Linux Linus backs Google's Nexus One

The creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds, has thrown his weight behind Google's Nexus One, admitting that the handset has finally broken through his hatred of phones.

Torvalds admits on his blog that he is far from a fan of phones insisting that they are 'irritating and disturb you as you work or read or whatever'.

However, the Linux guru has finally decided that the addition of multitouch to the Nexus One was enough to persuade him to buy one without trialling it, and bring to an end his search for a handset that he enjoys.

"…I love the concept of having a phone that runs Linux, and I've had a number of them over the years (in addition to the G1, I had one of the early China-only Motorola Linux phones) etc. But my hatred of phones ends up resulting in me not really ever using them," blogged Torvalds.

A winner

"But I have to admit, the Nexus One is a winner. I wasn't enthusiastic about buying a phone on the internet sight unseen, but the day it was reported that it finally had the pinch-to-zoom thing enabled, I decided to take the plunge," added Torvalds.

"I've wanted to have a GPS unit for my car anyway, and I thought that Google navigation might finally make a phone useful.

"And it does. What a difference! I no longer feel like I'm dragging a phone with me "just in case" I would need to get in touch with somebody - now I'm having a useful (and admittedly pretty good-looking) gadget instead. The fact that you can use it as a phone too is kind of secondary."

The Nexus One is currently far from hitting the popularity of Apple's much vaunted iPhone, but the direct sale approach, and the lack of a huge marketing push have obviously contributed to sales that are steady rather than spectacular.

Torvalds' opinion holds considerable weight in the open source arena, and his backing will provide a timely boost to the Nexus One.