LONDON — Linux operating system specialist MontaVista Software, Inc., has teamed with Mobilinux Open Framework partners SKY MobileMedia, Bluefin Mobile and Digital Airways to develop an integrated mobile phone solution atop MontaVista's Linux OS.

MontaVista's Linux operating system forms the underlying platform, Bluefin Mobile's LinuxTel provides the hardware abstraction layer for communication with the wireless network, while SKY MobileMedia's SKY-MAP the mobile applications engine. Digital Airway's Kaleido MMI is used for the visual interface and managed end user interaction.

The software operates atop a Texas Instruments OMAP processor-based smartphone reference platform.

The companies used this week’s World Handset Forum in San Diego, California, to demonstrate the initial design which, they say, addresses many of the complexities associated with the integration and interaction of voice and data software components, making it easier for handset developers to design Linux-based mobile phones.

The partners worked on the project under the auspices of the MontaVista's Mobilinux Open Framework program, an initiative designed to assist handset vendors that are migrating from proprietary operating system platforms to Linux.