Linux is set to muscle in on the smartphone market led by the LiMo Foundation and the Open Handset Alliance, experts predicted today.

ABI Research forecasts that incumbent smartphone operating system software vendors will soon face a "serious challenge" from the two "technically competent " consortia.

The LiMo Foundation's announcement of support from another major carrier in the form of Verizon, as well as growing support for the Open Handset Alliance's Android architecture, "categorically proves these are not a flash in the pan", according to the analyst firm.

Stuart Carlaw, vice president and research director at ABI Research, said: " By 2013, we expect that Linux will take 23 per cent 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.

"This will be facilitated by the encroachment of the mobile internet device form factor into the mobile devices landscape."