MontaVista says its device-oriented Linux operating system was used in two new 3G business smartphones from Italian handset designer Enteos. The Italian handset designer and manufacturer reportedly used MontaVista Linux Consumer Edition in forthcoming iGo 730 and LinAP smartphones.

Enteos LinAp Mockup (Click to enlarge)

Enteos supplies handsets to phone resellers and network operators, including TIM, said to be Italy's largest mobile carrier. The new Enteos phones are based on Freescale i.MX21 processors, support WiFi and VoIP (voice-over-IP), and offer mobile broadband, email, and office productivity applications.

Enteos licensed MontaVista's relatively basic Consumer Electronics Edition (CEE), rather than its more full-featured Mobilinux phone stack. Enteos also licenses Trolltech software, suggesting the new phones may run Qtopia Phone Edition on top of a MontaVista kernel and BSP (board support package).

MontaVista says Enteos chose Linux for its stability, easy-to-use development environment, and especially for its open source flexibility. Enteos had to port several applications to the platform, including its own Wireless Telephone Manager (WTM); had it chosen Windows Mobile or Symbian, it would have been “forced to follow Microsoft's or Symbian's protocols,” rather than being able to “choose the way WTM would link to the OS,” MontaVista said.

Enteos CEO Massimo Zanzi stated, “With MontaVista you can modify the kernel at will to optimize applications ported from application developers and other mobile operators.”

MontaVista CMO Bill Seawick added, “Symbian and Microsoft clearly have their adherents, but the whole of the embedded world is moving towards Linux, and mobile devices are no different. MontaVista is at the epicentre of that move.”

MontaVista also reports that LG has licensed its mobile phone operating system for an unspecified phone. Previously announced MontaVista mobile phone customers include Motorola, Panasonic, and NEC.

Another mobile phone design based on MontaVista CEE and Qtopia was recently touted by Flander, a Finish mobile phone and telecom software testing and development services company.

 
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