limo foundation

LiMo Foundation quietly gaining mobile Linux converts

The mobile industry has never been more active and interesting, with much of the froth centered on Apple's impressive iPhone. In the wake of the iPhone's success a range of competitors have arisen, many of them open source, including Google Android, Symbian, and...the LiMo Foundation.

That last one may not be top-of-mind for many people, but LiMo, launched in February 2007 with the goal of establishing a collaborative platform for Linux-based handsets, has quietly been making headway amongst mobile handset manufacturers, with more than 30 handsets shipping the first release of its software and a bevy to … Read more

The once and future app store

LAS VEGAS--It seems there are going to be as many ways to run a mobile application store as there are stores themselves.

One of the big topics this week at CTIA 2009 has been mobile applications, as Research in Motion unveiled BlackBerry App World and Microsoft talked about its forthcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile. The dam has truly broken with mobile applications; for years, most consumers seemed indifferent to third-party applications, but now they are viewed as an essential part of any smartphone, just like they are on a PC or Mac.

Most of the credit for that trend has … Read more

LiMo to show off latest release of platform

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

The LiMo Foundation on Monday said the second release of its Linux-based handset platform is on target. LiMo added that it will show off the latest platform at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, next week.

According to LiMo, its members are introducing reference implementations of the latest release (statement). The primary goals are to make the platform easier to deploy and add Web 2.0 features.

LiMo (all resources) is an open platform supported by a bevy of wireless-industry players.

Access, Azingo, LG Electronics, Purple Labs, and Samsung … Read more

While Symbian and Android promise, Linux continues to hit new phones

Motorola quietly released a series of new Linux-based mobile phones this week. There's been a lot of noise around Symbian moving to open source and Google's Linux-based Android mobile platform, but both open-source Symbian and Android are still just press releases and talk.

Motorola's new ROKR line, however, is available now. You don't have to wait to buy a Linux-based phone. You can start calling with one today.

Who is behind these phones? The LiMo Foundation, which has been releasing a slew of new handsets and signing up new partners. By the time that Symbian and … Read more

LiMo Foundation adds new handsets, members

Seven new mobile phones have passed the LiMo Foundation's certification process, and the group has a few new members to welcome aboard.

The new phones, from Motorola, Panasonic, and NEC, are the latest to ship with Release 1 of the LiMo Platform, a Linux-based operating system for mobile phones developed by a consortium of wireless carriers, handset makers, and others. Panasonic and NEC's phones will be available in Japan through NTT DoCoMo.

There are now 21 phones in the world running the LiMo software, mostly in Asia. But a few, such as Motorola's Rokr E8, are sold … Read more

Symbian deal a catalyst for smartphone competition

We're about to see what full-blown competition for the future of the computing industry looks like when multiple players get a shot to make an impact.

The next great operating systems wars are about to be fought, as traditional computing companies collide with teams representing the mobile phone industry. Nokia's decision Tuesday to unify, then open-source, the Symbian operating system for smartphones clarifies how today's most-widely used handset operating system will evolve to match the open-source initiatives headed by Google and the LiMo Foundation and competition from companies like Microsoft, Research in Motion, and Apple.

Forget RIM … Read more

Nokia looks beyond Symbian to Linux

With a 47.9 percent stake in Symbian, the leading mobile platform that it co-founded in 1998 and which today powers some 206 million mobile phones, Nokia has long championed it at the expense of rival platforms such as Linux.

No longer.

The mobile-phone maker is increasingly selecting Linux for Internet-enabled mobile devices, with its CFO declaring of Linux, "It's going to be terribly important."… Read more

Mozilla joins the mobile Linux revolution

Mozilla has started making noise about the mobile browser market, and just turned up the volume a bit more by joining the mobile Linux trade group, LiMo Foundation. It's not all that significant in and of itself, except that it clearly demonstrates that "Minimo" (now called Fennec) is finally set to break free of its Windows Mobile shackles.

Finally.

Dialed In 31: Behold the BlackBerry Bold

Have mercy. This week Research in Motion debuted the stunning BlackBerry Bold, and while we're enamored with it, we're not calling it an iPhone killer. Plus, Verizon joins the LiMo Foundation, T-Mobile's tops (again), and what's this about a 3G iPhone? All this and more cell phone reviews and reader questions answered. Listen now: Download today's podcast NewsRIM BlackBerry Bold debuts http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9940313-1.htmlVerizon to join LiMo Foundation http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9943458-37.htmlGoogle chooses 50 finalists in Android challenge http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9942958-37.htmlThe 3G iPhone is … Read more