11 replies to this topic

[fowljr]

Now this is very interesting, especially with all the interest in virtualisation and driving up utilisation of IT kit....

"VMworld Europe VMware rules the x86 server virtualization racket, giving physical servers multiple personalities. And now cell phone operators are lining up to support its Mobile Virtual Platform (MVP) hypervisor on smartphones.

At the VMworld Europe conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, VMware announced that US cellphone operator Verizon and European operator Telefonica are the first service providers to ink strategic partnerships with VMware to support the MVP hypervisor on ARM-based phones running the Android operating system.

Dubbed Persona Android devices, phones running MVP will be able to run a host Android instance on the phone and then load a second and distinct guest copy of Android, with different settings and isolated from the host Android, on the same physical device. The idea is to give business users the ability to run a whole phone personality and enterprise apps inside the guest Android instance, thus keeping it under control of the enterprise without messing up a personal smartphone's settings.
The MVP hypervisor will work equally well on ARM-based fondleslabs, and Hoofar Razavi, director of product management for global solutions at VMware, says that LG, which inked an OEM agreement for MVP for its smartphones and tablets in December 2010, and Samsung, which did the same in July of this year, will eventually support MVP on their tablets. And while VMware is not previewing any partnerships with Apple, VMware does offer hypervisors for Mac OS-based computers and it is logical to assume that eventually it will offer a hypervisor for iOS-based iPhones and iPads."

Would you be happy with more than one phone in one phone, driven by virtualisation?

Read the full article over at The Register
More information at VMWare

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[Michael_Mcr]

I think it will be OK if you run a very basic Android shell, but i wouldnt want to try running two instances of Sense or some other elaborate overlay.

Surely people with such requirements would have a phone + a small tablet ? or 2 separate phones with one that is produced just when needed ?

[The Guru]

I can see the Quad core phones being especially good for this role as they will have the power and memory to handle it.

[fowljr]

it's a very interesting concept isn't it. Personalities for your phone, essentially VM's!! We're heavily into virtualisation at work and I've been kicking it around as a move forward for my messaging backbones to reduce licensing costs and increase availability with Vmotion etc.

[tonybro]

Smart move, Jim....

[waveydavey]

Personally I think it's a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Surely if the above was required, separate logon profiles would be preferable? Desktops have had virtualisation availble for years, but nobody runs a separate instance of WP7 for each member of their family, or provide business users with separate Home and Work virtual machine instances that I know of. I'm very surprised they've managed to sell it to the carriers.

[Michael_Mcr]

Arghhhhh........ roaming profiles for smartphones ....

In all seroius tho, it will have niche business applications especially when NFC comes to fruition.

It would be possible to have a powerfull smartphone that can also be used as a handheld data terminal for stock control or other retail operations. Have the smartphone part switch to standby while the commercial system is running.

I could see that working, but i dont think that consumers will ever really have a need for this.

[fowljr]

Agree on the consumer front, but be imaginative, imagine base smartphone hardware, where the OS layer is abstracted in a VM core, giving you the choice to run Android, iOS or Windows Phone as you please. I'd love that...

Yes, I've taken some cold-remedy, maybe that's what is causing the blue-sky thinking!

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[Michael_Mcr]

I'm just waiting for a smartphone manufacturer to release one of these devices with the slogan "its so powerfull you could run a power station" without realising the irony of it.......

[waveydavey]

Agree on the consumer front, but be imaginative, imagine base smartphone hardware, where the OS layer is abstracted in a VM core, giving you the choice to run Android, iOS or Windows Phone as you please. I'd love that...

It would never happen, because Apple would never support non Apple hardware, and you'd have to pay for the WP7 licence.
It might work as a hack, but would never be official.

Arghhhhh........ roaming profiles for smartphones ....

Not "roaming profiles". That would be a nightmare. Just separate logins like with desktops.