OStatic

Is Moblin, the open source mobile operating system initially launched by Intel and now overseen by the Linux Foundation, a potential thorn in Microsoft's side? It seems from Microsoft's own stance toward the early stage netbook- and smartphone-focused OS, that it is not. There are also reports that Microsoft may in fact favor Moblin among Linux-based operating systems aimed at computers that Windows might otherwise run on.

Last week, at the Intel Developer Forum conference, Microsoft's Silverlight team demonstrated the Silverlight 3 web application framework running on both Windows 7 and Moblin Atom chip-based devices.? The announcement from the Silverlight team was very ecumenical, describing the Novell-sponsored open source Moonlight implementation of Silverlight as aimed at the broad range of Linux platforms, while Silverlight 3 will be especially adept at running on Moblin. What is Microsoft's real stance toward Moblin?

We've been reporting this week on excitement surrounding netbooks running the new Moblin version 2 operating system, and how many different directions Moblin may go in. At the Intel Developer Forum conference this week, Intel showed a smartphone running the operating system, with its own chips powering the phone.? While Intel has officially handed over stewardship of Moblin to The Linux Foundation, the company is demonstrating its belief in Moblin for many types of hardware platforms ranging from netbooks, to smartphones, to Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs).

Intel has a long history of high-profile partnerships with big technology companies such as Microsoft and Dell, and that's why I'm not surprised to see that the first netbook running Moblin version 2 is Dell's very well-liked Mini 10v (shown). It's set to ship with Canonical's Moblin remix of Ubuntu, and is evidence that Dell--the world's number two computer manufacturer--remains committed to shipping Linux-based netbooks.

As Slashdot, Moblin Zone, and ZDNet UK are reporting, the very first netbook preinstalled with Moblin version 2 for Netbooks is likely to launch next week, very probably at Intel's Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, or at Portland's LinuxCon. ZDNet UK did an interview with Imad Sousou, head of Intel's Open Source Technology Center, in which he implied as much. Sousou has also confirmed that Moblin version 2 will be made widely available after that, with many new features.

While Microsoft's Windows 7, due in October, is going to be aggressively pushed in the netbook space, Moblin will join Ubuntu and Google's upcoming Chrome OS in the effort to keep innovative open source operating systems going in the fast-growing netbook space. Intel has handed stewardship of Moblin over to The Linux Foundation, which could help its chances. Netbooks represent an important frontier for open source adoption and innovation, and I have my own guess at who will be shipping the first Moblin v2 netbook.

The smartphone market has remained very healthy throughout the economic downturn, and it looks like the next big area of opportunity for smartphones, mobile operating systems and applications will be China. As we reported a few days ago, the iPhone is headed to China through a deal that Apple has struck with China Unicom, and China Mobile--the market leading wireless provider--has increasingly embraced the open source Android operating system. Specifically, Dell's new Android smartphones are part of China Mobile's application platform, and? the company has its own Ophone operating system (based on Android).

It's already been clear that there will be a huge battle between open source and proprietary mobile operating systems in China, but now, as The Register reports, things are getting even more complicated. It seems that Symbian, the platform on nearly half of smartphones, could start gaining a Chinese foothold even before the iPhone and Android phones arrive there.

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