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LiMO strategy gets clearer, signs haptics player Immersion
Published: 11 August, 2009
Tags >> M&A | OS | Linux
With all the mobile Linux attention on Android and Maemo, what of the LiMO Foundation? The group risks being overshadowed by the other two, for the very reason it touts as its key advantage - it is a true consortium, rather than being effectively controlled by a single vendor with a powerful interest in promoting its chosen platform. But LiMO soldiers on and quietly amasses new members, this week's latest being haptics technology firm Immersion Technologies. However, LiMO needs a new route forward, rather than fighting with Android for phonemakers' affections.
It has two strategies that could lead to it becoming an underlying platform for mobile web software in future, rather than a branded OS. One is to appeal to carriers more than vendors - and the big cellcos are determined to create a mobile web environment they can define and control, so LiMO could be useful to them in creating their own-branded, mass market web apps frameworks. Related to this, LiMO is working closely with other bodies - operator-driven groups, notably the OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform), and broader web initiatives. All this is focused on creating underlying architectures to support web usage across mobile and other devices, and under the operator's control. So LiMO and a venture with which it works closely, the Bondi set of standard web interfaces for mobile programmers, are key to the most important carrier software initiative out there, JIL (Joint Innovation Lab), a collaboration by Vodafone, China Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Softbank, promising developers access to a combined customer base of close to a billion.
Against this context, LiMO becomes more interesting, even if its brand may fade. This week saw the OMTP and Bondi initiatives, heavily supported in the LiMO framework, becoming a sponsor of the Mobile Web Initiative of the web standards body, W3C. The sponsorship will drive standards and best practices for mobile web browsing, said the OMTP, which is spearheaded by Vodafone (which also plans to offer LiMO devices next year). The group said: "OMTP believes in a consistent mobile web environment which is enabled through W3C standardization".
Meanwhile, one of the important under-the-radar players in the touchscreen revolution, Immersion, has joined LiMO Foundation, making its TouchSense haptics technology available to LiMO developers. The TouchSense API will be made available to the LiMO platform and is free for development efforts. Device manufacturers may separately license Immersion's haptic player to deliver effects. Nokia, LG and Samsung use the Immersion system.
So far LiMO boasts 12 tier one carriers in its line-up, and 42 commercial devices, with a heavy weighting to China, Japan and south east Asia so far.
