The deal will enable Openwave to focus on network-based offerings such as personalisation and services that converge mobile and broadband. Meanwhile Purple Labs, which supplies Linux software for 3G phones, will gain a suite of browser and messaging applications used by every major phone manufacturer in the world.

Simon Wilkinson, Purple Labs’ CEO, said: “By acquiring this portfolio and the Openwave client team, Purple Labs becomes a global leader in mobile software, powering both traditional and Linux-based mass-market phones.”