Linux makes inroads into the PDA market
Vishnu K. Mahmud, Contributor, Jakarta
You would thought that the personal digital assistant (PDA) market consisted of only two camps: that using Palm Computing's Operating System (Palm OS), or Microsoft's Pocket PC, formerly known as Windows CE.
With many different hardware players (Palm, Handspring, Compaq, HP and Sony, to name a few) but only two software makers in the market, there seems to be little choice in selecting the right handheld computer and software.
Not any more.
Linux, the famed open-source Operating System (OS) founded by a Finnish university student, is also making inroads into the PDA market. So far, there are at least three Linux-based handheld units that are being marketed at some stage or another. With their many features and abundant software, these Linux machines may give the other PDAs a run for their money.
One of the earliest devices announced (and the longest in development) is G.Mate's Yopy. G.Mate (gmate.com), a subsidiary of the Samsung Corporation in Korea, will be launching its PDA later this year in Asia, with the American market soon to follow.
Looking a lot like Captain Kirk's old communicator, the Yopy sports a 206 MHz StrongArm CPU with 64 MB of RAM and 16 MB of ROM (read-only memory, where the operating system will be stored). It also has a four-inch "true color" TFT LCD with 64,000 colors at 240 x 320 pixels. Dubbed a "multimedia PDA", the Yopy has the ability to record conversations, play MP3 music (earphone jack supplied) as well as show small movies.
What's more, there is a small non-QWERTY keyboard for entering data. It also has a removable back cover for future add-on modules, namely a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular modem to connect to the Internet.
Even though the Yopy, it is said, will be shipped before the New Year, the Yopy Developer Kit (YDK) has been available for a while. Although it is officially sold out, one can easily find secondhand units in Indonesia via an online auction (like amboi.com) or classified ad sites (like iklanbaris.co.id). The YDK, (which looks nothing like the final consumer Yopy but more like a Compaq IPAQ), is meant for developers to make applications and the OS itself is still in progress. But for those curious minds, it may be a nice distraction.
In addition to the Yopy is Sharp's Zaurus SL-5000 (http://developer.sharpsec.com). With hardware specification similar to the Yopy, the Zaurus has a miniature built-in QWERTY keyboard located behind a slide cover. The PDA is also equipped with Opera's Opera 5 web browser for Linux and a Java Virtual Machine, making it easier for Java programmers to port their applications to the unit.
There is also a simple model that does not have the complete multimedia features. Agenda Computing's (agendacomputing.com) VR3 is dubbed "the world's first Pure Linux Handheld PDA". The handheld unit uses an NEC 66 MHz Mips processor and has 8 MB of RAM and 16 MB of Flash ROM. Unlike the Yopy and Sharp Zaurus, it has a 16 grayscale 160 x 240 LCD display.
The Agenda website is also filled with optional accessories (such as an external modem or headset microphone) and free software (games, productivity, etc) that is lacking at the G.Mate and Sharp Internet site. But software is not really a problem since the strength of the open-source movement is the availability of free source code that can be compiled into applications for each particular machine, in this case a PDA.
In addition to Linux hardware, you can also install the Linux Operating System on existing PDAs such as Compaq's IPAQ Pocket PC. Handhelds.org (handhelds.org) has step-by-step instructions on how to install Linux on your Pocket PC devices. Keep this in mind: This is not for the faint of heart. One wrong move and you can render your machine totally useless!
Why even consider Linux on a PDA? To be fair, a Linux-based PDA will most likely not threaten the market share of Palm or Microsoft. Compared with the two handheld powerhouses, the various Linux PDAs have small marketing budgets.
At the moment, a Linux-based handheld would be the ultimate toy for Alpha Geeks and Gadget lovers alike since the combination of hardware and software results in one of the most powerful PDA units around. You can theoretically compile a small web server to one and connect it to the Internet with a wireless plug-in!
Linux on a PDA is still under progress, as are all Operating Systems today. Linux is still one of the cleanest and most efficient systems that can be customized for a particular hardware device. It is not a miniature knock-off of a widely used Operating System, nor is it a hardware-specific OS. The benefit of using Linux is the availability of thousands of programs that can be freely implemented and customized to your specific requests or wishes.
Thus, hospitals, corporations or warehouses may soon be able to afford simple PDAs with specific task requirements and source them from a wide selection of hardware and software. Hardware costs can be limited and software can even be done in-house.
Linux provides more choice and innovation for the consumer. It makes no sense reinventing the wheel if the automobile is already widely used. Better to modify what is available then make a new one from scratch. That is the benefit of Linux and Open- Source Software.