The LiMo Foundation, which advocates the free and open-source Linux operating system for mobile phones, today announced 11 new member companies and 7 new handsets.

Freescale Semiconductor, PacketVideo, Telecom Italia and ZTE are the most noteworthy of the new members.  The others are Cellon, Esmertec, , Longcheer Holdings, MIZI Research, Movial Corporation, SK Innoace and VirtualLogix.

In hardware, the new handsets are Motorola’s Motozine ZN5, NEC’s N906i, N906iµ, N906iL and N706i, plus Panasonic Mobile Communications’ FOMA P906i and P706iµ.  (FOMA is the name of NTT DoCoMo’s 3G service in Japan.)

That brings the total number of LiMo handsets to 21, officials said. 

LiMo’s version of mobile Linux is due for a second major update later this year or early next year, along with an online expansion aimed at developers, officials said in May.