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> VMware Wants to Bring Virtualization to Your Smart Phone:
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> “VMware is looking to bring its virtualization technology into the smart phone market in 2009, with a small hypervisor that will allow nearly any mobile device to run multiple virtual machines.
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> On Nov. 10, VMware will announce that it will release a new virtualization platform called the Mobile Virtualization Platform, or MVP, which consists of a small, bare-metal hypervisor—20KB to 30KB—that will work with a number of mobile devices based on an ARM processors”
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> (Via eWeek.)_
Obviously someone thinks that there’s a market in here somewhere, but I have to start wondering about the new CEO’s time at Microsoft and their obsession with all things new and shiny.
What’s the market for a mobile virtualization platform? Since you can only run one of the currently available mobile OS solutions compiled for ARM, your OS list is pretty limited.
This also flies directly in the face of why x86 system virtualization actually works: the x86 server is a commodity item that is generally overpowered and underused. There’s really very little difference between various servers other than the form factor and expansion capabilities. The UI components can be subsumed into KVM emulation and you’re all set. Virtual machines don’t pretend to be a DELL 1950 or an HP DL380 - they’re just a generic motherboard with a given set of standard components.
In the cell phone world, you’re confronted with massive variety - it might seem like a commodity environment since there are so bloody many of them, but the differing form factors (screen size), UI ergonomics (physical keyboard, 5-way button, extra buttons, …), advanced features (pressure based touch screen, capacitive touch screen, multitouch ability, …) mean that the OS you load had better be the one optimized for the hardware you’re running it on.
Why do I want to switch operating systems on my phone? To play Windows Mobile games on my Blackberry? To test the latest version of Android without blowing up my current version? (OK - that one might have legs), Run Android on my iPhone? Oops - no physical keyboard.
And on top of that, we’re a long way from having phones that are overpower and underused.
Honestly, I just don’t get it. Comments or mail, someone please explain to me the market.
Or is this just a strategic decision to distract Microsoft and send them chasing down a rathole?