Seven new mobile phones have passed the LiMo Foundation's certification process, and the group has a few new members to welcome aboard.
The new phones, from Motorola, Panasonic, and NEC, are the latest to ship with Release 1 of the LiMo Platform, a Linux-based operating system for mobile phones developed by a consortium of wireless carriers, handset makers, and others. Panasonic and NEC's phones will be available in Japan through NTT DoCoMo.
There are now 21 phones in the world running the LiMo software, mostly in Asia. But a few, such as Motorola's Rokr E8, are sold in the U.S. The whole idea behind LiMo is to give handset makers and carriers the basic underpinnings needed to create a modern mobile phone, but with the freedom to customize the look and feel of those phones to suit their desires.
These are interesting times for the LiMo Foundation, coming off market leader Symbian's decision to embrace an open-source model and the expected debut later this year of Google's Android software. Many of the members of the LiMo Foundation are also members of the other groups, which could make for some interesting discussions as the LiMo Foundation works on future releases of the software.
LiMo also announced Monday that 11 new companies have come onboard, including chipmaker Freescale, PacketVideo, and Telecom Italia, bringing the total number of companies involved in the project to 50.
Verizon Wireless' announcement that it is joining the LiMo Foundation raises the question of which LiMo-enabled devices the carrier will add to its lineup. Verizon has yet to answer that question, and a look at LiMo's current device lineup holds no clues. At present, none of its devices will work on Verizon's CDMA network. Here's a snapshot of what the foundation currently offers with a focus on U.S. devices.
Motorola U9
(Credit: Motorola)
Motorola U9
The Moto U9 inherits its curvaceous design from the Motorola Pebl U6. It has the same rounded edges and smooth body, though instead of a rubbery skin, it sports a glossy finish that reflects the light. Its features include Moto's Crystal Talk technology, a 2-megapixel camera, quad-band GSM world phone support, and a music player with external controls.
Motorola Rokr Z6 and Z6w
The Moto Z6 is a GSM-only variant of the Moto Z6c and the Rokr Z6m. It sports the same slider design as its siblings but its feature set includes a 2-megapixel camera, quad-band GSM world phone support, Windows Media Player 11, messaging, and e-mail. The Z6w is almost identical to the Z6 but it adds Wi-Fi.
Motorola Rokr E8
(Credit: Motorola)
Motorola Rokr E8
Moto announced the Rokr E8 at CES in January. As we said then, the E8 features a smooth "glasslike" surface with touch-pad controls that digitally "morph" depending on how the handset is used. As you shift from phone to music to imaging modes, the backlight on the control changes to illuminate only the relevant buttons for your current function. Its features include Windows Media Player 11, 2GB internal memory, stereo Bluetooth, USB 2.0, Moto's CrystalTalk technology, an external memory card slot, a 2-megapixel camera, and a full HTML browser.
Motorola Razr2 V8 Luxury Edition
(Credit: Motorola )
Motorola Razr2 V8
Moto's V8 is part of its larger Razr2 family. Currently available with T-Mobile, the V8 has a stylish design, useful features, and good performance. Yet, it doesn't fully utilize its external display or controls and it's the only Razr2 without support for 3G networks. The Razr2 V8 Luxury Edition also is a LiMo handset, but it rolls out the bling with 18-karat and 24-karat gold-plated accents on a black slate finish.
Besides the above handsets, LiMo phones include several Japan-only handsets for NTT DoCoMo and a LG handset. And incidentally, a Verizon exec said last year that the carrier would support Google's Android platform as well. But Android's developer, the Open Handset Alliance, has yet to release Android-enabled phones.
Rumors are afoot that Verizon Wireless will announce new cell phones based on the LiMo Foundation's mobile Linux operating system. Unstrung did not reveal its source, but the publication reported Friday that the nation's second largest carrier could make an announcement by this Monday.
Verizon has yet to even suggest that it would adopt LiMo devices, but the LiMo gossip does make sense. After years of exercising almost total control of its devices, the carrier stunned the cell phone world last November when it announced that it would start allowing unlocked devices on its CDMA network. Then last March, it hinted that unlocked devices could be available by the middle of this month.
Though Google's Android platform continues to generate buzz, LiMo already has several devices on the market including the Motorola U9, the Motorola Z6w, the Motorola Rarz2 V8, and the Motorola Rokr E8. What's more, LiMo announced its Platform Release 1 at CTIA last month. Verizon is supporting Google's platform as well, but we won't see an Android-enabled phone in the United States until the end of the year.
Like the Open Handset Alliance, the LiMo Foundation came together last year to create an open, hardware-independent operating system for mobile phones. Currently, it is composed of 30 member companies including Motorola, NEC, Samsung, Vodafone, Orange, LG, and NTT DoCoMo.
Rest assured, we'll be watching the wires over the next few days to see what it happens. If the news breaks, we'll bring you the details.
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