First Sub-$100 3G Linux Mobile Phone

Posted Feb 4, 2008 by kihbord under Java Mobile Devices,java-enabled mobile phone, Purple Labs, Purple Magic

Looks like Google’s Android has tons of catching up to do. Besides the huge installed base of Java-enabled mobile phones and Nokia’s acquisition of TrollTech, they now have to contend with the recently announced first 3G capable Linux mobile phone under the sub-$100 category by NXP and Purple Labs.

NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips has joined with Purple Labs, a supplier of embedded Linux solutions for mobile phones, to announce the release of a 3G reference phone based on Linux at a sub-$100 pricing.

The mobile phone offers the following features:

Video telephony – videoconferencing with your friends, family or business contacts.
Multimedia – listen to mp3 music, take photos or videos, record voice memos.
Broadband Internet – browse the web or download emails at full 3G speed at a high resolution QVGA screen.
Video streaming – TV news, movie trailers or sports highlights are just one click away.
Games and applications – Download applications and play right away with the embedded Java virtual machine.
Bluetooth – wireless technology to share files, photos and music.

The Purple Magic is based on the NXP Nexperia Cellular System Solution 7210, a powerful dual-mode UMTS multimedia platform running on a single-core ARM9. The mobile phone features a fully customizable user interface, from themes, skinning and layout to user flow and dynamics, enabling ODMs to target multiple markets and operators with a single platform design.

Hardware requirements