September 19, 2007
Qtopoia Goes Open Source on OpenMoko
John Dorsey
Trolltech has open sourced its Qtopia Phone Edition app framework and UI and is porting it to the OpenMoko Neo1973 mobile phone
Trolltech has released its entire Qtopia Phone Edition app framework and UI as open-source under the GPL2 license. At the same time, Trolltech has ported Qtopia to the OpenMoko Neo1973 mobile phone platform.
Trolltech CTO Benoit Schillings, stated, "In the spirit of open development and innovation we want to showcase the versatility of Qtopia by porting our application platform to the Neo phone, which has had a positive impact on the open mobile ecosystem."
Qtopia Phone Edition includes a suite of PIM apps, web browser, media utilities, support for a Java VM, and WIFI, Bluetooth, and IR wireless connectivity. Previously, Trolltech offered the limited Qtopia Open Source Edition, but it lacked the telephony features and the Safe Execution Environment (SXE) which manages third-party apps installed on Qtopia.
OpenMoko is a Linux-based development platform that is positioned as an open-source alternative to proprietary handheld platforms, such as the iPhone. To date, the Open Moko OS user interface used the GTK and Matchbox window manager from Openedhand. OpenMoko President Sean Moss-Pultz stated, "We welcome Trolltech extending the reach of our Neo 1973 and the OpenMoko platform. And we applaud their efforts at simplifying application development for mobile devices. I look forward to a closer collaboration between our two communities."
In October, Trolltech is staging the Trolltech Developer Days 2007
in Redwood City and Munich. For more information on Qtopia and Open Moko, visit Trolltech.com and OpenMoko.com.
