No matter what Nokia said in the past about Google’s Android but it was quite clear that Google’s move to enter mobile OS market had left Nokia worried about the future of Symbian. As a result Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DOCOMO today announced that Symbian will soon go Open Source. Nokia is planning to buy remaining 52% shares of Symbian Limited which they don’t own so that Symbian can be added to the new open source foundation.
Just like Google’s ‘Open Handset Alliance’ Nokia has also announced the creation of the ‘Symbian Foundation’. As you may have guessed it is an alliance of Mobile manufacturers and application providers that is open to all. Nokia’s move to make Symbian an open source platform is for sure a result of the threat that Google’s Android pose to Symbian and sales of mobile phones running the OS. It’s noteworthy that Symbian accounts up to 60% of market share when it comes to Mobile Phone Operating Systems.
Nokia is directly targeting Android by making Symbian an open source which is already struggling to meet deadlines. Other than Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DOCOMO even AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone are planning to join Symbian Foundation. Symbian Foundation will be kick started after Nokia is done with acquiring remaining shares of Symbian Limited which is expected to happen around mid of next year.
Via: i4u