If Lego® made cell phones

By John Cox, NetworkWorld.com, 03/21/05

If the Danish maker of the well-known interchangeable plastic blocks made cell phones, we'd probably be able to switch around both hardware and software to make just the kind of handset we wanted. And then change it into something else.

We're not there yet, but some of the elements are visible.

InnoPath ran a demonstration last week at the CTIA Show, updating Intel-based cell phones with new anti-virus software that was downloaded and installed over the wireless link with no enduser involvement. The software to do this was jointly developed with Intel and anti-virus software vendor McAfee.

InnoPath, founded in 1999 as DoOnGo, markets its core, over-the-air management software, DeltaUpgradePlus to carriers and cell phone makers, who use it to update the phones wirelessly with everything from security patches to ring tones.

But with this kind of infrastructure cell phone users could download all kinds of application and systems software, for example, to run an optional barcode scanner that plugs into their phone.

Wyse Technology is approaching the same opportunity, trying to carve out an entire software architecture that will let devices be reconfigured by swapping modular software, including the operating system. All you need is a chunk of addressable memory, a display, and a network connection, says Wyse's new CEO John Kish, who outlines in a Q&A the still hush-hush project.

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