ImCoSys previews Linux smart phone

IDG News Service - Swiss company ImCoSys AG debuted its new Linux smart phone, which runs embedded Linux and includes additional applications such as a browser, calendar and music player, at the CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany, this week.

ImCoSys, which wrote the applications, expects the phone to become commercially available in June in Europe and the U.S. The lightweight device is packed with features, including Global Positioning System (GPS), Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It also operates over General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks.

The phone supports push e-mail from IBM's Lotus and Microsoft Corp.'s Exchange servers, said Adrian Steinmann, director of marketing and sales for ImCoSys. It is also supports SyncML, a protocol that is designed to be an open standard for synching information such as calendar entries and e-mail between a computer and devices like mobile phones.

It can display files in a variety of formats including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and JPEG, ImCoSys said.

The phone comes with a stylus for navigation and includes 64MB of flash memory and features an SD-Slot for adding memory.

A visitor to the ImCoSys booth, Luigi Monaco, the owner of 3-D animation design firm Ocanom, said he's interested in buying the ImCoSys phone when it becomes available. He wants a Linux smart phone because with an open-source operating system he can develop his own applications to run on the phone, he said. He is also interested in the included GPS functionality.

The smart phone, which supports five languages, will sell for $355, Steinmann said. It will be available from ImCoSys' Web site as well as from resellers, he said.

Reprinted with permission from

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