To support and to unify the growing momentum of Linux platforms in the global mobile market, the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum announced that its activities and membership will be folded into LiMo Foundation as of July, 2008. This pooling of efforts and resources reflects the industry-wide trend towards unification of Linux-based mobile telephony platforms and will serve to accelerate the emergence of common mobile Linux specifications and implementations. It will also bolster the emerging mobile Linux developer community and support the creation of a range of new applications, services and end-user experiences.

The move will encompass LiPS Forum members from across the mobile ecosystem, including chipset suppliers, Linux OS and mobile stack vendors, handset designers and OEMs and regional and global wireless operators. It follows announcements by other LiPS members who have joined LiMo Foundation: ACCESS, ARM Limited, Azingo, France Telecom / Orange, Huawei Technology, MontaVista Software, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Open-Plug, Purple Labs and Texas Instruments.

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The LiMo Foundation announced today the addition of Infineon Technologies, Kvaleberg AS, Mozilla Corporation, Red Bend Software, Sagem Mobiles, SFR, SK Telecom and Verizon Wireless as new member companies. Expanding LiMo’s membership to 40 since the foundation’s launch in January 2007, these companies join with existing LiMo members to collaborate on the LiMo Platform - the world’s first globally competitive, Linux-based software platform for mobile devices.

“This latest group of new members demonstrates the rapidly expanding reach of the LiMo ecosystem, and we are very excited by their commitment to further enrich the LiMo Platform and accelerate its adoption within all markets,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director of LiMo Foundation. “It is now clear that LiMo’s transparent and participative governance model and total focus on the handset operating system—which are designed to avoid value-chain distortion—are proving to be very attractive to the whole industry.”

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NTT DoCoMo, Inc. today announced that it will develop an operator pack for FOMA 3G handsets compatible with specifications established by the LiMo Foundation. DoCoMo expects to begin introducing handsets equipped with the operator pack in the second half of 2009.

The pack will contain a suite of Linux operating system-based software applications that implement i-mode, i-appli and other unique DoCoMo services. It will make use of existing assets developed by DoCoMo, including application software and MOAP (Mobile Oriented Application Platform) middleware now used in selected DoCoMo handsets. The new operator pack will incorporate elements of a Linux-version MOAP that DoCoMo has developed with NEC Corporation and Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., Ltd.

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Texas Instruments has announced they have joined the LiMo Foundation as the first semiconductor company at the Core member level. By actively participating in LiMo Foundation, TI will work towards the advancement of the LiMo Platform; establish an open and diverse ecosystem that realizes the advantages of open Linux-based development, and collaborate with other committed mobile industry leaders and innovators. TI will assume a seat on LiMo’s Board of Directors, Executive Council, Architecture Council and Requirements Council, and will work within LiMo’s constructs to make valuable contributions to the development and advancement of the LiMo Platform.

“With nearly two decades of wireless system experience, TI brings an unsurpassed heritage of supporting the advancement of embedded and mobile Linux devices,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director, LiMo Foundation. “TI fully shares the commitment of all LiMo member companies to advance the LiMo Platform and thereby open new avenues of choice throughout value system – we greatly look forward to TI’s contributions as our newest board member.”

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The LiMo Foundation announced today the on-schedule availability of LiMo Platform Release 1. The LiMo group claims this is the world’s first globally competitive, Linux-based software platform for mobile devices. The platform is a modular, plug-in-based, hardware-independent architecture built around an open operating system, with a secure run-time environment for support of downloaded applications.

“With Release 1 of the LiMo Platform now completed, LiMo Foundation has established a scalable and sustainable mobile device platform that will spur rapid innovation and contributions from all LiMo members,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director of LiMo Foundation. “This is an extremely exciting time to be a part of the LiMo Foundation – in slightly more than one year, we have rolled out our deliverables on schedule, our membership has continued to grow strongly with broad engagement from across the mobile communications industry, and leading handset providers have already released a range of devices using LiMo technology.”

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Several more members of the mobile Linux LiPS Forum are switching allegiance to the LiMo Foundation, this time including board and executive committee members, indicating that LiPS is losing steam. Orange and its parent France Telecom, Access and Open-Plug all plan to announce at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday that they are joining LiMo. More vendors uniting behind LiMo could help to speed up the rate at which the companies can bring Linux-based devices to market.

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The LiMo Foundation today unveiled the first wave of handsets using the LiMo Platform, its Linux-based software platform for mobile devices. Motorola, LG Electronics, NEC, Panasonic Mobile Communications and Samsung are amoung the vendors announcing products that utilize the LiMo platform.

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The LiMo Foundation has just announced that it is currently on schedule to release its LiMo platform and API’s in March 2008. The LiMo Platform—leveraging standards and open-source projects—is a modular, plug-in-based, hardware-independent architecture built around an open operating system, with a secure run-time environment for support of downloaded applications.

LiMo’s initial Founder members—Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone—collaborated on Release 1 (R1).

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MontaVista Software announced today that the company has joined the non-profit LiMo Foundation to help LiMo’s mission of increasing the adoption of Linux operating system software in cell phones and other mobile devices.

Leading handset manufacturers such as NEC, Motorola, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, and others have made MontaVista the most widely used provider of Linux software to the mobile telephony market, and the fastest-growing commercial operating system (OS) provider in that market, according to analyst firm VDC. MontaVista Mobilinux provides an embedded Linux operating system optimized for mobile devices and a rich development environment. Mobilinux enables developers and manufacturers to deliver new handsets to consumers more quickly and with greater functionality, fast performance, and battery-extending power management. More than 35 million smartphones, cell phones, and other mobile devices run on MontaVista Mobilinux, far more than any other commercial Linux.

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A nonprofit organization formed by six of the biggest names in the cell phone business to promote the use of Linux on handsets has gotten wider industry support. The LiMo Foundation was formed by hardware-makers Motorola Inc., NEC Corp., Panasonic Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and carriers NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Vodafone Group Services Ltd. and was announced in January this year.

New core members of the group are: Aplix Corp., Celunite Inc., LG Electronics Inc., McAfee Inc. and Wind River Systems Inc.; and new associate members are ARM Inc., Broadcom Corp., Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Innopath Software, KTF Co. Ltd., MontaVista Software Inc. and NXP B.V.

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