[Trolltech announced the Qtopia Greenphone, an open Linux mobile as part of a development kit for use in testing applications on a working GSM/GPRS device. ]

LinuxWorld, San Francisco -- Trolltech announces the Qtopia Greenphone, the first open Linux mobile device for application developers. Greenphone enables commercial and open source developers, in-house software developers and handset manufacturers to create, modify and test Linux- based mobile phone applications on a working GSM/GPRS device, making the applications easier to build and faster to bring to market.

Greenphone will be offered as part of a complete software development kit (SDK) and includes Trolltech's Qtopia Phone Edition, a comprehensive application platform and user interface for Linux-based mobile phone. Although not intended as a commercial mobile phone, Greenphone has many of the communication functions and features found in today's sophisticated smartphones. Developers can exploit these features and functions in developing their own unique applications.

Greenphone is the first in a series of open mobile devices the company plans to make available in cooperation with its partners. Greenphone is a functioning mobile camera phone with the capability to re-flash the applications of the device.

"So far, Trolltech's Qtopia Linux framework has been successfully implemented in a number of mobile devices from leading manufacturers such as Motorola. The introduction of Greenphone will strengthen Trolltech's position as a leading Linux middleware provider and should be taken seriously as a software reference for building an open Linux ecosystem capable of competing with other established OS platforms," said Dominic Lee, Research Analyst, Informa Telecoms & Media.

"With Greenphone, the sky is the limit when it comes to creating and testing new applications on a powerful mobile device platform," said Haavard Nord, co-CEO, Trolltech. "Developers can create applications to suit the evolving needs of carriers and end users with a dramatically reduced development cycle," added Eirik Chambe-Eng, co-CEO, Trolltech.

Open and Proven Development Platform

Greenphone, as part of a SDK, comes packaged with Trolltech's Qtopia Phone Edition. Unlike a normal mobile phone, Greenphone's application software is "opened" for developer creativity. Combined with Qtopia Phone Edition licensing, a developer has the freedom to create and then integrate and test the results right on the device. Full documentation and a highly productive suite of tools are provided for customization and extension of Qtopia Phone Edition. Qtopia is used in 52 different device types of which 11 are mobile phones models. To date, there are more than four million Qtopia-based mobile phones in the market including mobile phones from Motorola, ZTE and Cellon.

Backed by a Large Open Source and Commercial Community of Developers

Built with Qt, Qtopia inherits the proven strengths of Qt, Trolltech's industry-leading cross-platform application framework. Qt's open source and commercial customer community, which number in the hundreds of thousands, have a 12-year history of application development. Qt is also the basis for the desktop Linux environment, KDE. Trolltech's ecosystem of partners -- which include 3rd party applications, consulting and training and testing tools companies -- and customers including Google, Adobe and Skype, provide for a rich community of developers familiar with Qt and Qtopia technology. Greenphone's availability is expected to accelerate the growth of this already large community.

Greenphone Availability

Greenphone will be demonstrated at LinuxWorld, San Francisco in Trolltech's booth. Greenphone includes one year of Qtopia Phone Edition support and software upgrades. Greenphone can be re-flashed with new software components and new software versions will be available from Trolltech's community website, www.qtopia.net, via mini-USB port. Greenphone comes preloaded with a Linux kernel and includes a modem, drivers, a telephony integration module, interface specifications and desktop sync software.

Greenphone will be available mid-September in limited quantities only. Partners interested in participating with integrated software can contact Trolltech at partners@trolltech.com.

More information on features, specifications, availability and other details can be found at www.qtopiagreenphone.com.

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