Linux / Cell Phones / Open Frameworks

Mobilinux Open Framework

So my good friend Peder Ulander (once known as the best dressed guy in Linux) sent me a link today for his companies new "program" to foster the adoption of Linux (specifically the MontaVista distribution) for mobile phone handsets.

Now I had heard of this program some time ago when I was in the market for my next gig. Peder had even asked me to look into it, I being a fool had declined ;-)

I think its interesting to note that Linux as an operating system has now reached the point where it is being considered suitable for a role where "reliability" is not a luxury but a requirement.

I once argued that the cell phone was one of the last great security devices. Think about it, you carry the phone with you almost all the time, you can require 2-phase authentication to get into it (actually having the phone + a code or password) and ultimately anything the phone does is traceable and can be logged by an outside party.

I currently own two mobile devices which travel everywhere with me. I have a company issued mobile phone (which I use for talking) and a Blackberry (from an alternate provider that I know works well). I carry both devices and have found that for 98.0% of my work, I can just use those two devices (blogging/hard core emailing should be done only from the PC).

How long will it be before we give up on PC's and laptops to move to completely mobile devices that fit in our hands.......