Motorola is in the process of investing in a company called VirtualLogix - their tech makes it possible for handset makers to use virtualization to run two OSes on a single phone - not unlike the virtual machines that we know and love in the PC world…
Apparently the idea is not actually to run two OSes, but more around security:
"Using virtualization, a handset maker can run one operating system that controls important basic phone functions, and separate it from another operating system that an end-user can customize and add applications to. Separating the two protects the basic phone functions from being corrupted by applications that a user may download."
Sounds like somewhat of a cunning plan, especially now we are firmly in the era of the Smartphone…
At the moment VirtualLogix products are being used in another way - to reduce phone development costs:
"NXP Semiconductor, for example, is able to use one processor to run the wireless stack as well as the mobile Linux operating system, something that would normally require a separate application processor….It enables a phone to be built at a price under [US]$100 with full multimedia capabilities…"
Personally, I think this is another interesting take on getting things done in Mobile devices - an innvoative architecture, which could deliver some customisable, yet secure devices. And that is no bad thing.
[Via: PC World]
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