Purple Labs Announces Groundbreaking Sub-$100 LiMo Feature Phone
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LiMo-compliant 3G feature phone exhibited at Mobile World Congress
Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain - February 11th, 2008 - Purple Labs, a leading supplier of embedded Linux solutions for mobile phones, announced today that its new Purple Magic feature phone has received LiMo Foundation(TM) certification. The 3G Linux phone is a LiMo Platform(TM) Type I device, and will serve as a reference product for ODMs and phone manufacturers wanting to accelerate time to market for low-cost 3G handsets.
"We are proud to have created the first LiMo-compliant feature phone," stated Simon Wilkinson, chief executive officer of Purple Labs. "Certification of Purple Magic is a significant milestone for LiMo, and reflects our shared commitment to drive Linux into mass-market phones."
Founded in January 2007 by industry leaders Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone, LiMo Foundation aims to create a rich ecosystem based on Linux, which will enable compelling and differentiated services for mobile users. Earlier this year, Purple Labs became the first commercial Linux platform for feature phones to join the consortium.
"We are delighted that Purple Labs is making a rapid contribution to our open mobile initiative," said Morgan Gillis, executive director, LiMo Foundation. "The Purple Magic design now makes it easier for any handset manufacturer to deliver LiMo-compliant feature phones - this will further accelerate mass adoption of LiMo as the leading global mobile Linux platform."
The Purple Magic phone developed by Purple Labs is based on NXP Semiconductors Nexperia Cellular System Solution 7210 for 3G and was unveiled last month by the two members of the LiMo Foundation as the first sub-$100 3G Linux mobile phone. The Purple Magic is a 3G Linux reference feature phone offering video telephony, music playback, high-speed Internet browsing and video streaming.
"Essentially, we've designed the complete phone - hardware and software - so our manufacturer partners can enter into production quickly, with little investment," added Wilkinson. "The economics of our Linux-based design make Purple Magic ideal for emerging markets like Southeast Asia, as well as first-time mobile users and prepaid users in any country,"
The Purple Magic phone is being exhibited at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on February 11-14, 2008 at the LiMo Foundation booth (Hall 8 B135) and the NXP booth (Hall 8, B110).
About Purple Labs
Founded in 2001, Purple Labs offers a full Linux software suite to the wireless industry packaged as a customisable software solution or as part of full hardware and software reference design.
The company offers comprehensive solutions allowing design houses, ODMs and phone manufacturers to quickly address market demands and segment their offer. Working with pre-defined but modular platforms, Purple Labs enables its customers to deliver cost-effective and state-of-the-art mobile handsets within an optimised lead time. purplelabs.com.
About LiMo Foundation
LiMo Foundation 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 the foundation, including the vision, goals, charter, guiding principles, bylaws and membership information, can be found at www.limofoundation.org.
Press Contact:
Steve Langkamp
Chief Marketing Officer
Purple Labs
press@purplelabs.com
Tel: +33 (0)4 79 26 48 60
