Mobile Linux is gaining support as a cellular operating system from the handset industry, according to market watcher IMS Research.

The increased focus on Mobile Linux shows the high level of interest from all segments of the cellular handset industry, including manufacturers, network operators and component suppliers.

This is demonstrated pretty clearly by the expanding membership of the LiMo Foundation, an industry group that was established in January of this year with the stated goal of developing a common Linux Platform.

The LiMo Foundation was founded by Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone.

However, according to IMS, while it certainly has its share of significant industry supporters, the LiMo Foundation is not the only group working on establishing a Mobile Linux standard.

The Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum has recently released its own set of specifications as Release 1.0, with an accompanying roadmap highlighting specific goals for implementation throughout 2008.

“The LiMo Foundation intends to develop an actual mobile Linux platform, which potentially will conform to the standards established by the LiPS Forum. However, since the LiMo Foundation has stated a desire to have products shipping as early as next 2Q08, they are working in advance of any final standards that will be set by the LiPS Forum. This creates the potential for the LiMO Foundation platform becoming a de facto competing standard,” said IMS Research director John Devlin. 

So what does all of this mean for the future of Mobile Linux?
In a recently published report, “The Impact of Cellular Linux”, IMS Research Analyst Alison Bogle said: “There will be a period of acquisition and consolidation over the next few years, the Mobile Linux community will eventually standardise on one or two leading unified Linux-based platforms, which will become the de facto standards, and Linux will see strong adoption in the handset space based on the strength of the companies supporting it.”

IMS Research believes that Mobile Linux as a whole will see a CAGR of greater than 45% over the course of the next five years. 

The LiMo Foundation recently added to its core membership with Aplix, Celunite, LG Electronics, Wind River and McAfee.

In addition, several companies joined as associate members, including ARM, Broadcom, Ericsson, InnoPath, KTF, MontaVista and NXP – reinforcing the increasing support for Linux within the handset industry.

LiPS Forum members include other Linux contenders such as Trolltech, a la Mobile and VirtualLogix, in addition to Orange, Telecom Italia, Huawei, Freescale, TI and ZTE.

Perhaps hedging their bets, Celunite, NXP, MontaVista and others are maintaining a membership in both groups.

See also: Electronics Weekly's Focus on Mobile Linux, a roundup of content related to the open source operating system shaped for mobile devices.