Operators Ride LiMoOperators Ride LiMo

LONDON and TOKYO -- LiMo Foundation™, a global consortium of mobile industry leaders today announced the launch of the first LiMo Release 2 (R2) handset that supports the brand new Vodafone 360 service on a ground breaking Samsung device. This news coincides with the further announcement from LiMo today within which all operator members on the LiMo Board have reaffirmed their intent to bring LiMo R2 devices and associated services to market during 2009/2010.

The Vodafone 360 H1 by Samsung, which boasts one of the market’s sleekest and most sophisticated touchscreen user interfaces (UI), provides end users with a state-of-the-art user experience to extend and enrich their service experience through Vodafone 360. This highly evolved coupling of an advanced device with next generation operator services epitomizes the distinct capabilities of the LiMo Platform and the uniquely collaborative nature of the LiMo ecosystem. Further highly innovative and differentiated R2 devices from LiMo members will flow into all regions through 2009 and 2010.

“The collaboration between Vodafone and Samsung that resulted in the 360 H1 device is a ringing endorsement of LiMo’s uniquely independent and collaborative approach to realising key technology for the benefit of the whole industry and signals the first of a wave of R2 LiMo handsets due in the coming months,” said Morgan Gillis, Executive Director of LiMo Foundation. “The Vodafone 360 H1 by Samsung delivers an inspiring service and handset combination which illustrates the game-changing results that eventuate when a handset platform enables leading operators and vendors to realise their vision of new user experiences with full freedom.”

“As a Founder Member of the LiMo Foundation, we have been highly involved in driving the Platform forward and are truly delighted that Samsung has delivered the first R2 LiMo handset”, said JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Communications division, Samsung Electronics. “Vodafone 360 H1 by Samsung is our commitment to deliver the quality and richness of the LiMo Platform to consumers worldwide. Together with Samsung’s proven technology leadership in the mobile phone industry, I strongly believe that Samsung will provide better value to our consumers along with Vodafone’s ground breaking service, Vodafone 360.”

As Samsung’s first LiMo based product, the Vodafone 360 H1 offers a superior mobile experience to end-users through the Vodafone 360 service. The Vodafone 360 H1 by Samsung comes with an ultra brilliant 3.5” WVGA AMOLED display and a wide range of advanced features including 720P HD video recording as well as exclusive Vodafone services. Equipped with high performance in a stylish design, the phone provides a superb user interface and seamless connectivity. The Vodafone 360 service includes a universal contact list that integrates information from address books within various services, and a 3D zoom feature that enables users to browse through their latest interaction in chronological order. More details on Vodafone 360 including device and service specifications can be found through Vodafone at www.vodafone360.com.

“Vodafone is privileged and honoured to be the first operator to launch a LiMo handset based on the R2 LiMo Platform. We believe this groundbreaking smartphone and platform combination will completely revolutionize the way in which end-users access their favourite services on their mobile phone,” said Patrick Chomet, Vodafone Group Director of Terminals and a founder director of the LiMo Foundation, “We have chosen to launch our new service strategy on the LiMo Platform, which demonstrates Vodafone’s strong belief and ongoing commitment to LiMo.”

In a separate release:

LiMo Foundation today announced that global operators on LiMo’s Board of Directors will be launching new handsets during 2009/10 based upon the existing R2 & planned 2010 R3 release of the LiMo PlatformTM. Operators that intend to bring these handsets to market include NTT DOCOMO, Orange, SK Telecom, Telefonica, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone.

The LiMo Platform reflects best-in-breed IP contributions of major stakeholders across the mobile industry, which in turn enables operators to leverage a common, pre-integrated software platform across many devices while providing deeply customized experiences to their customers. The LiMo Platform allows full freedom of choice in regards to application distribution paths and business terms so that mobile applications and services can be brought to market through a variety of channels, including current and emerging application stores and customer portals. Operators will be able to work with application providers and other participants in the LiMo ecosystem to deliver personalized services and a highly compelling mobile experience to their customers.

“In addition to serving as a market-proven codebase upon which OEMs can produce handsets of varying form factors, the LiMo Platform provides a fully independent and pervasive foundation from which operators can freely deploy and monetize their own visions for compelling next generation applications and services for their consumers around the globe,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director of LiMo Foundation. “As the value line continues to move further up the mobile software stack, LiMo is playing a critical role as the centre of gravity for industry collaboration within device software.”

Handsets for the upcoming operator deployments will be sourced from LiMo OEMs who have worked collaboratively with other LiMo members to develop and refine the LiMo Platform. OEMs within LiMo Foundation include Board members LG, NEC, Panasonic and Samsung, Core Member Casio Hitachi, and also Associate members Huawei and ZTE. To date, over 40LiMo compliant handset models have been delivered to millions of consumers around the world.

LiMo Foundation