and Bluetooth wireless technology. On the hardware side, the A760 includes a color touch-screen and integrated camera. Unlike proprietary smart phone operating systems, Linux is available to handset makers at reduced or even at no cost. But the software's price tag isn't a major consideration for Motorola. Instead, the Schaumburg, Illinois-based company is looking to tap into the rich supply of software available from open- source developers. "This handset is special because it features one of the most open and flexible software platforms that exists," says Rob Shaddock, a Motorola vice president and general manager of the GSM/TDMA product line in Motorola's personal communications unit. "By supporting the open- source Linux os and Java technology, Motorola is creating the most open and flexible environment possible to help drive the development of compelling applications for rich, customized mobile experiences." Smart phone industry observers and players are following Motorola's Linux handset with interest. But Neil Strother, an analyst with In-Stat/MDR, a tech- nology research company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, doesn't believe that Linux-based smart phones are likely to snare a large market share, even five years down the road. "They'll probably grab 0 to 5 percent of the market," he says. Still, given the likely prospect of massive smart phone sales-Strother feels that 49 percent of all mobile phones could be smart phones by 2008-even shipments in the low single digits could make Linux a factor to deal with. "Linux has a play because it's affordable, easy to use and deploy, and its fea- tures really do matter to the user," says Strother. Five years from now, the smart phone operating system field should be divided between Symbian at 53 percent, Microsoft at 27 percent, PalmSource at 10 percent, and Linux at about 4.2 percent, according to figures from IDC, a technology research firm located in Framingham, Massachusetts. Still, even if Linux sales don't soar, Motorola can take some comfort in the fact that i