Linux gets a phone call from Openwave

Openwave Systems said Thursday that its browser and e-mail software for cell phones is now compatible with Linux, which strengthens a Motorola-led
push to use the open-source operating system in mobile phones.

Several major handset manufacturers have expressed an interest in the Linux-compatible version of Openwave’s Phone Suite software, but Brian Dally,
director of client software product management, said he could not disclose the companies’ identities.

Linux is free for manufacturers to use because it’s collectively created by a large group of open-source programmers. Although the operating system is
gaining popularity inside personal computers and laptops, the only major handset maker to adopt Linux is Motorola. The world’s No. 2 handset maker
plans to use the operating system in many of its phones and hopes to dramatically reduce its costs by doing so.