ARM Holdings, whose processors power the majority of mobile phones, has announced a Linux-based open source platform it says will be adopted by silicon vendors Marvell, Samsung, and Texas Instruments. It said it also has the support of open source vendors MontaVista and Mozilla.
The platform will develop Linux, Gnome Mobile desktop system, and Mozilla Firefox browser to run on ARM partners’ systems on chip. It is designed to offer users graphics, video, multimedia, and internet access.
The company quoted researchers at In-Stat as forecasting that the market for ultra mobile devices will grow at over a 20% annually through the next decade driven by new communications standards, new usage, and new business models.
It plans to release a full platform in early 2008 and bring devices to the market in early 2009.
With the convergence of mobile devices and PCs, Intel is also interested in the market and is due to release a processor for mobile devices codenamed Menlow in the first half of 2008.
