Google is getting lots of attention with its Android operating system, which is now adding about 100,000 phones a day, but what about the other Linux-based OS ?
The LiMo Foundation so far has been operating under the radar and has been limited to one handset launch with Vodafone and 60 in Japan and South Korea. You can find all their handsets here : LiMo handsets

LiMo says to now expect three major operators to launch a handset based on the OS this year, reports Reuters. The list of possible carriers include: France Telecom (Orange), Telefonica, Verizon Wireless and SK Telecom.

Morgan Gillis, Executive Director at LiMo foundation, said at the Reuters Global Technology Summit, that he believes the mobile operating system space will consolidate over the mid-term. “I think that the eventual number of industry device operating systems will be no more than five, probably four. Within that … one platform that is not owned by any one company … LiMo is definitely a candidate to perform that role,” he said.

He added that he believes Symbian will make a come-back over the next year or so, and that the other dominant players will be Android, Windows and Apple. That leaves out RIM’s BlackBerry and Palm’s webOS, and others, like Samsung’s bada.

Now I agree with him that there will be around 5 OSs but counting out Blackberry is for me a long stretch as it is presently still the leader of the smartphone market ! The weakest are really Symbian and WinMo but both are back by very large players.. and so can’t be written off so quickly.

I would be interested in what our readers feel on this subject ?

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