LINUXWORLD SF - Linux groups team up on mobile standards

Two groups pushing mobile Linux are now working together to get more devices based on the open-source OS out into the world.

Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and the Linux Phone Standards (LIPS) Forum will work together to create common requirements and specifications for Linux-based devices, they announced Monday. OSDL focuses on the Linux kernel and operating system, while LIPS works on services and APIs (application programming interfaces).

The two groups will send representatives to each other's meetings and will share the requirements and specifications that each produces, while also cooperating to create common ones. The aim is to prevent duplication of effort and market fragmentation. Their cooperation announcement came on the first day of the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, which will feature several sessions about mobile Linux.

Linux is emerging as an alternative to Symbian's Symbian OS, Microsoft Corp. Windows Mobile and proprietary manufacturer OSes for mobile handsets. Motorola Inc. uses a version of Linux for the Ming, a phone it recently introduced in China. OSDL and the LIPS Forum promote cost savings, performance, technology enhancements and flexibility as the platform's benefits.

The LIPS Forum started last year and has attracted ARM, Texas Instruments, Huawei Technologies, PalmSource, France Telecom and other hardware, software and carrier companies. OSDL, founded in 2000, is a nonprofit group that provides computing and test facilities around the world.