In a press release today, Verizon Wireless has announced its intentions to work with the LiMo foundation in order to reduce development costs for manufacturers and carriers by standardizing on a common Linux-based platform for handsets and devices.
This follows their recent change in attitude in regards to open standards and networks with the “Any Device, Any App” initiative late last year and the recent acquisition of the open access C block of 700Mhz earlier this year.
Verizion Wireless was formerly known for being one of the staunchest supporters of Qualcomm’s CDMA2000 standard as well as being notorious for standardizing a universal user interface that would routinely cause irritation for most intermediate and advanced users on top of disabling certain features in order to increase average revenue per user, which caused frustration among the aforementioned group as well as average consumers.
The addition of Verizon Wireless to the foundation along with established members Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone is expected to increase the credibility and viability of LiMo as a platform for future device, application, and carrier development, and is seen as a way to counter the efforts of the competing Open Handset Alliance and the Android platform led by Google.
