The U.S. software firm Adobe and three other companies joined the LiMo wireless group, underscoring the growing role of Linux operating system in mobile phones.
The market for software platforms is led by Nokia's Symbian operating system, but has lost much ground in the last year before Apple and Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry.
That's why Nokia, the largest manufacturer of mobile devices, will merge its Linux Maemo software platform used in its flagship phone N900 with the Intel's Moblin, which is also based on open source software of Linux.
The Linux operating system is starting to gain momentum, as Google has used it to build its Android platform.
"There has been a change of pace for Linux on mobile," said Morgan Gillis, LiMo's director, in an interview.
"No other operating system today even coverage of Linux sales, is appearing in almost every commercial prime vendors of mobile devices, from the largest to the smallest," he said in an interview.
LiMo, a non-profit, expects to benefit from its focus on giving a greater voice on the development of software to telecom operators.
The role of the main players in the platform is a key attraction for adoble, whose Flash software is web-based largest, with an estimated 1.6 million developers.
Vodafone and other operators have committed to having a smaller number of operating systems that support them is already a costly exercise.
However, the large number of operating systems has grown in recent years with new players like Apple and Google entering the mobile market.
In the latest twist, Samsung Electronics, the second largest handset makers and one of the key members of LiMo, introduced in late 2009 its own platform for cellphones.
Linux is the most popular free software or open source, users can use, revise and share.
Linux providers earn money selling improvements and technical services and Linux competes directly with Microsoft, which charges for its Windows software and opposes to share their code for free.
The Japanese electronics firm NEC and Panasonic, and the Israeli Else presented Monday a total of seven new phones that work with the LiMo software.
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