Anyone who’s heard of VMware will most likely now what virtualisation is, but for those who don’t, simply think of it as one OS running inside a different OS. Like how in Windows 7, you can run Virtual XP mode, with a virtual XP desktop. Basically, it’s the other way (aside from dual-booting) to get two operating systems on one PC.
And very soon, according to VMware themselves, it’ll be the best way to get two operating systems running on your mobile phone, as well.
Now, phones that will dual boot between two different OSes aren’t new, with the most recent example being a Chinese clone of the Satio, that will dual-boot on either Windows Mobile or Android. But there’s a big difference between that and VMware’s vision. With phones that dual-boot, when you first turn the phone on, you get a dirty great boot-loader menu pop up, and then you choose which OS you want to start up.
Of course, the upshot of that is that you’re then stuck in that OS until you reboot the phone, so say you’re work email is linked in via Exchange Server on Windows Mobile, and your phone’s in Android mode, you don’t get your work emails till you reboot.
VMware’s vision is a much sleeker affair, with the two separate OSes running simultaneously (from what I can gather, in ‘The Cloud’, a phrase I personally can’t stand, but hey, it’s a buzzword, innit), with you taking calls or receiving emails or whatever, from both operating systems, all on the fly. So, imagine running something like the HTC HD2, running on Windows Mobile, and chugging along at the same time, it’s got Android running, as well.
That’s a bit of a significant step up from the likes of that dual-booting clone of the Sony Ericson Satio, that is. And since it’s being done by VMware, I reckon we can expect some rather impressive things from this. Watch this space…
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