Nokia unveils its first Linux phone
HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's largest handset maker, Nokia unveiled on Thursday its first phone running on Linux software.
The focus of cell phone business has shifted to services and software following Apple and Google's entrances to the market in the last two years.
"As Nokia announces the software platform that will drive its future services aspirations it created a dedicated solutions unit -- the challenge will be to ensure that all these elements work in harmony in the face of fierce competition from Apple and Google," said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight.
THE LINUX BET
Analysts see Linux as a key for Nokia to gain back ground in the coming years.
The Finnish firm has dabbled with Linux since 2005, using it in "Internet tablets" -- sleek phone-like devices used to access the Web that have failed to gain mass-market appeal in part due to their lack of a cellular radio.
Nokia said Linux would work well in parallel with Symbian in its high-end product range.
"This is in no way putting Symbian in jeopardy," Anssi Vanjoki, head of sales at Nokia, told Reuters.
"Open source Symbian is going to be our main platform, and we are expanding and growing it the best we can, both in terms of functionality as well as distribution ... populating more and more of our product line with Symbian," he said.
The new model will use ARM's Cortex-A8 processor.
"If you look at the energy management properties we have in ARM, at least today, they are clearly better, miles and miles better, than what we have in Intel architecture," Vanjoki said, adding the company would not count out using Intel processors in the same product range later.
Linux is the most popular type of free, or so-called open source, computer operating system available to the public. It competes directly with Microsoft Corp, which charges for its Windows software and opposes freely sharing its code.
(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter and Rupert Winchester)
The focus of cell phone business has shifted to services and software following Apple and Google's entrances to the market in the last two years.
"As Nokia announces the software platform that will drive its future services aspirations it created a dedicated solutions unit -- the challenge will be to ensure that all these elements work in harmony in the face of fierce competition from Apple and Google," said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight.
THE LINUX BET
Analysts see Linux as a key for Nokia to gain back ground in the coming years.
The Finnish firm has dabbled with Linux since 2005, using it in "Internet tablets" -- sleek phone-like devices used to access the Web that have failed to gain mass-market appeal in part due to their lack of a cellular radio.
Nokia said Linux would work well in parallel with Symbian in its high-end product range.
"This is in no way putting Symbian in jeopardy," Anssi Vanjoki, head of sales at Nokia, told Reuters.
"Open source Symbian is going to be our main platform, and we are expanding and growing it the best we can, both in terms of functionality as well as distribution ... populating more and more of our product line with Symbian," he said.
The new model will use ARM's Cortex-A8 processor.
"If you look at the energy management properties we have in ARM, at least today, they are clearly better, miles and miles better, than what we have in Intel architecture," Vanjoki said, adding the company would not count out using Intel processors in the same product range later.
Linux is the most popular type of free, or so-called open source, computer operating system available to the public. It competes directly with Microsoft Corp, which charges for its Windows software and opposes freely sharing its code.
(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter and Rupert Winchester)
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