InnoPath has added support for Linux handsets to its commercial over-the-air (OTA) firmware upgrade product for handset manufacturers and service providers. The company calls Linux “an increasingly popular embedded open-source operating system among leading handset manufacturers in Asia.”

OTA appears to be an important emerging buzzword among mobile phone software and handset vendors. For example, the most recent upgrade to Qtopia Phone Edition supports OTA configuration, while Motorola's forthcoming A-780 will support OTA synchronization through new “Motosync” technology. J2ME (Java 2, Micro Edition) supported OTA provisioning of mobile Linux devices as early as 2001. And, Chinese Linux phone vendor E28 has several patents on OTA technology, according to CEO Roger Kung.

DeltaUpgrade is InnoPath's (formerly DoOnGo Technologies) flagship OTA product. It supports “any mobile device platform, microprocessor, or real-time operating system,” the company says, and is the first OTA solution to ship for commercial deployment on Linux-based mobile handsets. So far, the product has shipped on Linux-based devices in Japan, InnoPath says.

DeltaUpgrade OTA comprises:

• DeltaUpgrade client — software embedded onto the handset that downloads and applies the update
• New Software Component Distributor — generates a small software upgrade package based on byte-by-byte differentiation algorithm between new and old versions of software
• DeltaUpgrade Server — a server environment that manages and controls the actual updates to the handset

DeltaUpgrade can deliver updates to Linux handsets via wireless or cable
(Click to enlarge)

CEO Dr. Luosheng Peng said, “The mobile device industry is rapidly adopting Linux as one platform to deliver innovative feature-rich handsets.”

According to InnoPath, Gartner has predicted “huge growth” in mobile devices running Linux, especially among high-end handsets manufactured in Asia.

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