One in five phones will have Linux by 2013

Linux is finally set to make its mark as a significant operating system in the coming years, analysts reckon. According to ABI Research, one out of every five mid and high-end handsets will be sporting Linux come 2013.

ABI says that the new acceptance for Linux will be spawned by the likes of Google’s Android, the work of the LiMo Foundation as well as Nokia’s acquisition of Trolltech, and in the future, take-up of open source operating systems will come from handset makers who want to “bring content-rich environments to users who currently utilize mid-tier devices” and get their customers using more web-based applications.

It does certainly seem like there’s a bit of momentum getting up around the mobile Linux world, not least thanks to enthusiasm for mobile virtualisation. Linux seems to have struggled on the PC due to a lack of big name support, as well as battling one single entrenched platform in the form of Windows – not problems mobile Linux seems to have.