limofoundation.org

Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain, February 11, — limofoundation.org, global communications company Orange and ACCESS CO., LTD, a global provider of advanced mobile software technologies—pioneers in the Mobile Linux movement—today announced that Orange and ACCESS have joined limofoundation.org to unify the Mobile Linux industry and make truly open devices more accessible to mobile users all over the world.

In recognition of its historic and pioneering role in the mobile Open Source community, Orange has been invited to join LiMo as a Founder member, alongside original Founders Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone. ACCESS, which shares a strong heritage in Mobile Linux innovation, joins as a new Core member and will also hold a seat on the limofoundation.org board.

“The reputations of Orange and ACCESS for leadership within the Mobile Linux community are widely recognized, so these companies represent major additions to limofoundation.org’s governing board,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director, limofoundation.org. “Both Orange and ACCESS will make an invaluable contribution to delivering the LiMo Platform™ as a consistent, open source-based software platform that will benefit the entire mobile industry.”

Dr. Malik Kamal-Saadi, principal analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media commented, “With Orange and ACCESS joining limofoundation.org, we are now seeing even stronger industry support for LiMo’s open, transparent approach to delivering a global handset platform based on Mobile Linux. This important milestone illustrates an intensifying commitment across the industry to Mobile Linux compliancy, portability of applications from one mobile device to another and the achievement of better user experiences through unification.”

“Orange was one of the first mobile operators to make significant strides in open source innovation,” commented Yves Maitre, senior vice president, devices, Orange. “Our vision is for a truly open mobile community which delivers richer mobile services, more affordable devices and a better experience for our customers. We previously supported open source Mobile Linux through our participation in the LiPS Forum. Today, we believe that by participating in LiMo, we will accelerate the delivery of new and compelling mobile services.”

The addition of ACCESS provides further evidence of strong industry-wide engagement with limofoundation.org. ACCESS and Orange have a long track record of collaborating to promote the introduction of Linux in the market for mobile and convergent devices. By participating in limofoundation.org, the two companies will work to substantially advance the creation of Linux-based mobile platforms; establish an ecosystem that highlights the advantages of Linux development (including transparency, innovation and scalability); collaborate with other industry peers, and promote platform standardization.

“Our motivation to join LiMo grew out of our longstanding dedication to accelerating Mobile Linux innovation,” said Toru Arakawa, CEO, president and co-founder of ACCESS. “Mobile users are demanding easier-to-use products with more sophisticated applications. Our experience in developing the ACCESS Linux Platform and our work with limofoundation.org will help to meet these demands and hasten the development and delivery of new, innovative products. Together with Orange and the other Founder members, we look forward to playing a key role in bringing Mobile Linux innovations to market.”

Kiyohito Nagata of NTT DoCoMo, chairperson of limofoundation.org added, “Orange and ACCESS are true innovators within the mobile industry. These are companies with proven technologies and large, sophisticated customer bases that will further establish LiMo as a global Linux-based platform while reducing fragmentation in mobile. We greatly look forward to their contributions as new board members.”

Launched in January, limofoundation.org is open to all vendors and service providers in the mobile communications marketplace, including device manufacturers, operators, chipset manufacturers, independent software vendors, integrators and third-party developers. LiMo members are participating collectively to building a rich ecosystem and have the ability to influence the evolution of the LiMo Platform, leaving them free to provide compelling and differentiated services to customers.

LiMo’s technology will be showcased in Booth 8b135, Hall 8 at Mobile World Congress, February 11-14 in Barcelona. The Orange booth is located in Hall 1, stand 1E19. The ACCESS booth is located in the Courtyard Area CY06, Fira de Barcelona.

For more information on limofoundation.org and its guiding principles and bylaws, please visit limofoundation.

About limofoundation.org
limofoundation.org™ is a dedicated consortium of mobile industry leaders working together within an open and transparent governance model—with shared leadership and shared decision making—to deliver an open and globally consistent handset software platform based upon Mobile Linux for use by the whole mobile industry. A full description of LiMo, including its vision, goals, charter and membership information, can be found at limofoundation. 

About Orange and France Telecom
Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. France Telecom serves more than 167 million customers in five continents as of September 30,, of which two thirds are Orange customers. The Group had consolidated sales of 51.7 billion euros in and 39.4 billion euros for the first nine months of. At September 30, the group had 106.9 million mobile customers and 11.4 million broadband internet (ADSL) customers.  Launched in June, the NExT program (New Experience in Telecommunications) will enable the Group to pursue its transformation as an integrated operator and make France Telecom the benchmark for new telecommunications services in Europe. In, Orange became the Group's single brand for Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates, and Orange Business Services the banner for services offered to businesses worldwide. France Telecom is the number three mobile operator and the number one provider of broadband internet services in Europe and one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.

France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris and on the New York Stock Exchange.

About ACCESS
ACCESS CO., LTD. is a global company providing leading technology, software products and platforms for Web browsing, mobile phones, wireless handhelds, and other networked devices. ACCESS' product portfolio, including its NetFront™ Browser, Garnet™ OS (formerly Palm OS®) and ACCESS Linux Platform™, provides customers with solutions that enable faster time to market, flexibility and customizability. The company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operates 29 subsidiaries and affiliates within Asia, Europe and the United States. ACCESS is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mother’s Index under the number 4813. For more information about ACCESS.

ACCESS, NetFront, Garnet and ACCESS Linux Platform are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACCESS CO., LTD. in the United States, Japan and other countries.

The registered trademark Linux® is used pursuant to a sublicense from LMI, the exclusive licensee of Linus Torvalds, owner of the mark on a world-wide basis.

Palm OS is a trademark owned by Palm Trademark Holding Company and is licensed exclusively to ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc.