Trolltech will provide free phones and SDKs (software development kits) to developers willing to target its Qtopia application development framework for mobile phones. The Qtopia Greenphone Grant Program will provide an unspecified number of awardees with Qtopia SDKs, along with Trolltech's open,… Linux-based Greenphone target device.

Developers can apply through August 7 — or until allocated devices run out — simply by describing the application(s) they wish to develop. Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of functionality, practical use, and originality, Trolltech said.

The grant program aims to help developers interested in applications based on Trolltech's Qtopia Phone Edition (QPE) software platform. Among the more popular Linux stacks for mobile phones, the dual-licensed QPE stack includes a lightweight graphics framework, along with a suite of customizable applications such as dialers and addressbooks.

Trolltech's Greenphone, which was announced nearly a year ago, shipped in September. The first Linux-based GSM/GPRS phone to feature an open, user-modifiable OS, Greenphone is positioned as a development target, rather than a consumer device.

David Bialer, ecosystem director, stated, “We encourage open source developers to experiment and create innovative applications by participating in the Grant Program.”

Further details can be found on Trolltech's developer website, here.

Another user-modifiable Linux-based phone is the FIC Neo1973. That device is used as a development target by the OpenMoko project, an effort to develop a completely open source mobile phone stack.

 
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