LiMo Foundation swells to 25 members: Alliance plans to launch Linux-based mobile platform in Q1

The LiMo Foundation, an alliance of mobile vendors and service providers, announced its member base has grown to 25 this week with the addition of five new members.
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Acrodea Inc., Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute, Purple Labs and Trolltech ASA have all joined the group that’s goal is to create a globally competitive, Linux-based software platform for mobile devices.
Morgan Gillis, executive director of the alliance, said the first version of the platform is set to be released later this quarter, comprising technical contributions by the founding member group – Motorola Inc., NEC Corp., NTT DoCoMo Inc., Panasonic Mobile Communications Co. Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Vodafone Group plc. Initial LiMo-based handsets are expected to be in consumers’ hands early this year, Gillis said.
With more members coming to the fold, future versions of the platform are expected to include technological contributions from many more companies.
“This latest wave of new members brings further mobile device and platform integration leaders into the LiMo ecosystem. We are delighted to see them joining forces with existing LiMo members to accelerate the delivery of innovative new handsets, applications and services,” Gillis said in a prepared statement.