Intel looks to smartphones with new Moblin

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Intel has unveiled a version of the open source Moblin platform specifically "tweaked" for mobile phones.

At the Intel Developer's Forum in San Francisco, the first demo of Moblin 2.1 for Mobile Phones showed the previous netbook version has been shifted to work on smaller screens, allow touch, and - of course - take calls.

Moblin is an open sourced platform, which Intel passed to the Linux Foundation earlier this year, originally designed for mobile internet devices (MIDs) and used on netbooks running Intel's Atom processor.

“We’ve gone beyond concept, we have it running on Intel Atom platforms,” said chief executive Paul Otellini.

Clair Alexander, lead for mobile user interaction, showed how the usual Moblin features had been downsized to fit on a smaller screen than a netbook. The 2.1 version is based on the netbook version, but the user interface has been "tweaked" for smaller devices, she said.

It features a tool bar along the top, showing time, notifications and other key bits and pieces. The rest of the phone screen shows what Moblin calls panels, which includes the MyZone page.

The MyZone page brings together news, social networking, missed calls, recently looked at media, upcoming events and favourite apps on one screen.

Moblin also has panels for applications, contacts and another for status, so users can update to all their social networking sites from one place. The last panel features Zone Switcher, which lets users flip through mobile apps without losing their spot in other programs – handy when a call comes in while surfing the web.

Atom processors aren't yet used in phones, however their successor codenamed Moorestown could very well be - and it's due next year.

Alexander said Moblin would be ready to go alongside Moorestown, giving Intel a solid one-two punch for its entrance to the handset market.

“I think it’s going to unleash as yet unimagined devices,” said Otellini. “These platforms need a new type of software.”

Click here for more news from Intel Developers Forum 2009.

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