Linux groups launch Tizen to fight Android
Peter Clarke 9/28/2011 11:00 AM EDT
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4228466/Linux-Tizen-Android?cid=NL_EETimesDaily
LONDON –
Two Linux oriented non-profit groups,
The LiMo Foundation and The Linux Foundation,
have announced an open-source project called Tizen,
intended to develop a mobile device software platform based on the Linux operating system.
In what appears to be an attempt to re-invent what search-engine giant Google has achieved with its Android platform, the groups said Tizen would be a standards-based, cross-architecture software platform that supports multiple device categories including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
The initial release of Tizen is targeted for Q1 2012, enabling first devices to come to market in mid-2012.
Intel will drop its own MeeGo mobile OS initiative in favor of Tizen and reportedly Samsung, a heavy supporter of Android, will seek to reduce its dependency on Google by backing Tizen.
Tizen is set to combine the open-source offerings from LiMo and The Linux Foundation and add HTML5 and web development environment within which device-independent applications can be produced efficiently for cross-platform deployment.
The LiMo Foundation (www.limofoundation.org) was founded by Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Orange, Samsung Electronics, and Vodafone with the aim of increasing the adoption of Linux within the mobile industry. It includes ARM, Marvell, Renesas and Intel subsidiary Wind River as associate members.
The Linux Foundation (www.linuxfoundation.org) is much broader but has seven platinum members at the top of its organization: Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, NEC, Oracle and Qualcomm.
Morgan Gillis, executive director of The LiMo Foundation decribed Tizen as a “renewed ecosystem” for mobile Linux proponents. The Limo Foundation said that the mobile industry is embracing Linux and open source technologies, but the creation of Tizen appears to be an acknowledgement that the open-source Linux has failed to gain traction in competition against the open but Google-owned Android. The other successful approach towards mobile systems has been the proprietary one of Apple Inc.
The Tizen project promises to lower device realization cost, increase flexibility and improve time to market for system developers.
The Tizen project is being hosted by the The Linux Foundation but has its own website at www.tizen.org
Related links and articles:
www.tizen.org
www.limofoundation.org
www.linuxfoundation.org
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