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Carolyn Ong

Interest in the Linux operating system gathered momentum at CeBIT 2001, especially in the personal digital assistant (PDA) sector.

The operating system which began as a school project for creator Linux Torvalds is making rapid inroads as many PDA makers announce their intention to use Linux, or are already using it, to power their products.

More significantly, many who are already on the Linux bandwagon are Asian manufacturers, such as Taiwan's Mitac, Japan's Sharp and South Korea's Samsung.

The decision is strategic, not sentimental. These companies do not have notable market share in PDAs outside their domestic markets.

They are hoping the move to Linux will be key to opening up the rest of the world.

Computer maker Mitac is the first to make it to market with a Linux-based PDA. To attract more buyers, Mitac integrated a Bluetooth module in it.

The new product, popular at CeBIT, is called Bluetooth PDA. It weighs 140 grams and is no bigger than the original Palm Pilot. It features a 10.5-inch colour TFT touch screen with backlight.

Michael Hsu, a marketing manager at Mitac, said the decision to put Bluetooth in the PDA was to give it one more way to access the Internet, even though Bluetooth access points were not yet widely adopted.

'Linux and Bluetooth together is a good combination for wireless connectivity to the Internet,' Mr Hsu said.

'This year, there will be a lot of Bluetooth products. All the major players are selling Bluetooth access servers and there are more Bluetooth mobile phones being released. We believe that for the small form factor such as the PDA, Bluetooth to connect to the Internet is going to be popular.'

Interestingly, Mitac envisions a future where a large percentage of all mobile Internet-enabled devices, including PDAs, will be sold through telecommunications and mobile operators.

'We have come to the post-PC era. All computer devices should be designed with the ability to access the Internet anywhere, anytime. This means wireless and broadband,' he said.

As a result, Mr Hsu said Mitac's relationship with telecommunications companies had become closer as 'they have access to the customers, be it corporate or consumer'.

Mr Hsu said Mitac believed the pricing model for Internet-enabled PDAs could be sold in a bundle with applications and Internet access, similar to mobile phones, by operators.

The global PDA market is dominated by Palm Computing's Palm operating system.

According to International Data Corp, about 85 per cent of all PDA users have PDAs running the Palm OS.

There are also more software applications written for the Palm OS than any other operating system for that form factor.

United States-based PDA maker Handspring offers an innovative line of Visor products while taking away market share from Palm Computing in the US. It is also the biggest licensee of the Palm OS.

The remaining 15 per cent is fought over fiercely by Microsoft's Windows CE and Symbians EPOC system. In Europe, British firm Symbian has a significant share of the market, ahead of Microsoft and second to the Palm.

Linux is freely available. Its open-code nature has made it attractive to developers and companies which can modify it to develop specific applications, such as wireless connectivity. However, there are few developing consumer applications for Linux PDAs.

Electronics maker Sharp is planning to launch a Linux PDA by year end. Sharp, which makes the Zaurus electronic organiser running its own proprietary operating system, has a significant following in Japan and Asia. The Zaurus was already familiar in Asia before Robotics launched the first Palm Pilot.

Sharp announced at CeBIT it planned to ditch its proprietary operating system and use Linux for its Zaurus PDAs.

While the decision to move on from using its own operating system comes as no surprise, the move to use Linux across its Zaurus line of products is significant.

According to Sharp officials, the move to put Linux on Zaurus is strategic.

A Sharp official said: 'So far, Zaurus has been successful mainly in Japan and maybe some success in some Asian countries.

'Linux supports Java and there are a lot of applications written in Java. The PDA hardware is driven by applications. So by running Linux on Zaurus PDAs, we can reach many more markets outside Japan.'



Linux PDA top choice at CeBIT