Linux Optimized for Mobile Internet Devices

Pepper Linux has been shaved down, spruced up and decked out for the mobile market.

Chocolate or vanilla. Right or left. Diet or regular. Life is full of bland choices, and for the most part, "Palm OS or Windows Mobile" has been one of them when choosing PDA. That could change with the introduction of a new breed of Linux that has been optimized for mobile Internet devices, announced by Pepper Computer on Thursday.

Pepper already caters their distribution of Linux specifically to non-technical users, but still added a few more features to make it palatable to the mobile market. The user interface and graphics are now optimized for 4-to-7-inch LCD screens, and the OS’s power management has been tweaked to extend battery life. Wi-Fi setup is completely automated, which the company claims should have first-time users on the Web in less than five minutes. Malware protection is also built right in, along with licensed video and audio codecs and automatic updates. The total footprint for the OS is under 500MB.

“Pepper Linux provides the best features of Linux – reliability and security – with the simplest user experience,” said Jon Melamut, Pepper VP of Sales and Business Development, in a statement. “By collaborating with Intel, Pepper can provide the Intel mobile Internet device ecosystem with a mass market solutions that includes real Internet, Web and media access, plus a fully-documented SDK today.”

Pepper said its mobile Linux distribution would be ready for distribution to OEM hardware vendors in a few months.