[Arm-netbook] extraordinary claims ...

[Henrik Nordström]

lör 2012-07-07 klockan 23:18 +0100 skrev Gordan Bobic:

> Let me help you:
> "As an alternative to iOS or Android, companies could flash employee 
> handsets with Mobicore, which is now being accelerated and enabled 
> directly by hardware, thanks to the new partnership."

No they can't.

a) Mobicore is NOT an alternative. It's a complement. It is a TPM on
steroids if you like, not only managing your security keys but also
running secured applets with secured keyboard input, screen output and
network access. But it's not a full blown OS in the normal sense. It is
however enabling "you sign what you see" kind of transactions in your
banking etc with minimal risk even if your main OS on the handset is
infested with various crap.

b) Companies would not be able to flash it on their employees handsets,
nor would they be interested in doing so. Mobicore requires support from
the handset manufacturer in both design of the handset hardware, handset
OS and MobiCore secured environment.

c) That statement from the article only shows that the article author is
not capable of grasping even the basics of what MobiCore is, including
what's shown in the picture just next to this sentence in the same
article.

An interesting note is that MobiCore type of solutions technically have
the potential to eleminate the need for SIM cards in phones, by using a
virtual SIM card in running as an applet in MobiCore. This would both
reduce cost and give phone carriers an even higher lockin factor far
beyond what is possible with current SIM based solutions.

> So yes, a phone manufacturer bring out a phone that is running Mobicore 
> instead of Android - but they would only be ensuring nobody would buy 
> it. Look at how much success WinPho is having in the marketplace. There 
> just doesn't seem to be any appetite in the marketplace for yet another 
> OS. Yet another storm in a teacup. It's not even a teacup, more like a 
> thimble.

I think MobiCore may find quite some acceptance if the pricing is right
and the sandboxing done right to allow applets to execute securely. It's
exacly at the right time with lots of entities looking into and
beginning to accept mobile banking and mobile payment solutions. Current
execution environments all lack the needed chain of trust to implement
such solutions in a trustworthy manner, and MobiCore fits perfect for
such purposes.

Regards
Henrik