LiMo Foundation Rolls Out Linux-Based Software Platform for Mobile Devices

(Product News, 5 Feb 2008)

LiMo Foundation has announced the on-schedule availability of the first release of the LiMo Platform—the first globally competitive, Linux-based software platform for mobile handsets—together with the immediate public availability of the application programming interface (API) specifications.

LiMo's initial Founder members—Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone—collaborated on Release 1 (R1), and nearly all of the enabling technology within R1 has been commercially deployed and proven within handsets enjoyed by consumers today.

"We are very proud of the transparent, balanced and harmonious contribution process that led to the on-schedule rollout of R1 of the LiMo platform and our API specifications. This unique process—with its shared leadership and decision-making—has delivered the benefits of both community-based and proprietary development," said Kiyohito Nagata of NTT DoCoMo, Chairperson of LiMo Foundation. "The evolution of the platform is an ongoing process. We are delighted with the wide range companies contributing to that process as we now work on Release 2."

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. Linux was selected as the core technology for the LiMo Platform for its acceptability by the whole mobile industry, its rich functionality and scalability, its record of success in embedded systems and mobile phones and its potential to easily "cross-platformize" with other product categories.

Third-party developers will use LiMo's API specifications—available in beta form immediately at www.limofoundation.org—to build new applications that deliver next-generation consumer experiences across a tremendous, stable base of globally deployed mobile devices. Middleware components for the LiMo Platform can be implemented in either C or C++ programming languages.