Silicon Valley startup a la Mobile plans to ship in September the industry's first “complete” Linux-based smartphone operating system. The Convergent Linux Platform (CLP), which aims to streamline Linux phone rollouts by ODMs, OEMs, and operators, will enter a field crowded with alternatives from MontaVista, Trolltech, ACCESS/PalmSource, and Wind River, among others.

Founder Pauline Lo Alker compares a la Mobile's Convergent Linux Platform to Microsoft's Windows Mobile Smartphone platform, in terms of delivering all required software components within a single integrated stack.

Convergent Linux Platform software architecture
(Click to enlarge)

Hardware Mobility Engine (HME) — a BIOS for mobile phones?

Of a la Mobile's proprietary technologies, the most interesting — and potentially controversial — appears to be its Hardware Mobility Engine (HME) technology, which the company has applied for two patents on, according to Alker. “You can think of the HME as a BIOS for phones,” Alker explains. “It's a hardware abstraction layer that abstracts the hardware features and characteristics to present upwards, to the operating system.”

Alker says that while the specialized, “one-off” nature of typical embedded applications has prevented the concept of an “embedded BIOS” from taking off, mobile phones — and especially smartphones — have become standardized enough to support a standard BIOS layer. “Phones today have two processors, whether they are based on one chip or two. We do not touch the baseband processor. We do touch the applications processor,” she explains. Initially, ARM architecture processors will be supported, including Intel's XScale, TI's OMAP, and other ARM derivatives.

A la Mobile will produce a different HME version for each supported mobile phone applications processor. Each HME version will present the same uniform API to the OS above it. This will enable HME-compliant binary images — for example, a la Mobile's complete CPL stack — to run without modification, recompilation, or re-testing on top of any supported chipset, the company claims.

Alker says that by abstracting phone hardware, HMEs can save handset manufacturers from the “tedious, repetitive porting” typically associated with hardware revisions, whether they involve a whole new applications processor, or merely a new camera module. She elaborates, “We don't care what kind of chip you're using — TI OMAP, XScale, Freescale — as long as it's based on an ARM9 or even ARM11 instruction set, we can support it. We abstract the differences between the [chips], so you don't need to change the port.”

In short, each HME will contain the set of device drivers required for a la Mobile's Linux kernel to run on a particular mobile phone. The role of this software, therefore is more similar to that of a set of loadable binary drivers than to a PC BIOS, since the HME will replace drivers that would normally be compiled into the Linux kernel on a PC.

Like most PC BIOSes, a la Mobile's HMEs will be licensed as proprietary software components to handset makers.

This situation may result in some controversy in the Linux kernel developer community, since proprietary binary drivers, though not specifically forbidden, have long been a subject of considerable debate, relative to what is permitted by Linux's GPL license. Linux author Linus Torvalds has expressed reservations about the legality of migrating functionality out of the Linux kernel in order to circumvent having to release customizations under the GPL. Interestingly, the CLP architecture diagram (above) shows part of the HME being in the gray (kernel) area, and part being in the orange (hardware driver) area, implying that the company may be planning to modify the kernel to add hooks for interaction with the driver components in the HME, something which Torvalds seems to suggest is incompatible with the kernel's licensing.

Asked whether a la Mobile was aware of this issue, Alker replied, “We looked at that very, very carefully, and we do not [think what we're doing violates the GPL].” She adds, “We have an attorney looking at it. Her specialty is in this particular area.”

Alker adds that the HME API is open, in theory enabling anyone to create an HME-compatible OS image, or even create their own HMEs. Additionally, HMEs are OS-agnostic, and could support other OSes in the future, she notes. And, a la Mobile may eventually consider an open source license for HMEs, given enough interest, she adds.

Network Mobility Engine

True to its name, CLP will also include a fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) framework aimed at helping carriers that operate both mobile phone and Internet WiFi networks deliver “seamless handoff” of various IP-based services, such as voice and data, Alker says. CLP's FMC framework is based on a “Network Mobility Engine” comprised of a routing application for handsets, and a policy management application for operators. The combo lets operators create policies around handovers, such as which network to use when both are available. Alker explains, “The uniqueness of our solution is that it doesn't require an operator to change their network, and it doesn't need any IP applications to change. All the intelligence is done in the handset software.”

Additional supported policy sets include available network service, best costs, and application bandwidth requirements. The technology does require operators to have control of the WiFi access points, as well as the mobile network, Alker confirmed.

The rest of the stack

In addition to its interesting HME and NME technologies, a la Mobile's Convergent Linux Platform (CLP) aims to provide everything needed by a handset manufacturer to deliver a high-end smartphone, exclusive of carrier-specific baseband subsystems. In this way, the company aims to offer an off-the-shelf Linux OS just as complete or more complete than mobile phone stacks from Microsoft and Symbian, while offering greater customizability and lower cost.

According to Alker, a la Mobile's current CLP prototype is based on a port of a MontaVista 2.4-series kernel to the HME API. However, the release slated for September will use a 2.6-series MontaVista kernel derivative. The company is not necessarily committed to MontaVista, though — it could switch Linux providers, or even develop its own kernel some day, Alker added.

In addition to a kernel, HME, and NME, Version 1.0 of the CLP will be integrated with a variety of third-party and open source software components, including:

• GSM/GPRS support from HelloSoft
• FOTA (firmware over the air) from Red Bend
• Qtopia application framework and UI from Trolltech
• Browser, messenger, and multimedia framework from Obigo
• Flash support
• Java ME

Additionally, a la Mobile describes itself as a “strong supporter” of various Linux and Open Source standards initiatives, including LiPS (Linux Phone Standards Forum), the OSDL's MLI (Mobile Phone Initiative), CELF (Consumer Electronics Linux Forum), and the as-yet unnamed foundation recently announced by Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung, and Vodafone. At least above the hardware interface layer, a la Mobile's CLP is “ever-ready and able to adopt all leading industry standards,” the company says.

About Pauline Lo Alker and a la Mobile

A la Mobile was founded a year ago last Thursday by Pauline Lo Alker, a Hong Kong-born computing industry veteran of 41 years. During the last 22 years, Alker has led four companies, consecutively, as CEO. The company is Alker's seventh startup and the fourth company she has founded, she says.

A la Mobile received seed funding of $3.5 million from Venrock Associates and currently has 16 employees, not including “virtual business development centers” in Europe, Taiwan, and Korea, Alker said. “As we begin our market entry, we will be doing another financing round shortly,” Alker adds.

Alker hopes her company can become an “independent, neutral, value-added distribution point for mobile phone Linux,” she said. She believes her company's fresh outlook and lack of history in the embedded Linux market will actually help it to select the best technology and business models, by enabling it to assume a “neutral and unbiased business posture.”

Most importantly, Alker believes her company's technology can solve problems that have stopped phone manufacturers from adopting Linux in greater numbers so far, which she cites as, “lengthy time-to-market, high development costs, repetitive porting, and software fragmentation.”

Alker summarizes, “Desire for a trusted alternative to proprietary mobile operating systems is perhaps the handset industry's worst-kept secret. Our Convergent Linux Platform is the first solution to actualize this desire, ending the proprietary chokehold on handset innovation. Our goal is to help accelerate Linux-based phones' time-to-market, while contributing to the overall cause of the broader Linux and open-source community.”

Addressing a need

Bill Hughes, principle analyst at In-Stat, stated, “The desire for an open and non-proprietary operating system for mobile handsets is well recognized. Linux is poised to become the primary mobile operating system that is not proprietary. The availability of a la Mobile's Linux offering could bridge a key gap for the wireless industry.”

The company's efforts are certainly not the first to address the market opportunity for Linux as a mobile phone software platform. Motorola announced its adoption of Linux mobile phones in February, 2003; Trolltech rolled out its Qtopia Phone Edition in October, 2003; NEC and Panasonic announced their collaboration on a Linux platform for 3G mobile phones in October, 2004; MontaVista debuted the Mobilinux Open Framework in February, 2005; Wind River announced its Platform for Consumer Electronics, Linux Edition in October, 2005; and PalmSource, a division of ACCESS, unveiled the Access Linux Platform for mobile phones in February, 2006. On the consortium side, the OSDL announced the Mobile Linux Initiative in October, 2005; eleven companies formed the Linux Phone Standards Forum in November, 2005; and Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung, and Vodafone unveiled plans in June, 2006 for an independent foundation to establish a worldwide open Linux mobile phone platform.

Despite all these vendors' and organizations' efforts, however, a la Mobile's vision of a “complete” Linux-based mobile phone stack being available in an integrated manner from a single software vendor appears to remain elusive.

Availability

A la Mobile expects to ship the first version of its Converged Linux Platform to customers in September. According to Alker, the software will be priced at about $5 per phone, depending on volume. Additionally, the company will offer integration, customization, certification, maintenance, and migration around CLP, it says.

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