The Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum today announded the early specifications for the release of LiPS 1.0 reference model, due out later this year. In addition LiPS unveiled a roadmap of additional specification areas to be developed through 2008. These LiPS Release 1.0 specifications documents represent the first public deliverables from working group activities since LiPS’ founding, and will help to improve interoperability across the Linux-based mobile telephony ecosystem – from software stack suppliers to mobile device OEMs to regional and global wireless operators.

The specifications published include the following: LiPS Reference Model, Address Book and Voice Call Enabler, and User Interface Services (Widget sets, Key Navigation and Text Input Method APIs– based on GTK). Before the end of 2007, the LiPS Forum will finalize the remaining elements of LiPS Release 1.0 by adding specifications relating to Telephony, Messaging, Calendar, IM, Presence and additional User Interface Services API specifications. The completed specifications are publicly available on the LiPS Forum web site.

The emerging LiPS standards offer a range of benefits to the Linux-based mobile industry, especially in terms of reducing fragmentation, by informing and aligning OEMs, ISVs, operators and other consortia and standards bodies. “This first set of specifications represents real-world requirements as well as hard work on the part of key mobile ecosystem participants,” noted Haila Wang, president of the LiPS Forum. “Ongoing elaboration and adoption of the LiPS standards specifications will sustain the impressive growth of mobile Linux deployment, enhancing interoperability among devices and software, and streamlining time-to-market and rollout for Linux-based devices and services.”

“LiPS belongs to a new class of industry forums whose standards development model is closer to open source principles, i.e. standardization through public specifications and reference code implementations, rather than just paper-based,” commented Andreas Constantinou, senior analyst with VisionMobile and author of a forthcoming strategic report on mobile open source. “LiPS release 1.0 will be important in helping Linux implementations converge, especially around telephony, PIM and UI services, where fragmentation is stalling otherwise unanimous manufacturer momentum behind mobile Linux.”

LiPS Roadmap

Planned for release in 2008 are the Application Framework, Services APIs (e.g., based on IMS), Device Management APIs (based on OMA DM), and additional Enabler APIs (e.g., for multimedia).