Acer releases MT6589 kernel source ahead of Liquid E2 launch 2

Ever since Mediatek launched their quad-core MT6589 chipset I have been waiting for kernel sources to be released for this platform. As Mediatek themselves don’t seem to pay any attention to the GPL we needed to wait for their customers to open the source code. This time Acer was first to step out with a source package including the MT6589 kernel source. This Release seems to contain a complete kernel source and some Android source fragments for the upcoming Liquid E2 V370 smartphone. With a package size of 211 MB the Android source is of course not complete. Instructions inside the archive suggest it should be complemented with Google’s Jelly Bean source to make a working build environment.

A few things are interesting about this release. Firstly the phone is so new, it is not even officially launched on the Acer website. Just a few days ago it was in the news for being certified by the Chinese MIIT authority. Secondly the instructions in the source package suggest that the design was not done by Acer but outsourced to Chinese design-house Simcom. But most importantly this source code release for the MT6589 was available much quicker than for its MT6577 predecessor. Let’s hope that this will be a new trend for the upcoming MT6589 quad-core phones. Maybe one day Mediatek may even follow the good example of their rival Qualcomm and open all sources by themselves.

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The Liquid E2 V370 spec for sure is not high-end. With a 4.5 inch 540 x 960 pixel resolution LCD screen and a 8 MP rear camera this phone plays in the mid-end league. 4 GB flash storage are built-in and can be expanded by 32 GB via a micro SD (t-flash) slot. No information is currently available whether this is going to be a single- or a dual-SIM phone. Most likely Acer will offer both versions.

Source: acer tenaa

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