Trolltech releases Linux phone app platform

It said that using Qtopia Phone and embedded Linux allows for an operating environment that will support phones that have limited capacity, and high end enterprise smartphones.

Qtopia Phone, said Trolltech, includes all the base Qtopia applications and also comes with a user interface designed specifically for mobile phones.

Users can get in touch with their mobile phones using either the keypad or a touch screen. The interface works on a number of different screen resolutions, and will be customised by manufacturers and network operators.

The apps include personal management, telephony, email, games, and media players. The phones can be synchronised with either a desktop suite from Trolltech or with Outlook.

The firm said that the 1000 Qtopia apps can easily be ported.Several Java virtual machines already run on Qtopia Phone, including Jeode and Big Blue's Visual Age Micro Edition.

It won't be formally released until the beginning of next year, Trolltech said. µ