Having lasted less than three years, the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum is folding itself into the Linux Mobile (LiMO) Foundation. The closure comes a scant six months after the completion of version one of its standard.

LiPS was always something of a second fiddle to LiMO, though the Forum strove to distinguish itself from the Foundation by emphasising how it would create standards for LiMO to endorse. But LiMO started creating standards too, which rather undermined that argument.

General manager at LiPS Bill Weinberg told us that members have been offered favourable rates for LiMO membership, though many were members of both groups anyway. In any case, where the two standards don't overlap, the work done by the LiPS Forum will live on.

LiPS Forum president Haila Wang said in a statement: "Today, our membership agrees that LiPS’ greatest impact can be realized by adding our members’ expertise and resources to LiMo Foundation. Together, the member companies can better strive for a unified and ubiquitous Linux-based mobile platform."

Perhaps this could be better achieved by everyone signing up to the Open Handset Alliance, but without various different and incompatible versions it would hardly be Linux at all. ®

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