Seven new mobile handsets working on the LiMo software platform have just been released by Panasonic, Motorola and NEC.

LiMo, which stands for Linux for Mobile, is quickly gaining popularity and the LiMo Foundation managed to secure its market position with a total of 21 available models. The new devices are: Panasonic Forma P906i and P706iμ; NEC Forma N906i, N906iμ, N906iL and N706i; and Motorola Motozine ZN5. All seven will be available right away in Europe and Japan.

The new models take the Linux Mobile experience to the next level, offering higher resolution displays, mobile TV, GPS, advanced video streaming, 3G and roaming capabilities. The Motozine ZN5 offers a 5 megapixel camera and will also be available in the United States. The upcoming release of the 2.0 version of the Linux-based mobile platform, scheduled for later this year, will provide the set for further development processes and surely new features will appear.

The LiMo Foundation, the Symbian Foundation and also Google are constantly looking for new open-source alternatives, wanting to offer users as many options as possible. LiMo considers its devices to be extremely useful tools which are aimed to help users with a far better Web surfing process and also a much more efficient Web applications use.

After adding 11 new partners, including MIZI Research, Freescale Semiconductor, Telecom Italia and SK Innoace, the LiMo alliance now registers 52 partners.

The reasons why Linux is gaining its worldwide popularity are mainly related to the lower costs, the potential customization, the strong and creative developer community and the support by multiple chipsets.