Smartphone virtualization: Status and challenges

The extensive utilization of smartphones has led to a series of issues such as security, manageability and migration of applications, which is similar to traditional computer systems. Virtualization offers an effective approach in addressing these challenges. However, classical virtualization technology is not adequate for mobile devices, which is restricted by resources and CPU structures. In this paper, we analyze some hardware features of embedded systems and smartphones, and then present a brief analysis and comparison of three mainstream smartphone virtualization technologies: MVP, Xen and microkernel. At last, we summarize some demands on smartphone virtualization and discuss about issues which are needed to research further.