JKOnTheRun reports this today: "As we wait for Motorola’s Android phone, the Cliq/Dext, the company is once again confirming its commitment to the Android platform. Motorola had already stated that it was dropping Windows Mobile to focus on Android, and it’s doing the same with LiMo. Christy Wyatt, VP at Motorola, has vacated her seat on the LiMo Foundation board of directors."

According to a Motorola statement: "At this time [Motorola] feels that the Android platform gives it a richer, more consistent foundation with strong support for the ecosystem and developer community.” With Android gaining so much momentum, and wooing handset makers and multiple wireless carriers alike, LiMo's mobile Linux strategy is looking fragile.

Despite the lagging economy, smartphones remain a hot market, and open source phones are in the spotlight. According to research from Juniper Research telecom consultants, the number of smartphones shipped with open source operating systems will increase from 106 million this year to 223 million by 2014. Juniper's study found that open source operating systems and applications "are playing an increasingly important role in the differentiation of new smartphones and are a key factor in the choice of which handset to choose from by users." Juniper's findings are being echoed by other researchers.

Nokia has just reported that it has received a $630 million loan from the European Investment Bank to help it develop the Symbian operating system and stay relevant in the increasingly competitive mobile operating system war. Looks like Nokia's move last summer to buy out the remaining shares of Symbian for $410 million was more prescient than many people realized. Along with that move, Nokia also put the Symbian operating system on an open source course. Just this week, at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, vendors lined up behind Symbian, LiMo's Linux-based operating system, and Android. $630 million is a lot of money. Will it change Symbian's fate, and how does it affect LiMo and Android?