The open-source Linux operating system is seeing major growth in the mobile and embedded space, especially in the smartphone market. Handset makers and mobile carriers are adopting open-source software because it significantly reduces licensing and development costs and also provides higher flexibility. That is why analyst firm ABI Research is predicting that Linux-based mobile devices will account for nearly a quarter of the smartphone market within the next five years.

In a recent report about smartphones, ABI looks closely at emerging Linux-based mobile platforms and the impact that they will have on the industry. ABI sees the LiMo Foundation and the Open Handset Alliance as the two most prominent framework providers and contends that their platforms will account for most of the upcoming Linux mobile adoption.

"By 2013, we expect that Linux will take 23% of the smartphone market and will be the second most prevalent solution behind Symbian. And although LiMo and Android will take the lion's share of the market for Linux solutions, there will be opportunities for solutions such as Maemo which will be facilitated by the encroachment of the MID (Mobile Internet Device) form factor into the mobile devices landscape," said ABI Research vice president Stuart Carlaw in a statement.

Despite some early problems, Google's Android platform, which is backed by the Open Handset Alliance, is becoming stronger and attracting considerable interest. ABI notes that the large population of developers who are already working with the platform is an indication that Android has real staying power and isn't just a passing fad (thought it might have more to do with Google's $10 million contest).

The other emerging heavyweight in the mobile Linux arena is the LiMo platform, which was adopted last month by Verizon. Unlike Android, which has its own Java-based development framework and doesn't support native applications, LiMo supports the existing GTK+ toolkit which means that popular desktop applications could theoretically be ported to the platform. Verizon moved towards the LiMo Foundation because it offers a more inclusive governance model and would allow the carrier to have more control over its own implementation of the platform.

Outside of the mobile phone space, other Linux-based mobile platforms like Maemo and Moblin will see adoption on web tablet devices, some small form-factor subnotebook computers, and embedded systems in vehicles and buildings. Intel is heavily pushing Linux as a strong software solution for hardware platforms built on its Atom processor.

Linux is clearly gaining massive traction in the mobile and embedded space, and this trend will undoubtedly escalate as phones with Android and LiMo reach the market. The benefits of open source adoption by mobile hardware makers are numerous, but the most significant benefit to end users is that this will lead to richer third-party software ecosystems by making application development more accessible to independent programmers.