Mobile Computing News

ARM, the world leader in mobile phone chip designing has recently teamed up with the world’s most popular open source software developer, Ubuntu, to develop a new operating system for small computers or netbooks. The new operating system will be infused in the ARM powered machines and the first unit will be launched in 2009. These will be the first computing devices running on the Ubuntu platform and will be based on ARM7 architecture and contain the Cortex A8 and A9 processors.

As notebooks with a small form factor are becoming more and more popular these days, this is a natural development for Ubuntu, which is driven by the demand from the manufacturers of an ARM technology based version. The One Laptop Per Child project, popularly known as OLPC, has already introduced Linux Sugar based small laptops and has been very successful in developing nations. The Asus Eee PC 7014G is also famous for offering a Linux version at its launch. This has boosted the enthusiasm of Ubuntu developers and they are now aiming for a next generation powerful operating system for netbooks, which will take users beyond basic computing and offer a longer battery runtime.

Rob Coombs, director of mobile marketing at ARM said, “It’s significant in that it is taking ARM onto larger screen formats. The resultant netbooks were likely to sport screens up to 25cm (10in) across and be able to run good quality video, web browsers, and the well-known suite of Open Office programs. These netbook devices would have the long battery life enjoyed by many mobiles. They’ll be for people who want a small internet-centric device.”