How would you like it if the software for your mobile phone was open source, allowing anyone to improve it at their whim? Red Hat and 3G LAB is just about to find out.
Red Hat and 3G LAB are now jointly designing and developing the first open source, real-time operating system for next generation 2.5G (GPRS) and 3G (UMTS) mobile devices. The solution - eCos for 2.5/3G mobile devices - will be based on Red Hat's open source embedded real-time operating system eCos (embedded configurable operating system), and opens up the possibility for anyone to see how what runs your phone works - and in best case improve it.
"To drive the emerging next generation communications market, both mobile network operators and mobile device manufacturers will require software platforms that support standards while delivering cutting-edge innovation," said Michael Tiemann, CTO, Red Hat. "We are excited to be working with 3G LAB to use open source to help create a new platform for developing, deploying, and managing Post-PC applications."
However, the outlook isn't entirely rosy when it comes to using an open source operating system on ones mobile phone. The advantages are clear in that users would benefit greatly from a community that continuously works to improve the operating system and can react lightningly quick to implement new possibilities and standards.
On the other side, an open source operating system allows anyone to view every detail of its internal workings, which could lead to potentially devastating malicious code targeting the operating system being generated - add to the picture a possible constant Internet connection via GPRS and 3G, and things start looking ugly.
Fortunately, open source communities have long experience in providing secure solutions, and is also generally considered to be more stable in demanding and constrained environments than proprietary code solutions, and it is also very likely that a great deal of work will be put into preventing your mobile phone from being hacked.
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