Mobile Linux app developer snapped up by Wind River

Stuart Corner
Monday, 01 September 2008 10:09

Your IT - Mobility

Korean company MIZI Research, a developer of mobile application platforms based on embedded Linux, has been bought by US based Wind River, a developer of tools claimed to "reduce effort, cost and risk and optimise quality and reliability at all phases of the device software development process, from concept to deployed product."

MIZI has 65 employees and, according to Wind River, is one of the earliest Linux pioneers in the mobile market. "The solutions from MIZI can be used to power various devices such as mobile phones, automotive telematics and videophones...With this acquisition, Wind River expects to gain access to world-class mobile expertise that can be leveraged across its various mobile alliances as well as accelerate its mobile services presence in Asia Pacific," the company said.

In December 2007, the LiMo Foundation, the body formed to develop and promote a single Linux-based platform for mobile devices, chose Wind River's commercial Linux technology as the foundation for its Common Integration Environment (CIE).

And Wind River says that a number of fast-growing consumer electronic market segments are turning towards Linux and developing common requirements based on mobility, wireless connectivity, location-based services, feature-rich user interfaces and the promise of a rapidly expanding ecosystem of mobile and connected applications derived from the desktop.

It has identified opportunities for Linux in a number of vertical markets including automotive infotainment, mobile handsets and mobile Internet devices. "Each of these segments require Wind River to rapidly expand its mobile Linux services delivery capability as well as deepen the value of its product offering tailored to these markets, which is the competency that MIZI has been developing for nearly a decade," the company said.

"We will benefit from their mobile expertise in areas such as telephony, feature-rich user interfaces and multimedia, as well as their world-class mobile systems integrator expertise, complementing our current efforts across a variety of mobile alliances," said Ken Klein, CEO of Wind River. "This acquisition will provide us with access to a talented pool of experts in mobile Linux and enable us to accelerate our mobile services presence in Asia Pacific."