Nokia, Intel dial up open source telephony project oFono
Nokia, Intel dial up open source telephony project oFono
May 13, 2009 9:55 AM CT
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Nokia and Intel have launched a joint project called oFono which aims to build an open source telephony framework for the Linux platform. It will serve as an abstraction layer, providing a rich high-level API for application developers and a plugin API for snapping in cell modem software.
Nokia and Intel are two of the most prominent companies in the mobile Linux platform space. Nokia is the driving force behind the Linux-based Maemo platform, which is used on the company's Internet Tablet devices. Intel has created the Moblin Linux platform, which is designed for Atom-based netbooks and MIDs. Maemo and Moblin are very similar in design and use many of the same underlying technologies.
The oFono effort is significant because it could eventually be used at some point in the future to bring capabilities like voice calling and SMS messaging to Maemo and Moblin. The collaborative nature of the project is advantageous because it will increase interoperability and could make it possible for third-party developers to build dialers and other similar applications that are compatible with both platforms.
According to an announcement published Tuesday on the new oFono website, the code is available from a git repository hosted at the kernel.org website and is distributed under the terms of version 2 of the GNU's General Public License (GPLv2). Intel and Nokia hope to attract additional participants to join in and contribute to the development effort.
The project raises many questions, but few answers seem to be available at this time. When Nokia announced plans for Maemo 5, the company revealed that its next-generation Internet Tablet device will support 3G connectivity. Voice calling, however, was not planned. The oFono project opens the door for a whole new category of Maemo-based devices, making it possible for Nokia to create a Maemo-based smartphone or add voice calling to future Internet Tablet devices.
Intel is increasingly shifting its Atom strategy towards the netbook market, a move that is reflected in its netbook-centric priorities for Moblin 2. Atom processors are viewed as too power-hungry to be a practical option for smartphones. These factors make it seem very unlikely that Intel is planning to make a major play for Atom in the handset space, but the company's participation in oFono appears to be at odds with that assessment.
Ars asked Intel if the oFono effort is a sign that the company is serious about encouraging the adoption of Atom and Moblin in the smartphone market. "The Intel Atom processor was designed from its inception to bring the PC-Internet to a range of devices including smart phones. At Mobile World Congress, Intel and LG-E announced plans for an Atom-based mobile Internet device with smart phone voice capabilities," Imad Sousou, the director of Intel's open source technology center, told me. "That said, yesterday's oFono project disclosure is about initiating an open source project to innovate on telephony software. Intel regularly contributes to a number of open source development projects, working closely with representatives from many companies. This effort is an example of our ongoing work in this field."
Sousou clearly isn't denying the possibility that Moblin could eventually reach mobile phones, but his reference to the LG partnership makes it seem likely that Intel's interest in oFono is primarily to accommodate hardware makers who want to offer voice calling features on MIDs.
Although there are no details yet from either Nokia or Intel about when we can expect to see oFono on actual hardware, the project itself looks very promising. It will bring valuable technology to the Linux platform and open the door for using Maemo and Moblin in compelling new ways. For more details, check out the project's website.
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:source: Source: http://arstechnica.com/open-source/n...ony-project-of
