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Transmeta's Linux foray
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February 19, 2001: 12:32 p.m. ET
Chipmaker set to release its version of Linux for Internet appliances
By Kevin McLaughlin
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NEW YORK (Business2.com) - Considering its reputation as an ultrasecretive company, it may seem ironic for Transmeta to release a product to the open source community. However, that is just what the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker--whose staff includes Linux creator Linus Torvalds--plans to do.
Transmeta (TMTA: Research, Estimates) will release Mobile Linux, its own iteration of the Linux operating system designed for use with Internet appliances and other consumer gadgets, "within the next couple of weeks," according to company officials.
The release of Mobile Linux represents a significant step forward for Linux, and will further accelerate the progression of the OS into consumer devices, says Prakesh Patel, an analyst with W.R. Hambrecht. "A lot of people have been waiting for [the release of Mobile Linux], because there is a lot of significant support and technology coming out of it," he says.
Transmeta's inclusion of additional functionality--such as stylus support for devices including PDAs and Web pads, as well as enhanced power management--will be key to driving Linux into the mobile handheld space, according to Patel.
 "Other developers will be able to reuse this code, make changes, and deploy it on embedded devices," he says. "It's a virtuous circle, as it seeds the [embedded device] market while at the same time helping it expand."
Many analysts believe that the market for electronic devices running on the Linux OS will be huge. International Data Corp. (IDC) predicts that by 2002, there will be more than 55 million handheld and notebook-style information appliance devices; and that by 2005, shipments of these appliances will overtake shipments of PCs.
"Linux is seen by many to have a strong opportunity in the embedded operating environments market," says Dan Kusnetzky, vice president of system software at IDC. Transmeta must believe that providing an operating environment and all of the related pieces of software for its microprocessor will increase its share of the emerging market for embedded devices, says Kusnetzky.
"Clearly, Transmeta wants its microprocessors to be attractive to developers of handheld devices, appliance servers, and other devices." Giga Information Group analyst Stacey Quandt agrees that Mobile Linux represents a key part of Transmeta's strategy to permeate the development environment for embedded devices.
"Obviously if an appliance is going to be running a Transmeta processor, and also Linux, there's an incentive to couple that with the Mobile Linux distribution, rather than Red Hat or alternative solution," she says. 
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