Wireless Linux group chalks out ambitious plans

TOKYO, JAPAN: Open-source wireless Linux foundation LiMo aims to grow its share of the mobile phone operating system market, dominated by Nokia, by adding about 10 members and launching 20 new models this year.

Software development has become a key focus of the cellphone industry ever since Apple and Google entered the arena over the past two years to tap a slice of a market that gives access to billions of users.

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LiMo is an alternative to mobile phone operating systems also from Nokia and Microsoft.

Morgan Gillis, the head of LiMo, said the current economic downturn is providing a tailwind for the open-source platform, which allows operators and makers to have more control over software development to make them more competitive and cut costs.

"What we are seeing is that the economic conditions are amplifying the importance of a differentiated consumer experience," Gillis told the Reuters Global Technology Summit in Tokyo.

"So the freedom that LiMo provides to the operator to put its own brand and its own experience onto the device is extremely important because it allows differentiation."

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LiMo Foundation was set up in 2007 by Vodafone, Samsung Electronics, NTT DoCoMo, France Telecom's Orange, Panasonic Corp, and NEC Corp. It currently has 55 members.

Linux has had little success in cellphones so far, but its role is increasing with the LiMo platform and Google using Linux to build its operating system called Android.

Linux is the most popular type of open-source operating system -- one available to the public to be used, revised and shared -- meaning it has a large developer community that could result in more attractive programmes and cut costs for firms.

Two major operators and two major handset makers will likely be among those who may join the LiMo Foundation this year, said Gillis, a 46-year-old former Symbian executive.

Three main platforms?

The first LiMo mobile phone hit the market last year, and more than 30 models are available from makers including NEC, Panasonic, and Motorola. Samsung also plans to sell a phone using LiMos's Linux software this year.

Gillis expects the industry to eventually see three main platforms, Nokia's Symbian, Google's Android and LiMo, citing open-source operating systems' flexibility to allow operators and makers to customise their phones at low costs.

"I think within 3-5 years, the industry will consolidate onto three platforms, and there will be some distribution of share between the three platforms." "So I think you will find that each of the three has between 20-40 percent."

Symbian is the biggest mobile platform, holding 47 percent of the smartphone market in October-December. To counter Google's move into mobile space, Nokia bought out other shareholders from Symbian last year and has pledged to develop the software on an open source basis similar to LiMo.

Kenji Nishimura, a telecom analyst at Deutsche Securities, expects LiMo to remain one of the smaller players.

"There is a possibility that LiMo can come into the mainstream."

"But it looks like the industry is becoming more fragmented with Symbian dominating the market and other special devices from Apple, Google, and others making up the rest," he said. "This market will remain to be a niche one."