Vodafone's plans to distribute a phone based on the LiMo Platform spec remain on track, despite joining the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), which oversees the rival Google-sponsored Android stack, says eWEEK. Yet momentum in the Linux mobile arena may have shifted to Android, the story suggests.

As a LiMo founding member and major wireless carrier, Vodafone was the most prominent name on a list of 14 new OHA members announced earlier this week. The list also included another wireless carrier, SoftBank Mobile, as well as handset makers Asus, Huawei, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba. (SoftBank and Huawei are also LiMo members.) In October, meanwhile, LiMo member Motorola announced it would focus its Linux handset development on Android, although it does not appear to be pulling out of the LiMo Foundation.

The eWEEK story by Clint Boulton, “LiMo Says Vodafone's Android Support Shouldn't Fragment the Mobile Linux Space,” quotes a Vodafone spokesperson as saying that the company will continue plans to support LiMo, Symbian, Microsoft, and RIM platforms. Boulton also quotes LiMo Foundation executive director Morgan Gillis as saying that LiMo will continue to play a major role. “It's natural that significant overlap in membership is now developing among the three major operating system initiatives, Android, LiMo and the Symbian Foundation,” Gillis was quoted as saying.

Boulton points to a research note by Adam Leach, a research analyst at Ovum, suggesting that Vodafone's move could spell trouble for LiMo. The main reasons for Vodafone's move, Leach was said to suggest, are the availability of an Android SDK (software development kit), the success of the HTC G1 Android phone (pictured at top) sold by T-Mobile, and a growing number of applications. Leach was also said to have stated that the “collaboration between Vodafone and OHA could lead to Android's run-time running on LiMo-compliant handsets,” writes Boulton.

Availability

The eWeek story on LiMo should be available here.

 
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