VMware to Bring Virtualization to Mobile Phones

By Stephanie Jordan
in

VMware, Inc., this week announced plans to bring virtualization to mobile phones through its new VMware Mobile Virtualization Platform (MVP). Built on technology acquired from Trango Virtual Processors in October 2008, the company says VMware MVP will help handset vendors reduce development time and get mobile phones with value-added services to market faster. In addition, end-users will benefit by being able to run multiple profiles—for example, one for personal use and one for work use—on the same phone.

“VMware is excited to extend the benefits of virtualization, which we pioneered for x86 hardware, to the mobile phone market,” says Paul Maritz, president and CEO of VMware. “By abstracting the applications and data from the hardware itself, we expect that virtualization will not only enable handset vendors to accelerate time to market but can also pave the way for innovative applications and services for phone users. We look forward to working closely with our partners to bring new mobile solutions to market faster.”

Monica Basso, research vice president, at Gartner sees virtualization in the mobile space as a very promising and potentially a fast emerging market. “We predict that by 2012, more than 50 percent of new smart phones shipped will be virtualized. Virtualization can enable enterprises and consumers to easily manage and secure their phones and it can also help handset vendors reduce bills of materials and shorten development cycles to allow for faster releases,” says Basso.

Visit www.vmware.com/mobile for additional information about VMware Mobile Virtualization Platform.

Published November 17, 2008