Korean mobile phone companies Samsung and LG seem to be adopting a multi-standard approach to the next generation of mobile handset.
The handset companies seem to be lining up handsets based on a Linux software platform and the rival Microsoft Windows Mobile platform.
On the day that Samsung announced a new version of its Omnia touch screen handset model, based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system, LG signed a software deal with Microsoft covering mobile technology.
But alternative and competing smartphone software platforms are also being supported by both firms.
Both companies also have developments based on the Symbian platform, which is to date the most popular smartphone software.
They are also believed to be developing handsets based on another rival for the smartphone software crown, Google's Android operating system.
The battle lines are being drawn in a contest that will almost certainly define the design of mobile phones over the next five years.
Many in the industry will be pleased to see the emergence of Linux and other open source software as the basis of most mobile phone developments. But if anyone thought the open source approach would do away with the commercial battle for control of the mobile phone platform, they are likely to be disappointed.
All the major software companies are lining up behind a set of different so-called “standard” approaches to what will be the first open source mobile phone platform.
Microsoft, Symbian – soon to be owned by Nokia – and Google are in the contest, and Intel has also made its intentions clear when it acquired a small but significant London-based Linux open source software development company called OpenedHand.
So despite the traditional view that only one Linux-based OS can succeed, the reality is that a multi-standard approach looks the most likely outcome. And it looks certain that Linux-based platforms will put significant competitive pressure on the proprietary mobile operating systems of Microsoft, RIM and Apple.
So who is lining up behind Android? At present all we know is that T-Mobile has launched the first Android-based handset manufactured by HTC of Taiwan.
But it now seems likely that LG and Samsung as well as Motorola may also be planning Android handsets in the near future. With Google behind it, Android is now being viewed as a serious alternative to other Linux-based operating systems such as LiMo and even Symbian.
Samsung is also a supporter of the LiMo Foundation which is promoting a cross industry Linux-based OS.
The other big rival is Symbian, which is now effectively controlled by Nokia, and is the most widely used smartphone platform at the moment. Nokia announced plans earlier this year to take Symbian open-source next year.
See also: Electronics Weekly's Focus on Mobile Linux, a roundup of content related to the open source operating system shaped for mobile devices.