Peter Richards, who runs software startup VirtualLogix, carries three phones. He uses a Research In Motion BlackBerry Curve 8300 for e-mail, a Motorola Razr for calls, and an Apple iPhone for mobile Web browsing. He’d rather get that combination of features from a restricted phone.

Sunnyvale [Calif.]’s VirtualLogix wants to help build that phone using a kind of software known as virtualization, which increases the efficiency of computers. One of last year’s most successful initial share sales came from VMware, a company that uses virtualization technology to help companies invent better use of their servers, the computers that run Web sites and corporate networks. Orders for VMware’s products surged 88 percent in 2007, to $1.33 billion. VirtualLogix and a handful of other companies, including Trango Virtual Processors, Green Hills Software, Open Kernel Labs, and Wind River Systems, are hoping to replicate that success by applying virtualization to cell phones.

Handset makers could use virtualization to more

easily replicate the features found in one another’s devices and confront the threat posed by Apple, which introduced the iPhone in 2007. Virtualization could additionally help cell-phone makers offer more features at a lower price. “Ultimately, the [handset] winner is going to be determined by their ability to manage shield, costs, and duration [to market],” says Steve Subar, CEO of Open Kernel. VirtualLogix got a push forward in its effort by a funding infusion from Motorola, unveiled on Apr. 21.

The Modular Mobile Phone

Here’s how mobile virtualization works. Currently, programmers have to rewrite every application — be it a game, social networking service, or other feature — for each of the various operating systems, including Symbian, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, or Google’s Android. The tinkering can take months. But virtualization software would enable a mobile-phone maker to add features regardless of the operating system. So Motorola could grab…

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