Linux forces merge and accelerate

The promise of an open-source platform for mobile phones-and, undoubtedly, competitive pressures-has led a group of competitors and allies to formally found the LiMo Foundation to spur adoption of Linux.
Motorola Inc., NEC, NTT DoCoMo Inc., Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Vodafone Group plc had agreed last year to pool their efforts to create an open platform based on Linux, and today the companies said they would work to spur adoption through the LiMo Foundation. They will seek new members at the 3GSM World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, in February.
The news comes on the heels of an announcement that two other groups pursuing Linux’s promise would merge. The Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group recently announced that they would merge their efforts to form The Linux Foundation. NEC is also a member of the Linux Foundation, whose members comprise mainstays of the computing industry such as Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp. and Intel Corp., as well as conglomerates with a foot in both mobile and computing such as NEC, Hitachi and Fujitsu.
Meanwhile, a la Mobile is rattling the cage with news that Gupp Technologies, a Malaysian startup, will soon launch a dual-mode, Wi-Fi-GSM smartphone based on a Linux operating system.