VMWare on Monday unveiled software for mobile phones that it said will enable handset makers to bring their products to market faster and allow businesses and users to better manage their mobile phones.

 

The Palo Alto, California, company's software, acquired from Trango Virtual Processors last month, promises mobile phones some of the benefits  virtualization has brought to PCs.

 

Virtualization software creates a virtual machine, separate from the hardware and operating system of its host machine, in this case the mobile phone. It runs programs independent of the host.

 

This virtual machine may be a compelling technology for handset makers and carriers. It could enable them to bring phones to market with fewer headaches,  allowing a single software profile that works regardless of  hardware and operating system.

 

Unlike the PC market, which is based on generally accepted standards, the mobile phone market has hundreds of different hardware and software combinations for phones.

 

The result is that handset makers spend a lot of time adapting their phone software to every new model’s chipset, drivers, and operating system.

 

“Virtualization gives service providers a lot of leverage over operating systems vendors and handset makers,” said Andreas Antonopoulos, a partner with Nemertes Research. “They can swap out one operating system for another without having to change the hardware platform.”

 

Also businesses will be able to create completely separate virtual machines for employees who use their devices as both their private and business phone.

 

When the phone is being used as a personal device, the corporate data can be locked down in a separate virtual profile.

 

“There are all kinds of applications being written for phones that make it a combination phone, PC, wallet, and music device,” said Srinivas Krishnamurthy, VMWare director of product management. “All of those personas should not be tied to a device that one changes every 18 months. This allows you to take your entire persona easily from an old to a new device.”  

 

VMWare, which calls its software the Mobile Virtualization Platform, is currently in negotiations with handset vendors and carriers in an effort to establish its mobile market strategy.