Motorola, NEC, NTT Docomo, Panasonic, Samsung, and Vodafone are backing an effort to develop linux for mobile devices. They have opened the effort to other mobile and electronics companies, and are looking to have a formal initiative together by the end of 2006.

The move is seen by many as an effort to open a new front in smartphone application development as Symbian still lacks the love of many developers, and Windows Mobile makes major inroads. As demands on mobile devices expand rapidly into new forms of communication, entertainment, productivity and location-based services, Linux is a likely candidate for an open platform to enable more developers to get into the game.