Open-Plug is working to integrate its Linux feature-phone telephony stack with the Intel-sponsored Moblin stack for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) running on Intel's “Moorestown” processor. Open-Plug's ELIPS Linux Telephony Stack will voice-enable Moblin- and Moorestown-based MIDs when they ship next year, says the French software vendor.

A founding member of the Linux Phone Standards Forum (LiPS), Open-Plug joined the LiMo Foundation a year ago. It was soon followed by most of the other LiPS members, as LiPS activities were merged into LiMo in June.

The ELIPS (Embedded Linux Plug-in System) Telephony Stack is a component-based framework and MMI (man machine interface) for 2G/3G cellular telephony and messaging, says Open-Plug. Aimed at mass-market phones, the open application development stack has shipped in millions of mobile devices, most recently in Sony Ericsson's J132 handset, says the company. Open-Plug's ELIPS is based on its “FlexibleWare” terminal platform technology and core “OP-Engine” technology, which uses the SoftBus to expose “a highly efficient communication media to the components,” says the company. ELIPS is billed as an open platform that supports Linux, Java-MIDP, and other open standards.

ELIPS architecture
(Click to enlarge)

ELIPS products are said to include:

• ELIPS Studio — a set of PC-based tools, including a software development kit (SDK), integration and validation tools, and a simulation environment (see left side of diagram above)
• ELIPS Framework — open application framework for mass market phones
• ELIPS Reference MMI — reference MMI integrating validated applications (WAP, MMS, Java, etc.), enabling the rapid development of mass market phones.
• ELIPS Porting Layers — porting layers for ELIPS framework, available on most wireless chipsets
• ELIPS Tests Suite & Tests Framework — a set of test components used to automatically test ELIPS Framework and ELIPS Porting Layers features
• ELIPS Third Party Applications — a set of pre-integrated and pre-validated applications (components) from Open-Plug partners such as Java and WAP/MMS apps

Moorestown Moblin 2.0 MIDs get vocal

The heir to the Atom designs, Moorestown consists of a system-on-chip (SoC) and an I/O hub. Codenamed “Lincroft,” the SoC will integrate a 45nm core, graphics, video, and memory controller onto a single chip, says Intel, greatly decreasing size and power consumption. The I/O hub, codenamed “Langwell,” is said to support a range of I/O blocks such as storage and display, and to provide interfaces to third-party PMICs (power management ICs) and wireless products. Moorestown-based MIDs are expected to draw as little as one tenth the idle power consumed by today's Atom-based MIDs, says Intel.

Earlier this month, LG Electronics announced it was collaborating with Intel on a new line of MIDs based on Intel's upcoming Moorestown processor. Due to ship in 2010 when Moorestown is ready, the MID will run a Linux-based, MID-focused Moblin V2 distribution that will add cellular voice capability, says Intel. The LG MID is predicted to be “one of the first Moorestown designs to market,” according to the companies. Another previous partner of both companies — Ericsson — will develop a 3G module for the new MID. Ericsson and Intel announced their collaboration on 3G devices for Moorestown in October.

LG's MID will apparently be one of the first devices to run the Linux-based, Intel-sponsored “Moblin V2 for MIDs” mobile device stack, which Intel says will add “cell phone voice capabilities.” This is not to be confused with the Moblin V2 for Netbooks version, which was fast-tracked over the MID version, and should go Beta in the second quarter.

Stated Pankaj Kedia, director of global ecosystem programs in Intel's Ultra Mobility Group, “Intel's next generation MID platform, codenamed Moorestown, in combination with Open-Plug's telephony stack integrated with a Moblin based Linux OS, will set a new threshold for making this connected experience a reality by delivering a compelling Internet experience while supporting voice capabilities.”

Stated Eric Baissus, CEO of Open-Plug, “We are very proud to be working with Intel and bringing our telephony capabilities to next generation MIDs.”

 
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