Mobile Operating Systems

Mobile Operating Systems

The mobile operating system (OS) market is vastly different from the desktop operating system market. In the mobile world, there is no clear leader in the operating system space. The Palm OS has a large amount of market share in the consumer space; Windows CE has been very successful in the enterprise market; and the Symbian OS is dominant in the European market. In addition, a following is growing for both Java-based operating systems and Linux.

The operating system is an important aspect of mobile application development. It is one of the main factors that will dictate whether you can develop a smart client application. It also plays a role in the development tools, prepackaged software, and device support that will be available to you. We will take a look at five main operating environments: Windows CE, Palm OS, Symbian OS, Linux, and Java.

Windows CE

Microsoft has made great strides in the Windows CE operating system, both in terms of functionality and usability, as well as in market share. Windows CE .NET, Microsoft's current operating system, delivers the most complete mobile operating system available. Windows CE enables multitasking, allowing the user to work on one application while another is executing in the background. For example, you could be working on PocketWord while synchronizing data in the background. Pocket PC 2002 devices use customized versions of Windows CE, and look as though they will be the market leader for the enterprise market, and possibly the consumer market as well. But the situation was not always so positive for Microsoft.

Back in 1995, when Microsoft released the first version of Windows CE, it had very limited success. Microsoft had just released Windows 95 and had a near monopoly in the desktop operating system market. The Windows CE operating system was designed for Handheld PC devices, which, size-wise, are in between PDAs and laptops. Even though many device manufacturers supported Windows CE, it was given a very cool reception by both the consumer and enterprise markets. It did not look as though Microsoft was going to reproduce its desktop OS success with Windows CE.

Unwilling to concede, in 1998, Microsoft released Windows CE 2.x for the PDA market. At this time, Palm dominated the palm-sized device market. Nevertheless, Microsoft was confident that Windows CE was going to be the "PalmPilot killer." This proved not to be the case. Once again, Windows CE was given a cool reception. Many consumers found the user interface too cluttered and complex. Microsoft found itself in an unfamiliar position, trailing both Palm OS and Symbian OS (at the time called EPOC) in popularity. It had to come up with something better.

Finally, in 2000, Microsoft released a version of Windows CE that garnered some attention. Windows CE 3.0 was released when the PDA market was becoming more attractive to enterprises considering building line-of-business applications. For these applications, corporations were looking for an operating system that would allow them to run existing Windows-based software and to create sophisticated data-driven applications. Windows CE fit that description. Even though the popularity of the Palm OS was at an all-time high, Microsoft made some early penetration into the enterprise market during the year. By 2001, Microsoft found itself in a more familiar position, often being the OS of choice for new business application development.

Why did Windows CE 3.0 succeed? For many reasons. It comes with many familiar applications, including PocketWord, PocketExcel, PocketOutlook, and Pocket Internet Explorer. In addition to its office products, Windows CE also features built-in multi-media capabilities for both audio and video. These capabilities make it easy for existing Windows desktop users to move to the Windows CE operating system. They can maintain the rich level of functionality they are used to, only on a smaller device.

On the development side, Windows CE 3.0 utilizes a scaled-down version of the commonly used Win32 application programming interface (API), allowing developers to quickly refit existing Windows applications for Windows CE 3.0-based devices. This provided the needed link between the Microsoft desktop operating systems and their mobile counterparts. Another major improvement from Windows CE 2.x to 3.0 is enhanced support for real-time functionality made to the OS kernel. This dramatically enhances the performance of Windows CE 3.0 over Windows CE 2.x.

The progression of Windows CE does not end there. At the end of 2001, Microsoft announced another version of the Windows CE family: Windows CE .NET 4.0. This version fits into Microsoft's overall .NET strategy by allowing developers to use the full suite of Microsoft tools, including Visual Basic and Visual C++, for development, as well as updated versions of the Microsoft suite of office products and Internet Explorer. Windows CE .NET also added built-in wireless capabilities, including broad support for WANs, LANs (including 802.11b), and PANs (including Bluetooth).

Then, in the fall of 2002, Windows CE .NET version 4.1 was released. This version added support for IPv6 (the latest version of Internet Protocol), as well as integrated speech recognition. Additionally, devices using Windows CE .NET 4.1 support popular PC file formats including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat. Internet Explorer performance has also been increased by as much as 15 percent from Windows CE .NET 4.0 and 60 percent over Windows CE 3.0. It is anticipated that in 2003, most of the new Pocket PC and Handheld PC devices will take advantage of the Windows CE .NET operating system. Table 7.1 compares the various Windows CE version capabilities.

Table 7.1: Comparison of Windows CE Versions

Version/Features

Year of Release

Processors Supported

Internet Browser

Wireless Capabilities

Multimedia Support

CE 2.12

1998

ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, SHx, x86

Based on Internet Explorer 4.0

IrDA

No (audio only)

      

CE 3.0

2000

ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, SHx, x86

Based on Internet Explorer 4.0

IrDA

Yes

CE .NET

2002

X-Scale, ARM,

Based on Internet Explorer 5.5

Bluetooth, 802.11x, Media Sense, OBEX

Yes

Confusion often exists between Windows CE and Pocket PC. To help distinguish between the two, the following extract is reprinted from Microsoft's Web site (www.microsoft.com/windows/Embedded/ce/evaluation/faq/default.asp):

  • Pocket PC does not replace Windows CE at all: The former is the hardware device, the latter is the operating system. However, Pocket PC does use Windows CE 3.0 as its underlying operating system. Pocket PC uses a customized version of the Windows CE 3.0 operating system, built by Microsoft and used specifically in Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) like the Compaq iPaq and the Hewlett-Packard Jornada. While this customized version is only used in PDA-type devices, Windows CE 3.0 can be used in a wide variety of devices including industrial automation, Internet access devices, Web terminals, kiosks, consumer electronics, or retail and point-of-sale devices.

This extract is somewhat dated as the latest versions of PocketPC are now based on Windows CE .NET 4.1, and will soon use Windows CE .NET 4.2.

Even though Windows CE is not the leading mobile operating system, it is definitely a strong platform on which you can build very robust, sophisticated smart client applications. Microsoft has spent the past several years enhancing the early versions of Windows CE to bring consumers the latest Windows CE .NET operating system, which should remain a strong player, if not become the leading mobile operating system.

Palm OS

Palm OS has experienced tremendous success in the PDA market. In the early days of PDAs, Palm established itself as the market leader, capturing nearly 75 percent of the worldwide mobile operating system market by early 2000 (IDC, June 2000). Since then, it has continued to be a dominant player in the market. Lately, however, it has faced some difficult times.

Palm has not had the same level of success in the enterprise market for new application development as it did with consumers. In the early days of PDA application development, many organizations chose Palm OS as a deployment platform because the devices were readily available and many employees were already familiar with them. This situation resulted in a wide range of applications being developed for Palm OS. As the requirements for business applications became more complex, however, Palm OS was found to be unsuitable for many of these tasks. For example, prior to the release of version 5.0, Palm OS had single-tasking capability only; meaning users could perform only one task at a time on the device. Thus, if they wanted to download a file, they had to wait for the download to complete before they could move on to other tasks. Many corporations found this to be a significant limitation. When, with version 5.0, Palm introduced some multi-tasking capabilities to the platform, it improved the usefulness of Palm OS for more complex applications. More enhancements for enterprise applications are also expected in Palm OS 6.0.

It's important to point out that Palm hardware devices and Palm OS used to be considered one and the same. This changed when Palm started licensing Palm OS to third-party device manufacturers. The first licensee was Handspring; many others followed suit, including IBM, Symbol, Kyocera, and Sony. Palm's goal by separating the hardware and software divisions was to maintain the widespread usage of Palm OS while avoiding the same problems Apple confronted as the sole manufacturer of both the hardware and the operating system software for the Macintosh. To date, it looks as though Palm is on the road to success in this regard. Handspring, for example, in 2001, released a device on the market called Treo, which incorporates a phone with wireless modem, Palm OS, email, wireless Internet access, SMS text messaging, and a full thumb keyboard, all in one device. Samsung and Kyocera have similar offerings.

Palm OS 5.0 also includes new features that make it more suitable for enterprise customers. The most significant of these is the move to the ARM series of processors. The result of this move is a significant increase in the overall performance of Palm OS, allowing for the development of more advanced, feature-rich, enterprise-level applications. At the same time, version 5.0 also added the aforementioned multitasking capabilities, additional security for encrypting private data, new expansion slot capabilities, and new wireless capabilities for easier access to the Internet and email systems; it also enhanced the level of color support.

Moreover, the new features of the Palm i705, including wireless support for always-on wireless networks, Bluetooth, and clip-on modems, will make the Palm OS a formidable challenger to Windows CE in the enterprise space. The only concern is that these new capabilities may have come too late; Windows CE had two years to become established before Palm OS delivered these new enterprise-level capabilities. To further distinguish their enterprise offerings, in the fall of 2002, Palm introduced two new product families: Tungsten and Zire. The Tungsten family of products is targeted at the enterprise market, providing powerful solutions for mobile professionals and enterprise work forces; the Zire family is focused on the consumer market, providing affordable options for individuals to organize their schedules and contacts. These new offerings should help Palm regain the momentum it had in 2000/2001.

On the technical side, Palm OS has three main components, listed here (Figure 7.4 shows how these components relate to one another):

  • Reference hardware design, consisting of device hardware, third-party hardware, and the hardware abstraction layer.

  • Palm OS with embedded system and third-party libraries.

  • Application software, featuring the applications included with Palm OS, such as the HotSync conduit and third-party applications.

Click To expand Figure 7.4: Palm OS architecture.

Today, Palm OS has a bright future in the PDA marketplace. Even though other mobile operating systems are closing in on its market lead, it will be some time before another operating system overtakes Palm OS in market share. With the release of version 5.0, as well as innovative new devices based on the Palm OS, the market will remain split between the Palm OS and Windows CE in North America, and among the Palm OS, Windows CE, and the Symbian OS in other parts of the world.

Symbian OS

The Symbian gained its popularity in the mobile phone sector; in fact, Symbian is an operating system developed exclusively for mobile devices. As phone capabilities increased, a more functional operating system was required. Proprietary operating systems from the device manufacturers were no longer practical, so a group of the largest cell phone manufacturers, including Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and Matsushita, together with Psion, formed a joint venture known as Symbian. The goal of this partnership was to create a standard operating system for smart phones and PDAs based on Psion's EPOC operating system.

Note 

Symbian OS is the name assigned to the latest versions of the EPOC operating system. Versions prior to 6.0 are called EPOC, while later versions are called Symbian OS.

In June 1999, EPOC version 5 started shipping. It contained support for devices based on a 640×240 screen resolution, with pen and keyboard capabilities. Since then, versions 6.x and 7.x of the Symbian OS have been released by Symbian. These new implementations, described in turn in the subsequent paragraphs, build upon the core EPOC operating system, while adding new capabilities required for next-generation mobile devices.

Symbian OS version 6.0, which made some radical improvements over the previous version, was released in 2000. The design goal was to bring together various forms of communication protocols, including TCP/IP, WAP, GSM, Bluetooth, IrDA, as well as serial connections, while allowing applications to be presented using C++, Java, WAP, and other Web protocols. By linking the communications protocols and applications, Symbian hoped to achieve close integration of contact information, messaging, browsing, and wireless telephony. In 2002, Symbian OS version 7.0 was released. This version was designed for the unique requirements of advanced 2G, 2.5G, and 3G mobile phones. Some of the key features in this release included over-the-air data synchronization using SyncML; full-strength security using HTTPS, WTLS, and SSL; enhanced multimedia capabilities; support for advanced messaging, including MMS, EMS, and SMS; and a complete suite of application engines for contacts, schedules, Web browsing, and system control. These features make Symbian OS a leading choice for smart phone implementations.

In order to target the full range of mobile devices, there are a range of different platform models that can be used on mobile devices. The original two are the reference designs: Quartz and Crystal. Quartz is targeted at PDA-sized devices(320×240 pixels), while Crystal is targeted for communicator type devices (640×200 pixels). More recently with the release of Symbian OS 7.0, two other user interfaces called called UIQ and Series 60 were introduced. UIQ provides a customizable pen-based user interface for media-rich mobile phones. It was designed to take advantage of the large, touch-sensitive color displays found on 2.5G and 3G handsets. UIQ is targeted for screen sizes ranging from 208×320 to 240×320 pixels, the standard size of most PDAs. The first device that takes advantage of UIQ is the Sony Ericsson P800. The Series 60 platform is developed and licensed by Nokia to a variety of phone manufacturers including Siemens, Panasonic, and Samsung. It is designed for mobile phone users with easy-to-use, one-hand operated handsets that have high-quality color displays, rich communications, and enhanced applications. With these innovative new designs, Symbian OS is making a strong move into the smart phone and PDA markets. To make the job easier for device manufacturers, UIQ and Series 60 come with several built-in applications, including email, SMS and MMS messaging, integrated contact lists and calendars, and high-quality Web page delivery. In addition to providing the operating system platform, Symbian also provides a development kit for developers who are building applications for the Symbian OS. This kit offers a wide range of application development choices. For on-device applications, these include EPOC C++, an efficient and purely object-oriented language that provides full access to all of the platform APIs; and Java, which can run on Symbian's Java runtime, which implements the PersonalJava 3.0 JVM and the JavaPhone 1.0 profiles.

For server-based applications delivered to the device, Symbian OS implements WAP 1.2.1 and HTML 4.01 with full frames, HTTPS, and embedded Java applet support. The Symbian OS also supports GSM, GPRS, EDGE, and CDMA networks and full internationalization support with Unicode and international locales.

Historically, the Symbian OS has been dominant in the European markets, with little exposure in North America. This started to change in March 2002, with Nokia's release of the Communicator 9290 device in North America. It is expected that other vendors will also release Symbian OS devices outside of Europe, making Symbian OS a potential challenger to both Palm OS and Windows CE for enterprise application development.

Linux

Linux is a free UNIX operating system that was initially created by a developer named Linus Torvalds. It is an open source operating system developed under the GNU General Public License, making the source code freely available to anyone who is interested. Current versions of Linux are being implemented by developers around the world who submit updates to the original code. The development effort started in 1991 with version 0.02. In 1994, version 1.0 of the kernel was released. The current full-featured release, version 2.4, was released in late 2002, and is still constantly being updated.

Note 

The latest Linux kernels can be downloaded from the Linux Kernel Archives at www.kernel.org.

When it comes to mobile devices, many flavors of Linux are available. Most of the device manufacturers supporting Linux will have their own version of the OS. In addition, many commercially available versions of embedded Linux are available. The major implementations of the Linux OS seem to be based on the handhelds.org kernel. Three companies offer Linux operating systems that are compatible with the Compaq iPaq: TransVirtual PocketLinux, Century Software MicroWindows, and TrollTech. The iPaq is not the only device that has Linux support though; other versions of the Linux OS are available for devices from Casio, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and Sharp.

Note, however, that many Linux implementations are provided by the developer community and are not officially supported by the device manufacturers. This situation is starting to change. In 2002, Sharp released the Sharp Zaurus device, which is based on the Lineo Embedix Linux platform. Several other smaller manufacturers, including Royal (www.royal.com) and Infomart (www.infomart.info), announced plans for Linux-based PDAs in 2002, although none were shipping commercially at the time this book was written.

Note 

The fact that Linux is freely available does not mean that companies cannot charge for the enhancements they make. Companies such as RedHat have built an entire business around the Linux operating system.

One of the drawbacks of using Linux is the range of applications available. With a small market share and no official support on many devices, it is a challenge to find the applications and support that is required in the enterprise space. This situation will surely change for the better with the release of more commercial devices.

While Linux is growing in popularity on the server market, it has yet to be shown whether it will have a lasting impact on the mobile operating system market. Judging by the number of delayed Linux PDA offerings, it looks as though Linux will fill a niche spot in the mobile operating system market for Linux enthusiasts.

Java and J2ME

When the Java programming language was initially developed by Sun Microsystems in the early 1990s, it was aimed at the embedded device market. The large number of devices with different chipsets made programming difficult with Assembler or C. The idea behind Java was to design a language that could be ported to different architectures and operating systems without reprogramming. It seemed like an ideal fit for the diverse device market, but device manufacturers were not interested. The result was a language that could run on multiple chipsets with multiple operating systems but that did not generate any interest in its target market.

Fortunately, Sun Microsystems did not give up. With the growing popularity of the World Wide Web, the need for such a language resurfaced. At the time, Internet content consisted of static HTML pages that did not generate much viewer excitement. Missing was dynamic content. But how could it be programmed? What was needed was a language that could be run on a variety of operating systems based on different hardware architectures—seemingly, a perfect fit for Java. Using the Java platform, developers could create little Java applications called applets that could run inside of a Web browser and provide a rich, dynamic user interface for Web applications. The version of the Java platform that provides this interface is the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE). Java applets failed to catch on as many expected. The general feeling was that client-side Java applications were too slow and too large to download.

Around that time, Sun Microsystems was also working on a server-side API for Java, now called the Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE). Rather than developing server-side Web applications using proprietary software, developers can use the J2EE specification to develop applications that can be ported to a variety of servers across a variety of operating systems. The Java platform finally found a large audience of companies and developers ready to take advantage of the capabilities offered by the language. As you are probably aware, most of today's application server vendors support the J2EE specification, and many wireless server-side applications are based on J2EE as well.

With the success of the J2EE specification, in 2000, Sun Microsystems decided to give Java another try on mobile devices. This time the company implemented another version of Java called the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME). J2ME targets the embedded and consumer device space, which ranges from Java Smart Cards to set-top boxes and smart appliances. Java smart phones and PDAs are included in that range. J2ME applications maintain the same core features of J2SE and J2EE: code portability, cross-platform support, along with the Java programming language. In addition, J2ME applications are upwardly scalable, to work with J2SE and J2EE platforms.

That said, it's important to point out that the J2ME architecture is somewhat different from J2SE and J2EE as it incorporates a few new concepts. J2ME is based around configurations and profiles. A configuration consists of a Java Virtual Machine (JVM), core libraries, standard classes, and APIs. Two configurations exist for J2ME today: Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) and Connected Device Configuration (CDC). Each is designed for a set of devices with varying capabilities. The configuration provides the lowest common denominator set of classes and the building blocks on which profiles are created. A profile sits on top of a configuration and provides a complete set of APIs for a narrower set of devices. The combination of a configuration and a profile results in a complete J2ME platform.

The CLDC is based on the K Virtual Machine (KVM) and associated libraries. It is targeted at highly constrained devices with either 16- or 32-bit CPUs and less than 512 KB of total memory available for applications. The current profiles for CLDC include the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) and the PDA Profile. Devices that fit into this category include smart phones, two-way pagers, and low-end PDAs.

For devices with more robust resources, the CDC is the configuration of choice. These devices typically run on 32-bit processors and have over 2 MB of memory available for applications. The base profile for the CDC is the Foundation Profile. On top of the Foundation Profile is the Personal Basis Profile and the Personal Profile. The relationship between these profiles is somewhat unique. The Personal Basis Profile actually includes the Foundation Profile and is a subset of the Personal Profile. The Personal Profile provides a similar level of client support to J2SE, but has a smaller footprint. The relationship between the J2ME configurations and profiles is shown in Figure 7.5.

Click To expand
Figure 7.5: J2ME architecture.

Java is listed in the operating system section because you can create smart client applications using Java technology and deploy them to any operating system that has a JVM, which includes all the OSes listed previously. This means that rather than developing a native application that will work only on the targeted operating system, you can develop your application using Java and be able to target a variety of operating systems without having to rewrite the application. It sounds like the ideal solution. However, it is important to keep in mind that J2ME still suffers from some of the same problems experienced over five years ago with the Java on desktop clients; specifically, performance is not always adequate and the portability is not 100 percent. For most applications, extensive testing is required for each platform to which the application will be deployed.

As device manufacturers continue to add more capabilities to handheld devices, thus increasing their performance, it is expected that Java technology will become a viable option for creating sophisticated, data-driven smart client applications.

Proprietary Operating Systems

Before mobile operating systems were readily available, many manufacturers relied on proprietary operating systems for their devices. A proprietary operating system is defined as one that is only used, and available for use, by the device manufacturers themselves. Some examples include the RIM OS, used on the Research In Motion Black-Berry devices, and the Wysdom OS that Motorola used in its TimePort two-way pagers.

The use of proprietary operating systems is becoming quite rare, as it prevents large-scale development. For this reason, both RIM and Motorola have adopted J2ME as the development platform of choice for their most recent devices.