Verizon, Mozilla join mobile Linux group

"They'll take whatever sells," said Dulaney of Verizon's likelihood of supporting Android.

Google could, theoretically, join LiMo, said Andrew Shikiar, director of global marketing for the LiMo Foundation. "LiMo is a very open organization... anyone can join," he said. In the meantime, Google is developing the same type of technology that LiMo has released. "I think there's some frustration with Google in the development community with what they see as a redundant effort at Google," said Shikiar.

Google, however, doesn't appear interested in joining the group. "We welcome all innovation that drives improvements and are happy to see other leaders in the industry move towards a more open model. We do not have any current plans to join the LiMo Foundation," Google said in an e-mail statement.

Despite growing interest in the idea of using Linux on mobile phones, growth in the actual market isn't happening. Worldwide shipments of Linux phones in 2007 were essentially the same as the previous year, according to research from Canalys. Analysts there blame fragmentation for the slow growth. But operators and manufacturers are interested in Linux because it can allow them to get phones on the market quickly and price them cheaply, Dulaney said. Linux phones will be mainly directed at consumers, where differentiation is important, he said.