The Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum has completed the LiPS Release 1.0 specifications, fulfilling the commitment announced in June of this year. With this release, LiPS enables mobile industry players to achieve basic interoperability for applications and services deployed on Linux-based phones, benefiting Linux-based software stack suppliers, mobile device OEMs and regional and global telecom operators.

These specifications include the LiPS Reference Model, Telephony, Messaging, Calendaring and Scheduling, Presence, User Interface Services, Address Book and Voice Call Enablers APIs.

The Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum is a consortium of leading industry players formed to standardize the Linux-based services and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that most directly influence the development, deployment and interoperability of applications and user-level services.

In a statement that seems to be targeting Google's Android, the forum said "In contrast to recent announcements from other bodies promoting Linux-based mobile software, LiPS output targets interoperability through open standards and specifications, not de facto acceptance of a single platform implementation."

The completed open specifications are publicly available on the LiPS web site.

The group says that the main advantage to real open standards comes from choice of implementation. As with all formal standards, the challenge lies in moving from “paper standards” to creating code and actual devices. To that end, LiPS Forum members are already building software and equipment that follow the LiPS specifications. LiPS members and their peers across the mobile ecosystem have the choice of creating their own versions of LiPS-compliant code, of licensing implementations from other LiPS members or third parties, or of leveraging and contributing to open source implementations.

“Standards-based interoperability is crucial to the success of the global telecommunications marketplace,” declared Haila Wang, president of the LiPS Forum. “LiPS is following the clear path blazed by GSM, TCP/IP, WiFi and other standards that enable communications among device types and brands, over multiple operator networks and across regional markets.”

The founding members of the LiPS Forum are ACCESS, ARM, Cellon International, Esmertec, France Telecom, Orange, Huawei Technologies, MIZI Research, Inc., MontaVista Software, Inc., Open-Plug and VirtualLogix.