Red Hat, 3G Lab team on open-source wireless OS

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By Joris Evers

(IDG) -- Linux vendor Red Hat and U.K.-based software developer 3G Lab announced Tuesday plans to jointly design an open-source operating system that will support cell phones and other mobile devices based on the emerging 2.5G and 3G wireless technologies.

The two companies said the new software will be based on an embedded operating system that Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based Red Hat sells under the name eCos. 3G Lab, which develops multimedia applications for mobile devices, will provide consulting services and a test environment for users of the operating system at its headquarters in Cambridge, England.

The open-source operating system planned by Red Hat and 3G Lab faces competition from Microsoft's Stinger platform and London-based Symbian's namesake software. All three products are being promoted as vehicles that will let end users access the Internet and run a variety of applications on mobile devices connected to next-generation wireless networks.

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While Microsoft thus far has only been able to enlist small mobile handset makers to support Stinger, Symbian is co-owned by cell phone giants Nokia, LM Ericsson Telephone and Motorola. Signing up those vendors to use the wireless version of eCos will be tough, admitted Paul Beskeen, director of engineering at Red Hat's embedded runtime group.

"It will take quite a change for them to move away from Symbian," Beskeen said. "This won't change the world overnight. The initial set of companies that take it on are likely to be second-tier players." Talks with such companies are being held now, he said, adding that Red Hat and 3G Lab hope to sign some initial contracts within three to four months.

Because of its open-source nature, users and other technology vendors will have access to the eCos software's source code and be allowed to make changes. Beskeen said Red Hat and 3G Lab hope to use that capability, together with relatively low royalty costs, to differentiate their offering from those of Microsoft and Symbian.

Programmers in the mobile industry are seen as the most likely candidates to tinker with the open-source software, according to Beskeen. They're encouraged, but not obligated, to share their changes with others, he said, noting that the two companies aren't putting any requirements on users "to make their applications open source."

Red Hat's existing eCos software has ties to Linux, but it isn't based on that operating system. The software is designed for use on battery-powered devices and is sold as an embedded operating system that would be built directly into cell phones or personal digital assistants by hardware vendors, rather than being installed in the devices by users.