Trolltech AS, the maker of application development platforms for Linux devices, on Tuesday released support for voice over Wi-Fi in its Qtopia Phone Edition 2.2 software.
In addition to phone makers, Trolltech customers that make other handheld devices such as personal digital assistants and media players are interested in the voice over Wi-Fi capability. Increasingly, such device makers are building Wi-Fi into their products and they want to exploit the potential of that capability, said Alan Lawson, product director for Trolltech.
Qtopia Phone Edition 2.2 doesn't support roaming between mobile and Wi-Fi networks but future versions will, he said. "Future generations will build on this basic capability to provide a more converged, combined VoIP and mobile solution," Lawson said.
Qtopia Phone Edition 2.2 includes a reference integration of a VoIP (voice over IP) application using SIP (session initiation protocol) and allows device maker customers to choose a SIP stack from their preferred developer.
Qtopia Phone Edition 2.2 joins a host of other products that allow phone makers and operators to deliver voice over Wi-Fi and many of them already support seamless handoffs between Wi-Fi and mobile networks. UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) is one method being supported by some mobile operators to allow roaming between mobile networks and Wi-Fi networks. Other companies, such as Cicero Networks, are developing IP-based offerings to support such converged offerings. Those solutions, however, aren't designed for Linux-based devices.
Using Linux on mobile devices is most popular in China, but interest is growing in Europe and to a lesser degree in the U.S. On Tuesday, Trolltech participated in a mobile Linux conference in Beijing where attendees discussed the momentum behind mobile Linux in China and ways to support the mobile Linux ecosystem, Lawson said.
In addition to support for VOIP, Qtopia Phone Edition 2.2 includes some other updates such as improved performance of the media player, support for streaming MP3 audio files, support for more languages and better documentation for customers. Motorola, ZTE and Ningbo Bird Co. are current Qtopia users.
