What is QPe?
QPe is a deprecated Linux distribution and application platform that was designed for handheld devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other embedded systems. It was created by Trolltech (now Qt Company) and first released in 2007.
QPe features a simple yet functional user interface optimized for small screens, including a taskbar, file manager, control panel, and lightweight applications. It is designed to run smoothly on devices with as little as 16-32 MB of RAM and slow CPUs.
One of the key goals of QPe was compatibility and portability across devices from different manufacturers running different processors. This was achieved through the Qt application framework which abstracted away hardware differences. Applications written with Qt could run across multiple devices with little to no modification.
Other notable characteristics of QPe include:
- Multitasking capabilities and session management
- Power management features for battery-powered devices
- Minimal hardware requirements relative to performance/functionality
- Built-in personal information management (PIM) applications
- Standard tools like a terminal, editor, file manager and so on
Although development on QPe itself has ceased, the Qt framework continues to be used for embedded application development across Linux and other platforms.