Intel's
recent moves to embrace Linux for its consumer
ultra mobile
devices is likely to signal a major shift in the battle over web content and
delivery, industry experts predict.
According to
Gartner,
the chip giant's switch to Linux for mobile internet devices moves the personal
device argument away from Windows and platform discussions towards web
technology.
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The move will also shift the focus of the discussion away from the operating
system platform and towards content.
"As a result, recruiting strong content and service providers will be a
critical success factor for the ecosystem, opening it up to new targeted
development," stated a new Gartner research paper.
"At the same time, this move away from an OS/platform focus could lead to a
new round of industry battles around web content and service delivery.
"We can imagine a
Nokia/Samsung/Intel
battle over Linux mini-tablets optimised for the web, similar to Nokia's N800
Linux tablet, or a small cellular-enabled Linux mini-tablet with an innovative
user interface which might compete against
Apple and the
iPhone."
The comments come after Intel recently backed China's Red Flag and Canonical,
the supplier of Ubuntu Linux, as its first Linux OS vendors for mobile internet
devices.
Gartner noted that the Linux announcement accompanied Intel's introduction of
the Ultra Mobile Platform, the silicon to run its ultra mobile PC and the mobile
internet device.
Linux support will be available for mobile internet devices with the next
generation of the Ultra Mobile Platform, expected in 2008 and code-named Menlow.
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