Intel acquires mobile Linux developer, OpenedHand

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Tux, the Linux mascot
Image: Larry Ewing, Simon Budig and Anja Gerwinski.

The logo of OpenedHand
Copyright: OpenedHand.

The United Kingdom-based mobile Linux developers OpenedHand have announced that they have been acquired by the Intel Corporation, merging the Linux company with the Intel Open Source Technology Center.

"We are pleased to announce that OpenedHand Ltd has been acquired by Intel Corporation," said OpenedHand in a statement it released on the acquisition. "The OpenedHand team will join the Intel Open Source Technology Center and will focus on the development of the Moblin Software Platform, the optimized software stack for Intel Atom processors."

The statement continued by stating that "Intel will continue supporting open source projects currently led by OpenedHand staff such as Clutter and Matchbox projects, and in most cases, will accelerate these projects as they become an integral part of Moblin."

Rob Bamforth, an analyst for Quocirca, said that this move showed the importance of Linux on mobile devices. He said that "we saw it [large companies purchasing mobile Linux development companies] earlier this year with Nokia buying Trolltech, it's a sign that the mobile space is not as clear cut as the something like the PC one." He continued by stating that in the PC market "you have a market dominated by PCs with Macs for some specialist users, but mobiles are not like that - there's a diverse range of products, and, if anything, it's becoming more diverse."

OpenedHand has previously sold its products to companies such as One Laptop Per Child, iRex, Openmoko, ST Microelectronics, Access Co., Vernier and Nokia.

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!

Sources

"Intel buys mobile Linux developer OpenedHand" — Computer World, September 2, 2008
"Intel acquires Openedhand" — The Inquirer, September 2, 2008
Press Release: "Intel acquires OpenedHand" — OpenedHand, September 2, 2008

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

The text of this article is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License