Don’t get me wrong – I’ve nothing against multiple mobile Linux distributions. It’s just that following its creation, we haven’t seen much coming out from LiMo Foundation’s doors. That being said, just when I though they’ve died, we received a news release from Purple Labs informing us they’ve joined the pact.
And while we still have our doubts they’ll be able to compete with Google-led Open Handset Alliance, it’s actually nice to hear these folks are still in business. Now when the France-based Purple Labs added its feature phone platform to the mix, I hope we’ll see first devices wearing the LiMo badge hitting the market. Mobile World Congress is coming and that may be the good opportunity to hear what these guys have to say about the market conditions today.
Anyway, if you care to know more, keep reading for the full release after the jump.
PRESS RELEASE – Purple Labs, a leading supplier of embedded Linux solutions for mobile phones, announced today that it has joined the LiMo Foundation and will support the organisation’s mission to develop a world-class Linux-based software platform for mobile devices. In joining the LiMo Foundation as an Associate member, Purple Labs becomes the first commercial Linux platform for feature phones in the consortium, thereby extending the LiMo initiative to mass-market mobile handsets.
Founded by industry leaders Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics, and Vodafone, the LiMo Foundation aims to create a rich ecosystem based on Linux, which will enable compelling and differentiated services for mobile users.
“LiMo Foundation is very pleased to welcome Purple Labs as a new Associate member. We are rapidly rolling out our open mobile terminal platform based on Linux and Purple Labs will undoubtedly help the Foundation to further extend its reach within the feature phones arena,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director, LiMo Foundation.
“We are also pleased to see Purple Labs joining the LiMo Foundation efforts and helping to bring Linux to the mass market,” added Guido Arnone, Director of Terminals Technology at Vodafone. “We believe Linux can become a relevant platform not just for smartphones but also for entry-level feature phones – thus the support of the Purple Labs team will add value to the LiMo Foundation.”
Purple Labs has developed a highly optimised platform enabling Linux to run on low-cost feature phones. The company’s comprehensive Linux suite, from Linux service package and middleware to mobile applications, is the first commercial solution running a single-core chipset architecture, allowing the development of very cost-effective, entry-level feature phones.
“Purple Labs is strongly committed to enabling LiMo-compliant mobile phones for the mass market,” stated Simon Wilkinson, chief executive officer of Purple Labs. “We look forward to working with other LiMo Foundation members in creating an open and tightly integrated environment for developing mobile handsets based on Linux.”