A group of the world's mobile operators and handset makers are to join together to develop an open-source Linux-based operating system that could to be used in phones by the end of 2007, a Reuters report said.
The Reuters report said mobile network operators Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo and handset makers Motorola, Samsung , NEC and Panasonic, said they would form an independent not-for-profit group to share the costs and speed up mobile software and handsets and cut the number of operating platforms on the market.
'We expect this initiative to speed time to market for new products and also enable us to create more personalized products and applications for consumers,' Jens Schulte-Bockum, Vodafone's global director of terminals, was quoted as saying.
The report said with mobile technology advancing exponentially, the cost of development is soaring for handset-maker's devices.
Linux software currently occupies only a tiny proportion of the mobile market, mainly in China, while market leaders Symbian and Microsoft dominate the space, the report added.
The attraction of Linux for handset makers is that as the code is not owned by any one company competition is likely to be fierce between firms supplying ready-to-use embedded Linux versions for phones, driving down fees, whereas Symbian and Microsoft can keep prices higher, it said.