Verizon cuddles the penguin; joins LiMo

Can you hear IT Blogwatch now? In which Verizon says it loves Linux and signs up as a member of the LiMo Foundation. Not to mention what is possibly the most fun coffee table ever...

Matt Hamblen reports:

Verizon Wireless today declared Linux as its mobile operating system of choice and said it would introduce Linux-based phones developed through the LiMo Foundation in the U.S. in 2009. Kyle Malady, vice president of networks at Verizon Wireless, said that the decision to support Linux, however, doesn't preclude Verizon from selling phones based on a range of operating systems, including an evolving Linux-based Android operating system, offered by the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) backed by Google Inc.; Windows Mobile; BlackBerry by Research In Motion Ltd.; and others ... He said Verizon Wireless also joined the LiMo Foundation as a board member, joining 40 other carriers and device makers devoted to creating the LiMo OS, a mobile Linux operating system for devices marketed globally. Phones are already being offered by manufacturers based on LiMo, a factor that Malady said led Verizon Wireless to join LiMo instead of the OHA ... [also] the governance by a board of directors at LiMo made joining the organization more attractive when compared to OHA. more

But it's not just Verizon, as Scott M. Fulton, III notes:

The road ahead for Google's Linux platform for mobile devices just got a little cloudier, with two of the companies whose allegiance it would need to ensure its success, this morning announcing they're backing its principal competitor. If Google thought it would have a cakewalk in its efforts to advance an open mobile smartphone platform based on Linux, it's realizing now it may need more traction. This morning, the LiMo Foundation -- comprised of both hardware and software vendors with a stake in Linux on cell phones -- added several more powerhouse members to its coalition, including memory maker Infineon ... and Firefox browser maker Mozilla ... The deal vastly extends the reach of the LiMo Foundation, which announced last February and released in March its first edition of the LiMo Platform. At that time, it announced it garnered the support of Access, the software maker that absorbed the software assets from PalmSource. more

Om Malik chants:

Google continues to rev up its plans for Android, spending liberally on developers, but the other mobile Linux platform effort, LiMo, isn’t keeping quiet and is aggressively adding bulk to what is an unenviable line-up. Today, the foundation got eight new members, most notably carriers Verizon Wireless and SK Telecom, chip maker Infineon and Mozilla. No one should take LiMo lightly, despite the fact that it’s a crazy consortium of many vested parties. more

Chris Ziegler says Verizon has, "formidable weight":

The LiMo Foundation [is] that "other" mobile Linux group that's attracted some serious muscle behind founding member NTT DoCoMo ... LiMo represents the largest Linux-based threat to Android's plans for world domination, having announced its initiative some time before Google while collecting a veritable who's-who of world players ... the move wouldn't preclude the carrier from jumping on the Android bandwagon just the same once the hardware and software have ripened enough for customer consumption ... marks the very first American carrier to sign on with LiMo -- and since Verizon's European spouse, Vodafone, is already on board, the synergy's pretty obvious ... Verizon Wireless becomes ... the Foundation's final board member (in other words, they seem to be taking this initiative pretty seriously) ... with the depth of Verizon's commitment to this, evident by its nabbing of an actual board seat, we wouldn't be surprised to see LiMo-based products actually go beyond its Any Apps, Any Device initiative and get real on the carrier's official lineup. more

John Paczkowski, too:

Google’s Open Handset Alliance is going to have to do a lot better than a few early prototype demos if it truly hopes to unify mobile Linux around its Android specification. Because rival LiMo Foundation is stepping up its game. And fast. Earlier this year, LiMo uncrated a first wave of handsets running on its Linux-based software platform for mobile devices–18 devices from seven vendors. And now the foundation is adding some big names to its roster of mobile-phone outfits ... The companies’ membership is an important endorsement for LiMo–Verizon’s in particular. The mobile-phone player seems quite invested in LiMo and its vision of mobile Linux, which is far more Democratic than the OHA, which is one of those wonderful we’re-Google-and-Google-always-knows-best democracies. So much so that Verizon has declared LiMo’s to be its preferred mobile OS. more

Mozilla's Jay Sullivan addresses the fragmentation question:

Linux has great potential as a mobile platform, but it’s been hampered by fragmentation over the last several years. LiMo brings together many major device manufacturers, network operators and others in the mobile ecosystem to cooperate on building a Linux-based mobile middleware platform. Manufacturers and network operators can develop unique user experiences and differentiate on top of that platform. What makes LiMo especially attractive for Mozilla is that it’s all about code, where previous efforts around mobile Linux have been more focused on developing standards. We intend to participate actively in all aspects of the LiMo platform that relate to Web browsing, Web widgets/runtimes and security. We also plan to share our experiences with building successful open-source communities ... Our engineering team has worked very hard over the last couple of years to prepare for mobile. Our platform is now faster and leaner in the more constrained hardware and network environment of mobile phones. more

But Doug Aamoth is worried:

I’m all for openness, but what happens when we suddenly find ourselves with a dozen different “open” mobile alliances like this? Hopefully they’ll all be compatible with one another, although LiMo is commonly known as an Android competitor and questions have arisen as to whether or not the two platforms will play nicely together. more

And finally...

• NES Controller Mod, May Just be Most Fun Coffee Table Ever [Hat tip: Nightskyre]

Buffer overflow:

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• Jerry Held: There's a bright cloud on the horizon ... and it will transform the economics of BI
• GMSV: Wi-Fi — a rocky ending to the Philadelphia story : Good Morning Silicon Valley
• Nate Anderson: Mormons, Scientologists face uphill battle against Wikileaks
• Official Google Blog: Looking towards IPv6
• Steve Lohr: Join the Hunt for Super-Rice
• Android Developers Blog: The Top 50 Applications

Other Computerworld bloggers:

• Douglas Schweitzer: Malicious hackers remind us of why they're loathed
• Seth Weintraub: Apple 'tablet' emerges
• Michael R. Farnum: Social Networking for your Career
• Mike Elgan: Bill Gates shows CEOs how to waste research money
• Todd R. Weiss: openSUSE's Summer of Google
• Scott McPherson: The Philadelphia Experiment
• SJVN: Why Mac OS isn't the best OS around
• Heather Havenstein: Pfizer launches RSS for R&D and eyes “Pfacebook” social network
• Robert L. Mitchell: Virtualization survivor
• Mark Hall: Crank up Web services performance
• Shark Tank: It's all about good taste
• Shark Bait: Data recovery from Columbia

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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/adviser/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and spam. A 21 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him on Twitter, pretend to be Richi's friend on Facebook, or just use boring old email: blogwatch@richi.co.uk.

Previously in IT Blogwatch:

• Fedora 9 dazzles with its shiny newness
• HP invents a plan to buy EDS
• RIM is Bold with new 3G BlackBerry