NEC, Panasonic Roll Out Nine LiMo Phones for DoCoMo

Blackberries and iPhones might be all the rage, but Panasonic and NEC have just introduced nine handsets for Japan's DoCoMo running the open source LiMo operating system.

These days, the Apple iPhone, a plethora of Blackberry models, Nokia’s Symbian devices, and even the odd Windows Mobile device seem to be capturing all the media attention in the smartphone marketplace, but Panasonic and NEC have just introduced nine new mobile phone handsets for Japan’s NTT DoCoMo running the open source LiMo operating system. The cameras feature a range of consumer-friendly features—like high-resolution cameras, rich media integration, and integration with a wide variety of social and Internet-based features. The released bring the total number of handsets for the LiMo platform to 42, which means LiMo runs on more handsets than any other mobile operating system produced by a global collaborative organization—not that LiMo is taking a swipe at Android or anything.

“In February 2009, a number of major network operators announced their intent to launch multiple devices built upon the LiMo Platform,” said LiMo Foundation executive director Morgan Gillis, in a statement. “This additional line of innovative handsets is indicative of the deep and abiding commitment our operators and device manufacturers hold towards fulfilling that promise by delivering next-generation LiMo technologies.”

The new releases include four handsets from NEC (the docomo Prime series N-06A and N-07A, plus the docomo Style series N-08A and docomo Smart series N-09A) plus five from Panasonic (the docomo Style series P-06A, P-08A, and P-10A; the docomo Prime series P-07A; and the docomo Smart series P-09A).

The LiMo Foundation also says Japanese carrier KDDI and haptics company Immersion Corp have signed on the foundation; however, LiMo still lacks the broad industry support enjoyed by Android, which has had most major handset makers (minus Nokia) sign on to its platform.