Handset Leaders Including LG Electronics, Motorola, NEC, Panasonic Mobile Communications and Samsung Confirm LiMo as the Unifying Force in Mobile Linux
Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain, February 11, 2008 — LiMo Foundation, a global consortium of mobile leaders delivering an open handset platform for the whole mobile industry, unveiled today the first wave of handsets using the LiMo Platform™—the world’s first globally competitive, Linux-based software platform for mobile devices. Initial LiMo handsets are today confirmed by handset industry leaders including LG Electronics, Motorola, NEC, Panasonic Mobile Communications and Samsung.
LiMo’s technology will be showcased in Booth 8b135, Hall 8 at Mobile World Congress, February 11-14 in Barcelona.
“The breadth of the initial wave of LiMo handsets—18 models from 7 vendors—consolidates LiMo’s role as the unifying force within Mobile Linux and highlights the strong momentum established in the 12 months since LiMo was launched,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director of the LiMo Foundation. “Within one year, LiMo has secured powerful industry engagement, announced the on-schedule availability of the LiMo Platform and is today registering the first generation of handsets using LiMo Platform technology. We believe our rapid progress is propelled by LiMo’s inclusive and transparent governance model—with shared leadership and shared decision making—and pragmatic, code-centric approach to open-source innovation.”
Commercial LiMo handsets being announced today are:
- MOTO U9, MOTO Z6w, MOTOROKR Z6, RAZR2 V8, RAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition and MOTOROKR E8 from Motorola;
- NTT DoCoMo FOMA N905i, FOMA N905iμ, FOMA N705i and FOMA N705iμ from NEC;
- NTT DoCoMo FOMA P905i, FOMA P905iTV, FOMA P705i and FOMA P705iμ from Panasonic Mobile Communications, and
- SGH-i800 from Samsung.
Prototype and reference handsets being announced today are:
- LG LiMo Phone from LG Electronics,
- OPAL(m) from Aplix and
- Purple Magic from Purple Labs.
“We look forward to the continued, rapid rollout of LiMo handsets, further expanding LiMo’s market reach and unifying the Mobile Linux ecosystem,” said Kiyohito Nagata of NTT DoCoMo, chairperson of LiMo Foundation. “The mobile industry is embracing Linux and openness as the key enablers of lower device development costs, increased flexibility and quicker time to market for innovative services of all kinds. LiMo Foundation is driving these trends.”
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. LiMo’s application programming interface (API) specifications are available now at www.limofoundation.org.
Launched in January 2007, LiMo Foundation is open to all vendors and service providers in the mobile communications marketplace, including device manufacturers, operators, chipset manufacturers, independent software vendors, integrators and third-party developers. For more information on LiMo Foundation and its guiding principles and bylaws, please visit www.limofoundation.org.
About LiMo Foundation
LiMo Foundation is a dedicated consortium of mobile industry leaders working together within an open and transparent governance model—with shared leadership and shared decision making—to deliver an open and globally consistent handset software platform based upon Mobile Linux for use by the whole mobile industry. A full description of LiMo, including its vision, goals, charter and membership information, can be found at www.limofoundation.org.
About Aplix
Aplix Corporation is the global leader in deploying Java™ technology in mobile phones. Aplix was first established in 1986 and has been a Sun Java licensee since 1996. Aplix was publicly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Mothers) in 2003. On August 24, 2004 Aplix and the Taiwan based company iaSolution finalized the integration of the corporations. JBlend™, the flagship product by Aplix, is a software platform capable of executing smoothly and securely Java applications within digital devices such as mobile phones. Our Java platform is being adopted by the world’s top manufacturers, powering over 397 million mobile devices as of September 2007, and still growing. For more information, please visit: www.aplixcorp.com and www.iasolution.net.
About LG Electronics
LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company (LG) is a leading producer of UMTS (WCDMA), CDMA and GSM handsets. LG draws upon its cutting edge technology and innovative handset design capabilities to create a higher quality mobile environment for its customers around the world. With a total range of wired and wireless solutions, LG is rapidly expanding its presence and market share in the global mobile industry. For more information, please visit www.lge.com.
About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation in communications. The company develops technologies, products and services that make mobile experiences possible. Our portfolio includes communications infrastructure, enterprise mobility solutions, digital set-tops, cable modems, mobile devices and Bluetooth accessories. Motorola is committed to delivering next generation communication solutions to people, businesses and governments. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $36.6 billion in 2007. For more information about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit http://www.motorola.com.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is one of the world’s leading providers of Internet, broadband network and enterprise business solutions dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its diverse and global base of customers. NEC delivers tailored solutions in the key fields of computer, networking and electron devices, by integrating its technical strengths in IT and Networks, and by providing advanced semiconductor solutions through NEC Electronics Corporation. The NEC Group employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. For additional information, please visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec.com.
About Panasonic Mobile Communications
Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., Ltd., whose headquarters are based in Yokohama, Japan, is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of mobile communications products. As one of the main business domains for Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand digital electronics, Panasonic has been developing cutting edge technologies since its establishment in 1958, including the world’s first 3G video handset for the Japanese market in 2001. Panasonic is committed in providing added-value solutions to end-users through its mobile communication products. For more information, please visit www.panasonic.co.jp/pmc/en.
About Purple Labs
Founded in 2001, Purple Labs offers a full Linux software suite to the wireless industry packaged as a customisable software solution or as part of full hardware and software reference design. The company offers comprehensive solutions allowing design houses, ODMs and phone manufacturers to quickly address market demands and segment their offer. Working with pre-defined but modular platforms, Purple Labs enables its customers to deliver cost-effective and state-of-the-art mobile handsets within an optimised lead time. http://www.purplelabs.com.
About Samsung
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2006 parent company sales of US$63.4 billion and net income of US$8.5 billion. Employing approximately 138,000 people in 124 offices in 56 countries, the company consists of five main business units: Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business, Telecommunication Network Business, and Digital Appliance Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones, and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.