running on linux, has a Xenon flash module and support auto focusing.The ZN5 will be a slim candy bar phone, although the part that store the Kodak camera module will be thicker. Check out more photos at next page or read the previous rumor report here
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"ACCESS today announced the launch of a beta version of its NetFront Browser Widgets community site, where users can download and try free widgets for mobile devices. Widgets provided on this site can be used after users download and install a free beta version of NetFront Browser Widgets Player, which initially is compatible with Windows Mobile versions 5.0 and 6.0 Professional edition.Widgets are mini applications displayed in small GUI windows on the screen of a handset or consumer electronic device.They can be accessed without having to open the handset’s browser, automatically acquiring and displaying the latest information from the Web. The NetFront Browser Widgets community site provides a variety of widget applications such as maps, weather forecasts and games.“ACCESS will begin providing tools for developers to create their own widgets in the near future,” said Toru Arakawa, CEO, president and co-founder of ACCESS. “By providing a platform for interchange among users and developers, ACCESS will facilitate the development of innovative content based on NetFront Browser Widgets, as well as contribute to the ubiquity of widget culture.”The NetFront Browser Widgets community site is available in English and Japanese at the following URL: http://www.access.co.jp/nfbwc/. A widget player for smartphones using Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Edition and Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard Edition is planned for the future." via slashphone.com
"After clearing the FCC in May, Motorola has now officially unveiled the new MING A1600 and A1800 along with the Motozine ZN5. These two touchscreen entrants retain the same form factor as the original MING, the A1200, but are somewhat updated to match at least some of the features that are becoming ubiquitous in today’s market. While both the A1600 and A1800 support tri-band GSM networks with EDGE speeds, run on Linux, have a 3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth with A2DP, GPS, and a microSD slot, the A1800 has two radio transmitters enabling it to connect to two different networks simultaneously with support CDMA networks too apparently. Sadly missing is WiFi and 3G, which could have added a bit more pull to these two devices, but since emerging markets seem to be Motorola’s target this time, we will just ignore that important fact.As I said before, the A1600 and A1800 will most probably head to China before making rounds in other developing markets at a price that is not revealed yet." 
Ubuntu Linux 7.04 is now available for Sharp's Zaurus PDAs. The 0.1 release comes with a minimalist filesystem that can be launched in an emulator, enhanced with software from the vast Ubuntu archives, and then flashed onto a real Zaurus. The Zaurus Ubuntu project was created by "Omegamoon," a hacker who has previously worked on ports of Fedora Linux and Google's Android phone stack to the Sharp Zaurus. He suggests first trying the distro out in the free 
