Trolltech has unveiled a Linux reference handset for developers, designed to speed the creation of applications for Linux-based phones.

The Greenphone, demonstrated at the LinuxWorld show in San Francisco, will be available from September as part of a software development package that includes Trolltech’s Qtopia Phone Edition, a user interface and application platform for Linux handsets.

Greenphone is based on existing handset hardware, but is not intended to ship to end-users. Instead, it allows developers to build and test applications on a fully functioning GPRS device, according to Trolltech.

“Developers can create applications to suit the evolving needs of carriers and end-users, with a dramatically reduced development cycle,” said Trolltech chief executive Eirik Chambe-Eng.

Trolltech’s Qtopia platform is already used in handsets from phone makers such as Motorola, but the Greenphone has an open stack that allows developers more freedom to add functions. It ships preloaded with a Linux kernel and includes a modem, drivers, a telephony integration module, interface specifications and desktop synchronisation software.