Japanese corporates back consumer Linux

Over 20 Japanese high-tech firms have formed a consortium to develop a Linux-based operating system (OS) for consumer products.

The alliance includes electronics and automotive industry heavyweights such as Fujitsu, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Sony and Toshiba. The move aims to create an open standard OS for mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) and other handheld devices.

Gary Cooper, research manager at analyst house the Butler Group, welcomed the venture. "The Japanese consortium is following a trend that has already been established, as Linux has been heavily deployed in web environments. PDAs and other similar platforms are one of the many areas where Linux is capable of challenging Microsoft's NT OS," he said.

The consortium also includes Tokyo's Waseda University and Toyohashi University of Technology.