Linux has not reached maturity as a mobile phone OS, Nokia's head of corporate strategy, Jarkko Sairanen, reportedly said recently. Cited shortcomings include a fragmented implementation landscape that keeps developers away, and too large a memory footprint. However, Nokia may re-think its position on Linux in the future, an interview published by ZDNet-Asia suggests.

Industry watchers have long speculated that Nokia will shift its mobile phones to Linux. For example, a recent ARCchart whitepaper concluded, “The question is not whether S60 … will migrate over time towards Linux, but when.”

So far, however, the 770 Internet Tablet represents Nokia's only Linux-based consumer device.

Sairanen reportedly told ZDNet-Asia that Nokia may re-evaluate its position on Linux in the future. Many of the leading mobile phone vendor's apparent technical and business objections to Linux could vanish if efforts such as the Open Platform Initiative, LiPS, and the ODSL's Mobile Linux Initiative succeed.

ZDNet-Asia also reports that Nokia's CTO, Tero Ojanpera, described open source as a “component” of Nokia's technology strategy, in a recent press conference. For example, the S60 platform enjoys an open source mobile Web browser, Ojanpera reportedly noted, as well as an intriguing open source project to build a mobile Web server for the platform.

The ZDNet-Asia story can be found here.

 
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