MDS Technology, the leading Korean provider of embedded solutions, and Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs), the leading provider of embedded virtualization software for mobile phones and broadband Internet devices, today announced a distribution partnership to provide regional marketing, sales, training, and technical support in Korea for OK Labs mobile virtualization solutions, including the OKL4 Microvisor.

OK Labs is the leader in virtualization software for mobile devices, while MDS is the leading distributor of embedded applications in Korea. OK Labs offers a range of benefits across the mobile ecosystem, including semiconductor vendors, mobile OEMs, mobile network operators, developers, mobile end users, and enterprise IT.

"Device manufacturers are especially interested in the OK Labs mass-market smartphone solution, to streamline development and delivery of low-cost, mass-market smartphones based on Android and other open OSes," said Hyunchul Kim, CEO of MDS. "OK Labs mobile virtualization enables OEMs and operators to offer aggressively-priced, feature-rich handsets that leverage dynamic applications markets and drive operator services revenues."

OK Labs software now ships on popular mobile smartphones such as the NexusOne, HTC Hero, Motorola Cliq, Palm Pre, and Toshiba TG01OK. The OKL4 Microvisor powers the world's first commercially-available fully-virtualized smartphone, the Motorola Evoke QA4. The company also offers off-the-shelf OS Support Packages -- OK:Android, OK:Linux, and OK:Symbian -- for rapid integration in OKL4-based systems.

"Growth in the smartphone segment continues to exceed industry expectations, but smartphone ubiquity has, to date, been constrained by high purchase costs," notes Steve Subar, CEO and President, OK Labs. "Our partnership with MDS targets increasing demand from Korean OEMs for mobile virtualization to help reduce bill-of-material costs, delivering smartphones at featurephone prices."