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Electronic products design / Technologies / Mobile software platforms

Mobile software platforms

Linux based software platforms

World leading vendors use Linux in multifunction multimedia devices (including mobile devices) and therefore actively support the development of appropriate Linux software platforms. Some non-commercial organizations and consortiums were founded to push Linux based software platforms into popular devices such as smartphones and netbooks:

Consortium, company

Platform

Target market

Open Handset Alliance (OHA)
Google
Android Phones, smartphones
Linux Foundation, Intel Moblin Netbooks
LiMo Foundation LiMo platform Phones, smartphones
Nokia, Qt-software Qt/Embedded PDA
Nokia, Gnome Mobile Maemo Internet Tablets, MIDs
Access Access Linux Platform (ALP) Phones, smartphones
Canonical Ubuntu Netbook Remix Netbooks

Android

Android is one of the leading mobile software platforms in the world market. It includes not only operating system, but also middleware and key applications. Android OS is based on a modified version of the Linux kernel.

New versions of this operating system are released by Google and other members of the Open Handset Alliance. Maintenance and further development of Android is carried outby The Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

Promwad Innovation Company has a special division Promwad Mobile which is responsible for developing Android mobile apps for cell phones, tablet computers, ebook readers, car navigation systems and other multimedia devices.

Android mobile application developers primarily use the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries (Android SDK). Java bytecode is converted into own Android bytecode format called dex, which is executed by Dalvik virtual machine. Distinctive features of the Android platform are the following:

  • Dalvik virtual machine
  • built-in web browser based on Webkit engine
  • rich graphical libraries for 2D graphics and 3D graphics compliant to OpenGL ES 1.0 specification with support of hardware acceleration
  • usage of SQLite for structured data storage
  • vast multimedia support (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, GIF)
  • GSM software communication stack
  • software communication stack to work with Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G and WiFi
  • support of additional devices like webcam, GPS, compass, accelerometer
  • sophisticated development tools: debugger, emulator, profiling tools, integration with Eclipse IDE

Android system architecture diagram

Maemo

Maemo platform (Internet Tablet OS – it's marketing name) — an operating system and application software stack for internet tablet devices made by Nokia company.

Nokia 770 Internet Tablet

Maemo consists of system-level software (including Linux kernel), user-level applications and middleware libraries (Maemo API and Hildon User Interface).

Key components of the platform:
  • Linux kernel optimized for TI OMAP architecture
  • system-level libraries (libc, stdc++, openssl, curl)
  • dpkg package manager
  • Gnome Mobile framework
  • Hildon graphical user interface
Maemo system architecture diagram


Maemo platform has a wide range of development tools for tutorials for creating and porting user applications for Internet Tablet OS, which is an optimized Debian Linux distribution for TI OMAP hardware architecture.

Nokia sponsors and direct the platform development. Maemo is used by the following Nokia devices: Nokia 770, Nokia N800, Nokia N810.

Apple iOS Mobile Platform

Apple iOS is a mobile OS for Apple mobile devices (iPhones, iPods and iPads). The iPad openes new prospects to iOS developers. Its large screen and improved performance allows to enjoy a content-rich user interface and new features in software products.

Promwad Mobile experts develop applications for iPhone and iPad as well as provide services for optimizing iPhone applications according to the Apple tablet requirements.

Windows Phone 7 Mobile Platform

Windows Phone 7 is a mobile OS developed by Microsoft. The platform features a new interface and integrated Microsoft Xbox Live and Zune services.

Promwad Mobile experts offer application development services for Windows Phone 7, a next-generation mobile platform.

Symbian Mobile Platform

Symbian OS is a mobile OS developed by the Symbian consortium since 1998. The Symbian PIPS library enables porting of application to other mobile platforms.

Promwad Mobile developers use the Ñ++ and Java languages for development of Symbian applications.