Linux phone stack provider a la Mobile has joined the OSDL (Open Source Development Labs), in order to work with the Lab's Mobile Linux Initiative (MLI). The MLI aims to improve and promote Linux for phones and other mobile devices. It now has 15 members.

Startup a la Mobile plans to ship a “Convergent Linux Platform” (CLP) this September. The CLP stack includes a “Hardware Mobility Engine,” described as a BIOS-like layer that abstracts hardware features, with the aim of saving handset makers the trouble of revalidating their firmware binaries when creating new hardware revisions.

CLP architecture diagram
(Source: a la Mobile. Click to enlarge)

The OSDL launched the MLI in October of 2005. Like other OSDL initiatives, such as the highly successful CGL initiative (Carrier Grade Linux), MLI aims to improve and promote Linux for a specific commercial use. Other MLI members include ETRI, Fujitsu, Intel, Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency, MIZI Research, MontaVista Software, Motorola, NEC, NTT Corporation, PalmSource, Siemens AG, Spreadtrum Communications, Trolltech, and Wind River.

According to Diffusion Group research cited by the OSDL, Linux will surpass Symbian in the smartphone market by 2010, accumulating a 26.6 marketshare.

OSDL CEO Stuart Cohen stated, “The growing use of Linux for mobile devices lowers the barrier of entry for providers of packaged solutions for OEMs. A la Mobile is a great example of a company with the vision to see a market opportunity that will continue to pay returns as Linux becomes even more pervasive in this space.”

A la Mobile CEO Pauline Lo Alker stated, “OSDL membership is a key component for any company interested in competing in today's maturing mobile device software market.”

For more about the MLI, be sure to read our interview with the OSDL's MLI representative Bill Weinberg.

The LiPS Forum, another industry group working to improve and standardize Linux for phones, recently announced that it doubled its membership in its first six months since its founding.

 
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