Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

BitPim

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

BitPim is an open source program designed for managing content on CDMA devices. Most mobile phones using a Qualcomm-manufactured CDMA chipset are supported. The program is also cross-platform, operating on the Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems.

Although BitPim might be taken for a personal information manager (PIM), its name derives from "bitpym", a suggestion generated by a pronouncable-password generator; the "y" being replaced with an "i" simply to eliminate ambiguity in pronunciation. Earlier, the program had been named "Entrocul" by the same method.

Bitpim is comparable to Gammu, QPST, Open Sync, and Gnokii applications.

01Features

Functionality varies depending on the model of the phone. Once the drivers are installed on the PC operating system, the following managing functions are generally supported:

Data can be imported and exported between the phone and Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar.

02Implementation

BitPim is implemented using the Python programming language with various pieces in C to access hardware. The user interface is wxPython which in turn wraps wxWidgets. That gives a native look and feel on each platform.

Most of the functionality is obtained by using the diagnostics mode available in Qualcomm Mobile Station Modem (MSM) used by virtually every manufacturer of CDMA phones. The diagnostics mode provides direct access to the embedded filesystem in the phone. The remainder of the functionality is via protocols provided by the handset manufacturers, but these usually only cover updating the phonebook.

Because the sizes of fields in the protocols differ between every model (even from the same handset manufacturer) and even between the same model offered at different carriers, BitPim has code and field descriptions for every model. A big part of each approximately monthly release is adding support for new phone models.

Watch videos about BitPimExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article BitPim, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.