Motorola has quit the LiMo Foundation, the mobile Linux group of which it was a founding member, according to a Thursday report. Christy Wyatt, the VP of software applications and ecosystems at Motorola, said on Tuesday she has given up the board of the foundation. The company will instead remain as an associate member and retain an active role as a contributing member.
On the heels of new phone introductions, Samsung on Tuesday said it would ship a total of three cell phones based on Google's open-source Android platform and that it would unveil at least one device using the open-source LiMo Linux software. A senior executive at the Korean company confirmed to Reuters that the the company would sell at least three devices based on the Google platform, which is largely seen as the mostly like to challenge to challenge Apple's dominance.
The LiMo Foundation on Monday announced six new wireless providers have committed to release LiMo Platform based handsets in 2009. The Linux OS-based phones will become available from Verizon Wireless, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, SK Telecom, Telefonica and Vodafone sometime in 2009. The open-source Linux operating system in the devices will be based on the latest version of the LiMo Platform.
Thursday's reports see the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum closing down and becoming part of the LiMo Foundation starting next month. LiPS is one of the longest-running Linux groups, but its membership has declined this year. The decision is seen as a positive one for the growth of the open operating system, as fragmentation of the Linux market has slowed it down, critics say.
Verizon today took further steps to promote its image as an open carrier by announcing it would join the LiMo Foundation, an industry group dedicated to developing and promoting Linux on cellphones. The US cell provider takes the last seat on the Foundation's board of directors alongside handset makers such as Motorola and Samsung as well as NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone, and claims to be a "champion" of openness in the process.
