4. Trolltech QTopia And The Greenphone

Trolltech’s QTopia Linux platform runs on many mobile devices - including the Sony mylo and Motorola’s Linux phones. It’s a powerful and flexible platform, and one that’s readily accessible for anyone who’s used Trolltech’s QT user interface framework, which is the basis of KDE. The Greenphone isn’t designed as a phone for the mass market; it’s meant for developers who want a phone to build and test their applications for the QTopia platform. You can buy it as a phone that you can completely customize, but the emphasis is on developing and porting apps rather than picking from a library of software.

Open the black box, and you’ll find a sleek metallic green candy bar phone. Turn it on, and you’ll find a user interface that’s familiar to anyone who’s used any smartphone, regardless of the OS. However, there aren’t many applications. That’s because you’re intended to write your own (or install apps you like the use of). Menus include many standard features, as well as tools for debugging your applications and managing the Greenphone’s network connections.

Built around a 312MHz XScale processor, with 64 MB of RAM and 128 MB of Flash (there’s also a Mini-SD card slot for up to 512 MB of extra storage) and a 1.3 Mpixel camera (with no flash), the Greenphone aims to replicate the hardware used in many consumer smartphones - though it shouldn’t be mistaken for one. This is a developer platform through and through. QTopia software can run on many different form factors, so there’s a QVGA touchscreen to let developers work in applications that work on keypad-less devices. Smartphone applications need connectivity, and the Greenphone provides this through a GPRS modem and a USB-based IP connection. While there’s Bluetooth, the stack doesn’t yet work and there’s no Wi-Fi. It’s not cheap, either; the hardware costs $695, with development packages adding at least $195 to the cost.

The Greenphone comes with an innovative cross-platform development tool kit. Instead of shipping separate development environments for Windows and Linux (and Mac OS X), Trolltech ships a single VMware virtualized Linux PC. All you need is VMware Player (or a version of VMware Workstation). The image contains a customized version of Debian Linux designed to support Trolltech’s development tools and to connect to a Greenphone via IP over USB.