What The Google Phone Could Do For Linux

Brian Caulfield , 11.01.07, 6:00 PM ET

BURLINGAME, CALIF. -

Even the best technology needs a sugar daddy. Seven years ago, Linux got just that when IBM said it would put $1 billion on the then-nascent open-source operating system, pushing the software into the corporate mainstream. Now the same could be about to happen for Linux with the mobile phone, with Google set to give Linux a major endorsement this November.

Industry insiders say Google is about to release Linux-based software that will bind mobile phones to Google's online services, a move likely to exacerbate the growing conflict between Google and Microsoft over the future of the mobile-phone market.

The stakes are huge. More than 289 million mobile phones were sold worldwide in the third quarter of this year, according to market tracker IDC. By contrast, IDC reports that just 66.9 million personal computers were sold during the same period. To stay relevant, both Google and Microsoft will need a big piece of this market.

Google's effort is centered on a team of more than 100 engineers led by Danger co-founder Andy Rubin, who have put Google's applications and Linux software into phone-friendly form (see "How To Spy On Google"). Google has approached players in the industry, too, including Taiwan's HTC, to build the hardware that would use its system (see "Google's Friends and Family Plan"). The company has also spoken with carriers, including Orange, in an effort to entice them to provide the service.

Finally, Google hopes to tap into the base of developers and technologies that have formed around Linux since its high-profile endorsement by IBM to make it easy to put its software on a variety of phones. Linux developers boast the tools are already there to easily build phones around Web-based services. "If you wanted to do a Facebook-branded handset or a YouTube-branded handset, you could probably do that for less than one million [dollars]," says Benoit Schillings, chief technology officer at Trolltech, a Norwegian-based software developer.

Of course, the growing profile of mobile editions of Windows, OS X and Linux opens up consumers to new security threats, too. Tools for building software for all three operating systems are widespread. Both Symantec and McAfee already offer security software for Windows-based mobile devices. And McAfee has already signed up with the Mobile Linux Initiative.

Industry efforts such as the Mobile Linux Initiative, however, would allow Google to move into mobile without pushing aside some potential partners. Of the three largest handset makers, both Motorola and Samsung have placed big bets on Linux-powered handsets, with Nokia trying out a smaller number of smart phones and tablets. Putting out an open-source collection of software would allow all three to integrate Google's services into its efforts.

Yet to break out, mobile Linux still needs a deep-pocketed backer. "Linux will need to have some champion," HTC CEO Peter Chou said in an interview with Forbes.com in September, admitting that he's eyeing mobile Linux. "There is no free lunch in the world."

And Google brings more than just cash. By coupling its online advertising smarts with mobile Linux software, Google could insure that a business case exists for mobile Linux. Carriers could presumably share the revenues generated by Google's keyword-based ads. And software developers might be able spin Google's ads into their own services.