14 DAY TRIAL // Debian Project's W. Martin Borgert reports today that work on making the famous and widely-used Debian GNU/Linux operating system run on various mobile devices continues these days.
During the DebConf17 Debian Conference event that took place from August 6 to August 12, 2017, in Montréal, Canada, more than 50 Debian contributors and developers gathered to discuss the future of the open source operating system on mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and even handheld computers.
"Work on Debian for mobile devices, i.e. telephones, tablets, and handheld computers, continues. During the recent DebConf17 in Montréal, Canada, more than 50 people had a meeting to reconsider opportunities and challenges for Debian on mobile devices," said W. Martin Borgert in a blog post published earlier today.
Here are the mobile devices that Debian GNU/Linux runs on
Among the devices that Debian GNU/Linux runs well, we can mention PocketCHIP, a tiny handheld computer that features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, and a keyboard. The device is capable of running both Debian GNU/Linux 8 "Jessie" and Debian GNU/Linux 9 "Stretch" series of operating systems.
A well-known mobile device that runs Debian GNU/Linux is Pyra, a modular handheld computer sporting a touchscreen, keyboard, gaming controls, Wi-Fi, SD card slots, several USB ports, and an optional modem. There's also a version that has telephony services, GPS, and a 6-axis digital compass.
The list of Debian-enabled mobile devices continues with ZeroPhone, which is an open-source smartphone powered by the small Raspberry Pi Zero single-board computer. The device features a small display, Wi-Fi, microphone, and classic telephone keypad. It runs Raspberry Pi Foundation's Raspbian Linux OS.
Another Debian-powered mobile device that was showcased at DebConf17 is the Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G Android smartphone, which apparently is already capable of running parts of the Debian userspace on its kernel. The smartphone features a physical keyboard.
Of course, let's not forget about the famous Nokia N900, which is the world's first Linux-powered smartphone manufactured by Nokia. The device is known to run the Debian-based Maemo operating system by default. If you want to hack Debian GNU/Linux for a specific mobile device, check out the Debian Mobile wiki page.